* * *

“Is he your boyfriend?”

Junhee’s face immediately hardened.

“No.”

“Then, are you two just flirting?”

Junhee, who was about to walk past him with a composed expression, abruptly stopped in his tracks.

It was because Cha Junwoo had casually stretched out his long leg, blocking Junhee’s path.

“Is there something you need me to do?”

Looking up at him from a slightly tilted angle, a meaningful smile emerged from Junwoo before he replied.

“The details from this morning’s meeting—could you organize them and send them to the developer?”

“…Understood.”

When Junhee gave a compliant answer, Junwoo finally moved his leg and cleared the way.

Back at his desk, Junhee finished the file he’d been working on and began composing the email.

The developer, who had been pre-arranged by the CEO, was an external freelancer.

Moreover, he wasn’t Korean. Word was, he was quite successful overseas.

‘At least he speaks Korean well enough, thank goodness.’

Otherwise, Junhee would’ve been stuck staring blankly at the words ‘Dear Vincent’ without being able to proceed.

As part of his job, Junhee was responsible for sharing the concept of the matchmaking app discussed in the meeting and coordinating with the developer.

Many things had changed in a single day.

New colleagues, new tasks—it all felt unfamiliar, but he had to adapt.

…To maintain his daily life.

---

“Eat up, Assistant Yoo!”

“Eat a lot, Assistant Manager! Why are you eating so little?”

Jiyeon, holding a pair of tongs, began piling the cooked meat onto Junhee’s plate until it overflowed.

“No, no. Make sure you chew slowly and thoroughly. Don’t eat too quickly and upset your stomach again.”

“I brought antacids just in case this time!” The youngest team member shyly pulled two bottles of antacid from their bag.

“…Thank you.”

Under the team’s overbearing encouragement, Junhee reluctantly picked up his chopsticks.

The gathering might have looked lively and fun, but for Junhee, it was anything but enjoyable.

It wasn’t because he missed his old team terribly or regretted leaving them.

“You were really treasured, Assistant Yoo.”

“Team Leader Cha, that’s an understatement. He was the gem of our team.”

The reason for his discomfort was sitting boldly at the table—the ‘hazardous material,’ Cha Junwoo.

Junhee, mid-bite of meat, glanced sideways at Junwoo, only to meet his gaze directly.

When Junwoo’s eyes curved into crescents as he smiled, Junhee felt an overwhelming urge to pinch his nose with the tongs.

“Team Leader Cha, please take good care of our Assistant Yoo.”

“Of course. I’m grateful to have someone so talented join my team. Please take care of me too, Assistant Yoo.”

The way Junwoo playfully bantered made Junhee’s stomach churn.

“You’ll learn a lot under Team Leader Cha. Before Assistant Yoo joined, he was the one consistently winning the Best Employee Award.”

“Thanks to the excellent guidance of my seniors.”

Cough! Junhee, who had been holding it in, ended up choking.

Someone quickly handed him a glass of water, and only after a few gulps did he manage to calm down.

“Are you okay, Assistant Yoo?”

“…Yes, I’m fine, Team Leader.”

Junhee forced a smile while his former team leader spoke to Junwoo in a tone that was more of a plea than a request.

“Assistant Yoo is great, but he’s a bit frail. He never lets it show, though, so please look after him.”

“Of course. I’ll take good care of him.”

Junwoo’s words sounded disgustingly insincere.

Just today, he had made Junhee’s life unbearable—how could things possibly get easier moving forward?

Junhee had no idea Cha Junwoo would have ties to Team 4, let alone be his direct supervisor.

His former team leader likely invited Junwoo to this gathering without knowing the history between them, simply as a gesture of goodwill.

But for Junhee, the situation was unbearable.

Frustrated, Junhee grabbed his beer glass.

“Whoa, Assistant Yoo is drinking?”

“You can’t drink alone! Let’s drink together!”

Suddenly, everyone raised their glasses.

Left with no choice, Junhee joined the toast and gulped down the golden liquid.

As the cool liquid quenched his burning throat, he found himself drinking more and more… until his glass was empty.

“Whoa! Did you just down it in one go, Assistant Yoo?”

“Wow, I’ve never seen you drink like this before!”

“I always thought you were the type to nurse a single glass. Jiyeon, you must’ve made a fantastic soju bomb.”

“Of course, I have a knack for that.”

Jiyeon, looking pleased, quickly refilled everyone’s glasses, including Junhee’s.

Junhee, staring at his newly filled glass, felt strangely tempted.

The foam looked just right, and the drink seemed even cooler than before.

“Here’s to Team 4 and the Business Development Team!”

Swept up in the group’s enthusiasm, Junhee raised his glass again.

And once again, the taste didn’t disappoint.

‘Am I enjoying this because it’s been so long since I last drank?’

After a previous incident where he blacked out, Junhee had sworn off alcohol.

Perhaps that’s why he was feeling buzzed so quickly.

After two glasses, the warmth of intoxication started to creep up, and the back of his neck turned slightly red.

By the third glass, his nerves had settled, and he even felt a little giddy.

“Assistant Yoo is like a fortune teller! His instincts are incredible.”

“Is that so? That’s impressive.”

Even Junwoo, who usually kept a level head, seemed genuinely intrigued.

Team Leader 4, now visibly drunk, was proudly recounting Junhee’s accomplishments.

“When Team Leader Cha was working under me, I thought, ‘There’ll never be another talent like him in our company.’ But then, along came Assistant Yoo!”

‘Hic!’

Startled, Junhee let out a small hiccup.

His former team leader had always been reserved, rarely offering praise.

Now, he was acting like a doting parent, bragging about a late-born child.

As Jiyeon chimed in with her own compliments, Junhee felt an overwhelming urge to dig a hole and hide.

Unable to bear it any longer, he excused himself.

“I’ll… be right back.”

Junhee slipped out under the pretense of going to the restroom but ended up exiting the building entirely.

Walking to a secluded spot behind the building, he leaned against a wall.

The place was deserted, save for a few scattered cigarette butts.

“Phew.”

He exhaled deeply, trying to release his pent-up frustration.

Though it might’ve been his imagination, the alcohol seemed to dissipate slightly.

Listening to others’ praise had always been difficult for Junhee.

Especially in front of Cha Junwoo.

Sure, they’d both won Best Employee Awards—but their journeys couldn’t have been more different.

‘He earned it purely through his own efforts. But me? Not so much.’

If not for that app, it would’ve been impossible.

Of course, he was now paying dearly for using it.

“No… Was it really the app’s fault?”

If he thought about it, the real culprit was alcohol.

Alcohol led him to Ki Taeryu, and a drunken phone call tangled him further with a contract.

And the one who poured that alcohol down his throat was none other than himself.

“Damn it…”

In the end, it all came back to his own fault.

When his alcohol-hazed eyelids drooped, the crooked smirk of a man surfaced in his mind.

The man who owned that smirk mocked Junhee, got angry at him… and kissed him too.

Sometimes the taste was unbelievably sweet, and other times it was as scorching as molten steel.

When that relentless tongue brushed against his and those large hands slid from the nape of his neck down his spine, it sent chills through him, making his body convulse.

Those unnecessarily large hands even grabbed his thigh in one swift motion.

Damn it. Maybe I’m still drunk…

“Are you drunk?”

A voice cut in sharply beside him, stabbing his ear like an arrow.

Startled, Junhee’s eyes snapped open, and there he was—Cha Junwoo, walking toward him.

Junhee froze, and before he knew it, Cha Junwoo had stopped just a step away from him.

“You must not handle alcohol well, Deputy Yu. Your face is all red.”

The man in front of him reached out a hand toward Junhee.

“…I just drank too quickly. I’m fine.”

Junhee turned his head to dodge the touch.

Even the faint scent of pheromones radiating from him felt overwhelming.

“You’re as defensive as ever. Makes the person worrying about you feel embarrassed.”

“If we’re not close enough for concern to be natural, isn’t it obvious that I’d find it burdensome?”

Junhee didn’t bother hiding his discomfort.

But instead of being offended, Cha Junwoo’s eyes softened, and he smiled even more brightly.

“Your senior told me earlier: ‘Take good care of Junhee for me.’”

“That’s just something they say. I’m not a child, and I can take care of myself just fine.”

“You do seem that way, judging by how quickly your wrist healed.”

Though it was clearly a jab at Junhee’s recklessness, he bit back the irritation welling up.

After all, this was his direct superior, someone he’d have to face daily.

“I’ll make sure to be more mindful of my health so as not to trouble you.”

“Good. Let’s leave it at that.”

Cha Junwoo leaned against the wall beside Junhee and took out a cigarette.

Click.

The lighter flared, and a glowing ember flickered at the tip of the cigarette as Cha Junwoo’s cheeks hollowed deeply.

So, he smokes too.

Junhee stared for a moment before Cha Junwoo extended a cigarette toward him.

“No, I don’t smoke.”

“Why not?”

“…I have weak lungs. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be heading back inside.”

Junhee had only come out to get some air and sober up; there was no reason to linger with him any longer.

Without hesitation, Junhee brushed past Cha Junwoo, only to stop in his tracks at the sound of his voice.

“Yoon Geon-joo.”

The breath laced with acrid smoke carried his name.

“Do you know what kind of man he is? The one you’re keeping so close?”

* * *