Chapter Text
With his eyes half open, Jaemin solemnly drinks his daily coffee as he trudges through the salon. He downs the rest of his Namericano before tossing the empty cup into the trashcan. His infamous Namericano has eight shots of espresso, but not even his death drink (as his friends call it) can get his body and mind to cooperate with him. Jaemin is beginning to question all of his life decisions at this point. He thinks maybe he should’ve chosen a different career. Being a baker or even a singer would be better than this.
I wish I was still in bed right now with my babies. Maybe I should just ditch work today… haha
Jaemin sighs before stopping right before the room with his first client of the day. He yawns sleepily as he rubs his eyes with the back of his hand, resembling a cute baby who just woke up from a nap. Today, he’s dressed in a pink fluffy cardigan with a white tank top underneath in case he gets hot. The pink sweater also pairs nicely with his freshly dyed pink hair. The softness of his outer most layer isn’t helping either, if anything it lulls him even more to sleep. Now he regrets his choice of outfit, since the material feels as soft as his duvet covers. Too bad he has a full shift today, otherwise he would be glued to his bed all day.
Sighing again, his eyes trail up the door before landing on the name plaque hanging. Staring right back at him is a very familiar name.
Mr. Lee?!
In that moment, it feels as if another eight cups (not shots) of Namericanos entered his body. He can practically hear his heartbeat now. Jaemin is on the verge of breaking into a cold sweat, and wonder why a man he met only once has his sanity in a chokehold.
After the initial shock passes, Jaemin realizes that he totally forgot Donghyuck asked him to take on his clients today. No wonder he is unusually tired, today was supposed to be his day off! However, he still can't seem to shake off the jittery feeling that the mere sight of Mr. Lee's name gives him.
Na Jaemin, get your shit together! It’s probably just Mr. Suh-Lee? Ugh, no that’s impossible…
Mentally giving himself a peptalk to prepare himself for the unknown, Jaemin squeezes his eyes shut and prays that he doesn’t act like an utter fool this time. He's desperate for damage control.
Well, at least I get to wax Mr. Lee instead of Hyuck…
The thought of having to suffer throughout another session with Mr. Lee is disturbing, but the thought another person getting the opportunity to wax Mr. Lee is even worse. Jaemin counts his blessings, and promises to himself that he won’t mess up this time.
Ok Jaemin you got this, just open the door and get it over with!
1…
2…
3…
Shaky hands grab the door handle, and as soon as the door is pushed slightly ajar, he immediately shuts it.
Fuck. I can’t do this.
Jaemin starts to take deep breaths and gives himself another pep talk, though they don’t do much to calm him down at this point. He's about to attempt opening the door again when he remembers the warning he received from Mr. Lee last time.
"Do not make me wait next time. I want you to be in the room before I arrive. Is that clear?"
Oh fuck.
Jaemin is over 15 minutes late again. He's so fucked and now he has to brace himself for an angry Mr. Lee. (A tiny part of Jaemin wants to be scolded by Mr. Lee, but he tries his best to refrain from indulging in that train of thought any further.)
Before Jaemin can start full blown panicking, suddenly the door opens. A hand reaches out and grabs onto his shirt. Jaemin is pulled into the room without any warning, his heart beating wildly and something akin to butterflies in his stomach. He’s pretty sure he just got manhandled by Mr. Lee, but to be honest he wasn’t against it at all.
“Jaemin, what did I tell you? Why are you late when I already told you?”
Oh shit.
That’s not Mr. Lee.
Jaemin opens his eyes and whips his head up. There’s a thin yet curvy body, littered with moles across his cheek and neck, and tanned, soft, supple skin.
“I told you last night that this was an emergency!!” a whiny voice calls out.
Yep, that is definitely not Mr. Lee.
Donghyuck stands in front of him, donned in a white robe with his lips in a deep frown. The other boy is rather agitated after waiting so long for Jaemin.
“Yah!! Did you forget already?”
Jaemin remains silent, conflicted between the immense relief and the disappointment after learning that Mr. Lee was actually none other than Lee Donghyuck.
“You know what, never mind, I’m glad you even remembered to come today.” Donghyuck sighs while pinching his nose. He then discards his robe and sits on the waxing table, completely nude.
Jaemin remains in his place.
“Na Jaemin!!” Donghyuck whines for the nth time. “What’s wrong with you!! This is not the first time you’ve seen me naked, so why are you just standing there blushing like a damn school girl?”
“Huh? Oh sorry Hyuck! I’m still waiting for the coffee to kick in, haha.” Jaemin pathetically offers. He’s obviously still flustered by the whole ordeal.
Donghyuck narrows his eyes at Jaemin suspiciously. They’ve waxed each other a million times before. Jaemin’s behavior is abnormal, but then again when have the two of them ever been considered normal? Donghyuck decides he’ll brush it off again.
“Whatever, can we please get started? I have a hair appointment in a couple of hours, and then I have to pick up my dry cleaning, but I don’t know if I like my outfit so I might go shopping again, oh and I’ve been wanting to try this new foundation, but my shade is out of stock right now…”
Donghyuck starts rambling again and Jaemin nods along pretending like he’s heard every word of it. Technically he’s hearing Donghyuck, he’s just not listening to him.
“-and then I have to clean my apartment and wash my sheets in case the date ends well hehe oh and I have to stock up on some lube and con- YAH NA JAEMIN WHY ARE YOU STILL STANDING THERE?!?!”
Jaemin finally snaps out of it. The poor, frazzled boy rushes to the side table and puts on some gloves. Thankfully for him, Donghyuck pre-heated the wax and laid out all the materials for him while waiting.
Jaemin inspects Donghyuck as he would with his normal clients. That’s odd, he’s almost completely hairless.
Donghyuck rolls his eyes. After being best friends for so many years, the two of them have developed the ability to sense what the other is thinking.
“Jaem honey,” Donghyuck starts softly as if he was speaking to a 5 year old child, “we had a waxing session a week ago, but today I need a full body wax. I need everything gone.”
Jaemin nods, this time the look of recognition is present in his expression.
Oh, right.
Jaemin and Donghyuck regularly wax each other almost every month. Though they’re both terribly single and don’t need to be hairless, nothing beats the nice feeling of bare skin against freshly washed sheets. And taking promiscuous photos that they swore they’d never show another living soul except for each other.
“Sorry Hyuck, my mind has been out of it for the past couple of weeks.”
Donghyuck flips over and lies prone for Jaemin to work on his back first.
“Yeah? I’ve noticed but I was waiting for you to address it first.”
Donghyuck is right. He knows Jaemin has been acting weirdly and zoning off when they hang out together. Never before has he seen Jaemin flinch so many times after getting lost in his thoughts.
“Are you okay Nana? We can talk about whatever is troubling you. I miss our late night talks… it just feels like you’re not all there sometimes.” Donghyuck tries to coax Jaemin into confiding in him, his voice slightly muffled by the table. Jaemin just hums in response, not really giving an answer.
Unbeknownst to Donghyuck, Jaemin is having vivid flashbacks to that day. He’s thinking about Mr. Lee and his broad shoulders, toned abs, strong arms, big dick with the nicest shape, curvature, and girth he’s ever seen. Mr. Lee and his deep voice, piercing eyes, and-
“Yah Na Jaemin! Stop ignoring me!”
“Huh? Sorry Hyuckie!! I’m just really… concentrated right now!!” Jaemin furrows his brows and sports a look of confusion when Donghyuck moves into a sitting position to face him.
“Ok that’s bullshit and you know it!! Na Jaemin, are you mad at me or something? When did you start lying to me? Did I do something wrong?” The tanned boy pleads with the younger. Screw the waxing, his best friend is more important than meeting the love of his life. They’ve been friends for over a decade, and nothing can break them apart. Not even when they dated the same boy back in high school.
Jaemin pauses with his hands in the air still holding onto the popsicle stick with wax. The pinkette debates on telling Donghyuck about his encounter with Mr. Lee, especially with the guilt from ignoring his best friend for weeks starting to sink in. But he just can’t bring himself to. Donghyuck sees the look of hesitation on Jaemin’s face, but finally the younger shakes his head in response to the older’s question.
“Ok so it’s not me… did something happen with one of our clients?” In times like this, it really shows who is the older of the two. Donghyuck rarely shows his brotherly, protective side to Jaemin, but sometimes the other just needs a little extra push.
Jaemin decides that there’s no better time than the present to confide in his friend. Maybe this way he’ll stop getting bothered by Mr. Lee every time he’s reminded of him.
“Hmm yeah… but it was no big deal though! Honestly Hyuck!” Jaemin admits half the truth as he is still ashamed to admit the effect that Mr. Lee has on him. The pink haried boy tries to resume waxing Donghyuck, but the older is not having it. He is determined to get to the bottom of this toda before Jaemin sweeps it under the rug.
Donghyuck gently takes the popsicle stick out of Jaemin’s hands while saying, “Nana, you know that’s not the truth.”
Jaemin turns beet red as he’s cornered and has never had a penchant for confrontation. In the end he concedes.
“Ok fine… one of the clients… he’s… really hot.” Jaemin whispers the last part as if Mr. Lee can hear them.
Donghyuck drops his jaw. Never in his life did he think his sweet, little Na Jaemin would have a predilection for older men. Donghyuck doesn’t know if he should feel concerned or offended that it took this long for Jaemin to tell him. Either way, the weeks of unusual behavior and neglect were all due to an older man??? The tanned boy pinches the bridge of his nose and snorts. He can’t believe he’s made a huge fuss over something so frivolous.
“Honestly, I should’ve known... but Nana, I didn’t know you were looking for a sugar daddy!” Donghyuck teases.
Jaemin looks affronted, especially since he hasn’t told Donghyuck about the generous tip that Mr. Lee left him.
“N-no! It’s not like that! I just thought he was handsome…” Jaemin shyly says.
“Nana, I’m just teasing you. Whatever your preferences are, I’m here to support you. Except if anyone ever makes you cry… please promise me you’ll visit me in jail after I kill them.”
Jaemin blushes. Donghyuck totally has the wrong idea, but Jaemin’s too shy to admit the truth. (Deep down Jaemin is trying to gate keep Mr. Lee for as long as possible. He'll be dammed if he lets another person wax him.)
Suddenly, Jaemin is engulfed in warmness and the fresh scent of honey. Donghyuck may be oily and sticky from their waxing session, but Jaemin doesn’t mind and reciprocates the hug.
🐰❤️ 🐶
The rest of the waxing session goes well without any further hiccups. Afterall, Donghyuck is in a rush to run his errands before finally meeting his lover boy for the first time over the weekend. Jaemin is an efficient worker (when he’s not flustered by Mr. Lee) and manages to complete Donhyuck’s full body wax within the same hour.
“Bye Jaem!! I’ll see ya next week and I’ll spill all the deets then.” Donghyuck wiggles his eyebrows at Jaemin.
The younger boy smiles sincerely which earns him a hug and a wet kiss in return.
“Hyuckie! You’re squishing me!” Jaemin tries to escape Donghyuck’s deathly grip and kissy faces.
“Okay fine,” Donghyuck concedes dejectedly, “But you better let me cuddle while I tell you about my future husband!”
Jaemin rolls his eyes playfully, secretly enjoying Donghyuck’s antics.
The tanned boy takes his leave while Jaemin starts cleaning up and preparing the room for the next person.
“Oh! Looks like your next client is here already Jaem!” Donghyuck is outside with his head poking back into the room.
“Chop chop! You woudn’t want to be late to...” Donghyuck glances at the name plate across the hall, “...Mr. Lee because of me, okay bye now Nana!” Donghyuck says innocently, not knowing the inner turmoil that he has unleashed upon the younger male.
Jaemin freezes. He turns around cautiously and just as Donghyuck said, the dreaded name hanging across the hall is…
Mr. Lee!?