Chapter Text
Hae In’s hands were always cold. The kind of cold after you stay submerged in water for a while. Maybe the cold from that day never really left. She knows it certainly didn’t for her mother. Hae In cant remember the last time her mother held her hands. Maybe that day by the ocean was the last. Her father on the other hand, she had more vague memories. As a kid, being led by her dad, her small hands completely encompassed in her fathers large, warm ones. But those days were a long time ago. These days her father’s hands hugs himself. They remain by his sides, clasped tightly around himself, unravelling only to calm his wife down or reinforce his stray point.
Hae In never held hands with her brother either. They only ever came in contact with him when Soo Cheol needed some sense knocked into. Her aunt perhaps used to clasp them tightly sometimes, but Hae In withdrew after rapidly counting up to five in her head. It was far too uncomfortable.
She never held her girlfriends’ hands either. Not that she had many, but she watched the girls in her school run and walk, giggling, hand in hand while she looked at her own clasped across her lap. Yena and the girls used to slide up to her but they’d mostly lock elbows and Ha- In would slowly tug away knowing they only came to say something to upset her.
The guys, well they were too scared to ever even step close inside her personal space let alone hold her hands. Not that she wanted to hold any of theirs either. After all they wanted to hold the cold hard money that came with her, not her hands. Then came that one fateful day during her internship as she kicked at the printer once more. It was old and it was outdated and her side remarks towards her grandfather about office equipment needing replacement had fallen on deaf ears once again. Her heels smacked the side of the printer once again but it refused to print yet again.
“What are you doing?”
Hae In had barely registered the question, the voice that spoke from behind her, when she felt a warm presence gently tugging on her wrist. “What are you doing?” The voice repeated and in stepped Baek Hyun Woo into her line of vision. Hand still around her wrist, he stepped in front of the printer and Hae In shifted away automatically.
Hae In had a two-fold shock moment. Someone had dared make her move from the path of way and second someone was holding her hand (well wrist). She found her gaze slowly moving down. A large hand, strong forearm, shirt sleeve neatly folded to the elbow, all came into her view. And then registered the feeling once again. Warm and then calm. Her head cocked sideways as the feeling settled some more. Baek Hyun Woo continued talking as he started explaining how the printer worked, but Hae In could have sooner told him how to wash a car before she could repeat what he said. He then walked away, and Hae In was left lamenting at the loss of the warmth, her hands returning to their ice cold state and staring coldly at the printer that once again refused to work now.
Hae In’s internship continued. She watched as her ideas get shot down by the team manager and he not so subtly remark she should stick to using her face and not her head and look into settling down soon. She watched as the team manager struggle to bring results but then come back to take her proposals under the guise of them needing further review but then try to pass it off as his own. She also continued to watch Baek Hyun Woo who worked on the legal aspects of the proposals cock his head at the changes, no, the improvements in the proposals coming his way. And she watched as every now and then his eyes would move over towards her cubicle and linger whenever the team manager came around to ask for the proposals that needed ‘revising’.
And she watched one day as she kicked the printer particularly hard after it refused to cooperate yet again and the team manager had talked her ear off about his proposal bringing in the highest profits for the quarter, with absolutely no thanks to her. Hae In knew who the first person to get fired as soon as she completed her internship was going to be. Her foot barely rose, when she felt hands clasp her own and tug slightly. It didn’t take her half a second to knew who those hands belonged to.
Strong and warm, this time they enclosed her palm and she found herself being led to the stairway. Hyun Woo worked in quick motions, check the staircase above and check the staircase below. All clear.
“What are you doing?”, he asked her. Hae In shifted indignantly. Was that all this man was capable of saying to her? She knew it was him who tried to add her name back into the proposals, the one who guided questions her way at meetings so she could explain her ideas further but not once had he come talk to her himself. If he was that concerned, he could just talk to her directly.
Hae In stood waiting for him to elaborate further, all the while trying to ignore how nice it felt to have her hand in his palm. “What do you mean?” she replied in the same exasperated tone.
Hyun Woo burst out. All at once. “I mean, what are you doing? I have explained how to use the printer a couple of times now I think, and you’re clearly smart to know how to work it. I’ve seen the work you do and you’re clearly capable, but can you not be calmer? Or better, why do you stay quiet when you’re being treated unfairly, but take it all out on this poor printer. Do you even know nervous it makes me whenever the team manager starts scolding you or takes your work but you refuse to say anything? If you keep this up, you could get fired you know. And no offence, and I say this respectfully and out of experience, part time jobs are hard. Queen’s Group is a good workplace, and you should take your chances well here. Part time jobs wouldn’t suit you nor your caliber. You really stress me out you know that!!”
Hae In stared. What else could she do? Hyun Woo now stood looking at her, a little out of breath as he finished his rant. Hae In had spent months wishing she could talk to him, but hadn’t expected all of it to come out at once like that. Was that concern, was that praise, was that an insult? Too much to process at once. And he still hadn’t let go of her hand.
Get a grip she thought. She focused on the last point. “.. and why do I stress you out so much? Why do you care?” she asked, a smirk forming at her lips despite her best efforts.
“Huh”, he replied. Dumbly.
“This fool”, she thought. Absolute fool.
And she watched as he too started. Head shaking, eyes going out of focus, his other hand came to scratch behind his neck. “Well, I mean you know, I’m just saying out of concern for a good co-worker, and well a young, junior one too at that.”
He started mumbling some more but Hae In had stopped paying attention. Her eyes shifted to his reddening ears and she slowly put her left hand over their joined ones. His warm hand was now between her two ice cold ones, though the right one had considerably warmed by now and she felt the heat beneath her left one too now.
How calming she thought once again.
Hyun Woo’s eyes had now shifted down too, but made their way back to her face, now slightly puzzled. “Well.. I hope you think about why you’re so worried some more and hope that you can give me a better answer next time. Okay?”
He stared at her now, abashed slightly but stared nonetheless. Regretfully, Hae In pulled her hands out of his and made her way back to the office.
She sat at her cubicle tightly holding her own hands, wanting to keep the warmth for a bit longer. Eventually she found herself clutching a hot cup of coffee, and peered over the rim and watched as Hyun Woo finally made his way back to his cubicle, still looking a bit flustered. Her hands didn’t feel warm the same way as before, but felt better so when her eyes met his and his lips shifted, and a small smile formed.