Kim Dokja went over to check what the reason for overtime was, bidding goodbye to the people who were packing their bags and leaving the office.
"Mm, just fix the spreadsheet before leaving," Kim Dokja said, looking over at the screen in front of him, arms folded across his chest. "The write-up can be done tomorrow morning. Get to it first thing in the morning and it'll be fine. Don't stay back too long."
He moved over to the next person.
"Copies? Do it tomorrow."
"Ah, no, sir, I'll just finish it today."
"Are you sure? You don't have a train to catch?"
"No, I live in walking distance. I'll go after this."
"Alright, I'll leave it to you. Good work today."
"Thank you. You too, Kim Teamjang."
The bowing bit was something he was taking time to get used to as well. Kim Dokja wasn't used to so many people respectfully bowing their heads at him when they met him and left his presence.
Kim Dokja left the office premises tired as always.
He caught the train taking him, not to his home but to Yoo Joonghyuk's place.
He happily forsook that day's study session so that he could continue reading the story he had started yesterday.
Kim Dokja was now very familiar with the path he took from the station to Yoo Joonghyuk's apartment complex, and even the security guards seemed to recognise him. He still had to give his name at the gates for security purposes and Yoo Joonghyuk would get a call upstairs, and once he said he could get sent in, Kim Dokja would be let through the gates.
From there, again, he had the path memorized. Honestly, Kim Dokja walked around Yoo Joonghyuk's apartment complex more than he walked around his own place; not that there were a lot of things to see at his place anyway.
He rang the bell just to let Yoo Joonghyuk know that he was there and then putting in the code, he opened the door himself.
When he stepped inside he saw Yoo Joonghyuk heading towards him, his black apron on.
"Something smells good," Kim Dokja couldn't help but smile. "What're you making?"
"Guess," said Yoo Joonghyuk.
"I can't smell our spices, but I do smell garlic and...herbs? Can't tell which one, so something western," Kim Dokja focused on the aroma in the house as he took off his shoes. "There's some meat. Doesn't smell like a large chunk of meat, so not steak...I'd say pasta?"
"Good guess, you're correct," Yoo Joonghyuk nodded.
"Cool! What's my reward?"
"Dessert."
"What's for dessert?"
"Tiramisu."
Kim Dokja paused in the act of taking his coat off. Tiramisu of all things?
"Why're we going Italian today?"
". . .I had the ingredients."
"For tiramisu? When did you even start making all this?"
"I didn't go to the office today," said Yoo Joonghyuk. "I just happened to have the time and the ingredients."
That was a surprise.
"You don't go to the office every day?" Kim Dokja asked.
"I don't have to. But Uriel insists."
"Ah. . .What happened today?"
"She's not here," Yoo Joonghyuk went back to the kitchen and Kim Dokja took off his coat completely, hanging it on the coat stand by the entrance.
"Oh?" he said, slipping his feet into the white slippers and walking inside.
"She'll be back on Wednesday," Yoo Joonhgyuk said as Kim Dokja deposited his bag on the coffee table.
"A business trip?"
"Vacation," Yoo Joonghyuk clarified.
Somehow, Uriel taking a vacation sounded a little strange in his head.
"I hope she's having a good time," Kim Dokja muttered, unbuttoning his collar and pulling his tie loose as he made his way to the kitchen.
"I'm sure she is," Yoo Joonghyuk scoffed.
Yoo Joonghyuk was indeed making pasta. Kim Dokja didn't know what it was, but it was a smooth, creamy pasta with chicken and his mouth watered just by smelling it.
Yoo Joonghyuk noticed him hovering around in the back and beckoned him over with a hand.
"It's alright. Take your time, don't want to disturb you," Kim Dokja said quickly.
"Don't be ridiculous, disturbing me is the last thing you'd be doing," Yoo Joonghyuk insisted. "Come here."
Kim Dokja bit the inside of his cheek and trudged over to the kitchen counter, keeping a good distance away from Yoo Joonghyuk, giving the man space to work in peace.
"Closer."
Kim Dokja took one step closer, as asked and Yoo Joonghyuk sighed heavily.
"You're a little dramatic, aren't you?" Kim Dokja muttered and moved a couple more steps towards Yoo Joonghyuk. He could now see the simmering pot of pasta sauce clearly.
"And you're not?" Yoo Joonghyuk quipped back. He looked up from the cooktop and met Kim Dokja's gaze.
"Good evening, Dokja-ssi."
Kim Dokja smiled back. "Good evening to you too!"
"How was work?" Yoo Joonghyuk asked.
"Same as every other day," Kim Dokja answered with a light shrug. "What about you, Joonghyuk-ssi? Work from home today, huh? Did it go well?"
"I'm not sure," Yoo Joonghyuk said simply. "I certainly didn't get a lot of work done, but I don't feel bad about it. I felt I was productive regardless."
"Heck yeah, slacking off for the win!" Kim Dokja cheered and Yoo Joonghyuk smirked.
"What did you do instead of work then?" Kim Dokja asked.
"I wanted to cook again," Yoo Joonghyuk said slowly. "It's been a while since I've taken time to engage in activities I enjoy. . .And since I had the opportunity today, without someone being here to nag."
Kim Dokja grinned. Uriel would have a lot to say to that comment.
"Did you enjoy today then?" he said.
"I did," Yoo Joonghyuk nodded.
"That's great."
"It is," Yoo Joonghyuk looked at him and Kim Dokja saw a smile tugging at his lips as well.
Then Yoo Joonghyuk looked away.
"Taste this for me," Yoo Joonghyuk said, putting the lid over the pot and shuffling over to find a fork. He pierced a piece of chicken into it and handed it to Kim Dokja.
Kim Dokja took the fork and bit into the chicken. As always, Yoo Joonghyuk's cooking tasted incredible.
"It's delicious," Kim Dokja said once he swallowed the bite. Was it even possible to make chicken taste like that? Firm, yet tender, both crispy and juicy and the spices that exploded in his mouth when he chewed took his tastebuds to paradise. There was a light crunch to the top layer and then it was soft chicken, a sensation that his teeth fell in love with. It was perfect really.
"How on earth do you even do this?" Kim Dokja said between bites, the strip of chicken on the fork vanishing quickly into his mouth. "Are you channelling a cooking god or something?"
Yoo Joonghyuk snorted, "What?"
"How are you so good at cooking? I'm sure chicken doesn't normally taste like that. What's your recipe?"
"It's a secret, I'm not giving it away for free," Yoo Joonghyuk glanced at him, a wide smirk on his face.
"Fine, then," Kim Dokja leaned against the kitchen counter. "Keep your secrets."
"Not a very good negotiation tactic, I must say."
"Who cares?"
"Not you, obviously."
"Ding ding ding, right answer! You win! You've just won the chance to tell me what your secret recipe is!"
Yoo Joonghyuk shook his head, amused.
"I'll teach you," Yoo Joonghyuk moved again, this time bringing a couple of spoons.
"Really?" Kim Dokja said, watching the man lift the lid off the pot and give it a few stirs.
"Yes," Yoo Joonghyuk gave the spatula a light tap on the edge of the pan, shaking off the excess pasta sauce and putting it aside before dipping in one spoon at a time and scooping a tiny bit of sauce into them.
He held one out for Kim Dokja, to taste test again, Kim Dokja assumed and took it.
"I won't really be great at it even if you do teach me," Kim Dokja made sure to say. "I won't be able to make it like you."
"Of course," Yoo Joonghyuk said with an understanding nod. "I don't expect you to. Not everyone can be as good as me."
Hah, look at this guy's confidence. . .Well, he supposed it was warranted for. He wasn't wrong, not everyone could be as good as him. Kim Dokja blew on it before putting the spoon into his mouth.
"It's the best," Kim Dokja said, giving the older man a thumbs up.
Yoo Joonghyuk let out a satisifed hum.
"I'll wash these," Kim Dokja muttered and Yoo Joonghyuk let him take the spoon from his hands. With one fork and two spoons, Kim Dokja headed towards the kitchen sink.
"Why don't you go change into something comfortable?" Yoo Joonghyuk spoke and Kim Dokja gave the tap a turn, constricting the flow of water so that he could hear the other man properly.
"I'll have to put all of this on again," Kim Dokja sighed picking up the scrubber. "It's a hassle."
He usually visited Yoo Joonghyuk's place on weekends, when he was wearing his trusty old, comfortable white shirt. He didn't often come here straight after work.
"Stay over," said Yoo Joonghyuk and Kim Dokja looked up sharply.
"Huh?"
"You have your clothes here, you can stay the night. Like before," Yoo Joonghyuk said calmly.
"What about tomorrow?" Kim Dokja asked. "I have work. I won't really have time to go home, change and then head to work. I mean, I'll have to wake up really early if I want to make that happen."
"I'll drive you back home," Yoo Joonghyuk told him. He inhaled deeply.
"Go change, even I would find that rather uncomfortable to be around in," he said. "Dinner will be ready by then."
"I don't want to make you drive me home early in the morning though," Kim Dokja protested.
"I'll arrange for my driver."
"No, thanks. Don't disturb poor Mr Kang."
Yoo Joonghyuk looked rather annoyed when he fixed Kim Dokja with a stare.
"Then I will take you home," he said sternly.
"Come on," Kim Dokja said incredulously. "That's such a waste of time. Why would you go back and forth? And don't you have to get ready for work too?"
"I'm not going tomorrow either," Yoo Joonghyuk said.
"What?"
"It's two incredibly rare days without someone breathing down my neck. I'd like to enjoy this peace, properly and wholly, thanks."
Ah, Uriel wouldn't be back till Wednesday. Yoo Joonghyuk sure was taking full advantage of his secretary's absence to skip work. Good for him.
"Still," Kim Dokja started.
"Dokja-ssi, you're really going to stay around in that?" Yoo Joonghyuk turned around to face him properly, looking him up and down patronisingly. "Don't you feel like you're suffocating?"
"I'm not the one who made the dress code," Kim Dokja huffed, wiping down the cutlery he'd just washed.
"It's not a bother, Dokja-ssi," Yoo Joonghyuk pressed. "Go change, maybe take a shower, I'd prefer it very much if you were comfortable in my house. If you're still stubborn about it, I'll give you a bag for your work clothes and you can go home in your casual wear."
"Oh, that works," Kim Dokja considered it. Though what he mostly had over at Yoo Joonghyuk's place were a couple of tees and sweatpants that he slept in, if he kept his pants on and wore a t-shirt, then put on his coat, it would look natural and he could get home in peace.
"Of course it does," Yoo Joonghyuk said, clearly miffed that Kim Dokja kept pushing away his offer to stay the night and have him drive him home in the morning.
But Kim Dokja didn't want to cause the man any more trouble. Waking up early just to drive him home and then back was really not necessary.
"The guest room's yours," Yoo Joonghyuk called after him as he made his way out of the kitchen.
"Thanks," Kim Dokja called back.
Kim Dokja didn't leave his belongings in other people's houses. Well, he used to, but then he trashed that habit because things were changing.
At first, he had his things, a spare uniform, some clothes, and strangely, plenty of his socks at Yoo Joonghyuk's old tiny studio apartment that he had been renting out with his master's help way back in high school. Kim Dokja was more at Yoo Joonghyuk's place than at his own house.
Not that he wanted to be in his house. It was yet another tiny apartment, just him and his mother and he rarely ever saw his mother. She would be up before he knew it and would come back home very late. They barely even saw each other. He would just leave a short note saying that he was going to be with Yoo Joonghyuk and stay with his best friend.
Then they had to move away because of college, and then Yoo Joonghyuk started dating Lee Seolhwa. Kim Dokja gathered anything belonging to him from Yoo Joonghyuk's apartment and took them back to his dorm room.
Until some four years ago or so, Kim Dokja had his stuff in Han Sooyoung's place too and then she found a boyfriend and Kim Dokja moved his things before that causing a rift between those two. Well, they broke up soon enough regardless. Not to mention, no one really liked Han Sooyoung's ex all that much either.
Kim Dokja was careful about such things. Even now, though he got dragged to Yoo Joonghyuk's flat multiple times, he never left anything of his there. It was a rule of his at this point.
Funnily enough, the older Yoo Joonghyuk's penthouse guest room had Kim Dokja's stuff sitting there for months now. And Kim Dokja had actually begun to forget about it.
It wasn't a lot. Just some underwear, a couple of plain t-shirts and sweatpants to go along with and a spare towel.
Yoo Joonghyuk's guest room was a little strange. It was incredibly spacious and it had one too many doors for some reason. Kim Dokja was curious but he didn't want to be snooping around so he stuck to the two doors that Yoo Joonghyuk had shown him on the first day he had decided to stay the night, the door to the room and the door to the attached bathroom.
The sliding glass door to the balcony was none of his business. He was perfectly fine with it staying shut and the curtains drawn over it.
Kim Dokja shared the wardrobe in the room with Uriel's few clothes. They said that on some days, when there was a lot of work to do, Uriel would just stay there for days on end, without leaving for her own house two floors below.
Kim Dokja didn't really mind. He hardly took a tiny portion of the large, rather empty wardrobe.
Kim Dokja found a plain black t-shirt of his and decided that it would do, it would go just fine with his grey office suit.
The attached bathroom was at least four times the size of the bathroom at Kim Dokja's apartment. It was huge. Kim Dokja marvelled at it every time he entered. Uriel said she was the one who had picked the interior design for Yoo Joonghyuk's place and Kim Dokja thought Uriel had great taste.
While bathing was an option, Kim Dokja decided he needed some motivation to actually go back home. If he took a shower here, he might just end up staying the night and then he would have to wake up early in the morning and run to catch a train back home, then change again so that he could head to work.
Unnecessary stress, he wasn't going to do that.
And honestly, it wouldn't take too much to convince Kim Dokja to stay over. Yoo Joonghyuk was already making delicious dinner and Kim Dokja actually loved the bed here, it was so soft and warm and comfy. He was a weak man, he would fold easily. He should get a move on while he was feeling brave.
He would just wash his face, get out of his vest and shirt and be done with it.
It didn't take Kim Dokja too long to get out of his stuffy clothes and finally breathe in a comfy t-shirt. Maybe he should just change completely—Ah, he was giving in to the treacherous temptations!
He hurried out of the room before his sloth demons took control.
On his way to the kitchen, he noticed something new. In front of the balcony that overlooked the city and almost always had the curtains pulled open, stood a new chest of drawers. Kim Dokja had never seen that wooden chest of drawers before.
And what's more, the only thing sitting on the top of the drawers was the little black vase with the sunflowers he had gifted Yoo Joonghyuk the previous Saturday.
Kim Dokja decided to ask the man in question.
Yoo Joonghyuk was setting the table on the dining table when Kim Dokja walked in and he spotted the mason jar with the daises set right in the middle of the table.
"Saw the sunflowers," Kim Dokja said and Yoo Joonghyuk looked up. "Did you move it there?"
Yoo Joonghyuk nodded.
"It gets more sunlight there," he told him. "I thought it would do better there."
"Is it a new one? The drawers?"
"No, I just had it around," Yoo Joonghyuk shook his head.
Eh? Why would someone have something like that around? Was this a rich people thing too? And why would anyone drag something like that all the way out there?
"It wasn't difficult to move, it was mostly empty," Yoo Joonghyuk said as though he'd read Kim Dokja's thoughts. "At least now it's being put to some use."
Huh...Kim Dokja would have moved something smaller and portable like a stool or something, instead of a whole chest of drawers. Sure, it was comparatively smaller than the ones he had seen before, but still.
Oh, well, whatever. This was Yoo Joonghyuk's place, he was free to do whatever he wanted to in it.
"Dokja-ssi," Yoo Joonghyuk's voice shoved away any thoughts he had about the efficient use of furniture. "Come, sit. Let's eat."
"Ah, sure."
The food was so delicious he could cry. And not to mention the dessert. It was heavenly. Kim Dokja was a hundred per cent convinced that this was what they would serve in heaven.
They spoke about their day as they ate dinner. Kim Dokja insisted he would do the dishes. It was only right, Yoo Joonghyuk had done all the cooking, and Kim Dokja should help him clean up. And it wasn't like he was a stranger either, he wasn't a guest visiting for the first time, he could do something as small as washing the plates and pots and cutlery that had been used.
Yoo Joonghyuk, it seemed, did not like the idea of standing around doing nothing while Kim Dokja worked, so he took to wiping down the already spotless kitchen countertop. To each their own, Kim Dokja left him alone, even though he felt he should stop it. Any more wiping and he might just wear down the pristine, stainless marble. There was nothing to clean anymore, really.
Once they were done with the kitchen, they settled on the living room sofa. Kim Dokja took his laptop out of his bag and Yoo Joonghyuk moved closer.
"I wasn't sure if this would cause some trouble," Kim Dokja said as he typed in the password on the laptop keyboard. "If it's going to cause any trouble at the annual celebration, I will put it aside for now."
"Put what aside?"
"I'm coming to it," Kim Dokja said, his laptop unlocked, he connected his laptop to Yoo Joonghyuk's wifi. He moved the laptop and Yoo Joonghyuk reached out a hand to type in the password. With a secure internet connection, Kim Dokja pulled up his internet browser and handed the laptop to Yoo Joonghyuk again.
"Rememeber when I said I was trying to screw over Deputy Department Head Jang?" Kim Dokja said, watching Yoo Joonghyuk place the laptop properly on his thighs and read through the reports Kim Dokja had meticulously compiled over a few months.
"I've been going around, gathering...well, evidence, in a way. According to the rules of the company, this much should warrant at least suspension."
"Suspension," Yoo Joonghyuk echoed.
"There's a lot," Kim Dokja nodded. "And it took quite the effort to actually get people to file in more complaints to the HR. You know, that bastard has a buddy in HR? And they're in cahoots, so whenever there's a complaint against him, they go and threaten the victim."
"There's really a lot. Sexual harassment, inappropriate comments, verbal and sometimes physical abuse, plagiarism, et cetera, et cetera."
Yoo Joonghyuk's jaw was getting tighter the longer he read through all that Kim Dokja had collected.
"He's also taken credit for others' work, though that's not a very solid piece to go by, so I haven't really considered it. I've put it on a different file. . .Oh, and a gross misuse of the company card, but I checked again and that's not considered an offence, so he'll have to be let off for that too."
"You should made an amendment," Kim Dokja continued casually. "The company card usage has got tons of loopholes that everyone exploits apparently. You're losing money, you know?"
Yoo Joonghyuk put a hand over his eyes, clutching his head.
All this was going on in his company and he had no idea.
He always knew that power dynamics would exist anywhere with any sort of hierarchy, but he didn't think something this atrocious was going on right under his nose.
No, he didn't care if something like that was happening in the first place. He was too busy with other things.
And this was just stuff that Kim Dokja had managed to unearth in a month or two. Issues dated years ago would probably be so much worse.
Yoo Joonghyuk flinched lightly when he felt a touch on his arm.
"Joonghyuk-ssi?" Kim Dokja said softly. Yoo Joonghyuk dropped his hand.
"I'm sorry about all this, Dokja-ssi," he said.
"Oh, no, please!" Kim Dokja jumped, a little frantic. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad. It's understandable, really. You have a lot of responsibilities already. None of this is your fault, Joonghyuk-ssi. The scumbag is someone else."
Yoo Joonghyuk sighed softly.
"I was going to file an official complaint," Kim Dokja told him. "I'm expecting it to not get processed because he's got a lackey there. And then my plan was to send an email directly to the Department Head of both departments and even threaten to take it to the police."
"That. . .That might backfire," Yoo Joonghyuk gathered himself. He always ended up looking pathetic in front of Kim Dokja.
"Yeah, I know," Kim Dokja nodded. "Another plan was putting it on social media, but that would obviously cause you some trouble, so that's a backup's backup plan now."
Right, a riot on social media would cause the stock value to plummet and it would cause a lot of trouble for Yoo Joonghyuk.
"You know," Kim Dokja said, his hand still on Yoo Joonghyuk's arm. Yoo Joonghyuk did nothing to move the hand; the touch was a little comforting.
"I'm not doing any of this out of righteousness either," Kim Dokja gave a wry chuckle. "I'm not that good of a person. It just happened to benefit me. I was looking for something to one-up that guy and then came across an unexpected gold mine. So I dug into it and...well," Kim Dokja shrugged.
"I'm the last person who deserves to get an apology from you, Joonghyuk-ssi."
So that's what he was trying to say.
Yoo Joonghyuk was of a different mind, however. He wasn't a saint either. If Kim Dokja was bad, he was worse. Even now, he wasn't even thinking about the ones who had suffered because he had employed a horrible employee to strengthen his connections. He was more worried about his own company and all the other issues this thing could bring about. And mostly, he was feeling terrible that he had shown Kim Dokja such an incompetent side of his.
Yoo Joonghyuk could only think of Kim Dokja to apologise to, for letting him down.
"Should I keep it until after October?" Kim Dokja was saying. "Will it cause big trouble if I do something about it now?"
Yoo Joonghyuk swallowed.
"It will."
"I thought so," Kim Dokja sighed out. "It's because some relative of his is the executive director, right? I think it was Director Shin, the JD Motors guy."
Yoo Joonghyuk nodded. "Uncle and nephew."
"Mm, makes sense," Kim Dokja muttered. He sat in deep thought for a few seconds and then took a deep breath. "Alright. I'll wait. Not a big deal. I guess I have time to gather more evidence now. I'll go for the kill once the gala's done."
"...Not a gala," Yoo Joonghyuk said slowly and Kim Dokja rolled his eyes dramatically.
"Whatever," the man drawled. "I hope he gets suspended for quite some time."
"Why suspended?" Yoo Joonghyuk leaned back on the sofa. "Why not fired?"
"I mean," Kim Dokja dragged his words. "I'd love to have him gone and there are grounds to fire him. But he's got big fish backing him, so at most, he'll get suspended."
"Dokja-ssi," Yoo Joonghyuk turned his head to face Kim Dokja. "Have you forgotten who I am?"
Kim Dokja's response was an amused laugh.
What? He was the CEO. Hell, he owned the whole enterprise! He could have anyone fired, all Kim Dokja had to do was say the word.
"Don't worry about it, Joonghyuk-ssi," Kim Dokja smiled widely. "I told you, I'll take care of it."
He knew it. Kim Dokja considered him incompetent. It shouldn't be a surprise, after all the pathetic sides he was showing Kim Dokja, obviously the man wouldn't depend on him.
"I have a plan," Kim Dokja was saying, sounding quite pleased with himself. "I've got it all handled.
"What about your work?" Yoo Joonghyuk said, a little bitter.
"No issues with that either," Kim Dokja said happily. Yoo Joonghyuk let his eyes roam over the laptop screen in front of him as he listened to Kim Dokja.
"It's my first project, so I'm a little particular about it. I don't want it to fail...There were a few hiccups here and there, but I've dealt with it. So, all's good as of now."
Kim Dokja was rather prideful, Yoo Joonghyuk realised. He didn't need to be so worried about it. Not every endeavour ended in an outstanding success. And this was his first time. He could take it easy.
Yoo Joonghyuk moved his hand and slid his finger over the touchpad, the cursor zooming to click on the next tab Kim Dokja had on his browser window.
"That," Kim Dokja said, noticing what he had done. "I was just preparing. I thought I should get another certification done."
Yoo Joonghyuk blinked, moving to the next few tabs as well. He was vaguely aware that this could come off as rude, but Kim Dokja was doing something like this without ever mentioning it to him.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Yoo Joonghyuk blurted out.
"It's not that important," Kim Dokja waved it away and Yoo Joonghyuk felt a muscle jump in his jaw. Right, Kim Dokja could be a little infuriating at times.
He inhaled, then exhaled.
"Dokja-ssi," he said sternly. "You are already qualified for the position. You don't have to do all this."
"Hmm, I'll take your word for it, Joonghyuk-ssi," Kim Dokja said in a tone that Yoo Joonghyuk knew meant his words were going to get treated to the old 'in one ear, out the other'.
"I'm being serious," he snapped.
"I know," Kim Dokja said blithely. "I still want to do it though. I don't exactly love studying, but it's a little interesting, so it's not all that bad. I'm almost done, actually. I was going to book a test slot soon when I meet the minimum number of hours I'm supposed to have worked."
"Already?" Yoo Joonghyuk said, fairly surprised. "When did you start this?"
Kim Dokja gave it a thought. "May?" he said uncertainly. "Mid-May? June? Yeah, I think around that time."
That soon?
Yoo Joonghyuk let out a soft puff of air through his mouth. He knew it! He was right about Kim Dokja being a diamond in the rough.
"Come to me if you have any doubts," Yoo Joonghyuk said, feeling rather proud.
"Oh, that's alright, you don't have to, Joonghyuk-ssi. I'll just use the internet," Kim Dokja's words tended to have this effect; they sort of conjured up a big hammer and pummeled down Yoo Joonghyuk's pride and confidence within mere seconds.
Kim Dokja yelped when Yoo Joonghyuk flicked the side of his head, annoyed.
"I see. So you are saying that the internet is more reliable than me?"
"How did you come to that conclusion?" Kim Dokja cried, scooting away from him, his hand leaving Yoo Joonghyuk's arm. The warmth of Kim Dokja's plam remained, vivid even through the fabric of his shirt.
"I just didn't want to bother you," Kim Dokja said indignantly. "And I'm not dumb. It's not all that hard to understand, I can do that much myself."
"Since you're such a good student, how about I give you some more to study, hmm?" Yoo Joonghyuk challenged.
"Ahh!" Kim Dokja's eyes went wide. "Why would you do that? I'm already busy as it is!"
"You said it isn't all that hard to understand."
"Doesn't mean I want more work."
"It'll help you in the long run. I'll send you the link tomorrow morning—"
"No, no, I'm alright."
"—And I'll sign you up for online classes."
"No, thank you!"
"It's for your own good."
"Please, let me off, boss!" Kim Dokja said frantically. "I'm already dying under all the work I have."
"Work you took on yourself," Yoo Joonghyuk scoffed.
"It's never too late to start improving yourself," Kim Dokja responded without missing a beat.
"Then you can continue improving yourself with this," Yoo Joonghyuk wasn't one to back down easily either.
"Have you heard of this saying, Joonghyuk-ssi? Too much of a good thing can end up becoming poison," Kim Dokja was earnest. "I'm but a poor salaryman working hard day in and day out. There's only so much I can handle. Please, have mercy."
Yoo Joonghyuk sighed softly. That mouth of his, seriously.
". . .Why do you have that look on your face?" Kim Dokja said apprehensively, moving back another inch.
"What look?"
"That look!"
What was that even supposed to explain? What did he mean by 'that'? Yoo Joonghyuk couldn't find it in himself to be extremely curious about whatever look Kim Dokja thought he had on his face at the moment. Yoo Joonghyuk was pretty sure he had a normal look on his face.
When he raised his hand, Kim Dokja squeezed his eyes shut, probably expecting another finger flick to his forehead.
Yoo Joonghyuk held in a laugh and let his hand fall onto Kim Dokja's head.
"I don't have a comb," Kim Dokja deemed it necessary to say when Yoo Joonghyuk ruffled his hair.
"Borrow mine," Yoo Joonghyuk said simply. "And I mean it, come to me if you have any doubts."
Kim Dokja bit his lip, looking away timidly.
"...okay."