Chapter 20: Awkward Departures and Secret Plans

His pencil, which had been idly spinning in his hand, stilled. He drew a line on the paper and began to write something, seemingly making corrections to what he had been reviewing.

“I don’t like you anymore, Team Leader.”

Though it was time to leave the team leader’s office, Do-ha uttered the words in a small voice. It was a declaration to Tae-jun, yet also a quiet affirmation to himself.

His hand, which had been moving so smoothly, paused. For a brief moment, a heavy silence seemed to press down on Do-ha’s shoulders.

“I know.”

At Tae-jun’s emotionless voice, Do-ha felt a heavy squeeze in a corner of his left chest.

‘When was the last time we were together in the same space like this?’

The saying, ‘You only realize the value of something after you’ve lost it,’ came to mind.

He hadn’t known then how much he cherished hearing Tae-jun’s voice in the morning, getting into his scent-laden car, or even being called upon to handle trivial tasks.

“The business trip, Team Leader, please handle it as you see fit.”

Do-ha, who had been staring down at his fingertips like a scolded student before a teacher, tilted his head at the sound of a chair being pushed back.

“Come down to the first basement level by 7:30 tomorrow morning.”

“Excuse me? The first basement level? Aren’t we meeting at the airport?”

“Our discussion is over, you can leave now.”

“Meeting in the basement would be inconvenient for me. I’ll just go on my own.”

Do-ha blinked, watching Tae-jun walk around his desk.

“First basement level. The airport is vast. Do you expect me to waste time looking for Seo Do-ha first thing in the morning?”

“…”

“It seems our conversation is finished. You may leave.”

Do-ha, who had been standing in the middle of the office, hesitated. When Tae-jun opened the team leader’s door himself and gestured for him to leave, Do-ha slowly approached him.

Unsure what more to say, Do-ha walked down the company corridor with heavy steps after a brief silence. Employees tried to strike up conversations, likely having already heard rumors of the team leader and intern going on a business trip, but Do-ha kept his gaze fixed ahead.

Feeling the weight of everyone’s gazes, he veered away from his office and headed into the pantry, hoping a glass of cold water would help him clear his head and process the situation.

“Do-ha, I hear you’re going on a business trip with Tae-jun?”

“Excuse me?”

‘If someone enters, they should at least make their presence known.’ Realizing it was Hye-jin, Do-ha quickly turned his head, checking his surroundings.

“There’s no one else here.”

“Ah… it seems many people already know.”

“The rumor has already spread like wildfire. Everyone’s whispering about the team leader and the intern going on a business trip, you know?”

At Hye-jin’s words, Do-ha chewed on his lip, searching for a response, before finally letting out a deep sigh.

“It all means they’re envious. I asked you last time, Do-ha, don’t you like Tae-jun?”

“No. I don’t like him!”

Do-ha’s immediate, thoughtless response made him give an awkward laugh, which Hye-jin, clueless, mirrored with a smile of her own.

“Try telling him you love him. See what kind of reaction you get.”

“What?”

Feeling a suffocating frustration, Do-ha’s hand, which had been pouring cold water into a glass to clear his head, twitched, spilling water onto the floor.

“Make sure you tell him you love him. This is just a hint from me because I find Seo Do-ha adorable. And cold water isn’t good for your body, you know.”

The cup that had held cold water had somehow been replaced by one filled with lukewarm water.

Watching Hye-jin’s retreating back as she left the pantry with an enigmatic, subtle smile, Do-ha coolly drank the lukewarm water in his hand.

‘When I told him I liked him, he freaked out and put up an iron wall. What if I tell him I love him? Surely the team leader wouldn’t quit the company, would he?’

****

“No way. So, you’re telling me you’re ditching our Christmas party to go on a business trip to Japan, just the two of you, with your crush of a team leader?”

As soon as he got home from work, Do-ha pulled out his travel suitcase, placed his hands on his hips, and surveyed his surroundings.

‘First, what should I pack?’

Opening his dresser, Do-ha tossed the most unassuming black boxer briefs into his suitcase first.

Two black boxer briefs. Two pairs of socks. Two white shirts. Oh! His suit shouldn’t get wrinkled, but where was his suit bag?

“Hey, Seo Do-ha. Are you even listening to me?”

Do-ha reached for his favorite pink pajamas but then changed his mind, picking up the blue ones lying next to them instead.

“Yeah. Business trip, two nights, three days, Japan.”

Although his heart leaned towards pink, he ultimately tossed the blue pajamas he held into the suitcase. Then, he opened another drawer and pulled out a sweater.

During the day, he’d be visiting exhibitions and meeting branch employees, but evenings offered free time, meaning he might go out at night.

‘Jeans, jeans… not these kinds.’

As he pulled out jeans, Do-ha discarded the ones with too many buttons, opting instead for a basic design.

“Are you insane? Take it all out. What are you doing? Since when did you ever wear stuff like this?”

Do-ha, startled by Jia’s actions as she pulled out everything he had just packed, sat on the floor and began tossing the items she’d removed back into the suitcase.

“What’s wrong with you? Are you crazy?”

“Who’s crazy? You are.”

Jia’s hands swiftly removed items, while Do-ha’s just as quickly put them back. Their movements grew increasingly frantic until, both breathing heavily, they glared at each other. ‘What on earth are we doing?’

“Seo Do-ha, stop playing coy. You like the team leader, don’t you! You even slept together! So go for it, what’s with… this stuff? You have to seize the opportunity when it comes, alright? You need to at least try to seduce him. Are you a scholar? A Confucian scholar?”

Do-ha, flustered by Jia’s words, dropped the clothes he had been clutching to his chest, ready to toss them into the suitcase.

‘Why hadn’t he thought of that?’ He had only confessed his feelings, but he hadn’t made any real effort to win Tae-jun’s heart.

True, things had gotten strangely complicated, leading to a rash or an entanglement with a ‘lucky charm’ that still pained his heart to think about, but those were all just accidents.

“Idiot, is your face lacking? Is your body lacking? No, if you have something superior to others, you should use it. Even if God was fair enough not to give you intelligence, is that thing above your neck just for decoration?”

Do-ha slowly nodded, almost unconsciously.

While there was still the unknown formidable rival, Jin, Assistant Manager Hye-jin had definitively informed him that he was not Jin, nor was he an Omega, but an Alpha.

Furthermore, she had clarified that their relationship was one of friendship, not romance.

“Alright, listen carefully, Seo Do-ha. For these two nights and three days, you need to flirt and seduce Kang Tae-jun. It’s Christmas Eve, even the heavens are helping you! So, where are you staying?”

At Jia’s resolute words, Do-ha found himself nodding along in bewilderment, clenching both his fists tightly.

****

Dressed in a semi-formal suit, shoes, and a wool coat, Do-ha shook his head slightly at Jia, who was giving him a double thumbs-up. He had spent a long night awake, not so much from the excitement of his first business trip or worry about botching the work, but from agonizing over whether he could navigate two nights and three days with Tae-jun.

“Don’t show weakness. You can do this. That Jin, or whatever their name is, isn’t here now, are they? Love is something you conquer. I didn’t raise my friend to be so weak.”

“Even so, I rejected him last time! And I told him yesterday that I don’t like him. This isn’t right.”

‘What did I say when I coldly rejected him at that Korean restaurant just downstairs? I told him I wouldn’t date him even if he begged on his knees, so if I suddenly say I like him again now, I’d truly be insane. I even said I didn’t like him yesterday.’

They had been squabbling by the front door for five minutes already. Do-ha glared at Jia.

“Fine, fine. Do as you please. Grow old and die alone, for all I care.”

Then, Do-ha slowly placed a box of condoms from his coat pocket onto Jia’s outstretched palm.

“Tsk. You never know what might happen, so use protection, okay? Don’t rely on emergency contraception like last time.”

Do-ha pretended not to hear Jia’s snide remarks from behind him, opened the front door, and stepped into the hallway. The resolve he’d momentarily held last night, swayed by Jia’s coaxing to seduce Tae-jun and make him his own, had long since vanished.

As they entered the airport parking lot, Tae-jun slowly reduced his speed. Do-ha’s refusal to look him in the eye, ever since their meeting in the basement, had been weighing on his mind.

He hadn’t intended for things to turn out this way, yet his own misguided actions had only made things more difficult. Even now, he couldn’t predict what Do-ha’s true feelings were upon arriving.

He could have come alone. He could have brought another employee. Suddenly, it bothered him that he had never once gone on a trip with Do-ha.

Do-ha, who had merely bowed uncomfortably and then stared out the window the entire time, now stirred, his head shifting slightly to reveal his clear face.

‘Did he not get any sleep at all…?’

Tae-jun, who had been muttering to himself, gazed at Do-ha’s deeply sleeping face with a warm tenderness in his eyes.

“Do-ha, you need to wake up now.”

The name, tightly held within his chest, had simply slipped out.

“…Don’t… want to…”

“If you don’t wake up now, we’ll be late.”

“…Just a little longer.”

Do-ha’s slightly parted lips faintly fluttered, and as Tae-jun heard the barely audible murmur, a subtle smile spread across his face.

“I’d love to let you sleep more, but now isn’t the time.”

Tae-jun, redirecting his hand from Do-ha’s face, unfastened the seatbelt buckle he was wearing.

‘Just a little more sleep.’ Do-ha frowned, feeling someone persistently talking to him. It wasn’t Jia’s sharp voice, and it was too soft for him to recognize who it was.

*Click.*

The distinct sound made him snap his eyes open.

Having opened his eyes so abruptly, Do-ha was momentarily blinded and his vision unfocused. He blinked, shaking his head slightly, and quickly recoiled.

If he had been just a little closer. As he pulled back slightly, Tae-jun’s face came into clear view, and Do-ha instinctively covered his own face with both hands.

‘Why do I always fall asleep the moment I get into a car? Especially in my boss’s car!’

Slowly lowering his hands from his face, fearing he might have drooled, Do-ha breathed a sigh of relief when he felt no dampness on his palms.

“Now that you’re awake, let’s go.”

As the door opened and a cold gust of wind swept into the car, Do-ha quickly pulled his collar tighter.