To him, family had always been a painful yoke. A yoke of responsibility, guilt, and sickening relationships. Where was the source of all problems and the starting line of suffering, so burdensome that even a brief phone call felt overwhelming? Because I’m the eldest son, because expectations were high. And because I ruined it all?
Seungju turned his head to look up at the light softly illuminating the bathroom. The luxurious lighting was pretty. The bathroom was the same. It was just a bathroom, yet it was more than half the size of that damn officetel he’d emptied his entire fortune into and even took out a loan for. Even the rug smelled nice. Everything was surreal.
Before sad thoughts and emotions came the feeling that his chest hurt. Like some morning when he’d looked up at a window with light seeping through. If he didn’t go out now, the lengthening call would make Muyeon feel curious. He didn’t yet have prepared words to make excuses about that.
So the reason he was sad must be because he couldn’t be honest.
He didn’t have the strength to get up. The emptiness that came after anger still dominated him. All of this surreal everything wasn’t Seungju’s. His reality was beyond the phone. The source of all problems, the real seed, was all there.
Even a brief phone call all came down to that problem. So everything was all because of money.
Seungju let out a sigh he’d forgotten for a long while due to pain and emptiness. Deep and long.
Ah… he really wanted to drink.
When Seungju returned to the living room, naturally Muyeon was waiting. Muyeon asked suspiciously,
“Who was it?”
Seungju didn’t want to think back on the phone call’s content from just now. However, he briefly wavered over what to choose: giving this man another leash by answering evasively, or having his heart ripple by honestly telling him the contents of a phone call he didn’t want to be found out about or think about.
Right before Muyeon grew suspicious, Seungju finally made a decision.
“Home.”
“Home?”
“My father.”
“I see. Why?”
“……”
This question was difficult to answer. After enough time passed for Muyeon to harbor suspicions, curiosity came to Seungju about why this man was unusually showing patience and not saying anything. Seungju blurted out words that weren’t an answer to Muyeon’s question.
“I want to drink.”
***
Thankfully, an opportunity for Seungju to drink legally came not many days later.
After loading his bag onto the tour bus departing for the workshop location, Seungju lightly bumped fists with Cha Sojeong.
“Let’s go all out today.”
“Good idea, Team Leader Cha.”
Seungju, who was always inevitably a side dish because of his position as the sole male team leader in a female-dominated workplace, was scheduled to wander here and there throughout the workshop. On the bus he’d sit with Production Department people, and for recreation he had to do it with his roommates. And the Design Team specially invited Seungju to a drinking session that would last all night.
Especially Team Leader Cha had been grinding her teeth waiting for the workshop. This day when she could legally drink. She gave a simple preview. In-law problems. Seungju nodded greatly.
Seungju fell asleep on the bus as if passing out. It felt like less than five minutes had passed when Bae Donghyeon in the seat next to him shook him awake.
“Team Leader, let’s have lunch.”
“Huh? Uh…”
“What have you been doing lately to look tired every day?”
“Well.”
Right, what is it? I wish I didn’t know why I’m tired either. Seungju hunched his neck as he pulled out his earphones. The kiss mark Muyeon left on his nape bothered him.
Seungju had slept at Muyeon’s house yesterday too. He’d complained about whether they really had to do this even the day before the workshop, but it was just words. And Muyeon also knew that Seungju had now adapted to the new daily routine. So he cleanly ignored Seungju’s words. What hadn’t adapted was only Seungju’s stamina, weakened from spending his youth in the office.
Lunch was delicious. Everyone was satisfied. Everyone agreed that the quality of the workshop had gone up insanely since the Director changed. The employees finished their meal at a garden restaurant in the suburbs on the way to the workshop location and drank coffee at the cafe next to it. Normally, the company wouldn’t have let employees eat such delicious things and loaf around in such a nice place on a Friday afternoon that was strictly work time.
He spent a leisurely afternoon for the first time in a long while. Seungju sat at a terrace seat with Donghyeon who was smoking and shot the breeze. Donghyeon stubbed out his cigarette and said,
“The Director is in the second group?”
“Yeah. There are a few people with morning meetings on the marketing side, so they’re eating lunch together and coming.”
“He’ll join for water activities then.”
“I guess so.”
That’s right. The afternoon schedule was water activities. They said you could ride banana boats or water ski, but Seungju wasn’t really interested. Wouldn’t it be okay to just dip his feet in the water? He already didn’t sleep well, and he didn’t want to drain all his stamina during the day and not have the stamina to drink at night.
“Still, it’s nice that the company is providing everyone with the same rash guards. If they’d told us to bring swimsuits…”
“That’d be sexual harassment, man.”
“Right. That’s why it’s good.”
Seungju also agreed with it being good. However, he frowned and crossed his arms. No, it’s not all good. Seungju recalled Baek Muyeon’s body that he’d seen last night too. His physique that wouldn’t be covered by mere rash guards…
Thinking about all the employees seeing that in this company where over 80% were female employees suddenly didn’t feel good. Seungju pressed his furrowed brow with his finger. Anyway, it all just called for alcohol.
Seungju made up his mind. Right, there’s no need to forcibly look at sights he doesn’t want to see. Whether Director Mu does water activities or not, whatever he wears for water activities, whoever sees it. There was absolutely no need for him to go looking for that sight. He just had to run away.
Running away would be easier than expected. Because Baek Muyeon was a person who stood out wherever he was and whoever he was with. Seungju knew the second group had arrived thanks to the noisy sounds he heard from outside while unpacking at the accommodation.
He also learned the news that Muyeon was taking Bus 1 to move to the recreation location. Muyeon had told him this. When he checked his phone while on the bus, there was a message from Muyeon.
[I just arrived. See you later.]
No, I don’t want to. But how should he reply to avoid Muyeon’s suspicion while not revealing his petty inner thoughts?
Voices poured down from above Seungju who was racking his brain.
“Team Leader Seungju, were you Recreation Team 3?”
Seungju turned off his phone screen like lightning and raised his head. Sales Team Section Chief Jeong was looking down at him. Right, this is it. Seungju smiled brightly.
“Yes, you’re Team 2, Section Chief? The same team as the Director?”
“Yeah.”
“I heard he just arrived…”
“Right. Should we ride a banana boat together or something? Our Director doesn’t seem like he’d like that kind of thing, right?”
“Then how about water skiing or a motor boat? Or we could just dip our feet in the water and drink coffee.”
“Ah, motor boat. Right, that’d be better.”
It was really fortunate that Section Chief Jeong still felt responsibility for his former superior. If Section Chief Jeong stuck to Muyeon and moved around with him, the Sales Team people would also stay with them, and he could just avoid that group on his own.
It would also be suitable for avoiding Sales Team’s Park Dawon, who was still awkward to meet.
It was a narrow-minded and petty thought, but it couldn’t be helped. Even though he’d said they’d forget everything, Seungju still couldn’t act naturally in front of Dawon.
It wasn’t only because there was a certain Mr. Someone who kept tormenting him using the incident with Dawon as an excuse. Seungju newly realized just how uncomfortable and troublesome it was to get personally involved with company people.
That feeling led directly to feeling self-loathing about what insane thing he was doing with his superior, moreover the president’s son. If Muyeon had been just a little less shameless, if he’d shown even a bit of hesitation in his attitude, Seungju might be regretting this insanity right now.
These were thoughts that only made him anxious once he fell into them. Then it was better not to think at all. Right, it’ll work out somehow. It seemed like when he first met Baek Muyeon, he’d similarly closed the lid on and avoided this problem before getting swept up in it, but Seungju had no other options.
And for Seungju right now, the best thing was just not to run into Muyeon and the people around him. He didn’t want to deliberately stir up these unsettled feelings. Seungju diligently avoided them by going to the diving side when Sales Team people were lining up to ride motor boats, going to the slide side when it seemed like he’d run into them coming out of the water.
However, the unwanted moment would eventually come somehow. After giving an ice cream to Bae Donghyeon who said he was dying from tiredness from constantly going here and there without rest, Seungju, who was sitting under a parasol, ran into Design Team people flocking to the shop led by Kang Jihye.
As soon as Kang Jihye saw Seungju, she blurted out,
“Team Leader, have you seen the Director?”
Really, why does she have to talk about this to me of all people, and right upon seeing my face? Hiding his startled heart, Seungju shook his head.
“No.”
“Really, amazing. It’s amazing.”
“What is?”
Though he knew the answer, Seungju pretended to be curious for smooth conversation. His heart was already starting to get anxious. Jihye answered.
“Really, wow, his body… The Director’s body. Wow. Go see it once.”
From behind, Seoyeong and Design Team 4’s Jinju nodded.
“It really was no joke.”
“I haven’t seen something like that in a really long time. No, it might be the first time.”
It was a moment when he really didn’t want to respond but had to play along.
