NLFSD Chapter 41

Chapter 41

“Then, from now on, we… we’re going to da– date…”

“Yes. We’re dating.”

“R–romantically…”

“Yes. Let’s do our best.”

Lee Jiwoon’s face flushed the color of ripe persimmons. The hand he held felt so hot it might melt away.

“…I look forward to being with you as well, Director.”

“Yes. Jiwoon-ssi*.”

“Gasp. What did you just call me?”

Did he just call me Jiwoon-ssi?

Jiwoon was so shocked that he stared in disbelief. Seo Taecheon covered his mouth with a fist and cleared his throat.

“I only called you Jiwoon-ssi. But calling you Assistant Manager Lee feels a bit dry now that we’re dating, doesn’t it?”

Even when they were technically married, he’d still been “Assistant Manager Lee.” What was it about dating that suddenly drew sweet endearments out of the robotic Seo Taecheon? Jiwoon found it both astonishing and, oddly, touching.

“Then don’t call me Director either.”

“Huh?”

“Isn’t it too stiff?”

“Th-then… what should I call you? I’ve never dated before, so I don’t really know what couples usually call each other in times like this.”

Ah, whatever.

“Th-then… Director. I’ll start calling you… Taecheon-ssi from now on.”

This should be fine, right? Nice and safe.

“Hmm… Let’s go with that for now.”

“For now…? Is there something after that?”

“Later, I hope you’ll consider using ‘honey’ or ‘darling.’”

“Cough!”

Jiwoon spat out the water he’d been drinking. Anyone watching might mistake him for a dolphin surfacing and spraying a jet of water—it was that spectacular.

“Oh my.”

The manager hurried over and handed him a white napkin. Taecheon took it himself and gently wiped Jiwoon’s mouth.

“Seems you’re not immune to this yet. Honestly, neither am I.”

“It’s… not just that. I never even imagined hearing those words.”

“If it’s too much, we can revisit ‘honey’ and ‘darling’ after the wedding.”

Taecheon smiled as he said this. Jiwoon, dazed, found himself nodding slowly. This man seemed to have the power to draw a “yes” out of him no matter what.

“Shall we finish our meal, then?”

“Y-yes.”

Overcome with embarrassment and awkwardness, Jiwoon buried his face in his plate. Not just his face that Taecheon had just wiped, but the hand they had held and every spot he had brushed against burned with heat.

Dating.

With who?

With BBG.

“Me… dating him…”

Jiwoon crossed the crosswalk in a daze, eyes vacant. Cars and buses honked at his slow steps.

“Ah, it’s a red light.”

Snapping out of it, he scurried across and stopped in front of the company building. They had left separately from home earlier, but since Taecheon had driven, he would have arrived already.

“This feels so weird…”

Would it be exaggerating to say even walking into the company building felt strange? They’d never been strangers, but now the man inside that building was his boyfriend. His boyfriend.

I, Lee Jiwoon, am Seo Taecheon’s boyfriend!

“What’s with that guy?”

“No idea.”

Jiwoon’s face flushed and cooled, his feet tapping nervously on the floor. People waiting by the lobby elevators gave him side-eye, but Jiwoon had no time to care. He was too busy processing the overwhelming surge of emotion enveloping him.

Excuse me, do I look like the boyfriend-slash-spouse of Marketing Director Seo Taecheon to you?

He almost wanted to grab random employees and ask them that. That was how over the top his emotions were. Even the dreary Monday 9 a.m. atmosphere of the office looked rosy through his eyes.

His steps felt like walking on clouds, and the briefcase in his hand felt featherlight.

“Good morning, everyone!”

“Assistant Manager Lee, you seem full of energy this morning. Must be nice to be young.”

“Oh, do I look that way to you?”

Cheerfully greeting everyone, Jiwoon walked into the office, only to find his team leader’s face looking grim. The department head beyond the partition had even stood up—his face equally dark.

Uh…? What’s going on? The mood’s bad.

Jiwoon wasn’t completely clueless; he could at least tell the vibe was seriously off. Setting down his bag, he lowered his voice and asked Deputy Manager Min Hyegyeong,

“Deputy, did something happen? The atmosphere’s weird… or is it just me?”

“I’ll tell you on the messenger.”

She glanced around cautiously as she whispered. Jiwoon quickly booted up his computer and opened the internal chat. Hyegyeong began typing rapidly.

Min Hyegyeong

Looks like the team leader’s position is about to change.

Huh? Why? He hasn’t even been here that long, and it’s not reassignment season.

Min Hyegyeong

That’s why the team leader and department head look so upset. Actually, it’s not just reassignment—they say the audit team is coming, and he’s been put on standby suspension.

Standby suspension meant temporary removal from post, often just before heavy disciplinary action. Jiwoon was shocked.

Is this disciplinary?

Min Hyegyeong

You know that company his distant cousin runs—the one we and other teams used for promotional materials?

You remember when you almost died dealing with those awful banners?

Right—during the company anniversary event, the team had ordered banners from the cousin’s company, only for them to arrive ridiculously late and cause chaos. Jiwoon still remembered Taecheon stepping in back then to protect him.

Ah… I know. Don’t tell me this audit is because of that company?

Min Hyegyeong

It’s still just a rumor, but apparently he funneled work to them and got a 30% kickback in return.

Not sure how it got to the director’s ears, but Director Seo came by earlier and outright declared he wouldn’t let it slide.

What? BBG—no, Taecheon-ssi actually came into the office and said that?

Jiwoon tried not to show his shock, but it was impossible to hide.

Not only was the team leader getting replaced, but the team’s morale and the department’s mood would hit rock bottom. The audit team would probably scrutinize even the innocent members.

…And Taecheon must be feeling awful too. He hid it well, but he must’ve been quietly handling all this behind the scenes.

Suppressing a sigh, Jiwoon closed the messenger window. Instead, he opened his phone messenger and found Taecheon’s profile—recently changed from [BBG] to [ㅌㅊC]*. Under the desk to avoid attention, he began typing.

I heard about it. Stay strong.

He deleted it immediately.

Wouldn’t it be weird for a subordinate to “comfort” the director like that? Maybe something warmer and more uplifting…

After thinking it over, Jiwoon decided to keep it light instead. No need to bring up the team leader situation at all.

Maybe an emoticon would work. Something cheerful—Good morning! Let’s survive Monday together! Did he have one like that?

Jiwoon had a ton of emoticons, most paid for, some downloaded free from public campaigns, music sites, or webtoon promotions. He had a habit of saving any that were cute or quirky, so he always had the perfect one for any situation.

Let’s see… I should send something cute. Which one should I pick?

Now that they were dating, even one word or emoji carried weight. The previous night, on their way home from the resort, he’d barely spoken at all—normally he’d chatter endlessly, but now awkwardness and nervousness silenced him.

“Hm…”

No matter how much he searched, he couldn’t find one that felt right. Jiwoon dug into tabs he hardly ever used, scouring every corner for the perfect emoticon.

Wow. Since when did sending a message become this hard?

Defeated, he set his phone down upside-down. In doing so, his finger accidentally tapped the screen—and sent an emoticon to Taecheon.

I’ll text him later. At lunch I’ll find a proper emoji and tell him to enjoy his meal.

Suppressing the grin tugging at his cheeks, Jiwoon forced himself to focus on work. Then he glanced at his phone—and froze, eyes wide with horror.

No way. I sent the Reflection Bear emoji!

[Honey. I love you.]

Reflection Bear gazed sultrily, lips pouting as it drew a heart with its paws. A giant speech bubble over its head read “Ho-ney, I lo-ve you.”

Oh my god! Of all things, why that one?!

Taecheon-ssi! That emoji was an accident. I’m sorry!

Jiwoon typed frantically, then collapsed onto his desk, clutching his head. Taecheon had read it—but hadn’t replied.

Please reply…! Even if you tease me, just say something…!

And that was their very first exchange after officially becoming a couple.

Footnotes:

• “-ssi (씨):” A polite suffix used in Korean to address someone respectfully, roughly equivalent to “Mr.” or “Ms.,” though softer and more intimate than Western titles. Its use here marks a shift from formal workplace titles to something more personal.

• [ㅌㅊC]: Likely shorthand for Taecheon’s name in Korean consonants (ㅌㅊ) plus “C,” a playful way to label contacts, often used in casual messaging between close people.

• Reflection Bear (숙려둥이): A fictional emoticon character in this story; the name plays on 숙려기간 (reflection period), a recurring concept in ABO narratives. Its overly affectionate style makes Jiwoon’s accidental send even more embarrassing.