HEAL 4

What should I feed a distressed kid? Can’t exactly start drinking in broad daylight.

Sang-kyung fiddled with his phone, searching for lunch menus. He read that men generally like stir-fried pork or pork cutlets, but this kid somehow seemed delicate…

Resting his phone under his chin, Sang-kyung looked up at his monitor. Just clicking a mouse probably didn’t look like hard work, but so what? The employee in front of him was also busy browsing shopping sites. Does that guy not know the office computers are monitored? Or does he know and just doesn’t care?

Clicking his tongue, Sang-kyung this time looked for a good restaurant a bit farther from the office. A place where people from the office wouldn’t come was probably better for having a conversation. Both he and Yeon-su had noticeable faces, so there was probably no one in the company who didn’t know them. Sometimes when they went out on weekends, even strangers would recognize them as company people and act familiar.

Pasta? Wouldn’t that look like a date? And the other party is even gay. Soup with rice? That’s too much like an old man’s choice… It strangely bothered him that he was 30 and Yeon-su was 27. It wasn’t a big age difference, but being in different positions made it feel a bit more significant. He didn’t know why something he’d never been conscious of before suddenly felt awkward.

With a feeling like he wanted to tear his hair out, Sang-kyung scrolled through the page. A posting finally caught his eye.

[Yeouido Restaurant] The holy land for office workers’ lunch, meet the pork cutlet of your life! (feat. Crispy & Juicy Tenderloin Cutlet)

A 10-minute walk from the office. Located in the basement of a building, described as relatively quiet. Followed by praise for the clean interior photos and the yuzu dressing salad that cuts through the richness.

A 10-minute one-way walk during lunchtime is quite a distance. He definitely wouldn’t run into anyone from the office.

1 minute before 12.

It was time. Sang-kyung stretched out his stiffened arm muscles and got up from his seat. Yeon-su had already grabbed his wallet and was waiting for him, looking restless. Sang-kyung let out a soft chuckle.

“What, is it awkward to go eat just the two of us?”

Back when he was Yeon-su’s trainer and they sat right next to each other, but now Yeon-su had more seniority and their seats were farther apart, they had grown somewhat distant. It had been quite a while since they went out to eat just the two of them.

“No, not at all.”

Yeon-su shook his head quickly. Showing it through actions when words would have sufficed made him seem even younger. It was an obvious question.

“Is there anything you want to eat? I want to treat you to something good.”

“I’m fine with anything.”

He knew it. Honestly, asking him to choose the menu felt like forcing him, so it was good he had already decided.

“Is pork cutlet okay? I haven’t been, but the reviews are good. We’ll have to walk a bit though.”

“Assistant Manager Kang only favors Manager Lee. Can’t I come along too?”

Employee Son Ju-hyeong, who was earlier engrossed in shopping, chimed in. His ears must have perked up at the word ‘pork cutlet’. If he knew this would happen, maybe he should have chosen pasta? They’d grumble that it’s small portions and expensive, making it the perfect menu to shake off the office guys. Sang-kyung answered without losing his smile.

“It’s a 10-minute walk, is that okay?”

“Nah, I’ll just eat quickly at the cafeteria.”

Ju-hyeong answered smoothly and slipped out into the hallway first. When Sang-kyung looked back at Yeon-su, for some reason, he was chewing his lips.

“What are you doing? Let’s go quickly.”

Sang-kyung gently pushed Yeon-su’s back. The area in front of the elevator was already bustling with people pouring out for lunchtime. The elevator that just arrived was also full, and the doors closed immediately after opening.

“Ah…”

Someone’s sigh was heard. Frowning at the crowd, Sang-kyung grabbed Yeon-su’s arm and pulled him. He pointed his chin towards the emergency exit at Yeon-su, who was looking at him with wide eyes.

“Let’s take the stairs.”

Thud. As the fire door closed, the noisy clamor instantly quieted. Only the sound of their shoes echoed in the stairwell.

“At least our office is on the 3rd floor, right? Am I making you walk too much today, Yeon-su? Should we just go somewhere closer?”

Sang-kyung spoke first to break the awkward silence. A clear voice saying ‘No’ came from behind him.

Actually, for Sang-kyung, the emergency stairs… held strong memories of doing inappropriate things. You could say it’s the place to experience the peak thrill of office romance. Of course, he never did anything reportable.

“Ah, and Yeon-su.”

“Yes?”

“I know you’re diligent, but just in case. You know the office computers are all monitored, right? Be careful when online shopping or messing around. Especially stock trading, they’re sensitive about that, I hear.”

He didn’t feel the need to advise Ju-hyeong since he was never his trainer, but Yeon-su still felt like someone he needed to teach. Of course, objectively, he knew Ju-hyeong had much more to learn.

“Ah, yes. I didn’t know. I’ll be careful.”

“You don’t need to answer so stiffly about something you haven’t done.”

For some reason, he believed Yeon-su wouldn’t have.

Stepping outside, the bright sunlight stabbed at his eyes. Reflexively squinting, Sang-kyung walked in a different direction from the familiar restaurant area.

Yeon-su quietly followed half a step behind Sang-kyung. He tried not to be conscious of it, but the gaze and presence following behind him somehow felt heavier than usual.

Why does this bother me so much? Is it because of Friday night, or…

Sang-kyung recalled how he had arbitrarily placed Yeon-su in the ‘possibility’ category in his mind and clicked his tongue inwardly. It’s not like he’s the one who met a trashy person, but isn’t he also trash for acting this way towards someone who has a partner? He was overthinking.

Catching the overly quiet person in his peripheral vision, his eyes met Yeon-su’s following half a step behind. Yeon-su hurriedly pretended to look elsewhere. He’s the one who got cheated on, so why is he acting like the guilty one?

Trying to shake off the awkwardness, he was about to deliberately ask a work-related question, but remembering it was lunchtime, he kept his mouth shut.

After walking in silence for a while, the two stopped at a crosswalk. Cars sped past on the road.

Absently watching the direction of the cars, Sang-kyung noticed a delivery motorcycle wobbling and approaching quickly. Yeon-su, standing at the edge of the sidewalk, looked precarious.

“Watch out!”

Without a moment to think, Sang-kyung grabbed Yeon-su’s forearm and pulled him towards himself. A solid body collided with Sang-kyung’s. Whether he washed his hair in the morning, the shampoo scent was much stronger than on Friday night. He realized their distance had become excessively close.

“Ah…”

Yeon-su let out a low gasp and looked down at Sang-kyung with startled eyes. Sang-kyung, flustered, loosened his grip.

“Delivery motorcycles these days drive so recklessly.”

Was that crazy delivery bastard drunk? Who does he think he’s trying to hit?

“…Thank you, Assistant Manager.”

A small voice came. The traffic light just turned green.

A silence even stranger than before settled between them. The sensation of the unexpectedly firm arm, vividly felt even through clothes, and Yeon-su’s hazel-brown eyes lingered in his mind like an afterimage.

Wait. A warning bell rang in Sang-kyung’s mind. A man’s muscles weren’t originally an element that would appeal to him. Maybe if it was a pretty face, but…

He was confused.

The man he met at the bar definitely had a slender, delicate physique. Come to think of it, did he want to be a woman and go ‘bottom’? Didn’t the gays he saw on TV say they preferred playing house over sword fights since childhood? For Sang-kyung, who got beaten up a lot by his Noona with color-changing plastic swords, it wasn’t a very relatable repertoire. Of course, young Sang-kyung also had to play the baby role in house games among his Noona’s friends.

Ha, damn. So does my physique have zero appeal to men? Do I need to be as puny as the guy I met on Friday to be attractive? So of course, he probably assumed I was a ‘top’ and tried to seduce me…

For Sang-kyung, who until a few months ago only thought of the word ‘TOP’ as a coffee brand, it was a sudden realization. He wasn’t as frail as that man, nor did he have a pretty face like Yeon-su. Saying he was average would be an understatement; he had a face and body popular with women.

With that face, is Yeon-su a ‘bottom’? Then he must look like a ‘top’ too?

Is his competitiveness lacking after all? How do you do market research for gays?

Even if he did research, there’s no guarantee someone he likes would choose him. He just wants to try it once to see what it feels like… Who knew that one time would be so difficult.

Lost in thought while walking, they soon arrived in front of their destination building. As soon as they entered the building, cool air greeted them. Going down to the basement floor, they reached the targeted pork cutlet restaurant. Diligent people had already finished lunch and left, so the wait wasn’t long.

They sat facing each other at the seat the staff guided them to and opened the menu.

“They say the tenderloin cutlet here is delicious. The salad also has a yuzu sauce, so it’s refreshing.”

“Then I’ll have that.”

“Should I order the same?”

Same menu, ordering the popular item should make it come out faster. On the photo of the tenderloin cutlet on the menu, the word ‘HOT’ was stuck like a sticker inside a red circle.

Once the menu talk ended, words disappeared between them again. Actually, there were things to talk about, but it was closer to being unable to bring them up carelessly.

Yeon-su was smart, so he must know why Sang-kyung called him out from Monday. They even came to a place with no acquaintances.

Seeing Yeon-su’s mouth open and close as if about to say something, Sang-kyung thought he, as the Sunbae, should lead the Hubae.

“Nothing happened with that person on Friday.”

“…Yes, I know. I heard from Hyung.”

Right. A cheater would say nothing happened even if it did, just to claim innocence. From Yeon-su’s perspective, the fact that nothing really happened must have been sufficiently conveyed.

“I didn’t know you two were that close. Sorry.”

“No, it’s not something you did on purpose, so there’s no need to apologize…”

Yeon-su drew out his words. As if there was more to say but he couldn’t. Unable to bear the frustration, Sang-kyung spoke first.

“It seems like you have more you want to say?”

Even with this much spoon-feeding, instead of answering immediately, Yeon-su bought time by drinking water. Did that bastard try to shift blame and say something strange? He was starting to get worried.

“What do you think about revenge cheating, Assistant Manager Kang?”

If he had been drinking water, he might have sprayed it on Yeon-su’s face.