SMS | Chapter 9.5

Ah, I just want to leave work early today. Very, very much, to the point of disgust. Mino stared at the second hand of the clock that seemed stuck.

Could the clock be broken? It had been only 2 hours and 16 minutes since he clocked in, yet it felt like a lie that it was only 11:16 AM. It felt like at least two days had passed since he parted ways with Dohoon, and it was still not even lunchtime, which was just unbelievable.

“Ha, you look particularly gloomy today.”

Virtually bald Director Jo Changnam, who had recently joined the team following a department transfer and was thoroughly disliked, chided him. Mino wanted to pluck out the few hairs that remained on the man’s head. Normally, he would not care less, but today his eyebrows involuntarily furrowed.

“Heh, did your lover dump you?”

“No.”

Director Jo had a knack for making everything sound offensive. Seemingly forgetful of time, he even went as far as to plant his plump rear on Mino’s desk.

“Hey, have you still not heard from Junhyuk?”

“…That’s right.”

“Hey, you were the closest to him, weren’t you? Weren’t you college sunbaes? Ah, I wonder if he’s vanished into the ground or shot up into the sky. Shouldn’t you be curious?”

“Yes, I’m curious.”

He said so, but he was not curious at all. Why does he keep coming over to talk? Mino hid his annoyance and checked the time on the bottom right of his monitor.

11:17 AM.

Crazy. It was laughable.

“No, but doesn’t Junhyuk have a sister? Don’t you have a sister or a younger sister?”

“Yes…?”

“She’d probably be pretty if she looked like you.”

“…I’m an only child.”

Director Jo suddenly began probing about relatives, even extending to looks. Mino was an only child, so he had neither a sister nor a younger sister.

Come to think of it, he seemed to recall Dohoon mentioning having a sister who was a doctor, and if she resembled Dohoon, she must be quite impressive. Not that he would meet her.

“That’s because Junhyuk told me he’d set me up on a blind date before he disappeared. Now I’m worried about my potential brother-in-law, haha.”

“He has a sister?”

Mino hadn’t known that. And even upon learning, he was uninterested, and the idea that Junhyuk wanted to set up his sister with this bald man obliterated any remnants of respect. Crazy, right?

Whatever Director Jo interpreted from Mino’s expression, he asked, puzzled.

“You didn’t know? He said he has sisters, and the youngest isn’t married yet.”

But if it was Junhyuk’s sister, she would be much younger than Director Jo, who was forty-eight this year. No, now forty-nine? A woman of a similar age to a nearly fifty-year-old man would have been hard to miss. But surely she couldn’t be that desperate.

Clinging to his last hope, Mino cautiously asked, “But how old is she?”

“Uh? Let me think, it’s a new year now, so she must be thirty. Ah, it’s a shame she’s not in her twenties, but given my age, too young would be a bit too much.”

This man must be mad.

Before Mino could express his astonishment, Director Ahn Haeyeon, who was sitting in front of him and was much younger than Director Jo but a fast-rising elite due to her impressive work performance, and a nice superior who often bought Mino coffee, interjected.

“Director, are you going on a blind date with a thirty-year-old?”

Her voice was so loud that all the employees who had been staring at their monitors now turned to look their way. Mino, suddenly the center of attention, swallowed dryly and chuckled awkwardly.

Of course, everyone was actually staring at Director Jo. Mino just hoped the man would get off his desk soon.

“No, no, Manager Ahn! Why so loud? A woman’s laughter should be like a gentle whisper on the floor…”

“Director, please stop—”

“Mino, just hold on a second.”

Suddenly, he was like a shrimp caught between two whales—a fat, old, bald one and a young, vigorous one. They should go outside to talk. Of course, he disliked Director Jo more and thought of him as an ignorant person, but he had no say in this conversation.

“Last time, Director, you made a big deal about my blind date, so I thought you liked that sort of thing.”

“No, really. That was just because I felt sorry that Manager Ahn was wasting her youth.”

“But that comment earlier was a bit sexist.”

Mino dried out as the debate went over his head. Manager Ahn’s words were right a hundred, a thousand times over, but the problem was that Director Jo wouldn’t shut up.

The time was still 11:19 AM. The clock mercilessly crawled, betraying the desperate Mino.

***

The quarrel between Manager Ahn and Chief Jo was abruptly ended by the late arrival of the team leader. Throughout that mess, all Mino could do was try to calm down Chief Jo, who was visibly fuming.

Checking the time with a weary face, Mino was surprised to see it was already 3:07 PM. Just 2 hours and 53 minutes until the end of the day.

This sucks.

Thinking he hadn’t contacted Dohoon yet, Mino considered sending a message but couldn’t think of anything to say. This being his first time in love and at DS, he knew nothing.

Despite that, he had pretended to have experience in front of Dohoon. He wondered if there was anywhere to seek advice, but since things had gotten complicated, asking Seongjun didn’t seem right either.

“What are you doing?”

Mino stared at the blinking cursor in his message window with Dohoon. Would sending this sound too interrogative? Should he start by mentioning what he’s doing? But all he was doing was work. He’d only filled out some documents today; nothing much. If he seemed too free, Dohoon might find it pathetic. He didn’t want to send a message slathered in industry jargon either.

Mino hit backspace, erasing the message and started typing again.

“Have you had lunch?”

No, this also sounds like an interrogation.

“I had lunch at the company cafeteria. Today’s menu was…”

What was it again? Curry, cabbage kimchi, fish cutlet with tartar sauce… should he list brown rice too? Is this normal? It felt too AI-like. While Mino was pondering with a puckered lip, a series of messages from Seongjun popped up.

[100Seongjun]: Hey hey hey
[100Seongjun]: What’s up
[100Seongjun]: What happened with Junhyuk

Why does everyone ask him? Unlike when he was considering his message to Dohoon, Mino typed lightly in response.

[Dunno. Probably dead. Didn’t show up to work.]

An immediate ‘read’ disappeared and the reply came through. Then the conversation flowed non-stop.

[100Seongjun]: Wouldn’t we have gotten a text if he was dead? They send out notices from the department.

Having mentally cut ties with Junhyuk, Seongjun replied indifferently.

[100Seongjun]: Do you text your girlfriend a lot?

Putting aside the annoying chatter, Mino probed Seongjun for some tips, given his long relationship experience.

Unashamed, Seongjun sent a string of screenshots of his messages.

“So much…,” Mino flipped through them quickly, slightly nauseated. The chat was dripping with cheesy affection, and both Yunseo and Seongjun had turned their cutesy baby talk into text. Witnessing a couple’s conversation when he had never dated was simply shocking.

It was too cringey, but he quickly gleaned their pattern: ‘Weather report → Sharing meal menus → Meaningless yet acceptable ‘I miss you’ and ‘I love you’ → Sleep report.’

What struck him the most was the cringey nickname, ‘♡MyYunseo♡.’

Gross. Mino glanced at Dohoon’s contact name on his phone, ‘Director Lee Dohoon.’

It was terribly stark. Should he change it first? But calling a man who could be a lover but was also a boss ‘MyDohoon’ felt weird. It almost sounded like ‘Hey! Lee Dohoon!’ because of his surname.

[100Seongjun]: How’s that? Sweet, right?

Awaiting a response from a speechless Mino, Seongjun began to grow impatient. This guy has no shame.

[I might throw up.]

Mino didn’t hesitate to express his unadorned feelings.

Ah, now he really had to send a message to Dohoon, especially after witnessing a cringey couple’s chat which made it even harder to type anything. Re-reading his previous conversations with Dohoon, they seemed too stiff, almost like talking to a supervisor.

His head hurt, and his throat felt dry. Mino subconsciously rubbed his throat. It was scratchier than usual today. Could he be coming down with a cold? Then he remembered yesterday. Dohoon had been rather rough with him.

Suddenly, his face turned as red as a beet, and he fumbled for his empty tumbler. He should probably drink some cold water first. At this rate, he might get too excited at the office.

Just as Mino was about to get up, the team leader clapped his hands sharply, likely to gather everyone’s attention. Reluctantly sitting back down, Mino turned to look at him.

“Let’s have dinner out for once! For camaraderie, and since it’s the end of the year, let’s consider it a year-end party!”

The team leader said with a smile, which seemed shockingly motivated by the day’s earlier argument between Manager Ahn and Chief Jo. No other reason seemed to make sense for suddenly bringing up dinner.

Are you kidding me? What’s ‘for once’? It had only been a month since the last one, but to Mino, who disliked these gatherings, even that interval felt too short. Chewing on his lip in horror, Manager Ahn waved Mino over.

“Mino, could you come to the break room to make some coffee?”

“Coffee?”

“Yes, you were about to go with your cup, weren’t you? Come on, get up.”

Following Manager Ahn to the break room somewhat dazed, Mino noticed she carried a folder of documents—it seemed she planned to work even there. Her workaholic nature was admirable, but Mino dreaded the sudden news of the dinner.

Dohoon was waiting for him; he had been told to come early when Dohoon had dropped him off at the office that morning. Dohoon had said he’d close the hospital early too.

And tomorrow’s Friday.

Ah, the preference sheet!

“If you send me the files by tonight, I’ll prepare the play. The holiday starts this Saturday, and I need some time to prepare, so let’s make it Thursday evening at the latest.”

He was supposed to have everything written by tonight. He had exchanged similar questions with Dohoon yesterday, but got so excited they ended up playing around instead. It was difficult to write a preference sheet next to Dohoon.

Should he tell him not to come to the hotel today? The problem was that his room was booked under Dohoon’s reservation. It seemed improper to tell him not to come when he hadn’t even paid.

“Mino?”

“Yes?”

“Not drinking coffee?”

Mino belatedly realized he had been standing idly in front of Manager Ahn.

“No, I was going to drink water.”

“Hmm…”

“Haha…”

Aiming for nonchalance, Manager Ahn gave Mino an odd look, then shook her head and handed him the folder she was carrying.

“I was supposed to send this downstairs, but I don’t know what it’s about. I’ll let you take it. Drop it off at the post office, and then you can leave.”

“Yes… Leave?!”

It sounded like an errand, but Mino was startled. Had he heard her wrong? He stared at her, wide-eyed.

“I’ll cover for you with the guys. Normally, I don’t let men off, but I’ll make an exception for you, Mino.”

“Manager…”

“You took my side earlier. I appreciate that.”

“I didn’t do much… But thank you.”

He couldn’t remember doing anything, but it wasn’t polite to refuse a supervisor’s favor. Happily taking the envelope, Mino was about to leave when Manager Ahn continued.

“About Junhyuk…”

“Yes?”

It wasn’t exactly a welcome topic. Mino managed his expression and nodded.

“I’ll tell Chief Jo at the dinner that I asked you to check on Junhyuk’s place. Make a call to him at least. Chief Jo might want to check the call records later. Just make a few calls; you don’t actually have to go.”

“Yes…”

“Just pretend to leave your bag and step out for a bit! That’s all.”

“Yes!”

Though he hated the idea of contacting that guy, it couldn’t be helped. He had already sent a message yesterday due to the bosses’ insistence. Manager Ahn was helping him skip the dinner, so it wasn’t too difficult to just leave a missed call.

Forgetting about Junhyuk once again, Mino grinned broadly as he prepared to sneak out. After all, he could just leave his bag behind, and as long as he took his phone and wallet, he’d be fine. As Manager Ahn had advised, it was best not to draw attention.

Clutching the document envelope, Mino waited for the elevator while typing a message to Dohoon.

[Seonsaeng-nim, I’m leaving work early today!]

He remembered seeing an image online of a fish called ‘gurnard’ dressed in a suit, kicking its way out of an office. Would sending that be too weird? He was too excited and wanted to send something more. Would seonsaeng-nim… not like that joke?

Dohoon seemed too busy to check the message right away. Focused on his phone, Mino stepped into the arriving elevator and bumped into someone.

“Oh, sorry.”

His hand slipped, and he accidentally pressed another chat. He merely nodded in apology and then tried to adjust the screen when he reached to press the button for the first floor, but something felt off.

The first-floor button was already pressed, and Mino fixed his gaze on his phone screen with a puzzled look.

“Uh…?”

The chat window that was open was with Junhyuk, and the read receipt had just disappeared from the message he sent.

Does that mean he ignored it?

He scratched his head, wondering why the elevator to go up had the first floor already selected. Only then did he notice the elevator felt unusually cramped.

It was because he was standing too close to the person he had bumped into.