After We Eat, We're Doing It Again Today... Right?

And just like that, it was Monday again.

With that yellow sponge creature floating back into my head, I still dragged myself into the office to make a living.

Office romance this, office romance that.

"...Fuck."

You had to earn money before you could do anything else. For a working stiff, there really was no other choice.

I wanted to take a day off... but I thought that every single Monday.

Even if I did take one, I'd be thinking the same thing come Tuesday.

"Haa..."

Better to just show up.

At least if I came in...

"Did you get home okay yesterday?"

"Ah, yes."

"Thanks to you, I had a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠really fun time. I'm already looking forward to Saturday ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠— what am I supposed to do?"

...I got to see Chu Yeonju's pretty face.

A little awkward. A little proud. And at the same time, a little happy.

Just being able to look at a face like that first thing in the morning was proof enough that this was a good company.

"You'll just have to wait, won't you?"

"...I know that, but it's so hard. I guess this is why they say getting a taste for going out is dangerous."

"The week'll go by fast."

"You think so?"

"...It will."

Looking at Yeonju's wistful face as she asked, I couldn't bring myself to say otherwise.

"...Well then, hang in there, Jichan-ssi."

"Sunbaenim, by any chance..."

"Yes?"

"No... are you working overtime again today?"

"Hmm... no, I don't think I need to today."

"Even though it's Monday? Nothing piled up?"

"Nope. Thanks to you last week, Jichan-ssi, I got everything done. Unless something special comes up, I should be able to leave right on time today."

Uh... that was a problem.

I'd been planning to work overtime with Yeonju again today and knock out various tasks together.

But I couldn't exactly tell someone who was leaving early to stay late.

...Should I just go for it?

"Then after work today, would you like to grab a meal... or something?"

"Today?"

"Yes. You treated me last week, so today it's my turn."

"Hmm..."

She seemed to be mulling it over a little.

But it didn't look like a negative kind of hesitation.

Which meant that the freedom of going home after work and having dinner with me ranked about equally as good things in her mind.

And then—

"...Shall we do that, then?"

She even gave me a yes.

"Is there anything you'd like to eat, sunbaenim?"

"Something spicy, I think. Could you recommend a place, Jichan-ssi?"

"Spicy, huh... do you like spicy food?"

"Yes, I do."

"Then there's a spicy chicken place a short walk from here. It's pretty good."

The moment I mentioned spicy chicken, Yeonju's face lit up.

"Then I'll message you after work, Jichan-ssi."

"Yes. Hang in there."

"You too, Jichan-ssi."

Thanks to her, I managed to get through that godawful Monday morning and sat down at my de—

"Hey."

...sk, only for Park Humin to stroll over and start talking.

"Huh?"

"Smoke?"

"Ah... yeah."

As expected.

His intentions were so transparent they almost felt pure. I followed Park Humin out to the terrace.

And as always, the moment we stepped outside...

Click.

He flicked the turbo lighter and put flame to the tip of his cigarette.

"What were you talking about with Yeonju sunbaenim earlier?"

"Huh? Ah... I've been helping her out with work a lot lately. She was just thanking me."

"What kind of work?"

"Because of what happened to Manager Kim Yuhon. I figured all the dumping would land on me, but some of it went to Team 2 too."

"Ahh..."

Seeing Yeonju and me chatting so pleasantly must have gotten under his skin.

Park Humin seemed to be trying to throw in a little check... but buddy, you're way too late.

...And thinking about it.

"Hey."

"What."

"You think you're good-looking, don't you? Be honest."

"Drop-dead gorgeous."

"......"

Objectively speaking, Park Humin was handsome.

At 184 centimeters, and dressed sharp in a full suit, he had that classic "man in a suit" look down cold.

If this guy had debuted as an actor when he was young, gotten the full camera-angle treatment, he probably would've turned into a pretty decent leading-man type.

And a guy like that—

"So why does Yeonju sunbaenim shut you down so hard?"

"Shut it. She's not someone the likes of you get to talk about so casually."

"If it's been over a month since you last talked to her, just give it up."

"Fuck."

She always shut him down.

Of course... it could just be because it was Yeonju.

She was the kind of woman who didn't seem particularly interested in men — in a positive, my-pace kind of way.

Still.

A guy at his level should at least be able to score a meal, you'd think.

"...Hey, sunbaenim's only a year ahead of us."

"Ah, right."

"What do you think happened in that one year?"

"What kind of bullshit is that all of a sudden?"

"Just wondering."

"If you're tired, go take a nap, asshole."

...This had to be the power of the Office Romance Management App too, right?

Manager Kim Yuhon had almost certainly registered Yeonju before we even joined the company.

In that case—

Anyone listed in the Office Romance Management App put up a total iron wall, which was why she'd shut Park Humin down so hard.

But flipping that around...

"...Hey, I'm heading in first."

"Go on. Hang in there."

"Yeah, yeah."

...Couldn't men be registered in the Office Romance Management App too?

"...It works."

Obviously.

I had zero intention of adding men to the Office Romance Management App so I could... you know... mess around with them or whatever.

Ugh, fuck no.

I was planning to reverse-engineer the app's properties instead.

Anyone added to this list had their office romance restricted.

So if a man got registered, that meant from that moment on he wouldn't be hitting on any of the women in the company.

But there was one thing I had to be careful about.

Registration was free — but what if deletion wasn't?

If I went around registering a bunch of useless guys just to protect the women, and then found out there was a personnel limit, it could turn into a real catastrophe.

In that case, it'd be way safer to just register all the women instead.

So I checked...

Deletion was possible, at least.

And registration seemed free too.

"...I'm a goddamn genius."

"Pardon?"

"Ah, nothing. Just thinking I'm pretty good at my job."

"Ah..."

Shit, what am I even saying.

My junior in the next seat had reacted to me muttering to myself.

But then—

"You're right, sunbaenim. You're really good at your job."

"......"

My seatmate junior, Isuyen, went along with my nonsense without any resistance at all.

"...Thanks."

"Not at all, sunbaenim. I'm learning a lot from you too."

I set aside the sudden round of unsolicited praise for the moment.

Anyway, Park Humin had an exclamation mark floating next to his name just like the women.

And of all things, "Dumbass"? Seriously?

"This son of a bitch..."

"Pardon?"

"Ah, nothing."

"Ah, okay..."

...Anyway.

I'd been thinking of Park Humin as a dumbass too, so this confirmed we really were close cohort-mates and friends.

The affection level — or rather, the closeness level — Park Humin felt toward me was sitting at a pretty solid 76.

Since he was a guy, maybe "friendship level" was the better term. Hard to say.

"...This guy's in HR."

The HR Department was a place with serious power, just in a different way from Planning.

HR — literally the department that decided how employees were treated.

I thought about it for a moment.

"......"

I tweaked my "relationship" with Park Humin a little.

Someday, this would come in handy in a big way.

And... I also checked how Yeonju was thinking of me today.

...A few things had changed.

"Man I like" was still there, but "reliable junior" had become "junior who's like a sunbae," and "little brother I want to lean on" had become "little brother I want to see."

If I played this right...

"...I could make it this week."

Ding!

"Hm?"

Park Eunseo rolled her stiff shoulders this way and that at the sudden text notification.

Choi Minhyuk.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Just a guy friend she knew.

With her foxlike features that were perfect for charming men, that glossy swaying ponytail, a slender figure that still made a clear statement, and a bright, attentive personality on top of it all — the number of guys who liked Park Eunseo was considerable.

Even just within the company, that was the case.

Choi Minhyuk, one of Eunseo's personal acquaintances, was also one of those guys.

"Hmm..."

Just a meal shouldn't be a big deal, right?

"Ah."

But the moment she saw Jichan's text, that thought flipped to a no.

No... not a no. It shifted into indifference.

Weird, right?

"......"

Ding!

"......"

...Clearly.

Jichan just stated his business, short and simple, while Choi Minhyuk was pouring his heart and soul into her.

She could feel the difference perfectly.

And yet, why...

...did she just not care?

Other than Jichan, she had no real interest in other men.

And it wasn't just Choi Minhyuk.

"...Is that right?"

Thinking about it, ever since she'd become partners with Jichan, thoughts of other men had completely vanished.

She could still grab a meal, technically.

But somehow... it felt like she shouldn't, and she didn't even have the desire to in the first place.

"......"

...No. She was just annoyed.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Tap.

So Park Eunseo left Choi Minhyuk's texts on read and went right back to focusing on work.

And then—

"Ah, right."

She reserved the pizza place like last time, finished her morning work with a sense of satisfaction, and headed down to the company lobby for lunch — where Jichan was already waiting.

"Oh, you're here?"

"Our little Jichan~ wanted pizza so baaad?"

"Oh, for god's sake."

...Have I fallen for this guy?

That thought only lasted a moment.

"Hey, Jichan."

"Yeah?"

"...After we eat, we're doing it again today... right?"

Something thicker than that thought — a change in her body — made itself known.

Whether he'd noticed that things had gotten a little damp down below...

"You want to?"

"Y-yeah..."

Jichan stopped mid-step on his way out, came back over to Park Eunseo, and leaned his head down slightly.

Then, in a low voice—

—he made Park Eunseo's heart pound like crazy.