*Honestly… kind of pitiful. Really.*
For the past few days, Junhwi had been quietly watching Eunyoung's strange behavior. She'd pop up out of nowhere with a joke, wave at people, throw an arm around someone's shoulder — all these over-the-top friendly gestures — and whenever she found a topic everyone could talk about, her reactions went way past enthusiastic into something else entirely.
She was especially intense around Hana.
It seemed pretty obvious that Eunyoung wanted to be close with Hana.
But the thing was, you couldn't approach someone like Hana — classic eldest-daughter energy, the kind who carries the weight of the room — the way Eunyoung was doing it. That was practically guaranteed to backfire. Hana was probably the exact type who'd find it exhausting. She'd smile to Eunyoung's face, sure, but her feet would be quietly inching backward. Eventually she'd start taking the long way around just to avoid running into her.
*Huh. Doesn't matter how smart you are if you can't read a room.*
Junhwi let out a quiet, private scoff.
They don't teach you that at fancy schools overseas.
To Hana, Eunyoung was a lot. Eunyoung's unpredictable jokes and over-the-top reactions would put Hana on edge. And no matter how close in age they were, Eunyoung outranked her — that was just a fact. So every time Eunyoung acted like they were equals, like they were just friends hanging out, Hana probably didn't know what to do with it.
*Sure, makes sense. If you grew up walking into rooms full of strangers and going "Hey James, how are you?" to seventy-year-olds, why would you ever figure this stuff out.*
Junhwi had even brought Eunyoung up, casually, over lunch with the team.
"Eunyoung has such a great personality, right? Gets along with everyone."
The team would give him these carefully noncommittal looks and carefully noncommittal answers.
"She's super nice when it comes to work. I mean… as long as a coworker's good at their job, that's what matters."
Junhwi filed that away with quiet satisfaction — *so there are things even Eunyoung can't pull off* — and kept his face perfectly blank, like he'd missed the subtext entirely.
"Right? She's so personable. Really a good person."
He'd actually planned to just let her keep at it. Since he couldn't find anything to criticize about her work, he at least wanted to watch her fumble somewhere. Stepping in to tell her *hey, that doesn't fly here in Korea* wouldn't do him any good. She'd probably just think he was being condescending — and worse, if she actually took his advice and started building real connections at the office, that would be a disaster. She was already good at her job. If she had the relationships to match, she'd be threatening his position before he even saw it coming.
But she kept at it, day after day, trying so hard to fit in, and there was something about it that was equal parts sad and endearing and oddly impressive. Like watching a baby swan throw itself into a pond full of ducks, desperate to belong…
And then came the elevator, where the whole thing reached peak levels of pitiful and adorable.
Standing behind Eunyoung and Hana, listening to their exchange, Junhwi had spent the second half of the ride in a private battle to keep a straight face.
*How does a person have this little situational awareness.*
Eunyoung, staring at the closed elevator doors with absolutely no idea what had just happened — she looked so genuinely lost it almost hurt to watch.
*Guess I have no choice. I have to step in.*
Junhwi shook his head slowly, expression somewhere between amused and resigned.
"Eunyoung."
She turned at the sound of her name.
"Want to stop by the break room for a second?"
Eunyoung followed him to the break room wearing what was possibly the most guileless, wide-open expression Junhwi had ever seen on her.
He started making coffee and said, "What just happened — Hana probably thought you were hinting that she should go buy you lunch."
"What?! No. That's not what I meant at all."
"I know. People who know you would get it — they'd know you were just genuinely excited about the sandwich."
Eunyoung looked deeply, personally wronged.
"Exactly. That's literally all I meant. I thought she liked that sandwich too, so I was just happy about it—"
Junhwi nodded along with the practiced warmth of someone who completely understood.
"Right. Hana misread it. But — you have to try to see it from her side too. In Korean workplaces, it's actually pretty common for someone senior to hint at things like that to someone junior. It happens enough that people are on guard for it."
"Oh…"
"You probably think of everyone as equals, regardless of title. But from where someone like Hana is standing, it doesn't feel that way. She's constantly reading between the lines — *is there something she's not saying? Is she asking for something and just being indirect about it?* That's just the reflex."
"She doesn't have to do that with me. I don't hide things. What I say is what I mean."
"You don't, no. But most people can't just switch that off — it's automatic."
Eunyoung's expression fell.
Junhwi felt a small, unexpected pang of guilt. Like he was telling her to adapt to something that didn't deserve adapting to. Like she was a bird built to fly and he was telling her to get comfortable in a chicken coop.
But he pushed that aside pretty quickly. What could you do? If you walked into a chicken coop, you lived like a chicken. It wasn't like the rest of them had chosen this either. If anyone deserved sympathy, it was them.
"Hana in particular tends to be pretty introverted," he said. "She reads into things a lot. So getting close with her might just take some time."
"How did you get close with her?"
"Hmm… I think it kind of happened naturally, but…"
Junhwi paused, genuinely thinking. He wanted to give her something good — some brilliant insight that would make her go *oh wow, that's it.*
"Honestly," he said, with a slight lack of confidence, "I think people are all basically the same in this way — genuine compliments go a long way. Public ones are nice, but if you ever get a chance to talk with her one-on-one, taking the time to really say something thoughtful and specific might land better."
Eunyoung blinked her wide eyes and made a series of small impressed sounds — *mm, oh, wow.*
Encouraged by the response, Junhwi straightened up a little.
"If you point out something specific — something detailed — it shows her you've actually been paying attention. That you think well of her. That's the kind of thing that sticks."
"Oh. I love that. That's really good."
Eunyoung immediately pulled out her phone and started tapping at it.
Junhwi reached over to stop her. "Are you about to DM her?"
"…Yes!"
"No, no — don't make it a whole formal thing. If you do it that way, she'll spiral — *why is she pulling me aside to compliment me, did I do something wrong, is she trying to motivate me because my work isn't good enough?* So keep it casual. Catch her in the break room when it's just the two of you, or run into her at the café downstairs."
"What if I can't run into her?"
"Like I said — introverted people take time. The most important thing is patience. Slow and steady."
"Slow and steady."
Eunyoung repeated it back like she was committing it to memory.
Junhwi felt a warm swell of satisfaction at how completely she trusted him.
"Thank you, Junhwi. Seriously, how do you know all this stuff? Are you an extrovert too?"
*At work, sure. The extroversion I built from scratch just to survive…*
"I mean, kind of — but I've only ever worked at Korean companies, so I just know a little more than you do about this stuff. Anyone with enough years in the field probably has their own version of this."
"Still, nobody gets along with everyone the way you do… Anyway, thank you. When Hana and I are actually friends, I'm buying you dinner!"
For a while after that, Eunyoung went almost completely quiet — so quiet it looked like she'd given up on getting close with Hana entirely. When they crossed paths at the office, she'd give a small nod. When others were around, just a quick hello.
Instead, she spent that time quietly — some might say covertly — observing Hana and cataloguing her strengths.
One thing led to another, and she ended up creating a whole file. Everyone's strengths, written down. Then, whenever she found herself alone with someone, she'd casually pull up the file on her phone and rattle off their good qualities like she'd been thinking about them all along.
The effect was remarkable.
Most people loved it. A few got emotional right then and there. One person sat quietly through the whole thing and then left a gift on Eunyoung's desk the next morning with a little note.
Each time, she felt good — but not completely good. It felt less like her sincerity had landed and more like Junhwi's technique had worked. And that distinction nagged at her.
She wished she'd thought of it herself.
Then she reconsidered.
She'd gotten the result she wanted, one way or another. Thanks to Junhwi, she'd skipped the trial and error and gotten there faster than most people would have. That was a good thing for her.
Anyone else might have heard the same advice and let it go in one ear and out the other. But Eunyoung had the kind of learning ability that let her take something and make it her own.
The best people, after all, grow by absorbing others' strengths and making them theirs.
Eunyoung nodded to herself, satisfied with that conclusion.
Still — while she'd managed to find one-on-one moments with most people, Hana somehow kept slipping through. There was never a natural opening.
*Slow and steady. Take your time.* She kept reminding herself of Junhwi's words.
Then one day, she spotted Hana sitting alone at a café near the office, working through a waffle by herself.
Eunyoung walked in like she'd been pulled by a magnet.
"Oh — Hana."
"Oh, hi."
Eunyoung almost sat down across from her and ordered a waffle too, but she stopped herself and just got a coffee to go.
She settled into the seat beside Hana and said, "Is it okay if I wait here until my coffee's ready?"
"Of course."
Hana set down her fork and sat there a little stiffly.
Eunyoung didn't tell her to keep eating — she knew Hana well enough by now to know it wouldn't help.
"I wanted to apologize for the other day," Eunyoung said. "I didn't realize how it would come across. I was just excited that you liked the same sandwich as me, and it came out wrong."
"No, I'm the one who misread it—"
"It's okay. I tend to be pretty direct — when I talk and when I listen. I've lived that way long enough that I miss things sometimes. I'll probably slip up again, so just… bear with me."
"No, really, it's fine…"
Eunyoung decided the moment felt right. She'd written and reread Hana's strengths so many times she didn't even need to check her phone.
"I keep being surprised by your work," she said. "Every time I see what you put together, I think — how does she take feedback and just get it, right away, every single time?"
She watched Hana's face from the corner of her eye.
Hana's expression was unreadable — not obviously pleased, not obviously not.
*Maybe this isn't working on her.* But she'd started, so she was going to finish.
"And the daily reports — you've never once gotten them wrong. Those things are all numbers, and one second of distraction and you're off. I made so many mistakes on those when I was starting out. But you're always accurate, every time. I remember thinking — this person is meticulous. Precise. The kind of person any manager would trust completely."
"It's just the reports… that's just basic stuff…"
"I've never met anyone as thorough as you, though. That kind of consistency is what builds trust. Don't you think?"
Hana reached up and scratched the back of her neck, a little embarrassed.
Eunyoung still couldn't tell if it was landing. She pressed on anyway.
"And it's not just that one thing — you don't half-do anything. You stay late, you push for the best possible result every time. I genuinely respect that. Not that I'm saying you should keep staying late forever — you know what I mean, right?"
Hana smiled, just barely.
"Your coffee's ready."
Eunyoung glanced toward the counter and stood up. "I've taken up enough of your time. I'll head out — enjoy the rest of your waffle."
She grabbed her coffee and walked out of the café.
Outside, she tilted her head, puzzling over it.
"Hm. Did that… do anything? She didn't seem that into it. Are there people who don't like compliments? Maybe if you're really introverted? Hard to tell without a reaction… ugh, she's so hard to get close to. Maximum difficulty. Seriously…"
She was still muttering to herself when someone lightly caught her arm.
She turned around.
Hana was standing there, cheeks faintly pink, slightly out of breath like she'd jogged to catch up.
She held something out.
"Thank you. I… really look up to you too."
In her hand was a muffin.
Eunyoung took it.
"…Thank you."
Hana smiled, a little shy, and turned back toward the café.
Eunyoung watched her go.
Even after Hana disappeared through the door, the image stayed with her — that soft flush of pink across Hana's face, lingering like an afterimage.
*…She has a really pretty smile.*