"There is going to be an office dinner tonight."

"Where did you hear that?"

It was a long 8-hour day. s.h.i.+n Kim asked Minjae who was packing his bag.

s.h.i.+n stretched, making loud cracking noises. They had been working as interns for a month together, so they had become fairly close, but s.h.i.+n was still formal with the other interns.

Except for Minjae, the other six interns a.s.signed to the headquarters in Seoul were all women. A few of them were his type, but he made sure to keep his distance from all of them. Office romance was a bad idea, especially as an intern. He didn't want to lose his job, so s.h.i.+n made sure to behave himself.

"Yeonwoo told me, s.h.i.+n."

"Oh, that little one?"

"She is cute, isn't she?"

"Minjae, I thought you said you had a girlfriend."

"… I hear we will be a.s.signed to our official departments tomorrow."

Minjae purposely didn't answer s.h.i.+n's question. s.h.i.+n looked at him quietly before putting on his suit jacket. Finally, his life as an intern was going to be over.

s.h.i.+n was hoping to be a.s.signed to the marketing department. Usually, this department consisted mostly of women and s.h.i.+n worked better with females. He knew he was attractive, and he used it to his advantage. The marketing department also heavily involved meeting people, which s.h.i.+n enjoyed.

s.h.i.+n added, "An office dinner… I'm so tired though."

"Really? You don't wanna go? I'm excited about it! Free booze!"

Minjae was a solidly-built man, and it seemed like he loved to drink. For the last month during their interns.h.i.+p, s.h.i.+n often saw Minjae going out with others for drinks.

Whenever the female interns and Minjae decided to go for drinks, the girls would always glance at s.h.i.+n, who made up excuses to not go himself. He was tired of it. These were the people he was going to see every working day for a very long time. He didn't feel like spending more time with them than he already had to.

s.h.i.+n and Minjae walked the hallway slowly. Minjae asked, "You look like you probably drink a lot, so why is it that we never went out for drinks together?"

"What do you mean I look like I drink a lot?"

It was true s.h.i.+n enjoyed alcohol, but what he liked even more was s.e.x. It was the best way to relieve his stress. He craved it constantly and he never lacked willing s.e.x partners. At least s.h.i.+n considered them partners while those people probably thought they were dating s.h.i.+n.

After he quit swimming, there was a period of time when he was obsessed with s.e.x. He was an early bloomer and his first time was much earlier than most.

Recently, however, it seemed like he was getting bored with having s.e.x. s.h.i.+n also felt like his stamina had declined, which was why he was. .h.i.tting the gym more regularly. Unlike in his 20's, s.h.i.+n found that he now felt breathless during s.e.x sometimes.

Minjae asked suddenly, "Hey, why don't you have a girlfriend? I mean, you are pretty good looking and all."

They were in the elevator with other interns, and this question piqued the girls' interest. Yeonwoo asked, "s.h.i.+n oppa, do you really not have a girlfriend?"

That stupid Minjae. Why did he have to ask him a question like that?

When Yeonwoo looked at s.h.i.+n with an adorable smile, Minjae pouted in annoyance. What an idiot.

Yeonwoo added, "It must be because you are so gorgeous, oppa."

s.h.i.+n smiled blandly and replied, "You're kidding, right?"

"Haha, oppa, you are so good at evading questions you don't want to answer. Very sneaky."

Yeonwoo was a smart girl. She got this position immediately after graduating, and there were many times when she seemed to know exactly what s.h.i.+n was thinking. She scared him a little, but she was the type that he could get along with very well.

Even when he was younger, he always was attracted to people who were straightforward.

People who were the same inside and out.

s.h.i.+n liked those who were straight shooters and could look at him in the eyes.

But ironically, s.h.i.+n never figured out about himself. His outer demeanor and his true inner self. When he looked in the mirror, he could see in his expressions what he wanted and what he searched for in life, yet inside, he always felt uncertain emptiness.

Perhaps that was why he liked people who seemed to be able to guess what he was thinking. s.h.i.+n preferred those who approached him before he did.

Was it because he craved affection?

"Oppa, you really are very handsome. I really mean it."

"Thanks."

s.h.i.+n could see Minjae's face crumpling. s.h.i.+n smiled secretly.

Yeonwoo was definitely s.h.i.+n's type. She had a puppy-like face and an amazing body. s.h.i.+n was certainly interested in her.

The elevator stopped on the 9th floor and suddenly, s.h.i.+n could smell freshly cut gra.s.s. When he looked up, s.h.i.+n saw him.

Pale skin, narrow eyes, slim body.

… It was Woojin Choi.

Woojin was looking down, revealing his fragile neck covered partly with his light brown hair. s.h.i.+n wondered what it would feel like to touch him when suddenly, another man's hand appeared to grab Woojin's shoulder and push him in. The man walked into the elevator with Woojin and introduced himself.

"Hey, you guys are the interns, right? I am a.s.sistant Manager Jihoon Kang from the policy department."

The girls greeted him happily.

"h.e.l.lo!"

"We are going to the office dinner right now. You should join us!"

Jihoon wasn't as good looking as him, but s.h.i.+n had to admit that a.s.sistant Manager Kang was still a very handsome man. He seemed to be about the same height as Woojin, but because he was much wider, Jihoon looked much taller. He had a wide chest and broad shoulders, and his hair was dark and curly. Overall, he was a very masculine guy.

Jihoon lowered his face to whisper to Woojin, "It's so strange that you are willingly going to this office dinner. I mean, you never go to these things."

"…"

Woojin didn't even turn around to look at Jihoon. He continued to look straight ahead, and s.h.i.+n Kim stared at him curiously.

"…"

Woojin looked relaxed, even bored. Jihoon was chatting to him familiarly, yet Woojin refused to partic.i.p.ate. He stayed motionless, and it almost looked like he was ignoring Jihoon. But oddly enough, Jihoon didn't seem to care or even notice.

It must've meant that Jihoon was just used to Woojin being this way. They probably had known each other for a long time.

Probably because they were very close.

s.h.i.+n Kim suddenly felt strange for having such thoughts.

Jihoon asked Woojin, "Are you going to drink today?"

"… We are here. We need to get off the elevator now."

"Oh, of course, sir. Whatever you say, sir!"

Jihoon replied teasingly at Woojin's quiet words. s.h.i.+n continued to watch Woojin and suddenly, it felt to him like what happened at the auditorium was just a dream. Maybe s.h.i.+n just imagined it. The way Woojin looked at him…. But the Woojin here right now didn't even seem like the same person as the one from earlier.

s.h.i.+n was deep in his own confused thoughts. He wasn't paying attention, and suddenly, he b.u.mped into Woojin who was walking slowly in front of him.

s.h.i.+n apologized, "Oh, I'm sorry."

Woojin wasn't a short guy, but s.h.i.+n was over 185 cm. s.h.i.+n had to look down to see Woojin, who froze.

"…"

Without turning around or saying anything, Woojin began to walk again. s.h.i.+n frowned and thought in annoyance, 'What a cold guy. Does he have no basic social skills?'

Just then…

s.h.i.+n saw Woojin's pale neck slowly turning pink.