It All Started With Lunch
ONEWE - Harin X Y/N (fluff angst)
you yawned as you walked into the office and towards your desk.
this was your daily routine. it was not that you intentionally go to sleep late every night, you just had a lot of work to do and you often stayed overtime.
the only reason you put up with this job was the high pay, and also you didn't have any family to support you financially. if you were to quit your job, it would be difficult to find another quick.
"good morning, Mr Lee." you greeted as you passed your senior's table. he gave you a polite nod as usual and resumed his work.
just as you sat on your desk, your manager, Mrs Na, entered the office with an unfamiliar man behind her. Mrs Na greeted everyone and invited the man to her side.
"everyone, this is Ju Harin. starting from today he will be your colleague. he is not new to the job, he just transferred from another branch, so you do not need to worry about training him. Mr Ju, if you need any help, do approach me or your colleagues. once again, welcome to our family, Mr Ju."
you eyes were dry from not blinking. Ju Harin.
he was totally your type.
you were startled from your own thoughts when Mrs Na showed Harin to his desk, which was beside yours.
"Mr Ju, this is y/n. if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to approach y/n". you gulped and discreetly wiped your sweaty hand on your cushioned chair before shaking Harin's.
"M-Mr Ju, welcome." you stammered. Harin smiled and nodded.
"please, just call me Harin!".
after the short interaction, you didn't have time to look at Harin anymore. you were one of the senior assistants in the company so your workload was abit heavy. you were even put in charge on a new intern this time.
"hey y/n, you haven't had lunch, have you?"
you jumped at the sudden deep voice beside you. you were too focused on your computer you didn't notice Harin approaching your desk. you looked at the clock on your screen and facepalmed yourself.
it was already 3pm and the only thing you had was a piece of bread for breakfast.
"i'm sorry, i didn't notice the time."
Harin chuckled and shook his head. "why are you apologising? here i have an extra sandwich. i hope you like chicken?"
your breath hitched when you heard Harin's chuckle. how can he be manly and cute at the same time?
you thanked him and accepted the sandwich. it was still warm. "did you just buy this?" you can't help but ask.
Harin was abit surprised at your question. "ah no, i brought it from home in my thermal lunch bag."
your mouth turned into an 'O'. you thanked him again and took a big bite from the warm food.
your eyes widened as the flavour filled your tongue. you swallowed and turned to Harin who was already typing away on his desk.
"Ju Harin... this is so good!!!!!" Harin felt chills when he heard you call his full name.
it was 6pm. time to clock out for everyone except you. (and maybe some other workaholic colleagues).
Harin packed his bag and arranged his desk, all ready to go home. he saw that you were still doing some work, you didn't look like you were going home anytime soon. Harin wanted to ask you but he didn't want to disturb you. he quickly greeted you goodbye and went out. Harin didn't want to be late to his next appointment.
the next day, you yawned as you walked into the office and towards your desk.
"good morning, Mr Lee." you greeted as you passed your senior's table. he gave you a polite nod as usual and resumed his work.
this time, there was an extra step to your daily routine. greeting your new deskmate. "good morning Harin!". Harin who was drinking his morning green tea nodded back as a greeting.
you sighed the moment you sat down and switched on the computer. Harin peeked at your face worriedly. you looked even more exhausted than yesterday.
"y/n, would you like some hot tea? it would help you relax a bit". you stopped yawning halfway and quickly looked at Harin with an embarrassed smile. "that would be nice, thank you."
Harin poured you a cup of hot tea and came back with a cream bun. "have some breakfast too". you accepted both with a beam as you felt touched.
"let's go eat lunch together later," Harin invited. you quickly swallowed the sweet cream bun and looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"oh? you didn't bring your own lunch today?". Harin only scratched his cheek awkwardly and shook his head with an embarrassed smile. "sure, why not!".
just like that, your boring daily routine changed into a more interesting one ever since Harin came. not only did you have an extra person to greet every morning, you had someone to remind you of your meals. you feel taken care of by Harin.
you started having proper breakfast every morning either at home or in the office because you didn't want Harin to worry about you and buy you breakfast everyday.
for lunch, Harin would either invite you to eat together outside or give you his homemade lunch. you were grateful for this, you were always focused on work and would lose track of time.
everytime you complimented the food he gave you, Harin would smile shyly and thank you. it was a really cute reaction. because of Harin, you felt happier going to work. you felt like you had something to look forward to everyday.
it was the weekend. you planned to go grocery shopping. you wanted to cook or bake Harin something to thank him for always taking care of you at work.
you scrolled your phone for the shopping list and walked aisle by aisle slowly to not miss anything. you were passing by the snacks section and saw someone familiar. your eye brightened.
you were about to approach Harin who was squatting at a corner while scanning a box of cookies, when a little girl came running towards Harin and jumped behind his back.
"Papa! Papa!". you stopped on your tracks and quickly hid behind a shelf. "ackkk Ju Sera! don't jump on me like that!" you heard the familiar deep gentle voice calling out the little girl's name.
*Papa? Ju... Sera?* you tried to process what you just witnessed. your mood to shop disappeared. you quickly went to the cashier with what you had in your basket and decided to go straight back home. your mind was a mess right now. what the hell was happening?
Harin held a basket in one hand and held Sera's with his other. the two of them waited in line quietly. Harin looked out the glass door and spotted a familiar back. *y/n? or maybe not* he thought before paying for his groceries.
once Harin and Sera was inside the car, Sera took out a lollipop that she just bought earlier. "Papa, please open this for me~".
Harin chuckled and took the candy from Sera's little hands. "Sera, i told you not to call me Papa. people might misunderstand, and my brother will be sad if he heard you call others your dad."
Sera pouted and shook her head. "i call my dad 'Dad', and Dad is not here anymore so that is fine. Mom... let's not talk about Mom. you are basically my parent, so why is it wrong for me to call you Papa?"
Harin sighed and plopped the lollipop into Sera's mouth. he was about to start driving when Sera's words shocked him. he almost choked on his own saliva.
"sooo Papa Rin has someone that he likes! before this, whenever i call you Papa, you didn't say anything. but now, you told me someone could misunderstand. you definitely like someone, Papa Rin!!".
Harin laughed outloud and ruffled Sera's hair. "you are only five years old but you talk and think like an adult!". Sera licked her lollipop before pointing it towards Harin.
"of course, i have to grow up fast so i can help Papa Rin take care of the both of us!".
Harin's heart clenched at her words as he carressed her head softly. "no baby, you don't have to grow up fast okay? Papa Rin is happy to take care of you. i just want you to be happy."
you slammed your door close and put your groceries on the floor. your heart was still beating so fast from the scene earlier. you sat in a corner and buried your face in between your knees.
"Ju Harin is married and even has a child? he doesn't look like a jerk who would cheat on his wife with a colleague... have i been misunderstanding his kindness for having feelings for me? i must be a fool. what would his wife feel if she finds out that all these while she had been making an extra portion of lunch for me? Harin is just being kind to me, but with my feelings towards him... no this is wrong. no matter how i look at this, this is wrong. i don't want to ruin a family." you mumbled to yourself.
you ended up not cooking or baking anything for Harin but you didn't want to be the ungrateful jerk so you bought some fruit tarts for Harin from a nearby bakery.
you took a deep breath before entering the office. you greeted Mr Lee as usual. you finally reached Harin's desk, your hands were trembling but you mustered up your courage and put the box of tarts on his desk.
"this is a thank you from me to you for always taking care of my meals." Harin's eyes brightened at your small gift. he smiled widely and was about to thank you but was cut off by your next words.
"also for today's lunch, i'm meeting a friend so i can't eat with you." before he could reply, you quickly went to your desk and turned your back against him. you breathed out in relief for not stammering in front of him.
Harin cleared his throat softly and stared at the box of tarts. he totally felt your cold shoulder. he put the thoughts aside and continued doing his work.
during lunch, you quickly went out of the office and didn't even glance at Harin who had just took out his homemade lunch.
you laughed mockingly to yourself as you paid for your cup noodles. "friend? what friend? are you my friend, Mr Cashier?" the old guy scanning your items looked like he didn't even hear what you just asked.
you sighed and cooked your noodles before sitting at one of the seats inside. you weren't meeting a friend at all, you just went to the convenience store behind your office where people from your company rarely goes to because it was a bit far compared to the other store.
when you went back to the office, you quickly went to your seat. Harin frowned and scratched his forehead. did something happen? why are you suddenly avoiding him?
it was finally time to clock out. Harin packed his bag as usual and glanced towards your desk. you were immersed in your work, he didn't want to disturb you. Harin quietly greeted you goodbye and went out.
Harin walked to his car with a heavy heart. he drove to Sera's kindergarten and arrived on time. Harin waited for Sera to wear her shoes and run to him with open arms. Harin hugged Sera and carried her up. Sera snuggled into his neck and wrapped her tiny arms around Harin.
"Papa Rin, you look down today. what happened?". Harin chuckled and patted the kid's head.
"it's because i need my princess's magical kiss!" Sera giggled and gave Harin's cheek a big wet smooch.
"Papa Rin, do you feel better now?" Harin scrunched his nose and nodded before walking to his car.
the following days, you tried your best to avoid being alone with Harin or even talk to him about things besides work. during lunch, you would either reject Harin's invitation by going out with your other colleagues, or just disappear before he could approach you.
your intern took a leave of absence as he was down with fever and some things were supposed to be done by today but he didn't have the time to complete them. so as his supervisor, you had to handle his incomplete works. with the extra burden, you really forgot to run away during lunch time.
"y/n, have some lunch." your whole body jumped when Harin's gentle voice echoed. your eyes widened as you scanned the office.
everyone had already left except you and Harin. you didn't have anyone you could call out to to escape from Harin. you wanted to run but your legs won't move. you cleared your throat and hesitated before accepting the food.
"th-thank you Harin for the lunch. uhm tell your wife thanks too. but you know, you shouldn't ask her to make an extra portion to just give me. it can create some misunderstanding.. i can handle lunch by myself in the future."
Harin looked at you with a confused face.
indeed there was a huge misunderstanding right now.
*so it really was y/n at the supermarket.. it wasn't my imagination* Harin thought.
"she's not my daughter. i don't have a wife. i'm not married"
you faced Harin with a frown.
"i would never joke about something as serious as this".
you gulped all your tears down and walked past Harin.
you ran to the bathroom and locked yourself in a cubicle. after staring at the wall for a minute, your tears finally flowed down non-stop as your sobs filled the bathroom.
you felt relieved. you've been feeling burdened since the supermarket incident. these past few weeks you tried your best to avoid Harin because you didn't want to ruin a happy family. you tried your best to push your feelings for Harin aside, you felt like you have sinned for liking a supposedly married man.
now that the misunderstanding was cleared, all your overwhelming feelings that you had been bottling up finally bursted.
you washed your face until your red face calmed down. your eyes were still abit puffy from crying. you took a deeeep breath and mustered up your courage to return to the office.
your colleagues were back from lunch, Harin didn't want to create a scene so it was not until 6pm did he approached you quietly.
"y/n, would you like to have dinner with us tonight?"
you bit your lips. "i have some things to finish for abit"
"it's actually fine. i can wait for you. i have always picked her up on time so being abit late for one day is fine. she will understand."
you didn't want to run away anymore so you agreed and quickly settled your things before following Harin to pick his niece up at the kindergarten.
"Ju Sera, right?" Harin nodded as he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.
"Sera is my brother's daughter. he passed on when she was just about three. Sera's mother was so heartbroken that she.. ah Sera doesn't like to talk about her mother so i won't talk about her too. so yup i have been taking care of her for about 2 years now".
you quietly listened to Harin's explanation. you didn't know whether to cry or laugh at how much you misunderstood the whole situation before this.
you went to the backseat as Harin went to get his cute niece. you fiddled with your fingers, slightly nervous to meet the little girl.
"Papa Rin!!! you are late today!" Sera pouted and pinched Harin's nose. Harin groaned in pain before chuckling. "i was late because i have a surprise for you!" Sera's eyes brightened as she bounced in Harin's arms.
"is it the new kitchen set? or or the new nerf gun??? omg what is the surprise?!?!?" Harin pecked Sera's chubby cheek and grinned. "the surprise is wayyy better than any of those!"
Harin opened the back door and let Sera in. Sera gasped as she saw you. she quickly half bowed and introduced herself.
"hello pretty auntie, i am Ju Sera! Papa Rin's princess!" you giggled at her cute introduction and greeted her back.
"hello Sera, i am y/n. uhm your Papa Rin's friend from work."
Harin felt his whole face warmed up when he heard the way you called him. Harin cleared his throat as he started driving.
"Auntie y/n will be having dinner with us today"
Sera smiled widely as if that was the best thing in the world. she softly grabbed your hands with her tiny ones and hugged them.
"does that mean i can show auntie y/n all my new toys?". you were not really familiar with small kids but Sera had your whole heart. she was so precious and cute.
"of course you can, princess!"
your heart was beating fast when you entered their clean apartment. it was probably cleaner than yours. Sera wasted no time and dragged you to her bedroom.
"you ladies go play first, i will call once dinner is ready". you nodded and followed Sera.
the second you went into her room, Sera had already showed you almost ten of her toys.
"Papa Rin is really amazing! he built my bed and my cupboards! he also buys me the toys that i want and cooks yummy food for me everyday!"
now that you thought about it, you have actually been eating the food that Harin made for lunch. they were indeed yummy.
"Auntie y/n, a few days after Papa Rin started working at the new place, he started making three portions everytime he packed our lunch. i thought it was strange so i asked him why. Papa Rin said he gets super hungry at work so he needed two portions. i did not suspect anything but a few days later, i caught him smiling so widely when he was packing the third portion. he looked so happy so i did not interrupt him."
you blinked at Sera's words. you felt embarrassed when the little kid realised that Harin was making lunch for someone else too.
"Auntie y/n, did you fight with Papa Rin a few days ago?" you almost choked on your own saliva. "wh--why? i mean no, we did not fight.."
Sera sat beside you and sighed. "Papa Rin was feeling down these past few days. even when he was packing the third portion, he didn't smile widely. he looked like he was going to cry. but but today, he looks wayy better when he picked me up from school! so i know he made up with you!"
you were surprised when Sera told you all these tiny details. she really cared for Harin, she could even sense his mood accurately.
"Auntie y/n, those lunch were for you right? i really think Papa Rin lik---" Sera's words were cut off when Harin opened the door to her room. you and Sera were startled and quickly sat up. your backs were as straight as a rod. Harin raised an eyebrow.
"uhm is everything okay? Sera did not say any nonsense did she?" Sera pouted and ran to Harin's legs before throwing a few punches.
"Papa Rin!!! why didn't you knock first? we were having a girls talk!!!"
Harin coughed awkwardly and patted Sera's head. "so--sorry Sera, i forgot to knock. dinner is ready". Harin really forgot to knock, he was too nervous having you over for the first time, his mind was a mess.
you chuckled at the two and stood up. "let's eat dinner before it gets cold~"
the pair agreed and led you to the dining table.
"mmmm! this is so good, Harin!" you praised and took another big bite of rice. Harin sat at the head of the table with Sera on his right while you were seated on his left.
"yes Papa Rin is the best chef in the world!"
Harin smiled at your kind words and ate with a warm heart.
"Auntie, you should eat more! did you know that Papa Rin always planned our lunch carefully so that you will be full. he was worried you would skip your meals--"
Sera covered her mouth with her tiny palms and mumbled a sorry to her uncle. you glanced at Harin and saw that his ears were red. you giggled inwardly and continued eating your dinner.
after dinner, Sera wanted to watch her favourite TV show with you while Harin washed the dishes. "auntie auntie! can you braid my hair like that fairy character?"
you froze at her request. you actually did not know how to braid at all. even the simplest ones. you had only tied your hair in a ponytail or a bun.
Harin went to the living room as he wiped his wet hands. "do you know how to braid?" you bit your lips and looked down before shaking your head no.
Sera giggled and cupped your face. "it's okay, auntie, i don't know too. that's why i always ask Papa Rin for help!"
you looked at Harin with amazement. this man really knows how to do everything. Harin chuckled and sat beside you. "Sera come sit here. i will teach Auntie y/n how to braid your hair".
Sera sat on Harin's lap obediently as she let him tie her hair.
"first you part the hair into three, then you alternate them over one another like this. make sure to always put her hair down and not up like this, got it?"
Harin turned his face to look at you but didn't notice that you were so close to him, Harin accidentally pecked your cheek. the both of you froze at the sudden contact.
Sera giggled and jumped up from Harin's legs. "oh? was that Auntie y/n's first kiss? hehehehehe"
you snapped out of your thoughts and pulled Sera into a hug. "so what if that was my first kiss? it's just a kiss, it's not that special right? look, this is my second! third! fourth!"
you kept pecking Sera's soft chubby cheeks as you counted, making her giggle and laugh loudly as it tickled her. Harin smiled at the cute scene and wished this could be forever.
after playing, Sera finally fell asleep in your arms. you carressed her hair and tried to put her on the sofa gently. "it's late, i should go home now.".
you were about to stand up but Sera grabbed your hand. "Auntie y/n, don't go!". your face softened at her small voice. "why don't we send you back home? that way Sera will have more time with you" Harin offered.
"but that would be troubling." Harin shook his head before carrying Sera. "let's go".
in the car, Sera lied down her head on your lap at the backseat. you stared out the window, thinking of what a day it had been.
"Harin, thank you for always taking care of me. i'm sorry i misunderstood you and acted the way i did these past few days. i must have hurt you. i'm sorry'.
Harin gave a handsome smile and shook his head. "it's fine, really. it would be great though if you would continue eating lunch with me after this."
you chuckled and nodded. "of course. would you maybe invite me to dinner too? i had fun spending time with Sera."
Harin's smile widened at your request.
"of course, you are always welcomed to our place! Sera loves you too. look at her clinging onto you, suddenly her Papa Rin is not here."
you chuckled at his words and carressed Sera's hair gently.
you absolutely did not imagine that this would happen, but you were grateful it did. you met Harin and then Sera, your usual boring life which was filled with work and overtime was now more interesting and fulfilling.
short interview with Mr Lee!
creambunnie: Mr Lee, how is it like being a thirdwheel between y/n and Harin?
Mr Lee: after years of working here, having an office romance bloom right in front of me is really refreshing. ah young love~
creambunnie: Mr Lee, aren't you just like 3 years older than them? you are still young too..
Mr Lee: anyways, i am happy they started eating lunch together again. honestly it was a bit annoying when they did not get along. there was like this awkward tension. and you know what---
creambunnie: alright thank you Mr Lee! we shall end the interview here
Mr Lee: but i haven't finished talking yet!!!!
a/n: hihi! it's been a while since i've updated. i hope yall enjoyed this Harin imagine! 💚
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