“So why did you want to see me?” Si Woo asked, dropping the cigarette in his hand and stomping it out.
The sunbae was sitting on the backdoor stoop of a building that rarely saw any activity. Ye Jun moved until he stood in front of him and stared down at the man. For a moment, Ye Jun felt a strange assurance from this angle.
As he gazed at him, Ye Jun assessed him. He knew that he was good looking and from what he could tell from previous encounters, he was also straightforward and charming. A requirement for Jong In, at least one that Ye Jun had for him.
The realization alone should have mattered but for some reason the position was important as well.
Ye Jun stared down at the wide mouth, and sharp slightly upturned eyes and felt a tightening in his chest.
“So what is it that you want?” the sunbae asked again as he moved to stand.
Damn.
“I wanted to talk to you about Jong In.”
Si Woo looked back at him steadily. Earlier that week, he had asked Ji Soo about this man who had barged in on their gathering in the chimaek restaurant. It was then that he had found out that Han Ye Jun was known as the campus prince – handsome, from a fairly well-off family, friendly, liked by all, and Jong In’s childhood friend. He had been given the moniker ‘Ice Prince’ his first year in high school due to his notable lack of jealousy with any of the women he had dated and apparently, that had followed him into the university.
It was curious for a straight man who had a penchant for not being jealous to ask him to meet simply to talk about his friend. A friend who happened to be male and whom, according to Ji Soo, he happened to be avoiding, though she had refused to divulge the reason why.
“What about Jong In?”
“I couldn’t help but notice,” he began and Si Woo noticed that he was meeting his eyes rather intensely, “how close you have gotten with him.”
Ahh. Was he about to witness a momentous occasion in this young man’s history?
“We may have…. What does that have to do with you?”
Si Woo idly wondered if the young man noticed that his eyes had narrowed slightly and that he now stood a little taller. “It’s strange. You see, Jong In is not the type to get close to strangers.”
“I’m hardly a stranger now.”
The look upon Ye Jun’s face almost looked like a snarl to Si Woo. “It makes me think that perhaps he’s interested in you.”
Si Woo blinked. “Who? Jong In?”
“Yes,” he replied through gritted teeth. “Who else would I be talking about?”
Si Woo looked at the young man thoughtfully. What was he getting at, he wondered.
“I want to help you.”
Si Woo pulled out another cigarette and dug through his pockets for a lighter. “With what?”
“With Jong In.” Si Woo’s hand paused in his pocket. Ye Jun suddenly looked uncomfortable. “I don’t know if you know anything about Jong In. He is my best friend.”
Curious.
Ye Jun winced. “And it’s not exactly my place to say this but… he has feelings for me.”
And that explained the distance Ji Soo had referenced.
“Hmm,” Si Woo replied as his hand continued searching for the lighter.
“I can’t return those feelings.”
He paused again, the cigarette in his mouth and the lighter raised toward his lips. Ahh. “Why not?” he asked though he already had an idea why.
“I like women.”
“Are you sure that Jong In has romantic feelings for you?”
Ye Jun watched as he lit his cigarette. How could he possibly not know? He thought about all the times Jong In would wake him up in the morning despite grumbling, how he waited for him outside of class to eat lunch or walk home, how he caught him staring at him throughout different periods of the day. Jong In would almost monopolize his time, making it difficult for Ye Jun to hang out with anyone else who was not Ji Soo or Hwan since most others found Jong In’s lack of social skills to be annoying.
Then there were the girls who were interested in Ye Jun. Jong In would never purposely butt into their conversations but he would always be within eyeshot, waiting for him as he talked to her, trying to hide that somewhat dejected look that always made Ye Jun feel guilty.
He shook his head. “I just know. You too should realize by now just how transparent Jong In is.”
“Hmm.” Si Woo blew out a puff of gray smoke and Ye Jun idly noticed that the cold had made his lips bright pink. “I can’t deny that I haven’t noticed. Do his feelings burden you?”
Ye Jun looked at him sharply. He hadn’t been expecting that question. He himself had never considered it. Were Jong In’s affections burdensome? He couldn’t deny that they had put him in some uncomfortable positions like the first time he had taken his then girlfriend to his house.
His parents had both been out of town for a business meeting and he had expected they would be alone that night but just as they arrived at his house, he had found Jong In waiting for him outside.
True, it had been his fault as he had forgotten to contact Jong In earlier that day to tell him that he would not be walking home with him but what ensued was an awkward exchange when Jong In didn’t immediately leave once he saw Ye Jun’s girlfriend. She had then, out of annoyance, asked Jong In what his problem was, why he was always following Ye Jun around, and why he couldn’t get the hint that he was unwanted. Ye Jun had snapped and had immediately broken up with her but he had also gotten into a fight with Jong In that night and had, for the first time, asked him for some space when it came to his girlfriends.
It had been one of their biggest fights and Ye Jun could still remember the surprised look on Jong In’s face as he apologized and went home.
He sighed. “That’s besides the point,” he replied.
“Huh.” Si Woo watched him closely then added, “What makes you think I’m even interested in Jong In?”
Ye Jun merely gave him a pointed look.
Si Woo chuckled and held up the hand that had his cigarette. “That obvious, huh? Alright, you are right, I am interested in him. It’s not often one meets such an open book, I find him cute.” He took a final puff of his cigarette and stamped it out. “And you want to help me because you can’t return his affections –”
“I don’t want to lose him,” Ye Jun interrupted, not giving Si Woo a chance to get the wrong idea.
He looked at him more closely, surprised at Ye Jun’s tone.
“He’s important to me.”
Si Woo was quiet for a moment before adding, “And you feel that if he likes someone else then the burden of his affections won’t put a wedge between you two?”
His reply was soft. “Yes.”
“How exactly do you plan to help me?”
“There is no one else who knows him as well as I do, and by now you know that he doesn’t warm up to people well. I can help you win him over. But –” he paused for a moment and Si Woo noticed his gaze intensify, “I want you to promise that you’ll treat him well and you won’t hurt him.”
Si Woo didn’t immediately respond, instead cocking his head slightly to peer at the man even more closely. “There isn’t any assurance that he will reciprocate any interest I send his way and, as to my feelings, my interest is simply that, interest.”
Ye Jun’s hands suddenly clenched into fists. “If you have no feelings for him then what is with you? Are you playing with him?”
He shrugged, “Nothing as malicious as that. I am interested, that much is true. In fact, I haven’t been this interested in anyone in a long time.”
Ye Jun unclenched his fists.
Interesting, Si Woo thought, wondering why it was that it mattered so much to him. Even if they were friends, wasn’t his response just a little too extreme for friends?
“So?”
“So what?”
“Promise me.”
Si Woo tried not to laugh. Were they in grade school? Why make such a promise when there was so much uncertainty about the future?
He threw down his cigarette and stamped it out. Ah, why not?
“Alright,” he said, his eyes meeting Ye Jun’s again. “I promise I won’t hurt him.”
Ye Jun’s gaze was intense as though he was searching for any trace of deception in his face. After a moment however, he nodded as if satisfied with what he saw.
“Give me your number,” he said, pulling out his phone slowly as though his limbs were weighed with something heavy.
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