Chapter 45
“Oh, really? You’re not dating? So that just means I witnessed you casually smelling each other by accident?”
“Exactly.”
Assistant Manager Park nodded lazily.
“Mm. So that’s what it was. Got it.”
“I don’t think you got it at all.”
“I understand perfectly. You’re not dating Manager Han Su-a, and you’re definitely not in that awkward almost-there stage, either. What happened was that Manager Han got hooked on the scent you were wearing today and leaned in to smell it. That’s what you’re saying, right?”
Even as he spoke, his eyes were half-lidded with amusement.
His mouth kept creeping upward every time he looked at me.
And, more than anything, there was that unmistakable expression of someone itching to tease me.
“No, you didn’t understand.”
“I told you, I get it exactly.”
“Haaa.”
This was insane.
How was I supposed to make this man understand anything?
“How many times do I have to say it? We’re really not dating.”
“Fine, fine. But, Assistant Manager Kang.”
Park draped an arm over my shoulder, lowered his voice, and said with sudden seriousness,
“Maybe you’re the only one who thinks that.”
“And what kind of nonsense is that supposed to be?”
“Think about it. We’re not a bunch of teenagers anymore. We’re thirty-somethings who know how the world works.”
“That part’s true, but…”
“Then what woman, with absolutely no interest in some junior coworker, would press her nose against a male teammate’s neck and actually sniff him?”
“...Huh?”
“That’s flirting. Straight-up flirting.”
Now that I heard it that way, it did feel strangely unsettling.
“Even if you aren’t interested, it means Manager Han is. Otherwise, how could that scene make sense?”
“But this project is about fragrance, so…”
He shook his head slowly, insistently.
“If you worked with Chief Kim and there was a perfume project, could you just bury your face in it like that?”
“...No, that’s a bit…”
“What about with Manager Han?”
“...”
I couldn’t even bring myself to answer.
“You see? Totally possible. That’s all because she likes you.”
“I said no.”
“Heh.”
Park chuckled and nudged me with an elbow.
“Relax. I’ll keep it to myself. But really, think about it. I think Manager Han likes you.”
“...Just shut up.”
“Wahahaha. I’m heading out first.”
It took quite a while after sending him off before I finally made my way back down to the office.
As I was returning to my seat, I caught Manager Han’s eyes through the partition.
Her fingers tapped busily over her keyboard, and then—
Ping-!
A company messenger alert appeared on my monitor.
After exchanging a few short messages, I looked back at my monitor.
Park seemed to have sorted things out, but another problem had cropped up in its place.
Dammit. Now my head’s a mess.
Even when I was doing nothing, if I let my guard down for a second, I found myself glancing at Manager Han without meaning to.
And when our eyes met, even if nothing was happening, it felt awkward.
No, what attraction? What nonsense. We’re just coworkers.
We were just people who looked out for each other, that was all.
“Assistant Manager Kang. Did you finish the research materials I asked for?”
“Ah, yes. It’s done. I’ll give it to you now.”
Just as I handed over the report I’d tucked into my clipboard—
Brush-!
Her fingertips brushed mine.
I jerked before I could stop myself, but Manager Han, unlike me, simply started reading the report as if it were nothing.
And that wasn’t all.
Aside from the accidental skin contact—
“Assistant Manager Kang, did you have lunch? Want to eat together?”
She came over so casually and asked me to eat with her.
“Assistant Manager Kang. I checked the settlement issue you mentioned last time, and there’s one part you’ll need to fix.”
She would suddenly come up, lean over my desk with one hand braced on it, and tuck her hair behind her ear while explaining something.
“Not that font here. There’s a format they decided on over there, so...”
I kept getting weirdly conscious of everything, to the point that I couldn’t just leave it alone.
“Assistant Manager Kang?”
“...Yes?”
“You don’t seem to be feeling very well today.”
She brought the back of her hand to my forehead without a trace of hesitation.
“I think you might have a fever, too. Shouldn’t you go to the hospital?”
“...I’m fine.”
I hurriedly shoved my chair back and retreated.
“I’m perfectly fine. I’ll get back to work.”
“Tell me if you’re not feeling well.”
“Understood...”
“See you tomorrow-!”
The moment quitting time hit, I bolted out of the office.
Haaah-
I could finally breathe once I reached the subway station.
This is ridiculous.
I’d spent the entire day needlessly overaware of Manager Han, and the tension had drained me dry.
That damn Park Assistant Manager...
Why had he tossed out a careless comment and made things uncomfortable for no reason? We weren’t even in that kind of relationship.
If there’s going to be any kind of romantic feeling, there has to at least be something like a situationship.
I had been going around with Manager Han on and off lately because of the project, but that was it. We hadn’t gone on any dates.
At most, there had been that museum visit a few months ago, or the dinner we’d eaten together?
That was before we’d even gotten close, so calling it a situationship was ridiculous.
Smack, smack.
I slapped my cheeks and shook the pointless thoughts out of my head.
Let’s just go to the workshop.
I’d already finished Choi Kang-san’s table a long time ago.
This week, my goal was to complete the chairs and send them to him too.
On the way to the workshop, I opened YouTube absentmindedly and saw that there was already a notification waiting.
“Oh, it’s the first comment.”
I’d decided not to pay it any mind, but since I’d already seen it, I left a reply.
I answered honestly.
It was better than saying something careless and having it dug up later.
Side-Hustling Teddy Bear's Workshop
Subscriber count: 14.
“Dammit.”
While replying, I’d naturally ended up on my own channel.
Click-.
Before I knew it, my hand had refreshed the page on its own.
I wasn’t going to look, but now I can’t stop thinking about it.
At this point, there was no helping it.
Comment notifications have been turned off.
I shut off every notification related to YouTube.
Seriously, let’s forget about it for a while.
The Thursday of the week, when office workers are said to be at their most worn down.
But the instant the workday ends and quitting time arrives on Thursday, everything changes.
Just make it through tomorrow and it’s the weekend again.
No matter how rough and exhausting the weekdays were, once Friday was in sight, it felt like even energy that didn’t exist before came back to life.
In that sense, I’m definitely finishing the woodworking today.
If I could wrap up the chair work, then I’d be able to enjoy the weekend starting tomorrow evening with a clear mind.
I got to the workshop and threw myself into the work harder than usual.
After a long stretch of total focus—
“It’s finally done...”
At last, it was 11 p.m., and I succeeded in finishing the six chairs Choi Kang-san had ordered.
“They’re rock solid.”
I sat in one, and just to be safe, I even climbed on top and jumped a few times, but the solid wood chair stood there without so much as wobbling.
“Still, something feels strangely lacking.”
The table had been built from such a massive slab of wood, and the thick pillars gave it a rich walnut scent, but these chairs, even though they were made from the same material, didn’t quite have that same presence. Their legs were thinner, and because the cushions had to be thick, they just couldn’t match it.
Should I infuse the scent directly?
Part of me wanted to process the raw material myself and use that, but I still didn’t have the equipment for it. Buying raw scent materials, melting them down professionally, breaking them apart, adjusting temperatures, boiling them for a long time, or doing any kind of delicate finishing work was beyond me for now.
I did have a perfume I’d bought a few days ago that might work.
But there’s no way I can use it on solid wood as-is.
The ethanol concentration was too high. It could damage the wood, and it might even discolor it, so I couldn’t apply it directly.
Then...
After a moment’s thought, I fetched a wide tray, poured the perfume I wanted onto it, and spread it out thinly.
The alcohol should evaporate quickly this way.
Leaving it there, I headed straight to Dongdaemun.
It wasn’t far from Changsin-dong, so it was close enough to walk to, almost like taking a stroll.
By the time I arrived after about thirty minutes on foot, Dongdaemun was so bright and glittering that it felt almost unreal, even though it was nearly midnight.
There are clothing and shoe markets in Dongdaemun, and this place is usually busiest at night.
Of course, not only fabrics for clothes but also plenty of materials used in cloth and shoe production are sold there around the clock.
I managed to get my hands on a few base oils there.
They were mostly used for shoes, but I picked the ones that, when mixed with the oil I already had, wouldn’t damage the wood.
When I returned to the workshop, the woody perfume I’d poured out was already filling the place with fragrance.
This should be enough, right?
Which meant most of the alcohol had evaporated.
Sure enough, the perfume on the tray had noticeably diminished in a short time.
Probably because it was so volatile.
The scent had thinned out quite a bit, but so had the toxicity.
I took out a basin I’d washed clean.
I scooped out three spoonfuls of the spread-out perfume.
Then I mixed in the essential oil at the proper ratio.
The first try was ruined because I used too much oil and the texture turned sticky.
The second was ruined because I used too little and it became watery.
Then came the third, the fourth, the fifth...
After several attempts, I found the golden ratio.
There was no need to write it down, though.
The result would change depending on how long the perfume had been left to evaporate, and depending on the perfume’s ingredients and which oil I used, the ratio would be different every time anyway.
Just to be safe, I applied a little of the mixed oil to the discarded wood.
About fifteen minutes later, the oil had created a coating, and the original perfume scent began to rise softly through it.
Nice.
Still, maybe because I’d used a commercial perfume, the scent was stronger than I’d imagined.
Then... what if I do it like this?
Instead of applying it over the entire chair, I spread a thin layer only on the lower half of the legs.
Then, to my surprise, when I sat on it, the fragrance drifted up faintly, almost wistfully.
But if another scent was nearby, it was completely drowned out.
In other words, the fragrance lingered gently all the time, but it wouldn’t mix with food when the table was used.
Perfect.
I finished applying it to the remaining chairs the same way.
“It’s finally done...”
And just like that, I finished the six chairs as well.
“Haaah-.”
Once the work was over, exhaustion rushed in all at once.
Before I knew it, it was already past 3 a.m.
Going home now is impossible...
I washed up roughly and lay down on the sofa.
Let’s just sleep here tonight. It’s Friday tomorrow anyway, so I can rest properly over the weekend.
But the moment I lay down, I missed my bed.
I was even going to build the frame myself... so when exactly am I supposed to make that?
This workshop seemed to create more work the more I used it.
The Friday night that office workers look forward to the most.
By the time I arrived at the workshop, Choi Kang-san called me.
“Hyung-nim, I got the table and chairs. They’re amazing.”
Even through the phone, I could hear how excited he was.
“You already got them?”
“Yeah. I used a moving company, and they brought them right over.”
I’d been wondering how to send them, and then he said he wanted them as soon as possible, so if I’d just give him the passcode, he’d take care of it himself.
It seemed he’d even called in movers just for the table and chairs.
[A photo of a marble interior with a table and chairs sitting alone]
“It doesn’t really match the surroundings...”
“Ah, it’s fine! We’ll match everything to it from here on out.”
“I can redo the finish right now if you want...”
“I’m honestly satisfied. I’m not saying that because I think it’d be a pain for you, Hyung-nim. I really do like it.”
“Well, if that’s the case, then I’m glad.”
“Anyway, I’ll use it well. Thank you.”
“If you like it, then I’m happy too.”
Even while I was talking, a smile tugged at my mouth.
“Oh, Kang-san.”
“Yes?”
“I just realized I never filmed the finished piece, so could you record a video for me?”
“For social media?”
“I’m planning to put it on YouTube. I’ve been getting ready to try something there.”
“Ohhh, you’re starting YouTube too? Got it. I’ll film it right away.”
A little while later—
He sent me a video that was a full three minutes long.
Why is it this long?
With a faint sense of unease, I played it.
“Hello, this is Choi Kang-san. This is the special-order walnut dining table and chairs I had made. Hmm~ the scent is incredibly rich. It really feels like being out in the woods, doesn’t it?”
“...”
“These were custom-ordered by me personally. The solid, sturdy feel only real wood can give is really impressive. And if you look here, the grain is absolutely spectacular.”
I was left speechless.
“What kind of promotional video did he make...?”
And yet, because he was an actor, he was unnaturally natural on camera, his movement was excellent, and even his emotions came through vividly.
And just like that, the woodworking commission was finished too.
From here on out, whenever I had time, I’d just leisurely make my own bed frame.
“I finally feel lighter.”
Now that I’d wrapped up all the piled-up requests, I felt a good deal less burdened.
Let’s take it easy for a while.
I was using the auxiliary talent well enough.
And while there was still room for more if I paid the price,
it feels like it’s about time one of the main talents finally showed up, doesn’t it?
...
But the system stayed so silent it might as well have been dead.
Guess it’s still too early.
Then there was only one thing left to do today.
I’d been working hard lately, and I was diligent about my day job too, so...
“Let’s rest properly all weekend long.”
This time, I decided not to go out and just lounge around the workshop the whole time.
“For resting, alcohol is the way to go.”
I finally put the draft beer machine in the corner of the workshop to use.
Shhhhhhh-
Golden draft beer filled the clear glass to the brim.
Phwoosh!
It was pretty high-end, so it even had a separate function for drawing the foam.
I drew a perfect glass and immediately knocked it back cold.
“Ahhh-!”
As expected, beer after work is the best!
“One more!”
I filled a fresh glass to the top and headed for the sofa.
Half sprawled out, I turned on the beam projector.
Maybe I should watch a drama tonight after all?
One of the best things about my talent was this:
I can watch foreign shows without subtitles.
I carefully chose a series.
Should I go with The Big Bang Theory after all?
Or maybe Prison Break? Once season 1 starts, you can’t stop until the end.
Should I watch some intense romance instead?
While I was still thinking about what would make the best weekend content, I suddenly found it.
This is it!
I found a title that caught my eye at once.
This weekend is going to be The Lord of the Rings!
Rumble-rumble-rumble-!
The grand opening of the film played across a screen bigger than 100 inches.
And with it came another sip of refreshing draft beer.
“Ah, this is good...”
I was happy. Genuinely happy.
And so the night in Changsin-dong grew deeper.