Work Text:
author's note: hiii this is car, and i'm finally devoting time to writing a car-in-a-car fic!!! #yay! (thanks green for the idea…)
so this is actually based on a true story that happened right after work; my boss and her husband dropped me off and pretty much it was really awkward… so i thought, "why not make an shse fic out of it?" and here it is!!!
everything referenced in this story is a word-for-word retelling of exactly what happened in that jeep! :)
"Juntae-ssi." Sieun pulled the man aside in the employee break room.
"Yeah, Sieun-nim?"
"I know that recently I can't been able to drive you back home due to the snow, and I apologize for that. I did not expect it to pile up all around my car." Sieun began, his hands figuratively moving while he spoke. It was a habit that Juntae picked up on while working for Eunjang Corporation.
"Yeah, and that's completely fine!" Juntae responded, "As long as I get to work and home safely, I don't mind the change." The man beamed a wide smile, hoping that Sieun would pick up on the subtle nod to not stress him out; Juntae knew that Sieun worked several hours, and that this problem would get to him sooner or later.
While the two weren't extremely close, they had gotten to know each other over the years—even further through the 30-minute car rides between Juntae's house and the Eunjang Building. Sure, Sieun didn't know about Juntae and his eccentric hobby of writing fan fiction, but he was aware that Juntae was a writer at home.
It was safe to assume that they had a mutual friendship of some sort, right?
Actually, after deep consideration on his bed, he realized that Sieun knew more about him than he had thought. He was, surprisingly, comfortable with the idea of his manager finding out about how he texts his friends every day, how he spends his time writing, and his "amazing" work ethic.
It has gotten so bad that Sieun is aware when Juntae is occupied with his phone in the car, talking to his friends and giggling to himself. Maybe it was a good thing that Sieun stopped driving him now, Juntae thought.
Nevertheless, he snapped himself out of his thoughts and continued to listen to Sieun ramble about the car situation. Sieun's cup of coffee lay nicely on the marble counter, waiting for him to take a sip.
"While I am aware that this is completely out-of-character, I wanted to tell you that I will be getting picked up today by a special friend." Sieun sucked in his lips, "We have an extra seat in the car, and I would like to escort you back home, if you don't mind."
There was a moment of hesitation in his eyes, and Juntae couldn't help but think for a moment about who this might be—only for him to realize that it could only be one person. See, Sieun knew a lot about Juntae, but Juntae knew enough of him, too.
"Yeah! I don't mind at all," he nodded in assurance, "Is it just for today?"
"It depends on whether he is comfortable with it, but I think everyone should be. You remember who he is, right?" Sieun's eyes looked around to see if anyone was near. He grabbed his coffee cup and took a long sip, waiting for Juntae's response.
"Yeah, of course! I'm excited!"
"Okay, good. I was worried about that," Sieun chuckled. "Well, now that this is all settled, you can get back to work, Juntae-ssi. I'll meet with you later." Sieun resumed drinking his now-lukewarm coffee, while Juntae spun back to leave the break room as swift as possible.
Juntae knew exactly who he was talking about: his husband, Ahn Suho. Suho was Sieun's darling husband, whom he hid from work, albeit everyone found out about him months prior. He was the perfect fit for the man, as he was more carefree and relaxed. Hell, this man would smile in every picture with Sieun as if he were blessed with a rare treasure from the sea.
He found out through Baku and Gotak, who ran with their phones to alert everyone about the couple's Instagram account. It was hilarious to watch Baku scream from the bottom of his lungs to tell everyone to look at the company group chat—and Gotak to tell him to "shut up and be quiet" right back.
Everyone could tell that they were a happy couple, given that every post was about Sieun from Suho. There were poems dedicated to when they first met, videos about them eating out on dates together, and Suho pulling pranks on him at home. The camera would not stray away from any moment where Sieun was present, and it was bittersweet.
Imagine his surprise a week ago, when Suho called Sieun in the middle of their ride home, and Sieun swiftly picked up the call named "Husband <3."
"Hey, my colleague is in the car right now. But, hey…what's up? Is everything okay?" He awkwardly greeted, focusing his attention back on driving.
"Oh, cool! I just wanted to make sure you're getting home safely. I didn't want you to drive alone in the dark—but now that I know you have someone there, I'm slightly relieved." The speakers in the car blared Suho's voice around the space, making sure that everyone could hear the worry in his voice.
"Haha… Well, his name is Seo Juntae," Sieun added on, his voice now high-pitched, "He's the person I drive home every day." Suho chuckled into the phone and inhaled.
"Hi, Juntae! I see that you're taking care of Sieun well. Please make sure he comes home safely, please." Juntae could sense a grin on the other line, "I cannot lose him just yet, okay?"
"Hello—yes, I will make sure he comes home fine…" Juntae tried to not to interject himself too much into this conversation, knowing that he had already third-wheeled enough between Baku and Gotak. He felt shivers crawl up his spine in embarrassment, a trail of goosebumps on his skin from the cold.
"Alright! I'll hang up the call here—I'll see you at home soon…honey." Honey?! Since when did ice-cold Sieun use honey?!
"I'll be waiting, Sieun-ah," Suho said softly, waiting for Sieun to hang up the phone. The car turned slightly from an abrupt movement from Sieun, who looked like he was going to explode in the driver's seat. There was an inkling of blush on the tips of his ears.
"Yes! Yes! Okay!" Sieun yelled. Anyone could see that he had lost a bit of composure as he abruptly ended the call.
After that, the whole ride was left in complete silence, as Juntae went to text his friends on his phone. He couldn't believe that he was able to get a glimpse of what Sieun was hiding from everybody, a glimpse of him being vulnerable.
Of course, with him being a mere employee under Sieun, it meant that he had to pretend not to know who this man was. There was a proper approach to the awkwardness in the air, but Juntae didn't exactly know how to do it. The curiosity was biting him from the inside, and he used the time to put his phone away.
"Sieun-nim, I—"
"So. That was my husband," Sieun interjected, releasing a cough that sounded a little too artificial, "I've talked about you to him many times, and he was wondering about who you were and whatnot." Sieun was acting far beyond what he usually acted like at work: frazzled and discombobulated. His words were bunching together, and all Juntae could feel was a bit of regret for stepping into the car.
"I would assume so! He seems lovely!" Juntae croaked. Sieun released another awkward chuckle. The ride felt longer than usual, and Juntae still didn't know what to say. There were two people sitting in an awfully cramped car, in complete silence, and there was a question lingering in the air.
Except, there was no question, and they just wanted to get this ride over with as quickly as possible.
"Listen, I know that came out of nowhere. I feel that I should offer you a proper explanation."
"You already did. I think. That was your husband on the phone, and he knew a bit about me," Juntae blurted out, "That's completely fine. I think he would've liked to hear about your coworkers once in a while—especially since you've been working with us for so long." They approached a red light, and Juntae looked at Sieun with a reassuring smile.
Surrounded by moments of awkward silence, he watched as Sieun's shoulders slowly relaxed on the wheel, and to his surprise, the man returned his smile with his own. The rumored "ice-princess" himself willingly gave a soft smile to Juntae. A feather-light feeling grew within him, and it nearly made Juntae tear up from happiness.
"Thank you, Juntae-ssi." Sieun pressed the gas and continued driving home, much to the delight of the man sitting in the passenger seat.
Ever since then, the two have found it easier to converse during their free time. There were times when they had serious business meetings, times when they needed to stay professional like two colleagues at work. But between the two of them, they shared a space of mutual friendship. It was weird for Juntae to admit it, but it made sense.
It was hard to label what they were, since Sieun never mentioned the idea, and Juntae never brought it up. But, the both of them could assume that they were close confidants to one another. It's not easy to admit how and when you had food poisoning, and how terrible the experience was to your boss.
Juntae was just thankful that he didn't cross any boundaries with him and that he could finally feel comfortable sitting in the car.
However, Juntae couldn't fathom being driven by someone whom Sieun kept close to him, especially since he was so private. It felt like a violation of his manager's boundaries, and honestly, he knew he could have refused the offer.
When he considered saying "no," he realized that he didn't want to take the train all the way back home in the cold, and it was what it literally was, "a free ride." There was nothing wrong with accepting a ride home, and there were too many wrongs with refusing one.
As he continued to work at his cubicle, there was an unsettling feeling that lay in the pits of his stomach. The screen was bright with an Excel Spreadsheet on it, but all Juntae could see was a dark storm cloud of doom heading his way. And he couldn't run.
Just then, he felt an ominous presence loom over him, and now he just felt hopeless.
"Yah, Juntae-ssi!" Baku walked over, hands in his pockets, "Whatcha thinkin' about?!" Juntae could feel the eyes of their other colleagues looking over at them, with Baku's voice bouncing off the walls. He spun his chair to look at Baku, whose eyes were wide-open and sparkling.
"Shh!" Juntae jokingly put his finger over his mouth, shushing the man, "I'm thinking about nothing."
"Oh, yeah? Then why does your spreadsheet look so empty today? You're usually on top of everything."
"That's because he's thinking about what we're going to eat for lunch, isn't that right?" Gotak brushes in, wrapping an arm around Baku's neck. A shade of pink flushed Baku's cheeks, a feature that only happens around his loving boyfriend.
"I don't think I'll be having lunch with you guys today. I don't have an appetite." Juntae did not even realize that it was 12 p.m. and that his stomach was rumbling from obvious hunger.
"Not even a drink either? You even eat a small sandwich on busier days," Gotak said, walking closer to a sitting Juntae, "Are you okay?"
"Yes, yes, I'm fine," Juntae swatted his hand, trying to turn back to his computer, "I'll message you guys later, if anything comes up. Don't worry about me." The two men spared a look at each other before slowly nodding in unison and leaving him alone.
Juntae hated how nervous this made him, and how he had to swallow his pride to refuse lunch with his two best friends. Even worse, he knew that they could read him past his lies, and now that he was hungry for a measly sandwich, he wallowed in his sadness.
It shouldn't be this serious, he thought. And so, he decided to text the couple anyway.
gocheunjangz (play on gochujang)
junyaoi: okay, I lied
junyaoi: i'm worried about riding in the car with sieun-nim AAAAAAAA
bakbakbaku: yo i knew it LMFAO
bakbakbaku: its js a car ride nothing to sweat abt
bakbakbaku: and you've been ridin with this guy for weeks bro
bakbakbaku: whats different LMFAO
junyaoi: THIS TIME IM RIDING WITH SIEUN ANNNNDDDDDDD SUHO!!!!!!!! T-T
bakbakbaku: wait how did u shift into that universe
bakbakbaku: wait you're serious LMAOOO
hyuntak-hyung: baku's over here laughing at your text messages in tears
hyuntak-hyung: [picture of fat chud baku laughing and choking on his lunch]
hyuntak-hyung: me too actually this is crazy lolol good luck
bakbakbaku: [picture of gotak but a strand of hair is dangling from his head. he is also choking on his food]
bakbakbaku: yo babe why do you lowkey look like zayn malik
junyaoi: FOCUS OMG HELP ME HELP!!!!!!!!!! HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!
junyaoi: THIS IS NOT FUN AT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! T-T
hyuntak-hyung: should've came out with us to lunch
hyuntak-hyung: would've felt better watching baku try to rususitate himself 10x LMAO
hyuntak-hyung: are you okay now though
hyuntak-hyung: are we helping you at least
hyuntak-hyung: [picture of baku drinking water, but some of it is leaking out of his mouth]
bakbakbaku: STOP TAKING PICTURUS OFNME ARE YOUSIEROUS DELETE LDETEL DELETE
Juntae groaned to himself on the phone, before typing up one final message.
junyaoi: you two are useless. :-|
bakbakbaku: WHAT
bakbakbaku: I AM IN PEARL HELP ME PEARL IM IN DANGER
hyuntak-hyung: ITS PERIL YOU IDIOT
hyuntak-hyung: listen juntae, i dont think its going to be that bad.
bakbakbaku: YEAH JUNTAE I AGREE WITH GOTAK
bakbakbaku: SORRY IM STILL CHOKLING HELP ME
As usual, these two knuckleheads were nothing short of useless to this operation. In his misery, Juntae spent the rest of the day sulking over his inevitable fate of sitting in the same car as Suho and Sieun. Once he finished his work, Sieun called him over after everyone left the building.
"Are you ready, Juntae-ssi?"
"Yes! Let me just gather my stuff—"
"For what its worth, I think you and Suho would get along," Sieun softly said, clutching his briefcase, "He likes to talk whenever he can. I hope you don't mind it."
"Oh, no! I'm totally fine with talking to him!" Juntae lied out of his teeth. His bare smile looked like a cross between pain and joy. Sieun let out a sigh of relief.
"I am relieved to hear that. I hope all goes well in the car." Sieun and Juntae both take the elevator down to the lobby, where he starts calling Suho to let him know where he is. A faint 'Okay' comes from his phone.
Juntae carefully followed him to the car, a 2025 Jeep Compass, and stood quietly in the cold. Sieun waved towards the tinted window, signaling for it to open. To his surprise, Suho appeared in—what he could he assume to be—his work attire.
"Hey! Nice to meet you! You must be Juntae," Suho greeted with a smile, "I've heard a lot about you. Get in!" Sieun entered through the passenger door, and Juntae entered through the back. Their car was filled with all sorts of random stuff: dog toys, work bags, and a filled bag of documents on the floor.
"Please don't mind the mess in the back, Juntae-ssi. I was supposed to bring those home yesterday, but was too busy to do so."
"Ah, it's okay! I'm doing just fine back here." Juntae insisted. His body was slightly scrunched together to try not to say anything ghastly to the couple. His bag was carefully placed somewhere in the mess.
"So, Suho—this is my colleague, Seo Juntae. You remember speaking to him on the phone, do you?"
"Ah yes. It's nice to match a voice to a face! I hope I'm not scaring you." Suho looked at his rear view mirror to see a nervous Juntae, "You seem pretty nice, Juntae-ssi."
"He is nice, honey. I think you would get along well with him—he likes to talk, you know."
"Really?!"
"Of course. He talks to me a lot while I'm driving. Though, sometimes he likes to giggle at his phone. I suggest to not talk to him if he does that." Sieun blurted out, making Juntae even more nervous than before. He didn't like how he said that, but he was his boss; he couldn't talk back to the person who knew how to observe other people.
Juntae thought about the predicament he was in. Between the stacks of unreadable documents that he had to convert into legible budget spreadsheets, multiple cups of mediocre store-bought coffee, and hours hunched over his chair, all of these cannot compare to the stifling awkwardness of sitting in this car alone with a couple he had gossiped about numerous times.
"I doubt that he would be afraid to talk to me, babe," Suho added, "So, Juntae, how long have you've been working for Eunjang Corporations? Has it been long?"
"Oh, um—I've been working here for about three years. I guess it's been long. I mean, I've been working with Sieun for a while. It's not that bad!" Juntae released a nervous laugh.
"I would hope it's not bad, Juntae-ssi." Sieun jokingly remarked.
"Well, sometimes it is. But, I don't mind it at all."
"That's great! I'm glad someone can tolerate our bickering." Suho rebutted, turning the wheel towards the right. "So, is Juntae good at his job?"
Juntae felt his body freeze into place. What kind of question was that?
Well, there have been many moments in his career where Juntae was evaluated based on his company standards, but he had never been isolated into a space where there was no professionalism required at all. It felt awkward, to say the least. Sieun could say whatever he wanted about Juntae and it would only be between them, and his husband.
In his head, he thought of himself as "decent." Nothing more and nothing less, just average. There was nothing much to anticipate, it seemed.
And so, he sat in the car, waiting patiently for another evaluation.
"He's actually…really good at his job." Sieun admitted, turning his body back to Juntae. "He does his work exceptionally well. Compared to others, he's reliable and supportive." He gave him a small smile.
"That's great to hear! You see, I was worried that someone would be giving Sieun a hard time at work." Suho said. "It's good to see that you two feel comfortable with each other."
A bountiful amount of grins beamed in the car. It felt as though Juntae was being blinded by the sun. A piece of himself relaxed into the leather of the car. For the next few moments, he slumped over the chair and tried to get some sleep—before he heard some rustling coming from the couple.
"Uh, Suho? Why did I just get an email from a 'Shirley Temple'? And why is she asking about your security information?"
"Oh, disregard that, babe. It's just someone from IT."
"IT? Suho, what have you been doing?!" Sieun's voice blares throughout the car, the loudest he's ever been. It made Juntae jolt in shock.
"Haha…so you see, I had a little issue with my emails the past week," Suho replied, his fingers curling tighter on the wheel, "The whole company filed a case with IT, and I felt impatient so…"
"So you clicked the link? Without checking the recipient?"
"Yeah—and I may have possibly had my emails hacked."
"Hacked?!"
"And also…suspended. Did I mention that the company gave me a junk email to use instead?"
"So, you fell for a scam then?! How is that possible?!"
"Listen, I checked all the boxes and it looked legit! And so, I just clicked on it." Suho continued driving, finally stopping at a red light. "I thought it was from my boss!" Sieun groaned, rolling his eyes towards his husband.
The two were practically bickering about this back-and-forth. Sieun was pointing his finger on Suho's phone, picking out the details that felt dis-genuine, while Suho was calmly responding to his bursts of questions. Juntae almost forgot that he was there for a second; he was nailed to the car door at this point. He felt like a fly on the wall, overhearing everything.
But just then, Sieun turned towards Juntae. His eyes were bloodshot locked-in on him.
"Juntae-ssi, if this scenario ever happened to you, would you fall for the email too?" Sieun's eyes looked like a cry for help.
"Uh, I don't think so…" Juntae hesitantly replied, fiddling with his fingers in the backseat. "Don't we get emails from the company about hacks like this?"
"Yes, we do." Sieun glared his eyes at Suho, "If you had paid closer attention, this would've been avoided." All Juntae could envision was a pair of puppy-dog ears drooping on the man, as if he had committed something so shameful. His grip on the wheel seemed to soften.
"I'm sorry, baby." Suho responded, grabbing Sieun's hand to hold it, "I will try to get this fixed as soon as possible. Do you still love me?"
"It's okay. I still mildly love you—at least until this situation gets fixed, and you get your account reinstated."
"Once it's done, I promise that you'll be the first one to know." He placed a kiss on the back of Sieun's palm and continued driving. His right hand was still intertwined with Sieun's slightly-smaller left one.
Among other things, Juntae's experience riding with the couple didn't seem half-bad. They were cartoonishly funny, and completely enamored with each other. He could tell that they tried to make him feel included, but he would prefer not to be. Nice enough as it is, he felt like he was interrupting something the entire time.
But, he also enjoyed watching them talk to each other without feeling awkward. It was sweet to witness such innocent love—especially since Sieun wasn't as expressive as he was at work. And even so, Juntae was satisfied to be able to witness someone be able to communicate with Sieun without the man losing his mind.
He felt content about all of this, and it was okay. Maybe he had nothing to worry about after all.
"Is this your stop?" Suho stopped the car right on Juntae's street. The GPS showed that he wasn't far, but he wasn't that close either.
"Ah, you're close," Sieun said, pointing to the window right outside of his house, "It's that one over there."
"I see—Okay! We're here!" Suho exclaimed, unlocking the back door. He turned his body to Juntae, using his right arm to hold himself steady on the back of Sieun's chair, "It was great to see you in person! I was wondering if Sieun was talking to a ghost!"
"Oh, shut up."
"Anyway, I hope this ride wasn't too awkward for you. It's usually more chill than this."
"No, no! It was fine. I enjoyed seeing how you guys interact."
"Haha, that's great to hear. Okay, get home safe."
"Thank you for the ride! I will be seeing you tomorrow at work, Sieun-ssi." Juntae said, leaving the vehicle. He walked all the way to his front door, opening it with the key. Before he could enter though, he looked back to watch them quietly drive away.
He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. It's probably Baku and Gotak, he thought. He figured that he'll tell them about the experience later. Besides, it wasn't going to be the last time he would be driving with the couple. But his curiosity got the best of him—it was a text from Sieun.
Team Manager Sieun: I hope that Suho and I scared you off.
Team Manager Sieun: We can get too carried away sometimes. But, the offer is still open to ride with us tomorrow.
Team Manager Sieun: Please let me know. Enjoy your night.
Juntae closed the door and locked it tight.
Seo Juntae: Oh, no worries! I am fine with you two dropping me home tomorrow.
Seo Juntae: Thank you for everything. Good night.
A good night, indeed.