Don't Talk About Him
"Ah, it seems I've taken up too much of both your time. I'll take my leave first."
As Choi Gyeong-rok rose from his seat, Min-ah's spine straightened at once. It was the perfectly natural, efficient motion of a new employee whose body had been trained to stand the moment an important meeting ended. Caught in the strange rhythm between them, I stood up a beat too late, half-rising in an awkward scramble.
"I'll see you at the office, Min-ah. And it would be nice to run into you from time to time as well, Min-woo."
Only after Gyeong-rok left behind those characteristically relaxed words and stepped through the door could we sink back into our seats.
"Whew, that really startled me. Who would've thought we'd run into him on the very first day?"
Min-ah swept a hand down her chest and let out a sigh of relief. Her expression cleared into something transparent and bright, making it hard to believe she was the same person who had been frozen stiff under Choi Gyeong-rok's gaze only moments ago. I studied the flush that had risen in her cheeks now that the tension had drained away.
"Why are you looking at me like that, Oppa?"
"No... it's nothing."
I swallowed dryly, searching for the right words, but in the end I couldn't hold back what I was really thinking.
"Is that how you normally act at the company?"
"How?"
Min-ah tilted her head, curious.
"...It's a little strange. You were practically fawning over him like he was some untouchable superior. Even outside the office."
Min-ah blinked at me, then let out a small laugh as if it were nothing.
"He is my superior, so what~ Our company has that kind of culture."
I suppose that was true. Maybe every company was like that and I simply hadn't known. Still, a murky discomfort lingered in one corner of my mind. The way Min-ah had tensed at every word from Choi Gyeong-rok and relaxed the instant he offered praise looked different from the Min-ah I knew.
I wanted to ask more, but right then the counseling room door opened and the burly dedicated trainer walked in. The question that never made it past my lips stayed lodged inside my chest.
—-
After changing into the gym-provided workout clothes and loosening up, Min-ah asked me,
"Oppa. Have you ever worked out before?"
"A little, before I met you. I had a truly excellent and very famous teacher."
Min-ah leaned forward, eyes sparkling with anticipation.
"Oh! Who!? Do I know them too?"
"Of course. A YouTuber with a whopping 750,000 subscribers."
"Aha. So you taught yourself from YouTube?"
The hope in Min-ah's eyes collapsed. They narrowed, her face settling into an expression that said I knew it.
"Hey now, Seo Min-ah. You're the one who's going to come running to me first the moment it gets hard, aren't you?"
"Hing."
I ruffled Min-ah's hair and wandered among the machines, inspecting them one by one. The polite trainer who had handled our consultation approached with an oddly friendly smile.
"Sir, how about starting with some cardio on your first day?"
I had indeed been at a loss, wondering which machine to touch among the monstrous men I'd glimpsed through the glass earlier.
"The treadmills these days are really something. They've even got huge monitors on the front."
As I poked curiously at the screen, Min-ah cleared her throat as if she finally had a chance to show off her knowledge.
"Oppa, really. Calling it a running machine so ignorantly. It's a treadmill."
The way she rolled her eyes and acted superior made me chuckle. She was cute. I unnecessarily pumped myself up and slowly increased the speed.
But I ran out of breath far quicker than expected. My heart hammered and breath scraped at the back of my throat.
Ugh. I must have taken too long a break from exercising. After moving in with Min-ah I'd done nothing but eat, so this was probably the natural result.
"Keep running for a bit. I'm going to the bathroom."
"Oong. Go ahead, Oppa."
Min-ah was jogging lightly on the treadmill without even wearing earphones. Even though we'd eaten the same things, she didn't seem to be struggling at all. If anything, I was the one who needed the workout….
I sat on the toilet in the bathroom, phone in hand, forcing down my ragged breathing. I didn't want Min-ah to see me struggling this badly.
"Huu… why did I say I'd start exercising?"
I muttered to myself, wallowing in self-pity, until someone entered and I quickly fell silent.
"Hey. Did you see her earlier? That woman running on the treadmill by herself."
"I saw. New member? She was fucking gorgeous."
My fingers froze on the phone screen. They were clearly talking about Min-ah.
"But wasn't she with her boyfriend or whoever earlier?"
"So what if she was? We can still get friendly."
The sound of running water filled the air, followed by the two men snickering.
"Aah. Get friendly, maybe grab a drink together?"
"And then maybe fuck once, you bastard."
The men laughed as though it was the funniest thing in the world and left the bathroom.
My fists kept clenching. I couldn't stand them making cheap, filthy jokes about Min-ah behind her back. I kicked the stall door open and stormed out, but they had already finished and gone.
The anger wouldn't settle. I exhaled heavily and left the bathroom to return to Min-ah.
On the treadmill, Min-ah was watching a pair of men who had approached her with a troubled expression.
"I'm sorry. I have a boyfriend."
"We're just trying to be friends. What does having a boyfriend matter?"
The men were pressing the timid-looking Min-ah, demanding her number.
"I'm sorry."
"Come on, just give us your number. We'll be exercising together and seeing each other around anyway, so don't make it awkward~"
Min-ah, who had slowed the treadmill, shook her head with an anxious face. I was furious and about to step in when Gyeong-rok slid between them.
"That's enough."
"Wh… who are you?"
The men flinched at the sight of Gyeong-rok and took a step back. He didn't say another word, simply watching them in silence. A moment later a trainer came running.
"Gentlemen! We agreed you wouldn't harass the female members!"
"H-harass… we were just…"
Watching them stammer in panic didn't make the unpleasant feeling in my chest fade. When had they been so bold while harassing Min-ah from behind?
Before the situation could escalate further, the men apologized to Min-ah and practically fled the gym. Gyeong-rok silently patted Min-ah's shoulder twice, then returned to his own workout without a word.
"…What happened?"
"Oppa! Ah… it's nothing."
She was biting her lip hard. It was the face of someone trying desperately to pretend everything was fine.
"…Let's go."
"Mm…."
I took Min-ah's hand and left the gym. The trainer came running after us to apologize, but I didn't answer.
—
To lift Min-ah's mood, we headed to a samgyeopsal restaurant for dinner. As if nothing had happened at all, she linked her arm with mine, smiling brightly and humming a little song about grilled pork belly as we walked.
"Euhheung. I love samgyeopsal. You really have to eat meat after exercising."
"We didn't even work out for thirty minutes."
She rubbed her face against my arm.
"That's not what's important. The important thing is the meat."
"Aigoo. Is that so."
The face that had looked ready to cry earlier had vanished; now she seemed to have nothing but meat on her mind. I supposed that was a relief. At least Min-ah appeared to be okay.
But I wasn't.
The men's laughter from the gym kept echoing in my ears. And woven between those laughs was the image of Choi Gyeong-rok's back as he stepped in.
We entered the samgyeopsal place and sat down. After ordering soju and pork belly and beginning to grill the meat, Min-ah poured herself a shot and drank it straight down.
"Oppa."
"Yeah?"
She let out a deep sigh and poured herself another.
"I almost got into real trouble earlier."
Did she think I hadn't seen? Or did she know I had and was bringing it up anyway?
"At first I thought the strange men were just trying to talk to me, you know?"
Min-ah took another sip of soju and continued.
"But they wouldn't leave."
"Even after you told them you had a boyfriend?"
"Yeah."
Min-ah pouted and nodded.
"They kept asking for my number. Saying we should exercise together. Making things so uncomfortable."
Silence settled for a moment. Min-ah's head dipped lower and lower.
"Honestly… I was a little scared."
"I'm sorry."
"Why are you sorry, Oppa~"
The expression that had darkened again brightened at once. But the forced smile made my chest ache.
"Still, it was lucky. The team leader showed up and shut it down perfectly."
"…The team leader?"
The moment Choi Gyeong-rok's name left her lips, Min-ah's face lit up again.
"Yes! He stepped right between them and said, 'That's enough,' and those creeps couldn't say another word."
"Hmm… I see."
It felt awkward to react any further. While I kept my mouth shut and focused on cutting the pork belly, Min-ah chattered on without pause.
"Then the trainer finally ran over to stop them, but it was so annoying. If the team leader hadn't been there, I don't know what would have happened."
I didn't answer again and simply ordered stew. Min-ah kept talking to herself.
"Isn't the team leader really amazing? Those men were huge and scary, but he just overwhelmed them with a single look, like it was nothing."
"Min-ah."
She didn't seem to hear me and kept going. Her cheeks were flushed with excitement.
"Min-ah. Stop."
"Huh?"
Only then did Min-ah, who had been praising Gyeong-rok nonstop, finally fall silent. She seemed to sense the heavy atmosphere that had settled over the table and asked again, looking dazed.
"Why, Oppa?"
"Stop talking about the team leader in front of me now."
Min-ah stared at me, unable to speak. The table that had been noisy only moments earlier fell silent, as if the earlier conversation had been nothing but a lie.