Caution: adult content
The park two stops from the office was already turning red and gold.
Sunbae had been walking in silence for a while before stopping in front of a bench under a streetlamp.
"The reason I wanted to hide it at first was because of the evaluation."
"Yes."
"But after listening to the team leader today, I found out your evaluation had already been taken care of by you. There was nothing for me to protect you from."
Sunbae fiddled with the phone in their hand.
"Even so, since we keep hiding it, lately I've been thinking. It feels like I'm not the one protecting you, but the one hiding you."
Sunbae looked at me.
"Can I tell you?"
The wind blew, and fallen leaves rolled to my feet.
I nodded.
"But don't make it a big dramatic thing. I really can't stand that stuff."
"I know. You ran to the bathroom when your birthday cake came out in college."
"Why do you remember that."
"I remember everything."
Sunbae laughed.
And the laughter slowly faded.
Under the streetlamp, Sunbae's face was very close to mine.
"Yeoju."
It was a name they had never once called me at the company.
Their voice was low and careful.
"Yeah?"
Without thinking, I used the casual form.
Sunbae's eyes widened a little, then a trace of laughter spread through them.
Sunbae's hand touched my cheek.
It was the fingertips chilled by the cold wind, but the place they touched quickly grew warm.
Their thumb brushed my cheekbone once, as if asking permission.
I closed my eyes.
Our lips met.
At first it was a light, fleeting touch, as if to confirm it.
When I grabbed the front hem of Sunbae's coat, only then did they deepen the kiss once more.
The hand on my cheek slid behind my ear, into my hair.
The sound of leaves being stepped on receded into the distance.
Even the streetlamp's light, even the cold air.
When our lips parted, Sunbae's forehead was touching mine.
Our breaths mingled.
"...For six years, was that too fast?"
"For six years, that was way too late."
Sunbae laughed out loud.
With our foreheads pressed together.
*
The next morning, we met at the subway station in front of the company and commuted together for the first time.
It was the day we were going to tell the team at lunchtime.
Nothing dramatic, just naturally over lunch.
There were only the two of us in the first-floor elevator.
As soon as the doors closed, Sunbae took my hand.
Slowly threading their fingers through mine.
"...We're at work."
"Only until the 12th floor."
Sunbae's thumb slowly stroked the back of my hand.
The floor numbers climbed to 5, 6, 7.
I didn't pull my hand away.
"Yesterday."
"Yes."
"I didn't sleep a wink."
"...Neither did I."
Sunbae lowered their head and looked at me.
So close.
I thought of last night under the streetlamp and felt embarrassed.
Ding.
The doors opened.
Mr. Seonwoo was standing in front of the elevator.
With a coffee carrier in one hand.
All three of us froze.
Mr. Seonwoo's gaze slowly dropped downward.
And stopped at our interlocked hands.
"...Oh."
I reflexively tried to pull my hand away.
Sunbae didn't let go.
"Good morning, Mr. Seonwoo."
"M-Mr. Yang, the, the hand..."
"Yes."
Sunbae said very calmly.
Only their ears were bright red.
"We're dating."
Mr. Seonwoo's mouth fell open.
As the coffee carrier tilted, Sunbae supported it with their free hand.
The other hand was still holding mine.
The plan to tell them at lunchtime was over ten minutes after arriving at work.
Mr. Seonwoo dumped the coffee on us and ran into the office.
"Team leader! Team leader! Assistant Manager Yang and Yeoju!"
When we went in after him, the team leader was flipping through documents at his desk.
"Ah, that?"
The team leader didn't even look up.
"Does anyone on our team not know about that?"
Mr. Seonwoo froze in place.
Sunbae froze too.
Manager Yujin poked her face out from behind her monitor.
"I've known Assistant Manager Yang liked Yeoju since March."
"...March?"
For the first time, Sunbae's voice cracked.
"When we were looking for support for the new hire mentor, Assistant Manager Yang was the first to raise his hand. Then he pulled all-nighters for a whole week making the handover documents. Everyone on our team has seen that document for new hires, but it was the first time I'd seen one that thick."
I suddenly remembered the document I'd looked through on the subway on my first day.
A document that wasn't in the handover materials.
"What?!"
Mr. Seonwoo shouted.
"I was the only one who didn't know? Seriously, just me?"
"You were too busy trying to figure out who Assistant Manager Yang was dating."
At Manager Yujin's words, the office burst into laughter.
The team leader laughed too.
Only Sunbae couldn't laugh. With their ears red all the way to their neck, they stood there holding the coffee carrier.
Only then did I quietly pull my hand free from Sunbae's and tug at their sleeve. It meant to sit down now.
As Sunbae sat down, they muttered so only I could hear.
"...I knew everything."
"Guess so."
I said quietly, holding back my laughter.
"Sunbae really didn't know anything, huh."
*
On the way back in after lunch, I stopped by the first-floor café alone.
For the seven months since joining the company, I'd always ordered an iced Americano here.
Enduring the bitterness, believing that was the taste of being an office worker.
"One caramel macchiato, please. With whipped cream."
The staff member nodded.
It was nothing.
Really, nothing at all.
"And one iced Americano."
After going back up to the office, I set the Americano on Sunbae's desk.
Sunbae looked at the cup, then at me.
"What is this."
"I bought whatever."
Sunbae couldn't say anything and just held the cup.
At the next desk, Manager Yujin hid her smile behind her monitor.
This time, there wasn't even any need to hide it.
I sat at my desk and stuck in a straw.
The sweet, rich taste spread through my mouth.
It was the first time I'd bought something myself at the company.
My phone vibrated. It was Hyunseo.
Hey, your team news already reached our floor
They said you got caught holding hands with Assistant Manager Yang in the elevator lol
We didn't get caught, we were going to tell them anyway
That's even funnier
*
Toward the end of the workday, it started raining.
This time, we didn't go out through a different exit.
The two of us took the elevator together and went down to the first-floor lobby together.
At the revolving door, we ran into Assistant Manager Seunghun from the strategic planning team.
He was Sunbae's college classmate.
Assistant Manager Seunghun looked back and forth between us, then patted Sunbae on the shoulder.
"Hey, Yang Jeongwon. I heard all the rumors. Got caught in the elevator, huh."
"...Already?"
"Already? Come on. I've been hearing this story for years since college."
Assistant Manager Seunghun smiled at me.
"Yeoju, you really had it rough. It took this guy forever."
Sunbae pushed him in the back.
Assistant Manager Seunghun laughed and went through the revolving door first.
I took a yellow umbrella out of my bag.
A white cat swayed on the strap.
"I'll hold it today."
"You're short."
"Then you bend down."
Sunbae laughed and bent down a little.
They took the bag I was carrying instead and looped an arm around me.
We walked out under the yellow umbrella.
The rain grew heavier and heavier.
Sunbae's place was a fifteen-minute walk from the office.
It was closer than the station.
"Let's stop by my place. I'll take you home when the rain lets up."
I nodded instead of answering.
My hand gripping the umbrella handle was damp with sweat.
*
Sunbae's place was neater than I'd expected.
It looked just like their desk at work.
Pens with pens, books with books.
While folding the umbrella at the entrance, Sunbae burst out laughing when they looked at me.
"Your shoulder."
Looking down, I saw my right shoulder was soaked through.
Sunbae's side was perfectly fine.
It seemed they'd been tilting the umbrella only toward themselves the whole walk.
"Hold on."
Sunbae brought over a towel and draped it over my head.
Then they carefully dried my hair through it.
Through the towel, I could see Sunbae's face.
They were smiling, but their eyes weren't smiling.
"Cold?"
"...No."
It wasn't cold.
The wet blouse clung to my shoulders, and every time Sunbae's hand brushed the nape of my neck through the towel, my breath grew a little shorter.
Sunbae's hand stopped.
The towel slid down onto my shoulders.
The entryway sensor light went out, leaving only the faint light coming from the living room.
This time, I was the one to move first.
I stood on tiptoe and tugged on Sunbae's tie.
Sunbae inhaled sharply.
And kissed me back in a way completely different from the park.
Careful was only for the first time.
The front door touched my back. Sunbae's hand wrapped around my waist and pulled me close.
Through the wet clothes, Sunbae's body heat came through exactly as it was.
"Yeoju."
With our lips parted, Sunbae called my name.
Their voice was low and rough.
"...If you want to leave, I'll take you home right now."
Sunbae's forehead touched mine.
Even as they said that, the arm around my waist didn't loosen at all.
I gripped one button on Sunbae's shirt.
"Sunbae."
"Yeah."
"You said you waited six years."
Sunbae closed their eyes for a brief moment.
Then they lifted me up into their arms.
The living room lights stayed off.
Only the sound of rain kept coming in from outside.
"Are you okay?"
"...Yeah."
"The cold part."
"There's none."
Sunbae checked on me one by one, just like at the office.
Then, when my answers kept trembling, they stopped asking.
"...Oppa."
Sunbae froze exactly where they were.
"What did you just call me."
"Jeongwon oppa."
Sunbae buried their face in my shoulder.
For a long while, they only caught their breath.
"You really..."
After that, Sunbae didn't ask anything else.
*
When I opened my eyes, the sky outside had cleared.
It was an unfamiliar ceiling.
The blanket smelled like Sunbae.
The same fabric softener scent I'd smelled in the break room and on the pale blue handkerchief.
An arm from behind was wrapped around me.
Breathing brushed the back of my neck.
It was an awake breath.
"...How long have you been awake?"
"A little while ago."
I thought of the Americano in the café, where the ice had all melted.
It didn't seem like just a little while.
I smiled and turned my head.
Sunbae buried their face in my shoulder.
Their ears were red.
So much so it was hard to believe it was the same person from last night.
"Last night."
Sunbae muttered with their face still buried in my shoulder.
"Do you remember what I called you?"
"...I don't remember."
"Liar."
Sunbae lifted their head.
They were smiling.
"Say it once more."
It was the same face as that night when they told me to call them Sunbae once more in front of the house.
I pulled the blanket up to the tip of my nose.
And from inside the blanket, I said quietly.
"...Jeongwon oppa."
Sunbae froze in place.
Then they buried their face in my shoulder again.
This time, not just their ears but the nape of their neck was red too.
"...I'm done for."
"Why?"
"Now I won't be able to hear you call me manager at work anymore."
I burst out laughing under the blanket.
Sunbae couldn't lift their head for a long time.
The entrance came into view.
The yellow umbrella was hanging to dry from the hook by the shoe cabinet.
The black cat was swaying on the strap.
Right beside it, Sunbae's key ring was hanging there.
With a black cat too.
The umbrella that had been hanging from the classroom door handle six years ago was now hanging side by side at Sunbae's front door.
With their face still buried in my shoulder, Sunbae muttered.
"I'm kind of an idiot only in front of you."
"Not kind of. A lot."
"...Since when did you know."
"From the beginning."
Sunbae lifted their head.
They looked a little flustered.
"Then why didn't you say anything."
I brushed Sunbae's bangs back with my fingers.
The hair that never came out of place at the office was a mess now, flattened down.
"Because you were cute."
Sunbae couldn't say anything.
Then they buried their face in my shoulder again.
Their ears were even redder than before.
They were someone who never got stuck for words in meetings.
But only in front of me, they'd forget what to say and turn red starting with their ears.
They say love makes you stupid.
I want this person to be stupid only for me for the rest of my life.
The end!! I love Manager Jeongwon so much....//
I'll bring the side story too!!
If there's anything you're curious about, feel free to leave a comment anytime heheh~ㅎㅎㅎ
