* * *
A message arrived just before the end of the workday.
Not from a messenger app, but a regular text.
Usually, those were just ads, spam, or event notifications—never anything personal—so he barely glanced at his screen.
“Huh?”
Then he froze at the sight of the familiar number at the top of the screen.
“Assistant Manager Gil, something wrong?”
“N-No.”
Wookyung brushed off the question and double-checked the sender.
He hadn’t imagined it—it was definitely from him.
He almost turned his head before catching himself, suddenly conscious of the coworker sitting beside him.
Not wanting to raise any suspicion, he casually opened the message.
[Wookyung, let’s go home together later.]
Reading it, he couldn’t just sit still.
His gaze flickered toward Saheon’s desk, but the man was busy reviewing documents, oblivious to his stare.
Was he genuinely focused, or just pretending not to notice?
“Do you need to speak with the director?”
The coworker’s voice snapped him out of it.
Only then did Wookyung realize how blatantly he’d been staring.
“I’ll talk to him later. He seems busy.”
Denying it outright would only make things more suspicious, so he played it off and turned back to his monitor.
But the message lingered in his mind.
‘Going home together…’
Coming in together was one thing—he’d made excuses for that.
But leaving together?
That was a different story.
Sure, he could use overtime as an excuse, but…
“Assistant Manager Gil.”
For some reason, his coworker kept calling him more often than usual today.
When he turned, he was met with a knowing look.
“What is it?”
“Can you check this for me?”
…That wasn’t what he originally wanted to say, was it?
Well, whatever.
Wookyung set aside his thoughts and focused on the screen in front of him.
“This brand participated in the Milan Expo—”
“Ah, that one…”
Distracted by the conversation, he temporarily forgot about the message—until it was almost time to leave.
‘What do I do?’
To make matters worse, Saheon had stepped out for a meeting, leaving him no chance to talk.
He figured he should at least reply.
‘But should I? He’s in a meeting…’
Debating with himself, he finally got up.
When his coworker sent him a questioning look, he mouthed, “Bathroom.”
On the way, he checked both his messages and the messenger app, but there were no follow-ups.
The real issue was that he still hadn’t decided what to do.
To be honest, he wanted to go along with whatever Saheon suggested.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to.
He was just wary of being seen.
Saheon might not care, but Wookyung knew—some people in the office were surprisingly sharp.
“I should at least reply.”
Leaving a message unread would be rude, after all.
Just as he was about to tap his phone—
A long arm suddenly reached out in front of him.
“Whoa—”
Before he could even process what was happening, his wrist was caught, and he was swiftly pulled toward the emergency stairwell.
Of course, by then, he had a pretty good idea of who it was.
That was probably why he didn’t resist.
“Were you busy?”
Once the door shut behind them, a warm voice asked.
When he looked up, Saheon was already meeting his eyes—his gaze softened with something almost affectionate.
Of course, work had kept him busy.
Saheon knew that too.
But he was obviously asking for another reason.
“We came to work together. If we leave together too, won’t people find it odd?”
“Who?”
“Well—”
“They’d just think we happened to leave at the same time.”
“Even so…”
“Do you not want to?”
Strangely, Wookyung found himself unable to say yes.
From the start, he’d already been more inclined to go along with it.
And judging by Saheon’s expression, he had picked up on that.
“How about this? You leave first and walk slowly. Then I’ll just happen to run into you outside and give you a ride home.”
“What kind of plan is that?”
Honestly, sometimes Saheon could be so childish.
And yet, Wookyung found his lips twitching, betraying the amusement bubbling up inside him.
“Why not? It’s a totally natural scenario. Or—” Saheon smirked.
“There’s a shopping center ten minutes away. Want to meet there instead? We can grab dinner too.”
“What is that supposed to…? Never mind. Just don’t say anything.”
Wookyung narrowed his eyes as he looked at Saheon, who simply shrugged.
“Let’s just take it easy. You’d be surprised how little people actually care about what we do.”
That’s not true at all.
If people were really that indifferent, the anonymous company forum wouldn’t be buzzing with gossip every single day.
The most common topics?
The love affairs of Trait Holders and backbiting about certain coworkers…
‘Does he not check?’
Maybe that’s why he doesn’t know.
Well, to be fair, he doesn’t seem like the type to browse the anonymous board.
“If you’re really that against it, Wookyung, we can figure out another option.”
But there wasn’t much time left before the workday ended.
Wookyung chuckled.
He couldn’t help but feel a little drawn to this man—who was clearly doing everything he could to spend more time with him.
“How about this? There’s a hangover soup place behind the shopping center. Let’s have dinner there. No one from work will be around at that hour.”
“Oh… I like that.”
Even though it wasn’t much different from his own suggestion, Saheon’s eyes sparkled as if he had just heard a brilliant idea.
“And afterward, we can take a walk in the nearby park before heading home. Good for digestion.”
A park.
That would definitely be less crowded.
“Sounds perfect.”
Saheon briefly took Wookyung’s hand and let go just as quickly.
His gaze lingered on Wookyung’s lips for a moment—soft and smooth—before pulling away.
“See you later.”
With a smile that carried a hint of reluctance, Saheon held the door open for him, as if telling him to go ahead.
That’s when Wookyung realized—they had been whispering in the emergency stairwell this whole time.
‘Are you insane, Gil Wookyung?’
How could he forget where he was?
Even if there was a man in front of him who completely absorbed his attention.
Wookyung tapped his forehead lightly, as if to snap himself out of it.
But even as he did, he couldn’t quite hide his amusement.
After 6 p.m., Wookyung glanced around.
Right now, the busiest team was Design.
Senior Associate Sun and Senior Associate Lee were focused on their monitors, and Assistant Manager was out on a business errand.
Assistant Manager Pyeon was on the phone with another department regarding a task request.
Meanwhile, Associate Choi had already finished tidying up.
‘Perfect.’
Leaving early wouldn’t seem too out of place.
“Choi Siwon, let’s head out.”
As if waiting for those words, Associate Choi immediately grabbed his bag and stood up.
Wookyung followed suit.
Right before stepping out, he glanced at the Director’s office.
‘You go ahead. I’ll follow soon.’
‘Got it.’
Their silent exchange of glances was brief but crystal clear.
Since the TF team worked on the upper floors, the elevator was relatively empty.
But as they descended, more people boarded, forcing Wookyung and Associate Choi to press against the back wall.
“Assistant Manager, are you heading straight home?”
“Yeah, I should.”
“If you have time, would you like to grab dinner with me?”
“Let’s just eat separately at home.”
“…Alright.”
After being quiet for a while, Associate Choi was starting up again.
Regardless of what Saheon had said about it being okay for some people to know about them, Wookyung had no interest in getting any closer to Associate Choi.
‘Meeting coworkers outside of work? No, thanks.’
Well, except for a certain Alpha he was about to see in about 20 minutes.
“Get home safe, Assistant Manager.”
As the elevator reached the lobby, employees poured out.
Wookyung was about to blend into the crowd when he turned back.
“Are you taking your car, Choi Siwon?”
“Yeah.”
“Alright. See you tomorrow.”
He was about to leave when he noticed Associate Choi’s lingering, almost wistful gaze.
Seriously, why does he keep looking at me like that?
With no choice, Wookyung waved before finally turning away.
He knew Associate Choi’s feelings, but he wasn’t interested.
Even as he walked away, he could feel Choi’s stare on his back—but he remained firm.
Instead, his focus shifted to something far more important: sending a reply he hadn’t had the chance to earlier.
[I just left the office. I’ll start walking, so take your time.]
Just as he stepped outside the building, his phone vibrated in his hand.
A grin spread across Wookyung’s lips as he checked the screen.
[I wanted to ride the elevator with you, but you disappeared too fast. I’m disappointed. I’ll call you as soon as I get in the car, so pick up.]
Without thinking, he glanced over his shoulder.
Seeing a wave of coworkers exiting, he quickly turned away and picked up the pace.
“What’s with him? We’ll see each other soon anyway.”
Even as he grumbled, his eyes sparkled.
His fingers tapped out a lighthearted reply.
[Okay.]
* * *
