Park Eunseo

Whether it was because I was meeting Park Eunseo after work today… I couldn't get a single thing done all day.

Still, one of the perks of a company like this was—

Clackclackclackclackclackclackclack—

As long as you hammered away at the keyboard, you looked like you were hard at work.

The seat I was sitting in now used to be Manager Kim Yuhon's. There was a wall behind it, so unless someone walked right up behind me, nobody could see my monitor.

Which meant—

Clackclackclackclack, clack!

"……."

I wasn't working at all. I was poking around the Office Romance Management App from every angle.

"Hmm…."

Kim Yuhon had been… a good person, a good mentor, a good hyung—but he had not been a good employee. His work performance had been abysmal. Behind his back, people constantly wondered how he'd ever made Manager in the first place.

And me… well, I'd always been the type who figured as long as Kim Yuhon didn't dump his messes on me, everything was fine. In practice he really had been a decent guy, so he never foisted his own work onto me.

But looking back on that with a more cynical eye—

…Was that why?

Maybe he just hadn't wanted anyone else to know about this ridiculous side job called the Office Romance Management App.

Let's be honest. At a glance, it reeked of some guy who couldn't land a real girlfriend scribbling notes on pretty women behind their backs, trying to figure out how to make a move.

…And yet, for all that, Manager Kim Yuhon had married a pretty impressive woman. Had that been because of this… thing, too?

"If I do it like this…."

Anyway. Tracing Manager Kim Yuhon's footsteps forced me to either double down on my old opinions of him or revise them entirely.

First point.

Manager Kim Yuhon really, truly had been terrible at his job.

Ding—!

"……."

Exhibit A: the text that had just landed on my phone. After tinkering with the program on the computer, I'd managed to link it to my phone. Digging through the code… this seemed to be a first. Manager Kim Yuhon probably never even knew this was possible. He likely never thought of it—and even if he had, he couldn't have asked anyone for help.

Anyway.

Ding—!

An app with the exact same UI as the program on my computer had installed itself on my phone.

…If this thing actually worked—if it actually had real effects—then it meant I could… do something with these four women.

And to find that out—

Ding—!

I planned to find out over a light drink with Park Eunseo tonight.

…And I was pretty worn out myself. My own work, the work Manager Kim Yuhon used to handle, plus the Office Romance Management App—juggling all three at once had meant a full week of overtime. I'd even come in on the weekend with no extra pay.

Unwinding that exhaustion with a good-looking cohort colleague over a casual beer didn't sound half bad.

"You're actually leaving on time today?"

"A guy's gotta clock out on time once in a while."

"But are you sure it's okay?"

"What ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is?"

"The reason you've been stuck on overtime lately is Manager Kim Yuhon, right? Leaving this early today…."

"One day is fine. And honestly, his work and mine weren't that different. It's basically just me doing twice what I already did."

"…Isn't that a huge deal?"

"You get used to it. You just do."

Like I said—Manager Kim Yuhon may not have been a good employee, but he had absolutely been a good mentor. The reason my work performance stood out even within the company was because he'd taught me well. A classic case of the opposite of "great players don't make great coaches." Just because someone was bad at the job didn't mean they couldn't teach it.

"Okaaay, then I'm drinking a ton tonight. What are we drinking with?"

"You got something in mind?"

"First… chicken."

"And?"

"Seasoned chicken."

"…Anything else?"

"Barbecue chicken?"

"……."

I herded my chicken-obsessed colleague out of the building and into a slightly out-of-the-way spot. It was right after quitting time, so the area around the office was flooded with white-collar types like us—but this place didn't have nearly as many people.

"…There was a place like this around here?"

"Manager Kim told me about it. Food's good."

"You're not dragging me somewhere weird, are you?"

"Why would I?"

"Aww, lame."

I brushed off Park Eunseo's mischievous nonsense and headed into the beer hall tucked behind the company building. Even if it was out of the way, a good restaurant was a good restaurant—a few parties had gotten there a little ahead of us and claimed tables. We settled ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in among them.

"Pick one. Fried, seasoned, or barbecue."

"Aaaah… you're so cruel. How can you dump a choice like that on me?"

"Shut up and pick already."

"…Fine. Grilled tonight."

"Boss!"

After the usual back-and-forth banter with my cohort colleague, I placed the order.

"I'm gonna hit the bathroom real quick."

"Ah… yeah."

The second the order was in, Park Eunseo got up saying she needed the restroom. I watched her swaying hips for a moment, then casually pulled out my phone.

"……."

…What the hell?

There was an exclamation mark after Park Eunseo's name… I hesitated for a second, about to tap it—

"Whatcha looking at so hard, Choi Jichan-ssiii—."

"Huh? Ah, nothing."

"What is it, what is it? Were you looking at something weird by yourself?"

"What are you talking about."

But Park Eunseo came back, so I slipped the phone back into my pocket and smoothly took the lead in the conversation. It helped that the perfect social lubricant was sitting right there between us.

"Cheers—."

"Cheers."

We lightly clinked beer glasses, and I brought up a topic first. The topic, of course, was—

"Manager Kim Yuhon was pretty famous, honestly. In a bad way, of course. I know judging people by looks is wrong, but… you still get a first impression, right?"

"…Yeah."

"Manager Kim Yuhon… when you looked at him, he just wasn't the kind of face that made a woman feel attracted. He was a good person, but that was about it."

"Just a good person?"

"Yeah."

Manager Kim Yuhon. From what I remembered, Park Eunseo had drawn a lot of attention from the men in the company. But whether she wasn't interested in dating or just wasn't interested in men, she'd put up a wall that wasn't quite a wall—except for one person.

"That's why I talked with Manager Kim Yuhon a lot. With other guys, you can… just tell, you know?"

"Tell what?"

"That this guy is trying to get something from me, that he wants something out of me. You can see all of that. But Manager Kim Yuhon ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠just approached me person to person. Looking at him purely as a person, the discomfort was way less than with other guys."

"Hmm…."

That was how Park Eunseo explained why she'd talked with Manager Kim Yuhon so often. In that case—

"…What about me?"

"You?"

"You kind of drifted away from me at some point."

"Ah… that. We kind of went quiet for… about a year, right?"

How would she explain the distance that had grown between us.

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

"About that long, yeah."

"We were both insanely busy in that stretch. You and me both. Especially after you made Assistant Manager—you got even busier. Ugh, just thinking about it pisses me off."

"About what?"

"The reason we drifted wasn't me—it was because you got busy. And then you come at me with what? 'You and I grew apart—?'"

She put on an angry face, but it wasn't real anger. Whether it was Park Eunseo's trademark mischievousness or that coquettish streak of hers, the whole vibe said she was just messing with me.

In the middle of that—

"Here you go, enjoy—."

"Ohhh…."

The barbecue chicken Park Eunseo had chosen arrived. She must have been in a good mood—she swayed her waist left and right as she looked at it, and every time she did, the tight black ponytail she'd pulled her hair into swished. Below that, tying her hair up left her neckline fully exposed, and further down the clean lines of a women's suit that looked tailored to her body came into view.

A really nice silhouette.

Park Eunseo clearly had no intention of protecting that silhouette. She grabbed a drumstick smothered in spicy sauce first and grinned.

"Do you understand now, Choi Jichan-ssi? The problem wasn't me—it was you."

"Ah… fine, I get it."

"Then wouldn't it be nice if we cohort colleagues got a little closer starting nowww—?"

Where the hell had she picked up that way of talking. The vaguely annoying tone of it was so absurd I ended up smirking instead.

With that smirk—

"I thought we already were close."

"Huh?"

"…You saying we need to get closer as cohort colleagues—does that mean you didn't think we were close?"

"No, I…."

When I flipped the attack back on her, Park Eunseo flinched.

"…Ugh, so annoying. Shut up and cheers!"

"Cheers—."

Even the way she tried to paper over it felt coquettish. Smirking, I clinked glasses with her again and took a deep pull of beer. I swallowed the bitter beer, then followed her lead and grabbed a drumstick loaded with spicy sauce.

And after that—

"You still talk to Humin?"

"Humin-ssi? No. We don't really have any connection—why would I?"

"…No connection? Humin's a cohort colleague too."

"He's just a cohort colleague."

I listed off, one by one, the men who sat in that odd space between me and the other guys—people Park Eunseo knew well enough, but wasn't fully close with. Park Humin was the prime example. After him I named a few more people I knew had some contact with her, but—

"You don't know the rumors about that guy?"

"What rumors?"

"That he just… goes around with women. Have you seen him hitting on Team Leader Chu and Seon Yeonwoo?"

"Uh… no?"

"He almost got slapped by Jihye-ssi."

…Every single one of them only got bad reviews. In that case—

"Then what about me?"

Just like I'd brought myself up after mentioning Manager Kim Yuhon earlier. But the topic of conversation was different now, so I figured Park Eunseo's answer would be different too, and waited a moment.

Park Eunseo looked at me steadily…

"…Mmm, a friend."

She designated me as her friend.

…Is that good enough?

"A friend?"

"Whyyy—? Disappointed it stops at friend? Does little Jichan want to be something more than friends with meee—?"

"……."

And where the hell had she learned that way of talking, seriously. Combined with Park Eunseo's already mischievous face, the destructive power was considerable.

"…Yeah. Kind of a shame."

"Huh?"

"I said it's a shame. What, saying that make me look different somehow?"

"……."

When I said that, Park Eunseo just turned her head away and sipped her beer.

And then…

"…Eunseo."

"Yeah?"

"If you're up for it… want to have one more?"

"……."

…I could see a certain angle forming.

"…Sure…?"