Payback AU: Magic Cherry

The Myth!

The worst day of the week for Lee Yoohan is Monday.

It always seems to be the longest day of the week for an unknown reason. Every second seemed to be passing more slowly than the one before, as if time were laughing at their agony. The beat of this ethereal tune gradually slowed to a gentle pause. However, it sounds more like a loud, chaotic music for someone like Lee Yoohan who can hear it everywhere. He finds Mondays to be the most chaotic and destructive day of the week.

Despite how badly he wants it to be otherwise, today wasn't an exception.

"Would Yoohan complete this task for me?" His senior coworker Seo kevin pats him on the back and hands him a folder with the other. "My boyfriend's making dinner tonight, you know the consequences."

Yoohan's legs was so worn out from running errands all day that it would shout in protest if it could. His superior had requested a cup of caffeine, but when he received it, he found the first one to be overly sweet, the second to be too sour, the third to be too cool, and the final to be, "This is fine enough," with a frown.

But Kevin is treated as his friend by Yoohan, who shows him the ropes around the office and divulges information about clients that nobody else is aware of. To possibly refuse this man of anything would be absurd.

Yoohan quietly says, "Can't let him burn down the kitchen once again," remembering the day Kevin worked overnight only to return home to a blazing pan and an unusable faucet that had flooded his and his boyfriend's flat.

With a grin and a snap of the lips, Kevin responded, "You know it," while directing a finger pistol at him.

In response, Yoohan smiles a little and says, "I get it. Please return home safely."

"Bye!" With his back to him, Kevin skipped toward the door and waved him off. Before he attempted to open the doors, he noticed the date on the calendar out of the corner of his vision.

Yoohan is spun around in his office chair as Kevin, who had been frozen, returns in an instant. "Tomorrow is your birthday!"

Yoohan recoils at that, his eyes wide, and instinctively covers Kevin's lips with his hands. "Yeah, it is," he sputters. I know. But would you please keep it down?"

Kevin sweeps Yoohan's hands aside and moves in closer, his hazel eyes brimming with an aura of determination. "I assume you're turning 30?"

Lee Yoohan realized that turning 30 has no advantages. Nobody says, "Life begins at 30," or "Take joy in your thirties or you'll regret it!" or something similar. Being 30 simply means the final chapter of your twenties, the best ten years of your adulthood, and the beginning of your future uninteresting years. The pressure from his society and family begins to build: he should be wedded by now, having kids to nurture on his own behalf, financially secure, and overflowing achievements. Instead, he stays as himself.

Lee Yoohan of the finance department, leads a monotonous life that continues repeating itself. He maintains a low profile in whatever he does. And to add salt to his discomfort, Kevin loudly exclaims, "And you have never had a girlfriend?!" in a tone that reverberates across the entire room.

Yoohan has a red blush in the hollows of his cheeks. Kevin's hands are slapped away, and he spins his chair around. He continues to complete the required documents as if it were nothing at all, but his hum clearly indicates that he is not at ease.

"Boyfriend?" Kevin makes another attempt while coming up to the other side like a persistent parasite.

Yoohan shakes his head and groaned.