UX Chapter 3

Chiwon headed to work in a cheerful mood for the first time in a while. He had rested well for three days straight, from the national holiday through the weekend, so even the morning air felt refreshing. The chilly wind whipped against his cheeks, but strangely, it felt good.

Before entering the office, he didn’t forget to buy coffee from the takeout cafe in front of the company. The belief that a worker’s strength comes from Americano had been established since the day he joined the company. Chiwon smiled brightly, holding a 1L Americano bigger than his face.

The large building he arrived at boasted its majesty. It was amusing to see countless people being sucked in one after another, as if the huge building had opened its mouth wide and was swallowing them. Chiwon gave a faint smile at the usual hustle and bustle of the morning commute. 

After swiping his employee ID and passing through the gate, he saw six elevators lined up on both sides. Each of the six elevators went to a different floor. Chiwon tapped his foot in front of the elevator heading to the 9th floor where he worked.

It was a crowded space, but even in the midst of it, Chiwon stood out. With his usual friendly personality, Chiwon didn’t refuse the greetings pouring towards him.

“Good morning, Mr. Chiwon.”

“Yes, good morning.”

“You seem to be in a good mood today?”

“Me?”

Ah, I was trying to hide it.

Chiwon smiled brightly, the corners of his mouth lifting. He had broken up with his boyfriend and had a chaotic holiday encountering a crazy guy, but his heart felt light. Was it because he had removed a burden from his body?

Now he no longer have to worry about when Kim Sangduk would cheat on him again, nor did he have to be anxious about sudden news of his infidelity. Moreover, the thought of being able to focus entirely on work made him feel like a new person.

The office he arrived at in a refreshed mood was also bright. As if trying to force freshness, the office windows were open, drawing in the outside air and holding a chill, but Chiwon welcomed even that. On a typical day, he might have grumbled, “Why are the windows open when it’s almost winter?” But today, everything felt fine.

As he pulled out the chair neatly pushed in front of his desk, the wheels rolled with a doruruk sound. He took off his coat and hung it on the back of the chair, turned on the computer, sat down, and stretched his arms.

The first thing Chiwon did after turning on his computer was to check the company intranet for any unread emails. Except for the weekend sales analysis data automatically sent in the morning, there wasn’t anything particularly urgent.

Next, he checked the company bulletin board for any new announcements. As a rule, the most efficient way to work at a company was to start later than anyone else and finish the fastest.

Subject: Appointment of Team Leader for Fashion Business Division, Department Store Team

An interesting post caught his eye.

Chiwon immediately clicked on it. It was the online team for one of the top department stores in Korea, and the team leader position had been vacant for quite some time. 

If someone asked, “Which company do you work for?” and he replied, “I work at ON,” the other person, whoever they were, would exclaim “Oh!” It didn’t make sense that a team at the heart of such a company didn’t have a leader. Moreover, the online department store team lacked a leader at a time when online shopping was booming more than offline shopping was unheard of.

Finally, they’re getting a team leader.

Chiwon, who expressed his delight, skimmed through the contents. The post was a simple announcement stating when the appointment would take effect and the new team leader’s name.

“So now…”

After reviewing the post, Chiwon put on his coat back on and headed to the rooftop. He didn’t smoke, but he had a habit of tagging along with smokers whenever they went to the rooftop. It wasn’t that he particularly liked the smell of cigarettes, but he just enjoyed laughing and chatting with them.

“The new team leader is coming starting tomorrow. Did you see the announcement, Mr. Chiwon?”

“I just saw it and came up.”

His colleagues, gathered in small groups on the rooftop, were all talking about the new team leader. Known for its unbiased hiring practices for a large corporation, the company was actually full of stubborn old-timers, but outwardly pretended to be open-minded. 

Thanks to this, they a work-life balance, which was supposedly impossible for fashion Merchandisers, was relatively well maintained. The fashion department, with its grand slogan of “leading fashion,” was the only department in the company that adhered to a casual dress code.

“I hope they aren’t too much of a stick-in-the-mud¹ like the last one.”

Chiwon nodded in agreement with his grumpy teammate’s words. The last team leader was such a pain. 

The previous team leader, who was particularly harsh on Chiwon, started by picking on him because he didn’t like his hairstyle, and then found fault with the strange fact that he didn’t smoke.

 On days when Chiwon achieved good results, the team leader would keep his mouth shut and give him disapproving looks. After all, Chiwon’s performance directly impacted the team’s performance, which in turn affected the team leader’s performance. But even then, that didn’t please him, so it seemed that he had a real dislike for Chiwon.

The memory of those difficult times brought a wave of annoyance. Chiwon clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“I just hope they don’t go crazy about sales.”

“But isn’t your category out of season now, Mr. Chiwon? Winter is coming. It’s the start of sports and outdoor wear.”

“I’m actually working on a major project for that this time.”

“Oh! That’s great. It feels like your category is responsible for all of our team’s sales during the winter season.”

“Yes! I should get on the new team leader’s good side.”

Chiwon smiled brightly, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards. 

Whether it was fortunate or the opening of the gates of hell, the timing of the new team leader’s arrival coincided with Chiwon’s busiest time of year.

And it was also his most enjoyable season.

Chiwon, in charge of online sales for sports/outdoor brands at each ON Department Store branch, started his busy schedule with the late summer reverse season sale. In the second half of the year, he had more events and promotions to manage than any other Merchandisers, and and he even secured advertisements through fierce competition, so he had a very busy schedule.

Despite that, he was happy because the reward for his hard work directly translated into sales and accumulated performance. A hefty bonus followed after completing the onslaught of work. Naturally, this was a big reason why he didn’t entirely dislike this period.

“So, the team leader is starting tomorrow?”

“Well, the official start is tomorrow, but they’re stopping by today to say hello.”

“Oh, I wonder if they’ll come in the afternoon? I’m curious.”

“By the way, Mr. Byungwoo, where do you hear all this stuff?”

“I have a friend in HR.”

“I heard he’s really handsome?” 

“He’s really tall too.”

“And his abilities are… amazing….”

He didn’t hear the rest of their comments. Chiwon was simply excited. ItIt was natural to be curious about new people, and it was one of the few joys in his otherwise monotonous work life.

As they continued to chat, his colleagues started receiving calls one by one and left the rooftop. Even then, Chiwon remained seated on the gazebo in the beautifully landscaped rooftop garden.

He knew his phone would start ringing incessantly at 10:00 a.m. From calls from vendors asking to remove coupons, to minor requests from brand headquarters informing him of changes that needed to be reflected, his morning would fly by dealing with these matters.

And in the afternoon, he would begin proper promotion discussions. Since he was going to be busy anyway, Chiwon decided to savor this moment of peace.

That was the plan, regardless.

Chiwon’s phone wouldn’t leave him alone. He barely managed to take a deep breath of the frigid air, his lungs filling until his chest swelled, when buzz, his phone vibrated. The vibration, jarring down to his finger bones, made him tilt his head back and look up at the sky before checking the screen.

「1201」

His face immediately crumpled at the name displayed.

He thought it might be a call from a store manager, but the unwelcome number that appeared sparked annoyance rather than anticipation. Chiwon immediately pressed the power button to end the call.

He had told Chiwon to save his name so that he could answer calls from unfamiliar numbers. Not only had he not used his name, but he had saved it as a hotel room number, which pissed Chiwon off even more.

Does he own that place or something?

In any case, everything about the man, from his tone to his actions, rubbed Chiwon the wrong way.

Ever since their encounter on the street that day, the crazy guy from Room 1201 had been calling him incessantly. Chiwon, of course, hadn’t answered a single call, convinced the guy had no life or routine.

Chiwon had no intention of to involve himself with a sex addict, whatever else he might be. While he was curious about the handsome dick, he wasn’t so frivolous as to have sex with just anyone.

The man seemed to have thoroughly misunderstood him, but Chiwon saw no reason to explain himself.

Even if I am a sex-crazed bastard…

Chiwon, whose motto was to avoid crazier people than himself, clicked his tongue in disapproval as he reaffirmed his belief.

Just in case he accidentally answered the call, he changed the name saved as “1201” to “Apple Villain”

’Oh, do you fuck around so much that you don’t recognize who’s calling?’

The man’s last words rang in his ears.

“Argh… asshole.”

A curse slipped out from between Chiwon’s red lips. Even though it had been his own mistake, the remark that disregarded his dignity had stung.

The man had pretended to deliver a sharp jab, but unfortunately, his assumption was completely off the mark. There had never been, nor would there ever be, unknown names from strangers saved in Chiwon’s phone. Except for this Apple Villain, that is.

The cool breeze that had lifted his spirits was now completely gone. Chiwon snorted and left the rooftop. He felt like he could secure a few exclusive items if he called the brand headquarters representative with this burning fighting spirit.

Chiwon’s expression was blank as he walked back to the office. He simply entrusted his destination to his feet walking the familiar path and clenched his fists.

Next time I see him, I’ll definitely give him the finger, he vowed again.

His phone rang again. This time, Chiwon looked at the screen more irritably and stopped in his tracks with a dumbfounded expression at the two words “Apple Villain” that didn’t surprise him anymore.

Doesn’t this guy have a job?

“What a waste of a handsome face, fucking asshole.”

“Are you talking about me?”

Huh?

“So you were avoiding my calls.”

Chiwon quickly looked straight ahead at the familiar yet unwelcome voice in his ear.

It’s the crazy guy. The crazy bastard had appeared.

That “Apple Villain,” with his handsome face and decent physique but absolutely nothing else going for him, was standing right in front of him.

Chiwon already round eye widened further. The light-brown eyes, gleaming in the sunlight, stared at him clearly, but he couldn’t tell if this was real or an illusion.

Chiwon rubbed his eyes furiously. He squeezed them shut and opened them again, but…

“He’s real?”

The figure in front of him didn’t disappear.

Frowning, Chiwon strode toward him and snapped, 

“What? Are you a stalker?”

“What?”

“Why are you following me here? How did you know where I was? No, how did you even get in?”

“I didn’t force my way in like someone I know. I just said my name and they opened the door for me personally.”

The man gestured down towards the lobby. Chiwon could see the employees milling around, heading to the cafe now that work had started. He also saw the security guard who had opened the door after someone identified themselves.

As Chiwon raised his eyes and looked up, the man casually shrugged.

Even in that moment, Chiwon’s pride was hurt by the fact that he was “looking up” at someone. He was more used to being the one looking down at others, not having his own head exposed to this unwelcome man, which felt almost humiliating.

“So you do have a job?”

“Do you think I’m a bum like you?”

“At work, you should…sex…”

What the hell is this crazy bastard talking about?

Chiwon hurriedly clamped his hand over the man’s mouth.

“Mmm.”

“Are you trying to get someone fired?”

The man cast a sly glance down at Chiwon. He could easily read the hostility in those glaring eyes.

Chiwon, threatening him, looked like a cat with its fur bristling. A timid cat that showed full hostility towards its enemy but too scared to actually attack.

Chiwon was irritated by the man’s composure. But he took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and opened his tightly shut eyes and glared at the man. In his head, the debate raged over whether to actually say the words he wanted to say.

Okay, okay, even at work, saying ‘I’ll rip your dick off and dry it in the sun if you don’t get lost’ is a bit… much. It’s probably better to hold back, right?

Chiwon swallowed the words he couldn’t bring himself to utter and sighed deeply. Then he lowered his hand covering the man’s mouth.

“So why didn’t you answer my calls?”

“Would I want to? You called me a crazy asshole who only thinks about sex the moment you saw me.”

“Didn’t you? You were all over me, talking about sex the moment we met.”

Well, I did…

“And why am I the only crazy asshole here? Did I even do something wrong?”

Chiwon clamped his mouth shut, speechless. Since he had technically made the first mistake, from the other person’s perspective, he could really be considered an ashole.

“So what do you want?”

“I told you, I want to have sex.”

“Not that damn sex…!”

“My dick is huge, by the way.”

The man grabbed Chiwon’s hand and placed it on his crotch. Startled by the firm bulge beneath his palm, Chiwon trembled and pulled his hand away. He hadn’t expected to touch another man’s genitals in broad daylight, so his face flushed red. The sensation was so unfamiliar that he could still feel it lingering on his palm.

Chiwon rubbed his hand against his thigh and looked around. There was a constant stream of employees walking in groups down the busy hallway.

“No, I said no! Wasn’t my apology enough? I really made a real mistake. I’m sorry. I apologize.”

Chiwon apologized repeatedly. This time, his apology was sincere, but perhaps that wasn’t what the man wanted. He chuckled and shook his head.

“I already accepted your apology.”

Then what the hell is the problem?

Chiwon frowned at the still unclear situation. He thought the man would have given up by now. They were both equally rude to each other, so he didn’t see the need for this awkward confrontation.

“Then what is it? What do you want from me?”

The man wiggled his eyebrows, seemingly amused by Chiwon’s annoyed tone.

Something felt strange.

He wondered if the man would bring up sex again, so Chiwon carefully watched the man’s lips, ready to cover them immediately.

“I’ve told you what I want, haven’t I?”

For once, the man spoke rather politely, as if conscious of their surroundings.

Chiwon frowned, perplexed. All the man had said so far were the two words “sex.” And he, in turn, had repeatedly said “no.”

It felt like he was shouting at a wall.

It had been a while since he’d had such an unproductive conversation, and his head throbbed. He closed his eyes tightly. Then, he felt someone approaching.

Chiwon’s eyes flew open, and he looked straight ahead. The man, who had somehow gotten closer, was smiling brightly with his usual indifferent expression.

He looked like someone who knew exactly how good-looking he was so now he’s using it as a weapon, which irritated Chiwon even more. Chiwon eyebrows twitched, and the man leaned in then whispered in his ear.

“This is practically fate. Let’s fuck. Just us assholes.”

The man straightened up and grinned, the corners of his mouth lifting.

Even in this moment, his handsome face annoyed Chiwon further.