Shall We Take a Walk?

They say a walk puts the mind at ease.

It probably works a lot like meditation.

That's why people at the company, when work just refuses to come together, will get up from their desks and take a stroll.

But a district of towering office buildings… isn't exactly ideal walking country.

"A walk?"

"No, not a walk, just… over there…"

"Yeah. Let's walk for a bit."

If it was Chu Yeonju asking, that was a different story entirely.

"Shall we?"

"…Okay."

She'd been the one to bring it up. But the moment I accepted, she seemed so flustered ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that I started walking slowly ahead of her while she stood there blankly.

After about three steps—

She finally hurried over with quick little pattering steps and fell in beside me.

"But why a walk all of a sudden?"

"Ah, just… thought we could walk a bit, help with digestion."

"Ahh… I got nervous thinking you had something important to say."

"Ah…"

Oh. Right.

I'd just said whatever came to mind to keep the conversation going, but looking back, it had subtly hit on what was actually on Yeonju's mind.

And it seemed to have quite the effect.

Yeonju, who'd been staring at my face the whole time, turned her head slightly away from me.

She was probably… deliberating.

Whether her feelings were certain. If they were, whether it was okay to talk about them. What she'd do if I rejected her.

It was her first time. A situation like this was completely new to her, so Yeonju seemed not to know what to do with herself.

Hmm… if I left her like this, given her personality, she'd just stew over it internally.

I needed to open a path for her to some degree.

"It'd be nice if today were Friday."

"Ah… I know, right. Monday's finally over? We still have four more days of work ahead."

"No, not like that."

"Then what?"

"If tomorrow were Saturday, I'd get to see you again right away, Senior."

"……"

Roughly like that.

I like you too. I'm interested in you too. I like you too.

I scattered these kinds of so-called hints here and there, making Yeonju's already racing heart beat even harder.

It definitely seemed to work.

"J-Jichan-ssi."

"Yes."

"Would it be possible to… have dinner together tomorrow as well?"

The next day.

I came to work a little earlier than usual and, out of habit, checked the Office Romance Management App.

"62…"

Yesterday her affection had been at 59.

Compared to Park Eunseo, whose affection only crept up little by little each time we had relations, Yeonju's rate of increase was enormous.

We hadn't even confessed our feelings. We hadn't slept ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠together. We hadn't even had any physical contact.

All we'd done was eat together, walk together, and drop a few subtle hints — and her affection had risen by three overnight.

"…Isn't this a little dangerous?"

I didn't take this as a particularly good sign.

My goal… well, calling it that might sound a bit off, but I had no intention of stopping at just Park Eunseo and Chu Yeonju.

Since I'd gotten my hands on something this absurd—

To put it crudely, I might as well bag every woman I could.

But if Yeonju's affection skyrocketed—

"Mmmmm…"

She'd end up confessing to me, and then I'd be in a really awkward position.

If I accepted, it might block relationships with other women. If I rejected her, things with Yeonju could get complicated.

"Maybe I should… tweak things a little."

In the end—

I changed "man I like" ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to "man I want to kiss," slightly downgrading it.

Of course, even at this level… for someone like Yeonju who seemed to have no immunity in this area, she might still interpret her feelings as something beyond mere fondness.

But—

If I changed "junior like a senior" to "junior I shouldn't date," what kind of reaction would that produce?

"…I want to see him so I look, and when I look I want to kiss him, but he's a man I shouldn't date."

…Not bad at all?

A relationship setting that reeked of dangerous-man energy was extremely satisfying.

I'd leave Yeonju's settings at this for now.

"Good morning, Senior."

"Ah, yes."

As people gradually started arriving at the department one by one, the morning's work began.

Around 5:50 PM.

Texts like these came from Yeonju.

In that case, well, my first thought was that it couldn't be helped. If she was saying something like this to me, some urgent family matter must have come up.

But if that wasn't it—

"……"

If Yeonju didn't have to meet someone else, and was simply stuck at the company—

"…Suyen-ssi."

"Yes?"

"Those documents for Hoein Industries from last time — those still aren't done, right?"

"Ah… yes. I was going to do them today."

"It's almost quitting time, though?"

"W-well, I was busy with other things today… I'll finish them before I go. It'll only take about an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hour."

Maybe because I had a fair amount of clout in Planning Team 1 — or more broadly, in the department — even though I hadn't brought it up to scold her, Isuyen answered in a slightly shrinking voice.

I smiled a little to put her at ease.

"I'm not trying to scold you. If you haven't done them yet, leave them. I'll handle it."

"What? But Senior…"

"It's fine. The work I'm handling right now is related to that side anyway, so just let me process it all at once. Today…"

I glanced at the higher-ups around us.

"…just go home."

"Ah, no. I'll help."

Ah, she wasn't listening.

"It's fine. I work better alone."

"…Understood."

I managed to send Isuyen off somehow.

With that, naturally…

I could create a pretext to be with Yeonju.

I cut off any potential misunderstandings in advance.

…Was there really an angel like this?

"Well then… I'll be heading out."

"Ah, yes. Go ahead."

In the meantime, six o'clock came and went. One by one people left, and once Isuyen left too, I was the only one remaining in Planning Team 1.

Since Yeonju said she'd ordered… for now, I decided to actually invest these fifty minutes I'd somehow acquired into real work.

I was skimming through some documents when—

Ring ring—!

"Yes, Senior."

"Already? Ah… right. It's already been fifty minutes."

…When did time pass like that?

I must have been so focused that I hadn't even noticed fifty long minutes had gone by.

However Yeonju took that, she giggled over the phone.

"Uh… how about the terrace?"

"Yes, I'm coming now too."

It was about seven o'clock now.

The people who always left right on the dot had long since gone, and even the diligent workers had mostly cleared out by now. Anyone still at the company at this hour was probably… dealing with some pretty deep work.

But—

"Jichan-ssi, over here."

There was no one else like Yeonju and me, having a simple meal on the terrace.

It was a fairly spacious place. With only Yeonju and me there, no sunlight, just a few lights poorly installed.

But because of that—

"Ah… thank you."

"There's coffee too. You like lattes, right, Jichan-ssi?"

"Ah, yes."

The peculiar angle of the lighting. The not-too-bright luminosity. The low saturation that set the mood.

With Yeonju's face smiling under it, she looked far more beautiful than usual.

No, beyond that level—

"…What's wrong?"

"No, nothing. Nothing."

…I could even sense a subtle sensuality.

I shook my head slightly to clear my mind.

"But what kind of documents need to be submitted by the day after tomorrow?"

"Documents for the Finance Department. A complaint came in suddenly."

"Ah… Finance Department…"

But the moment Yeonju mentioned the Finance Department, my brow furrowed sharply.

That bitch.

But I couldn't keep showing Yeonju an ugly face forever, so I forced an awkward smile and continued the conversation.

"So who's still in Team 2 right now?"

"Just me. What about you, Jichan-ssi?"

"Just me too."

"…Then why did you bother to…"

"Even if I go home, I'd just kill time somehow and go to sleep. Might as well… pick up some overtime pay."

"Ah…"

Having said that, I took a long sip of the iced latte Yeonju had handed me.

But… Yeonju was quietly watching the latte enter my mouth through the straw.

"…What is it?"

"Ah, no. Nothing… it's nothing."

…Ah, right.

Remembering the "relationship" setting I'd changed earlier for Yeonju, a slight smile came to my face.

I quickly wiped that smile away.

"Then until what time do you think you'll be here, Senior?"

"I think… since it's a little past seven now, until about nine should be enough. What about you, Jichan-ssi?"

"Then I'll stay until around then too."

Chewing through the sandwich casually — as if it were natural, as if it were no big deal, as if it weren't anything special — I subtly showed my intention to match my quitting time to Yeonju's.

Whether she understood that meaning—

Yeonju smiled a little, but the smile didn't look entirely comfortable.

To that Yeonju—

"…Senior, when you're done, shall we take a short walk?"

"A walk?"

"Yes. Well… nothing too far, just a few laps around this terrace. For some post-meal exercise."

Just like Yeonju had done yesterday, I proposed a digestive walk to her.

However she took those words—

"Senior, slowly… eat slowly."

"……"

Suddenly, Yeonju started chomping through her sandwich.

Even she seemed to think it was a bit much — with her cheeks puffed out, she looked at me with a slightly flustered expression… and it was insanely cute.

"D-don't laugh…"

Enough that I almost burst out laughing without meaning to.

But thanks to that, without choking, we both finished our sandwiches in about the same amount of time, and washed our mouths clean with the coffee.

And gradually…

"Shall we take a walk?"

"…Yes."

…The time to kiss Chu Yeonju was approaching.