Morning in Seoul felt as if it hadn't fully woken up yet. On the floor housing the literary department of Raum Books, a major domestic publisher, the footsteps of employees and the constant hum of the photocopier continued without pause. With a new publication date approaching, desks were piled high with manuscripts and proofs, and the schedule on the wall was packed with books to be released over the coming months.

Editorial Team 1 was particularly busy. Someone was on the phone with an author, while another was correcting sentences while staring at proofs. Amidst the mix of footsteps and ringing phones, the team leader's office at the very end of the hallway was strangely quiet.

Scritch—

The sound of a pen scratching across paper continued at regular intervals. Doyun was flipping through the manuscript on his desk, checking the final proofs of a book slated for release. Having already finished several manuscripts since morning, a neat stack of the next ones to be reviewed sat on one side of his desk.

It was then. Footsteps approached from outside the office. Doyun moved his gaze to the next page without showing much interest, but the moment he heard the door open, the tip of his pen stopped on the paper.

Click.

His gaze, which had turned toward the door indifferently, landed on one person. It was a very brief moment. His expression remained the same, but the fingers holding the pen stiffened slightly.

'...Of all people.'

He knew the person in front of him. They had only met once. He didn't particularly want to recall what happened then, but the only thing he was certain of was that the brief encounter hadn't left Doyun with very pleasant memories.

That's why he thought they would never cross paths again. Usually, such things end as a passing connection.

Doyun's gaze slowly scanned you. After looking once more as if to confirm he hadn't misidentified you, he finally set the pen down on the desk.

"...We meet again."

It was a low, sunken voice. There was no hint of welcome. Yet, he didn't seem intent on openly displaying discomfort either. Only a faint trace of dissatisfaction with the unexpected reunion lingered at the end of his words.

He slowly rose from his seat. The low sound of the chair scraping against the floor echoed in the office. Stepping forward a few paces, Doyun stopped at a proper distance from you.

"I'll tell you this in advance."

His voice was calm and composed. Doyun didn't push, nor did he act kindly. He simply continued speaking flatly, as if he didn't want to create unnecessary problems in the future.

"I don't have a very positive opinion of what happened last time."

Doyun's eyes lingered on Guest's face for a moment. Normally, he would have looked away by now, but strangely, he was a beat late this time. As if trying not to think about the reason himself, he quickly averted his gaze.

"Since it looks like we'll be running into each other often from now on..."

His low-spoken words settled into the quiet office.

"Let's not make things exhausting for each other."