The next morning.
He woke up earlier than usual, surprisingly alert considering how much they’d overdone it the night before. Still too groggy to open his eyes properly, Seon-woo stirred under the covers—and sensed Seung-hyeon beside him freeze up for a moment.
Even in a half-asleep haze, his instincts flared. He just knew he should keep his eyes closed and pretend to be asleep.
So Seon-woo feigned deep, even breathing, lying still. After a moment, Seung-hyeon’s body—tense and unmoving—began to lean slowly in his direction, as if convinced he’d drifted back to sleep.
What, is he about to sneak a kiss like some lovestruck teenager? The thought made him chuckle inwardly. It was silly, but also kind of adorable.
But then, instead of kissing him like Seon-woo had expected, Seung-hyeon did something entirely different. He gently reached out and took Seon-woo’s hand.
Huh? What’s with the hand? Was he just overwhelmed by how peaceful Seon-woo looked while sleeping? Someone once said that lightly holding a hand can be a more effective way to wake someone than shaking them roughly. Was he trying to wake me?
While Seon-woo’s mind was racing through possibilities, he felt the faintest sensation brush against one of his fingers. He froze, focusing every nerve on his hand.
What Seung-hyeon had placed there felt just like a thin thread.
Thread…?
The image was almost laughable—wrapping a string around a sleeping person’s ring finger.
…Ah.
And then the realization hit him like a flash of lightning. That strange secrecy Seung-hyeon had been harboring lately, the way he’d so seriously asked about Christmas plans—those moments aligned in his mind all at once.
So that’s what this is. He’s trying to measure my ring size in my sleep…
Seriously, what kind of ridiculously cute idea is that…
It took everything Seon-woo had not to burst out laughing. Just imagining Seung-hyeon struggling to hide this surprise and sneaking around like this was almost too much.
But he didn’t want to ruin Seung-hyeon’s careful plan by letting on that he was awake.
Holding his breath, Seon-woo continued pretending to sleep until Seung-hyeon—having finished the nerve-racking task of measuring—quietly slipped out of the room.
***
The temporary secretary looked uncannily similar to the one he usually worked with. Whoever had picked them had clearly taken great care in choosing someone for a smooth transition.
They weren’t quite the same as his regular secretary, of course, but if he hadn’t been told, he wouldn’t have guessed this person had just started. The way they handled the schedule was practically seamless.
Seon-woo’s usual secretary was currently on leave. A family member had fallen seriously ill, and they needed to be by their side. Though they had offered to resign out of guilt, Seon-woo had insisted on a leave of absence instead—and brought in a replacement to fill the position temporarily.
“Secretary Park.”
During a short break in his workload, Seon-woo called out. If it had been someone he saw every day, he might’ve felt more comfortable making casual small talk. Then again, maybe that would’ve made things even more awkward.
“What are your plans for Christmas?”
It was a question posed with the obvious assumption that no one would be working on Christmas—but the secretary responded without hesitation.
“I plan to work on Christmas, Director Gwak.”
Seon-woo cleared his throat, slightly caught off guard. Whether it was because the person had just been hired or was just naturally driven, their enthusiasm felt a bit… excessive. If it had been him in the secretary’s shoes, and his boss asked that kind of question, he would’ve immediately pretended to have a packed holiday schedule—acting like he wouldn’t be anywhere near the office just to avoid being given work.
Mixing in a touch of humor, Seon-woo tried to gently steer them away from the idea.
“Your schedule can’t be that packed. I’m not the kind of cold-hearted boss who’d grind people into work even on Christmas. You can afford to take the day off.”
“Oh, it’s not because I have to. I want to. I’ve never really seen Christmas as a big deal.”
Secretary Park’s answer was solid—practically impenetrable.
Seon-woo had originally asked the question to ease the tension between them, maybe get to know the new hire a little better. If they happened to have a significant other, he was even hoping to hear about any planned romantic events—maybe get a few ideas. But none of that was going to happen now.
Still, it was interesting.
Balancing a pen between both index fingers, Seon-woo asked, “Any particular reason?”
Park responded without missing a beat, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“My family’s Buddhist.”
Even Buddhists usually take Christmas off, don’t they? People without any religion at all still go around celebrating Jesus’s birthday on December 25th. Same goes for Buddha’s birthday.
Seon-woo was non-religious himself, and his stance was simple—as long as I get the day off, I’ll thank Jesus, Buddha, or whoever else is responsible. So he didn’t quite follow the logic behind Park’s answer right away.
The unusually steadfast secretary adjusted their glasses and continued.
“So in our family, anything that most people do on Christmas—we tend to do it on Buddha’s Birthday instead.”
“………”
“I appreciate your concern, though.”
Since Seon-woo didn’t respond right away, still mulling over how unusual it was, Park seemed to think it was because they had forgotten to say thanks, and quickly added the polite acknowledgment.
It was a rather formal thank-you in response to such a throwaway comment, but then again, that’s corporate life. He didn’t bother to correct them.
“Hm.”
After a moment of thought, Seon-woo asked another question.
“You’re not seeing anyone?”
It was a bit out of the blue, but lately he’d been racking his brain over how to reciprocate the surprise he suspected Seung-hyeon was preparing—most likely involving a ring. No ideas had come to him yet, and in desperation, he found himself pressing for some kind of inspiration.
Fortunately, Park didn’t seem to think it was odd and nodded without hesitation.
“No. I’ve decided to focus on work for now.”
“I see.”
Come to think of it, wasn’t this secretary said to be a junior of his original assistant? Supposedly younger than Seon-woo, Seung-hyeon, and even the former secretary. Maybe they were just at that age where career ambition took priority.
Satisfied with the answer, Seon-woo resumed his silent pondering. What kind of Christmas event should he prepare? Would it be too blunt to just ask Seung-hyeon directly? …Yeah, probably.
“The last time I was in a relationship was about two years ago.”
As Seon-woo was arriving at his own conclusions, the new secretary started volunteering extra information unprompted. Maybe they were just excited to finally have a proper conversation.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I started talking without being asked…”
They quickly stopped themselves, bowing their head in a composed, unaffected manner as if nothing had happened. Seon-woo decided to probe a little further.
“So then, Secretary Park, did you do all the typical Christmas-type things on Buddha’s Birthday instead?”
He’d heard of Christmas events, sure—but Buddha’s Birthday events? That was a new one. He was genuinely curious what kind of answer would come from that.
Park immediately shook their head, quite seriously.
“I tried, but my partner at the time wasn’t really into it… so we ended up celebrating both holidays. On Buddha’s Birthday, we’d go to the temple together and join the lantern-lighting event. It went over surprisingly well. They even told me I was incredibly creative.”
That sounded more like sarcasm…
It was hard to believe that had been meant as a sincere compliment. Still, Park seemed to genuinely believe it was, so Seon-woo didn’t bother pointing it out.
“I see.”
He gave a small nod, and Park seemed encouraged by the response. They quickly launched into a detailed recounting of their dating history.
“On Christmas, we’d usually go on a decent date somewhere nice, have a custom cake I ordered, and exchange gifts I had prepared. It wasn’t quite on the level of Buddha’s Birthday, but it was well-received.”
Most people would probably prefer that over lanterns and temples…
Again, he resisted the strong urge to interject. Still, that part about the cake and the gift was worth noting. A custom cake, a thoughtful present, and a proper date venue—solid ideas.
Since Seung-hyeon had already picked a movie theater and they were planning to go to a restaurant afterward, the location part was already in the bag. That left the cake and the gift.
“Hm… is that so?”
He nodded again, and Park flinched slightly.
It was a genuine gesture of acknowledgment, but it must’ve come across differently to the secretary. Maybe it was just his face—people often misread him.
“A-ah, sorry again. I keep saying things you didn’t ask for…”
“No, it was interesting.”
He shook his head lightly to reassure them. It was interesting—and honestly, it helped him solidify his plans. He was actually grateful.
If he left the cake to the secretary, it might raise too many questions—like who it was for. It also wouldn’t exactly scream sincerity. No, it would have to be something he handled himself.
He’d order the cake personally, and find the right gift on his own.
After all, considering how thoughtful Seung-hyeon had been, secretly measuring his ring size while he slept… doing at least this much felt like the bare minimum he could do in return.
