New Job, Old Faces

You started your new job today. Well, it would be the same job. You were just transferred over from your previous location. It worked out well for you. You got paid more, would have more time off, and the location was good. In the morning, you ate a small breakfast, nervous about how it would go with all your new coworkers. You waited outside the door to a large meeting room; the staff you’d be working with were inside being told about you by the director. You take a deep breath as the door opens. “Come on in.” The director says as he motions toward the room. You step inside quickly and get to the center of the room. “This is the man we got from our sister location. If you have any questions, you can ask in a minute.”

“Hello, everyone; it’s nice to meet you all. I hope we can get along.” You say as you do a slight bow. As you raise your head, you see a familiar face in the crowd. You see Jeongyeon. You feel a bit embarrassed and worried that the married woman you had a fling with months ago is now your coworker.

Jeongyeon is terrified at the sight of you. A woman standing beside her nudges her side, “He’s kind of cute, isn’t he?” When the woman gets no response, she nudges Jeongyeon again. This time, Jeongyeon is brought back to reality.

“What did you say?”

“I said he’s kind of cute, isn’t he?”

“I…” Jeongyeon goes quiet as she looks at you.

The woman beside her smiles, “Ooh, looks like someone has a crush. What would your husband think?”

“I- Dahyun, quiet,” Jeongyeon says as she gets flustered. She hadn’t told anyone what had happened during that vacation. The only other people who knew were you and Jihyo.

After your introduction and explanation of your job, the director opened the meeting for questions. “Any questions?” The woman beside Jeongyeon shoots her hand up. “Yes, Dahyun. What’s your question?”

“Where is he going to be working?” She asks. You try to put her name to memory; her pale skin immediately stands out to you. It’s almost like tofu.

“Dahyun, Dahyun, Dahyun,” you repeat in your mind.

“Thank you for that question. He’ll be working next to Jeongyeon. Her recent deskmate has decided to leave us, which brings me to the next part of the meeting. That is, assuming we have no other questions about our new recruit.” No other questions are asked, and the meeting continues. You’re allowed to take a seat with the rest of the staff and sit up front.

“Lucky you, Jeongyeon. You get to sit next to the cutie.” Dahyun says as she shakes Jeongyeon’s shoulders.

“I-I don’t think it’s that lucky,” Jeongyeon says nervously as she brushes Dahyun away.

“If you don’t want him, I’ll take him,” Dahyun says.

“Be quiet, Dahyun.” Dahyun giggles as she watches Jeongyeon get flustered.

The rest of the meeting went smoothly, and you greeted your coworkers. Jeongyeon and Dahyun weren’t around, so you went to your desk. You start to set things up when Jeongyeon sits down beside you. “Good morning,” you say quietly.

A voice behind you says, “Good morning; it’s nice to meet you. I’m Dahyun.”

“Oh, it’s nice to meet you, Dahyun. I hope we can get along well.”

“I’m sure we will,” Dahyun says as she shakes your hand. Her hand is soft and smooth, much more than you expected.

“Your hands are really soft,” you say without thinking.

Dahyun laughs at your comment. “If you want, I can give you some tips after work.”

“That’d be nice. I guess I’ll see you after work,” you reply. Dahyun seems taken aback at your agreement, but quickly changes her expression to a smile.

“I’ll come back here when it’s time.” She says as she starts walking away. As you bring your eyes back onto Jeongyeon, you see her lying her head on her desk.

“Are you alright, Jeongyeon?”

“No, I’m not. I’m in a nightmare.”

“What do you mean?” You ask, not aware of what she meant.

“We’ll talk during lunch. Just do your work.” Jeongyeon says, keeping her head on the desk. After a few moments, she takes a deep breath and raises her head. She gets to work, and you quickly follow suit. The two of you continue to work while the others grab their lunch. It’s only when they return that you and Jeongyeon leave to get your own.

“So what did you mean you’re in a nightmare?” You ask as you shut the break room door behind you.

Before responding, Jeongyeon looks around the room and makes sure no one is around. “You! Why are you here? Why did you have to transfer here? I-I thought what happened at that place would stay there, but now you’re here.” Jeongyeon says as her breathing quickens, and she starts to panic. She sits down and tries to calm herself down.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” You say, unsure of how else to respond.

“I know. There wasn’t a way for you to know. It’s not your fault…I’m just stressed.” Jeongyeon takes a deep breath and looks up at you. “We can’t speak about what happened during our vacation, okay? That never happened; there’s nothing between us.”

“But-”

“But nothing. I-look, that was a mistake. It was a moment of weakness. It had just been so long, and I was weak.” Jeongyeon says as she tries to stop any sort of relationship from forming between the two of you.

“Oh…okay. I just want to say that I really did enjoy my time with you and Jihyo. Not just the sex, but the short time we talked and spent together was really nice. I thought that we might be able to do that here.” Jeongyeon feels you tug at her heartstrings, and her resolve weakens. “I understand, though. I won’t talk about this with anyone.”

“I-I can’t. I’m married, remember?” Jeongyeon says through her stuttering. She raises her wedding ring for you to see. “What we did then was wrong, and I can’t keep that relationship going.”

“Can we at least be friends? Work friends?” You ask her.

“I…sure we can be work friends,” Jeongyeon says, almost immediately regretting her decision. Jeongyeon’s heart beats faster as she looks into your eyes. The memories of those nights rush back to her. Jeongyeon inches closer to you and cups your cheek. “You’re a great guy. It’s just that…that I can’t take things any further. I have to-” You lean in and kiss Jeongyeon. Her eyes go wild, and she tries to resist you, but as you hold her arm, Jeongyeon’s defenses melt away, and she lets you kiss her. Jeongyeon shuts her eyes as your tongue traces her lips; she opens her mouth, letting you inside.

“I’m sorry, Jeongyeon, but you’re irresistible.”

“Love me,” Jeongyeon says as her arms wrap around your neck. You’re both running out of breath and forced to break the kiss soon. Jeongyeon looks at you, happy for a moment, before she shakes her head. “N-no, we can’t.”

“Jeongyeon, you’re enjoying this. You just said you wanted me to love you.”

“I know what I said, but…I just can’t. There’s someplace in my heart for you, but I can’t accept you.” Lunch ends like that, and you return to your desk with Jeongyeon. You occasionally talk to Jeongyeon to get to know her better. She tries to give short responses, but you end up dragging more out of her.

As the work day comes to a close, Dahyun strolls by, “Hi, you two! How was your first day here?”

“It’s been good. Jeongyeon and I have been getting along well.” Jeongyeon waves off your comment.

“Ooh. Sorry, Jeongyeon, but I’m going to steal your boyfriend for now.” Dahyun says, teasing her friend.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Jeongyeon says before she stands up and gathers her things.

“Come on, let’s get going. I only have an hour or so before I have to pick up my kid.” Dahyun says as she hooks her arm around yours. She presses her soft breasts against your arm as she leads you out of the building. Jeongyeon sits back down at her desk, putting her head in her hands.

“Why do I feel like this? We just had sex, simple sex…loving sex.” As Jeongyeon struggles with her thoughts, the idea of you with Dahyun pops into her head, and she gets annoyed at it. “M-maybe, it wouldn’t be so bad to try, would it?” Jeongyeon opens her phone to see a picture of her family: her, her husband, and their baby. After a few moments of looking at it, she closes her phone and heads home.

Dahyun hops into your car and directs you to the shop where she gets her skincare lotions. “So you have a kid?”

“Yeah, he’s only a few months old."