Updated 6/29/26 with correct chapter text
The office was busier than usual, with talk of a designer meeting. Giyun, who arrived in the afternoon, quietly headed to his seat.
Manager Kim, who was organizing documents after re-examining the meeting materials, spotted Giyun and his eyes sparkled as if he’d remembered something.
“Giyun, can I see you for a moment?”
Manager Kim suddenly caught Giyun as he was trying to sit down. He gestured for Giyun, who had wide, startled eyes, to follow him quietly.
“What happened with that?”
Manager Kim, who pushed Giyun into an empty breakroom and closed the door, asked point-blank. When Giyun just blinked, not understanding, he added an explanation in a prompting tone.
“That friend from before. What happened with that guy?”
“Ah….”
“Did you break up well? Cleanly?”
What happened…. Didn’t you have to have met to break up? Giyun rolled his eyes uncomfortably. The curious gaze demanding an answer was burdensome.
Since Manager Kim had preached and advised him on the roof until his voice was dry that ‘that man’ was no good, it was understandable that he would be curious to see if things had turned out as he said. Regardless of the utility of the advice, Giyun didn’t want to lie to Manager Kim, the only one who had listened to his concerns seriously.
After a moment’s thought, Giyun answered concisely.
“They said they slept together.”
“Crazy.”
The harsh words flew out instantly, making Giyun flinch. Certainly, this wasn’t the answer Assistant Manager Kim had been hoping for.
“Crazy, absolutely crazy! He actually touched that kid? Just because they’re over twenty doesn’t mean they’re the same as any other adult! That innocent child… I should have stopped him more. How am I supposed to deal with this guilt?”
“Assistant Manager, please calm down.”
Giyun broke into a cold sweat trying to soothe the erupting fury of Assistant Manager Kim. He felt a belated regret, wondering if he should have just made up a vague story since he didn’t even know who the man was.
If he had told him a satisfying conclusion, that his friend had finally ignored the man’s calls and advances, Assistant Manager Kim would have been pleased. In reality, there had been no calls or advances from Seungjo, even if Giyun himself had been the one to seek him out first.
“That peach-fuzz baby, and some hairy old man, huh? That half-unemployed thief, that thick-skinned bastard… I bet he looks like a mountain bandit!”
“No, he doesn’t, Assistant Manager.”
Feeling like a criminal, Giyun added a comment that was neither a consolation nor an excuse.
“…My friend said they liked it.”
Now that he had said it, it sounded like he was just trying to make him even angrier. Assistant Manager Kim’s face was painted with shock.
“I mean… do you even talk about that with your friends?”
Well, because it was him. Giyun gave an awkward quirk of his lips. When no answer came, Assistant Manager Kim sighed as if giving up.
“That friend is really… No, looking at this, it’s clear that talking more won’t help. Just tell them to figure it out between themselves from now on.”
“Yes…”
“I mean, it’s someone else’s life, so why should I get worked up? I’ve done all I can, so you stop worrying too, Giyun. Even if they end up crying and regretting it later, that’s their problem.”
He was right. It was everyone’s own business. Giyun silently nodded at the undeniably correct words.
In the meantime, the team leader called Assistant Manager Kim, and he hurried away, saying he had to go. Having exhausted his mental energy from the conversation, Giyun lingered blankly in the empty breakroom for a while before finally leaving.
With Assistant Manager Kim and the team leader gone on their business trip, the surroundings became noticeably quiet. As he was unpacking his bag at his desk, Giyun happened to lock eyes with Sangbin, who was glancing around the area.
“Giyun, want to grab some coffee? It’s been a while.”
“…Sure.”
He didn’t know why that piece of work hadn’t gone with them. Swallowing a sigh, Giyun turned and headed to the pantry. Only after making Sangbin’s coffee did Giyun finally sit properly in his seat. Lamenting the fact that he had arrived at the office long ago but still hadn’t even turned on his computer, Giyun pressed the power button.
“Huh? This isn’t vanilla syrup.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s hazelnut. I don’t like this.”
“Ah…”
The syrup bottles looked identical except for the printed text on the outside, so he must have gotten confused. Giyun gave a sheepish smile. “I’ll give you vanilla next time.”
“Ugh, I hate hazelnut. I don’t even want to smell it.”
The grumbling about why he should have been careful from the start flowed unfiltered over the partition. Even as he tried to ignore it, the muttering seemed endless.
Hazelnut hates you too, Giyun thought, suppressing the urge to snap back. He wasn’t a child complaining about side dishes; if this were his younger brother, he would have given him a stern scolding, but he couldn’t do that here.
Giyun pondered for a moment. Should he firmly tell him to make his own coffee and fight back against Sangbin’s tyranny to win his freedom? Or…
“…Shall I make it again then?”
“Oh, would you? I absolutely cannot drink this.”
If Sangbin were a reasonable human being, he wouldn’t have asked him to run coffee errands in the first place. Rather than clashing with him as a part-timer and dealing with an unmanageable aftermath, it was faster to just make a new cup of coffee. Moreover, with the team leader and Assistant Manager Kim absent, there was no one to take his side.
Snatching the tumbler Sangbin held out as if he’d been waiting, Giyun trudged back to the pantry. With the mindset of ‘giving an extra piece of rice cake to the one you hate,’ Giyun opened the refrigerator and took out the syrup and milk. In his heart, he wanted to put in skim milk powder, but he felt dismayed that the pantry fridge only contained clean milk from an eco-friendly, certified organic farm.
Vowing to charge money every time he was asked to make coffee from now on, Giyun poured the coffee from the tumbler into the sink. Honestly, it felt like a waste. Maybe he should have just drunk it himself. Just as he was feeling regretful, he locked eyes exactly with Seungjo, who had entered the pantry.
Giyun froze, holding the tumbler upside down. He never expected to run into him in a place like this. He hadn’t even realized he had entered the office.
Giyun belatedly bowed his head, but Seungjo paid little attention to the greeting. He glanced at the coffee ruthlessly poured into the sink and then extracted an espresso from the machine. It seemed he had also come for coffee. The sound of the machine running broke the silence, ringing loudly.
“You save the office electricity as if it were your own, yet you throw away coffee without hesitation.”
“…”
“A fascinating economic concept.”
What did that look of amusement mean? Giyun wasn’t in the mood to listen to his sarcasm today. As Giyun remained silent with his head bowed, Seungjo stepped closer.
“I guess the beans didn’t taste good?”
There was a sense of déjà vu in his words. It felt like he was talking about something other than coffee.
“Still, is it right to throw it away after just one sip?”
The following sentence confirmed it. The way he spoke kept reminding him of that day, and Giyun’s cheeks flushed involuntarily. He wanted to scrub his face with cold water instead of the tumbler to bring down the heat.
“…I didn’t drink it.”
“You throw it away without even tasting it?”
Fearing what other unmanageable topic might come out of his mouth, Giyun replied quickly.
“It wasn’t my coffee.”
“Whose was it?”
“Mr. Park… Sangbin.”
“Why are you throwing away someone else’s coffee?”
“Ah, I made it wrong.”
“What?”
“I have to make him a new one….”
Since his own coffee was now in the cup, it seemed his business in the pantry was finished. Hoping he would leave, Giyun answered every question diligently, but as the conversation continued, Seungjo’s expression changed subtly.
“Why is Eun Giyun making Park Sangbin’s coffee?”
It was when Giyun felt the voice drop lower than usual. The hand washing Sangbin’s tumbler in the sink lost its place. In the blink of an eye, Seungjo snatched the tumbler, wearing an expression Giyun had never seen before.
“And why are you doing the dishes?”
“…That’s…”
Answering diligently wasn’t always the solution. Giyun felt that something was going seriously wrong.
“Sir, wait a moment…!”
In the meantime, the coffee machine ran once more. Ignoring Giyun’s attempt to stop him, Seungjo left the pantry and walked straight toward Sangbin’s desk.
“I brought your coffee.”
“Why did it take so lo—”
Sangbin, who was about to mindlessly take a sip of the coffee placed on his desk, stopped mid-sentence, sensing something off about the voice.
Sangbin hurriedly looked up. The moment he saw the CEO, who had personally graced his desk with a visit, he bolted upright. It was a level of courtesy he had never shown in the office.
“CEO, what brings you….”
“I came by as a CEO, worried that Park Sangbin’s arms and legs might have been broken….”
Seungjo slowly scanned Sangbin from head to toe. It was an arrogant gaze that didn’t match his gentle expression.
“You look perfectly fine?”
Looking again, he wasn’t gentle. Sangbin didn’t know what kind of explanation to give to a CEO who expressed regret over his perfectly intact limbs. His mouth froze, and he couldn’t even speak properly. Should he say he was sorry for being healthy, or should he pretend his limbs were broken right now?
“Anyway, I made this.”
Ignoring Sangbin’s inner conflict, Seungjo gestured with his chin toward the tumbler on the desk.
“I don’t know if it will suit your picky taste.”
A rich coffee aroma and a very sweet vanilla scent wafted from the well-made latte. However, the look in Sangbin’s eyes as he looked down at the tumbler was similar to that of a criminal receiving a cup of poison. There probably wasn’t actual poison inside, but he felt he would die if he drank it.
“Y-you must be busy, how could you do something like this….”
“Who in this place isn’t busy? And yet my assistant seems to have plenty of free time?”
A sharp sting was embedded in the seemingly indifferent expression and light response. However, this was only the beginning.
“Eun Giyun is my assistant, not Park Sangbin’s servant.”
“…”
“With what nerve does Park Sangbin steal the time and energy that are already insufficient just to handle the tasks I assign?”
It was scarier because Seungjo wasn’t raising his voice or acting angry. Every time he pointed out the main issue clearly, Sangbin’s face turned pale, as if he had actually drunk the poison. Regardless, the dry voice continued to tighten the noose around Sangbin’s neck.
“If you want to drink coffee made by someone else, buy it yourself. Cafes are everywhere outside. Do you really lack common sense to the point where I have to tell you this one by one?”
“…I just… I asked him as a favor….”
“Let’s be precise with our words. It wasn’t a favor; it was being a nuisance. Don’t bring your lack of upbringing into my office.”
Seungjo cut Sangbin off. It was a declaration that he would not listen to nonsense.
“It’s not like you just joined a day or two ago; at your age, Park Sangbin, can you still not distinguish between public and private matters?”
The office became deathly silent. Even the loud typing sounds that had been echoing from here and there when the CEO appeared at Sangbin’s desk were now barely audible.
“…I’m sorry….”
Completely intimidated, Sangbin dropped his head pitifully. However, the situation didn’t end there.
“Uh, CEO. Is there perhaps some problem….”
To make matters worse, the Director, who oversaw practical operations, had stepped out. Unlike the CEO’s office, the Director’s office was attached to the main office where the employees gathered. He had kept the door slightly ajar, and when the office suddenly became quiet as if water had been poured over it and the CEO’s voice, which was rarely heard, rang out, the surprised Director had rushed out.
“Director. Is the company struggling these days?”
The Director was flustered by the sudden question. What is it? Did that new hire get caught spreading rumors that the company is going bankrupt?
“Not at all. The company is growing every year.”
The Director, who had been casting a displeased eye toward Sangbin, answered calmly. He knew there must be an intention behind asking something that was obviously not true.
“Then has it come to this because we are short-handed?”
This was truly unusual. The Director’s expression gradually began to resemble Sangbin’s.
“One must be selective when hiring. If you take anyone just because you’re in a hurry, problems arise. Like right now.”
While Seungjo elegantly reprimanded the Director, the Director, who was much older than Seungjo, kept his hands clasped and listened intently. Needless to say, Sangbin, who had suddenly become ‘anyone,’ was in a worse state. He seemed to be breathing while standing, but his face was ashen and his lips were blue.
In the office that had become not just quiet but solemn, Seungjo, having finished his points one by one and sent the Director back, called Giyun.
“Eun Giyun.”
“Yes…?”
At the entrance of the pantry, Giyun, whose face was equally pale with shock, was trembling as he looked over. Seeing this, Seungjo frowned.
“Pack your bag and come here.”
He couldn’t bring himself to look at Sangbin. Unable to make eye contact with anyone, Giyun quietly packed his bag and followed Seungjo, who was walking far ahead, keeping his footsteps as quiet as possible.
The place he was led to after leaving the office was the CEO’s office. Seungjo opened the door, but Giyun actually took a step back.
“What are you doing? Why aren’t you coming in?”
“Why would I… come in here….”
“It’s funny that you say that, Eun Giyun.”
A gaze of disdain swept over Giyun.
“After you barged in without even knocking.”
Before more talk of that day could come out of Seungjo’s mouth, Giyun quickly stepped inside. The longer the conversation went, the more disadvantaged he became.
“How many times has something like this happened until now?”
Even after Giyun entered obediently, Seungjo’s expression didn’t soften. Giyun, who hadn’t expected things to escalate this much over a single cup of coffee, held his breath while gauging Seungjo’s mood.
“Not many times.”
“I said how many.”
It felt like it had been at least ten times, but Giyun decided to minimize the number as much as possible. He never thought the day would come when he would worry about Sangbin’s well-being.
“I don’t remember exactly… but very occasionally. Just once in a while….”
“So it was consistent.”
Giyun’s eyes widened. He hadn’t put it that way; he didn’t know why his words were interpreted like that.
“And who else made you do this?”
“No one. Nobody.”
Giyun shook his head vigorously. Even if there were others, there had to be none. He wasn’t even prepared for how to look Sangbin in the face from now on; he couldn’t increase the number of people he had to brace himself for.
Scanning Giyun as if measuring the truth, Seungjo snapped coldly.
“You’re doing a great job.”
Giyun swallowed hard. The arrow-like attacks that had shredded Sangbin were finally aimed at him.
“Do you have nothing better to do after coming all the way to the office? What do you keep that useless mouth for? Can’t you say you hate it if you hate it?”
Giyun cast his eyes down. He wondered if he should be grateful that no one else was here. His heart pounded thinking about being scolded as much as Sangbin was.
It felt unfair because he hadn’t done it because he liked it. To be in a situation where he did something he didn’t want to do and then got scolded for it. The reason he had made Sangbin’s coffee every time was that he didn’t want to cause a disturbance in the office over something trivial. He hadn’t known that doing as he was told would lead to a bigger incident. If he had known Seungjo would hate it this much, he wouldn’t have done it.
“…Making coffee isn’t a big deal. It was more uncomfortable to refuse….”
He could have just bowed his head, apologized, and promised not to do it again, but Giyun spoke his feelings honestly. He didn’t know why. Perhaps it was because Seungjo had, in any case, taken his side in the office, or perhaps it was a desire to be understood by him, even in a matter like this.
“So, you’re saying you’re suited for being a lackey?”
“It’s not that… it’s just that the work I do is originally like that.”
“Eun Giyun, where did you learn to talk such nonsense?”
A voice thick with irritation sounded low. Conversely, after speaking his mind, Giyun felt his heart grow calm.
“Anyway, the work I’m assigned is something anyone can do….”
Giyun calmly repeated the words Seungjo had told him in the hallway when he had gone to see him after being cut from his basic lectures at the last minute.
“You said it doesn’t matter who does it… you said that too, sir.”
Seungjo froze, his brow furrowed. For a moment, a look of bewilderment clouded his iron-clad, stubborn expression.
“That was….”
With a face that had heard something unexpected, he remained silent for a while.
Although there was a bit of trivial complaining mixed in, he hadn’t said it to make him feel guilty. He didn’t seem like the kind of person who would regret the words he had spoken.
“I’m sorry. I spoke carelessly in the heat of the moment that day.”
Now it was Giyun who was flustered. It was because he hadn’t expected Seungjo to apologize for something he had said. Aside from the fact that his expression didn’t look particularly sorry, it was a flawless apology.
“No, it’s okay. It wasn’t wrong.”
“I never said I was wrong.”
As Giyun waved his hands frantically in agitation, Seungjo gave a short snort, his face returning to its natural coldness.
“However, what I said then and what happened today are separate issues, so don’t make unnecessary connections. That’s a leap in logic.”
“…Yes.”
“Don’t listen to other people; just do what I tell you. I don’t pay you a salary to serve others.”
“Yes….”
The conversation ended with a piece of advice that was cleaner than the apology. Having seen the devastated Sangbin, he had been fully prepared for the worst, so he was relieved it ended at this level. He had even received an unexpected apology.
In the heat of the moment… He wanted to ask exactly what he had been angry about, but he knew the man wouldn’t tell him.
Turning his back, Seungjo took a laptop from a shelf.
“Finish the remaining work before you go.”
“…Work? Here?”
Having received the laptop in a daze, Giyun stood there blinking blankly. Was the reason he called him here to make him work?
“Why, did you think we were going to fuck?”
Giyun felt dizzy at the sudden, blunt remark. The moment he stepped into the CEO’s office, the events of that day had reflexively come to mind, but he swore he hadn’t had such expectations. However, he couldn’t help the way both his cheeks ripened red just from hearing it. Seungjo’s eyes narrowed as he carefully observed that reaction.
“You look like you were expecting it.”
“I wasn’t.”
“Just do your work then.”
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