s.h.i.+n Kim never dreamt that their first date would take place in Woojin's home. When he got the message from Woojin, s.h.i.+n froze for a few minutes.

He was expecting normal dates, like going to the movies, eating out, or having coffee at a pretty café. He imagined he would drive Woojin home at the end of their dates, and the most he'd get would be a pa.s.sionate kiss.

At least for a while till they got to know each other better.

Even Siwoo told s.h.i.+n not to expect too much from the dates for a long time.

Siwoo explained, "Just go out and have fun. A normal average date. Nowadays, it's not hard for men to have a good time with other men. Have you been to popular cafes lately? They are filled with gay people."

Siwoo laughed at s.h.i.+n like he was having a grand time. So since Sat.u.r.day morning, s.h.i.+n had been researching to find which movies to watch. He also made a reservation at the j.a.panese restaurant where he got Woojin a bowl of abalone rice porridge.

This j.a.panese restaurant in Chungdam had a very limited number of tables so a reservation was a must. s.h.i.+n noticed that Woojin liked bland food, so he thought a j.a.panese restaurant would be the safest choice. They had a few lunches together, and s.h.i.+n knew what kind of food Woojin liked. Woojin didn't seem to have a favorite food, but he clearly did not like salty or spicy food.

Siwoo offered, "Why don't you bring him to Joowan's restaurant next time?"

"But Chef Kim hates me."

"He would love it if you go with your date. He doesn't like you because he thinks you have a thing for me. He said he didn't trust you with me, and you know what? That idiot was right! You do like men!"

That night when Siwoo and s.h.i.+n drank together, Siwoo sent a text to Joowan telling him that s.h.i.+n became gay. Joowan immediately called Siwoo and angrily asked if s.h.i.+n confessed his feelings for Siwoo. Joowan was yelling so loudly that even s.h.i.+n, who was sitting across from Siwoo, could hear it. Siwoo laughed at both of them.

It was surprising to s.h.i.+n that Siwoo had been dating this same guy, Chef Joowan Kim, for over a year. In Korea, people could be very judgemental and nosy. Everyone was expected to be dating, and for someone who was still in the closet like Siwoo, it was very difficult to maintain a steady, long term relations.h.i.+p. Siwoo was often hounded by his friends and family to introduce them to his nonexistent girlfriend.

Siwoo hated this kind of attention. For the longest time, he only had short-term relations.h.i.+ps with different men. After Siwoo's father found out about him, s.h.i.+n became worried about Siwoo, who went out with any man that showed even the slightest interest. s.h.i.+n was worried that Siwoo might get hurt.

s.h.i.+n asked, "I see that you have been dating him for a long time now."

"Joowan is a good guy. He is also really good at s.e.x."

"… That's too much information."

s.h.i.+n wondered about a long-term relations.h.i.+p. One good thing about a shallow relations.h.i.+p was the fact that you didn't have to know everything about the person. If there were things you didn't want to know or didn't like about that person, you could just ignore them and pretend they didn't exist.

But s.h.i.+n was curious about Woojin. He WANTED to know everything about Woojin. s.h.i.+n loved how only he got to see the secret REAL side of Woojin.

Only him and no one else.

Siwoo said to s.h.i.+n, "It's like that for everyone at the beginning."

"What is?"

"At the beginning of anything, like relations.h.i.+ps, studying, or sports, it's really fun. Learning about it, getting to know more about it, hoping that you will get really good at it… that's how everyone starts out."

Siwoo smiled bitterly and continued, "But after a little while, you lose interest. After you learn a little bit about it, you feel like you know enough. And you realize that you aren't learning as fast, and you begin to worry that you will never get better. You work hard for it, yet it seems like it's hopeless."

"…"

"And so people give up. Studying, work, and even on other people. The funny thing is, however, the more you put effort into it doesn't necessarily guarantee that you will get better. The result is definitely NOT proportional to the amount of work you do, whether it's studying, work, or a relations.h.i.+p. And when this happens, you just need to relax and let things happen as they will. If it doesn't work, just let it go."

"Everyone knows that, but it's impossible to follow that rule."

s.h.i.+n could understand what Siwoo was trying to say, but he also had difficulty agreeing with it. But as he shopped at the grocery store for Woojin, s.h.i.+n couldn't stop thinking about him. And when he saw Woojin standing there looking vulnerable in his own apartment, s.h.i.+n forgot everything. All s.h.i.+n could feel was something inside of him crumbling down.

It wasn't l.u.s.t. It was… something else.

s.h.i.+n continued to stock the fridge as he turned around and asked Woojin, "Is there something you would like to eat?" Woojin was sitting quietly on the sofa. He seemed contemplative before he finally answered with another question, "Did you eat breakfast?"

"Yes, around 9 AM."

"Then maybe we can eat what you, S-s.h.i.+n, would like…"

Woojin seemed hesitant, and the way he called s.h.i.+n by his first name sounded awkward. They were outside of work, so Woojin seemed unsure of addressing s.h.i.+n so formally.

s.h.i.+n finally stood up and walked to Woojin. He sat down next to Woojin and asked, "Why didn't you answer my texts yesterday?"

"…"

"I knew you were busy, but I was still a bit worried."

"… I'm just not used to this."

It wasn't that s.h.i.+n was texting or calling because he expected an answer, but s.h.i.+n found himself waiting for Woojin to reply. On the other hand, s.h.i.+n felt like he could understand Woojin's side as well.

Based on s.h.i.+n's observation, Woojin lacked basic social skills. Woojin seemed to feel awkward being around people in general. s.h.i.+n stroked Woojin's hair gently and asked, "Well, next time, maybe you will just call me even for a second so I can hear your voice."

Woojin looked down, and the way his long eyebrows shadowed his eyes looked very seductive.

This was dangerous.

If their eyes met, s.h.i.+n would have to kiss him again, and that could be a bad idea.

s.h.i.+n asked, "By the way, why do you have all the curtains and blinds down? Isn't it too dark in here?"

"Oh…"

Woojin's home had a double-floor plan. The first floor consisted of one room and a living room. In the living room, there was a large television encased by a big bookcase, which was filled with an enormous number of books. It was a four-level shelved bookcase, and the bottom shelf was packed with DVDs. When s.h.i.+n stood up, Woojin held onto his wrist and followed him.

s.h.i.+n looked down, thinking how adorable Woojin was, holding onto his wrist. He patted Woojin's hair, and suddenly, Woojin's expression turned confused. s.h.i.+n a.s.sumed it was because Woojin felt shy.

Trying to carry a conversation, s.h.i.+n asked about the books, "It's impressive. Last time I was here, I didn't notice because it was at night."

"It's just a hobby. I like to collect them."

"Oh, so you do have something you like, Woojin?"

When s.h.i.+n called him by his first name, Woojin Choi's face became red. s.h.i.+n continued, "Why are you blus.h.i.+ng? You were the one who first called me s.h.i.+n, right?"

"… Oh… well…"

"By the way, can I ask you how old you are, a.s.sistant Manager?"

"…"

"You just look really young. I a.s.sumed that you must be younger than me."

s.h.i.+n caressed Woojin's cheek. He already knew how old Woojin was; he'd seen Woojin's birthdate on the company intranet. Woojin was two years older than him, and s.h.i.+n knew that but s.h.i.+n still wanted to hear it from Woojin's lips.

When their eyes met, Woojin finally answered, "30."

"I'm 28 years old. Did you know that?"

"…"

"Oh, you knew that, didn't you?"

s.h.i.+n smooshed Woojin's cheeks with his hands and Woojin frowned. Even his serious frown looked cute. When s.h.i.+n stared at him for a long time, Woojin blushed again and looked away.

"Woojin Choi."

When s.h.i.+n called him by his full name, Woojin looked at him with wide eyes. Recently, s.h.i.+n got to see many different expressions from Woojin, and he loved it. Why did people at work call Woojin, "The Mannequin?" Woojin was so expressive, which made this nickname sound ridiculous.

s.h.i.+n asked, "Can I have a look at the books? And after we eat, let's watch a movie."

"Ok."

When s.h.i.+n looked down at Woojin with a smile, Woojin nodded. His neck was turning red, so s.h.i.+n looked away towards the bookcase. It only took a second for a man to turn into a beast. They were in a small s.p.a.ce and because of the thick curtains, it was quite dark. It wasn't that s.h.i.+n didn't want things to happen, but he didn't want it to happen too fast too quickly.

Strangely, s.h.i.+n wanted things to go slow with Woojin. Siwoo Jung laughed at him for it, but s.h.i.+n couldn't help how he felt. He wanted to stretch their time out as long as possible.

He asked Woojin, "What should we watch? Should we pick the movie before we eat?"

"…"

"What genre do you like?"

s.h.i.+n got closer to the bookcase and studied the books. It was filled with various books and DVDs, but s.h.i.+n noticed that there weren't any photos or photo alb.u.ms.

In fact, there were no photos anywhere in the house. While Woojin looked at the DVDs to pick, s.h.i.+n looked around the living room. There was one sofa, which could turn into a bed, a canvas chair, a small table, a television, and a bookcase. That was it. s.h.i.+n remembered that in Woojin's bedroom, there was only a bed, a mirror, and a small drawer.

s.h.i.+n asked, "Do you have the rest of your things at your parents' home? Like the alb.u.ms and photos?"

"… My parents'?"

"Yes. I just noticed that you don't have any photos or photo alb.u.ms here. I wanted to see childhood pictures of you."

Suddenly, Woojin's face crumpled into a strange expression. This was the second time. Something seemed off. When s.h.i.+n looked at him in confusion, Woojin simply handed him a DVD and asked, "Have you watched this before?"

"…"

s.h.i.+n took the DVD and wondered if Woojin had an unhappy relations.h.i.+p with his parents. Woojin's face returned to normal quickly, but there was still a tinge of misery to him. It was very similar to the darkness Siwoo had, but slightly different.

s.h.i.+n answered, "No, I haven't seen this before. Should we watch this while we eat lunch?"

"Yes."

The movie Woojin picked was t.i.tled "Branded to Kill." s.h.i.+n placed the DVD on the table. He was a little worried about Woojin, but he didn't think too much about it.

When s.h.i.+n walked to the kitchen, Woojin slowly followed him. s.h.i.+n felt Woojin's hand, which was cool, gently holding onto his hand. s.h.i.+n vaguely thought that he liked the cool temperature of Woojin's skin.