episode_0010

After the regular meeting, I focused on writing the proposal as time passed.

Since Kang Jooyoung had nailed down ‘today,’ I didn’t know what kind of trouble would fly my way if I disobeyed. Before that, I wanted to avoid working overtime on a precious Friday as much as possible.

“Assistant Manager Lee, could you contact the PR team and ask them to send over some materials?” “Assistant Manager Lee, please print out the draft for next month’s product setup and put it on my desk.” As if Kang Jooyoung had made up her mind, she would assign me tasks whenever I even tried to touch the proposal.

“Assistant Manager Lee, the breakroom seems a bit messy. Could you go tidy it up?” She even went as far as to make me do tasks that were typically rotated among department members on a schedule.

“Oh, while you’re tidying up, go out and buy some snacks to stock the breakroom.” Now speaking in an openly commanding tone, Kang Jooyoung handed me the company card. That card, extended as if doing me a favor, looked particularly annoying today.

“You can choose the types Assistant Manager Lee likes.” “…Understood.” “I’m not interrupting you while you’re busy, am I?” She knew everything but pretended not to. Hide those twitching lips when you talk.

“No, you’re not.” Bear it. Within the confines of the workplace, I would be the one at a disadvantage if I defied her. It’s better to hurry and finish the work and return.

After an hour of completing the tasks Kang Jooyoung assigned, I was about to sit back down. “Assistant Manager Lee.” Before my rear even touched the chair, Kang Jooyoung’s voice pierced my ears, as if she had been waiting. I was going to get a complex.

“Please find and bring me last year’s sales performance data from the archives. I need to check something.” Now, it was an openly commanding tone.

“Why aren’t you answering? Did you not hear me?” As Kang Jooyoung’s voice grew louder, I felt all eyes in the office glance sideways at me. Phew.

“No, I heard you.” Though I had a myriad of things I wanted to say. I deliberately suppressed them.

“Um.” Just then, a hand appeared over the partition of the next desk.

“Sun… Assistant Manager Lee, if you’re busy, I can do it instead…” Mina rose from her seat, glancing around nervously. I reached out a hand to her, shaking my head. No matter how urgent my work was, I couldn’t burden a junior who was busy with their own tasks.

“No, I’ll go myself.”

“…Hmph. Then don’t just stand there idly, hurry up and go. You already have a lot of work to do, don’t you?” Do you say that, knowing full well? Kang Jooyoung, who had been resting her chin on her desk and staring at Mina and me with half-closed eyes, soon snorted and turned her gaze back to the monitor.

Oh, so you want to be that petty, huh? Let’s see who wins, you or me. Turning sharply as if to retort, I hastened my steps towards the archives as if I would make the floor collapse. The shadow of overtime was slowly extending its wicked grasp towards me.

****

One hour left until regular quitting time. I went up to the rooftop to catch my breath.

As I opened the rooftop door and stepped out, the sun was setting beyond the towering high-rise buildings. Are you already off work? I’m envious.

On the rooftop, employees who had already come up were leaning against the railing, smoking. I found a corner bench where the cigarette smoke wouldn’t reach and plopped down there.

“Haaah.” Sitting on the bench, facing the cold evening breeze, a thick, condensed sigh escaped my lips.

“Assistant Manager Lee, Assistant Manager Lee, so damn annoying, really!” Suddenly, a surge of frustration welled up, and I grabbed my head, pouring out my accumulated sorrows. She had called out “Assistant Manager Lee” so many times that her voice still echoed in my mind. In the end, tormented by endless tasks, I couldn’t even touch the proposal. It was clearly going to be overtime.

“Haha. Hahaha.” A genuine laugh escaped my lips, reaching a state of enlightenment. The employees who were smoking and heading back stared at me as if I were a strange person before leaving the rooftop.

“Haa. I need to tell Ms. Lizetta I’ll be late… Ah.” As I reached for my phone in my pocket, I belatedly realized I had no way to contact Ms. Lizetta in an emergency. There was no landline phone at home either.

“I should get a phone activated this weekend while I’m buying clothes.” As the number of household members increases, things I never thought about when living alone are accumulating one by one.

“Haa. I miss Ms. Lizetta…” I want to lie on her lap and have her stroke my head. As I leaned back against the hard bench, vaguely looking up at the sky turning orange.

“Sunbae-nim!” Suddenly, a lively voice from in front of me drew my gaze. As I lowered my head, what came into view was Mina, smiling and looking down at me with her hands clasped behind her back.

“I knew you’d be here.” “How did you know I was here?” “Sunbae-nim, you’re usually here if you’re not in the office.” “It’s not like I’m the only one who uses this place.” “That’s true. Hehe. You’ve had a tough time dealing with the Team Leader-nim today.”

Though it was a small comfort, there was nothing more thankful than someone acknowledging my struggles. “Has that person’s behavior been like this for a day or two? Thanks to them, overtime is confirmed for today.” At least I’d get overtime pay, so I wondered whether to take comfort in that or not.

“That’s. Why. This cute and admirable junior came personally to comfort Sunbae-nim. Here!” Then, Mina raised her voice and, with a triumphant tone, extended both arms, which had been clasped behind her back, towards me. In her hands was a plastic cup filled with a drink topped with plenty of whipped cream.

“What’s this?” “A café latte. When you’re stressed, caffeine and something sweet are the best, right?” “…” “Sunbae-nim?” I alternately looked up at the café latte and Mina’s face, then covered my eyes with my arm, pretending to cry. “I really did pick a good junior. *Sob*.” “Oh, come on, no need to cry in embarrassment. *Ahem ahem*. Well, it’s good that you know now.”

After a round of idle chatter, I took the latte Mina offered and sipped its contents. Through the straw, the bitterness of the caffeine and the rich sweetness of the whipped cream blended together, delighting my palate. Meanwhile, Mina also sat down lightly beside me, alternately swinging her slender legs up and down.

“It’s delicious.” “Right? It’s my favorite. When I’m tired and struggling, I endure by getting a ‘transfusion’ of this.” You drink this every time you’re having a tough time?

“…Aren’t you going to gain weight?” “*Tsk*. Sunbae-nim. You’re not very subtle with women. Don’t you know that if it’s delicious, it’s zero calories?” Well, whether it was truly zero calories or if she just managed herself well, Mina was indeed in good shape. Not as voluptuous as Kang Jooyoung, but her chest was still ample. Slender yet long, model-like legs. Plus, her approachable and lively personality. Without a doubt, there must have been quite a few people in the department who harbored impure thoughts towards her. Conversely, it seemed there were also groups who viewed her unfavorably.

“Thanks for the coffee.” “If you’re thankful, please treat me well from now on.” “Hey. Where else can you find a senior who treats their junior as well as I do? I don’t meddle much with work, and I cover most mistakes.” “That’s true~. It’s because I met such a pushover of a senior like you that I’ve managed to endure for two years.” “Hey, you punk, what do you mean by pushover, pushover? I’m a ‘considerate’ senior.” “Hehe. It’s a compliment, a compliment. It means you’ve treated me well. I like people who are pushovers.”

Mina said that and smiled, looking at me. Her alluring, subtly elongated eyes momentarily left me speechless.

“…It’s too late to sugarcoat it now, isn’t it?” “Oh, did you catch me?” She’s become an expert at teasing her senior. Still, chatting idly with my junior while eating something sweet made my heavy back feel a little lighter.

“But Sunbae-nim.” Then Mina subtly moved closer to my side. Her shoulder and mine were less than a handspan apart.

“Do you work out these days?” Mina’s eyes, like the sunset, scanned me from head to toe, just as they had when I arrived at work.

“I noticed this morning too, you seem a bit taller. And you’ve gained muscle.” Of course, with my body changing so much in just one day, it would be natural for someone to feel something was off. In fact, I was almost disappointed that no one had mentioned it until now.

“Even among my colleagues, they’re saying you’ve changed. That you’ve become cooler.” “Really?” “Just kidding.” “Hey…” Right. Would people’s perception of me change overnight like turning over a sheet of paper? I wasn’t that noticeable within the company anyway.

“Why are you getting so gloomy again? You’ll make the person who teased you feel sorry.” “Don’t tease me in the first place.” Does she come to work just to tease me?

“But seriously, how did you change so much in just one day?” “Just, well… I signed up for a gym a few months ago, and I guess the effects are just showing now.” This was the limit of the excuses my meager mind could conjure. It would sound more believable than saying it happened thanks to the traits I gained from possession.

“Hmm.” As if she couldn’t easily believe it, a suspicious gaze pierced my side.

“Sunbae-nim.” “…Why?” “Are you free tonight?” “What did you hear me say? I’m working overtime. But why do you ask?” At my question, Mina subtly averted her gaze, twirling a few strands of hair around her finger.

“Oh, nothing much… If you’re free, I thought we could grab dinner. For the first time in a while.” Did I hear that wrong? This atmosphere wasn’t just a casual question about finding a dinner companion. This tingling in my chest and flushed face…

“You, that…” Before I could open my mouth to say anything, Mina sprang up from the ground.

“Ah. I should probably head down soon. Unlike my poor Sunbae-nim, I need to get ready to leave work.” Her somewhat hurried tone lacked the playfulness of a moment ago. As I stood dumbfounded, Mina, who was about to step towards the rooftop door…

“…If by any chance, you finish early, please contact me. I’ll be waiting.” Leaving a soft word behind, she left the rooftop like the wind. Left alone on the bench, I stared blankly at the spot where she had been for a long time.

Years lived = Years without a girlfriend. For the first time in my solo life, it felt like the fresh scent of spring brushed past my nose.

****

Embracing the excitement, I returned to my desk and began revising the piled-up proposal. Excluding the overall concept, everything from the schedule to the costs had to be overhauled from top to bottom. By the time I was about halfway through, night had fully fallen, and darkness had settled outside the window.

Thus, in the office where everyone else had left and only silence reigned, I should have been alone. ‘Why hasn’t that person left yet?’ Peeking my eyes over the partition to check the Team Leader’s desk beyond, I saw Kang Jooyoung still remaining, staring at her monitor.

Kang Jooyoung was competent, but she wasn’t the type to be consumed by work. Normally, she would have finished her tasks faster than anyone and left at the regular quitting time. Did she really get into a fight with her husband?

The relationship between Kang Jooyoung and her husband was well-known among long-term employees. It was said that their family fortunes had sharply declined after her husband, who had been earning money with her as a dual-income couple, failed his business. Since then, her husband had remained unemployed. The household relied solely on Kang Jooyoung’s income.

As it was a rumor, I didn’t know how much was true and how much was false. If the rumor was true, I could understand her being stressed about her husband’s situation. But I wondered about her taking it out on me or other subordinates.

Just then, Kang Jooyoung’s gaze, which had been on the monitor, turned towards me. “Have you finished everything I assigned?” “Al, almost finished.” “Then, send it to me by email as soon as you’re done.” “Understood.” My plan to finish it roughly and leave it to my future self for tomorrow was out the window. Still, I had no time for disappointment now.

In the office, where only Kang Jooyoung and I remained, only the clicking sounds of keyboards and mice echoed. Thus, around 9 PM. I sent the completed proposal, which I had reviewed repeatedly, to Kang Jooyoung’s email. Now, it was homework inspection time.

“Team Leader-nim, please review the proposal.” “Just a moment.” Kang Jooyoung said that, then silently rolled her eyes while staring at the monitor. I waited, extremely tense, for the first words to fall from Kang Jooyoung’s lips. Please, let it be over in one go!

“Assistant Manager Lee.” “Yes, yes.” At the voice that came after a long wait, I turned my head to see Kang Jooyoung gesturing for me to come to her side. I awkwardly got up from my seat, like a dog caught urinating, and stood in front of Kang Jooyoung’s desk. She leaned back diagonally in her chair, looking alternately between the monitor and me.

She was incredibly beautiful. Especially the sexy thighs encased in pantyhose, extending from beneath her short suit skirt, were truly something else. How good would it feel to rub against those?

“First off, it’s much better than the initial draft.” Kang Jooyoung’s words, tossed out casually, cleared my mind of distractions. “I merely revised it according to the Team Leader-nim’s pointers.” I added a pinch of insincere flattery. Her expression softened slightly, apparently not taking it badly.

“I think the concept and idea themselves aren’t bad. Good enough to refine a bit more and release as an actual product.” “R-really?” She had tormented me so much until now, so why was she suddenly so generous? Not that the anger about the unfair tasks I’d done had subsided, however.

“Would I have made you go through all that trouble to revise it for no reason?” I thought it was for no reason. I barely swallowed the words that had risen to my throat.

“Anyway, you worked hard until late. And the proposal’s approval isn’t finalized yet, so don’t get too ahead of yourself.” “Ah, understood.” And whose fault was it that I suffered this much until this late hour?

“Alright, you can go now.” “Team Leader-nim, aren’t you leaving?” “I… still have some work left. Assistant Manager Lee, don’t worry about it and just head home.” Work left, she said. Though curiosity stirred, as she said, it was none of my business.

“Then, I’ll take my leave.” I bid farewell to Kang Jooyoung, quickly packed my things, and left the company building. Stepping outside, the night air, still not entirely devoid of coolness, greeted me.

“It’s much later than I expected.” Opening my phone to check the time, it was 10:30 PM. It was too late to have dinner, far too late. From Mina, there was just a text message from around 7 PM saying to contact her as soon as I finished. What should I do? There were two options. 1. Return home obediently. 2. Contact Mina.

“Hmm.” After some deliberation, I chose the second option. Perhaps it would really just be a meal and nothing more. Mina might refuse, saying it was too late. Or she might not answer at all. In that case, I’d just consider it my own overthinking and go home.

As the dial tone lengthened, the anxiety in my heart deepened. “…Haa. Right. Someone like me, what…” My body got a bit better, and now I have romantic feelings I didn’t have before? Such a thing couldn’t possibly happen so simply. Just as I was about to give up and hang up the phone…

[Sunbae-nim?] Just before my finger touched the screen, the call connected, and Mina’s voice was heard. [Sunbae-nim? Can you hear me?] Caught off guard by the unexpected situation, I didn’t know what to do, then cleared my throat and spoke. “Uh, uh-huh. I can hear you.”

[Did you finish work?] “Just now.” [You worked hard. It took you a long time.] “Well, it just ended up that way. Uh, did you eat dinner?”

[I already ate dinner.] “Oh, you did?” Of course. Given the time. What was I expecting?

[It’s too late for dinner. How about drinks?] At those words, my hopes, which had been bowed, suddenly perked up. “Drinks?”

[Yes. It’s the weekend tomorrow anyway. And I’m in the mood to have a drink with someone. How about it?] At Mina’s words, I subtly glanced in the direction of the station. The green light at the crosswalk was blinking, as if it didn’t have much time left. I quietly watched it, then turned my back. I felt sorry towards Ms. Lizetta, but when would such an opportunity come around again? I’ll apologize with all my might later.

“Where should I go?” [There’s a bar near my studio apartment that I often go to; I’ll send you the location via text.] After hanging up, I waited a moment, and Mina sent me a map via text. The bar Mina mentioned wasn’t too far from the company. I turned my head to check the traffic light, which had turned red, and then resumed my halted steps.

I won’t expect anything. I won’t expect anything, but… “…Should I buy condoms?” One has to get ahead of themselves a couple of times in life.