Due to the team member sitting on the edge of the table blocking the view, he lifted his face belatedly and paused as he spotted me. His irritated eyes widened for a moment.
“He’s here to see Han Team Leader.”
The woman pushed me toward the table and took the cup holder from my hand.
“You bought various ones. What’s this, a latte?”
“Ah… yes. That one and the next are lattes, and the rest are all Americanos…”
Quickly scanning the meeting room, fortunately, the quantity seemed to match perfectly. There were both familiar faces from the company and strangers. Ignoring the stares that seemed to treat me like an intruder, I grabbed the largest cup before the cup holder could move along the table. The woman, who was examining the lids with initials one by one, followed my hand with her gaze.
“What about that one? It looks the best.”
“…Oh, this one is for Han Team Leader…”
Unintentionally, I took a step back with the cup in hand. The surface of the paper, wrapped around my palm, felt warm.
“Is there a separate one for Han Team Leader? Is it expensive?”
“No, it’s not like that…”
Han Team Leader slowly stood up from his seat. The team member who had been looking at the screen behind his chair quickly moved aside. As he approached, I lowered my gaze from the table surface.
I thought my feelings were complicated, but they weren’t. I didn’t need to ponder whether I wanted to see him or the opposite. My chest felt warm, as if it had been soaked in warm water, seeing his face after two days. The skin, in contact with the air, seemed to vibrate like cotton getting closer to him. It was an unexpectedly immediate and simple reaction.
Approaching from behind where I stood still, he extended his arm and picked up the coffee. His fingers brushed lightly against the inside of my palm.
“It’s unexpectedly not bad.”
After taking a sip of coffee, he said. The voice from beside my ear was lower and more raspy than usual.
In the meantime, the cup holder completed one round along the table and was now empty. The woman drinking from the latte cup apologized.
“Lee Seodan, there’s nothing for you to drink.”
“It’s okay.”
“Well, do you want a sip of mine?”
Extending the cup, she smiled with her eyes closed, reminiscent of the time at the convenience store when she offered to buy me food. I thought it was just a whim then, but now it seemed to be her personality. Although I opened my mouth to refuse, Han Team Leader briskly tapped the table, quieting down the meeting room instantly.
“Now that the coffee’s here, take a ten-minute break and let’s resume. Don’t go far, those who need to concentrate can use these ten minutes.”
As soon as he finished speaking, only two people bowed their heads to the coffee without looking. The noise of pushing back chairs echoed loudly. Han Team Leader, without a word, nodded towards the door. Holding my bag, I quietly followed him out of the meeting room.
It was a corridor of an unfamiliar company. If that meeting room was the only space allocated for consultants, there wouldn’t be a separate place for us to talk. Following his brisk steps, I took out a file from my bag.
“I can show you this for feedback, so I can tell you in the hallway…”
Click, he forcefully turned any doorknob as he passed by. It didn’t open. The next door had clear sounds of people talking underneath it. Tsk, he clicked his tongue and grabbed my wrist. I was pulled along as we entered the small door to the right.
Feeling his way along the wall, he found the light switch.
It was a cramped supply room. If it were organized better, it would be more fitting to call it a warehouse. There were narrow spaces between shelves, filled with boxes of A4 paper for printing, carts for transporting goods, and folded parasols. As he pushed me inside and closed the door, dust clouded up when my back hit the shelf.
“…Team Leader, why did you bother…”
My nose itched as if I were about to sneeze. Grimacing and holding back the urge, I looked up at him. Han Team Leader, without acknowledging me, placed the coffee he held onto the empty space on the shelf.
“Who sent you here?”
His words fell sharply. After a brief hesitation, I answered truthfully.
“Deputy Park. He said there wouldn’t be any trouble since I’m a consulting team member.”
“He’s talkative.”
As if chilled to the bone, he muttered under his breath and remained silent thereafter. Not wanting to delay any further, I took out the corner-sticking file from my bag and offered it to him.
“Here, I’m supposed to show you this and get feedback… Until you’ve seen it, I’ll just wait here, standing…”
“Lee Seodan, even if you stand here, I doubt it will be within ten minutes.”
“Yes… I’ll wait until you have time.”
“No need to wait. Leave that here and head back to Seoul. I’ll read it by tomorrow morning and send an email to Deputy Park.”
Looking closer, it wasn’t just the lighting in the supply room that made his complexion appear pale. He glanced up with bloodshot eyes, and I found myself asking without realizing.
“Are you okay?”
“…Do I look that bad?”
Surprised by the question, he redirected his gaze. Unable to respond easily, I watched as he leaned against the closed door with a wry smile.
“Earlier, I was so tired that I thought I might be seeing things.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Don’t you need to rest?”
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“…”
Considering the team atmosphere during the past few days, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible why Deputy Park was so urgent. Without realizing it, I remained silent.
Suddenly, I thought that just as much as the consulting team members who would shuttle him back and forth to Incheon if he had an accident, TF also relied on him just as much. He carried so much burden on his shoulders, and if he were to crumble, there would be too many following him. Seeing his chapped lips, I felt a sudden pang of fear.
Han Team Leader, seeing my expression, chuckled as if amused.
“Just because I pulled an all-nighter doesn’t mean I’ll drop dead.”
“So, today…”
“I’ll get some sleep in the early morning. If you’re worried, just stay here quietly. Don’t make a fuss.”
I complied with his instructions and stayed silent. The narrow supply room, smelling of dust, gradually warmed with the scent of coffee and the warmth of human body temperature. He stood within arm’s reach, and I didn’t check the time.
The silence lingered. Neither of us spoke, yet the tension in the air grew slightly. His face seemed to inch closer to mine compared to earlier. I faintly caught his scent with each breath I took. Feeling like my legs might give out, I gripped the shelf behind me.
Unexpectedly, he murmured softly, “Ah,” and chuckled quietly, burying his face in his hands.
“Lee Seodan.”
“Yes?”
“Do you know this is the client company’s supply room?”
“Yes…”
“Oh, really?” he muttered under his breath through his hands. Thank goodness at least one of us is in their right mind.
“Did you have dinner?”
“No, not yet…”
“There are restaurants nearby, but I can’t leave right now to treat you to dinner.”
“You don’t have to worry about that.”
I had thought before, and it seemed that he particularly valued taking care of his subordinates’ meals.
“I’ll manage to eat on my own.”
“Okay.”
He replied simply and, without taking his eyes off me, slowly reached for the coffee cup with his outstretched hand. After turning the cup in his hand a few times, he removed the lid indifferently.
“Tomorrow is Saturday again.”
“Yes…”
“I might be unable to go to the office until the afternoon. Would you like to have dinner together before you go home?”
I realized I was nodding before fully comprehending. The thought that he might be tired crossed my mind belatedly, but my selfishness swallowed up the words. Just by glancing at his wristwatch, I could tell that roughly ten minutes had passed since we entered the supply room, but I didn’t bother to point that out. Han Team Leader took a sip of coffee and added.
“Think of a delicious menu.”
“Yes.”
“We should head back now.”
He checked his watch, reaching his arm behind to grab the door handle. The moment the door opened, I felt a sudden release of tension in my body.
Compared to the air in the supply room, the corridor felt distinctly cooler. There were fewer people passing by than before, indicating that most had probably left for the day. The restroom we passed by earlier had its lights turned off.
After walking about ten steps, he turned around to face me, who was following behind.
“Why are you following me?”
“Ah…”
Come to think of it, the elevator was in the opposite direction. I stopped, hesitated, and then spoke again.
“Is Han Team Leader… going into the meeting room now?”
“Then where are you going?”
By then, he had taken a few more steps ahead. I hurried to catch up, asking, “If Han Team Leader or any team members need anything, I’ll go and take care of it.”
“There shouldn’t be a need, probably. Getting coffee is enough.”
“Yes.”
It felt like we were halfway to the meeting room now. This time, he abruptly stopped walking altogether. It was so sudden that I almost bumped into him. With a breath, his scent wafted in.
Han Team Leader, looking down at my head from up close, asked, “Are you going to keep following like this?”
“Since I couldn’t greet you, I thought I’d accompany you to the door… and then greet you again there…”
I wasn’t sure what I was saying. He, who usually made sense of my random babbling, surprisingly smiled.
“It’s the first time I’ve been escorted all the way to the end of the corridor.”
“…”
Watching his retreating back, I hesitated for a moment and then hurried my steps to catch up. I matched the speed with Han Team Leader a couple of steps behind. It wasn’t as fast as usual, but it was manageable. This time, he left me to walk on my own until we reached the door of the meeting room.
There was a hint of laughter in the eyes looking back.
“Well, I’ll go in then.”
“Yes, please go ahead.”
I bowed in farewell. With the folder tucked under his arm, he opened the door. The place he entered swallowed him up, and there was no more sound flowing out.
I stood in front of the closed door for a long time. Whether it was because I skipped a meal or for some other reason, I felt a deep emptiness in my stomach. The intense hunger that made my fingertips tremble was rather surreal. Even though I knew it was absurd, my hand reached for the door handle.
I wanted to open the door and pull him out of there. To a hotel room, his house, or even to a restaurant where we could sit face to face. Somewhere he wasn’t a superior. Somewhere with no one else, where only I could face him.
My throat burned, and my stomach churned as if thirsty. The tingling sensation spread to my fingertips like a spreading thirst.
Leaning against the wall in the unfamiliar corridor of the company, I unfolded my palm and began counting. I had done this before, and the task didn’t feel strange. Even counting forward or backward, it all seemed the same. It was sufficient with just one hand. One, two, three. The number of Saturdays remaining, including tomorrow, was only that much.
***
For Saturday lunch, Deputy Park insisted on taking me out. After reading the detailed feedback that came from Han Team Leader who had come to work in the morning, I felt somewhat relieved. However, it made me uncomfortable to be brought out alone, making the situation awkward.
Although I hadn’t suffered much from the team members, the stiff menu that cost more than ten thousand won felt burdensome. Even if my colleagues, who were now looking down on me after yesterday’s incident, were to bother me, it wouldn’t matter much since, contrary to Deputy Park’s thoughts, I had no plans to work with the consulting team. While having lunch, Deputy Park received a text, and after checking his pocket, he smiled with a relieved expression.
“The presentation went well, and Han Team Leader had lunch before coming in.”
Feeling hungry, I quickly finished my meal. Deputy Park looked into my bowl and sarcastically remarked that since he had bought an expensive one, I should eat it well. Then, seemingly oblivious to my eagerness to return to the office, he sat me down and leisurely engaged in various small talks, playing with the spoon.
Let’s go back to the meeting room; the door was open, and the atmosphere was chaotic. Thinking it was because of Han Team Leader, I glanced around and spotted Supervisor Kim sitting alone at a desk. As Supervisor Kim turned around and saw Deputy Park, she brought her finger to her lips.
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
Seeming to sense my presence, Supervisor Kim gestured for Deputy Park to come closer. Deputy Park, upon hearing the whispered words, raised an eyebrow.
Although I didn’t want to ask until she volunteered the information, I couldn’t stay away because they had gathered near my desk. As I took off my coat and scarf, Supervisor Kim, who had been sizing me up, asked,
“Is Lee Seodan not a fan of gossip?”
“…Gossip, you mean?”
“Somehow, I thought it might be his personality. Deputy Kwon said he didn’t want to hear about it and left.”
If it was workplace gossip, the content was predictable. It often involved fights among employees or stories of romantic relationships. While it was rare for the stories to be entirely true or have any substantial value, Deputy Park, unexpectedly like an older gentleman, enjoyed hearing such tales. Even now, his eyes sparkled as he seemed to anticipate an amusing story from Supervisor Kim.
Caught between my reluctance and the desire to share, I hesitated, deciding to give it a try.
“Do you mean someone I know?”
“Yes!”
Supervisor Kim replied promptly.
“One of our team members?”
“Oh, you catch on quickly.”
Apart from TF, there were no overlapping relationships between Supervisor Kim, me, and anyone else. So, there was no reason for her to catch on quickly. Glancing around the meeting room, I saw that Deputy Kwon was out in anger, and both Supervisor Kim and Deputy Park were not involved.
An instinctive uneasiness told me not to ask. If I could, I would have sealed my lips. There was nothing good that could come out of it. Perhaps, I decided to leave the room until the topic passed. However, the moment I faced Supervisor Kim, words spilled out unexpectedly.
“Is it about Han Team Leader?”
“Wow, how did you know?”
Supervisor Kim, as if waiting for this, leaned forward. Since there was no one in the room other than me, she deliberately beckoned me closer. From her face, which was close enough for her floral-scented perfume to reach my ears, Kim spoke in a hushed voice.
“One of the HR employees had an important matter, so they went to a hotel for lunch, and there, they saw Han Team Leader.”
“…”
“He said he just glimpsed them, but if the rumor has spread to this extent, it’s probably not a mistake.”
I couldn’t control my hunched body. My heart pounded like a thudding mallet. I couldn’t recall when the last time Han Team Leader had used a hotel was. Even though it was not far from the company, there were times when we had stood together in the lobby. Who could have seen it? If they did, did they recognize me?
“Why is that?”
As if noticing an unexpected reaction, Supervisor Kim asked with a puzzled expression. I shook my head reflexively and glanced at my phone. If Deputy Park didn’t know about this rumor, I might have to inform him. I didn’t know the situation in which they were seen or how I appeared alongside that employee. I held my breath, but Kim spoke to Deputy Park.
“I heard the woman he was with seemed well-dressed. If the rumor is spreading to this extent, it’s not something to laugh off. You, too, Deputy Park, going around leisurely, acting like it’s nothing while everyone thinks you’re staying up all night because of TF, is quite amusing. My relationship with a man who seemed promising has also become cold lately.”
“Strictly speaking, it’s in the realm of personal privacy…”
“What’s funny is that there was a similar incident last year, right? That… marketing manager or was it a director back then. That time, Han Team Leader said he was a bachelor.”
“People change their minds as they live.”
Deputy Park replied lukewarmly. Supervisor Kim’s words became meaningful only belatedly to me. I couldn’t control my hunched body.
“Did Han Team Leader… check in?”
“…Why is your face like that, Lee Seodan? You didn’t think something else just because it was a hotel, did you?”
“Oh, Lee Seodan has a dirty mind.”
Deputy Park laughed, patting me on the back. I searched for him without turning to the open door.
“It might not have been a hotel but a different place.”
“That may be true, but it’s not common for a man and a woman to have a meal together at a hotel, is it?” Having conveyed her message, Supervisor Kim began to pull her chair back towards her seat as if her business was done. Turning the corner, she glanced in my direction, adding as if she had no particular thoughts. Well, it could be something else.
It was a type of trivial gossip often indulged in by those with nothing to do in the company. If the protagonist hadn’t been Han Team Leader, and if it wasn’t a time when everyone was so dedicated to the project that they had given up on their personal lives, anyone would have passed by without much interest. Would my past self have paid attention to such rumors, even a little? Would I have cared about their truth?
The wheels of the chair made an unpleasant friction noise as they caught on the table. Deputy Park looked at me with surprise.
“Lee Seodan, why are you like this?”
“…I’ll go to the restroom for a moment.”
“Oh, sure. It’s better to be inside before Han Team Leader arrives. Please hurry.”
Even though my eyes were open, I couldn’t see well. Stepping out of the meeting room, I stumbled over the threshold. In the corridor, I almost collided with someone walking from the opposite side. Unable to speak, I bowed my head instead of apologizing.
The restroom was empty. Like an animal seeking a place to breathe, I instinctively turned towards the interior of the partition but changed direction. Turning the tap to the maximum, I washed my hands. I splashed water on my face.
“…Ah.”
Water kept dripping through my trembling fingers. The damp bangs stuck to my forehead. When I raised my head, the mirror reflected a pale face with water dripping steadily down.
Three or four people entered the restroom at once. I wiped my face with my sleeves and escaped into the corridor as if fleeing.
“Are you really okay? Did something go wrong with your meal?”
Deputy Park grabbed me as soon as I entered the meeting room, asking. In the meantime, Managers Kwon and Yoon had also arrived. Everyone was pulling chairs to set up for the meeting.
“Or, is there something wrong?”
“…My head hurts a bit, but I’m okay.”
“Well, if it’s like that now, get some medicine after the meeting. Han Team Leader has arrived; he stopped by the department briefly before coming here.”
“Yes… I have medicine, so I’ll take it now.”
I hid my trembling hands behind my back, afraid of exposing them. Moving the chair towards the table felt stiff and unnatural. Deliberately rummaging through my bag, I took out a crumpled box of headache medicine. Deputy Park wasn’t even looking at me.
The meeting room buzzed with activity after a long time. Someone had brought snacks from the pantry and neatly arranged them on the table. Six chairs, including Han Team Leader’s chair, were arranged around the round table. Deputy Kwon, who had pulled the blackboard and markers to the side of Han Team Leader’s seat, stepped back, surveyed the whole room, and clapped his hands.
Meanwhile, Supervisor Kim was sitting next to Deputy Yoon, whispering. Words like hotel, marriage, and other unclear terms leaked out. I wished there were earplugs for the ears as well, closing off the thoughts like closing off the eyes. Apparently having a similar thought, Deputy Kwon suddenly raised her head.
“Can you please stop? I don’t understand why you keep spreading unconfirmed rumors since earlier, whether it’s true or not.”
Her voice was filled with strong annoyance. Supervisor Kim closed her mouth without answering and pushed her chair away as if sulking. Deputy Kwon turned her head, sighed, and in the meantime, Deputy Yoon’s face, unable to do anything, was visible.
Ultimately, Deputy Kwon’s criticism seemed to have the opposite effect, fueling Supervisor Kim’s resentment. As soon as Han Team Leader entered through the open door, Supervisor Kim caught his attention with a firm “Team Leader.”
“…What? If you called, say something.”
In a shirt different from what he wore yesterday, he hung a document bag on the chair and adjusted the position of the blackboard.
After calling him, Supervisor Kim hesitated for a long time as if she couldn’t speak. Han Team Leader, who had opened the cap of the marker and attached it to the tip, muttered in a low voice. Without directly responding, Supervisor Kim seemed to add something with her eyes that brushed over the black marker.
“We’re going to start the meeting; is there something urgent?”
“Well… it’s not something like that.”
By then, Deputy Kwon’s patience seemed to have run out. Interrupting Kim’s words with ‘Even if there is something,’ she asked bluntly,
“Is what you recently showed off at the hotel true?”
“…What are you talking about again?”
Han Team Leader muttered with a somewhat bitter voice. Without immediately continuing the conversation, his gaze dropped as if skimming over the black marker. When he raised his head, it seemed like his eyes briefly turned toward me, but it wasn’t clear.
Maybe I’m thinking too much into it, but this Supervisor Kim seems a bit shady. I think she is in love with the Team Leader and suspects that he has something going on with Lee Seodan which is why she told him that rumor and wants to separate them.
Thank you for the update!