“Have you ever been with a man?”
Dongwook glanced at the younger man next to him. Seunghyun was focused on the tv screen, still pushing buttons rapidly on the controller in his hand, as if he had inquired about something as simple as the weather.
”..Yeah.” Dongwook said finally, frowning as Seunghyun’s character died in the game, causing their team to lose.
“Sorry.” the younger mumbled, setting the controller down.
“Why do you ask?”
“Huh?”
“If I’ve been with a man,” Dongwook said, watching Seunghyun as carefully as he could in his periphery. Seunghyun shrugged. “You gonna blackmail me?”
He laughed. “No. I was just wondering if it was… if it’s normal.”
Dongwook popped a Dorito into his mouth and chewed slowly, wondering why Seunghyun had come to him for that kind of thing. “You like someone?”
Seunghyun nodded.
“Do I know him?”
Another nod.
“Does he work with us?”
A pause, then a nod.
Jiyong, Dongwook thought, mistaking Seunghyun’s nervousness for embarrassment. He chewed slowly, choosing his words before he spoke. “I dated a guy when I was a trainee. It didn’t work out, but… it was nice.”
Seunghyun nodded thoughtfully, and they went back to the video game.
~
Dongwook didn’t know why he liked spending so much time with Seunghyun. He would stay late at the YG building and even go on his days off just to train with Big Bang, to be around their deep-voiced rapper, who was nothing like the tough guy image he wanted to portray. In his lyrics, Seunghyun was rough, a womanizer, a narcissist. In reality, he made Dongwook laugh until his sides hurt with his dorky jokes and playful manner. No, he thought as he watched Seunghyun rap his way through a few verses, even when his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes got hard while he was rapping, he was definitely just a kid.
A handsome kid, he corrected when Seunghyun glanced up at him as the song ended.
~