The Overly Energetic Junior

I... I made it.

I stared at the electronic punch clock in front of me. Seeing the screen display "On Time" instead of "Late," I let out a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness I'm not late.

If I had been even a second late, I would have had to start another week-long hellish battle against my primal instincts.

But I wasn't late, so that was all that mattered.

Having barely survived, I pulled a handkerchief from my pocket to wipe away the beads of sweat from sprinting all the way from the research institute's parking lot. I trudged toward my desk, greeting the employees I passed along the way.

But...

"Whew... Good morning."

"Good morning to you too, Researcher Park! But you were late today, right?"

"...No, I wasn't."

A few steps later.

"Good morning, Researcher Park! But you were late today, right? That makes it your third time, doesn't it?"

"Haha... No. I wasn't late today."

"What a shame. Nobody can match the touch of your hands, Researcher Park."

"...."

Every few steps, every employee I ran into looked at me with a grin, asking whether I had been late or not.

Sigh...

They didn't react this intensely to the other male employees.

Still, I couldn't really blame them. The root cause lay entirely in my own dexterity.

I didn't know what was wrong with this body, but it was incredibly skilled at absolutely everything done with the hands.

Ever since a penalty game I had to do about a year ago, almost the entire staff kept a close eye on whether I would show up late.

"Oh, hello, Seong-chan!"

"I wasn't late."

"Ahaha... Okay."

After weathering a barrage of greetings from countless employees, I finally reached my desk.

I slumped into my chair.

"Whew..."

"Oh. You're here, Seong-chan."

"Yeah. I'm here."

Blonde hair, tanned skin.

Despite his playboy appearance, the strictly devoted Kim Tae-yang spoke to me.

"So, were you late? Isn't this your third strike?"

Tae-yang looked at me with a sly smirk.

Look at this guy.

If I admitted to being late, he would undoubtedly run around the entire institute broadcasting it.

"Attention everyone!! Our very own Park! Seong! Chan! is officially the Late Employee of the Month starting today! Please feel free to make full use of his services for the next week!"

Just look at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠those sparkling eyes.

He was practically drooling with anticipation.

I am absolutely not giving you what you want, Tae-yang.

Though I had already told everyone on my way in anyway.

"Whew... Not a chance. I made it."

Tae-yang openly showed his disappointment.

"What a shame. A lot of people are going to be disappointed."

Come to think of it, has this guy ever been late?

Arriving earlier than me was a given.

In the ten years I had known him, I had never seen him late even once.

Doesn't he live further away than me, too?

"Hey, how do you manage to never be late even once? You live further away than I do."

Tae-yang tilted his head as if I were asking something incredibly obvious.

"Huh? Isn't that obvious? How could I be late when my lovely wife is waiting for me?"

Now that I thought about it, the man in front of me was a hopelessly devoted husband.

He was famous for never looking at anything other than a female researcher's face whenever he spoke to them.

Remembering that made me feel slightly apologetic.

"...That makes sense. My bad."

"Forget it, it's fine."

Brushing off my apology, Tae-yang leaned in slightly and asked in a hushed voice.

"So, have you sorted out your feelings?"

Is he talking about what we discussed yesterday?

I let out a sigh and replied.

"Whew... I should keep an eye on things for now. What if I rush in and it turns out to be a misunderstanding?"

"Well... in my eyes, it's a hundred percent, but if you say so, I guess."

Just then, a familiar voice popped up from beside us.

"Senior, what... what do you mean by that?"

"Whoa, you scared me!"

The voice had suddenly come from right behind my seat.

It was Yun Seo-yeon.

"Ah... I'm sorry, Senior."

"My heart almost jumped out of my chest... Make some noise when you approach. You're usually so energetic."

Startled, I spun around. She twirled a lock of her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hair around her finger in embarrassment, then looked at me.

"But... what's going on? What do you mean by sorting out your feelings?"

Unlike her gloomy expression from yesterday, her eyes were sparkling with curiosity as she stared intently at me. I thought to myself:

Ah. Once Yun Seo-yeon gets like this, she never lets it go.

I maintained as casual an expression as possible and said,

"Huh? It's nothing."

"Hmm... I don't think so... Suspicious..."

Seo-yeon narrowed her eyes and stared at me intently.

Then, she suddenly whipped her head around to look at Kim Tae-yang.

"Senior Tae-yang, what's going on?"

I panicked for a split second.

He wouldn't tell her, right?

No, he said it himself.

That he wouldn't repeat what he heard.

I watched Tae-yang tensely.

Meeting my gaze, Tae-yang casually replied to Seo-yeon as if nothing were out of the ordinary.

"Huh? What is?"

Seeing that, I let out a silent sigh of relief.

Whew... He's a man of his word.

He really was a responsible guy.

For a second, I had feared the worst, but thankfully, my fears were unfounded.

Seo-yeon tilted her head, seemingly confused by his nonchalant attitude.

"You really don't know?"

"Nope."

"Mmm... I don't buy it... Suspicious..."

"What's so suspicious?"

Since we both stuck to our stories, she asked about the phrase she had overheard.

"Then what was that talk about sorting out feelings?"

"Oh, that?"

Tae-yang grinned, pointing at me with a cheeky look.

"Just look at how much sweat he's dripping... Why do you think he's sweating so much?"

Seo-yeon followed his finger with her eyes.

She slowly turned her head toward me, examining my face closely before scanning my entire body.

Down my neck to my collarbones.

Down my collarbones to my chest.

Down my chest...

As her gaze drifted past my stomach toward a rather sensitive area, I blocked her view with my hand.

"Hey, don't you know that's sexual harassment? Sexual harassment!"

"Oh, come on, Senior. How is that sexual harassment?"

Although she protested, she obediently looked away. I let out a sigh of relief.

Just as I thought the ordeal was over and turned my head, a disappointed voice drifted from beside me.

"Aw... You weren't late."

"What?"

"I was really looking forward to it."

I stared at Seo-yeon in utter disbelief as she smacked her lips in disappointment.

"This girl..."

"Seriously, Senior, do you have any idea how amazing your touch is? We even made a waiting list!"

"What?"

"It was my turn this time... What a shame. Senior, can't you just be late on purpose?"

Absolutely not.

I had no desire to suffer for a whole week.

"Ha. The sheer audacity."

"Ehehe..."

Seo-yeon wiggled her fingers at me with a mischievous grin.

Still, this is much better than seeing her depressed.

She had been so drained yesterday, so it was a relief to see she had recovered a bit.

"Yeah. Seo-yeon, you look much better like this."

"Pardon?"

"Seo-yeon. Why were you so down yesterday anyway?"

"Mmm... Well..."

Seo-yeon hesitated for a moment.

Her eyes darted around, looking off into the distance, then at me, and then back to Kim Tae-yang...

"Why the hesitation? Since when does the great Yun Seo-yeon beat around the bush?"

I narrowed my eyes, watching her suspicious behavior.

Seo-yeon gave a silly laugh and replied.

"Ahaha. Well, actually, I think I was coming down with a cold yesterday. But I took some medicine and now I'm completely fine!"

Ah.

A cold.

Colds have been going around lately.

My daughter had caught something too.

Though in her case, it was the flu.

Still, I was glad she seemed to have gotten over it easily.

"Really? That's good. The flu seems to be going around these days."

"I know. The temperature difference between day and night has been crazy lately."

"Ah, right. Speaking of the flu..."

I spun my chair back toward my desk and rested my chin in my hands.

"Just yesterday, when I got home after work, the house was unusually quiet."

Seo-yeon looked puzzled.

"Oh? Didn't you say your daughter always greets you when you get home?"

"Yeah. But it was exceptionally quiet yesterday."

"Maybe she went out somewhere?"

"No, her shoes were right there in the entryway. So I wondered what she was up to and quietly walked up to her bedroom door."

"And then...?"

"But get this—she wasn't in her room. Her underwear was just scattered all over the bed. She can be so messy sometimes."

Seo-yeon's eyes went wide at my words.

"U-Underwear?"

"Yeah. But that's not the important part."

"Huh...? That's not important?"

"Why would that be important?"

Sometimes, when my daughter wasn't home, I would strip completely before heading to the bathroom. Besides, we always knocked before entering each other's rooms, so it wasn't a big deal if she left her underwear out in her own space.

Though, of course, she should normally keep things tidy.

Since she might need to come into my room for something when I wasn't around.

"Ah... Never mind."

"Anyway, the only places left were my room and the bathroom. She wasn't in my room, so I headed toward the bathroom, since the light and the exhaust fan were on."

"The... the bathroom?!"

"Yeah... Why?"

"...."

Why is she reacting like that?

I kept going anyway.

"First, I knocked on the door. Normally, she would have answered right away, but she didn't say a word. So I asked, 'Sweetheart, is everything okay?'"

Gulp.

Seo-yeon swallowed hard.

"A-And then?"

"But there was no reply, only the echo of my own voice in the quiet house. That's when I felt something was off. 'My daughter would never do this.'"

"Right. You always brag about how polite and well-behaved she is."

Since I was always bragging about my daughter, Seo-yeon immediately caught on to the strangeness of the situation.

"Exactly... There was no way she wouldn't answer. So I gently pressed my ear against the bathroom door. And guess what?"

"What?"

"All I could hear was the hum of the exhaust fan and the occasional drip-drop of water from the showerhead. So I listened even closer. And then?"

"And then?"

Huh?

The voice that answered this time wasn't Seo-yeon's high-pitched tone, but a deep, familiar voice.

Wait, that sounds like Lead Researcher Lee Do-hyun.

I cautiously looked around and realized a crowd had gathered near my desk.

From the researchers in our department to passersby from other teams, and... a completely flustered Seo-yeon...

"And then? I find my department members gossiping instead of doing their work."

"Ah... haha... Good morning, Lead Researcher Lee Do-hyun."

"Yes, good morning."

My senior colleague was standing right behind me.

Wh-When did he get here?

I had been so engrossed in my story that I hadn't even noticed someone approaching, just rambling on.

I cautiously glanced at the clock. The minute hand was already pointing at twenty past nine.

Twenty minutes have passed already?

I looked up at Do-hyun, who gave me a benevolent smile.

"Now, for me to have a truly good morning, I believe my dear department members need to be working hard... wouldn't you agree?"

"Hahaha... Of course."

"Hahaha!"

""Hahaha!""

Everyone laughed together, but the laughter quickly died down.

The lab fell dead silent.

Do-hyun clapped his hands once.

"Alright. Let's work hard today as well."

"""Yes, sir!"""

And so, the workday at the institute began.

Later, at lunchtime.

"Seni-i-i-i-ior! Let's have lunch together!!!!"

Just as I was discussing yesterday's spicy stir-fried pork with Kim Tae-yang and debating what to eat today,

I saw Seo-yeon running toward my desk, shouting loud enough to rupture my eardrums.

"Whoa, whoa. Calm down, Seo-yeon."

"Why? Didn't you say you liked me better like this, Senior?"

"Still, it's a bit... my ears are ringing."

"...I'm sorry. I'm too... loud, aren't I? I'll just eat by myself..."

I panicked as I watched Seo-yeon suddenly droop even lower than yesterday, looking as if she wanted to sink into the floor.

"Hey! Hey! Why are you suddenly acting like this?"

"But you said you liked this better, Senior..."

"No, it's not that! It's just..."

"Hmph. Seo-yeon is sad. Seo-yeon has been abandoned by Senior."

"I-I'm sorry, Seo-yeon. I didn't mean it like that..."

"Sob, sob."

Sigh...

I usually never gave in to this.

I reached out toward Seo-yeon's slumped head.

Pat, pat.

Instantly, her hunched back straightened up, her curled shoulders rolled back, and her chest puffed out proudly.

Finally, she lifted her head, completely returning to the energetic Yun Seo-yeon I knew.

"Yun Seo-yeon!! Resurrected!!!!"

"...."

"Hehe. Senior, let's eat together."

I turned to Kim Tae-yang.

"Hey. Seo-yeon wants to eat together."

"Oh, right. Sorry, Seong-chan, but my wife wants to have lunch together today. You two go ahead."

"What?"

You're leaving me alone with her?

You expect me to handle her all by myself, Kim Tae-yang?

You've got to be kidding me.

I shot him a pleading look, but he just shook his head helplessly.

"I can't help it. My wife is already waiting outside the institute."

"Th-Then..."

"Anyway, have a nice lunch, you two!"

"Hey... Hey! Are you really leaving?!"

I half-stood and reached out, but my hand only grasped empty air.

As I glared at him with resentment, Tae-yang hurriedly made his escape.

"Hehe... Then it's a date, Senior."

Seo-yeon naturally linked her arm with mine.

Looking down at her as she smiled up at me, I thought:

Ah... My peaceful lunch...

...is about to be swept away by the golden retriever that is Yun Seo-yeon.

While waiting in line at some strange pasta place.

Sway.

"Uhehe..."

Sway.

"Ehehe..."

I watched Seo-yeon, who was swaying back and forth like an inflatable tube man at a car dealership in response to my hand movements.

"Hey. Seo-yeon, let go of my arm."

"Why?"

Anyone who has ever had their arm linked by someone else would know, but it's surprisingly heavy.

"What do you mean 'why'? Let go already!"

"Aw, why! This is comfortable!"

With that, Seo-yeon clung to my arm even tighter.

Because of that, a soft, pillowy sensation began to press against my forearm.

She's always so casual with physical contact, it's really troublesome...

It was a surprisingly bold display of affection. She probably did it without a second thought, but it was highly distracting for me.

Flustered, I tensed my forearm, trying to pull my arm out from between her breasts.

"Well, what about me?! I'm telling you, it's heavy! It's tiring!"

As I tried to pull away in surprise, Seo-yeon looked up at me with a pout. Instead of letting go, she pulled my arm even deeper into her cleavage.

"Oh, come on, Senior. You work out every day. Are you telling me those thick forearms of yours can't even support my fragile little body? That makes ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no sense!"

Our junior colleague cheekily insisted she was light and suggested we take a photo. Her attitude made me feel a bit indignant.

So I'm the only one struggling here, huh?

Fine, then I'll tease her back.

I casually brought up her weight in a teasing tone.

"Do you really think you're light?"

"W-What did you say?!"

Contrary to my expectations, her jaw dropped, and a look of pure shock washed over her face.

"D-Did I gain weight?"

She finally let go of my arm and brought her hands to her stomach.

The moment she pinched her belly...

"Kyaaaah!!!"

A scream erupted from her.

"What? What is it now?"

"N-No... It's just because of the clothes..."

"Your clothes? Haha. Seo-yeon, it's not because of the clothes."

I pinched my own stomach, which was armed with solid abs, and said,

"It's because of fat. Look, if you have muscle, you can't pinch it like that."

"N-No, it's not!"

"Ye-es, it i-is!"

"I'm serious, it's not!"

"Ha... You don't believe me? Here, feel it yourself."

I pointed to my stomach.

Seo-yeon looked at me, flustered.

"C-Can I really touch it?"

"Sure. Is there a problem?"

"Th-Th-Th-Then I'm going to touch it? I'm really touching it?"

Her hand trembling, Seo-yeon slowly extended her index finger and poked my stomach.

Her finger made light contact with my abs.

"Gasp!"

Seo-yeon pulled her finger back instantly, as if she had just received an electric shock.

I chuckled at her reaction.

"Hey. How can you tell just by poking it? I told you to pinch it with your fingers."

As I demonstrated once more, Seo-yeon swallowed hard, looked at me with a look of grim determination, and declared:

"Haaah!"

Hurry up...

I'm flexing my abs so hard I'm about to get a cramp...

Once again, she reached out, and this time, her fingers properly attempted to pinch my abs.

"Huh...? Why can't I pinch it?"

But her fingers only grabbed the fabric of my shirt.

She repeatedly tried to pinch the smooth muscle hidden beneath my clothes with her thumb and index finger, but there was no way she could grab any fat on my lean, toned body.

I burst out laughing at the sight.

"Hahaha! See? If you don't have fat, it's like this. Which means you definitely gained weight."

I patted my stomach with my palm.

"Grrr...!"

"Oh? Still won't admit it?"

It was then.

Her face flushed red from my teasing, Seo-yeon suddenly grabbed my wrist and pulled it toward her own stomach.

"F-Fine, then feel it yourself!"