Cherry Blossoms Bloom Early

Dayeon's streaming studio was unusually lively that morning. Dayeon, who normally didn't show her face until the afternoon, had come in early — all because Eunchae, a girl who ordinarily wouldn't be caught dead dressing up, had arrived looking remarkably fresh.

"What's going on? Why is Eunchae so pretty today?"

"Ah, it's spring, so I thought I'd try a little something. Does it look okay?"

Unlike her usual look, she'd pulled her short hair back into a half-up that added a cute little accent, ditched her glasses, and even put on makeup. The result was strikingly fresh and lovely.

"That's adorable. And what's with the outfit?"

Looking at her in that plain white short-sleeved tee and cherry-blossom-pink overalls, Dayeon thought it was as if early cherry blossoms had bloomed right there in the studio.

"Who are you trying to impress, coming in all dressed up like this?"

Dayeon poked her in the side — not hard enough to hurt — and Eunchae could only flush red.

It'd be fine to tell unnie, right? That Dohyun and I decided to be sex friends.

The two of them shared personal things often enough that it wouldn't have been strange. They'd even traded dirty stories since becoming adults.

Later. Not now.

The reason she let it slide without saying anything was simple.

"Whoa, look at our Eunchae. Seeing you like this, you're fresh as a daisy. You got all pretty to impress this oppa, didn't you? How precious."

Park Woojin had already clocked in.

"As if. Unbelievable."

After the spectacle he'd made of himself on Saturday — slinking home like he'd been chased out — he had no business strutting around like this. The sight of him showing off instead of keeping his head down made Eunchae's irritation spike.

She shot him a sharp look, then spun around toward Dayeon.

"When's Dohyun getting here?"

"Hmm, not sure. He'll probably show up around start time, right?"

Start time was nine. It was still only eight. Dayeon had come in early because she had something to check, and Eunchae had come in early for no better reason than a fluttering heart — which meant there was still a fair wait before Dohyun would arrive.

"A newbie ought to be coming in early, don't you think, boss?"

Park Woojin floated the remark after a furtive glance at Dayeon's face, but the reaction he wanted never came.

"What for? It's just a time we set so everyone can keep a decent routine."

What the hell is with these bitches lately? Don't tell me that last editor said something when he left...?

It didn't occur to Park Woojin that if the previous editor had actually said anything, he wouldn't still be sitting here with a job. He stole another uneasy look around, then took his phone and stepped outside.

The phone rang.

The voice that came through once the call connected was hardly a warm welcome.

"What kind of way is that to answer the phone? You pick up and the first thing out of your mouth is 'what do you want'? No manners."

Of course it wasn't warm. The man on the other end was the previous editor — the one who'd worked alongside Park Woojin right up until Dohyun came on, and who'd taken the full brunt of his harassment.

"Hey. Did you say something? When you quit?"

Click. The line went dead.

"Huh? Huh? You fucking — I've never seen such a crazy bastard! He hung up on me first?!"

He tried again. And again. The promise to block him had apparently been genuine, because the call never connected a second time.

"Fuck...!"

Park Woojin wound up to hurl his phone — then stopped.

"...Still. Can't do that. This thing was expensive."

He slid it back into his pocket and settled for giving the nearest wall a few pathetic little kicks.

"This son of a bitch thinks quitting means it's over. Me? I'll make sure he never ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sets foot in this industry again."

Park Woojin had no such power, of course. He was a nobody editor. The idea that he had the connections to stop someone from getting hired anywhere else was pure bluster.

One person overheard it.

"Pfft."

"...The hell was that just now? Did you just laugh?"

Dohyun, arriving a little early for work.

Thanks to having sex with Eunchae one more time over the weekend, I'd unlocked another Outdoor Sex achievement, and my Editing stat had finally hit thirty. Speed was even knocking on the door of twenty.

I was in a pretty great mood on my way in — and then, first thing in the morning, I walked into a sight I could have done without. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Park Woojin was planted in front of the door, kicking the poor innocent wall like it owed him money. He was doing it so gingerly I couldn't even tell what he was supposed to be accomplishing.

"This son of a bitch thinks quitting means it's over. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Me? I'll make sure he never sets foot in this industry again."

Ah. Threatening somebody again, was he?

It was kind of funny, though. From what Eunchae had told me, he'd been an ordinary college student before this job — and not even a particularly popular one. The idea that he had the kind of connections on this side of the industry to bury someone didn't add up at all.

"Pfft."

A scoff slipped out before I could stop it.

"...The hell was that just now? Did you just laugh?"

"Aigoo. I was gonna just ignore you, but it was too funny."

Park Woojin looked ready to blow a gasket — a vein even stood out on his forehead — but from where I was standing, it was just comedy.

"Wonder if anyone around here even has the connections to bury someone."

I gave him one more look up and down, the kind you give a guy who actually thinks he's somebody, then walked right past him and opened the studio door.

"Well, feel free to finish making all those calls and come on in."

The door was open now, which meant he had to be conscious of the people inside. A moment ago he'd been trembling like he was about to do something. Now he couldn't do a thing. I stepped past him and into the studio.

"Morning."

"Oh, Dohyun! You're early."

The first person to greet me was Eunchae.

"Yeah, it's my first real day. Figured I'd need some time to get set up."

"Oh my, Dohyun! You came in early?"

While Eunchae and I were still talking, Dayeon-noona stepped out of the soundproof booth.

"Huh? Noona, you were already here?"

"Yep~ I had a few things to check. Why are you so early, though? I told you nine was fine."

Noona's face was putting in overtime again today. Look at that bright smile, first thing in the morning. God. Starting the day with a smile like that... I felt like I could get through anything, no matter how hard or exhausting the work got.

"I figured I'd need time if I wanted to get my setup done."

"Hmm, fair enough. If you need anything, just say so. I'll help."

"Yes, thank you. Ah — actually, noona, there was something that wasn't written in the contract last time, so I wanted to ask."

The contract I'd signed before hadn't listed any specific working hours. I'd figured that was just how editing jobs were — but then she'd told me to come in by nine, which made me wonder if I'd gotten that wrong. It was ambiguous enough that I decided to just ask.

"Is our schedule set in stone? Nine to six, that kind of thing?"

"Ah, no, it's not. Once you finish your work you can leave whenever, and you don't even really have to hit nine on the nose. How do I put this... it's more like a guideline we set to look after everyone's routine and health."

To look after everyone's routine and health.

"Eunchae used to work through the night all the time, and it wrecked her health."

Come to think of it, I'd heard that a lot of illustrators did their best work in the small hours. Something about that late-night mood helping the art come out better.

"I told her to start coming in at nine because I was worried, and somehow it just... stuck. That's really all it is."

If it was flexible, missing it wouldn't actually cause a problem. But everyone here knew how kind noona was, and nobody wanted to make her worry — so they kept to it anyway.

"Got it. Then I'll make sure I stick to nine."

"Well, if something comes up, you can honestly just come in whenever you can. And even though we call it coming in, if you ever want to work from home, that's fine too."

I'd thought I was supposed to pick one arrangement and lock it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in, but apparently not. They called it coming into the office, but the rules were loose enough that I liked them quite a bit.

"Yes, well. I'll probably come in most days anyway."

I got to see noona. I got to see Eunchae. What possible reason was there to stay home?

"Oh my. I wonder why~ Hehe."

She was smiling in a way that felt an awful lot like teasing. What was that about?

"Ah, come to think of it — isn't Eunchae pretty today?"

Still grinning, noona suddenly grabbed Eunchae and thrust her right in front of my face.

"Kyah, unnie! What are you doooing...!"

Eunchae's face went scarlet as she squirmed with embarrassment.

Hmm. What was I supposed to say here...?

I'd thought she was plenty cute the first time we met, and after we'd slept together, the truth was she looked beautiful to me no matter what she was doing. I just said what I was thinking.

"Hhk — hhkuh..."

"Oh my. Oh my."

Eunchae and noona both froze, wearing the blankest expressions I'd ever seen.

Huh? What? Did I say something wrong...?