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Is this what they mean by having nowhere to look?

Honestly speaking.

I couldn’t even tell if I was eating with my nose or my mouth.

I slowly turned my head, and Jang Chae Yeon laughed out loud at my state.

“Surprised, huh?”

“…Did you know that?”

Though she wasn’t as blatant as before, Jang Chae Yeon still stared at me without buttoning the cuffs of her shirt.

“Of course I did.”

“…”

“Do you think I would do this with someone else?”

Jang Chae Yeon tilted her head, looking at me as if puzzled.

“…That’s true.”

The Jang Chae Yeon I knew?

“…No.”

“Exactly.”

Jang Chae Yeon nodded and patted the seat beside her with her hand.

Was that an invitation to sit?

I took a seat next to Jang Chae Yeon, and she turned slightly to look at me.

From this angle, there was even less to look at.

“I had many questions.”

“Yes.”

Jang Chae Yeon mumbled, while I kept my gaze away from her.

But there was no helping it.

I was certain that the moment I turned my face to talk to her, my gaze would stray elsewhere instead.

“My leg.”

“Excuse me?”

Jang Chae Yeon glanced at my leg.

Her expression was filled with concern.

“Does it hurt?”

“Right.”

Jang Chae Yeon casually placed her hand on my thigh.

“Should I massage it for you?”

She looked at me with a face full of pure worry.

“Um, Chae Yeon?”

“Yes?”

Jang Chae Yeon tilted her head.

As if pretending not to know.

If I had to choose the most physically fit person among the Human Resources Team, it would definitely be Yu Da On.

I think I heard she works out separately.

Or maybe the regeneration applies to stamina too, who knows? But she’s physically the strongest among us.

Next is Song Ah Rin.

She has average stamina. She’s fine when others are fine, and struggles only when it gets tough.

And lastly.

“Ugh!”

When I poked Jang Chae Yeon in the shoulder, she shivered.

I have muscle pain, and she’s completely fine?

I could bet on it.

Absolutely impossible.

“Isn’t your whole body aching, Chae Yeon?”

“…”

Jang Chae Yeon glared at me while hugging her shoulders.

“It hurts.”

“Then why exert yourself?”

To think she went through the effort of cooking while in pain.

At my words, Jang Chae Yeon turned away and muttered.

“I did it because I was worried about you.”

“I’m just as worried.”

Sighing, I pulled out a patch from my pocket.

It was a patch I received from the Medical Team, and no joke, I had never seen one better than this.

“Here, stick this where it hurts. It works wonders.”

“…Thanks.”

With a slight pout, Jang Chae Yeon nodded and accepted the patch.

A brief silence followed.

“Back then.”

“Yes.”

“When the world ended.”

Jang Chae Yeon muttered and looked at me.

“…Yes.”

“What was I like?”

“Uh, what do you mean by that?”

What was she like?

“How well did I protect you?”

Jang Chae Yeon’s words left me momentarily speechless.

She locked eyes with me.

“Don’t feel burdened; I’m just curious.”

“…Um.”

To be honest.

Thinking back to that time wasn’t exactly a pleasant affair.

That scene was not a good memory for me.

Even if it has become a thing of the past, the image of Jang Chae Yeon pushing me away still lingered in my mind.

What if someday it actually became real?

What if I fail this time?

“…Are you okay?”

“Oh, yes. I’m fine.”

If that’s the case, then Jang Chae Yeon, Song Ah Rin, and Yu Da On would all die too.

Everyone around would die, and I would die.

What once felt distant now seemed like a situation that could happen any moment after experiencing it firsthand.

What if the same thing happens again, and the Branch Chief can’t stop it? What if I can’t stop it and a new incident unfolds?

“…”

I had been painfully realizing this recently.

Is this the weight the Branch Chief has been enduring?

The fear of not knowing when the world might end and the thought that preparations must be made swirled in my mind,

No, I need to focus.

I opened my eyes wide.

I was in the middle of a conversation now. This wasn’t the time to get lost in thought.

Feeling her steady gaze on me, I ultimately had no choice but to answer honestly.

“Chae Yeon was the first to throw herself for me.”

“…Really.”

“Should I elaborate on the situation?”

“If you’re okay with it.”

“…”

Taking a deep breath, I began to explain what had happened with Jang Chae Yeon.

Not just the overall story from last time, but how she acted and what she said to me.

“…”

Jang Chae Yeon quietly nodded as she listened to my story.

“I see.”

She responded with a gentle smile.

“Got it.”

“…Is that enough?”

“Yeah, that’s enough. There’s just one thing I want to confirm.”

Then she tilted her head and looked at me.

“Um.”

“Yes?”

“So, are you not going to receive a leg massage?”

“I won’t.”

Jang Chae Yeon sighed sadly and lightly tapped my shoulder.

“But.”

“Yes?”

“It seems like you’ve been thinking quite a lot this time.”

“…”

She looked at me with a mischievous smile.

*

After sending the man out for a moment, Jang Chae Yeon loosened the buttons of her shirt.

“…Ouch.”

She sighed heavily while applying the patch the man had given her onto her shoulder.

Then she began to button it back up.

If I said I wasn’t embarrassed, that would be a lie.

Initially, I would never have even considered showing my skin to anyone other than that man.

But.

“…”

As her hands slowed down while fastening the buttons, a thought crossed my mind.

What if she feels like she’s losing her charm?

That can’t be true.

Even the unlucky Song Ah Rin had mentioned more than a couple of times that she’s at least pretty cute, and Yu Da On had also cast envious glances at her figure which Jang Chae Yeon had remembered.

No. Perhaps she might already know.

There’s a saying that circulated as a proverb within the Management Agency.

“Never engage in office romance.”

It wasn’t just because of rules or regulations.

Jang Chae Yeon remembers the scandal of a newlywed couple who, after receiving the Branch Chief’s blessing and having a grand wedding, ended up in a tragedy just four days later due to an anomaly.

And how the Isolation Team had to deal with the husband after he had succumbed to the chaos, while his wife desperately begged for mercy.

And even the story of the wife who attacked the Isolation Team after being consumed by the anomaly.

That wasn’t the end of it.

There were countless tales of one-sided deaths or incapacitated partners from office romance flooding into the Management Agency.

It’s not just a few; more than half of those working at the Management Agency would end up like this one day.

That’s why Team Leader Heo Chan married a civilian, and those with a certain status in the Management Agency tended to live alone.

And, the woman who followed her like that—

She was fastening her buttons even slower now.

Love is a profound emotion.

It can turn the impossible possible and completely flip what matters most upside down.

And Jang Chae Yeon has already acknowledged it.

What mattered most to her had completely changed.

Whether it was because she spent countless time in that Cube with him or because of what he had shown her afterward, she didn’t know.

And the reason she asked him that earlier was because those thoughts had crossed her mind.

What words should she say to not hurt him?

Once again, memories of the past came back to her mind.

It was something her ‘sister,’ who no longer existed, used to say.

“Chae Yeon.”

“Yes.”

“Please tell him.”

The warm, gentle-faced woman who had smiled at her still lingered in her memory despite the years.

“Don’t say you love him. It’ll surely make things so difficult for him.”

“…”

“Instead, explain to him how much I hated him and how many complaints I had.”

“…”

“So.”

Jang Chae Yeon still remembered the pained expression from her memories.

“Tell him to forget me.”

“…Sister.”

“Let’s meet again alive.”

And until she fell into the Art Museum, she had never heard anything about her ‘sister’ even once.

Once she had fastened her buttons up to her chest, she gazed out the door.

When that day comes, thankfully, there will still be someone else around him, which means she wouldn’t have to deliver that message.

Perhaps she would’ve died with peace of mind.

Since she wouldn’t have to burden his heart with such painful words.

But if there ever comes a day when it’s just the two of them left, and she has to leave him behind,

“You can come in.”

The door swung open, and the man sighed in relief upon seeing her fully buttoned up.

Watching him, she couldn’t help but smile.

Words came to her mind.

Those were words she had already said to him.

Still, she thought she would tease him like this more often.

His flustered reactions were simply too cute for her to resist.

*

The continuation of the story was nothing special.

She properly dressed herself again, and after having a composed conversation with Jang Chae Yeon, we parted ways.

However, I couldn’t say anything as her expression was so composed before we separated.

Just like that, the next day approached.

[Manual for Office Staff]

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

No items could be seen.

“…I really am sorry.”

“Is it still not working?”

Yu Da On stood next to me, peering into the manual together.

“It seems so.”

“Hmm…”

Today was the day I was going to have dinner with Yu Da On.

Fortunately, since I applied the patch, my leg was fine, and she, with her chin resting on her hand, seemed lost in thought.

“There’s a method for this.”

“Really?”

With a smile, Yu Da On held the manual and pushed it into my chest.

“Ugh.”

“Uh…”

While I was left dumbfounded, Yu Da On beamed.

“They say in times like this, taking a little time away will help dilute your feelings!”

“…That does sound accurate.”

All emotions naturally lighten over time.

“Let’s take a stroll and apologize later on, okay?”

“…That might be a good idea.”

After all, just because it was Yu Da On didn’t mean she knew the hearts of women better than I did.

Nodding to her wisdom, I moved on.

“Oh right, Jae Heon.”

“Yes?”

Yu Da On, walking beside me, looked at me.

“It’s fine about dinner.”

“Yes.”

“Shall we go look for furniture together?”

Her bright smile shone in the setting sun as we finished work.