“It’s not about a girl,” I clarified.

“Who, then, is to blame for your awful day?”

“Well, something strange happened to me today.” I looked down at Alex, who was frowning over the situation.

“Oh, please, tell us,” everyone exclaimed in chorus.

While Alex remained uninterested, I reasoned that saying it would make things a lot more intriguing. But I suppose there’s no harm in acknowledging it.

“Come on, Chen,” they said in unison. “Don’t be a downer, man.”

When I realized how humorous that would be, my face reddened. “Well,” I said after finishing the last drop of my beer and clearing my throat. Everyone felt hushed and prepared to listen to me. “Something interesting happened to me before I arrived here.”

“Can you tell me what happened to you?” Jun inquired.

“I ran into this guy and landed on the ground and…” I paused and cast a glance at Alex.

“And?” they all inquired, pushing forward in my direction and gesturing for me to continue the story.

I continued as I let go of Alex’s concentrated, troubled expression on his face as he raised his bottle to drink. 

“And then… we accidentally kissed.”

Alex sprayed his beer and coughed as he slowly turned his head toward me, his eyes widening in surprise. As our gazes locked, I grinned and averted my gaze. 

Alex, why does it have to be you out of all the people?

It’s fascinating to observe how people alter when they try to reject the reality of the situation. It was allegedly about the man I kissed hours before I arrived at this location in this case.

If someone is hiding something from you, that person will show clear indications that only those who are skilled at flirting around will know and understand. 

First, he acts as though he is guilty. 

Second, he keeps his responses to a minimum. 

Third, he takes a defensive stance. 

Fourth, to hide them, he asks random or unconnected queries. 

Fifth, he is unsettled.

My instincts are telling me it was Alex. 

When I checked him from head to toe while he drank many glasses of that drink, it was evident. The man was dressed in the same obnoxious jacket. To get a better look at him, I slid my handkerchief behind his chair.

Then I lifted it to give me a nice opportunity to bend closer to his back and smell his nape. That odor. He smelled the same as that guy. I couldn’t stop grinning.

“Are you doing okay, dude?” Henry inquired, tapping and shaking Alex’s shoulder to relieve his agony. He handed a box of tissue paper to Alex.

“Yeah… oh, thanks,” Alex mumbled while wiping the spilled drinks on the table and his pants with tissue paper.

Over the years, hanging out and hooking up with girls presented obstacles I could never have imagined. So, in the flash of an eye, I could decipher the message behind every motion, every step, and every gesture they make. 

Given that he’s a man, it was no surprise that I could comprehend him at this point. I could read Alex plainly no matter how many times he denied it. The water is crystal clear. 

Alex pursed his lips and feigned a chuckle at the time, fooling everyone into thinking he was fine. It was novel to scan a man like him as if he were a woman. 

In this case, it’s going to be a lot of fun.

“Did you recognize that man?” Jun gave me a suspicious glance.

“I’d say he’s a recognizable face to me. But, as you know, the snow was obstructing my vision. So, even though I knew who that man was, I couldn’t tell you who he was,” I explained while looking at that person, whom I was talking about, sitting next to me.

Alex proceeded to express his dissatisfaction. Within a minute, he was downing glasses of beer and sweating profusely on his brow. Before I can prove my theories, I simply needed one more indication. Let’s wait and watch what he does next.

“I don’t believe I need to stay here for long. Do you need to talk to me about any changes?” Alex, who was suddenly frantic, pulled himself up in a rush.

In an attempt to hide my grin, I accidentally bit my lower lip. Wow, it’s strange to be sitting next to the first man I ever kissed. Who’d have guessed something like this could happen?

“I guess there aren’t any,” Mark replied with a worried expression on his face.

“All right, I’ve got to go,” Alex said as he gathered his belongings.

“However, why?” Mark attempted to stop him. “It’s not even past midnight.”

“I’m sorry, I am not feeling well… I got to go home and rest.”

“Okay, hope you will be fine soon.” Henry waved his hand, watching his friend and bandmate walk away.

I felt compelled to follow him at that point. 

So, I got up and gathered my belongings in a rush, too. 

“Excuse me, too.”

“Can you tell me where you’re going?” Jun was curious.

I smiled and winked without saying anything. I smiled as I traced Alex’s path behind me. 

Back there, I couldn’t quit thinking about how cute Alex looked. My mind was racing with ideas regarding his profile.

As far as I know, Alex doesn’t have a girlfriend and has been a lone wolf, often disinterested in even a school flirtation. Although we’ve been rivals since the first year in the university, I’ve never walked so close to him before that we were almost touching each other.

Then, all of a sudden, he came to a complete stop. 

“Can you tell me why you’re following me?” Alex scowled as he turned to face me.

In response to his annoyance, I couldn’t help but smile. “Alex, let’s not go off on a tangent here.”

“What the fuck are you talking about? First of all, I asked you first. Why are you following me?”

I shrugged and refused to answer him. 

As I got closer to him, he continued to mumble and take steps away from me. 

“I knew you were the guy I ran into today.” 

Let’s see what you have to say.

Alex didn’t respond, but the look in his eyes said otherwise. 

I walked quickly to reach him and grabbed his hand, pulling him close to me as he turned his back, apparently irritated. Then, as he tried to flee, I placed my fingers around his neck, tracing his skin with my fingertips.

“This is known as The Locking Phase,” I stated, causing Alex to become even more agitated. 

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“You purposefully lock the guy to demonstrate authority and consume him into submission.”

“What the heck are you up to, scumbag?”

I locked my gaze on his, intending on demonstrating complete dominance over him. He flinched and averted his gaze from mine. 

“You are an interesting individual, Alex.” 

He pushed me away in an attempt to flee, but he only managed to get away until I pinned him against the wall.

I took his chin in my hands and gently raised it. 

With our faces close together, I could smell his drink and saw his eyes blazing at me, inviting me, luring me to take him into my grip.

“Is this how you go about picking up women?” Alex inquired with his voice gruff but high-pitched and whispering.

“Why does that bother you, Alex?”

“Fuck you, Chen.”

“I’m sure no one has ever heard you speak like that before.” I noticed his brows furrowed in rage as he gazed at me. His mouth slightly opened in disbelief as he pushed my hand away from his face. “It’s a little too seductive. Too appealing.”

“Now, what are you attempting to accomplish? You want to fuck me?” He pushed me too hard, causing me to fall on the wet ground. At this point, Alex became more agitated.

Rather than being afraid of what he stated, I felt the opposite. In my eardrums, his speech, which was loaded with dread and terror, sounded too attractive. “Wow, you’re quite sharp, Alex. I didn’t know you remembered that.” I let out a sarcastic smile. “I like that.”

He pushed me hard when he noticed I was caught off-guard and punched me in the face with his hands clenched so tight that his knuckles became white.

When I wiped my cheek, I discovered blood on my palm. Without thinking, I ran towards him, raising my arm to seize his shirt and slamming it into his face. Blood gushed out of his cheeks and crawled down his face. My cheek was swollen and covered in blood when he landed another punch.

He pulled me after I eventually tugged his collar after minutes of fist fighting. 

“You, stupid—” 

But then, he slipped. With his hands gripped on my shirt, I was pulled down. Things happened way too fast that I was already on top of him on the ground before I realized it. 

It was already too late when I saw that our lips had touched while I was staring at him. Again.

When it happened, I felt a familiar sensation that I had for the first time flooding through me. I don’t want to become accustomed to it, but I couldn’t stop myself from tasting his lips.

At the time, unfortunately, I had heard that a group of students was on its way. So, when I turned to face them, my eyes widened, and so did Alex. 

We were both taken aback when we learned they weren’t just a group of students, but the members of our band and the student council. Holy shit.

We were both torn apart from each other and taken to the hospital to seek medical treatment for the injuries sustained in our fight.