“Are you gay?”

It was precisely 5:27PM on a Friday afternoon when Si Woo Go, 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 in surprise. “W-What? What k-kind of question is th-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 and teasing him.

There was nothing particularly outstanding about Jong In Lee other than his stutter. In fact, if anything, he was a little plain and quiet. Often dressed 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 kept in a style often seen on 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 tried to repress a smile. “That’s…none of your b-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 his 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 Jong In 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’s n–not any of your b-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.

“Th-The script here is not oppp-optimized," he said. “Ji Soo s-said s-something about implementing a c-c-continuous loop.”

“So diligent,” Si Woo said again with a soft smile. And Jong In Lee truly was that, diligent and serious, giving all that he could even to a farming project that he joined simply to help a friend. 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. Though he wasn't completely deluded into believing that Jong In’s stutter had nothing to do with it. He doubted that the boy would have caught his attention so quickly had it not been for the way he spoke.

“Do you want to grab a drink after this?” Si Woo asked, leaning over his shoulder.

Jong In jumped and turned around. His face held 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 was actively engaging him in a conversation.

“W-Why would we g-go drinking?

“Well…we’ve been working together for more than a week, but I feel like I hardly know you. Doing so could only benefit how we work together.”

Jong In didn’t take the bait. “I d-don’t see the benefit. W-Why should our personal relationship affect our w-working relationship? Th-This,” he paused and took a deep breath, “is b-business and it makes no sense to m-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 smirked internally.

So, he’s 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 that he cease. Instead, he quietly continued working.

Si Woo wondered why he did not just simply tell him to stop. Did he feel discomfort at the idea of making such a demand? But he seemed to feel no reservations about shutting down his questions and invitations earlier, so then why was this different? Despite his blunt way of speaking, was he shy?

Si Woo continued to twirl the pen, idly thinking to himself. Then he watched when, a moment later, Jong In paused his work once more and clenched his fists tightly. Once 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, growing tired of his own antics and tossing aside the pen. “If we were closer, I’d try not to test you like this.”

Jong In looked up and Si Woo noticed a refreshing innocence in his eyes before they narrowed into a glare. “Why are you testing…me? And w-why would we h-have to be close for you n–not to be irrrritating?”

Si Woo chuckled, “So blunt.” And yet why, he wondered, was Jong In able to call him irritating but able to tell him to stop?

He smiled and leaned forward, shifting his weight onto his elbows until his face was only a few 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 the younger man's head as though his body was warring between feelings of curiosity and annoyance. Then, a moment later, Jong In sighed and closed his laptop, turning to look at Si Woo with an expression that couldn’t hide his irritation.

“Cute,” Si Woo said aloud, without thinking.

Jong In’s eyes widened and then quickly flickered to the door like a trapped animal who was looking for an escape. Si Woo, who wasn’t familiar with such behavior, became even more interested in the man sitting before him.

He took out his phone to send a text to Ji Soo and then made his way towards 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-Why?”

“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, but I find that endearing as well.”

“Why would you b-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?”

"Then isn't it bbetter to just not be annnoying? So you d-don't have to spend m–money as an apology?"

Si Woo laughed again. “You probably have a point there.”

"Are you coming?" Si Woo asked patiently, watching as the gears in Jong In's head seemed to turn. Then surprisingly, after a moment of deliberation, Jong In nodded and, picking up his stuff, followed Si Woo out the door.

~

Patbingsoo. That was Jong In Lee’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 Jong In wanted the red bean shaved ice dessert, the least popular option for students their age.

Ye Jun recalled thinking many times that Jong In’s taste buds were like that of an old man’s. And 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 of 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 therefore a bit of a shock to him when he happened to be passing by a café with a sunbae from school, a woman whom he was considering dating at the time. She had gazed into the café window to their left, drawn by the bright light that was illuminating the relative darkness around them.

She had made a comment about how the cafe looked warm and that they should stop in for a cup of coffee. Ye Jun had nonchalantly turned to look simply out of politeness.

But he had seen him. Jong In Lee was enjoying a large bowl of patbingsoo, an activity they had done together many times in the years that 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 shaved ice 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 man’s sharp, slightly upturned eyes particularly 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 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 at him with a concerned expression. Her cheeks were pink from the cold. He had been staring into the cafe for who knows how long.

“Sorry, sunbae, what did you say?”

“I said, are you okay? You were tensing up,” she said as 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?”