Work Text:
James took a long look at the clock in the corner of his computer screen before he let out a sigh.
He was the only person still working.
In the entire office.
Just like he always was.
The rest of his colleagues were on an hour lunch break; but of course, his boss had found a way to keep him at this god-forsaken desk two hours longer than he needed to be.
He had slammed random papers James had calculated months ago onto his desk, insisting the numbers were somehow wrong and demanding he do them again.
So here he was, at his desk, doing them again.
He could feel the sympathetic stares from his coworkers across the department floor, but for his own sake, he ignored them.
Until they doubled.
The people who bought lunch from fast-food places began walking back in from their cars after eating.
Those who ate lunch in the cafeteria were returning to the main floor to get an early start on work they needed to catch up on
(though James didn't see them working through lunch...)
The entire team of staff had their eyes on James, and it was getting increasingly difficult to ignore.
They'd all seen the way the boss treated him on a daily basis.
-
Four days ago:
"James, your work is mediocre at best. Stay after hours and fix it."
He sat until 8 p.m. that night pretending to fix mistakes in his work.
Two days ago:
"James, you don't need lunch today, right? Fix the calculations on Keonho's paperwork."
He caught Keonho's look of confusion before he looked up at the boss.
"But Mr. Jang, I double-checked them myself—"
"Then James will triple-check them. Right, James?"
He said the words with a smile on his face, as if working James half to death was amusing—like picking on him was the only reason he got up in the mornings.
He knew James wouldn't fight back. Even though he was an alpha, his gentle, complacent nature was so calming that he was often mistaken for a beta—or, on his softest days, even an omega.
James could feel Seonghyeon's stare on him from the desk in front of him. He looked up and made eye contact for a few beats before the man spoke.
"You really can't keep letting him just walk all over you, y'know. You haven't eaten lunch in almost two weeks."
James sighed and stared at Seonghyeon.
"I—I can't just... SAY what I feel to Mr. Jang. You know how he is."
He watched Seonghyeon's face morph into something incredulous before he felt the need to continue.
"I'm serious. I'm not even that
hungry."
He tried to adopt an air of nonchalance throughout the entire situation, although he could tell the younger man in front of him was getting increasingly frustrated with his answers.
"If you say so."
Seonghyeon huffed his words out as he attempted to focus on his work.
-
James wouldn't call himself the complaining type. In fact, he could go as far as to acknowledge that he was a bit of a pushover.
But this was, frankly, starting to get insane.
James found himself eating lunch maybe once a week at most. Even when he did get a second to himself to eat, it was usually accompanied by paperwork right next to his food.
He was coming home from work almost exactly at 11 p.m. every day to his worried wife.
Martin was always sitting on the couch, waiting for James, a tired smile playing on his face as soon as the door opened.
James knew explaining to Martin what was happening at the office would make him stressed out, so he chose not to.
He kept everything to himself, hoping Martin wouldn't notice how quickly he ate dinner each night.
-
Martin could tell something was off every night James returned home.
He sighed too often on his days off, the few Mr. Jang actually allowed—and he practically inhaled his food at dinner.
His skin had grown pale, his words short, and his very personality seemed to have shifted. Martin decided to fix this the only way he knew how: by bringing him lunch.
The next morning, Martin prepared three lunchboxes. He knew it was a bit much, but he couldn't stand watching his husband waste away.
They were simple but hearty: a tray of gimbap in each and two generous servings of bibimbap. He headed to James’ workplace with a smile, eager to see a real look of joy on his husband's face.
As Martin entered the building, he was immediately met with stares. Whispers followed him down the hall, and he ducked his head, suddenly self-conscious.
He quickened his pace toward the office, smiling only when he spotted James at his desk.
Martin hurried into the department and tapped James on the shoulder. He laughed at the shocked expression that greeted him.
"Hi," Martin half-whispered into James’ ear, sliding the lunchboxes onto the desk.
James recovered slowly, a smile finally breaking through the surprise.
"Hi, baby. What are you doing here?"
"I just wanted to... um, eat lunch together. You always seem so hungry..."
Martin blushed and looked away. As he did, he finally took in the rest of the office.
Everyone was staring with looks of pure confusion. A beat later, the people Martin had passed in the hallway filtered into the room, stopping dead in their tracks to stare at him again.
The omega felt his face heat up under the weight of the awkward silence. He gave a small, uncertain wave.
"Uhm... hello. I'm James' wife Martin... N-nice to meet you all!"
The entire room stayed silent.
The first to speak was Keonho, breaking the silence.
"James... You have a wife?!"
After that, it was pure chaos.
Colleagues James had never even spoken to were surrounding his desk and Martin, bombarding them both with questions. Seonghyeon and Juhoon stood on either side of him, looks of utter betrayal on their faces.
"Where did you two meet?!"
"How did James court you when he's so... James?!"
Martin smiled wearily, attempting to answer whichever questions he could make out over the voices.
The noise in the room only died down when Mr. Jang walked in. Carrying a stack of papers, he headed toward James’ desk but stopped abruptly when he saw Martin.
He looked the omega up and down slowly.
"Oh. Well, hello," he began, his smile and tone tipping into inappropriate territory.
"And who might you be?"
Martin shifted uncomfortably and looked toward James.
"I’m... uh—I’m James’s wife?"
Mr. Jang let out a loud laugh. "Listen, if you're worried about me courting you, I don't intend to do anything without your permission. But you don't have to lie about being taken—especially by James, of all people."
He spoke with a lingering chuckle, as if the very idea was a joke.
Martin’s expression hardened, and he drew himself up.
"Why would it be so unbelievable for James to be my husband?"
Mr. Jang was taken aback by the sudden shift in tone. Martin’s face turned a bright shade of red, his voice rising with resentment.
"And why do you think I'd ever give you the chance to court me? Do you immediately assume every omega is in distress and in need of some 'big, strong alpha' to help them? Which, I may add, you aren't."
Martin opened his mouth to continue, but James reached out and pulled him between his legs from where he sat.
"Hey, baby. Look at me."
James spoke with a firm, grounding authority. As Martin made eye contact, he felt James’s thumbs pressing into his hips, rubbing soothing circles.
"Calm down. It’s okay. You hear me?"
Martin slowly centered himself, the flush fading from his cheeks. He nodded and took a few deep breaths. The tension between the two was obvious, leaving the rest of the room in an awkward silence.
From his spot next to Juhoon, Seonghyeon muttered under his breath,
"Jeez, keep it in the bedroom."
The comment was meant for Juhoon alone, but in the quiet office, the entire department heard it.
Martin snapped out of his trance, suddenly self-conscious. He pushed James’s hands from his waist and turned away. In the heat of the moment, he hadn't even noticed Mr. Jang slip away, likely retreating from the embarrassment.
Martin smiled slightly to himself before reaching for the lunchboxes on the desk.
"Can- Uhm... Can we have lunch now?"