Siwoo entered the bathroom silently after leaving a note that he would wash up. The familiar scent of amenities lingered in the air, suggesting that Sanho had showered before him. In the midst of that, a damp sweetness quietly settled. Siwoo took a deep breath. Suddenly, his heart felt like it was pounding.
“…….”
With a somewhat slow motion, he lifted the showerhead lever. He stood there for a moment, letting the water pour down on him. Something heavy in his stomach began to stir.
“…ha.”
He was now astounded at his impulsive response to Sanho’s words about not wanting to be alone. Trying to ignore the excitement that was starting to gather in his lower abdomen, Siwoo shook his head vigorously.
It seemed that Sanho had remained motionless on the sofa until Siwoo finished his shower. His gaze was directed at the screen, but it didn’t seem like he was particularly enjoying anything. As Siwoo approached the sofa, tying the straps of his dark gray robe, Sanho looked at him blankly. Following Siwoo’s tall figure with his eyes, Sanho opened his mouth.
“Hey, senior.”
His tone suggested he was contemplating something. When Siwoo responded with a “huh?”, Sanho hesitated for a moment before speaking again.
“Can’t you… not go to school?”
Siwoo’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. It was an unexpected question. However, he soon smiled and replied.
“I’m not going, you know, school.”
It was an absurd answer. Siwoo laughed out loud, as if to say it was ridiculous, and slowly sat down in the empty spot on the sofa next to Sanho. He felt the water dripping from his hair onto the towel draped over his shoulders.
“You’re taking a break because you’re sick.”
Strictly speaking, it was more like he was being forced to take a break. Sanho’s lips pressed together tightly. He looked a bit sulky, so Siwoo rolled his eyes and spoke again.
“I’m healthy, so I can’t take a break.”
“Still….”
His voice was hesitant. Ah, as if he had just thought of something, Siwoo’s eyes widened slightly.
“Are you feeling stuffy here?”
It had only been a day, but they had been indoors all day, so it was possible he might feel stuffy. He hadn’t thought that far. Just as he was about to say he was sorry, Sanho shook his head.
“No, it’s not stuffy. It’s comfortable.”
Siwoo chuckled softly.
“You can go out. I didn’t lock you in or anything.”
I could lock you in… Sanho muttered quietly. As if he hadn’t heard, Siwoo frowned slightly, and Sanho shook his head vigorously again. No, this time he heard the muttered words clearly. Hmmm, tilting his head, Siwoo leaned toward Sanho.
“Then… should we go to the company?”
“The company? Not school?”
Hmm, school… Siwoo made a slightly awkward expression. Once again, he chose silence over an awkward excuse.
“Yeah. The company.”
Sanho stared at Siwoo for a moment. Watching the warmth flicker in his brown eyes, Sanho nodded.
“Yes, I want to go to the company.”
“Okay. Let’s go to the company together starting tomorrow. Since you’re an intern, it’ll be twice a week. Is that okay?”
Finally, a smile appeared on Sanho’s face. He could vaguely guess that the smile came from the words “together.” He noticed that the phone, which he had turned face down to avoid seeing the screen, was now facing up again, but Siwoo just smiled brightly.
***
It was a morning without much busyness. However, for some reason, Siwoo felt like he needed to hurry. The sofa in the secret room of the JR hotel where Siwoo and Sanho were staying was wider than most beds. It shouldn’t have been uncomfortable to sleep, yet he felt inexplicably sluggish.
He heard rustling sounds coming from the dressing room connected to the bedroom. It seemed Sanho was changing clothes. Siwoo glanced toward the bedroom while fastening the cuff buttons of his suit.
“Senior.”
Sanho walked out of the bedroom with a somewhat awkward expression. He was dressed in crisp slacks and a white shirt. His naturally falling black hair stood out particularly. Siwoo smiled pleasantly, his eyes crinkling.
“Let’s have breakfast at the company.”
“Oh, I don’t need to eat breakfast.”
“No way. I don’t need to eat, but you have to.”
“…Why….”
“You’re too skinny, so you have to eat.”
Siwoo replied firmly, then playfully patted Sanho’s shirt collar with his fingertips. He tilted his head as if checking his appearance and smiled brightly.
“Shall we go?”
He opened the door while casually mentioning the breakfast menu. The hallway was covered with a bright red carpet. Sanho glanced at the large elevator across from the emergency exit stairs, where a green light was on. With a soft electronic sound, the elevator lights turned on. Sanho’s white sneakers and Siwoo’s black shoes walked in sync.
***
“Wow! Director!”
As Siwoo pushed open the glass door of the brightly lit office, a petite-faced female employee approached with a bright smile, skipping along. Yoonju… Sanho’s lips moved without making a sound. On the day they had a company dinner together, Siwoo had told Sanho her name. It was such a trivial matter that it wouldn’t even stick in Siwoo’s memory.
“Hello.”
Siwoo smiled gently, his eyes crinkling. Yoonju seemed very happy to see Siwoo after a long time, as she quickly linked her arm with his. Looking up at Siwoo with a beaming smile, she tilted her head slightly to look at Sanho and smiled again.
“Hello, Sanho.”
“…Hello.”
Sanho replied in a small voice. His expression was quite awkward, which made him look a bit cute. Instead of laughing, Siwoo let out a loud sound and gently pulled his arm away from Yoonju. Then he opened his mouth while looking around the office with Sanho.
“I know you’re still an intern, but… please take care of me.”
Responses came from around the room. A male employee approached Sanho and greeted him warmly. He guided Sanho to an empty seat while chatting amiably. Siwoo smiled brightly as he watched the male employee and Sanho.
“Director, if you don’t come out today, I was really going to come find you at home.”
Yoonju said playfully, her voice a bit sulky. She stuck close to Siwoo, pulling him along with a friendly grip.
“I have some documents for you to check after the shareholders’ meeting. It’s not urgent, but….”
“Yeah, I checked it yesterday.”
“Oh, really? There’s one that’s a bit tricky….”
Yoonju, like a child, pulled on Siwoo’s arm and walked toward Siwoo’s personal office inside. As the door to the semi-transparent glass partition closed, Sanho stared intently at the glass. The shadows of Siwoo and Yoonju flickered. He didn’t know for sure, but it seemed they were quite close together.
“Sanho, you should start with the intranet… Sanho?”
As Sanho stared blankly ahead, the male employee who had been speaking to him called out in confusion. Ah, Sanho let out a low gasp and bowed his head.
“I’m sorry.”
The male employee smiled casually and patted Sanho’s shoulder.
“You don’t need to be nervous. Just log into the intranet and take a look. It’ll be chaotic at first anyway, so just getting a rough idea of what tasks are mainly involved is good.”
“Okay, thank you.”
Sanho replied in a small voice and bowed his head again. The semi-transparent glass wall that didn’t allow a view inside. And the shadows of the two people flickering within. Sanho bit his lip roughly, feeling the blood rush to his face.
There were more documents to handle than he had expected. However, for some reason, Siwoo found it difficult to concentrate. The words densely packed on the tablet screen didn’t register in his eyes at all. Siwoo narrowed his brows slightly and tapped his fingertips on the desk. He had never felt dissatisfied with his personal office separated by a semi-transparent glass wall. Anyone would like an independent workspace. Siwoo glanced at the glass wall with a slightly displeased expression. He hadn’t even realized that he had checked the glass wall several times already.
I wonder if he’s doing well.
Thinking of that awkwardly sitting kid staring at the monitor made him burst into laughter. But Siwoo was confident that the kid would do just fine. He was good at studying and quick-witted. Of course, he would get along well with the other employees too. The planning team Siwoo belonged to had a very good atmosphere. The team members were generally friendly and had no sharp edges. Moreover, if it was someone as lovely as him, they would surely welcome him.
“……Hmm.”
Siwoo smiled awkwardly, narrowing his brows. He slowly stood up, thinking he should get some tea as a simple excuse. He had no idea that the scenery of the office would be completely different from what he had imagined.
Sanho was standing in front of a table located inside the office. The large glass wall was closely attached to a standing table that was slightly higher than an adult man’s waist, on which a large coffee machine and tableware were lined up. It was a space where employees could drink beverages. The sight of pastel-colored mugs stacked without a speck of dust was quite pleasing. Sanho stared blankly at the coffee machine.
“…….”
He held a mug and placed it quietly under the coffee machine’s extraction spout. His hand, which was about to press the power button, hesitated for a moment. The empty look in his eyes, devoid of emotion, reflected the meaningless flickering lights of the machine.
“Sanho?”
As expected, Yoonju peeked her head through the semi-transparent glass partition. She looked at Sanho, who was standing blankly in front of the machine, with wide eyes. Blinking, Yoonju soon burst into laughter.
“Are you trying to have coffee?”
“…….”
“You didn’t know how to use it, did you?”
Yoonju approached Sanho and pointed to the power button with her hand.
“This is the power button. Since the light is on now, it means it’s turned on.”
“…….”
“This small button with a mug on it is the extraction button. One cup is a single shot, and two cups are a double shot.”
“…….”
“Do you want it strong?”
While Yoonju chattered on, Sanho, who hadn’t taken his eyes off the machine, slowly nodded.
“Um, then I’ll make it a double shot. I just press it like this.”
With a whirring sound, the grinding of coffee beans could be heard. Soon, with a rumbling vibration, coffee with a fine crema poured into the mug.
“If you want it iced, there’s an ice maker down here. If you want it warm….”
“I’ll have it warm.”
Yoonju nodded energetically and filled the mug with hot water. As Sanho watched the fading coffee crema, he turned his head slightly to meet Yoonju’s gaze. In Sanho’s empty eyes, Yoonju’s bright face was now reflected. Perhaps feeling Sanho’s gaze on her, Yoonju raised her eyebrows and smiled sweetly, as if asking, “Why?”
“…Yoonju.”
“Oh, you know my name?”
A pure smile without malice filled Yoonju’s face. As Sanho slowly accepted the mug she offered, he opened his mouth again.
“Are you close with the senior?”
After handing the mug to Sanho, Yoonju playfully tapped her lips with her now-free fingertips and widened her eyes. Seeing her gaze slightly directed upward, it seemed she was trying to gauge the meaning of Sanho’s words. Soon, Yoonju exclaimed, “Ah!” and nodded.
“Oh, you mean Siwoo.”
“…Siwoo?”
“Yeah.”
Yoonju laughed mischievously and glanced over the semi-transparent glass partition.
“Don’t call the director by his name casually. Especially not in front of the manager. I get scolded.”
With a bright smile, Yoonju continued.
“We’re the same age, you know. Siwoo and I. I started working early….”
We… Sanho, who was chewing on those words, didn’t notice that Yoonju had suddenly paused. It was because he felt a strange sense of discomfort from Sanho’s expression as he looked at her. His face was devoid of any expression. However, the combination of his fair skin and black hair gave off a somewhat chilling atmosphere. Sanho slowly opened his mouth.
“…Do you perhaps like the senior?”
Once again, Yoonju paused for a moment. A look of surprise crossed her face, and a faint blush clearly appeared. It was a brief moment, but Sanho was certain of the color of the emotion that had risen on Yoonju’s face. Soon, a voice that feigned nonchalance came out.
“Of course, I like him. There’s no one in our team who doesn’t like the director… Ah!”
