By Zephyria 
“Team Leader Song is from a research lab background, so he’s a bit stronger with projects…”
“Are there really such differences even within the same development team? I had no idea.”
“Anyway, just cut a few things. For now, I’ll make sure it runs enough to be visible on the front-end by the deadline…”
“That won’t work.”
“Then what do you want me to do? I can’t meet the deadline even if you kill me!”
Team Leader Kim slammed the partition. Manager Kwon, who shared the partition with Min-gyu, flinched and pulled his shoulders back. A long sigh escaped Min-gyu’s lips, loud enough to be heard, and he soon rose from his seat. As his nearly 190cm frame stood up, Team Leader Kim’s gaze shifted upward. Looking down at Team Leader Kim, the smile that had been on Min-gyu’s shaded face until a moment ago had vanished.
“Working leisurely, with plenty of time and a manageable level of difficulty.”
“…….”
“These days, Computer Science students wouldn’t even get a C+ for their graduation projects if they did it like that. No matter what kind of snake oil salesman comes along, they couldn’t sell that. You should have been prepared to suffer from the moment you snatched up a task that could actually become a performance achievement.”
“Team Leader Cha, that’s a bit harsh—!”
Contrary to before, Min-gyu leaned in toward Team Leader Kim, bracing himself against the partition. Startled, Team Leader Kim’s mouth snapped shut. After a momentary, chilling silence, Min-gyu flashed a smile brighter than before.
“Right? How could I possibly compare our veteran Team Leader Kim to some chick students? In the end, Team Leader Kim will produce a wonderful result. What does a research lab background matter? It’s the period of practical experience that counts. Isn’t that right?”
Min-gyu wrapped an arm around Team Leader Kim’s back and patted his shoulder. Standing close, he struck a “fighting!” pose with his arm, looking like something out of a hiking club group photo.
“That’s why I trusted you and asked this of you, taking all that into account. You know how I feel, right? Let’s all do our best—both the development team and the marketing team.”
In the blink of an eye, the atmosphere shifted. Team Leader Kim, unable to win a single word, gave a lukewarm “Uh… yeah…” and left the marketing team’s area.
Only after he had disappeared into the distance did Yi-ho hesitantly return to his seat. Glancing sideways, he saw Min-gyu briefly ask Manager Kwon if he was okay and then immediately return to his work.
‘Did he really pay him back for me?’
…This could be overthinking; it might have just been Cha Min-gyu managing the new team according to his own work style. However, recalling the conversation where he had grumbled in front of him just a few days ago made his chest tingle.
The cheeks of a severe case of unrequited love flushed, and he found it difficult to concentrate on his code. To be honest, he wanted to look at the seat next to him rather than the screen.
Meanwhile, Min-gyu’s voice, as he exchanged words with his team members, kept invading the development team’s space. Three or four marketing team members, including Min-gyu, were gathered behind one employee’s monitor, and it didn’t look like it would end quickly. Yi-ho opened his drawer, grabbed a handful of coffee capsules, and stood up.
As Yi-ho walked past with quick steps, Deputy Manager Kang whispered softly.
“Oh my, I guess we were a bit loud. He’s giving us a look.”
“Team Leader Song is giving you a look?”
A sound like a leak of air escaped Min-gyu’s lips. The true meaning was ‘That softie?’, but to others, it looked like ‘That brat?’.
“My apologies. Let’s get back to our seats and work.”
The gathered marketing team members returned to their seats one by one. The morale of the team members, having witnessed their team leader crush another team leader’s provocation in the morning, was slightly higher than usual.
It was then that Yi-ho opened the door to the breakroom.
“Oh.”
“Ah.”
Two short exclamations greeted him. Then, a man and a woman, frozen stiff, faced Yi-ho.
Yi-ho recalled a certain taunt he had heard a hundred times while working at the company.
‘They said they weren’t dating, but look at them, they’re totally dating.’
“Ahem, ahem.”
The woman smiled and nodded to Yi-ho first before exiting the breakroom. Watching her back, the man wore a dazed, lovestruck expression before suddenly becoming conscious of Yi-ho, bowing repeatedly, and following her out.
Standing where the two had disappeared, Yi-ho tapped his own cheek and thought: I hope I didn’t have a face like that man just now. The reason his own relationship had been discovered by the whole office was because of that completely smitten face.
If there was one thing that had uselessly increased while working at the same company as his crush, it was his intuition regarding other people’s romantic currents. There were more people in the world who couldn’t hide their affection than he had thought. Sometimes that reassured Yi-ho, and sometimes it sparked envy—because it was a feeling that could be brought out into the open.
Even in a place he had come to avoid Cha Min-gyu, he was thinking about him again. As Yi-ho approached the coffee machine, he scanned the breakroom with a vacant gaze. A type of snack he had never seen before was stocked. Perhaps others were interested too, as only one was left.
Having eaten more rice cakes than rice as a child, Yi-ho had spent the rest of his life loathing sweet foods. Conversely, there was someone very close to him who loved snacks and cafe drinks. That last snack would be gone if just one more person came into the breakroom… Moreover, the shadows of several people were already approaching the translucent breakroom door. Just as Yi-ho quickly grabbed the snack, the door opened with perfect timing.
Wait, has my intuition really gotten that good lately?
The people entering the breakroom were Cha Min-gyu, whom he had just been thinking about, and two marketing team members.
Min-gyu, who was standing at the front, passed Yi-ho and walked inside.
“I heard something delicious came in, but it looks like it’s already all gone.”
No. You’re the owner of the last one. You can eat it in a bit, you brat. Swallowing the words he couldn’t say, Yi-ho pushed the snack deep into his pocket. Min-gyu, walking further in, grabbed six or seven other snacks and handed them to the team members.
“Something else came up for a meeting, so I’m going to book a conference room so we don’t disturb the team next door.”
Eh, why bother?
“It wasn’t that loud, though…”
The fact that he couldn’t concentrate because of Min-gyu’s voice was a personal matter. At that, Min-gyu looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“Of course it wasn’t. You have zero situational awareness yourself, so how could you possibly give any to others?”
“Pardon?”
“Nothing. Ji-yeon, please go ahead and take the drink orders from the team members. Send me a message with a summary of how many of each we need.”
“Ah, yes!”
Holding their blood-sugar boosters for the meeting, the two team members headed out. Only Min-gyu and Yi-ho remained in the breakroom.
“You’re going to poke a hole in the top.”
Min-gyu gestured with his chin toward Yi-ho’s hand, which was clutching five capsules as if they might burst.
“I won’t.”
“No, you will. I’m pretty sure I saw you being carried away in an ambulance.”
Standing in front of the ice dispenser—the company’s greatest welfare benefit—Yi-ho looked back at Min-gyu. Angular ice cubes clattered into the tumbler.
“That was during the graduation project. It wasn’t because of coffee; it was because I poured Hot6 down my throat.”
Yi-ho had been the “bus driver” for the graduation project back then. It wasn’t that his teammates were lazy or irresponsible, but in Yi-ho’s eyes at the time, none of the results were satisfactory compared to doing it alone. So, he took on all the revisions and supplementary work himself.
It was the same now, even as a team leader distributing work among subordinates. The only difference was that back then, he would have stayed up for several nights to make it perfect, but now he had learned how to compromise on collective team tasks.
Otherwise, one couldn’t survive in an organization like a company. No matter how hard you try, you have to downgrade things based on a single word from a superior, and you have to become numb to processes like taking the fall for an error that occurred outside your team’s scope.
No matter how much he let go of his greed, as the head of the development team, he faced a rush of overtime every single project.
As he moved with his ice-filled tumbler, the path to the coffee machine was blocked. Even though Yi-ho frowned and tried to avoid him, the obstructer blocked him here and there, shifting deftly.
“What are you doing?”
“Please pay the toll.”
Min-gyu held out a large palm in front of Yi-ho.
“The fee is two capsules.”
“What kind of thug-like toll booth is this?”
“Prices in Gangnam are naturally expensive.”
Since Min-gyu showed no sign of backing down, Yi-ho eventually handed over two capsules into his hand. Yi-ho, who demolished several cups of coffee a day, bought and stocked his own personal coffee capsules. Therefore, the two capsules now in Min-gyu’s hand were entirely Yi-ho’s private property. In other words, it was appropriate to describe it as being shaken down. Min-gyu stepped aside with a satisfied look, allowing Yi-ho to face the coffee machine. The capsule went in, and coffee dripped over the ice.
Min-gyu stepped back and stood there, grinning. A deep dimple formed in one cheek. Watching that, Yi-ho’s tongue needlessly pressed against the back of his front teeth.
Hey, Cha Min-gyu. I saw what you did with Team Leader Kim earlier. His mouth was itching to bring it up, but the problem was that he lacked the eloquence to hide the implication of ‘Did you do that for me?’. He didn’t have the confidence to remain composed against the teasing that would start if the conversation flowed that way.
The spent capsule was removed, and Yi-ho inserted a new one. A second coffee poured into the tumbler.
“Song-i, if we drew your blood, black water would come out. Make sure to get a health checkup before spring ends.”
“The doctor said it’s better than drinking and smoking.”
“And did he also say, ‘If possible, cut back on the coffee’?”
“…….”
Being nagged while brewing a bland coffee after having two capsules stolen was a bit frustrating.
While the machine was gurgling out the coffee, the breakroom door opened once more.
“Oh.”
“Ah, …….”
The man and woman who tried to enter together stopped upon seeing the two of them, then, looking extremely flustered, left after a silent greeting.
“Hmm….”
‘Those two are dating too.’
He might not have noticed if they hadn’t bolted.
“Darling, we’re in trouble. I think the people at work found out about us.”
A sultry voice sounded right next to his ear. The hand holding the tumbler shook. The splashing coffee overflowed and wet his hand.