TSG 75

Se-hyun spread his left hand wide in front of his eyes. Yesterday, he had brushed off everything with just one photo of his hand. Both the vsafe and Ha Jin-seong were passed over.

What was so special about this one hand?

Or did it provide an excuse to let him slip away?

Se-hyun couldn’t fathom Shin Tae-oh’s true intentions at all. As he stared at his hand for a while, a familiar face appeared between his fingers.

Yoo Jin-ha, with a slightly tense expression, looked around awkwardly. Wondering why, Se-hyun suddenly realized they were in front of the CEO’s office.

Since Se-hyun was always the one who went to meet Yoo Jin-ha, so this was a rare occasion.

“What brings you here?”

As Se-hyun stood up and asked Jin-ha, he replied in a slightly lowered voice.

“I have some documents to deliver to the CEO.”

Yoo Jin-ha held out the file he was carrying, and after checking what it was, Se-hyun looked at his watch and said,

“Please wait a moment.”

The team leader from the planning department was currently in the president’s office and would be out soon. Yoo Jin-ha could go in after that.

“Alright,”

As Yoo Jin-ha obediently answered and was about to move to a corner so as not to be in the way, Se-hyun suddenly remembered something and called out to him.

“Assistant Manager Yoo Jin-ha.”

“Yes?”

Se-hyun motioned to Yoo Jin-ha as if asking him to come closer. Then, as if in a trance, he held out a box to the approaching Jin-ha. A square box, 30 centimeters on each side. The pinkish tint on the outside made it look like a pretty gift one would give to a lover.

“This is in return for the fountain pen.”

“I didn’t give it expecting anything in return.”

Yoo Jin-ha hesitated to reach out. Thinking that his gift might be burdensome, Se-hyun pulled the box back towards himself.

“It’s okay if you don’t accept it.”

Yoo Jin-ha was a person who had continuously received a barrage of gifts filled with someone’s goodwill. Not wanting to force it on such a person, he said this while opening the lid of the box.

As he unpacked the gift right in front of him, Jin-ha showed a brief moment of surprise before curiosity about the contents took over.

“It’s… cookies?”

“Yes. It doesn’t have a long shelf life, so you have to eat it right away when you get it.”

Se-hyun picked up one of the individually wrapped cookies from the box as if to show off. After opening the packet and eating it in front of Jin-ha, he set the box down beside him. He had intended to eat them one by one while working, but people from the office started to approach.

“Can I have one too?”

“Oh? These are really good…”

“Why does Secretary Ahn have cookies?”

The box full of cookies quickly disappeared as the secretarial staff reached out and Se-hyun distributed them.

When there was only one left, Se-hyun picked it up and held it out to Jin-ha.

“Want to eat it together?”

“Um…”

Yoo Jin-ha looked at the cookie before slowly reaching out. Now it seemed like nothing special, but he accepted it.

Yoo Jin-ha looked at the cookie in his palm before unwrapping it and putting it in his mouth.

“Thank you.”

Though the pronunciation was slightly unclear due to the cookie in his mouth, it was enough to convey the meaning. Se-hyun accepted Yoo Jin-ha’s gratitude.

“This is in return for the fountain pen you gave me before.”

In the end, Yoo Jin-ha only had one cookie in his hand, but Se-hyun felt he had adequately repaid the gift.

“The team leader is coming out. Please wait a moment.”

While Se-hyun went to report to Shin Tae-oh, Yoo Jin-ha brushed off his mouth. After checking for any remaining cookie crumbs and dusting off his clothes, he picked up his file.

Having finished preparing to meet the president, Yoo Jin-ha suddenly glanced at Se-hyun’s desk. The box that had been given to him sat empty.

Ahn Se-hyun had been the one who delivered Shin Tae-oh’s gifts. Ahn Se-hyun, who had seen him reject Shin Tae-oh more than anybody else, was at times the most difficult person Yoo Jin-ha had to deal with. Even more so because they weren’t personally close like with Shin Tae-oh.

But the strange thing was… he kept accepting things from Ahn Se-hyun. Be it medicine or cookies.

“Assistant Manager Yoo Jin-ha.”

Yoo Jin-ha hurriedly walked at Se-hyun’s call. Before passing Se-hyun, Jin-ha stopped and whispered softly.

“Next time… would you like to have coffee outside? Uh, not as a date or anything, just…”

As Yoo Jin-ha was panicking and fiddling with the file he was holding, Se-hyun personally opened the door.

“Sure. I’ll have some cake too.”

Yoo Jin-ha smiled happily at Se-hyun’s nonchalant response about getting a treat.

“Do you think we could become a bit closer then?”

“Hmm… let’s talk about that later.”

“Later?”

“Yes.”

Se-hyun glanced somewhere as if uncomfortable, and Yoo Jin-ha turned his head to follow him and then flinched. Shin Tae-oh’s gaze looking in their direction was unusual.

“Let’s talk about it next time.”

Yoo Jin-ha nodded and entered the CEO’s office, aware of Shin Tae-oh’s presence.

“Good morning, Sir.”

Se-hyun closed the door to the CEO’s office while listening to Yoo Jin-ha’s polite greeting.

“How cute…”

Whether Se-hyun meant Yoo Jin-ha shyly offering to buy coffee or Taenyang-i glaring with folded arms, only Se-hyun would know.

⍣⍣⍣

“This looks good. Proceed as planned.”

“Understood.”

Yoo Jin-ha accepted the documents with a satisfied expression. As he had been in charge of the design this time, the team leader had specially entrusted him with the approval documents.

Now, if he could just move on to the next step he had in mind…

“Jin-ha.”

He suddenly realized he hadn’t left the CEO’s office yet. Yoo Jin-ha turned towards Shin Tae-oh with mixed feelings at his informal call.

“Yes, hyung.”

He responded as a friend’s younger brother, feeling it was appropriate now.

“I’m sorry.”

Shin Tae-oh handed out a box to Yoo Jin-ha. Unconsciously looking at the box, Jin-ha recognized it as the gift he had given earlier.

“I didn’t expect this situation to come, or rather, I didn’t expect to make this decision…”

Shin Tae-oh muttered while looking at Yoo Jin-ha’s box. He didn’t know that he would feel sorry rather than moved when he saw the gift he received from Yoo Jin-ha.

“I think I should give it back.”

Despite the apologetic feelings, the words about returning the gift came out fully.

Yoo Jin-ha looked at the box and picked it up with a light sigh. When they met at the department store, he had realized his relationship with Tae-oh had returned to how it was before, but now a different meaning was conveyed.

“This… ”

“Yeah. I like Se-hyun.”

A soft smile appeared on Shin Tae-oh’s face as he explained why he was returning the gift.

“I didn’t ask who you like.”

Yoo Jin-ha muttered to himself. He hadn’t needed to ask; it was obvious, but Shin Tae-oh told him on his own.

“I hope it goes well.”

This was all Yoo Jin-ha could say now. Holding both the documents and the gift to his chest as he left, Yoo Jin-ha gave Se-hyun a nod before leaving.

“That…”

Se-hyun’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the box Yoo Jin-ha was carrying. It was clearly the box he knew, and it was an opportunity to confirm once again Shin Tae-oh’s feelings for returning it.

“What should I do?”

Se-hyun felt nervous because it felt like it was time to answer Shin Tae-oh’s confession.

⍣⍣⍣

“The time for a decision is approaching.”

As Shin Tae-oh muttered while scanning the display, Lee Jin-ho stared at the back of his head intently.

“If you explain what this is about, I can give you a more precise answer.”

“Shall I?”

Shin Tae-oh readily matched Lee Jin-ho’s tone.

“Was it three years ago? From the first time I saw Ahn Se-hyun, I couldn’t take my eyes off him. When he came to greet me saying he looked forward to working together, that expression… How should I put it? The expressionless look on his neat face was so…”

“There’s no need to be that detailed.”

Lee Jin-ho cut him off irritably mid-sentence.

“When I realized my feelings, I thought I should confess someday. In a really nice place… though that didn’t happen.”

“Are you saying you already did it? Where did you do it?”

“At the hospital.”

“You thought of confessing while sick?”

“Being sick made me more desperate.”

Shin Tae-oh retorted as if it were obvious, then pointed at an item he had been examining. The employee who had been keeping a low profile carefully took out a watch and held it up.

“This is a product that stands out for its luxurious design.”

“Is there anything better?”

“We have some new arrivals.”

The employee quickly brought out three watches, laid them out, and began to explain them in detail. Shin Tae-oh’s expression was quite serious as he listened, but he didn’t seem particularly impressed with any of them.

“Are you perhaps looking for a gift?”

The employee who noticed this asked vaguely. Only then did Shin Tae-oh’s expression change.

“If you could explain what kind would suit the recipient, I’ll bring some options.”

Shin Tae-oh thought for a moment, then took out his phone. He showed the salesperson a photo.

“A watch that would suit this wrist…”

The employee was momentarily flustered but quickly brought out several watches. Lee Jin-ho looked genuinely taken aback.

“When did you take a picture of his wrist?”

“I didn’t take it, I received it.”

“What nonsense… Who gives a picture of their wrist…”

Lee Jin-ho shook his head and muttered, and belatedly remembered Se-hyun’s personality.

“Se-hyun is unique. When I asked for a picture of his face, he gave me his wrist instead.”

Shin Tae-oh just accepted it and continued to pick out a suitable watch.

“If Se-hyun accepts my confession, I’ll put this watch on his wrist. And I’ll wear the same one on mine to show we’re a couple.”

“Just say you want couple watches.”

Why make it sound so complicated?

“First it was a coat, now it’s a watch?”

“Yes. As soon as I saw the picture, I wanted to give it to him…”

Shin Tae-oh’s words trailed off as if he’d remembered something, then he stared at the watch with a serious face.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t have a reason to give him a watch.”

“Use the same reason as last time.”

Lee Jin-ho seemed to think it wasn’t a big deal, but Shin Tae-oh shook his head.

“I signed a pledge not to give him anything again.”

“Secretary Ahn is really thorough.”

How did he know Shin Tae-oh would try to give him something again? Lee Jin-ho muttered, looking at Shin Tae-oh with a secretly intrigued expression.

Would this man really give up so easily?