By Zephyria 
“How can a person like this even exist in the world….”
Min-gyu fussed over Yi-ho in his arms, holding him so tightly that Yi-ho couldn’t turn his head away for a long time. He didn’t want Yi-ho to see his face.
So, Yi-ho rested his head on Min-gyu’s shoulder and stared quietly at what lay beyond.
The sun was setting in the house where he had lived for several years. The second-hand refrigerator hummed with a low thrum. The water glass left lonely on the counter after he drank from it this morning, the air fryer Min-gyu had bought him as a gift, claiming it was a necessity for living alone, the rug under the sink that was starting to need a wash….
Trivial banter was a daily occurrence, the kitchen table was a daily occurrence, sitting perched on top of him was a first for today, Cha Min-gyu in a suit was a daily occurrence, and the kisses… was that the twentieth time? Hugging each other so tightly that their ribs ached was also a first.
Daily life and fantasy blended together. Two things that seemed completely incompatible merged and harmonized into one.
Daily life with Cha Min-gyu was fantastic.
“Song-i.”
Breaking the silence, Min-gyu’s voice flowed through the background.
“Have you been happy since we stopped being friends?”
Yi-ho tightened his arms around him.
“Yeah.”
Since the rainy season ended, he had been quite happy.
Everything had simply changed for the better.
Just as the boundary of the blue sky blends with the setting red sun to become an orange sky, every change felt good.
It was likely because Min-gyu was showing him far greater affection, making his previous fear of change and loss in their relationship feel pointless.
Unrequited love was the most noble of the pathetic because one had to endure it alone. And love, which is only completed when there is a partner, was the most fragile of the perfect. One’s mood would rise and fall based on the partner’s smallest actions; even the other’s emotional fluctuations could be contagious.
Held tightly in those arms, Yi-ho greedily inhaled Min-gyu’s scent clinging to his shirt, letting his body slump against him. The sensation of being completely surrounded by Cha Min-gyu always felt good. Yi-ho moved his nose from the nape of the neck to the chest and took a deep breath.
The scent embedded in the shirt was quite addictive, so just one more time….
Just then, the hand patting his back stopped, and Min-gyu grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and lifted him up.
“…Song-i, what are you doing?”
“Huh?”
“…….”
“No, it’s just because I like you. Because I like you….”
“You perverted mushroom….”
“I’m not….”
“Was the reason you became happy after we stopped being friends because of my body?!”
“No…! I am happy. Really. I’m happy, but…!”
Of course, that was naturally part of why it was good. Everything was….
Wait. Yi-ho suddenly frowned toward the window he had been looking at. An unwelcome guest had entered the beautiful sky that had been making even Song Yi-ho feel sentimental. Similarly, in a happy relationship, there was a presence like a buzzing drone that blocked the view and shattered the calm sentiment.
“Since I started dating you…, except for the fact that the partitions are gone.”
“Ah.”
Min-gyu hugged Yi-ho and laughed for a long time. He also kissed his neck and cheeks. Then, he suddenly scooped him up, sat him on the table, and stood up to head somewhere.
Before Yi-ho could recover from the shock of how lightly he had been lifted, Min-gyu returned with a tablet in one hand.
Sitting back down, Min-gyu held out the blank screen over Yi-ho’s thighs. The numerous achievements he had accomplished starting from this screen had placed him in the position of Team Leader at the age of thirty-three.
“Let’s do this. Team Leader Song, joint project 〈The Resurrection of the Partitions〉.”
“Huh…?”
“My lover is dying of hardship; of course I have to roll up my sleeves and step in.”
Min-gyu wrote the primary objective, ‘Resurrection of the Partitions,’ right in the center of the screen.
“First, what are the negative consequences caused by a partition-less office?”
“Everything.”
“Be specific.”
“Decrease in work motivation.”
“Hmm….”
“Isn’t that the most serious part?”
“But it’s too abstract. If you say that to the higher-ups, they’ll just say, ‘What does it matter where you sit? If you just work hard at your job, you won’t have time to care about such things.’”
“Wow, that gave me chills. For a second, you looked kind of hateful.”
Yi-ho said after thinking for a moment while looking at the crown of Min-gyu’s head.
“Then… security? You can see other people’s monitors too well, and, you know, you can hear phone calls clearly.”
“Aha. Thinking from that perspective, there’s also the risk of losing items left behind.”
“Oh, right.”
Since it was a hot-desking system without assigned seats, he felt anxious about leaving his wallet or car keys scattered on the table as he had before.
“It’s also a bit uncomfortable to talk with team members.”
“Yeah.”
Min-gyu noted Yi-ho’s words in neat handwriting. Lines were drawn beneath the problematic situations.
“The problem with the current situation is that this was Executive Director Kim Jo-wook’s idea, so it won’t be changed easily.”
In about six months, when indicators show that the employees’ performance has dropped drastically, it will be reverted. But if they wait until then, holes will be punched through the development team’s stomachs like bowling balls. And their leader, Song Yi-ho, will become a shriveled, dried-up poisonous mushroom.
Yi-ho clutched his forehead, suffering through a type of assignment he had never encountered in his life. From below, Min-gyu fully enjoyed the sight of his lips pouting in deep agony.
“Um… Executive Director Kim Jo-wook isn’t the only one in the executive meetings. What if we gather opinions from the other team leaders and make a suggestion?”
“Lacks originality. Too cliché. Another idea.”
The biggest problem with that was the possibility that someone might betray them after agreeing to coordinate their stories. If a situation unfolded where someone said, ‘We were actually doing fine, but Team Leader Song and the development team had many complaints, so we came together…,’ he would take all the heat alone and end up in a disaster. Song Yi-ho was the only one unaware of that possibility.
Yi-ho muttered something about something original, something unconventional… and then said:
“How about just buying new desks? We could say the team that shared a table got into a fight and it broke in half…. I don’t mind writing a disciplinary report.”
“Please speak with more universality so that people can actually accept it. Another idea.”
“No, you just asked for something original, and now you want something universal.”
He protested with an indignant face for a moment, but soon the corners of his eyebrows drooped.
“Um, by any chance… is this how you usually talk when you work…?”
“I hear it half the time, and I say it the other half.”
Regardless, any normal method would be like trying to break a rock with a quail egg. An abnormal method would be risking the quail egg rolling into a fire on its own. Since the reason for wanting to restore the partitions a day sooner was for Yi-ho’s convenience, it made no sense to put Yi-ho at risk. If he was going to do something, rather than clashing directly….
Wait.
Min-gyu touched his lips.
“Conversely, what does Executive Director Kim Jo-wook like?”
Yi-ho’s eyes snapped open.
“Director Kim loves MZ employees. He insists he’s part of the MZ generation because he was born in the 80s. Ah, that’s it. How about letting him know that his popularity among the new recruits has dropped because he took away the partitions?”
Previously, Director Kim had been pestering the young employees. It wasn’t in the conventional sense, but regardless of gender, he would commit atrocities like, ‘How’s company life these days?’, ‘Oh, that’s the trend? Where can I get one?’, ‘Give me your Insta ID. I’ll tag you when I post photos.’, ‘Let’s follow each other.’ Because of this, numerous employees had abandoned accounts they had used since their school days.
“The popularity of the MZ generation, who he wants to be like.”
As a reward for his pondering, Yi-ho’s opinion was written on Min-gyu’s tablet.
“It would be better if the reaction is led naturally from the outside rather than coming from the inside. Like YouTube or Instagram.”
“Yeah.”
“Oh… I think this fits together. The results will be fast, the risk is low, and it’ll be fun.”
Min-gyu added in a low voice while tapping the screen. It would also be easy to bring in many accomplices.
“I wonder which channel would be best.”
“Can’t we just find a popular one?”
“No, no matter how much the Director tries to act like a kid, he’s ultimately in his 40s, so if it feels too young, he might not show interest.”
Min-gyu stretched his lips. He soon covered his mouth and narrowed his eyes. It was the face of Team Leader Cha in deep thought, which Yi-ho sometimes stole glances at from the next seat.
“Ah, is there anyone around? Another middle-aged person who hasn’t grown up.”
“…….”
“…….”
Along with the silence, Yi-ho and Min-gyu’s eyes met. They soon realized they were thinking of the same person. Yi-ho lowered his head deeply.
“S-sorry.”
“No, well, I thought of the same thing.”
Fortunately, it wasn’t 8 o’clock yet, so it was an appropriate time to make a call. Though, if it was the people they just thought of, it probably wouldn’t matter when they contacted them.
Min-gyu tapped the screen and made a call. From the moment the call was answered, a loud, energetic voice could be heard from behind the receiver.
“Hey, Mother. What YouTube videos have you been watching with Dad lately?”
The feeling of apology spread a bit further in Yi-ho’s heart.