Taming the Green Eyed Monster

A Cold Dessert on a Cold Winter's Night

"Are you gay?"

It was precisely 5:27PM when Go Si Woo, 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, surprised. "W-What? What kind of question is that?"

Si Woo watched him calmly. He found that he enjoyed doing this in the five days since they had met in the empty lecture room. There was nothing particularly outstanding about Lee Jong In. In fact, if anything, he was a little plain and quiet. Often 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 not in any particular style. He was also quiet and well behaved, often 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 had to repress a smile. "That's none of your 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 the 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 he 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 isn't any of your 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.

"The script here is not optimized, Ji Soo said something about implementing a continuous loop."

"So diligent," he said again, with a soft smile. And Lee Jong In truly was that, diligent and serious, giving all that he could even to a farming project that he joined simply to help a friend and one from which he may not even get any compensation. 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.

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

"Wah!" Jong In looked up suddenly and on his face was an expression that said that he clearly had 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 actively kept him engaged in a conversation.

"Why would we go drinking?"

"Well... we've been working together for almost an entire week but I hardly feel like I know you any better and doing so could only benefit how we work together."