Small Things

It was closed to 7 PM when the last of the office lights dimmed.

Most of the team had clocked out, but Yoon Seo was still at his desk, tapping quietly on his keyboard. Across from him, Kang Min Jae sat with his headphones on, nodding slowly to something only he could hear.

They hadn't said much since the meeting yesterday - just small acknowledgement, brief exchanges. But the silence between them had shifted. It wasn't heavy. It just felt... Full.

Yoon Seo glanced up, meaning to stretch his neck, but Min Jae choose the exact moment to take off his headphones.

Their eyes met.

"You're working late again." Min Jae said, standing to stretch. "You really like working overtime, huh?"

Yoon Seo leaned back to his chair. "I could say the same about you."

Min Jae smiled, soft and easy. "Touché."

There was a pause. Min Jae walked over to the small office kitchen and returned with two paper cups of warm tea. Without a word, he set one down in front of Yoon Seo.

"No coffee this late," he said.

Yoon Seo raised an eyebrow. "You planning to control my caffeine intake now?"

Min Jae gave a slight shrug. "Just don't want you losing sleep. You seem like the type who already sleeps little."

The words were casual - almost teasing - but they landed heavier than expected. Yoon Seo didn't responded immediately.

"How could you know that?" he asked finally.

Min Jae sat on his desk, looking down into his tea. " I notice things."

Yoon Seo looked at him carefully. Min Jae's tone had shifted - not flirtatious, not playful, just.. Real.

"I don't sleep much either," Min Jae's added. "Too many thoughts. They don't really stop when the lights go off."

Yoon Seo said nothing. But he looked down at his cup, fingers curling around the warmth. Something in that simple sentence had reached him more than it should've.

"Do you ever talk about it?" he asked, surprising even himself.

Min Jae chuckled softly, not looking at him. "No. People either want to fix you or pity you. I don't need either."

Yoon Seo hesitated, then quietly: " What if someone just listened."

Min Jae turned to look at him. For once, there was no smile on his face. Just something softer, Quieter.

"Then maybe I did let them." he said.

Neither of them spoke for a long time.

The office was silent, the city's distant hum barely seeping through the windows.

Yoon Seo took a sip of the tea. It wasn't good - too bitter - but it was warm. And tonight he didn't mind the taste.

He leaned back to his chair, eyes tracing the flicker of candlelight across the cracked wall. The silence of the room pressed in around him, thick but not suffocating. The bitterness of the tea reminded him he was still here, still feeling something.

Something heavy. Not quite sadness, not quiet anger - just a weight that settled in the chest and stayed there.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***