"Test whether he's really gay!"
After some small talk with the maid, you know that she usually leaves the house at about 4pm every day, since both you and Kyungsoo don't eat dinner at home.
That means you have the whole house to yourself until the deejay returns after midnight.
You make full use of that knowledge on Wednesday evening, quickly surveying the house to make sure no one is around before you slip to Kyungsoo's room.
The door is closed but unlocked.
Catching your breath, you twist the knob open. It's not the first time you've done this, the previous attempt being in a politician's office, but it's a first for someone's bedroom.
Closing the door behind you, you take your time in observing the surroundings.
It's painstakingly neat for a guy, even if Sera is helping with the housekeeping. And it smells clean enough.
Apparently, the guy does not smoke. You mentally give him a plus point for that.
The walls are painted in an off-white and light grey. A queen sized bed (just like the one you have upstairs) lines the middle, covered in white and black duvet.
You realize there's no photo frames lying around, not even an art piece. The bedside table and work desk are almost empty save for the laptop, LED alarm clock, some bills and a cologne bottle.
Going for the closet first, you slide the mirrored door open.
You think Kyungsoo might have slight OCD, because not only are the clothing hung and stacked neatly, they are color-coded and separated according to types like V-necks and round collars.
There's no particular secret compartment to be found and you move on to the desk.
The drawers are all unlocked and you sift through stationery, more stacks of papers, books, and oh, a yearbook.
Your paparazzo instinct claps with glee and you flip through the pages to find the class he and Baekhyun was in. You are glad you did your research beforehand because you found it in no time and ah, he doesn't look so bad.
You are a tad disappointed because you had hoped it'd look ugly enough to spin off another tidbit but oh wow, look, he was also class vice-president in his second year.
Clucking your tongue, you move on to another drawer and bingo!
Photo albums...
It's a favorite for trigger happy paparazzi and you promptly whip out your digital camera for some scandal worthy moments.
He's slightly plumper when young and there's an amazing amount of derp looking photos in there, one where he's posing weirdly with a watermelon and another munching happily on a piece of pie (no wonder he was chubby, most of his photos are with food). A few with his family, his father seemingly a musician because they were in a recording studio.
You also find moments where he's goofing around with friends, many of whom you recognize as people he still keeps in touch with. There's Luhan, who went on to become a singer in China. Hyunsik, a famous stylist you also happen to know during your artiste manager days. Jongin, who now goes by the alias Kai, who became a dancer and is recently scouted by a famous dance company in London.
This guy actually has very tight relationships.
And of course, there's Byun Baekhyun, who is now Korea's most sought after rookie singer.
A picture of him and the deejay almost kissing in what seems to be a noreabang catches your attention. Just what you need.
You snap a picture and seeks for more similar photos.
But as you near the binder's end, you notice a girl repeatedly coming up, always posed beside him.
Ah... You've always thought it's just a rumor, but his ex-girlfriend really exists.
She's quite pretty, skin fair and rosy with long straight hair. Gentle demeanor. Definitely the type guys will go for.
So, this is the type that the deejay likes too? You snort. Typical.
You flip until the end and not finding anything substantial, you proceed to his computer.
It's not password locked either. You grin manically to yourself.
There's a few photo albums depicting more candid shots of the deejay with his family and friends. You copy the note-worthy ones into your thumb drive and is about to log off when you discover a suspicious looking folder.
It's stored under the pretext of two untitled folders and when you click on it, you realize why.
It's porn.
You feel yourself blush a little at the discovery but hey! That shows the guy is normal, right?
What isn't normal though, is that you realize most of the videos look like they are of females.
You hover over them and sure enough, all of them are videos of AV girls, which is strange because even for a bisexual, shouldn't there be at least one video of guys?
This doesn't make any sense.
You flash back on last Sunday when his friends stayed over. Friends. That means there's someone other than the singer so... It might not be him?
You are getting thoroughly confused and after switching off the computer, you steal back to your room to pick up your phone.
"Woman." You croak when she answers at the second ring. "I need your help."
________________
"So... He might not be gay?"
"But Zitao saw them doing it in the restroom!"
"He might have seen wrongly? I mean, you did say he only took two pictures and then ran out right?"
"Yeah, but still?"
"And you said last Sunday, his friends were over. It might be his friends who were doing the cha-cha and not him?"
You slump onto the bed and huff.
"Urgh, what do I do now?"
Shinae makes an annoying clucking noise on her tongue.
Just when it's starting to get on your nerves and you're about to snap, she stops abruptly.
"Test him."
"What?"
"Test whether he's really gay!"
"Test? Like, how?"
_________________
Kyungsoo returns to the house at 1 a.m., shivering slightly from the dropping temperature and after a hot shower, he settles himself in front of his computer to watch a half finished movie.
He suddenly hears soft footsteps thudding towards his room and when the male looks up, the sight makes his breath hitch.
You are dressed in nothing but a long, light blue boyfriend's shirt, the length barely covering half of your thighs and material sheer enough to detect the nude tone beneath.
His eyes trail up to see your gaze cast down shyly and peach pink lips moving...
"Huh?" Kyungsoo shakes from his stupor. "Sorry, can you- can you repeat that again?"
You want to slap yourself for heeding Shinae's advice because this is freaking embarrassing. The deejay is staring at you as if you're mad and maybe because you really are, seeing that it's what, 15? 12 degrees? and you're wearing nothing but a light piece of garment that has you shivering to your toes.
However, if the guy is really straight, it'd make your entire research futile isn't it? You have to know.
But you can't just ask him and he might not even tell you the truth. Shinae attested that the "tent in pants" analogy cannot lie because the male anatomy is made to honestly respond to any physical attraction, gay or not.
If he's aroused, his behavior will change, she said.
You stare at the deejay. The only thing that has changed is the size of his eyes.
You wonder if they can get any bigger than they already are.
And said eyes are now boring into yours, making you feel even more flustered so you blurt out whatever you memorized just now.
"I..uhm... Accidentally threw away the recipe you wrote so can you write me a new one?"
The fact of the matter is Kyungsoo has to focus on your eyes because if not then it will roam elsewhere he doesn't want to think about and oh shit, his vision is tunneling and he feels his blood rushing and gushing in another direction and...
"Like now, if you don't mind?"
Yes, he minds it very much and will you please put on a sweater or something but he can't tell you that because he doesn't trust himself to speak right now so all that comes out is a mumbled, "Oh."
His fingers scramble in one of the drawers for a notepad and he channels all his energy into writing the recipe down thus he doesn't have to think of that milky thigh and what's under that... Stop! Do Kyungsoo, bad, bad Kyungsoo... Now focus on your writing.
You watch the deejay scribble on his notepad, feeling slightly disappointed because he isn't even taking a second look at you. Congratulations, Choi Ga-eun, for being the most unattractive female in the entire universe that even stripping to a bare minimal doesn't excite a normal, hormonal guy-who-might-be-gay-after-all.
You slump a little into yourself, folding your arms to keep warm and ah-choo!
"Aren't you... Cold?" The deejay asks concernedly when he hears you sneezing and you fumble with your sleeves awkwardly to wipe your nose.
"Erm... My clothes haven't dry yet so that's all I've got."
You aren't really lying about that part because you haven't brought much clothing along when you moved here. The male gives a hum and after waiting a few more minutes with you fidgeting restlessly at the door, he hands you the recipe.
"Here you are, don't lose it again."
"Thanks."
His eyes drift a bit and oh shit, he sees a sliver of pale skin underneath your collar when you bend slightly to take the paper. Feeling hassled, his next words come out sounding slightly cutting and brusque.
"The heater upstairs is a bit cranky so put on a sweater or something."
"Oh, ok."
Well, how anti-climatic, you think. Now not only did you not find out his sexual orientation, he's probably turned off at what an idiot you are.
You lumber dishearteningly up the stairs and ah-choo! Great, now you've caught the cold too.
Chapter 18