“Are you gay?”
It was precisely 5:27PM on a Friday afternoon when Go Si Woo, a man Jong In had met only the other week, a man he barely knew, asked this of him.
They were alone in the club room. Ji Soo and Hwan, having a late class that day, were planning to meet up with them later.
Jong In stared at him, surprised. “W-What? What kind of question is that?”
Si Woo watched him calmly. In the nine days that he had come to know Jong In, he found that he enjoyed doing this, talking to him, teasing him.
There was nothing particularly outstanding about Lee Jong In. In fact, if anything, he was a little plain and quiet. Often in t-shirts and jeans and a plain green jacket, his sense of fashion was non-existent. His hair was thick and shiny but short and in a style often seen in children, not university students. He was also quiet and well behaved, hiding in the background and blending into the crowd. But despite all that, there was something attractive about him.
“I’m just curious,” he said, nonchalantly as though the answer did not matter. His hand reached out and he brushed a stray eyelash from Jong In’s cheek.
He jerked away and Si Woo had to repress a smile. “That’s none of your business.”
“You’re so diligent,” Si Woo stated softly as he watched Jong In turn back to his laptop.
Jong In ignored him.
Si Woo watched him silently for a few minutes and could tell by the tense posture that Jong In was perfectly aware of this fact. “Perhaps,” he said slowly, his voice imbued with meaning, “it isn’t that you like men but that you like a particular man.”
Even with his downturned face, Si Woo could tell exactly when Jong In’s eyes widened and he wondered idly if he knew just how obvious he was being.
But Jong In responded as though his words had no effect, much to Si Woo’s amusement. “Again,” he replied, his gaze still turned away and his tone cold, “it isn’t any of your business.”
Si Woo ignored him. “Is it your friend? The one we met at the restaurant the other night?”
This time, Jong In’s entire body froze.
Si Woo smiled again. He’s like an open book. How cute.
“The script here is not optimized, Ji Soo said something about implementing a continuous loop.”
“So diligent,” he said again, with a soft smile. And Lee Jong In truly was that, diligent and serious, giving all that he could even to a farming project that he joined simply to help a friend and one from which he may not even get any compensation. That in and of itself was quite endearing.
Si Woo leaned back as he watched Jong In furiously return to the project, his brows furrowed. And as he continued to watch him, Si Woo was again struck by the realization that this somewhat plain man had somehow wholeheartedly grabbed his attention. He wondered if this was one of those situations where a person’s personality could entirely alter the way that they were perceived.
“Do you want to grab a drink after this?” Si Woo asked, leaning over his shoulder.
Jong In jumped and turned around. On his face was an expression that said that he had clearly forgotten that Si Woo was there.
And that was one of the reasons why this little imp kept catching his attention. Si Woo was not the type whose presence was so easily forgotten and yet Jong In’s focus almost always shifted away from him unless he actively engaging him in a conversation.
“Why would we go drinking?”
“Well… we’ve been working together for more than a week but I hardly feel like I know you any better. Doing so could only benefit how we work together.”
Jong In didn’t take the bait. “I don’t see the benefit. Why should our personal relationship affect our working relationship? This is business and it makes no sense to mix the two.” He then immediately returned his gaze to the screen.
There he goes again. Blunt to a damn fault.
Somewhat peeved, Si Woo picked up his pen and purposely began to spin it on its side atop the table. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Jong In stop what he was doing. Si Woo internally smirked. So, he was not entirely immune to all external distractions.
A moment later however, Jong In returned to typing on his computer despite Si Woo’s continued attempts to distract him.
Si Woo paused, finding that odd. Based on Jong In’s earlier response to his proposal to go drinking, he had expected Jong In to immediately demand he cease but instead, he quietly continued working.
Si Woo wondered why he did not just simply tell him to stop. Did he feel discomfort at demanding him to do so? But he seemed to feel no reservation to shut down his questions and invitations earlier, so then why? Despite his blunt way of speaking, was he shy?
Si Woo continued to twirl the pen, idly thinking. Then he watched as, a moment later, Jong In paused in his work once more and his fists clenched tightly atop the laptop but again, he said nothing and his eyes remained averted.
Curious. He was obviously irritated so then why didn’t he just tell him to stop?
Si Woo wondered just how long it would take until Jong In’s patience snapped. He was almost tempted to find out.
“You know,” he said after a while, tired of his own antics. “If we were closer, I’d try not to test you like this.”
Jong In looked up and he noticed a refreshing innocence in his eyes before they narrowed into a glare. “Why are you testing me? And why would we have to be close for you not to be irritating?”
Si Woo chuckled, “So blunt.” And yet why, he wondered, was he able to call him irritating but not tell him to stop?
He smiled and leaned forward, putting his weight onto his elbows until his face was only several inches away from Jong In’s. “You pique my interest.”
When Jong In didn’t respond, he couldn’t help adding, “Aren’t you curious as to why?”
Si Woo could almost see the wheels turning in his head as though his body was warring between curiosity and annoyance. Then a moment later he sighed and closed his laptop, turning to him with an expression that couldn’t hide the irritation he felt.
“Cute,” Si Woo said aloud, without thinking.
Jong In’s eyes widened then quickly flickered to the door like a trapped prey who was looking for a route to escape. Si Woo, who wasn’t familiar with such behavior, became even more interested in the man before him.
He took out his phone to send a text to Ji Soo and made his way toward the door.
“Come,” he said suddenly, without turning around, perfectly aware that Jong In was watching him.
“W-What?” he replied, flustered with the rapid changes in Si Woo’s actions.
“I’m going to buy you some bingsoo.”
“W-What?”
“Ji Soo said you have a sweet tooth for it, especially during cold days, and it helps in improving your mood. Although it is strange that you crave it when it's cold, I find that endearing as well.”
“Why would you buy me anything?” Jong In asked, suspiciously but Si Woo noticed that he was slowly moving to put his laptop into his backpack. Cute.
Si Woo laughed. “As an apology for irritating you?”
“Is this a ‘provide the cure after feeding poison’ kind of scenario?”
Si Woo laughed again. “Something like that.”
Then surprisingly, after a moment of deliberation, Jong In simply packed up and followed Si Woo out the door.
~
Patbingsoo. That was Lee Jong In’s favorite food, especially on cold winter nights.
Ever since their first year in middle school, every winter he and Jong In had gone to a cafe after cram school simply because he wanted the red bean shaved ice dessert, an option that was the least popular for students their age.
He recalled thinking, many times, how Jong In’s taste buds were like that of an old man’s. He couldn’t help imagining an old Jong In, still small and thin, eating nearly a whole bowl meant for four all by himself. It was endearing, so much so that Ye Jun had always looked forward to it come winter.
And that was why Ye Jun had believed that for the rest of their lives, Jong In would always partake in that strange winter night’s activity with him. And with this self-imposed embargo on hanging out together, Ye Jun had expected Jong In to forgo the activity until Ye Jun deemed them ready to resume their friendship.
It was thus, a bit of a shock for him when he happened to be passing by with a sunbae from school, a woman who he was, at the time, considering dating and she had gazed into the cafe window to their left, drawn by the bright light illuminating the relative darkness around them. She had made a comment that the cafe looked warm and that they should stop by for a cup of coffee. Ye Jun had nonchalantly turned to look simply out of politeness.
But he had seen him. Lee Jong In enjoying a large bowl of patbingsoo, an activity they had done together many times in the years he had known him.
But, this time, he was there without him.
Even worse, he was there with someone else who was not him.
Ye Jun stood frozen for a moment. He was surprised, unexpectedly so. He had always assumed that this activity was reserved for him and him alone.
His gaze turned to the bastard who had taken his place and Ye Jun was stunned to see that sunbae again, the one he had met in the chimaek restaurant a few nights ago. Were they already so close that Jong In would take him to eat bingsoo on a random winter’s night?
He peered closely at Jong In’s face but saw that he wore the same indifferent expression he wore with almost everyone but himself and occasionally Ji Soo and Hwan. He turned his head to look back at the sunbae and through the warm light of the cafe, he was struck by the same thought that the sunbae was uncommonly attractive.
The sharp, slightly upturned eyes in particular caught his attention. And they were gazing at Jong In as though he was the most interesting person in the world.
He idly wondered if perhaps the sunbae was gay too.
Ye Jun watched as the man held out a spoon full of the shaved ice and sweet bean sauce, topped with a rather large piece of mochi.
He knew that Jong In wouldn’t take it, he wasn’t the type to accept such affections easily but then his eyes widened when after a long moment, long enough for the gesture to become awkward, he saw Jong In part his lips and accept the offering.
Ye Jun jerked when he felt a soft touch on his arm. He looked down to see the sunbae he was with, staring up at him with a concerned expression. Her cheeks were pink from the cold wind. He had been staring into the cafe in the cold for who knows how long.
“Sorry, sunbae, what did you say?”
“I said, are you okay? You were tensing up.” She gazed into the packed cafe, “is there someone in there that you know?”
His gaze went briefly back to Jong In and the sunbae. “No,” he said, after a moment, “I was just thinking that the bingsoo looked good.”
She laughed. “It’s so cold, why would you want that now?”
“Haha, you’re right…” he replied, as he turned away from the warm light of the cafe. “Why would I possibly want that now?”
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