Chief Kim and Assistant manager Choi

Chapter 77: Chapter 77.

“What... what are you doing here...?”

Siwoo pushed away Jihoon’s hand. He was expecting to see Joowan so when it was Jihoon was standing there, Siwoo felt weak at the unexpectedness of it. And it was shocking to see that Jihoon’s face was just as crumpled and devastated as his own. He should’ve never gotten involved with Jihoon Kang. Why were things turning out to be so complicated?

Suddenly, Jihoon held Siwoo’s cheeks between his hands and asked, “Are you crying?” Jihoon’s hands were so hot that Siwoo couldn’t push him away again. He knew he had to look for Joowan, but the feeling of Jihoon’s hands felt so warm and real that Siwoo was speechless.

Jihoon continued, “I am the one who is hurting, so why are you the one crying?”

He wasn’t making any sense. Siwoo was the one hurting, yet Jihoon was talking about himself like the selfish man he was. Even so, Siwoo couldn’t stop staring at him. The cold wind blew and Siwoo wondered if his tears would freeze.

Jihoon asked again, “Why are you crying?”

“Jihoon Kang... what should I do now?”

Siwoo’s eyes were wavering. It was very late in the night, yet Jihoon was still wearing his business suit inside the coat. He didn’t look drunk; Jihoon just looked tired. In fact, his entire body looked like it was giving in. Jihoon looked so devastated that Siwoo couldn’t ignore him and walk away.

Siwoo sighed deeply. He realized that Jihoon’s image was slowly being seared into his mind. The way he looked so depressed and sad... Jihoon’s serious eyes... Siwoo wondered if Jihoon was somehow hurt by someone, just like he was hurt by Joowan.

It seemed that their lives were connected now for some reason. Was it just a coincidence, or fate?

“Jihoon, listen to me carefully because I will only say this once.”

“...”

“I think you are a selfish crazy bastard, but...”

“...”

“And I know that I should just ignore you and walk away right now, but...”

“...”

“For some reason, I... I just can’t leave you, you bastard.”

Siwoo began to sob loudly. Jihoon stilled, looking confused, as Siwoo buried his face on Jihoon’s shoulder. His hands trembled as he slowly hugged Siwoo.

Was this it? Could it be? Feeling the warmth of Jihoon’s body, Siwoo wondered if it was him who was selfish and crazy.

***

Yeonwoo gently touched Shin’s shoulder and asked, “Mr. Shin Kim, you’re already here? You’re at work so early today.”

The new year had arrived. It was very early in the morning and Shin was walking through the hallway to his office when Yeonwoo spotted him. It had snowed hard that morning; it looked beautiful, but traffic was hectic. Work was never fun but being surrounded by familiar people made him feel comfortable. Of course, he would’ve preferred to stay with Woojin all day. If he was rich, Shin would’ve seriously considered quitting his job so he could spend all his time with Woojin.

Shin replied to Yeonwoo, “I took a whole week off, so I had enough of resting. And I wasn’t hurt that badly either.”

“Even though you lost consciousness?”

“How did you know that?”

“You look so big and sturdy, so we were all so shocked when we heard about it. We were worried about you!”

Woojin insisted that he should take more time off, but Shin couldn’t take it anymore. He used to be an athlete and being trapped in a hospital room was unbearable. When Woojin wasn’t with him, Shin took long walks outside. It was cold, but still very refreshing.

Yeonwoo asked, “Was it really a hit and run?”

“... yeah.”

“Did they catch the offender?”

“Not yet.”

“Gosh, you are so lucky that you didn’t get hurt too seriously. That was dangerous.”

“Yeah.”

Shin got hurt by a car that was turning right at full speed. Drivers usually were careful when nearing crosswalks, so this was very strange. And after Shin was barely able to escape, he thought he saw the car trying to reverse to try and come at him again. Instinctively, Shin rolled away towards the sidewalk before losing consciousness.

Whenever Woojin saw Shin’s bruised wrist, he sighed unhappily. Shin loved how Woojin was becoming more and more expressive but seeing him unhappy was never good. Whenever Woojin sighed, Shin kissed his forehead, which seemed to help.

Yeonwoo said to him, “It’s funny how you actually look better though.”

“Really?”

“Your girlfriend must’ve treated you real nice. Am I right?”

“Of course!”

Just then, his eyes met Woojin’s. Yeonwoo bowed slightly to Woojin, and when Shin quietly did the same, Woojin bowed back with a pouty face and walked to his seat. He sat down and turned on his computer screen.

Silently, Yeonwoo looked at Shin and pointed at the office kitchen. After a quick glance at Woojin, he followed Yeonwoo.

Today, Woojin was looking pure as usual. His skin was so porcelain-like and clear that Shin’s fingers easily left slight redness on it. Shin tried not to leave any marks on him, yet he also found it hard to resist touching him, wanting to see himself on Woojin’s skin.

Shin walked to Yeonwoo, who had stopped next to the espresso machine. Yeonwoo whispered, “The mood in our department is awful recently.”

“Really?”

When Yeonwoo saw other people walking by, she hushed Shin and closed the kitchen door. She continued to whisper, “It’s because Assistant managers Choi and Kang had a huge fight recently.”

“...”

“There is a rumor that Assistant manager Woojin hit Assistant manager Jihoon.”

“What?”

When Shin exclaimed, Yeonwoo covered his mouth with her hand and ordered him to be quiet. Shin nodded and asked quietly, “Do you know why? Did you hear about what happened between them?”

Shin suddenly became nervous. Did she know something?

Yeonwoo explained excitedly, “Apparently, there’s a woman they both like, and that woman broke up with Woojin for Jihoon.”

“...”

“And that’s why Assistant manager Woojin became angry. What kind of a woman would do that?”

“...”

“Remember when I told you that I thought Assistant manager Woojin got a girlfriend? I was right!”

Shin didn’t know how to react to such an outrageous story. When he looked confused, Yeonwoo asked if he was ok. Shin coughed and nodded as he replied, “Oh, it’s... just such a shocking story...”

“I am certain it’s someone in our company. The one Assistant manager Woojin was dating.”

“What??”

Just then, the door burst open and Woojin walked in. Yeonwoo almost dropped her cup of coffee, but Shin grabbed her wrist to help. Thankfully, nothing was spilled but Woojin stared at Shin holding Yeonwoo’s hand.

Calmly, he turned to Yeonwoo and said to her, “Ms. Ji, there was a call for you. I wrote down the message and left it on your desk, so please go check it.”

“Oh, alright. Thank you.”

“Please stop wasting time.”

Yeonwoo frowned and left the kitchen. She looked so annoyed that Shin smiled after she left. Woojin pushed the button on the espresso button and looked up at Shin.

“Did you sleep well?”

Just looking at Woojin made Shin feel happy. He nodded at Woojin’s question and watched as Woojin made his coffee. Quietly, Woojin murmured, “You’re that pleased, are you?”

“Of course, I am. I’m with Assistant manager Choi, so why wouldn’t I be?”

“No, I meant Miss Ji.”

Shin’s eyes widened and he remembered what Siwoo said to him at the hospital.

“You are too flirty.”

Was Woojin jealous? But when Shin glanced at him, Woojin looked calm. Shin touched his shoulder and closed the kitchen door. He noticed that Woojin’s hands shook very lightly.

Shin asked, “Who are you eating lunch with today?”

“...”

“You aren’t going to tell me?”

Shin found him so cute that he wanted to tease him. Woojin answered stiffly, “I have a previous engagement.”

“With who?”

Woojin hadn’t told him he was going to be busy at lunch today. When Shin frowned at him, Woojin ignored him and tried to open the door. He replied, “It’s none of your business.”

“... are you trying to tease me?”

Shin kept the door closed with his back, making Woojin bite his lip. Shin touched his lips and tried to make him smile, but all Woojin did was take his glasses off and sigh.

“No.”

“Then?”

“I am angry. Now, please open the door, Mr. Shin Kim.”

Woojin forced the door open and left quickly. Shin, feeling confused, left afterward. He continued to stare at Woojin from his office for a while, hoping Woojin would turn towards him. But no matter how long he waited, Woojin refused to turn around.

Could it be... that Woojin was really angry?

“It couldn’t be...”

Shin murmured, but he suddenly had a bad feeling.