“Do you want anything to drink?” asked Si Woo as he let Ye Jun into his apartment and made his way to the kitchen. Ye Jun looked around and spotted Jong In sitting awkwardly on the pristine white couch in the living room. He took off his coat and sat down next to him, leaving a few inches between them. The atmosphere around him was already painfully awkward and it immediately began to affect Ye Jun.
A moment later, Si Woo made his way back into the living room, holding several bottles of soju and a large bottle of red wine and vodka. “I figured a few drinks would probably make us feel more at ease,” he said with a smile.
Ye Jun agreed silently but wholeheartedly. They poured each other a shot of soju each.
“Should we make a game of it?” asked Si Woo.
Ye Jun glanced at Jong In who was staring uncomfortably at the wine bottle as though he could make out the foreign script. New experiences often made him nervous.
“Let’s do that,” Ye Jun said, hoping it’d ease the mood in the room.
Si Woo took a seat in the chair across from the sofa. “Let’s play a game I learned in the US. It’s very simple. I will start by saying something I have never done and if either of you have done it, you drink. Sounds easy, right?”
Ye Jun glanced over at Jong In once more. The game seemed innocent enough but it could easily become intrusive. And it wasn’t as though Ye Jun really needed Jong In to play the game, he knew him well, probably better than anyone else in his life. He turned to look at Si Woo, who was smiling patiently. But then again, it was a good opportunity to learn more about the sunbae, someone who, it turned out, was fairly secretive. Ye Jun really knew nothing about the man.
“Alright,” he said after a moment, internally apologizing to Jong In.
“Good! What about you, Jong In?” Si Woo asked, turning him.
Jong In briefly glanced at Ye Jun.
“Okay,” he mumbled softly after a moment.
“Perfect,” Si Woo replied, smiling. “I’ll start. Never have I ever gone out with a woman.”
Ye Jun looked at the sunbae, slightly confused. It seemed almost like he was targeting him.
“I believe,” the older man said, “you should drink, Mr. Han.”
Ye Jun downed the shot. So that was how it’s done. The goal was to make the others drink. Since he knew Jong In well and he didn’t exactly want to get him drunk, Si Woo was going to be his target.
“Never have I ever dated a man,” he said since they hadn’t officially begun dating yet.
Si Woo grinned. “I see you get the point of the game.”
Pleased by the compliment, Ye Jun mentally slapped himself on the back when to his surprise, Jong In also raised his glass and took a shot. He quickly turned to look at him.
His mouth opened involuntarily and fell into the form of an ‘O’. Who? And when? When did he…?
“Your turn, Jong In,” said Si Woo and Ye Jun looked up to see the sunbae watching him.
Jong In looked between, his gaze darting awkwardly. “Never have I ever,” he began, “been a teacher’s assistant.”
“So cruel, an obvious attack on me,” snickered Si Woo as he took another drink. “But Jong In,” he said as he set his glass down, “You should try for juicer prompts, when else will you get the chance to learn intimate details about us?”
“I thought the goal was to drink so I am using the information I have on hand to do that.”
Si Woo laughed. “Why am I not surprised? Alright then I’ll make my questions juicier to make up for yours.” He looked around for a moment and his eyes settled on the pillows behind Jong In, “Never have I ever had a sex dream of someone in this room.”
Ye Jun hesitated but took his shot. Damn, he hadn’t expected to admit to it so soon and especially not with Jong In in the room. Setting his glass down, he took a peek in Jong In’s direction to see if he had seen him only to pause when he saw Jong In also take a shot.
That was twice now, twice Jong In’s answer had surprised him. Who was it that he had dreamt of? Was it him or was it the sunbae?
Jong In had barely looked at him the entire time, his gaze more than not on Si Woo. At first, Ye Jun had thought that perhaps Jong In was simply avoiding him due to the awkwardness but now he wondered if perhaps he had developed an interest in the sunbae. And to make matters worse, Si Woo’s attention seemed to focus more on Jong In as well.
Ye Jun’s hands clenched into fists, this game wasn’t at all going the way he wanted.
He turned to Si Woo a bit more vehemently than he had planned. “My turn,” he said, looking at him. “Never have I ever been in love.”
Ye Jun watched curiously as the sunbae hesitated before lifting his glass to his lips. So he had been in love before or perhaps he was in love now…. Perhaps… Jong In? He turned his head to look at his childhood friend, whose demeanor was awkward and whose eyes were on his empty shot glass.
Damn, he hadn’t been thinking.
But like a trooper, Jong In continued with the game, this time targeting Ye Jun with his knowledge of his bad sleeping habits, once again reaffirming his belief that Jong In would never ignore him. The game continued for a few more rounds before Si Woo put a stop to it. By then everyone was much less sober.
“I’ll admit, I’m not sure how exactly to set the mood,” he said cheerfully, “so I guess, I’ll just have to be direct.” He sat down on the spot next to Ye Jun and turned to him. “Since we were the first to have our paired date, I think we should go first. Then it’ll be me and Jong In and then you two.”
“Go first with what?” asked Jong In.
Si Woo crossed one leg over the other and settled himself more comfortably into the sofa. “Why the skinship part.”
“Oh.” Jong In’s face, already still pink from the alcohol, turned a brighter shade of red. “What does it need to include?”
“Well,” he replied with a small smile, “for today, we’ll just start off with some kissing. Holding hands and hugging I feel will be rather ineffective especially between you two.”
“I– we don’t–” Jong In paused, “is this really necessary?”
Si Woo shrugged. “As laid out in our agreement, there will be no progress in our paired relationships until progress is made at the group level.” He leaned back in his seat, smiling, “I mean, I suppose it is fine to ignore this part of a relationship but to do so in this day and age, I doubt we’d progress very far and certainly, it’ll make it all the harder for one of us to successfully win over the other. It won’t be very different from just remaining friends.”
“I… see,” Jong In replied though his face looked as though he wanted to continue arguing.
“Maybe, we shouldn’t,” interjected Ye Jun suddenly. His eyes lingered on Jong In before meeting the sunbae’s.
Jong In froze, turning to him. He hadn’t been for it since the beginning and Jong In knew that it was because of him. Ye Jun likely didn’t want to put his awkward childhood friend, who barely had any experience, in a strange and unfamiliar scenario. And he knew that it was his way of being considerate of him but at the same time, it was annoying.
“No,” he replied, firmly, cutting off Ye Jun’s words, “I’ll do it.”
From the corner of his eye, he saw Ye Jun looking him again but this time he remained silent.
“Alright, if there are no more objections then,” said Si Woo as he turned to Ye Jun and held out his hand. “Us first.”
Si Woo set down his phone atop the coffee table. “Let’s start slowly, the timer will go off in two minutes.” He looked around for any disagreement and when he did not receive any, he turned to Jong In. “Press start when we do.”
Jong In watched Si Woo sit back down comfortably on the sofa, facing Ye Jun. Feeling uncomfortable being so close to them, Jong In stood and made his way to the chair Si Woo had vacated. He gazed at the timer on Si Woo’s phone. He looked back at the couple and briefly met Ye Jun’s eyes. He turned away. It was awkward enough as it was without having to look at each other.
“Whenever you are ready,” said Si Woo to Ye Jun, with a lazy, relaxed smile.
Jong In’s breath hitched in his throat as he watched Ye Jun lean forward toward Si Woo, the squeak of the leather the only sound heard in the room. Ye Jun paused for a bit and Jong In saw him hesitate before he subtly shook his head and closed the distance between them.
He turned away to quell the jealousy that suddenly welled up within him as his heart began to pound violently. This was nothing new, Jong In reminded himself, he’s seen Ye Jun kiss many others in the past. This was just one more person.
Badump. Badump. But… it was different this time. Ye Jun was serious.
Jong In looked at the timer, one minute and seven seconds were left. He swallowed. He didn’t want to look up but he did.
At some point, they had deepened the kiss, they still looked a bit stiff but it was evident that they were both experienced. He closed his eyes again. God, he wished that time would go by faster.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Jong In turned off the alarm and looked up once more. Si Woo and Ye Jun were now separated by several inches. Si Woo smiled at him when Jong In met his eyes but he found that he could not get himself to look at Ye Jun.
“Jong In-ah, come here,” said the sunbae as he held his hand out to him. Jong In’s eyes inadvertently searched out Ye Jun and found that he was staring back at him. He quickly turned away then stood and ignoring Si Woo’s hand, sat on the couch beside Si Woo.
Ye Jun remained unmoved on the other side of the sunbae and Jong In could still feel his gaze on him. A long moment later, he moved to the chair Jong In vacated.
Jong In felt his palms moisten. He looked at Si Woo and his discomfort grew. He had never wanted to kiss anyone other than Ye Jun, had never thought of it. Even with the sunbae’s constant talk of dating he had never considered it seriously. Though he knew that there was no chance between him and Ye Jun, his heart simply could not accept anyone else. He was nervous, his heart thumping rapidly.
Si Woo suddenly leaned forward and smiled. “Focus on me now, Jong In,” he whispered before gently placing his hand on the back of Jong In’s neck and drawing him in.
Jong In squeezed his eyes shut, his apprehension growing but when their lips met, he felt… pleasant.
Si Woo was, as expected, an exceptional kisser. Ji Soo had mentioned that he had always been very popular and had a large amount of dating experience. The kiss was evidence of that.
Si Woo’s tongue ran across the seam of Jong In’s closed lips. Though comparatively inexperienced, Jong In instinctively understood what it was asking for and he tentatively opened his mouth.
A pleasant tingling sensation started to come over him as the sunbae’s tongue ran gently across his then –
“Time,” came Ye Jun’s gruff voice from in front of them and a second later the alarm sounded in Jong In’s ears.
He wretched himself away from Si Woo and opened his eyes. They immediately sought out Ye Jun and when they landed on him, Jong In nearly flinched. The expression on Ye Jun’s face was of an unfamiliar tightness, a strain he couldn’t recall ever seeing.
Jong In turned to look at Si Woo and he understood. It made sense – obviously he didn’t want to see the guy he liked kissing another, even if it was Jong In. His heart clenched.
Si Woo stood up and moved to stand in front of Ye Jun. “Your turn,” he said, his tone of voice amused as though he was having fun.
Jong In watched Ye Jun hesitate before moving to the couch. It was kind of funny, he thought dispassionately as he watched. It was almost like a child’s game, this rotation of seats. They were just missing the music.
“What are you smiling about?” Ye Jun asked as he settled himself into the couch and Jong In turned to him, startled. He had momentarily been lost in his own thoughts.
“Are you two ready?” came Si Woo’s voice.
Ye Jun turned to him then whispered, “Are you sure you want to do this? We can stop all of it, it’ll be fine if we do.”
Jong In shook his head. In all honesty, he didn’t want to stop. Of course, he didn’t want to. He had always wanted to kiss Ye Jun. It was silly for him to deny that now, not with them already having gone so far.
Resolved with the knowledge of his own desire, Jong In leaned forward, taking the role that Si Woo had shown him not so long ago.
There was no going back, he knew this. There was only going forward. And for the first time in the nearly ten years Lee Jong In had loved Han Ye jun, their lips touched in a gentle whisper of their first kiss.
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