By Zephyria 
“Shall we order one more bottle? I think this will be the last festival before next week.”
“Oh, are you busy next week?”
“Yes. There’s something big we’re preparing.”
Deputy Manager Kang of the marketing team spoke, then briefly glanced at Min-gyu to gauge his reaction. Min-gyu gave a light nod, as if it were information the development team could know without issue.
“We’re going to have a Dino back-to-school sale on the official website. Securing the stock went smoothly, and we got a great ad spot on the portal sites. Do you know who’s doing the live stream?”
As his voice dropped, the group leaned in toward the center. The name of an idol who had recently gained popularity through YouTube content was mentioned.
“Wow, how did you manage to recruit them?”
“Everything just seemed to fall into place. Right when I sent the email to the agency, it just so happened that…”
Although it was a marketing team project, it seemed as though Deputy Manager Kang, rather than the team leader, was spearheading it. The curiosity regarding that point was soon resolved.
“Min-gyu nim gave me the lead on this one so I could gain some experience, so I worked really hard on it.”
“You should finish it well and turn it into a career achievement.”
Even though Min-gyu’s voice coldly cut off the premature celebration, a faint trace of a smile lingered, suggesting that things were progressing steadily according to his intentions.
At times like this, Yi-ho felt that Min-gyu was far more of an adult than he was, especially since Yi-ho often struggled even with task distribution.
“Please make the server sturdy! I have a really great feeling about this. A huge crowd might flock in!”
“The server isn’t something we make sturdy, AWS does—”
Fortunately, another development team member blocked the buzzkill comment from the dev team.
“Then, shall we have a drink to cheer them on?”
“Yes!”
The group, which had started with twenty people and now numbered slightly fewer than ten, clinked their glasses. Yi-ho took a single sip and set his glass down. Min-gyu, whose eyes met his in a brief glance, did the same.
The drinking session, which had begun at clock-out time, finally wrapped up around 11 PM.
∗ ∗ ∗
“Yi-ho niiim, get hoooome safely…”
“Yes, Tae-gyung nim. Have a good weekend.”
“Yessss…”
Tae-gyung, who had insisted he was fine and told the others to leave first, was the last to be loaded into a taxi. Min-gyu also saw off the remaining team members and walked over to Yi-ho. Soon, an arm was draped heavily over his shoulder.
“Song-i, round three?”
“Go.”
Team Leader Song instantly became Song-i. It was quite a chore to be the only sober one when everyone else was hyped up and friendly. The two team leaders, who had reduced their drinking from the middle of the second round to look after their team members, had already sobered up from the first round. Therefore, their drinking session was only just beginning. With no one left to watch them, there were no inhibitions.
The dining alley, which had been so crowded that it was hard to find a single seat, now had open spots everywhere. Walking slowly toward the alley on the opposite side of the company, the two settled into a window seat at a pocha.
“Congratulations on finishing the company dinner safely, Song-i Song-i.”
“…Yeah.”
The two of them downed their soju shots without hesitation.
As the two, who had been craving drinks, waited, a part-timer brought over a stew and small plates.
“It’s fully cooked, so you can eat it right away.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Using the arrival of the food as an excuse, they downed another round. It was clear they both had been thirsty for alcohol.
“Hey, Cha Min-gyu.”
“Hmm?”
“Why do you keep…”
Why do you keep talking about me in front of other people while pretending you aren’t? Are you saying we should become an official couple at work now? Do you want to be an office couple?
In truth, he didn’t particularly intend to ask. The expected answer would likely be some vague excuse delivered with Cha Min-gyu’s flashy eloquence, like, ‘Because Song-i Song-i’s reaction is funny?’
“Keep?”
“…Keep asking why I won’t show you photos of Min-jung.”
“Ah, it’s because she’s been so disobedient lately. I’ve done everything she asked for, but she won’t even take a photo for me.”
Min-gyu scrolled through his phone’s photo album and held the screen out in front of Yi-ho. On the name tag of a little girl wearing a backpack as big as her torso, it read: ‘Moi Elementary School, 1st Grade, Cha Min-jung.’
This was the identity of Min-gyu’s younger sister, whom he had mentioned was still attending school. Actually, saying she was ‘still’ attending school was incorrect. She had just entered school this March.
Looking at the photo, Yi-ho drifted into a memory. The first time he met Min-jung was also at a pocha with this kind of dim atmosphere, sitting across from Min-gyu. They had been closer to the entrance than they were now.
Strictly speaking, back then, she didn’t even have the name Min-jung; she was just ‘Kkomul-i.’
Min-gyu had found employment immediately upon graduation. At that time, Yi-ho was a graduate student. While Min-gyu was busy with interviews and study groups, and then entered a training center after getting the job, a gap of several months opened up between the two, who had previously seen each other incessantly.
As the new semester began, Min-gyu contacted him as if breaking a long silence. He said he had received his department assignment and that the company wasn’t far from the school, so they should meet for the first time in a while. Even though the chat room, which used to have daily conversations, now showed new dates that had jumped two months ahead, Min-gyu’s attitude was as consistent as if they had met yesterday.
It was a stark contrast to Yi-ho, who had been startled in the lab, hurriedly washed his hair in a communal shower he didn’t even like, and eventually borrowed a hat to hide the result he wasn’t satisfied with while trying to calm his nerves.
Just as Yi-ho sat at the table and was typing a question asking where he was, the chair in front of him was pulled back.
‘Song Yi-ho.’
Min-gyu flopped into the seat. He set the backpack he had been wearing beside him, loosened the tie that was choking his neck, and grinned at Yi-ho. His forehead, revealed as he pushed his hair back, was straight and clear.
‘What did you order? I didn’t eat dinner, so I’m starving.’
The voice and the way of speaking were definitely Min-gyu’s. However, Yi-ho had no data stored on this version of Min-gyu.
The hand that took the menu Yi-ho awkwardly handed over smelled of perfume. Without realizing it, Yi-ho leaned his head forward, following the scent, but quickly pulled back when Min-gyu looked at him as if wondering what he was doing.
‘Did you develop a turtle neck because you’re an inevitable developer? I’m just ordering the set.’
‘…Yeah…’
From their first meeting in high school until now, Min-gyu had never once been inferior to Yi-ho in eloquence. That day was no different. The stories he told about life outside of school were more fascinating than any new algorithm. Getting a desk in an office, receiving a salary, having something called a ‘meeting’ with employees from other companies…
‘…Are company meetings different from the blind dates we had in college?’
‘Similar, but I guess you could say they’re more professional. You know, in college, a lot of people come out just thinking about having fun for a day. But here, there are many people who come out with the absolute intention of making a partner today. So they’re very aggressive.’
‘Ah…’
‘I don’t mean I hate it. Just that it’s different.’
Yi-ho felt as if Min-gyu had suddenly drifted far away. No, it felt as if Min-gyu had grown tall all on his own. Come to think of it, the height difference hadn’t been this significant when they first met, but now there was a gap of about half a hand’s width. His jawline had also become sharper…
‘Song Yi-ho, how have you been?’
‘Me? Well…’
Lab, home, lab, home. Occasionally the boxing gym… How could he express this in a way that sounded even slightly interesting? While he was pondering, Min-gyu’s phone rang. Min-gyu apologized, turned his shoulder away, and answered the call.
“Yeah, what’s up,” he answered casually, but as the call continued, his voice grew increasingly serious.
‘What do you mean? …Really? You’re not joking, right? Ha…’
The expression that hadn’t been great even before the call suddenly crumpled.
‘No… I get it. I’ll go to the hospital for now.’
Having heard this much, even if he didn’t know the exact details, it was impossible not to notice that something serious was happening.
Yi-ho stood up, leaving Min-gyu behind. He went to the counter and paid for the table, where more than half the food remained. After confirming that Min-gyu, who was still on the phone, followed him out while grabbing his coat and bag, Yi-ho went outside and hailed a taxi.
He wanted to ask what was wrong, but the expression on Min-gyu’s face as he sat beside him was terrible.
‘Cha Min-gyu, which hospital should I go to?’
‘Ah…’
Min-gyu stated the destination in a sunken voice.
‘I’m on my way. I get it, so let’s just talk when we meet.’
The call, which continued a bit longer in the taxi, finally ended. Min-gyu’s expression was so grim that Yi-ho couldn’t even bring himself to ask what happened. The taxi proceeded toward the large hospital in silence. Upon arrival, Min-gyu, who had been spaced out, seemed to snap back to his senses and pulled a card from his wallet to hand to the driver. As they passed through the hospital lobby together, Yi-ho asked hesitantly.
‘Hey, seriously… what’s going on?’
‘I probably… Ah, wait. Excuse me, where is the OB-GYN ward?’
‘What?’
OB-GYN?
Before he could even doubt if he had heard correctly, Min-gyu began to run in the direction the staff member had pointed. Running one step behind Min-gyu, Yi-ho’s vision shook violently. The stark white walls of the hospital wavered as if they were about to swallow him whole.
Cha Min-gyu, who said he went to company meetings.
Cha Min-gyu, who was popular with women even in college.
Cha Min-gyu, who had become so much more adult-like.
And when he associated those things with the OB-GYN ward in his head, a certain assumption was added. Yi-ho covered his mouth with one hand.
No way.
‘……’
It was a one-sided love where he didn’t particularly have a plan to act on it. But he hated for it to break in this way. If he could at least be mentally prepared—no, if you, Cha Min-gyu, were going to end up with someone else like this.
His steps following Min-gyu slowed and eventually stopped. He felt it would be better to run away than to hear the truth.
Hey, Cha Min-gyu, I’m not coming—
‘Mom!’
It was then. He heard Min-gyu’s loud, deep shout as he flung open the hospital room door.
‘Mom is forty-four! Her son is twenty-five! How can you be pregnant at that age?’
Huh?
…Huh?