TWYW C27

“Why didn’t you ask me to have lunch together today?”

Yuhyeon asked as he received the takeout cup Gyeoul handed him.

“I thought it might be a bother…”

“Who? Me?”

Gyeoul nodded slightly. Then, a smile appeared on Yuhyeon’s lips.

“Cute.”

“I’m not cute…”

“Alright, then let’s just go with that.”

“…”

“Why are you pouting again.”

Gyeoul glared at Yuhyeon’s face, the corners of his mouth playfully turned up. Even knowing he wasn’t being serious, he never let things slide easily.

“…I’ll just go with cute.”

Finally, a laugh escaped from Yuhyeon’s mouth. Gyeoul stared blankly at Yuhyeon for a moment, at his smiling face with his eyes curved in amusement.

“But where are you going, Sunbae?”

“I have an appointment nearby.”

“With who?”

“With a friend.”

“Is it a girl or a guy? What are you doing when you meet?”

Gyeoul spewed out the questions that were popping into his head one after another.

“Are you interrogating a cheating lover right now?”

“Will you be my lover?”

“No.”

Gyeoul felt like he had already been rejected by Yuhyeon dozens of times before even properly confessing that he liked him. The corners of Gyeoul’s eyes drooped powerlessly, unable to hide his gloom.

“Are you doing that on purpose right now?”

“…Doing what.”

Yuhyeon didn’t answer Gyeoul’s question, but just let out a small laugh. And right after, he gave Gyeoul a light greeting and went out of the cafe. Gyeoul stared blankly at Yuhyeon’s back as it disappeared from sight, then came to his senses and turned around to do inventory. At that moment, he met the cafe owner’s eyes.

“The person you said you liked?”

“…Is it obvious?”

“Yeah.”

Fortunately, the owner, who had noticed that he liked men, just smiled with an unfazed expression.

“Gyeoul’s going to have a hard time.”

Feeling unnecessarily embarrassed, Gyeoul smiled awkwardly and looked away. And so, Gyeoul finished his part-time job at the cafe and walked towards the bus stop as usual. Then, Gyeoul changed his path and entered an alley he didn’t usually go to. And before long, he stopped in front of a bar with a drawing of a cocktail topped with a cherry.

In fact, this was a gay bar near the cafe that Gyeoul had searched for on the internet last night. He had no idea how to make Yuhyeon like him, and this was the only thing he could come up with. He thought that since it was a place where people who liked the same gender gathered, he might be able to get even a small hint.

Gyeoul took a deep breath, went down the stairs, opened the glass door in the basement, and went inside. Under the slightly dim lighting, he could see several men gathered at tables here and there. Gyeoul briefly scanned the area and then sat not at a table, but at the bar where the bartender was. It was still a bit early to drink, so there didn’t seem to be many customers.

“First time here?”

“Yes.”

“What can I get you?”

“Uh… please give me the most popular one.”

Since Gyeoul didn’t know much about alcohol even if he looked at the menu, he just picked a random cocktail and ordered it. With the bartender’s quick hands, a cocktail was quickly made and placed in front of Gyeoul. Gyeoul took a sip of the clear, light blue cocktail. Fortunately, it was a cocktail with a strong sweet taste, so Gyeoul could drink it without any aversion.

“Why did you come here?”

The bartender seemed to have taken notice of Gyeoul, who was sitting awkwardly alone and sipping his cocktail, and started the conversation.

“Uh… just… I was curious.”

“About what?”

“How guys date each other…”

Gyeoul didn’t think of beating around the bush and just blurted out the question he had in his mind.

“Are you straight?”

“Stra… what?”

“Do you like girls.”

“No. I like guys.”

The bartender’s expression was a little puzzled.

“Is this your first time liking a guy?”

“Um… it’s my first time liking a person.”

“First love, I see.”

First love.

Gyeoul chewed on the two words once and then nodded. Gyeoul was currently going through a severe first love.

“How do you seduce a guy?”

At Gyeoul’s direct question, he raised both his eyebrows and looked interested.

“Well, your looks pass, but is he gay too?”

“Uh… probably not.”

“Then it’s going to be difficult.”

Gyeoul agreed with the bartender’s thoughts. First of all, the rumors about Yuhyeon were always related to girls. Gyeoul had also often seen Yuhyeon hanging out mainly with girls.

“Well, the primal way is to come on to him with your body.”

“My body…?”

“Sex. Should I teach you how?”

“No thanks.”

Gyeoul furrowed his brow as if he had heard something he shouldn’t have, downed his drink in one shot, and stood up. He felt goosebumps all over his body as the bartender’s gaze turned languid.

“Come back if it doesn’t work out after you try. Looking innocent is my type.”

“Fuck, what is he talking about.”

Gyeoul muttered a small curse, quickly paid, and left the shop. Gyeoul let out a sigh, feeling like he had come up empty, and trudged down the street lined with bars. Gyeoul, who had gained nothing, walked listlessly, and at some point, he lifted his head and a familiar back came into view across the street. Without a moment’s hesitation, Gyeoul quickened his slow steps and approached the person with the familiar back.

It was Yuhyeon.

Yuhyeon was walking down the street with his arm around a woman’s shoulder. Gyeoul grabbed Yuhyeon’s collar and pulled him hard.

This is so fucking annoying.

Gyeoul glared fiercely at Yuhyeon’s face as he turned around, and then a red lipstick mark on his white shirt caught his eye.

“Sunbae, do you like this woman? Are you two dating?”

Gyeoul gestured with his chin at the woman standing next to Yuhyeon, who was looking back and forth between them with a bewildered expression.

“Lee Gyeoul. What are you doing.”

“Do you two like each other? I asked if you’re dating?”

“Lee Gyeoul.”

Yuhyeon’s cold gaze landed on Gyeoul. However, Gyeoul didn’t back down and didn’t stop the words pouring out of his mouth.

“Are you really a Casanova, Sunbae? Why do you go around like this with just anyone?”

“Ha…”

Yuhyeon roughly ran a hand through his hair and whispered something into the ear of the woman standing beside him, who didn’t know what to do. She nodded and walked away from them.

“What are you doing right now.”

“Sunbae, if you can meet someone even if you don’t like each other, then meet me too.”

“Meet for what.”

“No, sleep with me.”

A disbelieving laugh burst out of Yuhyeon’s mouth. Gyeoul stared straight into Yuhyeon’s eyes.

“Do you even know what you’re saying right now?”

“Yes. I do.”

“Have you done it with a guy? No, have you even had sex?”

“Do I have to have done it to do it with you? Then I’ll go do it with someone else right now.”

As if the alcohol from the cocktail he had quickly chugged was finally kicking in, words that he wouldn’t have been able to say in his right mind kept flowing out of Gyeoul’s mouth without stopping. At the same time, the image of the woman’s back as she walked leaning on Yuhyeon’s shoulder came to mind, and Gyeoul bit his lower lip hard.

“Lee Gyeoul.”

“Yes, I’m Lee Gyeoul. Why not with me? Is it because I’m a guy?”

“Do you even know how guys do it to be asking?”

“Well, roughly…”

Gyeoul hadn’t even had sex with a woman, but he knew roughly how men had relationships. He had sometimes seen two men tangled up together on adult websites he had accidentally accessed while surfing the internet.

“Are you confident enough to take me?”

“Do I have to be the one to take it… I guess I can…?”