Ye Jun put on his best outfit. He wanted to look especially put together for his date with Si Woo as he had been looking forward to this outing, which was a first for him.
It was a Thursday night and theirs was the first paired date.
Peering at himself in the mirror, he gave himself one last look over before heading out the door.
They had agreed to meet at the XY train station. Their date was going to be simple, a visit to an art exhibition Si Woo was interested in and then dinner.
Normally the idea of peering at painting after painting would have him quickly finding an excuse to bail but, for once, Ye Jun didn't care what he had to do as long as they could spend the time together and he could explore these new found feelings.
Ye Jun spotted the sunbae in front of the theater kiosk. He cut a pretty figure in a navy sports jacket and jeans. They would look good together, he thought as he continued to make his way toward him.
“Sunbae,” he called out.
Si Woo turned. “Ye Jun-ah,” he said in greeting with an opaque smile. For a second, it felt unnatural to Ye Jun, not necessarily insincere but almost indifferent. It was such a stark difference to what he was used to and for a moment, Ye Jun was taken aback.
“Did you wait long?” he asked him.
Si Woo shook his head. “Maybe 5 minutes or so.”
They began to walk and an uncomfortable silence came over them.
“The exhibit today,” Ye Jun began, breaking the silence. “I read that it's of a Dutch painter.”
Si Woo nodded. “Jan Steen, a 17th century Dutch artist. I’ve been looking forward to it for a while now. His paintings are rather comedic but there is an evident love or perhaps obsession for his subject matter. He is known for manipulations of his subjects, turning a mundane everyday moment into something mischievous or satirically devastating.”
Ye Jun listened to him with interest but when the other paused, he wasn’t entirely sure how to respond. He knew little about painting or art; beyond a few comic books he had read in his youth, he had had very little interest in it. Unlike this sunbae.
Unlike Jong In.
He frowned as the thought intruded into his mind. Jong In was probably a better fit for the sunbae. Suddenly, there was an unpleasant taste in his mouth.
Better not to think about it.
~
“How did you like the exhibit?” Si Woo asked later that night as they sat at the restaurant Ye Jun had picked. It was a high end French restaurant known for its atmosphere. Si Woo with his stylish clothes and elegant appearance seemed well suited to the environment.
“It was fun,” Ye Jun responded and in fact, it had been. Contrary to what he had expected, Jan Steen’s paintings were animated, bordering chaotic and it was amusing trying to guess what all the characters were thinking. It was a lot like a game he had played when he was younger where he and Jong In would sit outside a convenience store near their home, waiting for their mothers to come home from work. They would sit on the stoop and guess what the passersby had done that day based on the expression they were making.
“I think that man had his butt bitten by his dog today,” he had once said, giggling at the disgruntled expression of a middle aged salaryman.
“Or he lost his panty!” Jong In had added, also giggling.
It had been fun. Ye Jun hadn’t thought about these moments in a long time. He recalled they had stopped playing it abruptly, had even stopped going to the convenience store for a while and he briefly wondered why before the memory struck him.
A young woman had passed by that day. It had been a bright and sunny afternoon though Ye Jun recalled thinking that it was too hot for autumn. They hadn’t noticed her immediately because she was fairly quiet, wiping her eyes and sniffling. They had only taken notice of her when she stopped a bit away from them and began to cry with heaving sobs.
Ye Jun remembered the feeling of Jong In’s small, warm body shift closer to his. “Maybe she lost something,” Jong In had said in a small voice as his wide eyes gazed at the woman. But Ye Jun had recognized that grief. His aunt had passed away earlier that year. He hadn’t known her well but his mother had cried like that when the phone call came. His mother had later explained to him what the phone call had meant.
But Ye Jun had decided not to share that information with Jong In that day, instead he had felt for Jong In’s hand and had gripped it tight. His young mind couldn't quite understand the meaning of that loss but he could feel the woman's grief and it had scared him.
Please. Please, Ye Jun had remembered his younger self thinking as he continued to watch the woman. I hope I don’t lose Jong In. He gripped the small hand all the more tighter as they waited for their moms on the stoop in front of the weeping woman.
“That bad?” came a deep chuckle, interrupting the sudden onslaught of memories.
Ye Jun looked up. “What?”
Si Woo pointed to his hand. He looked down and realized that he had been holding up his fork and on it was a generous heaping of the Coq Au Vin that he had ordered. He wasn’t even sure what it was… chicken… maybe? Or duck?
“No, it’s good,” he said though he hadn’t taken a single bite yet.
“Your face was saying otherwise - were you thinking of something?”
Ye Jun shook his head and took a bite. It was savory and rich, possibly a tiny bit too rich for him. Ye Jun liked such foods however, but for some reason, his taste buds were not cooperating well. Why had he remembered that all of a sudden?
“Have you been to this restaurant before?” Si Woo asked.
He answered without much thought, “Yes, it is a popular spot with a few of my previous girlfriends.”
“Oh?”
Shit. “I-I mean.” Damn, he had been thinking of other things when his mind should have been on the date.
“So this is the famous ‘Ice Prince’s’ move– bringing a girl to a fancy, expensive Western restaurant. Hmm,” he took a delicate sip of his wine, hiding a small smirk behind the glass. “Am I one of many now?”
Ye Jun set down his fork quickly. “Of course not,” he replied, almost sputtering. “It’s different this time.”
“Oh?” Si Woo arched a brow, “How so?”
“For one thing – I confessed to you.”
“And that is rare?”
Ye Jun met his eyes steadily, “You’re the first.”
“Hmm,” Si Woo smiled, “I’m quite flattered that I am the first recipient of the Ice Prince’s confession. Is it also safe to assume that I am the only man you’ve been interested in?”
Ye Jun began to nod but then paused. Somehow his body seemed not to cooperate. No, he was sure that sunbae was the only man. “Yes.”
“Ah and I am the first to incite your feelings of jealousy as well if I recall correctly?”
Again his body seemed to hesitate. “Yes,” he managed to say.
“So many firsts.” He smiled behind his glass. “I should take this seriously then.”
“I hope you do,” Ye Jun replied, though still a bit uncertain with the way his body had been responding. “I plan to as well.”
“But I’ll also be taking my pursuit of Jong In seriously. I did say it before but I am interested in him.”
Again that distasteful feeling. Jealousy. He really hated it and immediately tried to will that feeling away.
“You said so as much before,” Ye Jun replied after a moment.
If Ye Jun had revealed any of his irritation, Si Woo chose to ignore it. “And I suggest you take his courtship of you seriously as well.”
Ye Jun’s eyebrows narrowed slightly. Was he making light of his feelings? “Why? If you’re interested in him, wouldn't you not want me to take it seriously?”
“Hmm, that is true but don’t you think it’s quite unfair to Jong In? I mean he did agree to do this because of you. I know that you’re close friends and all but something like this… only someone who really cares for you would do this.”
Ye Jun’s heart throbbed. He already knew that. He didn’t need this man to tell him what he already knew. The guilt was always there, often in the background but always there. Hearing it from him, someone who was still a stranger to them, irritated him. He couldn’t possibly know the depth in which they cared for each other.
But…
This was a date and he still wanted to make a good impression, so instead of replying like he wanted to do, Ye Jun simply nodded and took another bite of the chicken-duck dish that he could barely taste.
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