The image of Chaehyuk’s sleeping face, the sheen of his tie, his expression as he woke when Seungho had grabbed his thigh, and the tactile memory of his palm lingered.
Clearing his throat deliberately, Seungho tried to steady his voice.
“I need to take a call, so let’s stay here instead of the break room. Coffee okay?”
Choi Yukyung soon returned, balancing a tray with three paper cups of coffee.
Seungho, now an unwilling yes-man, quickly answered, ‘Yes!’ as he accepted a cup.
“Have a seat there. That’s your desk, Seungho.”
Choi Yukyung kindly gestured to a chair.
This was a significant moment—sitting at his first desk in his first job.
Yet, with Chaehyuk seated right next to him, there was no room for sentimental reflection.
Seungho sat cautiously, placing his cup on the desk with meticulous care.
“…”
His eyes swept over his new desk.
It was simple—just a monitor, keyboard, and mouse—but it already felt special.
His lips twitched into a faint smile, but when he met Chaehyuk’s gaze, he quickly suppressed it with a series of small coughs.
“Are you coming down with something?”
“No, sir.”
“You’ve been coughing a lot. Seungho, do you like your desk?”
Before Seungho could respond, Choi Yukyung cut in.
“Of course he does! Honestly, he must be thrilled right now. Do you know how many people wanted that spot? Have you bragged about getting into SY?”
“Well… not much yet.”
“Why not?”
“I was worried I might get a call saying my offer was revoked.”
“Revoked? Haha, you’re hilarious, Seungho. Most people come in bursting with confidence when they’re hired, ready to conquer everything. Anyway, you can relax now. Oh, and be sure to tell everyone about the beautiful deputy manager in your team.”
Choi Yukyung’s warm and approachable demeanor lightened the atmosphere.
As they made small talk about their backgrounds, education, and relationship statuses, she offered encouragement to Seungho.
With a sip of sweet, instant coffee, his tension began to ease.
Chaehyuk and Yukyung then exchanged casual conversation, occasionally mentioning names Seungho didn’t recognize.
Their comfortable banter hinted at a close relationship, evident when Yukyung suddenly cracked a dad joke, only to be met with a frosty look from Chaehyuk.
Yukyung laughed awkwardly and turned to explain to Seungho.
“We’re colleagues from the same intake year. Same age too. Since all our other batchmates quit, I have no choice but to hang out with him.”
“Wow, I’m so grateful,” Chaehyuk replied sarcastically, stacking his empty cup onto Yukyung’s.
Chaehyuk glanced at his watch and stood, dusting off his jacket in a sharp motion.
“I’ll get going. See you later, Seungho.”
“Y-Yes, goodbye…”
Seungho instinctively stood and bowed, fumbling over his farewell.
Chaehyuk glanced at him briefly, a faint smirk playing on his lips—or so Seungho thought.
“Go on,” Yukyung said as Chaehyuk lifted a hand in a casual wave and walked out the door.
Seungho let out a long sigh of relief. He felt uneasy about not formally apologizing, but he trusted that another chance would come.
That opportunity came far sooner than Seungho had anticipated.
Seungho stepped off the shuttle bus and rubbed his puffy eyelids as he walked toward the main gate.
The swelling in his face from last night’s cup noodles and triangle kimbap proudly announced its presence.
His slender double eyelids were practically nonexistent, leaving his eyes feeling heavy.
It had only been a few days since Seungho became an office worker, but he thought he was beginning to understand why everyone looked so drained on his first day.
He couldn’t blame it on being busy yet, but the constant tension of navigating the workplace brought its own kind of stress.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Seungho roughly rubbed his cheek with his palm.
A new hire couldn’t afford to show up looking defeated like everyone else.
He forced his eyes wide open and pulled his lips into a smile, though his shoulders sagged not long after.
“Good morning, Seungho.”
“Oh, Jintae.”
Hearing the sudden voice from behind, Seungho turned and greeted the speaker with a bright expression.
It was Kim Jintae.
Even though they were part of the same group, they rarely crossed paths due to being in different offices.
Seungho guessed Jintae was probably just as clueless and directionless in this new environment as himself.
But unlike Seungho, Jintae’s face was sleek and polished, practically glowing.
Dressed in a long black coat, Jintae casually slung an arm over Seungho’s shoulder, contrasting with Seungho’s thick beige jumper.
“How’s work treating you, Seungho?”
“I’m still doing small tasks and assisting others, so I’m not sure yet.”
“Sounds like the Learning Support Team has it a bit easier. HR’s a constant battlefield. Once we’re done checking attendance, it’s payroll calculations, personnel assignments, hiring, resignations—it’s never-ending.”
“Ah, I can imagine.”
Seungho nodded as he listened to Jintae’s description of the HR department.
Even as someone with no prior work experience, Seungho understood how critical their responsibilities were.
Feeling sympathetic, he gave Jintae a look of genuine concern as he listened to his complaints.
“HR work sounds really tough.”
“Exactly. But if you’re going to work at a company, it’s better to be in a core department learning important tasks rather than just doing any random job. In that sense, HR is ideal. I don’t even consider other departments—they don’t interest me.”
At times like these, Seungho thought Jintae was someone with a clear sense of purpose.
It was good to have a strong sense of direction, but his words also sounded dismissive, as if other departments were less significant.
While it left Seungho with mixed feelings, he chose to understand that people could have different perspectives.
“I don’t even have time to think about other departments. I’m still trying to learn everything about my own team.”
“That’s true. In that sense, you got a good placement. HR might be demanding, but the experience you gain is invaluable. To be truly satisfied with your work, you need to position yourself right at the center.”
Jintae gave Seungho a thumbs-up before heading through the security gate.
Seungho scratched the back of his neck as he followed, feeling slightly uneasy despite agreeing with the logic.
Once outside, Jintae, who had been waiting, resumed the conversation.
“Actually, my dad works in the Finance Team at the main office. He offered to help me get into finance or accounting, but I told him I was fine. I mean, people notice those kinds of things.”
“I guess that makes sense.”
“I found out that many people in HR end up being assigned to major projects later on. I want to build my career properly, get recognized, and make it to the main office on my own terms. Let’s be honest—who wants to stay here and grow old working in this place? You feel the same, right?”
“Uh….”
For now, Seungho’s goal was simply to adapt to his team and handle his tasks without mistakes.
Thinking about the distant future wasn’t even on his radar.
Unlike Jintae, Seungho had no family connections or reliable senior colleagues at SY.
He just hoped to get through his probationary period without causing trouble or becoming a burden.
“I’m just taking things one step at a time. Right now, I think adjusting comes first.”
With no elaborate plans of his own, Seungho could only offer positive responses to Jintae’s ambitious ideas.
Not that it mattered—Jintae didn’t seem particularly interested in Seungho’s thoughts anyway.
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