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As the hands of the clock strike exactly at 12 o’clock noon, it’s finally time for the long-awaited lunch break.
Yoo Joonghyuk notices the time on the wall clock from his cubicle. He quickly finishes his work, cleans the clutter on his desk, and gets up from his office chair. He then fixes his suit for a bit before dashing into his office’s lounge — where the fridge is located.
He just can’t wait to have lunch. For today’s meal, he prepared one of his favorite dishes, jangjorim, or simply, braised beef coated in soy sauce. He had been wondering about its taste for the whole day. He can simply imagine the savory taste of the beef chunks dancing on his tongue, along with relishing the soy sauce’s saltiness.
Once he opens the fridge, he scans the inside, looking for his lunchbox. He then sees the familiar stainless steel bento box sitting on the far-end corner of the middle shelf. With eyes twinkling in delight, he snatches the box as fast as he could; he can feel his mouth salivating and his stomach grumbling in the sheer thought of consuming the delicious meal.
As soon as he holds the box with both of his bare hands, he notices that something seems off. His lunchbox feels too light on his hold. Out of panic, he swiftly opens the lid and immediately scowls at his discovery. Excluding the remains of the soy sauce, the box is completely…
EMPTY.
As he learns this painful reality, his blood starts boiling.
Did someone… steal his lunch? How can anyone commit such a heinous crime against him? Is there somebody in his office who despises him so much? Should he… eliminate them out of existence for causing the void in his stomach?
No, no, no. Let’s think about it thoroughly for a moment.
As he regains his rationality and tranquility, Joonghyuk calms down the rage in his heart — and stomach. It might’ve been that someone had embarrassingly mistaken his lunch for theirs. Besides, the design of his box isn’t that uncommon; stainless steel lunch boxes are the trend nowadays due to their durability and heat conductivity. If that was the case, then there was nothing he could do about it. The food was already long gone.
But, sad to say, he was really looking forward to eating his meal. Moreover, to his utter dismay, he had no choice but to buy one of those ready-to-go lunches at a nearby convenience store; he despises eating food that lacks authenticity.
He hopes that he can eat his lunch in peace by tomorrow.
On the next day, he cooked himself a famous Italian dish — pasta. But not any regular pasta, he made baked feta pasta. The ingredients for this dish consist of: feta cheese, fresh oregano, olive oil, pasta (of course), salt and pepper as seasonings, and lastly, cherry tomatoes. He mixed all of them together to create his desired dish that oozes such a tantalizing aroma.
As he heads off to work, he makes a mental note on what he has to do before lunch comes. He couldn’t stand his lunch being stolen and his entire day being ruined for the second time, so he placed a sticky note on his lunch box as a reminder.
“For Yoo Joonghyuk. Don’t eat.” The note indicates. After that, he puts the box in the fridge and returns to his work station.
When lunch break arrives, Joonghyuk rushes to the lounge and checks the fridge for his lunchbox. Deep inside, he wishes that his lunch remained untouched. However, his expectations all come crashing down once he notices that his lunch box was light yet again. This time, though, it seems that there are still some remains inside.
Curiosity wells him. He then opens the lid to see nothing but a bunch of cherry tomatoes. And not only that, but he also discovered that the sticky note he left on the box had something else scribbled at the back.
“Hi! Thanks for the meal! I enjoyed it so much, but I don’t like tomatoes. So, I left them all for you to finish :D”
...Did this rat seriously make him a leftover disposal?
After he finished reading the note, he crumpled the paper.
He knew by now that his lunch was actually stolen. Yoo Joonghyuk tried to calm his nerves down as he continuously massaged his temples. Yet, he couldn’t stop his veins from popping.
To the dear constellations above, please save this young man from having an early high blood pressure.
As Joonghyuk’s anger continues to go rampant, a thought comes to mind.
Should he report this abuse to the HR Department?
Yes. He must. This can’t happen again. The rat deserved a taste of justice for making him go hungry.
Soon after, he speedily goes back to his cubicle and promptly grabs the handset of his landline phone. He dials the number and waits for his call while tapping his foot irritatedly.
“Hello, This is Yoo Sangah of HR. How can I help you?”
As a sign of opportunity, Joonghyuk reports everything to her.
Then, from the other side of the phone, he can hear her clearing her throat.
“Joonghyuk-ssi,” she replies, “this is not within the company’s policies. I’m afraid to say that your situation is nothing serious. Please make sure that your issue complies with the rules when you report next time. Have a good day.”
As soon as he receives the beeping noise, he forcefully bangs the phone’s handset back to the landline, almost crushing its entirety.
HR couldn’t help him.
If HR can’t help him, then he’ll do it himself.
As much as he wanted to beat his culprit to a pulp, Yoo Joonghyuk knew that he still had to be civil. He racked his brain on the night before the next day to think of the least violent way for his culprit to stop stealing his lunch.
And so, he came up with an idea. He then prepared two lunch boxes: one was for himself and the other was a decoy. For his own lunch, he made chicken gimbap. It was a simple and light meal, yet it was better than the decoy he made nonetheless.
On the other hand, out of pure spite, he filled the second box entirely of raw, sliced tomatoes — his thief’s favorite. With this, he can’t wait for his plan to unfold later in the day.
Before he went over to his cubicle to start his morning, he stored the lunches inside the fridge. He assembled the appliance’s contents in a way that his culprit would most likely pick the tomato-infested lunch. With that in mind, he tucked his own lunch at the far end corner of the shelf, intentionally hidden by other lunch boxes; whereas, the lunch decoy was positioned at the forefront, obviously meant to be identified at first sight.
Once it was already time for lunch, Joonghyuk returned to the lounge to see if his little prank had worked. Thus, he excitedly opened the fridge.
Inside, he immediately recognizes the lunch decoy as it remains in the same place he puts it this morning. He takes it out and observes the box from his hand that the food was still intact.
Apparently, his rat won’t just eat anything it steals; even a thief has their own food preferences despite getting food for free. Joonghyuk quietly huffs to himself.
After that, he searches for his lunch that was hiding amongst the other lunch boxes. But, once he starts to grab the box, his eyes widens and his heart races at the familiar sensation from his touch.
Why did it carry such little weight? No, it couldn’t be… NOT AGAIN.
He hurriedly snatches the lunch box out of the fridge and peels off the lid.
As expected, the box was devoid of chicken gimbap. He also sees a sticky note that was stuck on the face on the lid.
The note reads with the same penmanship as last time, “Thanks for the meal as always ;)”.
.
.
.
The sticky note was then ripped to shreds. No longer holding back his anger, Yoo Joonghyuk punches the wall beside the fridge, leaving a deep bump. As an added bonus to his disappointment, his stomach heavily growled.
He groaned out of disbelief. He now had to eat only tomatoes for lunch.
Since the lunch theft occurred thrice in a row already, Yoo Joonghyuk was close to reaching insanity. He couldn’t contain his wrath any longer. He thought of committing arson in the office. He wanted to burn the whole building down for betraying him (technically, he could’ve just asked anyone else aside from HR, but he’s a loner).
Well, he lived in a democratic world anyway. He’ll just cause a scene, wrecking everything in the office to let out his anger. And after that, he can quit right there and then. Easy enough, right?
Yet, it wouldn’t bring back his lunches that had been stolen. He wanted to go back to those times when he still had his lunches, but nothing can change the past. There was nothing else he could do to stop his thief from running around. He might as well give up.
Dejected, he slouched on his office chair and buried himself on his desk. He’ll continue his work later; right now, he needs a moment.
As he was about to lose hope, his eyes suddenly glistened at the thought that crossed his mind.
What if he comes to the lounge early?
.
.
.
That could… actually work. He could still save his lunch before the rat arrives.
Why didn’t he think of this sooner?!
Later on, Joonghyuk straightened his back, stretched his arms and neck, and then immersed himself with work. As if a fire ignited inside his heart, he went ahead to complete all of his tasks at the speed of light.
Once he’s all done, he glances at his clock. It was eleven-thirty in the morning. It’s not lunchtime yet.
With adrenaline coursing through him, he hurriedly rushed all the way to the lounge.
Then, from the moment he swings the door open, and to his pleasant surprise, he spots a thin, scrawny-looking, suited man rummaging through the fridge.
He finally caught his culprit.
Seeing that his thief was too busy to not notice him, he slammed the door behind him with a loud bang — enough to freeze the man.
“Hey, rat.” Yoo Joonghyuk roughly called out to him, along with emphasizing the word “rat”.
His thief gulped in response, face contorting to a mortified expression. Joonghyuk continued.
“Don’t think about escaping. You aren’t going anywhere this time.”
He then walked closer to the man, with his shoes clicking on every step. In the meantime, the man shakily shut the fridge while holding the familiar lunch box with both hands. Increasing the tension in his eyebrows, Joonghyuk stomped towards him, pushing the rat into a corner in the process, until he was finally at hand’s reach from him. Right there, he stood in front of the man, his cold eyes lowering down to see his culprit cowering underneath him.
Before he did anything else, Yoo Joonghyuk observed his lunch burglar’s features. For someone who had been stealing lunches, the man looked awfully pale and skinny. Not to mention, his face also seemed totally lifeless — with sunken cheeks, eyebags, and all.
But, he didn’t feel the need to point all of these traits out. He wanted his lunch back.
“I believe that the lunch box you’re holding is… mine.” Joonghyuk snarled.
With no other option left, his thief immediately held his hands up with his arms holding the lunch in place. He nervously replied. “P-Please wait! It’s not what it looks like!”
Yoo Joonghyuk shouted back. “Liar! Then, why were you holding my lunch box?!”
“Um… Uh—!”
The man paused, struggling to find words. Soon enough, there were small blobs of tears forming on the bottom of his eyelids.
Finally, he responded after moments of silent whimpering. “Okay, fine! You got me! But, please don’t hurt me…”
All of a sudden, Yoo Joonghyuk heard a harsh growl, which continued on and on nonstop. He searched for its source, but then he noticed that his thief had his arms tightly wrapped around his stomach.
“Ugh…” The starving thief heavily sobbed with sniffles and hiccups in between.
As Joonghyuk watched the man cry his tears out in his little corner, his anger had completely vanished. He couldn’t stay mad, not after his rat looked downright pitiful.
He’s like a baby.
To stop him from crying, Yoo Joonghyuk tried to assure him as he rubbed his forehead. “Ugh, alright, alright… You can eat. But, this is the last time you do this. If I see you snooping around the fridge and stealing my lunch again, I’ll have to report you for theft.”
As soon as those words were heard, the eyes of his burglar sparkled in delight. He then stood up to give out a wide smile (— which made Joonghyuk’s heart skip a beat). He clutched to Joonghyuk’s hands as he happily screamed, “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! I’ll treat you after this, I swear! Meet me later at seven in the evening at the ground floor. I’ll take you out somewhere nice.”
Yoo Joonghyuk was outright dumbfounded. “Wait, what…?”
Before Yoo Joonghyuk could respond back, his thief had already fled out of the lounge.
As the hands of the clock ticked at five minutes before seven o'clock in the evening, Yoo Joonghyuk packed his bag and headed to the elevator. Soon after the elevator reached the ground floor and its doors slid open, he saw the familiar man loitering near the lobby’s couches.
Once he locked eyes with him, the man quickly shifted into a jovial mood as if Joonghyuk was the most important person he’s been looking forward to seeing in a heartfelt reunion. His heart swooned once more.
The said person waved at him. “You’re quite early. Come on, let’s go!”
He was then dragged along by him to a fine dining restaurant — which was at a walking distance from their office.
And there he was, sitting on a fancy cushioned chair as he made eye contact with the man who sat across on the opposite end of their candlelit clothed table. He could see that his date was smiling at him—with small dimples appearing on the lower ends of his cheeks—as his head rested on the palms of his hands.
With the soft, orange glow from the candlelights, the man in front of him looked breathtakingly beautiful — a complete contrast to his initial appearance. If someone asked Joonghyuk what a sun goddess would look like, then this would be his answer.
As he continued to stare at the man, he felt waves of heat creeping up on his cheeks. Funnily enough, he knew that they weren’t from the candles.
He never thought that he would end up on a date with his lunch thief right after he caught him red-handed. At a fancy restaurant, even.
“Joonghyuk-ssi…” He heard his date calling out to his name. “First off, I want to apologize for stealing your lunch these past few days. I never do stuff like that, to be honest. I used to make my own meals or buy food at the convenience store. It’s just…”
Before continuing, the man’s eyes turned watery as teardrops started dripping down from them.
“...It’s been so hard lately. Recently, there was an error in the company’s network system that needed fixing, thus I've been constantly clocking out for days on end. Not only that…”
He sniffled. “...I-I’ve realized that my contract is almost ending. So, I have also been busy finding other jobs to apply for.”
He chuckled a bit. “I lost track of time that I’ve forgotten to eat. I’ve only started to eat again once I noticed that my body’s all skin and bones, repeatedly reminding myself to eat. The first time I started eating again was when I unknowingly mistaken your lunch with mine. I also had the same lunch box as you.”
Joonghyuk widened his eyes. His lunch was stolen through a misunderstanding, after all?
Yet, doubt clouded his mind. If that were the case, then why did the man still take his lunch the next day? He even had a note written on it!
“Ah,” as if the man had a keen sense of what was going on in Joonghyuk’s head, he sheepishly smiled and said, “Yeah, I did realize that it was your lunch at that time, but I couldn’t stop relishing the taste of it. It made me feel full again,” he patted his belly, “so I ended up letting my stomach decide, throwing all the shame out of the window.”
Joonghyuk scoffed, “You’re still too skinny. Have you eaten other food besides mine?”
“Well…” The man shrugged. “Frankly, the only food I ate were your lunches. I didn’t have much of an appetite, but your cooking smelled and tasted delicious. I couldn’t help myself…”
To think that his thief had only been eating his food, Yoo Joonghyuk felt guilty for cornering him earlier.
He then changed the topic. “By the way, what were those messages for? Why’d you leave sticky notes?”
As soon as Joonghyuk asked the question, the man’s face went fully flushed. He softly spoke, “...They were supposed to compliment your cooking. I thought they would make you happy knowing that someone else has been appreciating them.”
Yoo Joonghyuk coughed.
“But, again,” the man turned back to his gloomy expression, “I’m sorry for taking your lunch. I know these all seem pathetic excuses to you, but I hope you can forgive me. I’ll be leaving soon anyway, so I didn’t want you to have a bad impression of me.”
Joonghyuk’s heart sank as soon as he listened to the last statement. He desperately wanted to tell him that he wished that he could stay longer. But, instead…
“...It’s fine. I’m not mad anymore.” was his reply. He wanted to forgive him first.
Seeing that he was now forgiven, the man flashed a smile again at him — much to the ache of Joonghyuk’s faint heart. He then declared, “If it ever happens again, I swear that I’ll treat you everytime, even at the cost of my life’s savings.”
At his sudden declaration, his quiet cries and mumblings can be heard afterwards. “Huhu… I can’t purchase any more chapters… Farewell, TWSA…”
Joonghyuk inwardly snickered at the expense of his naivety. He thought it was adorable.
Soon after, as if something had pierced right through his skull, Yoo Joonghyuk got to question him. “Hold on, how did you know my name?”
“Oh? Wasn’t it written on your sticky note last time?”
“Right…”
“Speaking of which, I haven’t properly introduced myself to you. Even though our first meeting wasn’t a pleasant one, let’s redo it all over. My name is Kim Dokja. It’s nice to finally meet you face to face.” Then, the man—whose name is now revealed as ‘Kim Dokja’—offered a hand to him.
Joonghyuk returned the gesture. “Yoo Joonghyuk. Same here.”
After that, the waiter arrived at their table with a notepad on hand, ready to take their orders. While they were both scanning through the menu, Dokja looked at Joonghyuk and asked him, “I forgot that it’s your first time here. Is there anything else you would like to eat on the menu? Or should I give out my recommendation?”
Joonghyuk skims through the menu for a bit, but stops midway. He was more curious at Dokja’s recommendation. “I can’t decide. What do you recommend?”
Dokja cheekily grinned. He switched his gaze over at the waiter and said, “Excuse me, we would like to order two servings of Murim dumplings and two glasses of wine to go with. That would be all.”
The waiter gleefully responded, “Excellent choice, sir. They will be ready in half an hour.” Right after that, he took the menu and left.
As soon as the waiter passed by them, Dokja rose up from his seat to nudge himself closer to Joonghyuk. Joonghyuk does the same. Then, Dokja placed an upright hand on his cheek and whispered in Joonghyuk’s ear, “In this restaurant, the Murim dumplings are their best seller. It’s my personal favorite, and I assure you that it’ll be your favorite too.” He winked after that last sentence.
In response, Yoo Joonghyuk smirked at him. “I’ll look forward to it then.”
While waiting for their orders, they chatted with one another to pass the time. During their conversation, Yoo Joonghyuk learned so many things about his date.
One, Dokja really despised tomatoes. Well, not that it was a surprise to Joonghyuk, yet Dokja explained in great detail about why these red, rounded plants needed to be exterminated in the face of the Earth. He said that they tasted absolutely vile, as if one lick or bite of them would corrupt his tongue—or so he says; and that they reminded him of blood to which he was fearful of. Joonghyuk refuted his claims by saying that if the world didn’t have tomatoes, there would be no pizza. Dokja became silent after that.
Second, Dokja worked at another department, hence why Joonghyuk didn’t know nor see him. He specifically worked at the IT department as he got a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. Joonghyuk, on the other hand, worked at accounting.
Third, Dokja loved to read stories, whether they were in a physical or digital format. He cherished them deeply, of how they widened his imagination in channeling out different scenarios and comforted him during difficult times. While they were on this subject, Dokja told him the whole plot of a web novel he’s recently been reading. Even though Joonghyuk wasn’t interested in stories, he still listened to every word that came out of Dokja’s mouth. Dokja was a great storyteller.
Lastly, Dokja thought Joonghyuk was attractive—which almost threw Joonghyuk off the edge at first—until he explicitly stated that Joonghyuk looked exactly like his web novel’s protagonist. Joonghyuk felt a strange sensation in his heart. He couldn’t tell what it was, but it made him angry at a nonexistent figure.
After Dokja spoke to Joonghyuk everything about him, Yoo Joonghyuk, the man known for his cold demeanor, shared many things about himself in return. He told him that cooking wasn’t his only hobby; he played video games during his off-days. He also told him that he had a little sister and that she was under his care. At some point, he wanted to tell him that he too was attracted to Dokja — in a way that it was a crush at first sight (second, to be exact). Though, he was too shy to admit it.
Right when they were done sharing, the waiter came over to their table, carrying a tray with two plates of Murim dumplings, two empty tall glasses, and one bottle of wine. As the waiter brought plates over, the titillating smell of the dumplings lingered all over the table. Yoo Joonghyuk was astounded. The smell was far too great; he couldn’t wait to try them.
As soon as the waiter finishes placing their orders on the table, he bids them, “Enjoy your meal.”
Once the waiter was gone, the two men fixed their seats, placed the napkins on their laps, grabbed their utensils, and started to cut their dumplings. While Kim Dokja was fixated on his meal, Yoo Joonghyuk stabbed a cut piece of his dumpling and eyed at it closely. The meat in wrapped dough looked quite juicy as if it was freshly steamed right out of the pot. After observing, he took a bite out of the whole piece.
Kim Dokja was right. The dumplings now became his favorite.
As he was about to compliment the dish out loud for Dokja to hear, he glanced over to the opposite end of the table and watched the most heartwarming scene unfold in his eyes.
Kim Dokja was completely entranced by his meal, going after every bite as he cut the pieces. As the food entered his mouth, he slowly chewed its contents, trying to savor its taste. At the same time, his face was formed into a euphoric look, eyes shaping into full crescents, lips pulling into a wide grin, and flushed cheeks filling to the brim — tempting Joonghyuk to pinch them at each bounce he sees.
It was no longer a crush. He fell in love.
When Dokja caught Joonghyuk staring right back at him, he swallowed all the food he had been chewing and smiled for the umpteenth time.
“As much as I love these dumplings, your cooking really is the best, Joonghyuk-ssi.”
Upon hearing that comment, Joonghyuk was stunned at Dokja’s words. Oh, he loved his food so much. If only he could tell him that he doesn’t mind cooking for him forever. He then replied, “I’m… glad to hear that.”
Soon after, Dokja took the wine bottle near him and poured his and Joonghyuk’s glasses. He then laid down the bottle and lifted the glass high in the air.
Kim Dokja exclaimed, “A toast to our new friendship, Joonghyuk-ssi!”
Yoo Joonghyuk lifted his as well.
As they raised their filled glasses and clinked them together, the night came to a close.
Old habits die hard. Kim Dokja continues to steal his lunch every now and then, even though he already has his own lunch — which was prepared by none other than Yoo Joonghyuk himself. Nonetheless, he doesn’t get mad. In fact, he feels ecstatic to meet Dokja during lunch break. It gives him excuses to see him again and again. It’s as if he looks forward to seeing him more than eating his lunch.
As promised by the man himself, Dokja took him out to a lot of restaurants and places (—dates, actually, if Joonghyuk had to be honest.). At every moment they got together, Joonghyuk fell even harder for the man. He was soon at his tipping point. He wanted to confess; he just didn’t know when to do it.
But then, the time came for Dokja’s contract to end. When Dokja admitted this to him, the two of them were at the building’s rooftop where they usually spend their lunch together.
“Don’t worry, Joonghyuk-ah.” Dokja reassured him as he patted Joonghyuk's shoulder. “We can still keep in touch.”
Even at Dokja’s sincerest words, Yoo Joonghyuk still didn’t feel any better. Before he continued to mope, he thought of something. Something that he must do before it’s too late.
“...boyfriend.” Joonghyuk mumbled.
Dokja blinked, slightly confused. “Um, sorry. I didn’t catch that. What did you say?”
It’s now or never.
“...Will you be my boyfriend, Kim Dokja?” Joonghyuk repeated in utmost clarity and intonation.
Right after he said that, Dokja’s eyes widened.
Oh, no… Was it too soon? Should he have waited a bit longer?
Yet, all of his worries flushed down through the drain as he saw shimmer in Dokja’s eyes and curl on his lips.
“Haha! Yes! I would love to!” He heard him saying back in full confidence.
With that, Yoo Joonghyuk went over the moon. Since he now has boyfriend privileges, he’ll downright make sure that Kim Dokja gets well fed everyday.
Unexpectedly, Dokja interlaced his fingers with Joonghyuk’s, pulling closer to him until their foreheads were touching. He was now staring back at him. He then asked. “...What about you? Will you also be my boyfriend, Joonghyuk-ie?”
“For all eternity,” was Joonghyuk’s reply without any second thought.
Dokja stopped for a moment before he snickered back.
“...Does that mean marriage?”
Once he realized what he said, Joonghyuk went silent, despite Dokja eagerly waiting for his answer. However, Dokja soon noticed the red tinge of blush hovering over from his cheeks to his ears.
He giggled. “Hehe, my Joonghyuk is so shy.”
After that, the two spent their lives together forever — with both of them feeling satiated, not only by food, but also by love.
* * * * *
The End.