What I Am to Chu Yeonju

Yesterday.

I checked into a motel with Park Eunseo and worked hard at working off my lust. And while I was at it, I worked off hers, too.

A relationship of mutual assistance.

Yesterday, Eunseo and I had, without quite saying it out loud, finished negotiating the terms of that arrangement.

And when we got up… much like the week before, we grabbed a meal together and went our separate ways.

Once I got home.

I confirmed that there had been a shift in how Eunseo thought of our relationship.

The "entry-cohort colleague" that used to sit at the front ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had vanished, and "Trust" had appeared at the end.

"Hmm…"

So… after sleeping together multiple times, the sense that we were just cohort colleagues had diluted.

In exchange, by sharing each other's preferences… that sort of thing, she seemed to have felt something like trust.

"Affection went up a little, too."

But I could edit the "relationship" Eunseo believed we had.

So.

I tweaked it like that, and this time I checked my "relationship" with Chu Yeonju as well.

…Well. Not much different from before.

What to do.

"…Should I bump it up a little?"

Fifty-seven.

It was blindingly obvious ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the scale ran from one to a hundred, and since she'd already cleared the midpoint of fifty, it seemed clear Yeonju felt a genuine personal fondness for me.

If nothing else.

That "Guy I Have a Crush On" entry alone meant she was into me.

But this…

I either attached a clearer guide, or slightly rewrote the meaning.

Just "junior" became "reliable junior."

"Guy I have a crush on" became "man I like."

"Comfortable little brother" became "little brother I want to lean on."

I changed them like that, but for the moment… there was no shift in that affection number.

I still didn't know whether having that affection too high would produce side effects — but if it stayed only middling-high, it might make achieving my goal difficult.

My goal was obvious enough. A relationship built on the pretext of that "relationship."

Something that, not long ago, I'd only ever dreamed about — if I played this right…

"…Maybe tomorrow?"

…might become reality.

And on top of that.

"There's Seon Yeonwoo, too… and that fucking bitch as well."

A reality with so many options I might actually have trouble choosing.

I rested well on Saturday.

The next day, I left the house armed in a look calibrated for March.

Straight-leg denim.

A dark round-neck knit.

A breasted coat a shade lighter than the knit.

And for cologne, I sprayed something with a calm woody scent, trying to project a maturity a little beyond my actual age.

Because right now, to Chu Yeonju, I was—

—this kind of person.

The new relationship I'd set with Yeonju had been lifted from something she'd said not long ago, during that late-night overtime we'd pulled together.

That I seemed like a real adult. That even though I was her junior, I felt more like a senior than she did.

Even the cologne I'd put on was a copy of the scent I'd caught on her.

Having built myself into an "adult" like that—

"Sunbaenim."

"Ah, Jichan-ssi."

The Chu Yeonju who met me over in Gangnam was, as expected…

"…Is something wrong?"

"Ah— no, nothing."

…ridiculously beautiful.

Jeans that made zero effort to hide those long legs.

A pink pinstripe shirt.

A slightly bright khaki knit cardigan.

She was so pretty it made you wonder if a person was even allowed to be this selfish about it, and I didn't seem to be the only one who thought so.

Every man who walked past snuck a glance at her on the way by.

This absurdly beautiful Yeonju looked at me and smiled softly.

Looking at that smile… I couldn't really feel any change from the "relationship" edit.

Maybe it just needed a little time to settle in.

"Shall we go?"

"Ah… yeah."

Yeonju and I had met at one in the afternoon.

Perfect timing for lunch, so she led me straight to a nearby family restaurant.

"Order whatever you want, Jichan-ssi. Today's all about you, so I'll get you anything."

Looking at the menu, the prices weren't exactly cheap.

Not wildly expensive either, but enough that ordering everything I wanted the way she'd offered would put a real dent in someone's wallet.

"What are you getting, Sunbaenim?"

"I'll have… this."

She picked the pork neck steak.

"And you, Jichan-ssi?"

"Then… how about we get that and this, and share?"

"Ah, sure. Let's do that."

I pointed at the shrimp pilaf a few pages back, and she agreed.

We put in the order and spent a little while talking.

"Did you get home early on Friday?"

"I did. You'd been helping me so much before that, right? Thanks to you, I got out early. If it hadn't been for your help… I probably would've been stuck late into next week."

"Mm… glad to hear it."

"It's all thanks to you, Jichan-ssi. I really think I lucked out with my junior."

"Weren't you the one saying I felt more like a sunbae?"

"Mmm… well, since you're a junior who feels like a sunbae, it's still true that I got a good junior, isn't it?"

…If you really looked at it, Yeonju might actually outrank Eunseo when it came to being a little minx.

She said it with a smile, wielding a mischievousness that didn't lose to Eunseo's in the slightest.

Originally, Yeonju and I had only planned on a meal.

Well — we hadn't exactly agreed to eat and then go our separate ways, either.

In other words, nothing had been decided about the schedule after lunch.

"Sunbaenim, that was great. Thanks for the meal."

"I'm so glad you liked it."

…And Yeonju didn't seem particularly inclined to bring up what came next, either.

In that case.

"…Do you have anything planned after this, Sunbaenim?"

"Mm… no, I don't."

"Want to hang out a little longer before you go?"

"…Shall we?"

I took the lead.

Today I needed to be the kind of "man" Yeonju wanted to lean on, so I decided I'd drive the schedule after the meal.

Except I hadn't actually thought about where to go.

"…Have you ever been over there, Sunbaenim?"

"The board game café?"

"Yeah."

"No, I never have."

"Want to try it?"

"Yes! That sounds fun."

I'd just pointed out the first board game café that caught my eye, and her reaction was pretty good.

We went inside, got a quick rundown from the staff, and since ordering a drink was mandatory, we each ordered something we wanted and sat across from each other.

At this place, you picked a game off the menu and a staff member brought it over.

So…

"Excuse me — your drinks are ready."

"Ah, could we get Unlock, please?"

"Of course!"

After a fair bit of deliberation, I picked a game that looked decent for a couple.

Apparently it was an escape-room style game — I'd never played it, so I wouldn't know.

"Sunbaenim, have you ever been to an escape room café or anything like that?"

"Mm… no, I haven't."

"……"

Her saying she'd never been to an escape room café left me with a strange sense of dissonance.

Well, sure — not having been to an escape room was fine.

But it wasn't that… something about Yeonju just seemed completely unfamiliar with this whole culture of going out to play.

Arcades, karaoke, pool halls, VR game centers… places like that.

Even without a boyfriend in the picture.

Places you could easily go with friends — and she gave off the feeling she'd never set foot in any of them.

In that case…

"Excuse me — here's Unlock."

"Ah, thanks."

For now, I'd focus on the moment at hand.

"Have either of you played this one before?"

"No, it's our first time."

"Alright then, I'll give you a quick rundown."

Yeonju and I focused on the staff member explaining how the game worked.

"Have fun, you two—"

The staff member who'd kindly walked us through it smiled brightly and left us to it.

"……"

"……"

Yeonju and I shared a brief silence.

A space with just the two of us.

Technically, working late at the office had also been time and space alone with Yeonju.

But the atmosphere was completely different from then.

The clothes we were wearing were different.

Where we were was different.

The day of the week was different.

Sitting across from each other actually put more distance between us than when we'd been side by side working — and yet.

"Wow… that was so much fun."

"Was it?"

"Yes! I'm so glad I listened to you and came, Jichan-ssi. I can't believe three hours went by that fast…"

When the two of us had been stuck together at the company, the backdrop had been a wide-open office floor.

But today, even sitting face to face, we were in a space that might've been half a pyeong — tiny and cramped.

Spending three straight hours pressed into that little box, the sense of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠intimacy felt higher than it had back then.

"…While we're on the subject, want to try an escape room café too?"

"Shall we?"

We left the board game café at five-thirty.

The sun would be going down soon, and even so, I got the distinct feeling Yeonju wanted to keep hanging out.

Or maybe…

"There's a room we can walk into right now. It's about a five-minute walk."

"Okay! I'll follow your lead, Jichan-ssi."

…Was it because I was the one leading?

I'd check on that part a little later.

We headed straight to the escape room café we'd booked, stashed our belongings carefully in a locker, and once again got the staff's briefing.

Then into the room we'd reserved.

The theme we'd picked had a slight — very slight — horror element mixed in.

I hadn't chosen it with any particular scheme in mind; it was just the only theme available to start right away.

Still.

Since things had turned out this way, I was a little hopeful about those classic clichés that happen when you watch something scary with a girl.

"Jichan-ssi, I think it's this one?"

"Looks like it."

"The password seems like… 2364."

Yeah, no.

Just the simple act of solving puzzles and using the answers to open locks was enough to have Yeonju thoroughly entertained.

The clichés I'd been hoping for never showed up, but still…

Click!

"It opened!"

Watching Yeonju's face light up as she unlocked the final padlock was more than good enough. That was plenty.

As a clear commemorative, we each got a small Polaroid the staff took for us.

A little memento, she said.

We tucked them carefully into each other's wallets and stepped out of the escape room café to find the clock already edging toward seven.

This was the decision point.

Whether to drag things out with another meal, or call it a day here and part ways.

What to do…

"Haa… today was really fun."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. This is the first time I've ever come out on a weekend just to hang out like this. It was so much fun I'm already regretting why I never did this before."

"We can just hang out more from now on."

"You think so?"

"Of course."

Honestly.

I didn't think doing anything more with Yeonju today would get me as far as taking her to a motel tonight.

And even if we went, there'd be a problem.

If tomorrow were a day off, maybe. Or if it were still early afternoon, maybe.

If I couldn't actually sleep with Yeonju right now, I'd need to invest more time — and if we hit a motel after that, it'd put a serious dent in tomorrow's work.

Today, it seemed best to wrap things up at a level that just reinforced those "relationships" I'd set…

"…Sunbaenim."

"Yes, Jichan-ssi?"

"Hang out with me again next time. I'll take you somewhere else fun."

"Ah…"

It must have had some effect.

Yeonju's eyes went wide for a moment, and then those big eyes curved into a soft, happy smile.

"Then shall we meet next Saturday?"

"Saturday?"

"Yes! Today was Sunday so it was hard to stay out late — next week let's meet on Saturday and hang out until late at night!"

She even threw in a promise to stay out really late.

But after making that promise herself, Yeonju flinched a little.

"I mean, uh… I wouldn't want you to feel obligated because of me, or anything…"

"Ah, no. I'd actually love hanging out with you, Sunbaenim."

"…You would?"

"Of course. Walking around like this with someone like you… I like it."

"……"

Yeonju closed her mouth for a moment, trying to parse what I'd meant.

"…I'll head out first then, Sunbaenim. See you tomorrow."

"Ah, yes… get home safe."

Leaving her there, I went on ahead into the subway station.