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Wonwoo was nearly dead asleep at his desk. He had spent most of the night before gaming, trying to surpass his previous record. He achieved it, but it came at the cost of his sleep and functionality. It was a bad day to be inefficient, as the manager announced the arrival of a new intern. He was bright and smiling, way too cheery for seven in the morning, but Wonwoo found himself sitting up a little straighter, Monster can long forgotten.
"Hello, I'm Lee Seokmin. I'm twenty and I'll be in your care for the next three months. I hope to get along." He introduced with a bow so quick and low it made Wonwoo's head spin.
A few desks down, Wonwoo could see his coworker and friend, Jihoon, shaking his head as he leaned in to talk to his desk mate, Soonyoung.
"Poor kid is going to be crushed by this place."
Wonwoo shared his fear, but he was determined to make sure that it didn't happen. Seokmin was sitting next to him at a desk that had been left empty by the previous intern, a shy girl who hadn't lasted her first month, despite Wonwoo trying to help. Apparently, according to gossip repeated by Junhui, he had made it worse with his intimidating and cold look. He tried to appear friendly when Seokmin sat down and turned to him to give a small greeting, but his lack of sleep was working against him, and he just knew that he was scowling. Seokmin faltered in just the slightest, but kept his sunny disposition.
"I'm excited to be desk mates with you..." He trailed off, obviously trying to acquire a name.
"Wonwoo."
"Wonwoo Sunbae. I have lots to learn from you."
Not being great at conversations with strangers, especially ones so energetic and bright, Wonwoo simply nodded as a reply. Seokmin seemed a little disheartened, but understood as he turned to face his own desk. Wonwoo tried to focus on the accounts on his screen, but his attention was being drawn to Seokmin, who was getting acquainted with his new desk and was pulling trinket after trinket to place around the small area.
"You can only have three personal items," Wonwoo informed him suddenly.
Seokmin startled and then appeared crestfallen as he took in the older's words. "What?"
Wonwoo tried to appear sympathetic. "Company policy."
Seokmin became distressed as he scanned through his various trinkets, trying to narrow them down to just three, but it was clear that it was troublesome for him. To him, it was like asking him to pick a favorite child. Wonwoo turned away to give him privacy in his turmoil, but he felt the younger's gaze on him. He looked at the intern expectantly.
"How many personal items do you have on your desk?" Seokmin inquired.
Wonwoo's tired eyes briefly scanned the area. "None." He answered, seeming a little surprised himself.
At home, he was a bit like Seokmin. He had various trinkets that Junhui teased him were nerdy, but he hadn't brought any into work. He hadn't seen the reason. He liked keeping his personal and work life separate.
Seokmin handed him three trinkets with an excited grin. "Perfect! Now you have three."
Wonwoo was a little bewildered and shy as he accepted the trinkets. One was a little Care Bear, yellow, and it reminded him of Seokmin. He placed it just below his monitor, within his line of vision. Another was a small white dog curled up with a golden retriever. Wonwoo placed that near his Monster. The last one was a tiny ceramic black cat, curled up in a sleeping position. Wonwoo found himself smiling at it. He had always liked cats.
"He kinda looks like you," Seokmin stated suddenly, startling him. Wonwoo was careful not to drop the precious figure.
"Oh. Thanks." Wonwoo said, sounding a little dumb.
Seokmin was starting to realize that his new sunbae was a bit awkward, and he accepted it, humming to himself as he adjusted himself to his new computer. Wonwoo shared a look with his three friends, and he knew they were all thinking the same thing; this place was going to eat Seokmin alive.
˗ˏˋ✩ˎˊ˗
Seokmin had officially outlasted all the other interns. He had been there for two months—almost three —and showed signs of holding on, but it wasn't easy. It was clear he was pure-hearted and perhaps a bit sensitive. He would cower whenever he was scolded for making a mistake, looking very much like a scolded puppy. His eyes shone with tears whenever he received criticism, but he kept his back straight and head held high, never letting the tears fall. Wonwoo admired him and, in turn, the intern seemed to be attached to his sunbae. Wonwoo was known for being awkward and somewhat shy, always keeping to himself, but Seokmin brought something out in him. He tried to interact more, answering any and every question the intern had, which was a lot.
"Sunbae, how do I put this into the system?"
"Sunbae, why is this showing up as an error?"
"Sunbae, please tell me there's better coffee around here."
"Sunbae, are you always this quiet?"
Wonwoo never got annoyed with him. In fact, he quite enjoyed having Seokmin around, which didn't go unnoticed by his three friends.
"He's like sunshine personified, and you're going to get sunburnt," Jihoon stated one afternoon during lunch.
"That kid adores you," Soonyoung added. "His eyes practically shine every time he looks at you."
Wonwoo blushed but didn't reply. He wasn't sure exactly what it was that he felt for the intern, just that he liked having him around and would be sad when his internship was up.
"Does he know just how nerdy you are?" Junhui asked, ruining the moment. "That you collect Pokémon cards?" He teased.
Wonwoo's blush deepened. "Shut up."
Then the dreaded third month came to an end. It was Seokmin's final day, and he was undecided if he would seek full-time employment within the company, but had said that his time there had been insightful. Wonwoo tried to hide his disappointment as Seokmin packed his things, his three cute trinkets being carefully placed into the box. People kept stopping by, wishing Seokmin luck or asking what he was going to do now. He had become well-liked in the last three months. It seemed no one was immune to Seokmin's sunshine personality, Wonwoo included. He eyed the three trinkets he had kept and guarded on his desk since Seokmin's first day. He carefully gathered them up, stopping at the intern's desk.
"Here you go, I'm sure you'll be wanting these back."
Seokmin accepted the trinkets from him, but handed the cat back to Wonwoo. "You two need each other." He told him.
Wonwoo couldn't stop the smile that made its way to his face as he placed it back in its rightful spot. When he turned back, Seokmin had his hands out once more, offering Wonwoo something else. When the older accepted it, he was surprised to find a Snorlax figure. Seokmin seemed rather shy all of a sudden.
"I caught a glimpse of your phone one time. You seem to really like Pokémon, so..." He trailed off with a nervous giggle. "I was hoping you could start having personal items on your desk."
Wonwoo's smile grew wider. "Thank you, Intern Lee. That's really thoughtful of you."
He placed it next to the cat, wondering what his third and final personal item would be.
At the end of the day, a small group formed around the intern, wishing him well wherever life took him next. Wonwoo wasn't part of the crowd, but he knew Seokmin understood. He always did. He felt down as he walked out of the company. Starting tomorrow, there would be no Seokmin sitting next to him. There would be no one giving him tea and scolding him for chugging energy drinks. There would be no one to ask him question after question. The office had dimmed.
"Sunbae!"
Was his mind playing tricks on him already? Was he really so forlorn by Seokmin's absence that he was starting to hear things? Was he truly that pathetic?
"Sunbae!"
No. He wasn't hearing things. He swiftly turned just in time to see Seokmin rushing toward him, his fluffy hair bouncing in time. He panted a little from the effort he exerted to catch up with the older.
"I'm glad I caught you!" He huffed out.
"Is everything okay?" Wonwoo asked carefully.
Sekmin nodded, giving himself a chance to catch his breath. "Yeah! I just wanted to ask if you wanted to get drinks or something...maybe as a..."
"Date?" Wonwoo finished for him, eyeing the younger's expression carefully.
Seokmin blushed, but enthusiastically nodded. "Yeah, like a date."
"Okay."
˗ˏˋ✩ˎˊ˗
A month later, Wonwoo brought his final personal item and set the picture on his desk, in perfect view. Soonyoung, who had been happening to walk by, stopped, and his eyes widened at what he saw.
"Is that the intern?"
Wonwoo nodded, trying to be nonchalant, but failing as he smiled. He could never stop his excitement when it came to Seokmin.
Junhui came over to look as well. "You two look really close. Are you dating?"
Wonwoo only smiled. Jihoon gave him a strange look, but no one could ask any questions as their manager addressed them.
"From today, we have someone joining our department, a familiar face."
"Hello! I'm Lee Seokmin. It's nice to see you guys again."
As Seokmin settled at his old desk, he pulled a matching picture frame, giving his boyfriend a sly smile as he placed two trinkets around it.