An Jihye Must Be Dying for It Right Now
The Yun Seongyeon I had come to know was a woman who lived for nothing but work — the kind of person the word workaholic fit like a glove.
Which was exactly how she had locked down a team leader position at such a relatively young age.
"…I get the sense the previous team leader didn't have the best reputation?"
"Well, yeah. Not much point talking about someone who's already gone, but honestly, I wouldn't call him a good boss."
"Why is that?"
"It wasn't that he couldn't do the work. He got by just fine. But he dumped his own mistakes on other people… and took credit for other people's achievements. Your classic piece of trash, basically."
"Hmm…"
That said — Yun Seongyeon must have gone through her own share of hell climbing into that team leader seat.
Which meant…
"…Jichan."
"Yes."
"…It's a little embarrassing to say this as team leader, but if you ever think I'm going off track, I want you to tell me straight. No holding back."
She was making a request of someone who was only an assistant manager — all because she refused to let this hard-won opportunity slip through her fingers.
"Me?"
"The department head really sang your praises."
"Ah, yes."
"And it wasn't just him. Everyone else seemed to lean on you a lot too. Someone who has other people's trust like that… I figured you might be able to teach me how to earn that kind of trust myself."
"Hmm…"
Out of nowhere, sure. But one thing was clear — at least one kind of "relationship" with Yun Seongyeon was already locked in.
The capable subordinate. The junior worth learning from. Something along those lines.
And if I wanted to lay the groundwork for a second kind of relationship…
"Of course. If you ever need my help, just say the word. I'll trust you and follow your lead, Team Leader."
"…Thank you."
Next up, the second relationship: a junior she could rely on. Someone she could turn to for help. I could already sketch that picture out.
"Shall we get going?"
"Ah, yes."
The meal was over.
"Do you drink coffee, Jichan?"
"Ah… yes. Cof—"
I dragged the word out just a little — long enough to watch Yun Seongyeon pull out her personal card instead of the company one.
"—fee's on me."
"Then I'll take you up on that."
We headed straight to the café the team always went to.
"This is the place our team comes to most often."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. The department head comes here more than anyone."
"Ah…"
Just like that — slipping her a little tip about something outside of pure work — and I could feel her trust in me tick up another notch.
And I kept going.
Who was built for which kinds of tasks. Who you should never assign certain jobs to unless you wanted a disaster. Which pairings of people created real synergy.
I handed over everything you could only learn from watching the team for a long, long time — and scraped up every last scrap of remaining trust Yun Seongyeon had left to give.
The result:
"…Well. Thank you. I think I'm going to be leaning on you quite a bit going forward, Jichan."
"Of course. Happy to help."
Yun Seongyeon said outright that she would rely on me, and I smiled right back, just as openly pleased.
But—
"I like having a team leader who actually knows how to get things done. If there's anything else you're curious about, feel free to ask anytime."
I talk to you because of work. Not because I have any personal interest in you.
Back at the restaurant, she had been the one to warn me that talking to another man that way could invite misunderstandings. So I drew the line first — the way someone who had said that would appreciate.
And thanks to that—
"Alright. Oh — could I get your number, Jichan?"
—I snagged Yun Seongyeon's number without breaking a sweat.
"Hmm…"
Yun Seongyeon's messenger profile picture was a couple shot of her and a man who was clearly her husband.
They looked good together.
I had been wondering what kind of guy managed to land a woman like her, and looking at the photo… well. He certainly seemed to have the credentials.
I could only see his face, so I couldn't jump to conclusions. But he was handsome. Had that expensive air about him. Looked like the photo had been taken in a car — a pretty nice foreign one, at that.
And more than anything…
"……"
He was kissing her on the cheek, and the affection pouring off him was unmistakable.
Yun Seongyeon, too — the look on her face as she took that kiss on the cheek was thick with happiness.
And if I put that happiness another way…
"…Was she always this pure?"
That sex appeal that could dry a man out and kill him. That venom. None of it was there.
Her eyes curved gently. Her mouth traced a pretty little arc. Even her white teeth looked full of joy.
Was this that gap-moe thing people talked about?
Pure speculation, but… her husband's messenger profile was probably the reverse of this shot, wasn't it? Him smiling happily while Yun Seongyeon kissed his cheek.
"Hm?"
I had been staring at Yun Seongyeon's profile picture, lost in thought, when a text from An Jihye lit up the top of my phone and made me sit up straight again.
I had no idea what she was on about all of a sudden…
"…Ah."
Earlier, when I left for lunch with Yun Seongyeon, she had come by our office side, hadn't she?
And the reason for that was probably… the little prodding I had done that morning finally kicking in properly.
Sure enough.
It was five in the afternoon. Quitting time was right around the corner, and the heat still hadn't cooled off.
But still — more than five hours had passed. There was no way she was running at the exact same temperature she had been at her peak earlier.
Calling me now was probably less a signal that she wanted to do it today, and more an attempt to figure out why she had gotten so worked up in the first place.
In other words: enough time had passed for her rational mind to claw its way back.
In that case — when I met her now, I would need to casually crank that heat right back up to a boil, wouldn't I?
"Suyen, I'm going to hit the bathroom real quick."
"Ah, yes."
I gave Isuyen a quick heads-up on where I was headed, then stood up from my desk—
"Hm?"
—and locked eyes with Yun Seongyeon for a second.
She looked curious about where I was going, but there was no need to report a bathroom trip. So I pretended not to notice, casually looked away, and slipped out of the office…
…creeeak—
"What did you call me for?"
"……"
I had come to meet An Jihye, who was staring at me like I was something stuck to the bottom of her shoe.
An Jihye—
"…Hah."
—had summoned me, and the first thing she did was cross her arms and snort.
"…Look, Jihye. I've been thinking this for a while now. If you're going to call someone over, the least you can do is state your business the second they show up. In case you haven't noticed, the new team leader just got here and I'm buried in handovers."
"……"
Her mental fortitude was something else. Even when I snapped at her like that, An Jihye just kept glaring at me in silence.
I took a step closer to her.
"But how are you feeling? You looked pretty rough earlier, but you seem fine now."
"…That's none of your business, Assistant Manager."
"None of my business? Do you have any idea how on edge I was with the team leader right there? If you'd collapsed in the middle of that, Jihye, we would've been completely fucked."
It wasn't anything else. I had just been worried about her.
The moment I said it that way, An Jihye seemed to let her guard down a fraction.
And from there…
"Of course, it's true that you owe me. But people form attachments, you know. I want to look out for you a little too."
"……"
I brought up our "contract" all over again, as if she needed the reminder.
Don't forget. You are in debt to me. And you have an obligation to pay that debt.
Keep that burned into your memory.
An Jihye was sharp. Even when I talked circles around it like this, she understood immediately.
Which was why…
"…I can manage my own body. Stay out of it."
She put on a tough front, desperate not to get tangled up with me any further.
But for all that effort—
Tap.
"Hngh—!"
—the second I flicked her smooth-looking forearm, her whole body jerked hard.
"What, still not feeling well?"
"St-stay out of—!"
Of course she wasn't fine. Earlier, other people's eyes had kept me from tormenting her properly. But right now, in this place, it was just the two of us — me and An Jihye.
And nobody was going to come looking.
So I could do whatever I wanted.
Sliip—
"Haaahn…!"
"You really don't look good."
I rested a hand on An Jihye's shoulder and studied her face up close, wearing a look of concern.
Contact with me would push her toward climax — but the intensity was very mild. Still, unlike earlier when I had only been tapping her here and there, now I was maintaining continuous contact…
"Hieut, hh… hngh, haa… st-stay… haa, hhk, out of iiiit…!"
An Jihye was stuck in a state of steady, unbroken arousal.
Her breathing roughened. Her face flushed red. Her body kept twitching. She looked exactly like someone coming down with a fever — so I moved the hand on her shoulder up to her forehead.
"Hieut…!"
"You really do look bad. Want to go to the hospital right now?"
"I-I'm fine…!"
But a forehead was harder to keep contact with than a shoulder. The second An Jihye whipped her head away, my hand fell off — and the contact broke.
Still…
"Haaaa… ha, hhk, haaaaaa…"
The contact was over, but once the heat got going, it didn't settle down that easily.
Already, the catlike eyes glaring up at me were lit with a burning, unmistakable pleasure.
To that An Jihye, I said—
"Hmm… Jihye."
"W-what."
"You free tonight?"
"…None of your business."
"None of my business? You owe me, Jihye. I was thinking we could settle some of that debt."
"……"
I offered her the exact prescription she needed most right now.
This was… yeah. The same logic as letting An Jihye keep her pride intact.
Right now, An Jihye had to be dying to fuck.
But that pride of hers would never let her say she wanted it first.
"Hmm… let's see. I've got four mileage points on you, Jihye. Thinking about cashing them all in. How about it?"
"……"
I had opened the door for her.
And An Jihye was smart enough to walk through it.
"…Wait for me in front of the elevator after work."
She snapped up the deal I had put on the table and bolted out of the emergency stairwell.
I followed right after, slipped out of the stairwell myself, and headed back to my desk.
I had been gone maybe ten minutes, but it barely showed. I spent the rest of the afternoon knocking out my work, and then—
"I'll be heading out first today."
—I quietly stood up and announced I was leaving.
"Assistant Manager Choi Jichan."
"Yes?"
But Yun Seongyeon called my name… surely she wasn't about to suggest a welcome dinner just because it was her first day?
"How do you usually handle lunch?"
"I just… eat with people I know."
"Planning to do the same tomorrow?"
"Probably, I imagine?"
"Then I'd like you to keep it free tomorrow. I want to talk a bit more."
Thankfully, it wasn't that.
"Yes. Understood. I'll keep the time open."
"Good. Go ahead and head out."
"And you, Team Leader…?"
"I still have a few things I need to look over."
Whether it was acceptable to leave before your superior was still a hotly debated topic, but—
"Yes. Then I'll be going first."
"Go on."
—an ace got to do that.
And even if I weren't the ace.
"Basement level two."
"……"
"…Let's go."
Yeah. That look on her face.
Knowing An Jihye was waiting for me with an expression like that — overtime could go straight to hell.