Special Side Story 1.
Heewoon exhaled a deep breath. His reflection in the mirror wearing a suit seemed somewhat awkward. He had worn a suit before during graduation and job interviews, but he always felt a bit awkward. It was a tailored suit, thus making it comfortable to move in and fitting his body perfectly, but he couldn’t figure out what the issue was.
While examining himself seriously in the full-length mirror, he heard a teasing laughter from the side. It was obvious who would laugh at Heewoon in this house.
Heewoon turned his head and saw Kangwoo standing at the entrance of the dressing room, laughhing. After laughing a bit more, Kangwoo spoke.
“It suits you well.”
“…”
Thinking Kangwoo was teasing him, Heewoon stared at Kangwoo, who approached with an innocent expression. Standing close enough for their feet to touch, Kangwoo tidied up Heewoon’s outfit, then stepped back while glancing him.
“It looks like a school uniform.”
As expected, Kangwoo was indeed teasing him.
“How old do you think I am…”
Heewoon muttered softly and tried to look at himself in the mirror, but Kangwoo gently turned his head toward him, cupping Heewoon’s cheek with his palm. Looking at the fair face in his palm, Kangwoo spoke, seeming with concern.
“What to do if someone bullies Woo Heewoon for looking childish.”
Seeing Heewoon make a strange expression, Kangwoo smiled and gently kissed his lips.
“Let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
With Kangwoo holding out his hand, Heewoon lowered the hem of his jacket with one hand and subtly adjusted his appearance. Even though he thought it was somewhat okay, comparing himself and Kangwoo in the mirror made him feel a bit less confident. As he absentmindedly brushed near his hips with his hand, Kangwoo stopped him.
“I told you it suits you well. Stop touching it.”
“Huh?”
“If you keep touching there, it draws attention.”
There was a faint hint of annoyance in Kangwoo’s eyes as he looked down. Heewoon’s eyes widened, and Kang-woo sighed.
“Don’t be too stressed about your first day. Just do enough.”
Then, he added again.
“If someone is being shitty, just throw something and come out.”
“Uh, okay…”
What Kangwoo said was a bit odd, but it seemed like encouragement. Heewoon nodded in thanks, and Kangwoo briefly pursed his lips before giving a small laugh.
Seo Kangwoo’s peculiar encouragement continued until he dropped Heewoon off near the company.
“Sunbae.”
At the words heard just as he was about to get off, Heewoon turned around. It wasn’t late at all until the work hours, but he held the car handle tightly, looking a bit impatient. Kangwoo glanced at the hand and said somewhat crookedly,
Heewoon was about to get out of the car when he heard a voice and turned around. He still had plenty of time until his work hours, but he was a little impatient and gripped the car door handle tightly. Kangwoo glanced at his hand and said crookedly.
“I guess you really don’t like being driven here.”
“No! I’m just nervous…”
When Heewoon shook his hands, the grumpiness that had briefly surfaced subsided. Instead, he said something Heewoon couldn’t tell if he was joking or serious.
“If you change your mind about the job, just come out. I’ll come to pick you up.”
After glancing at his expressionless face for a moment, Heewoon smiled. Seo Kangwoo had such a strange way of encouraging him, Heewoon thought.
“Kangwoo.”
“…”
“I’ll buy you a lot of delicious things from now on.”
Heewoon’s big eyes curved gently, the corners of his mouth curled up, and his dimples showed. Seeing the fair face smile so effortlessly, Kangwoo frowned slightly. Then a smile appeared on his face.
“Yes. Please treat me a lot.”
“Yeah. See you later.”
Heewoon waved and got out of the car. The smile slowly faded from Kangwoo’s face as he watched Heewoon’s back. He leaned back against the seat and stared out the window.
Heewoon’s face was a little red with excitement and nervousness as he turned around, glancing back. Kangwoo said it looked like a school uniform, but the tailored suit suited Heewoon perfectly. Although not very tall, his face was small, he had good proportions with no trace of fat on his body, making his appearance look nice. Moreover, he wasn’t always wearing a gloomy expression these days, and he smiled occasionally.
It was certain that he would attract people’s attention.
“…”
The hand that rested on where Heewoon had sat tapped the seat. Feeling as if he wanted to grab the back of his neck right away and pull him back at any moment.
However, Kangwoo only let out a sigh,
“Get the car running.”
‘Kangwoo. I’ll buy you a lot of delicious things.’
What a fox. He just said that with such a smile.
Seeing the visibly tense man passing by outside, Kangwoo’s mouth slightly curved upwards.
***
In the first half of this year, Heewoon joined a large corporation through a public recruitment process. He had thought he didn’t do well in the interview, thus he had no expectations, making Heewoon didn’t know how to handle his happiness. Naturally, the first person he informed of this joyful news was Seo Kangwoo.
‘Hello…’
‘Kangwoo!’
‘What happened?’
Hearing the loud voice from the phone, Kangwoo’s voice quickly hardened. However, Heewoon, without realizing it, immediately continued talking.
‘I passed!’
After that, Heewoom continued to talk incessantly. Because he didn’t expect anything, he was even more pleased, and it was the company he wanted the most. He would start working in a few days, but he didn’t know what to wear on his first day…
‘Haaa. When are you coming home today?’
Breathing heavily, when Heewoon asked that, Kangwoo was silent for a moment. Only when Heewoon asked again, ‘Kangwoo, are you there?’ did the answer come back. Kangwoo, who went home from work early that day, had bought a cake.
Heewoon thought Kangwoo might prevent him from working at the company, but he was relieved that Kangwoo congratulated him. Lately, Seo Kangwoo seemed almost like a normal person. Sometimes he even pampered him.
“Hooo…”
Heewoon stood in front of the company and took a deep breath. Strangely, thinking about Kangwoo made him less nervous. And then, he walked confidently into the company.
Inside, as he awkwardly looked around, someone approached him.
“You’re a new employee, right?”
“Ah, hello.”
“Come this way.”
Following the stranger, Heewoon’s first day at work began.
It was a hectic day, with paperwork, interviews, and greetings throughout the place… Due to his nervousness, he had no time to properly appreciate the computer at his designated spot.
By the time he finished work, Heewoon felt completely drained.
“Good job.”
Kangwoo said as Heewoon got into the car, which was waiting behind the company. Heewoon immediately felt a sense of relief. Although he needed to call his curious mother, he didn’t have the energy. Seeing Heewoon’s exhaustion, Kangwoo allowed him to lean on his shoulder. He fell asleep in the car and, after a simple dinner at home, he went to rest again.
He felt somewhat better from the second day, and by the end of the week, he felt even better.
Although he still stumbled on many tasks, he wasn’t nervous about being at work. He knew that with a bit more time, he would become much more accustomed. That was the common process for everything.
“It’s the weekend, what will you be doing, Heewoon-ssi?”
The awaited Friday arrived. As he was getting ready to leave, that question came to him. Blinking for a moment, he answered.
“I’ll probably just stay at home.”
“Ay, are you not going to see your lover?”
But he was living together with his lover, thinking that in his mind, Heewoon wondered what to respond. While he hesitated, his manager blinked mischievously and asked.
“Heewoon-ssi, do you have a partner?”
Heewoon answered without hesitation.
“Yes, I do. I have a partner.”
“Ah, that must be nice.”
The manager muttered like a soliloquy. Heewoon pondered, was it really a good thing?
“Have a good weekend, everyone.”
“You’ve worked hard. Have a good weekend.”
Lost in thought, Heewoon stood up as his department colleagues started to leave. The supervisor once said that half of office life is about being mindful of others. It seemed the same for being in a relationship. It was like there’s a parallel between his work life and love life.
As Heewoon walked outside, he headed towards where Kangwoo’s car was always waiting. Today, only the driver came, Kangwoo had told him earlier that he might not be able to pick him up personally due to work running late.
“Hello.”
Heewoon greeted the driver with a bow and got into the back seat. He had sat in the front passenger seat once and Seo Kangwoo gave him a chilly look. After that, he always sat in the back. He and the driver had a lot of fun conversation before, but considering the cold glint in Kangwoo’s eyes then, now Heewoon didn’t engage in much conversation with the driver.
As the car started moving, a call spontaneously came from Seo Kangwoo.
“Yeah, Kangwoo.”
– Are you on your way home?
“Yeah. When are you coming?”
– What to do, it seems I won’t be able to eat dinner with you tonight.
Kangwoo and Heewoon had planned to have a late dinner together when they returned from work. They usually ate dinner together, but this week, due to exhaustion, they mostly just ate and went upstairs without much conversation. Heewoon had been thinking that today would be a good opportunity to spend some quality time alone with Seo Kangwoo.
“…Alright.”
– Are you sulking?
“No.”
– Make sure to eat well. Don’t cry just because you’re alone.
“Why would I cry?”
Heewoon furrowed his brow. Kangwoo chuckled lightly, as if he had seen that expression himself.
– Right, Woo Heewoon doesn’t cry these days.
It was a patronizing tone, something Heewoon was accustomed to with Seo Kangwoo, but sometimes he felt unfair. Despite being only a year apart, Heewoon was still older. Kangwoo insisted on addressing him as ‘Sunbae’ every time.
Become a member in my ko-fi to get early releases!
Make me feel happy and supported by leaving a comment!
