The employees brightened the moment they stepped into the elevator and began talking to Seo Jeongun.
Doh Yihyun leaned his back against the wall, letting their meaningless chatter wash past him.
No matter how early one arrived, the elevator during rush hour was always crowded. But with Seo Jeongun standing firmly at the front, the space felt not just roomy, but almost comfortable. Even if there had been no space, it seemed no one dared to push past an executive director.
Ding.
At last, they arrived at the floor where the Accounting Team office was located. Doh Yihyun slipped out of the elevator along with the crowd pouring out.
Tap.
As he brushed past Seo Jeongun, he felt a light tug at his sleeve, but Doh Yihyun did not spare him a glance.
Carefully reviewing the documents, Doh Yihyun leaned his head back and closed his eyes. His stomach churned, and even his head throbbed.
When he slowly opened his eyes again, a head suddenly popped into his field of view.
"Team Lead, Ji Eun says she is buying coffee after lunch. Should I get you one too? Iced Americano?"
The team member winked playfully. Ignoring the bright smile, Doh Yihyun first checked the ID badge.
The badge was flipped backward, but the small yellow rabbit sticker stuck to the corner made it easy to tell who it was.
Kim Yumin.
Without much thought, Doh Yihyun glanced at the team members huddled together. They quickly averted their eyes the moment they met his gaze.
Whenever Accounting Team 2 needed to talk to Doh Yihyun about something unrelated to work, they would usually send Kim Yumin as their representative.
"No, thank you."
At his curt refusal, Kim Yumin widened his eyes.
"It is free coffee though. Are you really not going to take it? This is a rare chance to get something out of Ji Eun!"
"I am not stingy."
At Kim Yumin’s joke, Park Ji Eun grumbled from afar.
"Oh, come to think of it, Team Lead, I have not seen you drink coffee lately? Did you quit caffeine or something?"
Kim Yumin exaggerated his shock, as if he had just witnessed Doh Yihyun smiling brightly.
"For now."
Doh Yihyun nodded indifferently.
Like most office workers, he used to drink strong Americano like water.
But now, beyond simply holding back out of concern it might harm the child, he could not even stand the bitter smell of coffee without feeling nauseous. It felt like only yesterday that he could down a cold Americano in one go, yet his condition was changing day by day.
"No way."
Still unconvinced, Kim Yumin examined him, then noticed the neatly packed fruit container beside his rectangular bag.
"Wait, are you skipping meals again and just eating fruit? You do not even like sweets... I heard you have not been going to the cafeteria lately either? The cafeteria lady was worried. You are not dieting, are you? There is nowhere left for you to lose weight. Your jawline is sharp enough already."
"Yes."
Doh Yihyun cut off Kim Yumin’s endless stream of questions without hesitation.
"Then will you have lunch with me today? What if you collapse at this rate?"
Kim Yumin asked cautiously, his expression unusually serious.
"No."
"Ah, Team Leaaad."
Kim Yumin grumbled without giving up, but seeing no sign that Doh Yihyun would respond, he slumped his shoulders and returned to his seat. Another colleague laughed as if they had expected this and patted him on the back.
Doh Yihyun glanced at the neatly arranged fruit in the rectangular container.
He could not just starve because he felt unwell, so he had tried various foods. Among them, fruit suited him best, though even then he could only manage small amounts of overly sweet fruits like watermelon or melon that had no sourness. Read the latest chapters at novelping dot com.
Three minutes before lunch break.
Suddenly, murmurs rose around him.
"Why is Executive Director Seo here?"
Suppressing the urge to retch as he pressed his lips together, Doh Yihyun followed the whispers and looked toward the office entrance. Beyond the square partitions stood a tall man dressed casually.
"Yihyun."
The man called his name gently and walked toward him with light steps.
Because of that distinctive way of addressing him, there was no need to try to identify who it was.
Even for someone like Doh Yihyun, who had prosopagnosia, it was obvious.
Doh Yihyun looked at Seo Jeongun, who wore his usual sweet smile, with visible displeasure.
The team members who had been about to slip out for lunch froze awkwardly, glancing back and forth between the two with curiosity.
Doh Yihyun frowned slightly and looked at them.
Normally, they would have hesitated and left the office, but unable to miss such an interesting sight as the two of them together, they sat back down, eyes shining. It was unlike people who hated being even a second late for lunch.
"Did I come too early?"
Noticing the unusual reactions, Seo Jeongun showed an awkward expression.
Doh Yihyun pressed his lips together and shot him a covert glare.
There was no way Seo Jeongun did not know that coming to see him during work hours would cause a commotion. The way he pretended to be troubled was utterly shameless.
"Are you two close?"
One of the team members finally gathered the courage to ask.
It was Kim Yumin again.
Unlike the rumors circulating in the company, Seo Jeongun’s friendly attitude toward Doh Yihyun had clearly piqued his curiosity.
"We are not."
Doh Yihyun denied it flatly, leaving no room for misunderstanding.
He hated troublesome rumors.
"Then let us say we will become close from now on."
Seo Jeongun shamelessly placed a hand on Doh Yihyun’s shoulder and smiled softly.
"I have no intention of that."
"That hurts to hear."
Despite the repeated rejection, Seo Jeongun did not back down in the slightest. His smooth, painted smile was annoyingly persistent.
"Let us go eat lunch, Yihyun."
Bending slightly at the waist, Seo Jeongun extended his hand toward him. It could have looked ridiculous, but perhaps because of his relaxed demeanor, it seemed oddly elegant.
Did he think I would not refuse in front of others?
"No."
Doh Yihyun did not so much as blink despite the many eyes on him. If anything, his tone was colder than usual, drawing quiet gasps from all around.
Ever since getting tangled up with Seo Jeongun in the morning, his nerves had been on edge, and his mood was far from good.
Seo Jeongun stared intently into Doh Yihyun’s pitch black eyes.
A heavy silence settled between them.
"Haha, we will go ahead and have lunch!" Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Sensing the cold atmosphere, Kim Yumin quickly spoke and ushered the others out of the office.
In an instant, only Doh Yihyun and Seo Jeongun remained in the now spacious room.
"If lunch is not good, how about dinner?"
Seo Jeongun leaned against the edge of the desk and looked down at him.
"I already have plans."
"Then what about tomorrow evening?"
"I have plans tomorrow as well."
"...The day after?"
"I will probably have plans then too."
Without a second of hesitation, Doh Yihyun rejected every suggestion.
"Do you have plans on the weekend too?"
"I need to rest on the weekend."
As their exchange began to resemble a comedic routine, the smile on Seo Jeongun’s lips slowly faded.
"Really?"
He finally voiced his doubt.
"Yes."
Doh Yihyun nodded indifferently.
Every evening was already booked with hospital appointments. It was unavoidable if he wanted to continue working properly. Even that had only been agreed upon after much negotiation with the doctor, who had strongly urged hospitalization.
I need to stabilize my condition before the end of the year.
Clenching his fist, Doh Yihyun steeled his resolve. Even if he had no hospital appointments, he would never have spent an evening alone with Seo Jeongun.
Never.
"Who are you meeting?"
As if he would not give up, Seo Jeongun pressed further.
"I am not obligated to report my personal life to you, Executive Director."
"...Do you hate the idea of having a meal with me that much, Yihyun?"
Seo Jeongun narrowed his eyes, gripping the desk tightly. His stubbornness was starting to give way to irritation.
"Yes."
Doh Yihyun answered carelessly. To be precise, there was simply no reason for him to have a meal with Seo Jeongun, but explaining that was too troublesome.
"Look at me, Yihyun."
Seo Jeongun stepped closer and suddenly leaned his face in.
Doh Yihyun almost instinctively leaned back, but instead held his ground, keeping his back straight. He did not want to show any reaction to Seo Jeongun’s actions.
"I am not exactly lacking in looks."
Tilting his head slightly, Seo Jeongun fluttered his long eyelashes.
"You have never seen anyone better looking than me either, have you?"
He stated it as if it were an undeniable truth.
Such overwhelming confidence.