By Zephyria 
“You—you crazy bastard. What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“We’re keeping a relationship that nobody knows about behind the scenes, aren’t we?”
“…….”
Yi-ho snatched the tissue Min-gyu offered and wiped his stained hand.
‘He’s not wrong, but if he puts it in a way that invites misunderstanding like that, I might just make that misunderstanding a reality.’
And he doesn’t even consider the feelings of the person whose heart is plummeting from a one-sided crush. Seriously. Ha.
The coffee stain was gone, but his ears remained flushed, as if a lingering scent had remained. Then, Min-gyu held out his palm to Yi-ho once again. Yi-ho glared at him, wondering what more he wanted after already stealing his toll and robbing him of his cardiovascular health, but Min-gyu simply smiled and collected the used tissue from Yi-ho’s hand to throw it away.
“Is it because it’s spring? A lot of people are dating.”
“…I guess.”
Along with them, the solitary romantic feelings Yi-ho harbored had been fluctuating wildly lately.
Still, looking at the two couples who had just passed by, he could tell. Song Yi-ho had become quite good at hiding his expressions. Just as he was now pretending to be nonchalant, inserting his third capsule right next to the object of his affection.
“Everyone will realize in a few years of working here. Just how obvious it is that they’re head over heels right now.”
“Pfft.”
Suddenly, Cha Min-gyu burst out laughing.
“…Why are you laughing?”
“No… it’s just that hearing those words from Song-i Song-i, who is famous for being clueless, makes me feel like you’ve really grown up.”
“What. …I’m thirty-three too.”
“You only aged on your yellowed ID card; the face in front of me is exactly the same, so I can’t agree to that.”
“…My intuition has grown a lot too, and I don’t act like an open book like I used to. I hide my thoughts well now.”
Min-gyu’s palm rested on the machine right next to him. His dark pupils, containing white circles reflecting the breakroom lights, gazed at Yi-ho. Unable to withstand the consecutive thumps of his heart, Yi-ho turned his head away first.
“What.”
“Song-i, did you happen to get a girlfriend behind my back?”
‘As if I would, you idiot.’
“…How did the conversation even get to that?”
“Because you were talking about hiding things well. If you managed to have an office romance without even me finding out, that would truly be growing up.”
“…….”
“Or maybe not. If even I, who’s stuck to Song-i’s side twenty-four hours a day, don’t know, could it be someone you’ve fallen for in secret?”
“What nonsense are you talking about.”
The reason Cha Min-gyu hadn’t noticed Yi-ho’s feelings was due more to the pervasive prejudices of society than Yi-ho’s lacking acting skills. The idea that no matter how much two men hang around each other, they are just close friends, while any slight brush between a man and a woman is a romantic current…
As if on cue, the third coffee finished brewing. Yi-ho tightly twisted the lid of his tumbler shut.
“You said you were going to a meeting. Aren’t you going?”
“Why did you turn back into Prickly Song-i again?”
“Just get out.”
Min-gyu said he understood and followed a step behind Yi-ho toward the breakroom door.
“Ah!”
The moment he grabbed the handle and opened the door, Yi-ho jumped as he was suddenly poked in the side. Min-gyu curled his lips into a smirk and slipped the two capsules he had stolen earlier into Yi-ho’s pants pocket. The eye closer to Yi-ho curved a bit more, making his eyelid look plump.
“Don’t space out.”
“…?”
“Be at least half as prickly with other people as you are with me.”
Hah, what the…
Yi-ho put his hand into the pocket where Min-gyu’s hand had just brushed past. Inside the pocket, where the sensation of the touch seemed to linger, the snacks he had prepared for Min-gyu and the two stolen capsules were all mixed together.
∗ ∗ ∗
Yi-ho set his alarm for 30 minutes before he had to leave for work. Since he skipped breakfast anyway, and given the nature of the development team, he could just throw on jeans and any top he grabbed, the time was reserved solely to prepare for the possibility of nodding off under the shower.
For an office worker with a set routine, the most infuriating situation is an element that wakes them from that honey-like final sleep just before the alarm goes off. A phone call ringing loudly on the bedside table was exactly that.
Even if it was the object of his crush, this atrocity sparked anger. As the vibration continued without being easily cut off, Yi-ho eventually buried his face in the pillow and fumbled beside him to find the phone.
“……. …Yeah.”
A voice intoxicated by hazy sleep barely managed to come out.
-Song-i, just give me two eggs.
“Don’t talk… just take them….”
-How can I just take them while the homeowner is sleeping? That’s called stealing.
“You know the passcode, you crazy bastard….”
-Song-i Song-i, are you going back to sleep?
“…….”
-Song-i?
Yi-ho hung up. He intended to use the remaining 20 minutes until the alarm went off as productively as possible. By burying himself in a sleep so deep he wouldn’t know if someone carried him away. Hearing the faint sound of the door lock passcode from outside, Yi-ho closed his eyes again.
Right until the bedroom door swung open.
“Song-i Song-i.”
The voice that had been coming through the speaker was now right in front of him. On the boundary between dreams and reality, Yi-ho curled up, clutching his pillow and blanket.
“Team leader Song Yi-ho, you have to wake up and go to work.”
“Ugh….”
“Team leader, I can’t log into this site. Huh? What’s a DDoS? I’ll try clicking it.”
Fuck.
Even knowing he was teasing, it was the kind of nonsense that snapped him awake instantly. Before him stood Cha Min-gyu, already dressed in a shirt and suit pants. Yi-ho covered his face with his hands.
“Team leader Cha Min-gyu, why are you acting out in someone else’s house since early morning….”
“I told you not to leave your discarded clothes on the bed. Did you wear this on public transport, or not?”
“I don’t know….”
“What do you mean you don’t know? Hurry up and clear this.”
Min-gyu tugged at the clothes pinned under Yi-ho’s body, but the clothes wouldn’t budge. Yi-ho’s waist, curled up like a shrimp to avoid Min-gyu, seemed to have no intention of moving either.
A white waist beneath a rolled-up t-shirt and buttocks wrapped in shorts were turned away from Min-gyu. Min-gyu looked down steadily at Yi-ho, who was hugging the bunched-up blanket like a lifeline with his hand on his waist. Then, Min-gyu’s hand landed with a slap! right on Yi-ho’s backside.
“!”
Yi-ho bolted upright like a champagne cork, letting out a “Waaaaagh!” scream as he rolled toward the corner of the bed as if escaping.
“You—you’re cra—what, what, what is this…!”
“Hey, what did you just say? Is that a new talent of yours, Song-i?”
While Yi-ho was still reeling, Min-gyu burst into laughter and collapsed onto the bed. Instead of the bed’s owner, who was trembling in the far corner, Min-gyu rolled around the bed, clutching his stomach. Yi-ho, panting so hard his shoulders shook, glared at Min-gyu while rubbing his stinging backside.
“Song-i, can’t you show me again? I’ll hit you one more time.”
“I’m really not letting this slide.”
Despite the threatening voice produced through clenched teeth, Min-gyu continued to sob with laughter, telling him to stop.
Min-gyu’s laughter was low-toned and fast. Because he laughed so frantically, his neatly styled hair became disheveled, and his shirt wrinkled as he rolled around the spot where Yi-ho had been lying.
Something hot, resembling a feeling of indignation, surged up. The difference was that while anger rushed to the head, this headed toward the lower abdomen.
“Song-i, you’re awake now, right? While we’re at it, let’s go eat breakfast.”
“I’m not eating…. Don’t make anything for me.”
“I’m making soup and rolled omelets, so I just need to set out one more set of utensils. You’re wilting like a poisonous mushroom because you skip meals and only swallow coffee.”
Changing his voice to a tone used for coaxing a child, Min-gyu crawled toward the corner where Yi-ho was and pulled his arm.
“Come on, get up.”
As Yi-ho instinctively tried to rise as he was led, his eyes suddenly widened, and he flopped his backside back onto the bed. His fumbling hand hurriedly pulled the slipped blanket over his thighs.
A trembling gaze turned toward Min-gyu. He—he didn’t notice….
“Ah, Song-i’s ‘songi-mushroom’ has woken up too.”
Yi-ho’s face turned bright red in an instant. This time, it was to the point where Min-gyu looked at him and stepped back with an “Uh….”
“It was a joke….”
“Get out, you crazy bastard!”
“Now, hmmm, Mr. Song Yi-ho, listen. At our age, that’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s not just that your face doesn’t age, but it’s great evidence that your body is still vigorous toooo.”
Thwack!
A pillow struck Min-gyu’s body and fell. Seeing the huffing face behind it, Min-gyu raised both hands and stepped out of the room. Just as it seemed he had left, he poked his head through the gap in the door.
“Song-i Song-i, calm down and come eat breakfast, okay? I’m scooping two bowls of rice!”
Then he vanished quickly, not giving Yi-ho a chance to snap back. Left alone, Yi-ho wiped his face, which was so hot it wouldn’t have been strange if he collapsed from a fever right now.
“Damn it, my heart hurts. Ha….”
His heart, which had been sleeping peacefully, was now beating as if it wanted to rip through his chest after the sudden, violent shock. It was a far too harmful stimulation for the body so early in the morning.