Episode 3

9:03 AM hits Jun Kwon like a physical blow.

The elevator doors open to Floor 42, and for the first time in four years as CEO, Jun hesitates before stepping out. The fluorescent lights feel interrogative. The air smells like copy paper and impending unemployment.

He’d spent 2:47 AM to 4:15 AM on a rooftop with a blanket and Tae Hyun’s head on his shoulder. He’d spent 4:16 AM to 8:59 AM lying in bed, staring at his ceiling, wondering if HR had a specific form for “I committed seven policy violations before dawn.”

The bullpen is already loud. Phones ringing. Keyboards clacking. Normal.

Too normal.

“CEO-nim!” Mina from Finance waves a tablet at him. “The Q4 report—”

“Later,” Jun cuts her off, voice colder than he intends. He can feel eyes. Not the usual _Ice Prince is walking by_ eyes. These are _did you hear about the email_ eyes.

His office door is blessedly shut. He makes it inside, locks it, and exhales for what feels like the first time since 2:17 AM yesterday.

The post-it is still on his desk.

_Bring the blanket tonight. -J_

Jun stares at it. He doesn’t remember writing it. He must have come back to his office after the roof, running on adrenaline and hot chocolate, and left himself a note like a drunk.

A knock.

Jun shoves the post-it into his desk drawer and straightens his tie. “Enter.”

It’s Tae Hyun.

Of course it’s Tae Hyun.

He’s in a paint-stained cardigan over a collared shirt, holding two coffees and looking like he slept even less than Jun. There are dark circles under his eyes, and his hair is doing that thing where it sticks up on one side. He looks unprofessional. He looks real.

“Morning, CEO-nim,” Tae Hyun says, too casually. He sets one coffee on Jun’s desk. Black. No sugar. Exactly how Jun takes it. “Team morale delivery.”

Jun doesn’t touch it. “What are you doing here.”

“Returning your phone. Again.” Tae Hyun pulls it from his pocket, slides it across the desk. “And checking if you were still employed. The email thread was... active at 3 AM.”

Jun’s stomach drops. “Who replied.”

“No one. I think IT killed it before most people woke up. Perks of having a friend in Tech who owes me from that time I designed his wedding invites for free.” Tae Hyun shrugs, but his eyes are scanning Jun’s face. “You look terrible.”

“You look like you lost a fight with a palette.”

“Yeah, well, some of us were up past sunrise committing workplace violations.” Tae Hyun’s mouth quirks. “How’s the Ice Prince this morning?”

_Don’t call me that._ The words are automatic. But they don’t come out.

Because Tae Hyun is standing in his office at 9:07 AM, holding coffee, and Jun can still feel the phantom weight of his head on his shoulder.

“Don’t,” Jun says instead, quieter. “Not here.”

Something in Tae Hyun’s expression shifts. Softer. Like he’s filing that away. _Not here_ means there _is_ a here and a not-here. A them and a not-them.

“Right.” Tae Hyun nods toward the door. “Meeting in Conference Room B at 10. Han Corp pitch. You’ll be there?”

Jun always is.

“Yeah.”

“Cool. I’ll try not to call the branding ‘boring but make it fashion’ to their faces.” Tae Hyun backs toward the door, hand on the handle. “Oh. And CEO-nim?”

Jun looks up.

“I kept the blanket.”

The door clicks shut before Jun can respond.

He sits down hard in his chair. The coffee is still warm. The post-it is burning a hole in his desk drawer. And in three minutes, his assistant will come in with the day’s schedule, and he will have to pretend that 2:40 AM on a roof didn’t happen.

His phone buzzes. Unknown number.

Jun’s heart stops. Then he remembers — Tae Hyun gave his phone back.

He opens the text.

_Delete this after reading. But for the record?

Your ‘screaming into a void’ line is gonna win us Han Corp.

Trust me.

Jun deletes it.

Then he opens his desk drawer, looks at the post-it, and doesn’t.

For the quiet moments.

He has a 10 AM meeting to survive.

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