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coffee()

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Han Jisung's life was about to change.

He could feel it. His heartbeat increased with each step and a knot formed in his throat. Even his hands trembled slightly as he clutched an iced americano. The dark brown messenger bag slung over his shoulder tapped against his tight, the boy progressing on the dark halls. It was almost seven in the morning, and the sun's rays powerlessly seeped through the tall windows of the building.

Everything looked so formal, from the gray walls to the glistening tiles underneath his converses. The neon lights shone brightly in the lobby, but the rest of the construction was murky, and silence stirred in the air.

His steps fastened, upon glancing at his wristwatch and realizing he was almost late. Han Jisung couldn't afford to be late on his first day at work! The tapping sound of his shoes against the floor echoed through the halls. Anxiety bubbled in his stomach and he couldn't stop thinking of the consequences of being late. He didn't want to make a bad first impression.

As he was almost running, his body came into contact with another one. He panicked. His heartbeat raced and his eyes widened at the scene: a man in gray sweatpants and hoodie, covered in coffee. In the coffee, he was holding a moment ago. Now the empty cup felt so light in his hand, almost in a way to mock him. He bowed apologizing.

The man had an unimpressed look on his face as he fixed his glasses and looked down, inspecting his drenched shirt. Jisung wished to bury himself alive. How could someone get themselves in such a messy situation on their first day? What about the days to come?

"Stop apologizing." the man's voice cut off the train of incoherent excuses coming from the boy. Annoyance was laced into his flat tone. Jisung expected him to lash out, to scold him, to make a big fuss about it. But he didn't. "Be careful next time." With that, he turned on his heels, walking away with cadenced steps.

Jisung certainly hoped there would be no "next time" as the man's voice rang in his ears. He felt so ashamed and guilty as he only stared at the disappearing silhouette behind a corner.

Suddenly remembering the purpose of his presence here, his legs moved on their own, carrying him to his destination.

On the sixth floor, he approached a door, down the corridor. It looked just like the others he had passed, except it had a paper taped on it clumsily with a piece of scotch. It read: "game dev team", and a few doodles filled the blank space: a rainbow, a worm-like figure, kitten ears, a muscular bicep, a smiley, and a weird face. He scoffed at the latter, finding it amusing. The buzz inside of his chest diminished yet he could feel each beat of his heart, harsh and slow.

He raised a hand, fingers contracting into a fist. Jisung took a big breath to calm his nerves and knocked before he could overthink and flee.

The door flung open, revealing a muscular man who had the biggest smile Jisung had ever seen. His dimples showed cutely as his eyes squinted.

"Welcome, Jisung! You're just on time!" he gestured to the younger to enter the room. The younger felt a wave of anxiety wash over him as he stepped in and six pairs of eyes glued to his figure. He smiled nervously.

"Good morning! I'm Han Jisung! I look forward to working with you all!" his voice cut through the tension. His eyes drifted towards the carpeted floor in search of comfort. The man from earlier placed a hand on Jisung's shoulder trying to ease his nerves.

The people around the room introduced themselves, Han barely meeting their gaze when they shook hands. Everyone seemed to have such different personalities, how did they manage to work together? He wondered.

The person who opened the door was Bang Chan, the project manager, the one who reached out to him. Then, there was Hwang Hyunjin, a talented artist, who liked making games look aesthetic and stylish; Lee Felix the game-level designer, who planned how difficult the levels should be so that the game feels balanced. Seo Changbin, the sound engineer; Yang Jeongin the game tester and Kim Seungmin, the person in charge of marketing.

Jisung was sure he'd forget their names.

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Chan tried his best to make Jisung feel welcome and the younger appreciated it. Even after the turmoil settled, he felt a tad bit overwhelmed.

Tables were scattered around the room. He occupied the one Chan assigned him and unpacked his sketchbooks and drawing tools along with his laptop. Another desk, right beside his, contained two monitors and a laptop, the screens displaying hundreds of lines of code. Jisung was intrigued. He tried to remember if any of his colleagues introduced themselves as a programmer, but to no avail. He glanced around, hoping to spot the said person. The blonde Australian, whose name he learned was Felix, approached him with a cup.

Coffee.

The steam rose from the liquid, dispersing into thin air, spreading the bitter aroma Jisung adored. But the image of the man with gray hoodie flashed before his eyes in an instant. He was going to have nightmares about that incident. He dismissed the thought.

"For you." Jisung thanked him. Felix took a seat beside the boy. "Can I see your sketches? Chan already showed us some, I was really impressed!" he seemed so eager, that Jisung nodded, handing him a portfolio. His eyes lit up, the smile never leaving his lips.

As he flipped through the pages, compliments flowed from his mouth.

A creak sliced through the soft murmurs. Jisung turned his head curiously towards the door. His eyes landed on a manly figure entering the office. His gaze lifted from the gray sweats to a black tight-fitting t-shirt then to black-rimmed glasses. His breath hitched and his world started spinning and slowly fading. Felix's praises were long forgotten, merely white noise. He couldn't take his eyes off the familiar face. A second later, a pair of eyes met his, staring blankly into them from across the room.

Oh, he was screwed.

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