Park min's POV
I'd been trying to forget that night with Yu Jin, but the problem was; he walked around the office like it never happened. Like he hadn't been on his knees for me, looking up with those smug eyes.
He was calm, collected, and irritatingly confident.
Worse, he'd started hanging around some guy I decided to check his name out of curiosity not jealous, curiousity and I found out his name was Ji Hoon.
Ji Hoon had joined the company with him a few weeks back. The guy was decent at his job, always polite, but he had that easy charm that made people like him too quickly. Yu Jin laughed at every stupid thing he said, leaned close when they spoke, even brushed his hand over Ji Hoon's sleeve.
That was the moment I stopped pretending to focus on my report.
I wasn't jealous. That's what I told myself. I was just… concerned. About professionalism. About workplace boundaries.
Except my concern felt a lot like my jaw tightening every time I heard Yu Jin laugh.
By the third day, I couldn't take it anymore.
I walked into the meeting room ten minutes late, coffee in hand, and there they were Yu Jin and Ji Hoon, whispering by the projector, laughing about something on Yu Jin's phone.
The rest of the team was waiting, pretending not to notice.
I set my coffee down and said flatly, "Yu Jin, if you're done socializing, maybe we can start?"
His smile froze for a second. Ji Hoon looked down at his notes.
Yu Jin said with that calm voice of his, "Of course, boss. We were just. "
"Not working," I cut in. "I noticed."
He gave me a small nod, then stepped aside like he was letting me have my little moment. I hated that it worked.
Throughout the meeting, I kept finding ways to throw work his way. "Yu Jin, you handle the new client list." "Yu Jin, rewrite that report." "Yu Jin, fix the presentation slides."
He just smiled and said, "Sure thing, boss," like he had all the time in the world.
When he spoke, he made sense. When Ji Hoon spoke, Yu Jin looked at him like he hung the damn moon.
By the end, I couldn't help it. I said, "Next time, maybe less talking and more results."
Silence. Everyone looked at their papers.
Yu Jin's lips twitched, almost like he wanted to smile. He didn't. He just said quietly, "Noted, sir."
The "sir" sounded respectful, but it wasn't.
After the meeting, I called him to my office. He came in, with a calm expression , posture lazy, like nothing could touch him.
"Yes, boss?"
I didn't look up from my desk at first. "You've been getting distracted lately."
"Have I?" he said lightly.
"You have." I looked up then. "Ji Hoon seems to be your new focus."
He tilted his head a little. "We're just colleagues."
"Then act like it."
His eyes narrowed slightly, just for a second. "If this is about work, I'll take the feedback. If it's about something else…"
I stood up. "It's about both."
He blinked once, slow. Then smiled soft, almost sweet, which made it worse. "You're not jealous, are you?."
The words hit harder than they should have. I let out a short laugh. "Of Ji Hoon? Don't flatter yourself."
"I didn't say of him," he said quietly. "I said jealous. You fill in the rest."
I wanted to tell him to shut up, to remind him who signed his paycheck. Instead, I said, "You'll be taking on the quarterly reports alone. I want them by Monday."
He raised a brow. "That's four people's work."
"Then you'd better start."
He gave a low laugh, the kind that wasn't friendly. "You know, boss, if you wanted my attention, you could just ask."
I didn't answer. I sat back down and waved a hand like I was done with him. He left without another word, but I could feel the heat of his stare long after the door closed.
***
By the next afternoon, Yu Jin hadn't sent me a single update.
I waited. Nothing.
Finally, I found him in the break room, sitting on the counter, eating an apple, talking to Ji Hoon again.
That damn apple looked like an insult.
I walked in. "Yu Jin, a word."
He took one last bite, threw the core in the trash, and followed me out.
Inside my office, I said, "I asked for progress on the quarterly reports."
He nodded. "And I said it's four people's work. You want it done right or fast?"
I clenched my jaw. "You're testing me."
He smiled. "No, boss. You're testing me." He stepped closer, and his voice dropped. "You didn't give orders because you need the work done. You gave them because you wanted to see how far I'll bend to you"
I swallowed. "Careful, Yu Jin."
He tilted his head slightly. "You don't like being told the truth?"
"Do your job," I said quietly.
He looked at me for a long moment, then leaned closer. I could smell his cologne something clean and faintly sharp, like citrus and smoke. He said near my ear, his breath brushing my skin, "I know what you want, Park Min."
My throat went dry. "You're out of line."
He didn't move back. "You want me to stop? Say it."
I didn't.
He smiled, barely, then whispered, "Follow me," before walking out of the office like he hadn't just turned my brain into static.