* * *

At rush hour, the elevator line was long. Standing with Jinwoo, they waited for their turn.

Packed beyond capacity, they squeezed into the elevator under Jinwoo’s protection and arrived at the executive floor.

They greeted Secretary Yang, who was already at work.

Jinwoo set up a chair for Jingyeom next to his, even though there was no desk.

It was enough for the two weeks he’d be there.

“Hello.”

“Good morning, Director!”

As Wonbeom approached, Jinwoo and Secretary Yang stood up and greeted him. Jingyeom quickly stood and bowed deeply.

“Good morning, Director.”

“…”

Wonbeom paused, looking at Jingyeom.

With his head bowed, the flattened hair on the back of his head was visible.

Normally, he would have walked straight into his office, but this time he moved closer to Jingyeom’s desk.

“Come neatly dressed from tomorrow.”

Wonbeom ruffled Jingyeom’s flattened hair with his fingers.

Secretary Yang’s mouth fell open at Wonbeom’s unexpected behavior, as he normally didn’t care how employees looked.

He’d only ever frowned if someone showed up without washing their hair.

Even if they wore the same clothes two days in a row or had food stains on their shirt, Wonbeom wouldn’t comment.

While it was known that Wonbeom had an interest in Jingyeom, seeing this new side of him was surprising.

Jinwoo’s expression hardened as he watched Wonbeom’s behavior.

‘He’s definitely touching him more often.’

From the hospital room to today, Wonbeom’s behavior was consistent.

Sure, Jingyeom’s round, cute head made it tempting to touch, but Wonbeom wasn’t known to care about such things.

While Jinwoo replayed Wonbeom’s actions in his mind, Jingyeom smoothed down his flattened hair.

As Wonbeom ruffled his hair, the phrases Soohyuk taught him—‘I don’t like it,’ ‘Don’t touch me’—didn’t come to mind.

Debating whether he should be happy or remind him of boundaries, Wonbeom looked at Jingyeom’s small head before heading into his office.

Secretary Yang quickly stuck by Jinwoo’s side.

“What’s going on? Is today special or something? Why is he acting so strange?”

“…”

“Avoid Director Tak today. Absolutely avoid him. When he’s acting weird like this, it’s best to steer clear. Oh, right, we have a meeting today, don’t we?”

“Yes, one in the morning.”

“…Alright, I’ll come along today. It’s Jingyeom’s first day, after all. His brother should be there.”

Secretary Yang shivered slightly before sitting back down.

“Thank you. I’ll buy you coffee later.”

“Iced Americano with double syrup.”

“Okay.”

Unsure of what was happening, Jingyeom sat down slowly when Secretary Yang gestured for him to do so.

After that, Jinwoo and Secretary Yang were busy, their hands constantly moving.

Since Director Tak had arrived, they had to check and communicate the day’s schedule.

There were also many new approval documents to organize.

Jinwoo got up with several black folders.

“Hyung, I’m going to do the morning report. I’ll let you know what you need to do when I get back.”

“Okay.”

Jingyeom stepped aside, not wanting to be in the way.

As Jinwoo went into the office, the sound of Secretary Yang’s keyboard and mouse clicks seemed louder.

Not knowing what to do on his first day, Jingyeom sat still until Secretary Yang spoke to him.

“Jingyeom, do you know how to use a copier?”

“I haven’t done it before, but I’ve seen it on YouTube.”

“…YouTube.”

Jingyeom, who learns everything from YouTube, watched videos on office life this time as well.

The videos were focused on simple tasks like connecting the internal phone lines and using the copier.

Secretary Yang felt uneasy, but since Jingyeom said he knew how to do it from watching YouTube, and he looked too bored just sitting around, he decided to give him a chance.

When he heard they were making an ID badge for a short-term part-timer, he thought they were really pulling him into the company.

When Jinwoo first came, he was a blank slate, knowing nothing. Perhaps because he always did physical part-time jobs, he was clueless about office work.

He even broke the copier on his first day.

However, he had a knack for work and quickly learned how to handle phone calls.

Though he didn’t know how to transfer calls, he left detailed notes for follow-up, so it wasn’t a big issue.

“Surely…”

No matter how clueless, Baek Jingyeom wouldn’t be as bad as Jinwoo back then, right?

The copier was in the corridor near the sales team. It wasn’t far, just around the corner.

Jingyeom stood in front of the large copier with a determined look on his face.

“My first task! I must do well.”

This was Jingyeom’s official first task.

Although the machine was different from the one he saw on YouTube, the usage was mostly the same, so he played the video in his mind.

“They said they need 20 copies for the meeting.”

That meant he needed 20 copies of each page. If he knew nothing about copying, he would have done it page by page, but Jingyeom had watched the “Nunchikoji Office Life” channel for a while.

“Is it here?”

Examining the copier, Jingyeom carefully placed the meeting documents on the tray.

“The button…”

Usually, the start button is big or a different color. There was a large round button on this copier too.

Thinking he found the right one, Jingyeom pressed the button firmly. The documents slid into the copier and came out smoothly.

But the copied paper was warm and blank.

“This can’t be right. It should be working.”

He did it exactly as he saw in the video, but the paper wasn’t copying.

Panicking, he looked around the copier. He pressed the button again, but nothing changed.

With arms crossed, Jingyeom stared intently at the copier when a familiar voice spoke.

“Wear that when you meet me. Is today the day you’re meeting me?”

It was Soohyuk.

“Oh, sir.”

“Not ‘sir,’ call me hyung…”

Soohyuk whispered, noticing other employees listening in.

“In the company, call me Director. Outside, you can call me hyung, okay?”

“…Yes, Director.”

“Good. So, what are you doing here?”

“Copying.”

It was obvious, but Soohyuk wanted to hear Jingyeom’s small voice.

In fact, he saw Jingyeom arriving earlier.

He spotted him when the elevator opened on the first floor from the underground parking.

Feeling regret, he went to his office for the morning report and then came here.

Wearing a beige suit no one else in the company would wear, Jingyeom stood out even from a distance.

Watching Jingyeom struggle with the copier, Soohyuk moved quickly when another employee tried to approach.

“Where’s Secretary Baek?”

“He went to give the morning report. Do you know how to use this copier, Director?”

“…Maybe?”

It wasn’t a sure answer.

Soohyuk had printed with the office printer but always had his secretary do the copying, so he didn’t actually know how.

But he couldn’t say he didn’t know when looking into Jingyeom’s pleading eyes.

Standing beside Jingyeom, Soohyuk frowned slightly, looking at the copier.

“How do you do this again?”

He had seen employees using it but never did it himself.

“Director?”

Jingyeom called out again as Soohyuk remained silent.

“Hold on. I’m thinking.”

Soohyuk was serious. His eyes moved quickly, taking in the buttons, directions, and the blank paper that came out.

After pondering, Soohyuk turned the document over and pressed the button.

“Wow…!”

The copy came out properly, with black text and graphs.

“You’re amazing, Director!”

“If you don’t know something, don’t struggle alone. Ask others.”

“Can I do that? I was worried about bothering them…”

Soohyuk smiled at Jingyeom’s hesitation.

“If someone gets annoyed when you ask, remember their face and name, and tell me.”

“What happens then?”

“I’ll tell you what to do when the time comes.”

Though he was smiling, Soohyuk’s eyes turned cold for a moment. Jingyeom didn’t notice.

Seeing only one copy, Jingyeom put more paper in the tray and pressed the button again.

He knew there was a way to make multiple copies at once, but he couldn’t remember, so he just kept pressing the button.

Counting to 20 in his head while pressing the button, Soohyuk stayed nearby.

Worried that talking might make Jingyeom lose count, he stayed silent.

Other employees exchanged glances, unsure whether to help.

Director Sun often passed by here to meet Director Tak, but he never stayed at the copier like this. And Jingyeom was unfamiliar to them.

One employee whispered to a colleague.

“Isn’t that the person who was with Secretary Baek earlier?”

“Yeah, looks like it. Same outfit.”

“I thought he was a client, but maybe not.”

“Clients wouldn’t be making copies themselves.”

“Right? It doesn’t make sense. But… he’s really pretty. Looks even smaller next to Director Sun.”

“I saw his face up close. Wow… really pretty.”

Other employees gathered, whispering.

Soohyuk glanced back, and the employees quickly scattered.

He couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying but knew they were gossiping.

After finishing the copies, Jingyeom straightened the papers and held them to his chest, bowing slightly to Soohyuk.

“Thank you for your help.”

“If you’re grateful, join me for lunch later.”

* * *