DFY Ch 14

Sodam held her breath tightly. She’d thought something was off when Miyeon came out so obediently, but sure enough, Miyeon had been scraping at people’s nerves since morning.

“Ms. Miyeon.”

“Yes, Ms. Sodam.”

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t ask about my personal matters. I’m already struggling because of the broken engagement, and I’m not ready to talk about it yet.”

“Oh come on, do we really have to be like that with each other? That’s hurtful.”

“What even is ‘us’?”

Sodam spat out her prickly words without a filter.

She didn’t usually go out of her way to clash emotionally with coworkers, but by nature, she wasn’t one to hold back.

“What do you mean ‘what is us’? Aren’t we the closest, starting at the company together?”

Closest, my ass.

Sodam forced a smile and said, “If we’re so close, please consider my feelings too.”

“…Okay.”

Miyeon, looking like she’d lost her entertainment, grabbed her tumbler and headed to the espresso machine for coffee.

Before she knew it, it was 9:30.

Come to think of it, Team Leader Yoon Junwoo still hadn’t shown up to work.

No way he’s skipping work because of me, right?

No, what am I, delusional?

Team Leader Yoon Junwoo was always kind of a punk…

Unlike the guys who got shoved into the executive director’s office for management training right after joining, Junwoo had been stuck as HR team leader—probably to straighten him out—and he’d never shown much interest in the job.

HR wasn’t exactly a department tied to management, and people figured he’d eventually move to the Future Strategy Office, which was directly linked to succession plans.

At first, Junwoo’s commuting was all over the place, but at some point, it seemed like he’d grown attached to HR—though apparently, old habits die hard.

“Good morning, this is Wang Sodam, Assistant Manager of PK Electronics HR. I’d like to discuss the finance team’s workshop training—do you have a moment?”

Sodam sifted through the list Miyeon handed her and started making calls. After an hour of rejections, she was sweating bullets.

Might as well talk face-to-face.

For some reason, phone calls about work always made her nauseous.

Even as she kept crossing names off the list, Junwoo still didn’t show up.

What does a lowly assistant manager care if the team leader comes in or not?

Sodam felt strange catching herself glancing at Junwoo’s private office over and over.

✦ ✦ ✦

Waking up to the alarm, Junwoo couldn’t get out of bed.

This damn dick was definitely insane.

It wasn’t weird for a healthy adult guy to pitch a tent in the morning, but this bastard’s head just wouldn’t quit.

He masturbated.

He came.

He masturbated again.

He came again.

And still, his dick was rock hard, ready to burst.

Shaking the pillar, he thought of Wang Sodam.

The first woman’s body he’d ever seen up close was Wang Sodam’s, so naturally, her naked form popped into his head while he jerked off.

He came again, and again.

This body came, came, and came a hundred times over.

And still, it wouldn’t die.

The crazed dick refused to go down!

“East Sea and Mount Baekdu…”

He sang the national anthem until his throat was dry.

Stumbling through half-remembered lyrics from verse one to four, his stubbornly erect penis still wouldn’t settle—it was practically saluting the flag.

“Ha, I’m losing it.”

He couldn’t think of a way to fix his malfunctioning, hard-as-hell penis.

Normally, when he was really pent up, three rounds of masturbation would barely do the trick, but this was a first.

Junwoo grabbed his aching dick and headed to the bathroom.

Under the cold water pouring from the showerhead, he finished his tenth ejaculation.

Only then did the rigid penis start to get some blood flow.

“Fuck…”

Slipping on a bathrobe, he stepped out of the bathroom and checked the clock—it was already 11 a.m.

Junwoo hurriedly got ready for a late start to work.

✦ ✦ ✦

“Irasshaimase!”

Sodam headed to a nearby Japanese ramen shop with Choi Arin, the HR newbie who followed her lead.

She said it was a treat for Arin, who’d been doing well at work, but really, she just didn’t want to deal with people in the cafeteria and dragged her junior along.

“Two tonkotsu ramens, please.”

The Seocho-dong hotspot was packed with office workers out for lunch.

While waiting for their food, Arin cheerfully set out chopsticks and poured water for Sodam.

“You’re good at this office life thing, Ms. Arin.”

When Sodam complimented her, Arin beamed and said, “You’re way better at it, Assistant Manager.”

“Me? Back when I was a newbie, I got chewed out big time for not setting out chopsticks for my seniors.”

“Our Assistant Manager Wang’s face is good at office life.”

“Huh?”

“You’re pretty, I mean. Even when I’m working, I get startled by how pretty you are.”

Arin was a freaking pro at this.

Sodam didn’t even have balls, but Arin was sucking up so hard it was almost more uncomfortable than the cafeteria.

“Alright, next time I’ll treat you to beef.”

Just as Arin was saying empty words, Sodam threw some back at her.

With her bank account drained from the broken engagement, she couldn’t even dream of beef—or chicken—for a while.

“Two tonkotsu ramens up.”

The tall, bandana-wearing male staff shouted Japanese greetings like they were in Japan, but switched to Korean when it mattered.

“Itadakimasu!”

“Enjoy your meal.”

The two dug into their ramen. Drowning the aftershocks of the broken engagement in MSG-loaded broth eased her stomach a bit.

“Did you hear? Assistant Manager Wang Sodam from HR broke off her engagement.”

Sodam was slurping broth straight from the bowl when she overheard gossip about herself.

Perking up her ears, she realized it was the General Affairs team, who often worked with HR.

“Who said that?”

“Assistant Manager Jimmyeon from HR.”

“Didn’t she just hand out wedding invites? I didn’t get one, but I saw the post on the company board.”

Sodam squeezed her eyes shut.

It hadn’t been long since she’d shared the news, and already Miyeon was flapping her gums.

“She seemed in a rush to marry young.”

“Why’d she call it off?”

“Obvious, right? Cheating’s the only reason.”

“The guy?”

“Who knows? Maybe Assistant Manager Wang cheated.”

They casually chatted about Sodam’s broken engagement, even betting on the reason for the split.

Arin, eating across from her with a clear view of them, gave an awkward look and said, “Just pretend you didn’t hear.”

Sodam was so embarrassed in front of her junior she could cry.

Company people were always like this.

All smiles and kindness to your face, but busy spreading dirt behind your back.

What sank her mood even more was that among the gossiping General Affairs staff was a same-year hire she’d been pretty close with.

Back when they’d just started, they’d hit up cafes after work to chat over coffee.

It stung that a different department could change someone so much.

“You’re curious too, right, Ms. Arin?”

Sodam asked, watching Arin struggle to eat her ramen amid the awkwardness.

“About what?”

“Why I broke off my engagement.”

“No, not at all.”

She’d expected Arin to pry, but she immediately said she wasn’t curious—almost like she knew Sodam didn’t want to talk about it.

“Really? It feels like even people who don’t know me at the company are talking about it.”

“Team Leader Yoon Junwoo said yesterday, didn’t he? Not to meddle in your personal life.”

“He did…”

For a moment, Sodam thought of Junwoo, whom she’d briefly forgotten.

Thanks to him, at least the HR team wasn’t gossiping about her where she could hear it, and—laughably—she felt grateful.

Even after she’d coldly drawn a line with someone who’d liked her for so long, Junwoo had taken her side.

It might’ve been something a boss should naturally say, but considering how hurt he must’ve been, it hit her again how kind it was.

Wonder if he’ll show up this afternoon…

Her thoughts of Junwoo were brief—she and Arin hurriedly finished their meal, ignoring the gossip, and left the restaurant.

Then she spotted Junwoo entering the company building with some executives in the distance, probably back from lunch.

So he didn’t skip work.

Not wanting to run into him in the elevator, Sodam dragged Arin to a nearby coffee shop.

She downed a bitter-as-hell iced Americano like it was poison, but it didn’t cool the fire in her gut.