I guess working overtime has its perks. Well, there’s the extra pay, for one. And then there’s the more laidback environment for all of us. Don’t get me wrong: I love seeing coworkers suited up and professional and GQ worthy (because let’s be honest, I have some pretty hot coworkers.) But I have this strange—very strange—attraction to folded-up sleeves and skewed eyeglasses. It’s manly and relaxed and above all, a secret of mine.

I stretched my arms above my head, looking up to see Lay hard at work crunching numbers.

I couldn’t help but stare. I mean, of course I knew Lay was attractive. Anyone with a pair of eyes can see that. But sometimes, in quiet moments like these, with his sleeves rolled up and his hair slightly mussed, I’m struck anew by his good looks.

He looked up, suddenly aware I was looking. “What? Are you hungry?”

“Why do you always ask me that?”

“Because you’re always hungry.”

“I am, huh.” I laughed.

He nodded and turned back to his work.

“Lay.”

“Hmm?” His eyes took a few seconds to refocus from his papers.

“Why don’t you still have a girlfriend?”

“Are you teasing me again?”

“No, I’m being completely serious this time. I mean, let’s face it: you’re not ugly.”

“Thanks. That’s great encouragement.” He made a face.

“People hit on you all the time—there’s Jiwon, in case you needed an example. And some of them aren’t half-bad either—also Jiwon, if you needed an example.”

“Why are you asking me this?” Lay set his pen down and leaned back on his chair.

“I don’t know. Because I just realized that you’re too hot to be single. But against all odds, you are.”

“You just finally realized that? After five—no, six—years?” He looked at me incredulously.

I answered with my own question. “Are you… um, gay?”

He was immediately flustered. “What? Me? Gay? What… what are… are you… are you crazy?”

 “You’re gay?” Sehun suddenly popped out of nowhere, leaning against the glass panels.

I nodded solemnly.

“NO! It’s not what you guys think at all!” He’s making frustrated gestures with his arms.

“No judgment if you are! So what if you’re gay? I think it’s perfectly fine, right Sehun?” I looked at him.

“Yeah, totally,” Sehun said understandingly.

“Oh my goodness, you guys. I’m not gay!”

“Who said you were?” Chanyeol suddenly entered the room.

“Okay. Let’s make sure this doesn’t get out of proportion, shall we?” Lay sighed in exasperation. “Shiyoung, I don’t know what you’re smoking, but get off it. I’m not gay, okay? Do I act like I’m gay?”

“Well, no.” I scratched my cheek in thought.

“But some gay people don’t act like gay people,” Sehun suddenly put in before disappearing again.

“Yeah. You don’t have to fit the stereotype,” I nodded.

“And… I’m out of this conversation,” Chanyeol said, walking out of the room.

“Just so we’re clear, I’m not gay!” Lay shouted towards Chanyeol’s back. People in their cubicles all turned their attention to him. He waved embarrassedly before covering his face with his hands.

“I hate you,” he mumbled onto his hands. This will be part of the office rumor mill by tomorrow.

“It was an honest question! Besides, you turned their attention to yourself,” I protested.

“How many years have you known me, you dumbo? Do I look gay to you? Do I act gay to you? Do you honestly not see a shred of manliness in me?”

Okay, so maybe I crossed the line. “I’m sorry, Lay. It’s just that you’re right—I’ve known you for so long, yet in all those years, you’ve never had a serious relationship. And I just think it’s such a waste.”

“Nothing’s going to waste,” he said, still pissed.

“If you treat a girl half as well as you treat me—well, except for the snide Harry Potter remarks.“ He laughed at that. I did too. “If you do, then she’d be a lucky girl. Besides, you’ve got everything going for you. You’d even be mother-in-law-approved: you’re tall, pale, and handsome, and—AND—you make a lot of money.”

“Is that what your mom tells you?” He smiled. His anger lasted about as long as a goldfish could remember.

“Well, yeah. In just about every single phone call.”

He laughed, “sounds just about right.”

“But Lay, for serious, I can’t think of a reason why you’re still single. You’re successful, hot, considerate, kind, loving, and adorable, if a best friend could say so.” He is.

He sighed. “I’m just waiting.”

“Waiting for what? In the traditional world, girls are supposed to do the waiting—you’re supposed to come to her.”

“Well, welcome to the modern world,” he smiled at me ruefully. “We don’t always get what we want.” There’s a sudden bitterness to his tone.

“Is something the matter?”

“I’m waiting for someone to realize all the things you’ve told me—to fully realize it.”

He has a crush? “Who is she? She’d be dumb not to realize that.”

“Someone,” he evaded. “That’s really ironic. See, she’s a pretty smart woman.”

“Maybe you should give her signals?” I wasn’t pushing his buttons again so soon.

“I’ve been giving her signals for a while now,” he looked at the ceiling, hands resting behind his neck.

“Then she’s really dense.”

He laughed again. What’s so funny? “I guess she is.”

“Well, if the signals don’t work, maybe you should try confessing to her.”

His eyes suddenly land on mine. “You think so?”

“Yeah. Definitely.”

I saw hesitation on his face.

“If it doesn’t work out, you could come over and we can finish a tub of cookies and cream together watching sappy romantic comedies.” I smiled at him encouragingly. Instead of smiling back, he only looked at me. What’s up with that?

--

Although this isn't a Chanyeol chapter, I just wanted to clarify something. I talked to one of my awesome readers, TinyTina, and I realized something. It seems like I portrayed him as a jerk the first few chapters, then I suddenly made him turn for the nicer later. That's really not what I wanted it to seem like. Remember that we're always in Shiyoung's point of view, so it's really very subjective. What she feels and sees does not equate to pure reality--she tints it with her perspective. So when she's mad at him, she says mean things about him. When she starts liking him again, she's a nicer judge. We don't fully know Chanyeol's side, so I hope y'all aren't too quick to judge.

On a completely different note... so, I know I'm late on this bandwagon, but I started reading Warm Bodies haha and guess what? I think I've fallen in love. The plot isn't anything earth-shattering. The story isn't anything deep. But what gets to me is Marion's ability to make the zombie experience something beautiful and lyrical and emotionally nuanced. He writes with a sensitivity that makes me read and reread passages at a time. It's so wonderfully written, so I wanted to just share the experience with you guys in case you haven't read the book. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I plan to do so once I finish.

To give you a glimpse of his beautiful writing, here's a snippet:

"I want to do something impossible. Something astounding and unheard of. I want to scrub the moss off the Space Shuttle and fly Julie to the moon and colonise it, or float a capsized cruise ship to some distant island where no one will protest us, or just harness the magic that brings me into the brains of the Living and use it to bring Julie into mine, because it's warm in here, it's quiet and lovely , and in here we aren't an absurd juxtaposition, we are perfect."