Tsunami Advisory
Chapter 25
The realization that he loved her had begun to fracture Hae-il’s once-unshakable world. The epiphany that had struck him like a fever that morning showed no sign of cooling even as the night deepened, slowly paralyzing his reason.
With Project B officially underway, work rushed in like a tempest, yet even extreme physical exhaustion paled before this unfamiliar fever.
Past ten at night, the office was quiet, most of the team having already clocked out. Hae-il’s eyes were fixed on his monitor, but every nerve in his body was on high alert, tuned entirely to the woman beyond the partition.
Dongjun, who sat next to Danbi. Having joined the company in the same batch and being the same age, he seemed closer to her than anyone else on the team. Consequently, he had become the single most irritating existence in Hae-il’s life lately.
“Hey, this doesn’t make any sense here.”
“Where?”
The two huddled together, peering at the monitor with practiced ease as they whispered back and forth. The blue glow of the screen flickered across their faces. She took Dongjun’s mouse to modify the code, then turned her head to explain something, offering a faint smile. Every single second of it drove into Hae-il’s eyes like a thorn.
Before he knew it, his knuckles had turned white around the pen in his hand. It wasn’t just Dongjun. The moment he admitted to himself that he loved her, every man in the world surrounding her had become his enemy.
Though the rational part of his brain raised its voice, warning him that this was foolish, the beast awakened inside him bared its teeth and growled ceaselessly to defend its territory.
Even during trivial chatter at lunchtime, or whenever someone from another team spoke to her for work, an inexplicable irritation surged in his throat. Day in and day out, he felt restless, like a man pursued, his heart growing ever more impatient.
In the life of Han Hae-il, a man who had never permitted a single margin of error, a tiny emotion akin to a slight fever had turned into an uncontrollable blaze, slowly consuming him whole.
Just then, a languid yawn broke the silence of the office.
Haaah…….
Hae-il recognized the owner of the sound in an instant and funneled all his attention to his ears.
“Sleepy?”
At Dongjun’s question, rustling sounds followed from beyond the partition.
“Yeah. Need to get a caffeine transfusion or something.”
“If you’re that tired, go get some shut-eye in the resting room.”
“If I sleep now, I’ll probably pass out till tomorrow morning. I’ll just hit the pantry. You want… ah, you’re already drinking some. Be right back.”
“Gotcha.”
With the scrape of a chair rolling back, the round crown of her head appeared above the partition and soon vanished. In her wake, only Hae-il, engulfed in suffocating jealousy, and Dongjun, who had become the target of his resentment without even knowing it, remained.
Hae-il gnawed on the soft flesh inside his lip.
He couldn’t do this anymore. Hiding away and agonizing like this was not his style.
Whatever he wanted, he had always broken through head-on to claim it. Love was no different. If the other person’s heart was a firmly closed wall, he would simply tear it down and step inside. Since the romantic interest of others had always followed naturally throughout his life, Hae-il had never had to seduce anyone, but there was no reason he couldn’t.
His tightly clenched fist slowly unfurled. Once his resolve was set, the confusion in his gaze forged into hard determination. Hae-il shoved his working window into a corner of the monitor and stood up. Then, as if possessed, he followed her toward the pantry.
Danbi’s steps down the hallway were noticeably sluggish. Her small shoulders, weighted with palpable exhaustion, pulled at his heart. He deliberately clicked his dress shoes against the floor to make his presence known, but she didn’t look back once. Trailing behind her like this inadvertently made him feel like a stalker.
Danbi entered the pantry and stood before the coffee machine. Just as the sound of the machine heating water filled the space, Hae-il parted his dry lips.
“Are you very tired?”
At his voice, Danbi gasped softly and spun around. Her startled eyes identified him, and she soon stroked her chest in relief. In that moment, Hae-il’s gaze caught on the soft curve her hand traced over her loose T-shirt. He cleared his throat involuntarily and apologized.
“Ah, did I startle you? I’m sorry. I tried to make some noise to let you know I was coming, but….”
“N-no. I’m just a little out of it right now…. Are you here for coffee too, Team Leader? Shall I brew one for you?”
Danbi gave an awkward smile and naturally turned back toward the coffee machine. Hae-il simply nodded in reply.
The pantry was quiet. The faint noises from the dimly lit office didn’t reach this far. In the silence, only the grinding of coffee beans and the sound of hot water extracting filled the space between them.
Being alone with her caused unbidden thoughts to creep into his mind. He forced his eyes onto the coffee machine, but the lingering afterimage kept pulling his gaze toward her softly parted red lips.
It was right when he was captivated by the subtle movement of those lips that Danbi abruptly turned back to face him.
The exact moment their eyes tangled, time seemed to grind to a halt. The rims of his ears flushed hot, like a child caught in the act of doing something bad. He quickly averted his gaze to the side, but his fluster had surely already reflected in her eyes.
Danbi stared at Hae-il, who had suddenly burst into a bout of dry coughing, with an unreadable expression before cautiously handing him the cup.
The warmth radiating to his fingertips was hotter than expected. Holding the paper cup, Hae-il avoided Danbi’s scrutinizing gaze and took a sip of the coffee.
“Team Leader, is your cold still not better? It sounds like you’re coughing constantly….”
Her voice held genuine concern. Hae-il smiled bitterly to himself. A cold. His true diagnosis was desire for her. His symptoms worsened by the day. Passing beyond the days spent tossing and turning from jealousy rooted in misunderstanding, he now suffered every night under the delusion of holding her in his arms.
It was a dreadful fever. And the only cure that could cool this heat was Danbi—only her.
“……It hasn’t been getting better at all.”
At his husky voice, Danbi’s eyebrows dropped with concern. Her eyes slowly swept over his face, which had grown noticeably haggard over the past few days.
“Work is important, but please take care of your health first. If you collapse, Team Leader, we’re all in serious trouble. No, the whole project will blow up. Don’t skip meals, get plenty of sleep….”
Her rambling lecture fell sweetly upon his ears. Just receiving her concern made it difficult to suppress the smile curling at the corners of his lips. He quietly cupped the hot paper cup.
Standing face-to-face with her alone in this quiet space so late at night made him feel faintly dizzy. Didn’t it feel just like a couple in a secret office romance?
Just then, a small chime signaled that Danbi’s portion of coffee was finished brewing. She picked up her cup and turned around without a moment’s hesitation. At that completely unattached gesture, something welled up hotly inside Hae-il.
It was burning impatience. Someone had spent this morning fussing over everything from his hair to his watch and perfume just to look good for this woman. Yet she didn’t seem interested in admiring any of it. The realization that he was the only one cherishing this quiet room, this time alone with just the two of them, felt unbearably disheartening.
Before he could stop himself, Hae-il reached out and stopped Danbi as she moved to leave the pantry.
“Danbi-ssi.”
Danbi, who had just been about to take a sip of her coffee, looked back at him. As if asking what was the matter, question marks filled her round eyes. The moment he saw that face, an entirely inappropriate thought barged in.
Damn it, she’s fucking cute. Is she a rabbit?
This feeling shattered his self-control at every turn, deepening uncontrollably with every passing second.
He couldn’t hold back anymore.
Reason had long since waved the white flag. Now that his emotions were running wild like an unbridled horse, he had no leeway to wait any longer. His feelings were clearer than ever, the world was full of wolves eyeing her, and his patience had finally run out.
Hae-il steeled his resolve. His voice cut through the quiet air of the pantry.
“Can you spare me a moment? There’s something I need to say.”
