Chapter 7: Friendly neighbor

Kind words beget kind words.

It’s what my grandfather always told me to keep in mind whenever we gathered with relatives during the holidays.

Of course, the source of the saying wasn’t my grandfather, but an existing proverb, but anyway, I’ve always lived with the words he told me when I was a child in mind.

If you ask me if my grandfather’s earnest request has been an advice to my life, I can answer without hesitation that it has. No matter how bleak the world has become and how sharp people have become, don’t they say that praise makes even whales dance?

People are weaker than you think to warm and friendly words. There is no one who will not open their heart if you treat them sincerely, not with a made-up attitude.

…Maybe it’s just because I’m big, but anyway, the important thing is that it worked.

“Hello~.”

“You’re early again today…?”

A smile on my face, softness in my voice.

Polite and kind as if dealing with an elder.

Clear-eyed madman….no, puppy….either way, it sounds weird.

“…?”

Anyway, whether it was because she felt a sense of incongruity in my attitude, which had returned to the way it used to be, a change appeared in the team leader’s eyes, which were always inorganic.

Since we broke up, I had never shown this attitude, the attitude I show to others, to the team leader.

The resentment and ill feelings about being dumped may have had a slight influence, but more than that, I thought that acting the same way as before to someone who used to be my lover might cause discomfort.

“What’s wrong?”

“You seem to be in a good mood today, Hanbyeol.“

But it’s been quite a while since we broke up, and come to think of it, I wonder if I really need to cater to the person who dumped me.

More than anything, I don’t know if it’s bullying or what, but anyway, she’s the one who started to approach me first, so is there any need for me to back down?

“Anything good happen?”

“No, it’s the same as usual.”

Strictly speaking, for me, the usual, the average, is this.

“I woke up as usual, listened to the radio, washed up simply as usual, had a simple breakfast as usual, and arrived at the company as usual.”

A kind person. A comfortable person. A positive person.

“That’s all. Nothing is different from usual.”

If it wasn’t the team leader but other people who saw me like this, they wouldn’t have said anything. Because in their eyes, I was always like this.

But what if it was the team leader, who had been maintaining an awkward relationship with me? In the eyes of the team leader, who had always seen me avoiding her and being intimidated, my appearance like this would clearly feel like a change. Or would she think I’ve returned to normal?

“Please take care of me today too.”

“…Yes.”

Anyway, I achieved my initial small goal of making the team leader flustered.

Now, it’s time to slowly, slowly tame her…

.Tame sounds too weird.

I just want to be friendly again, I mean, friendly by my standards. Returning to the previous relationship of a boss and a subordinate is my ultimate goal.

For that to happen, I have to go back first. To the me of that time.

If that happens, the team leader will also return to normal. To a strict and inhumane person who doesn’t take away other people’s precious lunch time.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, just a little…”

But…why is she reacting like that?

…Did she eat something wrong?

Smile.

A bright smile, more beautiful than any other expression a person can make.

Seo Hanbyeol has always had a knack for reminding people of sunflowers or golden retrievers. Because she always maintained a bright smile without a shadow.

I didn’t think much of such a smile before. It was just that she seemed to have a good impression.

Because Seo Hanbyeol is a man, and my taste is not men. It was limited to things like, “It’s nice to see you smile,” or “I wonder what good things are happening that you’re always smiling like that.”

But now…

“..Bright.”

It’s too bright. It’s hard to even look at it properly.

The impression hasn’t changed dramatically. Even when he was a man, Seo Hanbyeol’s impression itself was quite soft and pretty.

But somehow, the feeling is different.

A little more innocent, a little more sparkling.

And a little more….touching.

Come to think of it, he was too tall before.

He was so tall that it hurt my neck to look at him, and there was a natural intimidation that came from his large size.

But now he’s….very petite.

Not to the level of a child, but smaller and more slender than most female employees I’ve seen at work.

I like small things.

Animals, plants, accessories….and people.

I like things smaller than me. Is it because it’s more comfortable to look down than to look up, or is it because it’s cute?

Either way, it’s certain that Seo Hanbyeol now is more dangerous than Seo Hanbyeol before. In many ways.

Come to think of it, for a while, he hadn’t smiled in front of me.

Even before he became a woman, maybe it was always like that since I told him to break up.

The reason is clear. Who can smile in front of an ex-girlfriend who unilaterally dumped them?

Especially if it’s not someone you won’t see after breaking up, but a boss you have to face every day.

So even after becoming a woman, he always showed a somewhat awkward and frightened expression in front of me.

What other expression could he have shown in front of a former lover and boss who unilaterally told him to break up, but his frightened and uncomfortable inner feelings were clearly revealed….

…It wasn’t that bad, that too.

But maybe it’s because positive emotions touch people’s hearts more than negative emotions.

The bright smile I encountered head-on for the first time felt different. That feeling, that destructive power…

“Huu… “

After washing my face as if to peel off my skin, I raised my head and saw my face in the mirror.

The same poker face as always, still not showing any emotion.

But if I keep, keep encountering that smile…

..This mask might break. I had a premonition.

” ~♪ “

It’s refreshing.

It’s been a long time since I felt this refreshed. I think I could even drink coffee sweetly now.

“What, is something good happening? You seem to be in a good mood today?”

I don’t know how he noticed my mood, but the Jooim spoke to me with a surprised expression.

“Is it obvious?”

“It’s always been obvious with you, Hanbyeol. It’s written all over your face that you’re excited, how could it not be obvious? It’s hard to find someone like you, Hanbyeol, who shows their emotions so clearly on their face.”

It seems that I’m not very good at hiding my inner feelings. If this human, who is known for being clueless, can read my emotions.

So what’s going on? Let me know too.’

“Well.”

“Oh, you’re ignoring your senior now that you’ve gotten some experience? I didn’t think you were like that, Hanbyeol, are you also an MZ?”

Seeing the Jooim playfully acting like a boomer, uttering the TOP 1 most disliked words by the MZ generation according to Forbes, I smiled and thought. He’s also MZ.

“They say you’ll be called a boomer if you say things like that these days.”

It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m the one who hears that the most.”

What’s okay, exactly?

“Anyway, so what’s going on? Aren’t you going to tell me?”

“It’s a private matter, so it’s a bit difficult to talk about.”

“Oh? Well, then I guess there’s nothing I can do.”

He has a mischievous side, but my senior is a person who is flexible in his thinking and thoroughly adheres to what he must. This means that he won’t pry any further if I say this much.

“I’ll tell you later.”

“When?”

“Um….when I get promoted?”

What more can I explain to someone who doesn’t even know that I used to date the team leader?

“By the way, does the team leader have any schedule today? It seems like it’s been a while since she went out.”

Yeah? I don’t know. The live broadcast is tonight….Did she go to the bathroom?”

She’s using the bathroom for this long? Wouldn’t it be more realistic to say she’s slacking off in the break room?

Of course, the team leader is not that kind of person. It’s hard to find someone as much of a workaholic as her.

She’s the type of person who would rather work at home without being told than slack off at work. The fact that such a person has been away from her seat for so long…

At that moment. The office door opened with a clatter, and the team leader, who had been away from her seat for a long time, returned to her seat.

…With water dripping from her hair.

…Team Leader, is something wrong?”

“..I wonder..?”

I don’t know the reason, but I think I know something.

The reason why a person who was fine in the morning suddenly shows such an appearance is….um..

…Did I change my attitude too quickly? Would it have been better to do it a little more slowly?

No, in the first place, does it make sense to act like that just because my attitude changed a little? Could there be another reason?

I’m not someone who knows everything about the team leader, and she might be like this because of personal reasons I don’t know.

If that’s not the case, if she really was shocked to that extent purely because of my change in attitude…

..That might be a little creepy.

“Let’s do our work properly instead of talking. There.”

Seeing the team leader, who soon wiped the water from her hair and acted as usual, I felt a slight sense of incongruity.

That day, for the first time in a long time, I was freed from lunch with the team leader.