Chimaek, a favorite meal amongst students, was more than just simple crispy sweet, savory chicken and beer. It was a pastime of good food, good drinks, and good friends.
It was thus rare for anyone to regret engaging in this god-tier activity of chimaek-ing.
That is what Jong In had always believed. At least, until that evening when he sat at a rectangular wooden table at the far end of the restaurant, surrounded by his two friends and a stranger, all of whom, minus one, were currently frozen, staring up at the impassive face of the man Jong In had hoped, at least a couple of hours ago, that he would have had the luck to see that day.
But that was then.
Now, he prayed that he could run far away and out of sight.
It had to be a joke played by fate. Some cosmic power must have decided that it would be some good fun to do a little prank on him. It had to be. Otherwise, why would the man he had been in love with since he was twelve years old, the man he had so desperately wanted to see but refused to see him, suddenly be staring down at him when the lips of another man hovered over his in a near kiss.
Jong In wondered, his mind hazy, how it was that they had even gotten to this point.
Right. They had been drinking. And like for many, the drink made Jong In and his friends lose their reasoning. The awkwardness that often came to him when meeting strangers melted away with that yellow-golden liquid and melted even faster when accompanied with several friendly, well known drinking games.
He had been laughing openly with his friends just a few minutes ago when Si Woo suggested a new game for them to play. It required the player to use pickup lines with the intention to get their opponent to react and if they succeed, the opponent drinks, if they fail then the player drinks.
Somehow, likely after copious amounts of beer, the game had evolved to the point where instead of words they had begun to use physical touches to incite a reaction.
Ji Soo had successfully made Hwan’s eyes widen by pressing a kiss against his finger tips. Though Jong In speculated that tongue had been involved as she had winked a second later, which would have been expected of her if she did in fact add a little bit more to the act. And since skinship was not uncommon between those two individuals, a simple kiss would not have incited such a reaction in the often composed Hwan.
Then it was Si Woo’s turn against Jong In, who had turned to him with his best poker face, waiting to see what the older man would do. Perhaps it was the beer but Jong In had met the man’s gaze straight on, daring him to do his best. In response, Si Woo had smirked, leaning forward, his eyelids dropping marginally and Jong In had wondered, in that split second, if he was about to kiss him.
But instead, Si Woo had simply moved forward, his eye contact never wavering, and had placed his palm flat against Jong In’s chest.
Jong In willed himself not to react, alcohol having always made him a bit bold, a bit competitive. He then felt a slight pressure from the hand, slowly moving in small, circular motions.
Is he rubbing my chest?
He heard a soft laugh leave Si Woo’s lips.
“You really are cute,” he whispered and Jong In forced himself to remain still.
He wouldn’t allow himself to fall for this, that was the point of the game after all.
“You’re unexpectedly tough,” Si Woo said with a smile as he shifted his chair closer.
Jong In could feel his breath against his cheek. He braced himself as he wondered if he would actually kiss him, a near stranger, one he had met only a few hours ago.
Suddenly, Si Woo grasped him by the front of his shirt and jerked him down, closing the few inches that had been between them. Then Jong In felt the soft touch of lips barely against his but not quite on it.
He should have jerked away. No amount of preparation would have saved him from this move, Jong In realized. So it was ironic that an external force that had the opposite effect of maintaining his composure had in fact saved him from losing this insignificant game.
“What are you doing?” came a cold voice from above them.
Jong In looked up, the alcohol in his system making him move just slightly slower than normal. When his eyes met the owner of the voice, it was then that he finally reacted. But since it was not in response to Si Woo, he did not lose. At least that is what his muddled brain was thinking until the face of the man staring down at him finally registered.
“Y-Ye Jun…”
“Oh, it's Han Ye Jun!” came Ji Soo’s slurred voice from their left. “Woah, Mr. Popular, I thought you were too busy to come,” she said, perfunctorily patting Hwan’s head, which lay resting atop her shoulder.
Ye Jun’s gaze did not leave Jong In’s.
In a delayed act, Jong In pushed Si Woo’s hand off his chest. “W-What are you doing here?” His gaze made him restless for some reason. He looked angry.
“What are you doing?” Ye Jun repeated himself after a long moment of silence.
“We – we were playing a game.”
“Who is he?” Ye Jun said, curtly referring to Si Woo who was watching them quietly.
"Are you just going to stand there and stare?” said Ji Soo, her voice cutting through the tension. “Sit!"
Ye Jun glanced once more at Jong In before pulling up a chair and sitting opposite the duo.
"Enough with the soju," Ji Soo said, yanking the shot glass out of Hwan's hand. "Who's going to take you home if you're wasted?"
For a moment, the others watched as she chided the obviously inebriated Hwan, who had reached over and idly stroked the soft hair at her temple. But as usual, Ji Soo was unfazed.
"H-How… how have you been?" asked Jong In, pulling Ye Jun’s gaze back to him.
Ye Jun turned to look at him and paused. It had been four months since he last saw Jong In, the longest period in which they had not spoken.
It was strange. He had been successfully avoiding him all this time and it had taken little to no effort to do so. Despite the fact that he was always consciously aware that he had not met up with his oldest and closest friend, he had not felt any temptation to break the lack of contact.
That was, until today.
Earlier that day, he had received a text from Ji Soo, asking if he wanted to grab some chicken and beer. He had refused, stating he had previous plans, which was true but it hadn’t been the real reason. He had rejected her because he had known that Jong In would be joining.
“Alright, jerk but show your face once in a while otherwise, you’ll become a stranger,” came Ji Soo’s reply and that had struck a chord within him. So when he later met up with his friends and they had asked him where he wanted to eat, he had, before he knew it, suggested the name of the restaurant.
Upon entering the chimaek place, he had sat down with his friends, and his gaze automatically scanned the faces around them, looking for one particular individual. But Jong In was nowhere to be seen.
He stood even as his friends set the menu before him and began to walk around until he finally spotted a familiar green jacket at the far back corner of the restaurant, almost hidden from view.
Ye Jun had hesitated for a moment before making his way toward them. He knew, even as he began to walk, that he shouldn’t have gone, shouldn’t have even gone to the restaurant. He had told himself that it was all for Jong In’s sake, their friendship, and for some reason, himself.
But just as he was convincing himself to turn back, he saw them, or rather he saw him.
Jong In.
In a compromising position with a stranger.
And he became inexplicably angry.
Was this what he had distanced himself for? His best friend, who he believed– no, knew was in love with him, thus forcing Ye Jun to keep a distance between them to save their friendship only to see him embraced by another man?
What the hell? He had had to change this way of life because of this decision. It had become almost instinct after sixteen years to respond to Jong In’s call and message right away, to eat with him, to sit with him, to walk home with him, to nap in his room, to just be next to him. It may have been easy for him to put a halt to this but Ye Jun had not liked it.
And the possibility that it was for naught, that Jong In’s feelings for him may not have been sincere pissed him off.
Shit. He was incredibly annoyed.
But then, he thought as he gazed at Jong In’s startled and flushed expression, it hit him. Perhaps this was the answer. If Jong In could turn his romantic feelings elsewhere then they could save their friendship.
Ye Jun turned to look at the unfamiliar face next to Jong In. He was beautiful, so much so that even Ye Jun had some difficulty in not staring. That only made it all the better because he was certain that Ye Jun’s face had played a part in Jong In’s romantic interest in him, which meant only a good looking guy would do as his replacement.
And judging by the position they had been in earlier, it seemed as though the man may have already shown interest in Jong In.
This was good. If only he could now play it through, push Jong In that direction.... And he was certain that he would be able to do so. After all, despite Jong In’s grumbles, he often listened to him.
Ji Soo’s voice rang somewhere to his right. He turned to look at her.
“What’s with your expression?” she asked with an arched brow.
Why? Was his pleasure at the thought of a solution showing on his face?
“You look pissed.”
“What?” That wasn’t what he was feeling though. No, he was glad. The solution was right in front of him. “I’m smiling.” He smiled or at least, he thought he did.
“Okay…” she said slowly, after taking in his expression. “Anyways, I thought you said you weren’t coming.”
“Yeah, I can’t stay. I’m here with my friends. I just wanted to see what you guys were up to.”
Ji Soo scoffed. “Now you’re too popular for even us, huh? You don’t show your face around all break and suddenly you’re here? What – are you feeling guilty?”
Ye Jun paused for a moment. He had forgotten that Ji Soo tended to be rather direct, sometimes even tactless. But she was rarely wrong. He was feeling guilty, at least that was some of what he was feeling.
He peered back at Jong In’s face. “Yeah, I guess so,” he said, responding to Ji Soo but his eyes were still on Jong In’s. “Anyways, who is this guy?”
“Huh, you’re as rude as ever,” she replied but smiled as she turned to introduce him. “Oppa, this is Han Ye Jun. Ye Jun, this is Go Si Woo. He’s technically your sunbae, he graduated from our university a few years ago, went to the US to finish his grad studies and now he’s back to assist a professor with a project.”
“Ah,” Ye Jun bowed a perfunctory greeting. He still didn’t quite feel like warming up to the man.
“Um… how have you been, Ye Jun?” asked Jong In after a moment’s silence. Ye Jun caught the hitch of nervousness in his voice and for some reason, that put him at ease.
He smiled. “I’ve been good. My parents and I went to Bali over the break.”
“Ah yeah, my mom mentioned.”
“And what about you?” he asked though he already knew the answer thanks to their mothers being close.
“My sister and I went to Australia to see my dad.”
He nodded. “And you two?” he asked Ji Soo and Hwan, who was still resting his cheek against Ji Soo’s shoulder.
“Just the normal stuff, helped at my mom’s food stall. Hwan helped too though only when he wasn’t busy with his whole family business.” She poked his cheek. “I always thought it would be nice being born rich and all but watching this guy, I realized it isn’t all that.”
Ye Jun smiled. It felt nice talking to his friends. He had missed this. He turned back to Jong In, whose eyes had seemingly not once left his face. He opened his mouth to say something when a voice interrupted them.
“Hey, Ye Jun! There you are, man,” a friend from his department, called to him from a few feet away. “We were all looking for you. Hana is here so we’re going to order.”
Ye Jun glanced sideways at Jong In, whose gaze had lowered slightly onto the table. Yeah, this was the best course of action, to push Jong In toward this new guy. Then he wouldn’t feel so dejected everytime Ye Jun had to leave.
“Alright, tell them I’ll be right there,” he called back then turned to Si Woo. “It was nice meeting you, sunbae. I hope you take really good care of my friends,” he said, his words and smile heavy with meaning. He stood and nodded at the others.
Jong In briefly glanced at him and Ye Jun could see the disappointed look in his eyes. He knew that he wanted to ask him to stay. They had barely spoken to each other.
Ye Jun opened his mouth to say something but then paused. No, this was the right way, better to continue maintaining a distance.
And with that plan in place, Ye Jun felt an odd mix of relief and unease as he walked away from his closest friend, leaving him in the care of a stranger.
Comments (3)
See all