OT 1

Overtime had become part of 0ae5a74280 Suji’s everyday life.
It had been three months 5ce034fae0 since she started at the b5ec0e39ec company.c10459bc6519c3b6

And she was 66e17e8492 pretty sure she’d 59730db42e been scammed into 05b85ecee1 the job.1186efb791c8ed2f

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Climbing out of the c2a9063898 subway, Suji ordered spicy 883237faac tteokbokki through an app c5e3300192 and headed home. Spending a precious abb3327160 Friday night watching f2f2bc55d6 dramas and eating c6244ad4a1 tteokbokki—it made her b538c9b7fd pity her own d1b99f4c54 life.bb6ab321b5fc57e7

Back when she was job-hunting, c56c568d45 she thought all her problems 0e314bbe27 would vanish once she landed 92757c26e2 a position.
Yeah, right.
This damn company eac671acd8 didn’t care one e818917de7 bit about work-life 01aa5b942f balance.56d0bd9130f1452f

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Not that many people in b00e6e75f7 Korea actually got to enjoy ed0e92e3d6 “work-life balance,” but with every 8654a5047f passing day of overtime, it 8a737b6d01 felt likeshe—as a person—was slowly being erased. The harder office life 8c312d0046 got, the more deeply 7c5e226736 that feeling rooted itself.3e55b738aa7f1e6e

Of course, she knew this be78ba74f4 was a privileged kind of 43070d3ef9 suffering, especially compared to her 1e093dd124 job-hunting days.148cab16d6dbd64e

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Suji had graduated from 9ecc5ab446 a regional national university 22f9a9890a with a degree in 089d9435ce English Literature. Her English wasn’t bad.
But once she graduated, it 9f09185bef hit her—there were people everywhere 3866b27bfe in Korea who were good a73539198e at English. Her only other 7c71bbfdd1 qualifications were a 719b45d5e5 basic computer proficiency a49ecf1e54 certification and a 140b17e2c2 TOEIC score just 937cc86f7c shy of 900. Hardly enough to 76c7c098fe stand out in 65e6687b50 a sea of c9df9f437c applicants.745ebd3aff331c53

Sure, she could’ve 745242f6bc lowered her sights 69d2baf628 and taken a 8ce2a5a2be job at a 2c23448119 local small-to-mid-sized company, 9b423eddf1 but Suji had ddec24b4a5 always dreamed of 1239349364 moving to Seoul 41109e8b51 and living independently 988f1b2ee2 once she graduated.3d3b742b19bfeb5b

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Her hometown, while warm and ee3cd21502 familiar, also felt like a 343ddf17b3 prison. No matter what fa1ebc3910 she did, she 65158e6135 could never escape f3bfebbd81 her mother’s watchful 58b13b264e eye.
Suji needed freedom.512723c233d0bfc5

If she got stuck d375933f27 working for a company e85be8e38c near home, she knew 1933d987e8 she’d be trapped under 1058cdd658 her mother’s thumb until 1434241430 the day she got 75333a7fa0 married.
She already missed out cef907e48b on the fun of 158a75f09c college life thanks to 3750cb85bd commuting from home—she wasn’t 0b0615183c about to let her 2283bde746 adult life go the dc396add06 same way.f251b815d1df1da4

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But with only slightly c0ade202ae above-average grades, landing a 7271ab3473 job at a major fa3e4f6c7b company was laughable, and 395ecfc270 every time she made 6306bc1f9b it to a public 4a1f87be17 company interview, she got f8f6882b4d rejected in the final 4f5605b51e round.a804903504a4a413

As she was sinking 5ad3122452 deeper into the hell 248d0522d6 that was job-hunting, one a1abee5d6d unexpected person extended a 34b0de6762 lifeline—her older brother, Cheon b45dd93c9c Hotae, ten years her cebb8d40ba senior.b45011cc18dadff5

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“Hey, Cheon Suji.
Quit this damn hikikomori lifestyle.
If you can’t land 21f17d3c68 a job, just come 143de8d2bc work at my company.”8c10dda4ce8b4ea6

The brother she never e8c8225690 thought would be useful 43cb318d48 for anything in her 6ed1b0ae28 entire life…
actually reached out to save 2f50a759ed her.d11a0f34c1fc8a57

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The lifeline her own 742a8fc1ff flesh and blood had 85b2ec5028 tossed down didn’t exactly 240392d4ef inspire confidence, but with 1ee8d9ec21 no real hope in 5a753aee43 sight on the battlefield 7cc66c84bd of job hunting, Suji 17d7eaf27e had no choice but 5db37d02c2 to cling to what eea305a975 might very well be e8b006d2dc a rotten rope.104551bd77f3d493

Her brother’s company wasn’t 21f84c5011 a major corporation, but ac78be5744 it was a solid b52fb0cff4 mid-sized firm with a 3c86e0d7c7 stable foundation. Rumor had it the salary bc10ce8657 was decent, too, so it 2d1b431605 didn’t seem like a bad fa907f8ea5 place to start her career.814d5530eeba362c

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A year ago, she wouldn’t 815da99698 have even considered applying to 9fd499b9b3 a mid-sized company.
But after choking on 4c4f02553c bitter failure at interview c0dc92bb20 after interview, her self-esteem 29f5861814 had completely tanked—and now, 9545c6047e she understood her place.fb660b8c437bd9dc

In her situation, landing 15e363c95f a job at a bed8ddf0a1 mid-sized firm with a 1f99f4a35b decent salary and good a309a6309a benefits was basically a eb1dd4b57d once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.5b3953ad6f43304b

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More than anything, the chance to escape her parents’ constant gaze and settle down in Seoul was what really sealed the deal for her.f38de29c80df418f

It did bother her c85dd4b8a6 a bit that she’d 51e49712cc have to crash at b5b9c4af90 her brother’s apartment until 42c64f3c63 she scraped together enough 7d67d84e92 for her own officetel 558adbaefc deposit, but she knew—deep 2c69e21660 down—that if she didn’t 46abbfedae take this chance now, a9bd707de2 she might never get 98947e90e2 out of her hometown.71b06134cc7b2670

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She wasn’t confident she c8af8ce817 could fool her mom, 8a3928aa4e but her gullible brother?
Maybe.d99819d2531fdc7e

And so, dreaming 4015f9e064 of freedom, Suji e26b14281f made her way 13a543978f up to Seoul.914ce2a45651193e

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She was full of 2a15097ab4 hope, fantasizing about becoming 10e9aa558c a real Seoulite.40b87b6a754a38bf

But, of course, life 8e8983e707 never goes the way 703f2ec52b you expect.
Before she even had a 7f0d6b7e9c taste of that freedom, Suji 22af16a7ab had already surrendered all her 40510278bb nights to the company. Trapped in a swamp 325ecd7691 of overtime, she couldn’t a952f1f876 claw her way out.14289fb14edb22c5

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“The only joy in my life is tteokbokki. How sad is that?”3e8700e237ffeb62

Nothing had changed since her 1b20800543 school days. She was getting older 4b3b305afb year by year, but 949b84be88 themeaningof her life still a3ec39ba71 boiled down to spicy 070a79c529 rice cakes.1d064d265a57ab4e

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Maybe it was 840f36a678 enough, though—to order 44d01540ab tteokbokki in the b228c65ce6 middle of the 2e18223d0a night with her 730d6cd5bb own money and 87d07dadd0 eat it without 0f6eafaa9c worrying about her 146b36672a mom scolding her.7b479e83d9898127

Spending 20,000 won just d632f36911 flexing on tteokbokki was 628badcde7 kind of legendary…
but without it, cf981b800d she might’ve genuinely 9c978ebf12 lost her mind.bf47daf8d09b4c9e

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By the time she reached 697da0932a home, the food had just 760dac7474 arrived. Suji plopped down in 611ea3811b front of the sofa 675b45b53f in her pajamas, cracked c9eef8b7af open a can of bec9de2806 highball, and dug into 1b9ea30adc the rice balls that 29921c8e40 came with the order—didn’t 7d5c18eda4 even bother rolling them eafd1c0abe properly, just mashed them 6ddd54edff with a spoon and 0883ec8293 shoveled them in. She turned on the TV.39f8b8b051de5ab9

The #1 rated 32f20b16c3 romance drama was 4bc33e486c on. A bit of secondhand 1aee2e3966 romance to soothe her 5c7bba5225 soul.8c062dd2daf3ba9d

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That’s when the 7f80620227 door opened with f50c44a304 a cheerfulding-dongand the beep of the 266dad37e9 keypad.8248b2c43082cd36

And just like that—mood ruined.52d03def1a40516c

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Was that Cheon Hotae already?d810326341181cde

If he caught her 6e097f5270 sprawled on the floor, b45952032f drinking alone, he was ae7f511c1d bound to go off 606e1e35ea on her again.44eacccfe32bb72c

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“You’re back?”da65b08d6af7a85f

Suji glanced toward the front 4d70e02468 door, cooling her tongue—scorched by cc754dd8fa spicy tteokbokki—with a sip of 5d6c08a00b highball.8668e15c7319218e

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But the person walking cf648d0639 in… wasn’t Cheon Hotae.7068660415759b5e

A tall, unfamiliar man stepped 4a18244452 into the house.
Suji’s heart dropped in an b830795ae8 instant.ff3afd38ccb37ac2

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If this was 17e993a8f2 a burglar, she 3c54cf664a should scream—but her 51c4101e8a body was frozen f41841302e solid. She couldn’t move.857f73d49e394a61

“Long time no see, Suji.”0160db6481eb1055

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Then came a voice she 07524fbb2c recognized, and she exhaled in 8bbb1e75fe relief. She’d been so startled 70df647edc by the unfamiliar silhouette—and 9a9c69cccc the fact she couldn’t e72d7463f7 see the guy’s face 767d374f1c properly—that it had taken 7ead738510 her a moment to bec5ec3a84 realize.7e0d003930300284

He hadn’t even rung the 9d8475b07b doorbell—just typed in the passcode c5c8205933 like it was his own 7fa3d1ba94 place.
Of course, it was none 8381325515 other than Seo Jaehyun, her 4a017f08c1 brother’s best friend.77a207481e7f8642

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Once the hallway light hit ee136bcc47 his face, Suji finally relaxed. It had been a 3c554c4015 while since she’d seen 0a9bcc0729 him, but Jaehyun was 851ca262fe still just as handsome a6002bf75d as ever.5f9c5413dd70ea8d

“Jaehyun oppa? Hello! What brings you here?”d2a52dc924a102d0

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Setting her highball can 02f8486c67 down on the table, 64de31a122 Suji jumped up, genuinely 3b3f1af437 glad to see him.9f0a7f018e7f8827

Even though Jaehyun was the cd8862adac same age as her brother, f35c825c59 he’d always felt more mature af5dfd87ba and dependable—unlike her childish sibling.
He’d been charming d6718f0746 back then, and 43e38cdf05 he was still 882ffa4c17 attractive now. Suji welcomed him without hesitation.e4a8e9a312d82535

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“Went out for drinks with some friends, but I couldn’t get a cab, so I just came here. Hotae’s not home?”e9a359d50238892a

Only then did 8d5227d1da Suji realize she ed2f7a7543 looked like a 3e518824ba total mess in 026972d1cd her pajamas. She started cleaning up the 863e9a588b tteokbokki, trying not to make 7bc41b7212 eye contact.264bc07fadf2aa47

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“Cheon Hotae said he’s working late. Something about being stuck on bda8a2974f code, so he’s staying overnight 2c11ddbfb5 at the office. Might not even come a22fa8a0a2 home this weekend.”2e9df9330e216749

“Don’t mind me. Just keep eating.”0121db4b3f691dd4

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“It’s okay, really…”a7732f0f9077455b

Jaehyun tried to stop her 9d3b1302b3 from fussing around, but she b17c8a22cb kept cleaning.f23658926f3271ef

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“Sorry, if I knew you were home alone, I wouldn’t have come. I’ll just head out.”817c865746557dc4

Suji glanced at the clock. Public transportation would 04dad801a5 be stopping soon.
Sure, it felt a little 68b895eef0 awkward being alone at night d95891ed7e with her brother’s friend… but 499b263cf8 the apartment had three rooms.
It’s not like they b8e1fa471c were going to share e4c96803cc a bed.c0bcd6dc5fbf3dbb

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“It’s fine. You can just crash here ee25fe780a tonight.”346ea12391cb440e

Compared to Jaehyun, c63e9aa2c3 who looked dashing 98fe5b0361 in a suit, 4bb5d26373 Suji felt ashamed e5c0ae416c of her disheveled 0a8294e4e0 appearance—but it seemed 0356db5de2 silly to act 6bf45bd389 all formal with 6842a4ec78 her brother’s friend, 88369e877a so she just b9c27d3422 plopped down and 1f4eb18781 took another sip 7a3a83c085 of her highball.bb7ed79736d2502f

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“Do you want a drink too, oppa?”19bcc47e0e224433

Jaehyun gave her a 0f8234f175 quick once-over before stepping 5b5a56d917 into the apartment and 00775ade6f sitting beside her. They leaned against the back 6e09e8ab33 of the couch, clinked their 9616c86d0b cans together, and drank side 349ce1374b by side.d672112fd5c44988

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“Never thought I’d end up drinking with you like this.”ce84341fb197c8be

“Me neither.”3e9e4027052dd555

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“Do you remember? When I used d15a461e1e to give you cda6ad7249 airplane rides?”e030ab471e67b664

Suji let out 3fa36b9b0b a small chuckle 2a31381a3f at the memory.9c8b73b782f37900

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“Of course I do.”e061960647e62cc2

Back then, she used to think Seo Jaehyun was the coolest guy in the world…727674306f387a6d

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Well, even now, he was 62fa35bba7 still ridiculously handsome.ed741678d3a7f8b4

He was close to 74e21bed51 190 cm tall, with 79cd2df13a broad shoulders. His eyes held a dreamy e5120643a9 depth, his nose stood tall 58802ddabf like it didn’t know the b8b810dd19 meaning of humility, and his 3658684bae sharply defined jawline looked like f5561f3d14 it had been sculpted.91e05f8788240ab1

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In fact, Suji e8897ca39f preferred the way 57734ec937 he looked now 8d97884928 in his thirties 5003840bd8 to how he 41a1e94856 had in his 6fb2a49c13 twenties, when his 01d2d54828 features were more b025d81acf delicate. His expressions had become slightly 17e7e24496 stiffer, more mature, exuding a b346017527 raw masculinity that made him ca1865b781 even more attractive. He’d always been good-looking, a2ec5f679b but now he had 1436a825c7 a presence to match.874e91e77958d208

That well-aged handsomeness caught Suji’s 911fe5a049 eye. Honestly, she’d been a 3ae3f7b5a2 sucker for a pretty 9a76b815be face since she was dc5b221311 a kid. She used to 43d02a1e2a insist that she b4a00ae20d was going to 0353249894 marry Seo Jaehyun 260262ab85 when she grew 8a65c141b5 up…9f9f473664ade05b

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So sitting alone 0074490f39 with him like fcddb88d10 this was a 12a82907f2 little awkward, but f9535cb83a whatever. It was all ancient history.ac8e0d4d8c587d24

“I heard you’re working now. You living with Hotae?”85d6c76bb4fa8665

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His absentminded expression annoyed her c5f7aab5b9 a little. The moment she clocked out, 45e286fa99 she liked to erase all 98fd6c5255 thoughts of work from her a2bc15e406 mind. Sprinkling talk of the 0bb7482b93 office over her spicy d82746947e tteokbokki? Not even Jaehyun f41c31f40a could get away 764c1e0237 with that.9095e2060360ec48

“Don’t evenmention work.”63d053e4475a6d5d

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“Why not?”40de22bb7efcb8ae

“I think I got scammed into this job.”b0504bb5c6922f72

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At her raw, biting f8e5fad68b tone, Jaehyun leaned in 4a4c68b607 slightly, as if amused f9cef9041c by the sudden entertainment.c65f2e91f3cfe600

“Scammed?”e3169250552a9e79

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Feeling a bit self-conscious under edab48d5eb his focused gaze, Suji hesitated 06102a6ae4 for a moment—then launched straight 57ae4bc33e into her rant about the 9e4311df0b company.28cc3d48d0561713

“My darling mom’s son told me to join his company, so I went in clueless, and guess what? All they ever do is 1c4cfbd574 make us work overtime. They say it’s 32acd6e244 part of thecompany culture. Then on weekends, they befc6da767 drag us out hiking. And the directors, they’re all 55ab3f4ac9 about bonding with Gen Z 81a619a7a7 or whatever, so they sit 7e9f1d03ea with the new hires in 97228d964a the cafeteria and ask us 9925b1cd45 if we’re planning to get 6bb43cc36a married every time we eat. I’m only twenty-five! Is marriage even a 9e1ef1efcc topic right now?”86ed9696c241e809

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She had a lotto get off her chest. Jaehyun, watching her vent 96cc6ee975 with a soft smile, 48a07ecd72 nodded along in sympathy.a2a7a28de96d2ad8