Lip Balm | Wooyoung

32

Tuesday

Hyunmi already forgets about the night before at Hongjoong's house as she wakes up with her mind stuck on Wooyoung, seeing as the noises from his apartment were the last thing she heard before falling asleep.

What was once an infuriating inconvenience is now a painful reminder of the past. The aching in her chest remains constant throughout the day, but it gets especially bad at night. Last night was only the third day with those noises after Wooyoung broke contact with her, yet she feels completely drained from it. She's so tired.

She arrives at work and gets a sharp reminder of another one of her worries when she's instantly greeted by a bright Hongjoong. He excitedly invites her into his office and that's when she gets hit with reality. This time she's actually dating her boss.

She hangs her head in shame as she walks to his office behind him, aware that this is what Jongho used to always accuse her of. And now it's become a reality. She feels sorry for Seonghwa, who always defends her from Jongho's harsh words. 

She briefly greets them with a "Good morning" and a smile, but feels too ashamed to say anything more.

But she shouldn't feel this way. She should feel proud of being in a relationship with her boyfriend and flaunt it to the world. She can't wrap her head around why she feels shame instead of pride.

Once they're in his office, Hongjoong shuts the door behind them. "What's the matter, Mr. Kim?" she asks formally. Hongjoong laughs and settles down onto one of the couches in the room and gestures for Hyunmi to join him. "Call me Hongjoong at least now that we're dating!"

Hyunmi smiles back when she sees how excited her boss is to be able to say that he's dating her. She wishes she could feel the same way. It needs more time.

"Alright Hongjoong, what's wrong?" she asks again, this time in a relaxed tone while sitting beside him. "Was everything okay last night? Could you get home without any problems?" 

Hyunmi nods. "I told you, it's alright. Everything was fine and there's no need to worry," she reassures him. She gasps when Hongjoong suddenly pulls her in for a hug. He tightens his grip around her and holds his cheek against her shoulder. She wraps her arms around him too with less force.

"I'm so happy to be with you. So, so happy," he mumbles into her short hair. Guilt hits Hyunmi after each syllable that enters her ear. She doesn't want to feed him false hope by lying to him and she doesn't want to deliver the cold truth either, since she's not even fully sure about it herself. Instead, she simply hugs him tighter and rubs her hand over his back.

It feels strange to feel so distant to Hongjoong, even though she's physically attached to him right now. She doesn't feel that connection she was looking for, but it's too soon to tell anyway. She pulls back first and cups his face in her hand. "You deserve it."

Hongjoong grins back and strokes her hair once with his hand. "Thank you for thinking so."

As she remembers that she'll have to leave this room and face her colleagues eventually, a thought pops into her mind.

"Hey Hongjoong? Could I ask- why are you so hard on the other employees?" she wonders. Hongjoong's smile falls a little but he keeps a slight smile on his face still. "I need to stay strict to keep this company going, it's the only way. I can't afford to let even a small slip-up get through," he sadly admits.

Unsatisfied with his answer, Hyunmi frowns. "That's unnecessary though. You should try being nicer to them and give them promotions when they deserve one, or else they'll either quit or someone will file a complaint against you," she advises.