1.1 After the team dinner, just the two of us.
Why didn’t I realize it sooner?
Jinwoo, who had just stepped into the BBQ restaurant, squinted at a blurry silhouette in the distance, doubting his eyes.
Was he seeing things? No matter how many times he looked, it was real.
Should he just turn around and leave? That was his first instinct.
He stood there, weighing his options, when someone tapped him on the shoulder.
"What are you doing, just standing there?"
Turning around, he saw Manager Ko’s uninterested face, and his tension eased.
"Ah, right. I should head in. I got lost in thought for a second."
"Lost in thought? You came here to fill your belly. Where should we sit? You know that bastard of a department head’s going to park himself right in the middle. Let’s head to the back and just eat quietly."
Jinwoo nodded halfheartedly and started to follow, but stopped dead in his tracks.
In the direction Manager Ko pointed, someone was already seated.
Joo Heesung.
The man he spotted the moment he arrived—someone he absolutely needed to avoid. A walking red flag.
"No, Manager."
The words came out before Jinwoo could even think.
His body instinctively stepped back.
The man who’d been surrounded by coworkers just moments ago was now staring directly at him.
"....."
Their eyes met in midair. And that’s when something strange happened.
The bright, eager look of a typical rookie was gone.
In its place was a completely different aura.
A sharp, confident gaze.
It was so intense, Jinwoo could barely breathe.
It was a face no one else in the company had probably noticed until now.
Without meaning to, Jinwoo held his breath.
There was still quite a distance between them, yet he felt like he’d been stabbed by something.
What the hell is he looking at with those suspicious eyes? He’s facing this way...
Could he possibly recognize me...?
"Assistant Manager Shim?"
"I-I’ll sit here."
Jinwoo blurted out hastily, making Manager Ko frown.
"You’re sitting here?"
Of all places, Jinwoo had picked the dead center table—the heart of the battleground.
At company dinners, choosing your seat was everything.
There’s no way this guy didn’t know that.
"Yeah. You go ahead, Manager."
"You’re joking, right? Or are you sneak off and just so you don't have a drink with me?"
"Just go. What if the corner seats fill up?"
Without waiting for a response, Jinwoo shoved Manager Ko’s back roughly, pretending to stay calm, though cold sweat was breaking out.
Even after breaking eye contact, every nerve in his body stayed locked onto Joo Heesung.
Is he still watching?
As Manager Ko grumbled something about not understanding what the hell was going on, Jinwoo nervously darted his eyes over again.
He was still watching. Even more clearly than before. Not even trying to hide it.
And the moment Jinwoo realized it, time seemed to slow down.
Was that gaze... aimed at his hand? No, that had to be his imagination. It didn’t make any sense.
Still, Jinwoo flinched as if burned and quickly yanked his hand away from Manager Ko’s back.
He wanted to check if that intense stare had faded, but he just couldn’t bring himself to look.
"Hey, don’t come crying to me if you regret this."
I’m already regretting it, Manager. The whole decision to come to this dinner...
Jinwoo bit back his words as he glanced at Manager Ko disappearing toward the back.
He hurriedly pulled out the chair in front of him, his mind spinning even in those few seconds.
"You’re sitting here?"
Some blurry faces from another department glanced over at him, confused.
But Jinwoo didn’t even register them.
"Sorry, but... could I ask a favor?"
"A favor? Don’t be silly, have a seat! You’re Assistant Manager Shim from Finance, right? You’re always so quiet at these things, we’ve never had the chance to talk. By the way, last month—"
Their voices faded, like his ears were submerged underwater.
Jinwoo forced out a mechanical reply, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment before opening them again.
If he’d known it’d be like this, he would’ve found any excuse to skip dinner.
Never—not in his wildest dreams—did he think Joo Heesung would show up.
A sharp sense of danger prickled at him from all sides.
Nothing had even happened yet, but his mouth was already dry.
Thankfully, once he sat down, Joo Heesung disappeared behind a wall of human barricades.
Just that small physical distance eased his nerves a little.
Please... just let this dinner end without any trouble.
Jinwoo absentmindedly rubbed his fingertips over the spot where that unsettling gaze had landed.
------
Sometimes, his sensitive and defensive personality felt like poison. Today was no different. He thought it’d be fine since they were far apart, but maybe he still felt like he was being watched.
There was only so much he could ignore. It had gone on the entire first round, and it was starting to seriously get on his nerves. He was so on edge it felt even more exhausting than work. Thanks to that, even the beef he’d been looking forward to didn’t taste like anything, and he couldn’t get any of the drinks down either.
It felt like such a waste of time, and the frustration twisted his empty stomach. Just as he expected, the department head showing up at the main table didn’t amount to much. What suffocated Jinwoo wasn’t him, but someone else entirely—someone who was changing the air in the room from afar.
Jinwoo barely touched his food. Before things could get worse, someone suggested moving on to the second round. The destination was obvious—the Daeyoung Hof on the first floor of the building two doors down.
He practically gave up on his first bite and, dragging his feet, imagined the inside of the hof. Unlike his sluggish body, his mind was sharp—already plotting where to sit. Somewhere near the door, out of everyone’s sight. Somewhere he could blend in like a shadow clinging to the wall.
“Why’re you eating so fast? Like some starving bum.”
His senior, Assistant Manager Ko, who had dragged a chair over next to him, sneered at him. A starving bum? Jinwoo thought the guy making that comment looked way more exhausted than earlier. The shadow of a beard darkened his philtrum, and his lips were twitching like he was dying to say something.
Jinwoo stuffed more bar snacks into his mouth, chewing hard to crush the creeping sense of unease.
“I’m just hungry,” he muttered.
“Hungry? After coming to the second round? Told you, you never get enough to eat at places like that. But at least slow down on the drinks. You’re not exactly built for it.”
Assistant Manager Ko had been his mentor since Jinwoo transferred in. They weren’t bad together. Ko could be annoying at work sometimes, but personally, he was the type to grow on you. He said to drink slowly, but every time Jinwoo’s beer glass emptied, Ko would top it off generously.
“Gotta eat while I can,” Jinwoo muttered again. So he could finally go home.
That was his plan. Get through this as fast as possible and bolt. He’d made up his mind as soon as they moved to the second round. Unfortunately, that resolve only hardened once he realized Joo Heeseong was sitting at the table right next to theirs.
“Hey, Shim. Guess who I was sitting with earlier? Aren’t you curious?”
Once he felt full, Ko leaned in with a secretive whisper. Jinwoo wasn’t curious at all, but he asked anyway out of politeness.
“Who?”
“You know Joo Heeseong, right?”
Of course he did. Jinwoo swallowed the dried squid he’d been chewing like crazy.
“That flashy new guy in Strategic Planning? He came to the dinner earlier. You probably didn’t see him since you were so far away.”
“No, I didn’t… But I know who you mean.”
“He was sitting right across from me. Man, it felt like I was staring at a celebrity. Pissed me off a little, but I get why everyone’s so worked up.”
“…Why would that piss you off, sir?”
“Idiot. It means the kid’s good-looking. Hell, he even grilled the meat perfectly. Unlike some people.”
Jinwoo wordlessly drowned his retort with another gulp of beer. He had no idea Ko and Joo Heeseong were at the same table earlier. Sneaking a glance, Jinwoo peeked over at the next table.
He only meant to take a quick look. But somehow, his eyes stuck there.
At some point, Joo Heeseong had taken off his jacket and was sitting there in just his shirt. Jinwoo had been deliberately ignoring his existence until now, but the moment he looked, it was like being caught in a trap. He couldn’t look away.
“I dunno. I’m not really interested,” he said, his lips forming the words. But his cold, frozen gaze told a different story.
Silently, Jinwoo stared—intensely, deliberately—at Joo Heeseong. Luckily, the guy was too busy with his own conversation to notice.
That was a relief.
They were all just sitting there on the same cheap chairs. But somehow, Joo Heeseong looked completely different from everyone else. Like a work of art. And worst of all, he knew it—he knew exactly how to make himself stand out.
His gaze, which had been casually taking in the atmosphere, gradually sharpened. The smooth white shirt hugged his frame almost perfectly.
A few places, in particular, looked dangerously tight—tight enough to make anyone nervous. The seams, which would’ve fit an average man loosely, stretched over his broad shoulders. Around his chest, the buttons strained against the fabric.
It didn’t make sense. Joo Heeseong was just another guy from the office, clocking in and out like everyone else. So why the hell did he look like that? Why did he give off that kind of mood? Jinwoo couldn’t figure it out. But he couldn’t stop staring either.
The subject of his gaze moved. Joo Heeseong lifted his glass and took a sip. Suddenly, parts of him Jinwoo hadn’t noticed before came into focus—how his lips shaped against the glass, how the faint lines around his mouth deepened. The small glimpse of the veins under his lips was dangerously enticing.
The large draft beer glass looked almost laughably small in his hand.
“With hands like that… everything’s gotta be big, huh?” Jinwoo thought, his eyes narrowing.
Arms, torso, hands—he could only see Heeseong’s upper body from here, but it was impossible not to imagine the rest.
His throat bobbed. Dirty thoughts swirled through his mind like thick smoke. He was so lost in them he didn’t even notice when that perfectly symmetrical face turned toward him.
Joo Heeseong met Jinwoo’s dazed eyes directly—and smiled. Softly, but unmistakably.
“You know… he seemed really interested in you.”
“…What?”
Jinwoo barely breathed out his answer, like he was exhaling the breath he’d been holding.
Snap. The invisible thread binding his body suddenly snapped. Only then did Jinwoo’s eyes refocus. Assistant Manager Ko, oblivious, started explaining. He clearly had no idea what had just happened.
“I’m talking about Joo Heeseong.”
Jinwoo finally tore his gaze away—only to hear Heeseong’s name again. He grimaced, but then Ko whispered something unexpected.
“He said he’s got something he wants to tell you. Asked me if I could pass it on.”
“Something… he wants to tell me?”
“Yeah. Said it’s something he has to say. What, you owe him money or something? Did you piss off Mr. Perfect over there?”
Ko’s teasing came lightly, but Jinwoo forced his mouth open slowly. His heart felt like it was about to burst. Something he had to say?
“…No. There’s no way it’s something like that.”
It didn’t even sound like a lie. Something felt wrong—seriously wrong. What the hell was happening?
“Really? Thinking about it’s starting to piss me off. Guy like that… I dunno. It’s not even about social skills anymore.”
Jinwoo suddenly snapped his head around.
There he was—perfect, polite, handsome, the bright and healthy new hire. Joo Heeseong looked like he didn’t give Jinwoo a second thought, like he’d already gone back to chatting with his friends.
Jinwoo downed the rest of his drink in one go. Three shots worth of soju burned down his throat, hot and heavy. His stomach started churning almost instantly. The back of his neck and his spine were already burning red from the moment he caught a glimpse of that white shirt.
He barely spoke after that. From then on, he kept as quiet as possible, his thoughts a total mess.
How long had he been sitting there like that? Lost in it, drowning.
“I’m gonna head out now.”
“Leaving? We’re just getting started.”
Jinwoo could tell they were about to round everyone up for the third spot of the night. That was his cue to get out. He’d eaten enough, drank more than enough.
“You should head in too, sir. Didn’t you say earlier your wife was pissed last time because you stayed out too late?”
“Hey, where the hell’d that come from all of a sudden?”
“I’m just gonna sneak out quietly. If you could pretend you didn’t see me, I’d appreciate it. Even better if you don’t answer when they ask.”
As expected, the sounds of someone talking about karaoke echoed from a distance. Jinwoo, clinging to the wall like a shadow, slowly made his way toward the exit.
Just before stepping out of the hof, an uneasy feeling bubbled up inside him. He turned around without thinking. His eyes instinctively searched for one person.
But the seat where Joo Heeseong should’ve been—was empty.
“…Huh? When did he leave?”
Jinwoo had been avoiding him so hard he didn’t even notice he was gone. Suspicion crept in for a moment, but then he brushed it off. Maybe it was for the best. A chance.
“Ugh… my stomach.”
The drinking and eating caught up to him all at once. He wasn’t a lightweight, but maybe because the tension finally broke, the alcohol hit him late.
Trying to steady himself, he leaned back and stretched.
That’s when he noticed it—something dark and heavy floating across the cloudy night sky.
