He Must Be Incredible at Night Too
Choi Yuri flapped her arms in an awkward posture.
Neither fully held nor fully separate — an ambiguous position.
Kang Taeseong looked at her for a moment before speaking.
"...Don't do that."
"Pardon?"
"If you're going to do it, hold on properly."
"...!"
Choi Yuri's shoulders flinched.
"That way your center of gravity won't shift."
"...Ah."
He was right. It was a game, after all. Hanging on half-heartedly would only exhaust them both.
I... I can do this.
Choi Yuri carefully drew in a breath. Then she slowly raised both arms.
Swoosh.
Like a baby koala, she wrapped them around Kang Taeseong's neck.
"..."
When their eyes met in that position, her mind went blank.
So... so close.
Much closer than she'd expected. If she lowered her eyes even a little, she'd see his face. Only then did she start fretting over the shorts she'd been wearing. Kang Taeseong's hands were hotter than she'd thought. The way her skin pressed against his hands was strangely distracting.
And that wasn't all.
Ah... wait.
Choi Yuri had been running around ever since arriving at the resort. During the recreation activities, she'd been hopping and bouncing, constantly moving her body. So her thoughts naturally drifted in that direction.
What if I smell like sweat?
Normally she wouldn't have cared. But they were so close now. The perfume she'd sprayed had long since worn off. Her hair was a little mussed too. Her face burned for no good reason.
Ah, what do I do.
At that thought, her body instinctively shrank back. She tried adjusting her posture as best she could. She twitched her shoulders and tensed her legs.
Wriggle wriggle.
"..."
Ah.
Then she suddenly realized.
With my arms wrapped around him like this...
I can't cover my face!
Choi Yuri's expression nearly crumpled into tears. Normally she would have covered her face with both hands. But right now both arms were wrapped around Kang Taeseong's neck. There was nowhere to hide.
Can he see my whole expression...?
Heat rose to her ears. With her heart pounding, Choi Yuri squeezed her eyes shut. Better not to look at all.
That was when it happened.
"Hold still for a moment."
A low, calm voice resonated by her ear.
"Y-yes!"
Startled, Choi Yuri reflexively froze. Only then did Kang Taeseong readjust his stance.
...Finally a bit more comfortable.
Truth be told, he was just as flustered.
That was close.
With all her wriggling, her body had been rubbing against him unintentionally. Kang Taeseong was currently in a rather dangerous state in multiple ways. He'd been so busy with work that he hadn't had a chance to relieve his urges. He'd nearly suffered the catastrophic disaster of a certain central muscle rising rigidly to attention. If that kind of major accident occurred, squats would be the least of his concerns — getting out of there ASAP would be the priority.
Fortunately, the position was reasonably stable now.
That was when it happened.
"...Um."
A cautious voice. Kang Taeseong looked down. Choi Yuri was watching his face carefully as she asked.
"...Am I heavy?"
Kang Taeseong looked at her for a moment, then shook his head.
"No."
"..."
"Not heavy at all."
Choi Yuri's weight wasn't the problem. The constant moving earlier had been the problem. Her weight wasn't heavy in the slightest. With a bit of exaggeration, it was about like a shopping bag full of various purchases? Once he'd gotten past that one crisis, he didn't feel her weight at all.
"I could stay like this for another twenty minutes."
"T-twenty minutes?"
"Alright, everyone!"
As they were talking, the MC's booming voice rang through the hall.
"We've only done five so far! Keep your energy up, everyone! Let's go, let's go!"
...Annoying.
Just a moment ago he'd thought the MC was doing a pretty good job. But now that he was a participant, those cheers somehow felt like they were mocking him.
Still.
Kang Taeseong glanced around to assess the situation.
Looks like we'll win.
Luck had been on their side. Physical events basically favored men who knew how to use their strength. And the person being held should ideally be as light as possible. So a team of a strong man and a light woman had the advantage. Muscle Monster had both of those conditions covered.
The other teams were a different story.
"Aaaagh!"
"Hey, why are you so heavy!"
"Hyung! I can't lift you!"
All the male employees who claimed to work out had teamed up with each other. The result was the catastrophe of men holding other men weighing eighty kilograms, or even close to ninety, while doing squats all over the place. Seeing that, Kang Taeseong was certain.
...We're definitely first place.
As I'd expected, Team Muscle Monster took an overwhelming first place in the squat game.
"Muscle Monster! First place!"
Clap clap clap clap!
Applause poured from the employees.
"As expected of the President!"
"You're amazing, President! Let's hit the weights together sometime!"
Choi Yuri and Lee Juhee high-fived. But they couldn't just celebrate. They'd come in last in the earlier balloon-carrying game — a disastrous score from balloons popping one after another thanks to his back muscles. So even after making up for it in the squat game, they'd only managed to get back to even.
"We'll proceed with the next event!"
The recreation continued. True-or-false quizzes. Cooperative relays. Physical games and mental games alternated, and the laughter never stopped.
By the time all the events were over—
"I'll announce the final results!"
The MC opened an envelope.
"Third place! Muscle Monster!"
"Kyaaa! Third place!"
Choi Yuri and Lee Juhee cheered at the same time. The prize was a department store gift certificate worth about two hundred thousand won. As the applause continued, I caught my breath alone.
...Is this really a workshop?
What company on earth comes to a workshop and plays games like this. It was practically a college retreat schedule. My body was already exhausted.
I'm completely drained.
It was a different kind of fatigue from regular exercise. Still, looking around, there was value in having done all this.
"Wahaha!"
"We're first place!"
The employees' faces were bright. Departments mixed together laughing and chatting. Even people who'd been awkward with each other were talking naturally.
...The effect is solid, at least.
In terms of atmosphere alone, it was a success.
"President!"
Choi Yuri beamed as she waved the gift certificate.
"Thank you!"
"We won it thanks to you!"
Lee Juhee looked excited too.
"Let's go shopping with this!"
Wondering if she meant for me to come along, I met her eyes and she nodded. I slowly shook my head.
"You two go ahead."
"...Pardon?"
"I put up the department store gift certificates as prizes. It would be a bit strange for me to use them with you."
Technically it would be buying my own things with my own money. That was why I'd refused, but Lee Juhee said firmly.
"No way."
"...?"
"You have to come with us, President."
"No, I..."
"No, no! If you don't go, we won't go either! We'll return the prize! Right, Yuri?"
"Th-that's right! Come shopping with us, President!"
Choi Yuri carefully chimed in from the side. Looking back and forth between the two of them, I finally surrendered.
"Alright. Let's go sometime when our schedules match."
"Really?"
"Promise!"
Only after linking pinkies was I allowed to escape.
"Alright, let's go eat dinner!"
Once the recreation ended, the employees headed one by one to the barbecue area. An outdoor barbecue area set up widely at the foot of the mountain. Charcoal and grills, folding tables, coolers. There was no small amount of stuff to move.
"Could you bring that over here, please!"
"You can put the charcoal here!"
As the employees bustled about, the first person to move was Kang Taeseong.
"Where should I put this?"
"Ah, President! We'll handle it!"
"It's fine."
Kang Taeseong casually lifted a cooler with ease. It was a load that two adult men had been grunting over. Yet he showed no sign of straining at all.
"Whoa..."
"The President is seriously strong."
And that wasn't the end of it. He unfolded tables. Carried sacks of charcoal. Even moved camping chairs one by one and arranged them at each table. No one had asked him to. He just did it, smoothly and efficiently. Whenever there was work nearby, he naturally lent a hand.
The female employees watching him whispered among themselves.
"The President is really hardworking."
"Right? He could just watch from the back."
"He's so cool, honestly?"
The female employees' voices came one after another. Park Soyeong, carrying plates a short distance away, heard the conversation too.
"..."
Something in her chest itched strangely.
...Why.
An unexplainable frustration. The more people spoke well of Kang Taeseong, the more uncomfortable she felt for no reason.
...It bothers me.
Why? It was clearly a good thing. Employees thinking better of the president was desirable for the company as well. And yet, Kang Taeseong's rising reputation somehow made her anxious.
Her mouth opened of its own accord among the female employees.
"Th-the President is balding, you know."
"...?"
In an instant, the female employees' gazes turned to Park Soyeong.
"He doesn't have much hair and he's put on weight... haha... he's not really that cool..."
Only after blurting out something close to pure criticism did Park Soyeong herself flinch.
...Huh?
Why did I say that? There was no reason to step in. Kang Taeseong wasn't being insulted — his reputation was rising. What reason was there to throw cold water on it? Saying something like that did no good for Kang Taeseong or for Park Soyeong herself.
...Why did I?
As she felt confusion over her own incomprehensible behavior, one of the female employees snorted a laugh and spoke.
"Soyeong, you're still young, so you don't get it."
"Pardon?"
"Guys like that are the real deal."
The employee next to her laughed and chimed in.
"Right. He looks stoic, but he's secretly the sweet type."
"He's not even fat at that level. It's all muscle."
A team leader in her late thirties smiled meaningfully.
"You saw him doing squats earlier, right?"
"...?"
"With that kind of stamina...."
She paused briefly, then lightly ran the tip of her tongue over her lips.
"He must be incredible at night too."
"...!"
Park Soyeong's face turned bright red in an instant.
"W-what are you saying!"
In her fluster, her voice cracked.
"Hohoho."
"Oh my, look at Soyeong's face."
"So innocent."
The female employees burst into playful laughter.
"I-I'll go over there first...."
Park Soyeong hurriedly turned away as if to hide her face. Even as she left with quick steps, her heart was racing strangely fast.
What kind of thing to say, honestly....
Heat reached all the way to her ears. And yet, strangely, the team leader's words from a moment ago kept circling through her mind.
...I'm going crazy.
Park Soyeong shook her head hard, trying to dismiss it. Her face was far too hot.