Taming the Green Eyed Monster

Alcohol the Enemy

One day, at the end of the year party of their first year at university, what Jong In had expected would be a constant in his life changed.

There had been subtle developments throughout their first year as expected of any fresh-faced university student. Unfortunately, adulthood, unbeknownst to Jong In, had a tendency to sneak up on them, driven by strange curiosities and most importantly, opportunities. And Ye Jun was no exception to this. In fact, more than anyone, opportunities seemed to seek him in droves. And those opportunities came in the form of beautiful but somewhat carnivorous women and resulted in a particular carnal manifestation of adulthood and subsequently, an unexpected change in behavior in his life long friend.

Han Ye Jun had always had a girlfriend but because he lived at home and had spent most of his free time with Jong In and their intimate group of friends, Jong In had always assumed that his relationships had been more on the emotional side rather than a physical one. And while that in itself was disconcerting, Jong In had preferred it that way. That was why it had come to a bit of a shock for him when he first realized that Ye Jun had lost his virginity at some point in high school and had begun to actively engage in those activities once they started university.

He had found out entirely by accident when he overheard Ye Jun turn down an invitation to have dinner by Chae Ji Soo, a close friend of theirs, claiming that he had a date that would likely go on until morning. Ji Soo had given him a disgusted look and shook her head and at first, Jong In had not understood why, after all, he and Ye Jun had often slept over at each other's houses. But then the realization that he would be sleeping next to this woman hit him. Jong In had always assumed that Ye Jun had only ever slept beside him, it had given him a source of comfort. And with that blow came the understanding that there were likely activities that preluded that innocuous slumber.

Despite this, Ye Jun had however, somehow snuck into his room that night and had slept beside him just as he had done many times in the past.

But yet, even as he gazed at his friend's face in the early morning light, Jong In was jealous. He was a freshman in university, an adult and yet he felt like a petulant child, wanting to demand that Ye Jun tell him where he had been that night, wanting to plead with him to stop doing it. But when Jong In had felt himself inexplicably move toward him to do just that, he froze, horrified. He didn't have the right to demand such a thing from him. He was, after all, only his childhood friend.

Events eventually culminated the night after finals when they gathered at a restaurant with a bunch of sunbaes and other freshmen in the computer science department. Though their immediate group of friends were all of different majors, they were all under the computer science branch. Lee Jong In in media design, Chae Ji Soo in programming, Yoo Hwan in Information technology, and Han Ye Jun in Data Science, which allowed him to be part of both the computer science department and the business school.

It was a common belief that nerds could drink and that night, the computer science department had made it a point to prove that statement. That ultimately led to the single biggest regret of Lee Jong In's life. 

"Ye Jun! Let this sunbae pour you a drink," said a pretty female student, pulling a seat from a nearby table and forcing her way between the two childhood friends, Jong In and Ye Jun.

Ye Jun smiled and accepted the glass. "Thank you."

"If you're taking a shot from Su Jin, I expect you to take one from me as well," said the cheerful voice of another female student, grinning prettily. It was the sunbae Jong In had met the other day, Song Jiwon.

Jong In looked up and caught Ji Soo's eyes, who then promptly rolled them in disgust.

He smiled but it immediately disappeared as he watched Ye Jun engage in a love shot with yet another female sunbae. How in the world did the computer science department have so many pretty girls, he wondered dispiritedly as he took another gulp of his beer.