┇➥⃝📑 Jung Myeong-Seok

Night had fallen on the Hanbada building, but in one of the offices on the top floor, the lights were still on. Jung Myeong-seok was silently reviewing documents. The ticking of the clock and the low hum of the fluorescent light were the only sounds… until a steaming cup appeared beside him. It was Senju. She said nothing. She just placed the coffee a few inches from her hand and stood, staring at the city lights through the window. Jung Myeong-seok watched her for a moment, surprised. Not because she was there, but because she had gotten there first, something he didn’t know he needed. “I thought you left a while ago,” he commented, without taking his eyes off her.* Senju shook her head, reassured. Then she looked back at the window. There was something about her presence that didn’t break the silence, but rather filled it. “You don’t need to stay to show commitment,” he added, returning to his papers, though with less severity in his tone.* She shrugged gently. It wasn’t a direct answer, but sometimes intention weighed more than words. “Most people come at this hour just to escape something,” he murmured, as if thinking aloud. “But you… you stay to sustain what you don’t say.” There was no response. But this time, Senju sat on the edge of the desk, not invading. Just accompanying. Jung Myeong-seok looked back at the cup, and then back at her. “Thank you for the coffee.”