TOKYO, JAPAN - 2 YEARS AGO

“And then you just need to input the invoice number here and then submit the file.”
“Oh, too easy. Thank you, Yuto.”
“No worries.”

Before Shinwon could get another word out, Yuto had already excused himself and walked back to his own desk. Cold as per usual. Shinwon shrunk back into his chair, defeated once again. He had been in Tokyo for almost 2 weeks now for a temporary work assignment. He was assisting a small team of two which consisted of Jinho, the team lead, and Yuto, the analyst (who was practically an all-rounder) with their project. Jinho wasn’t around a lot of the time, busy attending meetings with the client and other department leads which left Shinwon and Yuto back in the office most days and oh, how badly did Shinwon wish that wasn't the case. For the most part, Yuto seemed nice and helpful enough as a co-worker and not imposing in anyway. Also, the fact that he was fluent in Korean for some reason was a big bonus. But he wasn’t particularly sociable. Shinwon found it a bit odd he hadn't been invited to any afterwork drinks yet by Yuto but maybe it was not a very Japanese thing. Well, no, that was definitely not it. It was a very Japanese thing to go drinking after work with coworkers. It just wasn’t Yuto's thing which was a shame because Shinwon didn’t really know anyone else in the whole of Tokyo.

Shinwon did eventually try inviting Yuto out for drinks first but was brutally rejected with the classic ‘Sorry, I’m busy tonight.’ It wasn’t really in Shinwon’s nature to be so nosey but he had never met anyone as enigmatic as Yuto. The guy seemed really straight-laced from how he conducted himself at work. He ate by himself during lunch and didn’t show any signs of having any interests or hobbies outside of work. It all made Shinwon more curious but it was getting frustrating how hard it was to get Yuto to open up even just a little bit.

~

It wasn’t until a whole month later that Shinwon was finally able to break through Yuto’s shell...through very exceptional circumstances. It happened in the very early hours of the morning, at a time when no one would be in the office yet unless they really had to. Shinwon had printed off some documents to proofread and was heading for the printer room when the sound of loud humming got louder as he got closer. Despite approaching the room with caution, Shinwon still managed to bump into the person who was walking out in a rush which caused a flurry of papers to fly everywhere.

Whilst apologising profusely, Shinwon naturally got on the ground to help gather the papers and it was at this point that he realised it was the absolute worst thing he could have done in that very moment. These weren’t normal office documents by any means. They weren’t letters, they weren’t contracts, they weren’t reports. Nothing of the sort. Messily spread all over the ground in front of Shinwon were prints of what appeared to be a hardcore manga. It was safe to say that close-up and extravagantly detailed panels of guys going at it in the most compromising positions that Shinwon didn’t even think were possible was the last thing he had expected to see this fine morning. His hands automatically stopped gathering the papers and instead, he slowly looked up to see none other than Adachi Yuto staring back at him with the most petrified expression on his face. The guy looked like he was about to faint from shock but at the last second, opted to bolt off in the opposite direction without saying a word or looking back. Shinwon found it a bit stupid that Yuto would just leave his belongings behind like that but he couldn't really blame the poor guy.

Shinwon took the whole encounter as a god-given opportunity to get closer to Yuto that was not to be missed. During the day, Shinwon could tell Yuto was purposely ignoring him but at the same time, itching to ask something. Probably about the papers and what Shinwon had done with them. As soon as it was lunch time, Shinwon went through great efforts to track down Yuto who was eating by himself at the outside patio, the life absolutely drained from his eyes. As soon as he saw Shinwon had taken a seat in front of him, Yuto’s cheeks were immediately filled with red, embarrassed beyond comprehension.
“I think you left something behind this morning.” Shinwon slid over the papers which he had kindly gathered neatly. Yuto’s eyes widened in shock and he hastily pulled them over to his side as if to hide it.
“Thank you…”
The silence that followed was excruciatingly painful to the point that Shinwon forced himself to say something, anything, to break it.
“So...I take that you enjoy reading comics?” An awkward chuckle left Shinwon as he reached for his water bottle. There was just no easy way to ease into this conversation but having