Chapter 10.7

Sangwoo shut up because nothing good would come from explaining that two males, one sunbae and one hoobae, had kissed each other after drinking and were undecided on the direction of their future relationship.

Yuna’s desk suddenly caught his eye. He couldn’t stand the mess the entangled cords created, because they definitely represented his state of being. Sangwoo got up and headed towards her desk. The area around her eyes  were made up so they looked like panda eyes. These eyes then looked up at Sangwoo.

“If you’re not going to do any work anyway, take a break.”

She got up because of the hand gesture telling her to leave. Sangwoo used the mouse and the keyboard to save 12 open programs and turned off the computer. He also turned off the speakers and the monitor, and he looked for the button resembling claws to shut it down. He even turned off the large machine under the desk whose purpose he couldn’t figure out. After that, he sorted out the cords.

The cord to the external hard drive was wrapped uniformly and placed into the case, and the chargers to the claw machine, tablet, and the cell phone, were rolled up and placed in the drawer. The mouse, keyboard, and speakers were unplugged and put aside, and the tangled monitor and PC power cords were sorted and plugged back in. The four outlet power strip was placed behind the monitor. The remaining machines were arranged so that the wires wouldn’t get tangled. In this way, the desk became tidy.

Sangwoo looked satisfied as he tied up the wires on the desk with a yellow rubber band. The speaker wires weren’t actually short, only appearing to be so, because it was as if they had been misused by a slob. Humans significantly mishandle machines.

“You should appear on TV in a show like Master of Living or something.”1

“Keep it like this from now on. Since you put everything you’re not using on the desk, it becomes messy.”

“I use everything, though.”

“Then keep living that way.”

The door opened while they were talking to each other. Jaeyoung walked in and kicked the door shut. He was wearing black pants and a white sweatshirt with a baseball team logo on the chest. He walked past Sangwoo and sat down.

“Oh, the lustful man’s here?”

Yuna burst into laughter at Jaeyoung’s sarcasm.

“Why is he a lustful man?”

“Ask the person directly,” Jaeyoung answered indifferently while looking at his cell phone.

Sangwoo stared at him, but Jaeyoung just looked at the screen without saying a word. His profile showed a cold expression. Yuna laughed awkwardly.

“Hey… Why are you guys fighting? Hurry up and make up.”

“We didn’t fight. It’s something weirder than that,” Jaeyoung said while crossing his legs. He looked at his nails.

“Why did you come here? I’m sure you’re going to ask for some other work, but I didn’t work on a single thing. What, do you want me to walk with my hands up?”

“No. You said you’d review your proposal and present it the day after tomorrow, sunbae.”

“I did, didn’t I?”

“I came today to ask you to do it in advance.”

Jaeyoung’s gaze became sharp. He peeked at Yuna’s back and asked her: “Isn’t it time for you to smoke?”

“You’re telling me to leave? Are you kicking me out?”

“Just for ten minutes.”

“You’re funny. Did you reserve the entire studio?”

Jaeyoung’s command was unfair and Yuna seemed to be fiercely protesting against it. However, she grabbed her phone and wallet, making it obvious that she disliked it.

“You two, don’t make the vibe of the studio weird. Take responsibility and really reconcile. I’ll just be out for 10 minutes. Really.”

She angrily walked backwards. When she opened the door and left, there were just the two of them left.

For a while, there was only silence. Jaeyoung, who had been fiddling with his phone, had at some point put it in his pocket and was looking at Sangwoo. The eyes behind the glasses were not playful in the least and they didn’t even blink. A chemical reaction occurred in Sangwoo’s body because it was the first time he saw him in two weeks.

“Sunbae’s proposal, I’ll accept it. I decided that it was reasonable. And you get a lot of extra points for being an experienced person. Let’s start next Monday.”

Sangwoo calmly told Jaeyoung of his decision. 100% lust. Pure sexual desire without any other purpose. Sangwoo was about to go hunting for unneeded urges that disturbed him by using a harpoon like a barbarian who had never encountered civilization.

Jaeyoung was listening with a blank expression, and then said: “Please clarify exactly what my proposal was.”

“It’s about allowing each other to do what normally is done in a relationship.”

“For the purpose of relieving sexual desire?”

“Yes.”

“You’re talking about…sex partners, right?”

“Yes.”

“Fuck, what a load of shit.”

It was hard for Sangwoo to understand Jaeyoung’s reaction. He was the one who first had made an offer with ethical issues and then acted like Sangwoo had done something wrong.

Footnote:

1. A short Korean show that airs everyday where they introduce “those who have devoted their lives to one specialty and become a master through hard work, passion, and perseverance.”