TBR 19

Chapter 19

The office, a day before the weekend, carried a faint air of excitement.

A paper asking whether employees would participate in next week’s hiking workshop was already circulating.

“Somang, you’re going to the hiking workshop next week, right?”
Dahee asked while coming out of the break room with a coffee.

“I heard the team leader is going too. Because of that, a few female employees even canceled their other plans.”

Dahee whispered quietly, “Some of them are even planning to get married, but everyone’s already acting like they’ve got it all figured out.”

Minchan had drawn attention for his looks right after joining the company, but because of the background rumor that he was an “illegitimate child,” no one approached him easily.

On the other hand, Hangyeol was said to have a girlfriend, but seeing his hand without a ring, people conveniently interpreted it as his way of avoiding workplace romances, turning it to their own advantage.

“Anyway, do you have plans tonight? If not, let’s eat. My treat.”
Dahee’s face lit up with excitement, asking, “How about pasta?”

It seemed she wanted to visit the restaurant her first love ran.

“I have plans tonight. Let’s go another time.”

Somang struggled to shake off Dahee, who persistently asked who she was meeting and what they were eating, until the very end of the workday.

At an izakaya not far from the office.

Somang spotted Minchan, who had left late after getting held up by Deputy Manager Gam, entering the restaurant, and waved.

“What did the deputy manager say?”
“He asked if I’d go to the hiking workshop with him next week. He said he’d pick me up.”

“Really? There’s a shuttle bus coming.”

The snacks Somang had pre-ordered were slowly placed on the table.

“Didn’t Minchan say he wasn’t going?”
“He did.”

Minchan opened a soda, explaining that he needed to drive home afterward.

“You know, thinking about it… isn’t the hiking workshop a good opportunity?”
“What kind of good opportunity?”
“Perfect for showing the team leader a fake romance, don’t you think?”

Somang’s eyes sparkled, focused on the idea of using it for the product project.

“Oh! How?”
“First, we need to get Deputy Manager Gam out of the way…”

The two huddled together and excitedly discussed ways to provoke Hangyeol.
The clever plan made them drink more eagerly.

After finishing all the snacks, they stepped outside. The summer night clung heavily to their skin.

“Pingmi pingmi.”

Arcade-style claw machines were everywhere, their noisy mechanical sounds seemingly back in fashion.

“Minchan, are you good at these?”
“I played a bit when I was young, I think.”
“Really? Then let’s try.”

Somang dragged Minchan into the arcade.
There were all kinds of plushies, from fist-sized ones to enormous ones impossible to hug.

“I’ll try this one.”
Somang pulled a small chair in front of a machine filled with tiny squirrel plushies.

Her drunken, relaxed eyes moved the joystick, but the claw refused to grab a single plushie.

“Is it really that hard?”
“Yes! It grabs it sharply and then immediately drops it. It’s total cheating!”

Already frustrated, Somang lamented that she had spent 20,000 won.

“I’ll try.”

In just four tries, Minchan successfully grabbed a plushie.

“Waaah! Got it!”

Somang jumped up, high-fiving him joyfully, then shamelessly held out her hand.

“You know, I moved it closer so you could grab it, right?”
So, give it to me.

Somang didn’t say it out loud, but her eyes glued to the plushie said it all.

“That’s right. You grabbed it, Deputy.”

As they left, Somang’s bag was stuffed with plushies, including the squirrel Minchan had handed over.

“Thanks, Minchan. Be careful on your way home!”

She waved Minchan off as he headed home. Though she had drunk and played games, it was still only 10 p.m.

“Time seems so slow today.”

The plushies swung from her bag as she walked.
After wandering the streets for a while, she turned toward a brightly lit shopping mall.

Thunk.

The squirrel plushie fell from her bag.
A large shadow loomed over the plushie.

“Where do you think you’re going instead of home?”

It was Hangyeol who picked up the plushie.
Somang had expected him to be a little protective, but he was unusually composed.
Apart from the excited high-five over a plushie, he was almost too good-natured.

Maintaining some distance, Hangyeol sent a message:

[Siwon, Somang just got over a stomach cramp. Is it okay for her to drink? If your schedule’s done, come see her.]

While Hangyeol briefly looked away, a group smoking in the alley approached Somang, giggling.

“Watch this, I’m gonna get a girlfriend tonight.”

Hangyeol rubbed his brow at the tattoos covering the man’s legs and up to his knees.

“Seriously, some people…”

Hangyeol blocked his path with long legs.

“Go home nicely. Don’t hit on a married woman.”

With broad shoulders, Hangyeol’s imposing figure made the man scratch his head despite the tattoos.

“Oh, were you on a date? You two seem close.”

With the troublemakers gone, Hangyeol hurried after Somang.

She stopped in front of the ticket counter at a movie theater.
After much thought, she picked the movie starting the soonest—an SF film, not her taste at all.

As expected, she started dozing shortly after the movie began.

“Tch, stubborn as ever.”

Hangyeol laughed softly and moved to sit beside her, reserving seats around her as well.
He rested his shoulder near her, and the light pressure soothed her.

“Sure, if it’s past midnight, it counts as an overnight stay.”

Not that the other person was Minchan.

He kept his shoulder near her throughout the movie so she could rest comfortably and left the theater just before it ended.

After watching a movie she didn’t like alone, it was finally past midnight.
The brief nap at the theater had sobered her slightly.

“When did it get so dark?”

Feeling unsafe alone, she headed home quickly.
At the entrance, Siwon’s large suitcase blocked the way.

“Huh? When did you get back? Weren’t you coming tomorrow?”

Siwon lay on the floor wearing the ‘885’ group t-shirt Somang hated.

“I just got here. Too tired to even shower.”

He suddenly sat up.

“Are you okay? You had a stomach cramp. Did you drink? I told you to only eat small amounts of spicy, cold, or hot food, right?”

“What else am I supposed to eat?”

Siwon went on, adding that he was glad she lived with Hangyeol.
Somang almost shouted—she only had cramps because she lived with him!

“Why are you so late?”
Siwon crossed his arms and treated her like a delinquent.

Before she could make an excuse about overtime, the door unlocked again—Hangyeol had returned.

“Hangyeol oppa, you’re back too! Why are you picking on me?”
“Hangyeol, why are you just coming back now?”

The man who had been protecting her replied casually.

“Overtime, you know.”

Siwon nodded and let Hangyeol into the living room.
Then he turned to Somang.

“I-I was working overtime too…”

Hangyeol tilted his head, amused.
“Siwon, Somang is dating now.”