By Zephyria 
The sky was so blue that it sparked delusions of diving right out of the office window. It was an extravagantly beautiful day for a Monday with not a single public holiday left until Children’s Day, two months away. The spring sunlight only brightened a small portion of the area near the windows, failing to reach the office workers who staggered along like Monday zombies. A few of them took photos of the sky through the dusty glass as if longing for the outside world before trudging back to their respective seats.
Since early morning, a small whiteboard hanging on the door of Meeting Room 2 on the 5th floor had the meeting participants listed:
“Hello.”
“Ah, you’re here. Hello.”
Ritualistic greetings were exchanged every time a member opened the door and entered. The newcomers would nod their heads repeatedly before pulling out a chair and sitting down.
Whether by coincidence or not, most of the development team members sat in the shaded areas of the room, while the marketing team members gathered in the bright spots.
The two teams were starkly distinguished not only by their seating but also by the saturation of their clothing. If a development team member dressed as modestly as the most understated person on the marketing team, they would likely be suspected of heading to a job interview during their lunch break.
Just as the room was nearly full, a man with a laptop tucked under his arm walked in.
He was a man with pale skin who looked more familiar with the glow of a monitor than with sunlight. Clinking the ice in his Americano, he headed toward the back of the room. Even among the development team, who occupied the relative darkness, his arrival felt like the emergence of the abyss. As he flopped into a chair and scanned the room, it felt as though a certain gloominess clung to his gaze.
“Where is Team Leader Cha?”
“He went to see the Division Head for a moment.”
“He’ll be here soon.”
The marketing team members answered simultaneously. Among them, a senior manager nudged a colleague from the development team. The gesture—a twitch of the cheek directed toward the development team leader—meant, ‘How’s your boss’s mood today?’ The silent X drawn with a finger in response meant, ‘It’s not looking good.’
Soon, the sound of dress shoes echoed into the room.
“I’m late.”
A solid build and a flawlessly tailored suit instantly shifted the gravitational weight of the enclosed space. While everyone offered a nod or a brief greeting, the development team leader simply opened his laptop with indifference.
The marketing team leader took the seat right next to him, placing a tablet down alongside his laptop. As he sat, the hem of his perfectly fitted suit trousers rose, revealing a straight ankle. The development team leader’s eyebrows twitched displeasurably as he glanced in that direction.
“Team Leader Song Yi-ho, good morning.”
“Do I look like I’m having a good morning?”
As if timed perfectly, a drifting cloud blocked the sun, casting a deep shadow over the meeting room. While everyone else walked on eggshells, only the marketing team leader responded in a voice completely unaffected.
“True, I only said it out of politeness. What office worker is actually happy on a Monday? I like your honesty; it’s refreshing.”
“What on earth is that PR video?”
The attempt to beat around the bush was cut off by a sharp voice.
“Isn’t it cool? The reaction on-site was amazing.”
“Of course it was amazing; you spun a fantasy. Who the hell makes something like that?”
A bright, beaming smile returned as the answer to the question. It likely meant, ‘Well, you’re the one with a Master’s and PhD from an engineering college; did you expect me, who can’t write a single line of code, to do it?’
“I know you’ll handle it well. I am sorry that this became a notification rather than a consultation.”
“I’m not arguing just to hear an apology. To say that something we haven’t even properly started is already…”
“If we didn’t get this passed, both your team and mine would be unemployed. What choice did I have? I had to bluff to win it.”
“…”
“And besides, I had faith in our capable Team Leader Song Yi-ho.”
“Haa…”
Of course, he knew that a certain amount of exaggeration was industry practice during bidding. He knew, but nevertheless, the task handed to him with a “I’ve already blabbed that we can do it, so please clean up the mess!” was simply excessive.
“Hmm? Team Leader Song. I’m counting on you.”
The marketing team leader leaned his face closer. Like a nocturnal animal suddenly exposed to light, the development team leader flinched back before glaring at him.
On the surface, it looked like the marketing team leader was trying to soothe him, but in the end, the development team leader was the inevitable loser. What could he do? As the other man said, he had to make it work from here on out.
“…What did you say the deadline was?”
With a sigh, the development team leader opened his laptop. The marketing team leader leaned in closer, pressing his face toward the screen.
“Ah, even if it’s just an intermediate stage, it would be great if you could keep sharing it with me…”
“…Then shall we set the intermediate deadline for this date?”
“Hmm, can’t it be a bit faster?”
“Do you have a conscience?”
“I wasn’t joking, but the atmosphere makes it feel like I should say I was. Fine. We’ll go with the date Team Leader Song mentioned.”
As the two cold team leaders awkwardly reached an agreement, a wave of relief washed over the other members who had been shifting their eyes.
“I’ll take it as settled then. I’m saved thanks to Team Leader Song.”
While the development team leader remained cold throughout, the marketing team leader maintained a smile that seemed to leave no room for a single needle to enter as he packed up his tablet. At the signal that the meeting had ended, the other members also gathered their things.
It happened the moment the marketing team leader stood up. A palm slammed against the wall right in front of him, blocking his path.
“Send your team members out. Team Leader Cha, stay behind for a moment.”
“Ah… you’re too much for such a busy morning. I’m a very busy man.”
“…”
“Alright, alright.”
The meeting room door closed, leaving only the two team leaders. The silhouette of the development team leader reflected in the frosted glass tilted his head toward the marketing team leader. The other employees hurried away from the room toward the emergency exit, as if avoiding flying sparks.
“Whew, I thought it ended well, but it got savage again at the end. Do you think the development team leader is really upset?”
While descending the stairs in a group, one person cautiously asked a nearby development team member.
“I… I don’t know. It’s actually a bit strange to us too. Yi-ho isn’t usually the type to fight, but he gets so fired up whenever he’s in front of Min-gyu.”
In truth, the development team, being the weakest in the company, rarely started fights. The reason Team Leader Song Yi-ho had pushed back this hard was that the bomb the marketing team had dropped was quite large.
Therefore, Deputy General Manager Kang, the second-in-command of the marketing team, skillfully softened his voice.
“Sigh, I really feel sorry for the development team. But there were several other companies that came with unbelievable bluffs that day; if we hadn’t done that, we might have really been scrapped.”
“That’s true. Wow, everyone is so shameless. Even we wondered until the last minute if this was actually possible. Do you think we’re asking for something truly impossible…?”
The developers’ pupils wavered at the dazzling carrots being dangled by the marketers.
“Ah… it’s okay. For now, getting it passed is the priority… it would be a bigger problem if we couldn’t do it…”
The two teams used adjacent tables in the office. Thanks to that, the development team had seen the marketing team pulling all-nighters to achieve this result. Mutual pity contributed a bit more to the smooth resolution of the situation.
“Please take good care of it with your team leader. If the development team just makes it happen, I’ll personally guarantee the bonuses for this Chuseok and the end of the year.”
“Ye-yes. We’ll do our best.”
“Want to grab a coffee before heading back? My treat. As a cheer.”
“Wow, thanks!”
“Development team, think about your menus in advance.”
“Yes… thank you…”
The team members walked toward the cafe in a friendly atmosphere, a stark contrast to the one in the meeting room.
Meanwhile, inside the room, the two team leaders remained in a standoff. After a long staring contest, Team Leader Song Yi-ho’s gaze traveled down the body of the other man, Cha Min-gyu.
“Team Leader Cha Min-gyu.”
“Yes, Team Leader Song Yi-ho.”
Cha Min-gyu curled his lips into a beaming smile. Even in the face of that smile, which had been a decisive aid during the presentation, Song Yi-ho’s expression remained distorted as if he had chewed something bitter.
“Would you mind rolling up your pants?”
“That is some undeniable sexual harassment. May I turn on the recording?”
“…”
Cha Min-gyu, who had pretended to fumble through his pockets, met the continuing glare and eventually slumped his shoulders in defeat.
Soon, he lifted the hem of his trousers. The dark gray socks wrapping around his prominent ankle bones were held firmly in place at the calf by garters. Song Yi-ho took a sharp breath.
“Ugh, I told you not to steal my socks!”
“Yikes!”
A fist flew toward the broad back that was bent over from rolling up the pants. Cha Min-gyu curled his large frame, dodging Song Yi-ho’s second strike.
“Ah, Song-yi, that hurts. Song-yi only stays in the office, but I have outside work today. I have to wear something pretty.”
“Buy new ones! Stop taking them from other people’s closets!”
“Huh? It wasn’t the closet.”
“…Then where?”
“They were lying miserably in the dryer for two days… Ow, that really hurts. You used a technique just now. My shoulder is broken. Our Song-yi is helping me so much, trying to add industrial accident compensation to my salary…”
To repeat, there is no way in the world for the development team leader to win a verbal battle against the marketing team leader. Even if they weren’t typical company colleagues.
However, not all victories in the world are won with words. Cha Min-gyu, who whined with a mix of half-sincerity and half-exaggeration while dodging the firmly clenched fists of Song Yi-ho, backed away and grabbed the meeting room door handle. Song Yi-ho’s stride, which had been closing the distance, stopped. Once the door opened, the sturdy soundproofing of the room would end. Gripping the handle like a self-defense weapon, Cha Min-gyu extended his other arm.
“I’ll wear them well, wash them, and give them back. Song-yi Song-yi, I’m counting on you for the development too.”
A finger heart was formed in front of him, followed by a wink. Then, the large frame slipped nimbly through the gap in the door.
Song Yi-ho let out a sigh and gathered his laptop and coffee from the desk. He then tidied his disheveled hair with one hand.
The image of the black belt cutting across the muscular curve of the calf came to mind. And his own socks, clinging tightly to Cha Min-gyu’s legs.
His lips, bitten hard by his front teeth, turned red. His ears burned just as hot.
“If you’re going to steal them, you could at least leave one of your own socks behind…”
From the time Cha Min-gyu transferred to Song Yi-ho’s high school in their second year, to entering the same university, and meeting at the same company to accidentally end up in adjacent teams, a total of 15 years had passed.
This tenacious bond continued for the two men who had now reached the age of thirty-three. For one, it was in the form of an irreplaceable friendship; for the other, it was a long, enduring unrequited love.