Office Romance (bangdae)

Office AU in which Daehyun is a reporter/journalist and Yongguk is the guy who reads his emails OR in which Yongguk thinks he falls in love with three different people when they're actually the same person.

Inspired by Rainbow Rowell's Attachments.

Yongguk was a traditionalist.

He always made sure to follow the news and had always been fond of (physical) newspapers in particular. A couple of months ago, a new reporter who tended to write feature stories and restaurant, movie, and album reviews caught his eye, and he started looking forward to reading whatever this “Jung Daehyun” had to say. As soon as he got his paper, the first thing Yongguk would do was flip between the pages, looking for his name. He couldn’t help but crack a smile whenever he saw it and feel dejected when he didn’t.

Daehyun was smart and witty. He was thorough and insightful. He had a unique style, and his voice shone through his writing. Clearly, the guy knew what he was talking about. Time and time again, he read and reread his favorite stories and cut them out and placed them in a special box like a proud parent would do.

Daehyun was like a secret he refused to share with others. When Yongguk read his articles, he had to be left alone to enjoy them in peace, without any interruptions. He didn’t care if people looked at him strangely on the train, in cafes, or in the park when he laughed out loud, grinned stupidly to himself, hummed in appreciation, or nodded and mumbled in agreement. He was lost in his own world.

Yongguk would listen to the songs Daehyun listened to and watch the movies he recommended. When he had time, he’d visit the restaurants he’d visited, wanting to establish some kind of connection between them, no matter how superficial (and also hoping to meet him there one day, but he would never admit it).

In short, Yongguk was a big fan.

When he landed a job at the newspaper Daehyun worked for, he was over the moon. On the way back to his apartment, he called his best friend, Himchan, to come over and celebrate. When he got there, Himchan knew the source of his elation right away and rolled his eyes.

“Congrats. Now you finally get to meet the boy you’re obsessed with and know nothing about.”

Yongguk smacked the back of his head. “Yah, don’t judge. I know his name’s Jung Daehyun, and that he’s been working in the newsroom for just over two months. He likes R&B and ballads and movies and food – he loves food.”

“Uh huh,” Himchan replied. “And what does he look like?”

At this, Yongguk’s shoulders slouched. “I don’t know. He’s still pretty new, so…”

Himchan snorted. “Of course you’ve already tried looking him up.” Yongguk threw a can of soda at Himchan’s head. “Ow!”

“You deserved it.”

“I’m just saying!” Himchan pouted, rubbing his throbbing temple. “Okay okay, but let’s just say you actually met this guy – what are you gonna do if he turns out to be some nerd with thick glasses and bad acne, or seriously overweight or something? It’s possible, you know, since you said he likes food so much.”

Yongguk looked down at his coffee, sloshing the dark liquid around in the cup. He’d never actually given much thought to what Daehyun looked like, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t curious. He shrugged. “At least his personality’s good.”

Himchan facepalmed. “This is why you’re still single.”

“And what’s your excuse?”

“At least I’m not in love with a name and some words.”

Yongguk worked in product management. His job? Basically dealing with email.

Ever since Himchan put the thought of Daehyun’s appearance in his head, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. But they worked in different departments, and it’d be suspicious if Yongguk started asking his coworkers if they knew someone by the name of Jung Daehyun and where he could find him.

Yongguk sighed as he scrolled through the never-ending list of emails. Technically, he wasn’t supposed to read anyone’s emails unless he had good reason (he could use the filter to look for keywords or inappropriate content). But even though this was part of his job and the employees knew that their emails were being monitored, it felt…wrong. It felt like he was snooping, invading other people’s privacy.

Just then, a name appeared on the screen: Jung Daehyun.

Yongguk’s breath hitched.

His hand froze as he continued staring for who knew how long. Should he open it? Was he that desperate to know more about this mysterious boy? Was he really that kind of person?

Before he could stop himself, he clicked on the email.

He was too far gone to go back now.

Of course, Yongguk still felt extremely guilty every time he did it, but he couldn’t help it. He now had another gateway into this Daehyun’s life aside from his articles, and the highly amusing exchanges between the boy and his friend, Youngjae, who worked in technology, made his job more enjoyable.

Daehyun seemed so perfect. They had so many things in common, and he seemed so bright and down-to-earth.

Except he had a boyfriend.

He learned that Daehyun was from Busan and had an older brother. He was fresh out of grad school. He liked to sing and was good enough to do it professionally if it weren’t for his stage fright. Because he and Youngjae would often bicker and tease each other, he seemed to have an outgoing personality and liked to talk and play around a lot, but he could also be shy (an outgoing introvert – very interesting). He cried when watching movies and dramas and listening to certain songs because he was just that sensitive. He was left-handed, didn’t like seafood, wanted to travel, and had a high metabolism that Youngjae envied because he could eat a lot of whatever he wanted without gaining weight (well, at least one of Himchan’s theories was wrong).

Oh, right, and he had a boyfriend.

Now if only Yongguk knew what he looked like, that’d be great.

The next week, Yongguk fell in love with a voice.

He was passing by a lounge when he heard it: the melodic, infectious laughter that resonated with him. Its tone was rich and soothing and carried a certain warmth that reminded him of honey. Occasionally, Yongguk could pick up on a slight accent. He’d never heard anything like it before, and he thought that he could listen to it for a lifetime.

He should work in broadcast with a voice like that.

Unfortunately, Yongguk thought it’d be awkward to sneak a peek at the owner of that lovely voice, especially when there seemed to be multiple people in the room, which meant there was a good chance of him being caught. He only regretted it when he got back to his office.

Lately, it seemed, that voice was everywhere (or maybe he’d been actively listening for it) – in the hallways, outside his office, in the cafeteria. But always – always – Yongguk would turn his head too late to catch a glimpse of the boy, and it frustrated him to no end.

At least he still had Daehyun’s emails to look forward to.

The week after, Yongguk fell in love with a face. According to Himchan, he was finally becoming normal, but no one asked for his opinion on Daehyun or who he’d named “Honey vocals” anyway.

God, what was with the people working here? Why did he like them so much? And why couldn’t he identify more than a few things about each of them? It was like he had some pieces of different puzzles, which was extremely unhelpful and getting him nowhere.

He’d never seen him before because if he did, he definitely wouldn’t have forgotten. The first time he saw him, through a glass wall chatting with a slightly shorter boy, he couldn’t look away. He had a small face, dark brown hair, and bangs that stopped just short of falling in front of his eyes. When he flipped his hair, Yongguk could make out a shapely nose and plump lips. He was slim and dressed casually but stylishly, eating a huge slice of cheesecake.

And when he smiled – wow. His eyes turned into crescents and his teeth were almost blinding, and Yongguk swore he’d never seen anything more pure and beautiful before in his entire life.

He should be on TV with a face like that.

Now if only Yongguk knew his name, that’d be great.

So by the end of his first two months at the newspaper, Yongguk was in love with three different people.

The worst part of it was that there was no sign of any of them for the past week. He hadn’t seen any new emails or articles written by Daehyun; he hadn’t heard Honey vocal’s voice; he hadn’t seen the attractive brunette he’d longed to see.

Feeling deprived, he decided, on a whim, to visit Daehyun’s department.

Yeah, he was totally not a creeper.

When he found the right floor, he started having doubts. What the hell was he doing here? What did he hope to get out of this? What would the other employees think? But then Yongguk thought about how Daehyun might have pictures and other personal items at his desk, and he decided this was all worth it.

Luckily, most people were on their lunch break, so there weren’t too many questioning stares in his direction. Most seemed to figure he was a manager who came to check on them and smiled before getting back to work. With fewer eyes on him, Yongguk felt more at ease and started to look around, walking between cubicles and tables until he stumbled across the right one. It didn’t take too long.

The desk was neat overall, with papers organized in separate piles and sticky notes posted everywhere. Yongguk sat down in the chair and ran his fingers gently over the notes, as if trying to memorize the handwriting. There were empty mugs, some snacks, CDs, and flyers. He didn’t see any pictures, though, except for those of who he assumed was his family. He left feeling fulfilled and disappointed at the same time.

Another week passed and still no sign of any of them. Yongguk sighed at his desk. Like a zombie, he slowly scrolled through the long list of emails. Without Daehyun’s emails, it was a tedious task, and he wondered why he put up with this on a daily basis. But then a new email showed up, and he immediately sat up straight, forgetting all his grumbling and complaining. He opened the email and read it.

From: Jung Daehyun

To: Yoo Youngjae

Subject: I’m Back!

Hey, you! Did you miss me? I’m finally back from covering that overseas story. Can you believe it? This could be my big break! Anyway, are you free? I’m starving! We should catch up over lunch.

Yongguk smiled. So that explained why Daehyun was gone, at least. Knowing that his favorite reporter was back, he felt better already. Looking at the time, Yongguk decided to head to the cafeteria to grab some food.

Usually, he’d take his meal back to his office or an empty lounge, but since it wasn’t too crowded today, he opted to stay there to eat. As he looked around, his eyes locked with two deep brown ones across the room. Yongguk almost dropped his spoon.

There he was, eating and looking more breathtaking than ever. The boy’s eyes widened and he looked away. Was he…blushing? Cute.

Wow, Yongguk was having a great day. He smiled to himself and stole glances at the boy, trying to be subtle about it but failing miserably. Occasionally, the other would look in his direction and quickly look away when he realized that Yongguk was staring, whispering to the boy across from him.

Yongguk squinted and tried to get a better look at the boy eating with his object of interest. When said boy turned around to briefly look at him, Yongguk recognized him immediately. Those two were always together. Are they a couple?

He stabbed his rice, bitter at the thought.

From: Yoo Youngjae

To: Jung Daehyun

Subject: What just happened?

Okay, that was weird.

From: Jung Daehyun

To: Yoo Youngjae