Chapter- 4

The Passive-Aggressive War Begins

Ahn Jihun had faced many workplace nightmares before—mandatory meetings, surprise deadlines, printers that only worked when threatened—but nothing compared to the sheer torment of working with Yoo Taesung.

Jihun strolled into the office at precisely 9:28 AM, two minutes before he'd be considered technically late. He sat down, stretched, and cracked his knuckles, ready for his usual morning routine:

1. Open a random document to look busy.

2. Scroll through his phone.

3. Debate whether quitting and moving to a remote mountain was a viable life choice.

Unfortunately, his peace was immediately shattered by a single thud—a thick stack of papers landing on his desk.

Jihun looked up. Taesung stood over him, arms crossed, looking entirely too awake for a Monday morning.

"Good morning," Taesung said, with the kind of smile that wasn't a smile at all.

Jihun stared at the papers. "What's this?"

"Our task list."

Jihun picked up the first page. It was neatly typed, color-coded, and three pages long.

Jihun frowned. "Why is there so much?"

"It's called productivity."

"It's called overkill."

Taesung leaned in slightly, voice dropping to a low, threatening tone. "It's called me compensating for the fact that you refuse to work at a normal human speed."

Jihun gasped. "Are you implying I'm inefficient?"

"I'm stating it as a fact."

Jihun placed a hand over his heart. "That hurts, Taesung. Truly."

Taesung exhaled through his nose. "Just… start with page one, at least."

Jihun flipped to page one and immediately closed the folder. "Nope. Can't do it. Too overwhelming."

Taesung pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's literally bullet points."

"Exactly. You expect me to do multiple things? In one day?"

"That's… how jobs work, Jihun."

Jihun leaned back, arms crossed. "I don't like your tone. Sounds very pro-labor."

Taesung took a deep breath, like he was trying to summon divine patience. "How about we just start with one simple task?"

Jihun tapped his chin, pretending to think. "Hmm. How about we start with me going to get coffee?"

Before Taesung could protest, Jihun grabbed his wallet and walked off.

At the coffee machine, Nayoung was already there, lazily stirring her cup.

"How's the project?" she asked.

Jihun sighed. "It's a battle of wills. Me vs. a man who actually enjoys work."

Nayoung smirked. "So, you're losing?"

"I never agreed to fight in the first place."

Just then, Taesung walked up behind him. "If you have time for coffee, you have time for work."

Jihun took a slow sip. "Mmm. Nope. Still busy."

Taesung's eye twitched. "You're just standing there drinking coffee."

"Exactly. Busy."

"Jihun—"

"Shh." Jihun raised a hand, silencing him. "I'm in a meeting."

Taesung blinked. "With who?"

Jihun pointed to his coffee. "With myself."

Nayoung almost choked on her drink.

Taesung inhaled deeply, clearly questioning every decision that led him to this moment. "Alright," he said, voice tight, "since you don't want to focus at your desk, we'll work in a meeting room. That way, you have no distractions."

Jihun froze. "Wait. That's—"

"Great. Let's go."

Before Jihun could argue, Taesung grabbed his coffee and walked off.

Jihun sighed. "This is abuse."

Nayoung patted his shoulder. "You'll be fine."

Jihun shook his head. "No. I won't. He's serious."

"Then just give in and do the work."

Jihun scoffed. "I'd rather perish."

Inside the meeting room, Taesung set up his laptop like a soldier preparing for battle. "Okay. Let's divide the tasks. If we finish this today, we won't have to rush later."

Jihun nodded. "I hear you. And I respect that."

"Good—"

"But I think we should take a break first."

Taesung stared at him. "A break from what?"

"From the stress of all this planning."

Taesung rubbed his temples. "Jihun. We haven't even started."

"Exactly. That's why we should rest while we can."

Taesung shut his laptop with a loud snap. "Fine. If that's how you want to play, let's make a deal."

Jihun narrowed his eyes. "I don't like the sound of this."

"If you finish one task, just one, I won't bother you for the rest of the day."

Jihun leaned forward. "One task?"

"One task."

Jihun thought for a moment. "What's the catch?"

"No catch. Just prove to me that you're capable of basic effort."

Jihun sighed dramatically. "Ugh. That sounds like work."

Taesung smirked. "Exactly."

After two hours of passive-aggressively working together, Jihun had done the impossible—he actually completed something.

He leaned back, stretching. "Alright. I'm done."

Taesung checked the document, nodding. "Not bad."

"See? I can work."

Taesung smirked. "Yeah. When bribed."

Jihun sighed. "Look, man. I get that you enjoy all this… effort. But you have to understand, some of us weren't built for high performance."

Taesung chuckled. "You act like working hard is a disease."

"It is. And I don't want to catch it."

Taesung shook his head. "Well, whether you like it or not, we're stuck together. And this project isn't going to finish itself."

Jihun groaned. "Don't remind me."

Taesung grinned. "Oh, don't worry. I'll remind you every day."

Jihun sighed, staring at the ceiling. "I should've called in sick today."

Taesung smirked. "Too late for that now."

Jihun buried his face in his arms. This was going to be a long, long project.

........