Woohyun meets him again a couple of days later, this time outside the cafeteria. It's the end of his lunch break and he is just leaving when they almost literally run into each other. The only thought going through Woohyun's head is how unbelievably attractive Dongwoo is up close; it's almost unfair how good he looks. He sees the other's eyes light up in recognition and is about to mentally jump for joy until he realizes that Dongwoo probably remembers him as the weird guy who ran away from him.

Whatever his opinion is, he doesn't voice it as he gives a polite greeting. Woohyun musters every ounce of willpower and manages to finally say something, only it ends up being complete gibberish. He never knew a person could mess up a word as simple as "hi", but whatever he says is so far from it he might as well have been speaking another language.

Dongwoo has the most perplexed (but cute) look on his face and Woohyun once again throws logic out the window and hightails it out of there like his life depends on it. Why do his words always fail him in the most embarrassing ways whenever he is near Dongwoo? Woohyun is convinced there is something seriously wrong with him; he can't function like he used to and it's all Dongwoo's fault.

But the craziest part about it is that he likes being near the other man. He likes it— he likes him— so much and he just wishes he could tell him.

Woohyun finds himself back in Sunggyu's office the next day, just as troubled as he was the last time he was there. And just like before, Sunggyu is still distracted by his phone, but this time it's actually on; it appears the director finally made a move. As momentous as that is, Woohyun has yet to solve his own problems. He recounts the humiliating incident and waits for the older man to give him some helpful advice.

"Write him a letter."

Woohyun is a fool for thinking Sunggyu could help him; the director doesn't have the slightest clue when it comes to romance. He'll just have to avoid Dongwoo for the rest of his life. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Well, it's obvious you can't talk to him face-to-face," Sunggyu patiently explains. His friend has a habit of overcomplicating things and looking for answers everywhere but right under his nose. "You can put it all in a letter and anonymously give it to him; you wouldn't have to be in contact with him at all."

"Why would I do something like that— this isn't middle school."

"I thought it was cute."

"Of course you did." Woohyun shoots a glare at his friend as he stands to leave. He swears this is the last time he talks to the older man about this; he'll just figure it all out on his own.

Woohyun trudges out of the director's office just as distressed as when he went in, if not more. Just as he is about to head to the elevator he sees a head of fluffy brown hair that he is certain belongs to Dongwoo. Panic courses through him, his mind telling him to run, but his legs don't seem to be listening. Questionable decisions seem to be his new thing as he hastily ducks behind Hoya's desk. It is a rather large piece of furniture so he is sure no one can see him from the other side.

That isn't quite the case, however, with Hoya who had been quietly minding his own business in front of his computer before the older man came barreling into his personal space. The irritated scowl on his face isn't anything new and neither is his surly tone. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Woohyun answers, rising from his crouched position near the secretary's feet. Dusting off his pants and straightening his tie, he refuses to look embarrassed in front of the younger man; he would probably find some way to use it against him in the future.

"Why are you always doing that?" Woohyun thinks Hoya's face might be stuck in a permanent frown, it is the only expression he's ever seen on him.

"Doing what?"

"Being weird."

Or maybe he just doesn't like him. Woohyun finds that hard to believe, though— everyone likes him.

Folding his arms across his chest, he feigns ignorance. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Hoya smirks then (Woohyun forgot about that look, his "sarcastic jerk" face), a knowing look in his eyes. "This has something to do with Dongwoo, doesn't it?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Woohyun repeats. He doesn't know how the assistant figured it out so easily, but he won't give him the satisfaction of knowing he's right.

"Please." Hoya rolls his eyes. "You're more transparent than glass. Anyone with eyes can see that you like him."

"I don't—"

"Dongwoo!" Hoya cuts him off before he can finish his denial, pointing somewhere behind him. Woohyun all but dives into the younger man's lap in his effort to hide himself; it goes without saying that the other's legs make for a bad hiding place. Hoya glances down at him with a raised eyebrow. "What were you saying?"

Standing back up and dusting himself off, Woohyun clears his throat and steps out from behind the desk. "I think it's time for me to get back to work."

"If you want, I can talk to Dongwoo, see how he feels about you," Hoya says simply but sincerely.

"Why?" Woohyun knows the younger man means what he's saying— he never says anything he doesn't mean— he just doesn't understand why.

"Why not?" Hoya just shrugs, not bothering to explain himself further.

Woohyun squints at the other man, still unsure what kind of game he is playing. "No, thank you?"

Shrugging again, the secretary turns back to his computer. "Suit yourself."

Woohyun finally walks away feeling utterly confused and strangely grateful. In all the years he's known him, Hoya has never once offered to do him a favor; it feels weird to have the younger man want to do something nice for him and truly mean it. Although more and more people seem to be getting involved in his little problem, they've only managed to make it more complicated rather than help him solve it.

~*~

Woohyun's solution ends up being to avoid Dongwoo at all costs. He peeks around every corner and even goes out of his way to take the stairs to prevent any more awkward elevator encounters. Although he receives many odd stares, none of them are from the man in question so he easily brushes them off.

By the end of the day Woohyun learns that the art of evasion is a tiresome job. It hasn't been very long, but he isn't sure if he can do this much longer. Crazily enough, he is actually considering Sunggyu's foolishly sappy idea. While it is utterly ridiculous, it would be much simpler than what he's doing right now.

His plan, which isn't very much better, has worked and continues to work well into the next day. That is until he spots him on his way back from lunch. Dongwoo is across the room busily delivering mail to the other employees, smiling as widely as ever. Woohyun feels short of breath— perhaps from the three-floor walk-up or perhaps for a completely different reason. Whatever it is, he needs it to go away as soon as possible. He's sure he can get to his office without running into him, but he won't be able to escape him when he shows up at his door to give him his mail.

With that in mind he starts looking for someone to intercept Dongwoo. Almost immediately, his eyes go to the interns. Sungjong seems to be busy, but with the way he's smiling down at his lap Woohyun is certain the young boy is not-so-secretly texting the director. He decides not to interrupt them and sets his sights on the tall intern fooling around by the water cooler. Keeping an eye on Dongwoo's progress across the room, Woohyun marches over to the lanky boy.

"Hey, Myungyeol."

Sungyeol, who had been doing a pretty accurate impression of Director Kim, jumps at his boss's sudden appearance. The two other interns he had been joking with look ready to bolt. "It's actually Sungyeol."

"Right, that's what I meant." Woohyun puts on his most charming smile; he usually refrains from getting close to the interns, but he's bit desperate at the moment. "Anyway, I need you to get my mail for me."

"Right now?" Although he is much taller than the team leader, Sungyeol looks absolutely terrified.

"There's no rush," Woohyun assures, trying not to sound as anxious as he feels.

Sungyeol gives him a quiet "yes sir" and he pats his arm gratefully before quickly and carefully heading to his office. Once inside Woohyun finally feels like he can breath and he soon realizes that all his running away is just making everything worse. He has already come to terms with the fact that he really likes (possibly even loves) Dongwoo and he doesn't think that's going to change any time soon. A little communication problem shouldn't be enough to stop him; he isn't the type to quit without even trying.

Feeling strangely motivated, Woohyun rushes over to his desk and scribbles a hasty note. It isn't much, but he thinks it sums up his feelings most accurately. He makes sure Dongwoo is still outside and thoroughly preoccupied before sneaking up to his mail cart and slipping the letter under a pile of envelopes.

Back in the safety of his office, Woohyun slumps into his chair, a sense of dread slowly replacing the adrenaline once running through his veins. He's thinking again and he's beginning to feel like he made a huge mistake. Just because he really likes (maybe kinda sorta loves) the guy doesn't mean he has to tell him. But that's exactly what he's done; Dongwoo is probably reading his note right now and there is nothing he can do but wait.

A knock on the door pulls him from his thoughts and his heart stops for a long moment. That couldn't be Dongwoo, could it? Is he here to accept his confession? To reject him? Woohyun doesn't know what he'll do if his feelings aren't reciprocated. He tries to keep his voice steady as he calls for the person to enter.

A head of wavy brown hair that definitely doesn't belong to the short mail boy peers around the wooden frame and the team leader sighs in both relief and disappointment. Sungyeol enters the room still as apprehensive as ever, bowing quickly before approaching his boss. The usually brazen intern looks like a frightened kitten as he hands over the papers, his eyes never leaving the floor. He spins around almost immediately after his task is complete and starts burning a path to the door.

"Hey, Sungyeol," Woohyun calls out before the intern can get too far. "That was a pretty good impression earlier. He's usually a bit whinier, but you're the best I've heard so far."

Sungyeol breaks into a grin, all gums and teeth, and he might even be blushing a little. His face drops a few seconds later as a thought occurs to him and he gapes at his boss with wide, innocent eyes. "Are you going to tell Director Kim I was making fun of him?"

"Of course not," Woohyun assures, finding this new shy side of the tall intern rather cute. He's used to being annoyed by the younger man, but he feels like he could actually like him now.

Sungyeol visibly sags in relief, his smile jumping back into place. He stays rooted to his spot, looking like he wants to say something else, but bites his lip instead and bows once more before going back the way he came.

Today has been a strange day, Woohyun thinks as he flips through the envelopes in his hands. Sunggyu is in a good mood, Hoya is being uncommonly nice, and the normally loud Sungyeol is noticeably subdued. And now he's holed up in his office waiting for his crush to check yes no or maybe (well, figuratively anyway). This is definitely the last time he follows Sunggyu's advice.