Tsunami Advisory
Chapter 23
# Chapter 23
“Look at that, blossoms really do bloom even in a barren project like this. Please take good care of our Danbi, Suhyeon-ssi.”
Flustered by the playful teasing, Suhyeon waved his hands dismissively, his face turning red.
“Please don’t be like that. I’m really just showing her the way…”
Danbi shook her head and signaled to Suhyeon that they should get going.
“They’re only teasing you because your reactions are so fun, Suhyeon-ssi. Well then, sorry for the hassle, but I’ll be in your care.”
“Oh, it’s no hassle at all. Let’s go.”
As they left the in-house cafe with Suhyeon escorting her, giggles and laughter trailed behind their backs. On their way to the sandwich shop, the early summer sunlight scattered across the asphalt.
Turning her gaze aside, Danbi noticed a shadow lingering over Suhyeon’s face as he walked beside her. She had not realized it earlier, but he looked somewhat gaunt.
“Suhyeon-ssi… you look a bit worn out, too. Is work giving you a hard time by any chance?”
At Danbi’s careful inquiry, Suhyeon’s steps briefly faltered. He let out a low sigh—“Ah…”—and looked up at the sky for a moment as if choosing his words. The faint crease between his brows hinted at the weight of his worries.
“Work is work, but… honestly, someone I used to see contacted me not long ago.”
The words out of his mouth were entirely unexpected. Danbi’s eyes widened without her realizing it. It was a scene straight out of a drama, unfolding right before her eyes. Reading the pure curiosity on her face, Suhyeon let out a self-deprecating laugh and continued.
“I thought I’d sorted everything out, that I could finally make a fresh start… but hearing that she’s sick just leaves me feeling so unsettled.”
He gazed quietly at Danbi. She let her eyebrows droop with sympathy.
“Oh dear… Is she very ill?”
“I’m not entirely sure, but she’s hospitalized right now. So… I’m thinking of visiting her this weekend.”
What weighed him down was not an overwhelming workload, but the lingering shadow of love and hate he had not managed to sever. What kind of comfort could someone like her—who had never even dated once—possibly offer? Yet seeing the fragile tremor in his eyes, she wanted to say something, anything. She wanted to give him even a sliver of courage.
“You should go see her. If nothing else… ignoring what your heart wants is the hardest thing in the world.”
And after a brief hesitation, she added in a voice so soft it was barely audible,
“Once you give your heart to someone, it’s not something you can easily take back, I suppose… Then again, even if it’s in the past, she’s someone you once loved. How could you not care?”
The moment the words left her mouth, Danbi realized something. This was comfort meant for Suhyeon, but at the same time, an excuse for herself. An excuse for her own feelings that could not stop caring about Hae-il.
“…Do you have someone like that too, Danbi-ssi?”
Caught off guard by Suhyeon’s sudden question, Danbi merely shrugged. No further conversation followed. What answer had Suhyeon found in that silence?
The walk back after buying the sandwiches felt considerably lighter. Whether from the camaraderie born of sharing their worries or the warm sunlight, a pleasant air wrapped around the two of them.
Stepping into the company’s first-floor lobby, a wave of cool air rushed over them. Right as they walked toward the elevators, a chime rang out, and the elevator doors slid open. The person who stepped out was none other than Hae-il.
The moment Hae-il walked out and spotted them, he froze dead in his tracks. His chilled, sunken gaze pierced through Danbi, then Suhyeon, and finally down to the sandwich bag clutched in Danbi’s hand.
Two faces still carrying traces of laughter they had not managed to wipe away. And in stark contrast, Hae-il’s face, twisted with agonizing fatigue and unspoken fury.
In the chilly air of the lobby, the expressions of the three formed a vivid disparity.
Hae-il’s eyes were hollow, like someone who had stayed awake for days on end, yet an unidentifiable emotion swirled violently within them, on the verge of erupting at any second.
In that suffocating silence, Hae-il’s body swayed precariously.
Urp…
Suddenly gasping for breath, he slapped a hand over his mouth. His bloodless face drained to the color of a sheet of paper in an instant, and with a dry heave, his broad chest heaved violently.
Without a single word, as if chased by an unseen terror, he spun around and sprinted madly toward the restroom at the end of the hallway.
Only his urgent footsteps sliced through the air and scattered across the spacious lobby. Once Hae-il vanished around the restroom corner, a profound silence settled, as though every sound in the world had evaporated.
Suhyeon scratched his head, looking down at the sandwich bag in Danbi’s hand.
“The Team Leader… looks like his stomach is upset. Did we buy these for nothing?”
Genuine concern and awkwardness laced Suhyeon’s voice. Danbi blankly stared at the entrance to the restroom where Hae-il had disappeared. Without her even knowing, her fingernails had already carved sharp crescent moons into her palms.
“I wonder… Maybe he has severe indigestion…”
Bloodshot eyes, gaunt cheeks. The agonizing scene just now overlapped with the fragile face she had seen in the office. This was not a mere issue of stress or exhaustion. What if something was truly wrong with his body? Fear suddenly gripped her heart.
“I’ll… head up first. I’d like to see if the Team Leader is alright, but I have a meeting soon…”
Suhyeon checked his watch and spoke carefully. Only then did Danbi turn back to him, forcing the corners of her mouth upward.
“Ah, yes, Suhyeon-ssi. Thank you for today. And… I’ll be rooting for your meeting this weekend.”
At the sincerity in Danbi’s voice, Suhyeon smiled faintly. Giving a polite nod, he stepped onto the elevator.
Left alone in the lobby once again, she wondered if she should just return to the office. Yet her feet refused to budge. With a brief sigh, she walked slowly toward the restroom. Leaning her back against the cool wall a few steps from the entrance, she waited for him—just as he had once done for her.
How much time had passed? At last, the restroom door opened, and Hae-il appeared. Spotting Danbi leaning against the wall, he froze momentarily. As if he had splashed water on his face, his bangs hung down damply, but they did nothing to mask his pale complexion.
“Why are you…”
His hoarse, moisture-laden voice trembled unsteadily. Avoiding Danbi’s gaze, he looked around as if searching for something.
“…Where did that man from the Planning Team go, leaving you by yourself?”
Calling him ‘that man,’ his tone was completely devoid of emotion, creating a stark sense of distance.
“Suhyeon-ssi? In the meeting room… Did you need him for something?”
“It didn't look like I was the one who needed him, but you, Danbi-ssi.”
His eyes locked onto the sandwich bag held in her hand. At the same time, a cold sneer grazed his lips.
“Don’t mind me and go on ahead. It looks like you bought those to have lunch with him.”
Without giving Danbi a chance to speak, he moved to brush past her.
“Wait a moment!”
Her body moved before her thoughts could. Danbi instinctively grabbed the edge of his sleeve. Reluctantly halting, Hae-il looked down at the hand clutching him.
“This… I bought it for you, Team Leader.”
Taking a step toward him, Danbi held out the sandwich bag.
“You didn’t eat lunch, and it looked like you were just working non-stop.”
“…”
“And I think you’re misunderstanding something. Suhyeon-ssi and I aren’t in that kind of relationship. The team members were just teasing to mess around because his reactions are funny.”
As the clear explanation ended, Hae-il’s shoulders dropped limp. Like a rusted machine, he turned his head exceedingly slowly and met Danbi’s eyes for the first time.
His bloodshot eyes, looking as though he had stayed up for days, trembled faintly. Within them, there was neither anger nor derision. There was only pure, unadulterated bewilderment, like a child left completely alone in the middle of a street. Unable to fathom the meaning behind that unfamiliar gaze, Danbi found herself adding,
“Suhyeon-ssi recommended this place, saying it was good… so I bought the most popular one, but…”
“…”
“If your stomach really hurts that badly, you don’t have to force yourself to eat it…”
Had she acted out of line? A wave of belated regret crashed over her. Overcome with embarrassment, she was just about to lower her hand holding the bag.
Just then, with a cool touch, his hand enveloped hers right over the bag. Then, a low, thick voice drifted in like a whisper.
“I…”
He parted his dry lips.
“I don’t want to eat alone.”
