"You second-lead-syndrome loser!" A young girl cried out, her words echoing far past the room she resided in.
"Oi, don't go acting like you don't fee the same way, Yanli." Lin An, an older woman stated, confident and sure as she spoke. "We both know compared to Se-Yeon, Min-Hyuk is a much better match for the female lead."
"Se-Yeon saw her first plus he even let himself get poisoned by the green tea bitch of a concubine, Yoo-Ri just to save her despite their fight." The girl countered, her heart thumping as she recalled the scene in vivid detail. "How much more manly and cool could he get?"
"Psh, like that's anything compared to General Se-Yeon. He also tossed aside his home and position to save Hae-Sook from that insidious bitch's plot to frame her for that murder." Lin An said, waving Yanli's counter like a fly. "Min-Hyuk was totally on that bitches side despite how much time the leads spent getting to know each other." The young girl slammed her hands on the table, greatly aggrieved at the older woman's words.
"It wasn't his fault! Eunuch Kwan had been sowing so many seeds of doubt that Min-Hyuk had no way of knowing what was true anymore!"
"Bullshit!" A third women, Han Ming, interjected. "That whole plotline was just a ruse to introduce a new love interest into the fold despite Min-Hyuk and Hae-Sook already being so close. Why else would General Se-Yeon have never shown up before that point?"
To those who listened to the conversation (cough-shipping war-cough), one might assume the women in question were arguing over a novel. One of those cheesy, dime a dozen novels about reborn female leads who travels back in time to become the most coveted woman by many men who, before that point, were content with literally no one else. But they would be wrong. The subject of their shipping war was of a worse form of degeneracy.
Serial dramas.
These women were major fans of a drama that had split the internet fan base in half. It turned sister against sister, mother against daughter and co-worker against co-worker. There are those who claim internet shipping wars were brutal but it was nothing compared to a face to face argument. Hands flew and words were said that made those of weaker hearts give up their ship in shame.
This is the scene that Lin Qin Rong walked in on. His male co-workers tried to warn him, telling him to take his break elsewhere or he'd end up being dragged into the dispute. Apparently, when a stalemate was met, it was policy to drag a man into the discussion, whether or not he'd watched the show. Ignoring their warning, cause his phone needed to be charged and the only outlet was in the breakroom, he walked in just as the three were about to get loud.
"Ah..." Qin Rong flinched as their gaze hit him, feeling cornered and somewhat regretting entering the room. "I...should just get going and leave you ladies t-
"Don't take another step! Tell us, who is a better fit for the female lead in {Under Summers Gaze}, Prince Min-Hyuk or General Se-Yeon?" They demanded, pinning him to the spot. While he wished he could just run, he knew there was no escape. He'd been painted with a target. Even if he ran now, they'd just corner him again and again until he answered.
"...Fine." He sighed, walking to sit between them. He needed to charge his phone anyway. He had an important call he was waiting for. The three women stared him down, waiting for his answer. "To be honest, I kind of like Min-Jun as her partner rather than General Se-Yeon or Prince Min-Hyuk." He stated, shocking the three women. Not really because of his knowledge of the show, but for his actual statement.
"What?!" They both cried out.
"Another second-lead-syndrome!?" Yanli marveled.
"To be fair, it would be third lead syndrome." Han Ming corrected.
"He's practically a background character!" Lin An countered, ignoring Qin Rong's pout. Honestly, this was why he stayed out of shipping wars but when else would he get the chance to talk about this stuff?
"Yeah, but he's the only one who stands by Hae-Sook side no matter what." He defended, relaxing in his seat. "When she wanted to run away to help her family, Min-Jun is the one to help her. When she needs to come up with a plan, the one she asks first is him too. Plus she actually remains intelligent when talking to Min-Jun
."Eh?" They echoed, confused. This brought Qin Rong's fanboy self to the surface.
"Surely you guys noticed it too, right?" He asked, not waiting for a reply before continuing. "How the female lead is so oblivious to the feelings of both male leads? They shower her with gifts and compliments and yet she brushes them off like air. Like friends do the things they do for her. She's smart enough to uncover the vast conspiracy spanning decades but misses when the male lead is jealous of her proximity to General Se-Yeon?! What kind of conveniently dense protagonist is that!?" He vented, clenching his fist in frustration.
"Hey, don't be so rude." Lin An countered, watching him with amusement. "Love is complex and sometimes it comes up in various ways."
"But to be so dense about?"
"As if you'd fare any better." Han Ming snorted, earning another glare from Qin Rong.
"I totally would." He stated, lounging back in the chair to show off his looks, which were fairly decent. "Watch how the next time a girl comes onto me, I show off my skills."
"Oh yeah, nothing screams 'take me now' like a 20-something working at Wonderburger*." Yanli snickers, watching Qin Rong glared at her fruitlessly.
(AN: I made up a burger joint. Think McDonalds meets... IDK, SmashBurger)
The trio smiled back at him, enjoying the look on his face. Qin Rong, burger flipper he was, was indeed handsome. Not model handsome but handsome enough to turn heads from both genders. And he noticed too yet never tried to reciprocate anyone's feelings. Looking at him, Yanli and Lin An couldn't help but just enjoy the view. Han Ming, being married, just smiled with amusement.
At the duo's admiring gaze, Qin Rong couldn't help but feel disappointed. Most men would be over be overjoyed to have the attention of two beautiful women. Unfortunately for him, his work place was made up of two types of females: Teenagers who needed a part-time job and older women in need of a part-time job. As such, the two women were either too young to legally even look at or old enough to be his mother.
That is to say, if he had a mother.
Shaking off the unpleasant thought, he turned to women, who were glad to find a fellow USG fan in their workplace. The group spent the break talking over various plot points, crack ships and other good shows to binge watch. Time flew as their break soon came to an end. Just as Qin Rong was about to recommend another show, his phone rang. Seeing the who was calling, his expression changed.
"Senior Rong? Who is it?" Yanli asked, noting the change in atmosphere. He turned to them with a smile, the aura having faded just as quickly as it appeared.
"It just a friend of mine." He stated, standing up. "If you'll excuse me." He then turned and walked out, parts of his conversation echoing. The two women watched him leave, curiosity burning in their eyes but suppressed by etiquette.
"Senior Rong has friends?" Yanli asked, confused. She'd never seen the man with anyone in any friendly way. In fact, their conversation just then was the only time she recalled him being friendly with any of their co-workers.
"Perhaps he's beginning to open up a bit?" Han Ming suggested, smiling wisely. She was happy that the young man was being a bit more open. He was very quiet and somewhat distant, hence why he wasn't a cashier despite his looks.
"Hopefully, he'll smile more." The younger girl said, blushing a bit at the memory of him smiling. It was so cute!!! Ah, how handsome!!!
***
Meanwhile, Qin Rong spoke on the phone, passing by his co-workers who ignored him. They always did but he still felt the need to speak 'code'.
"I've been waiting for your call all day, bro." He said, a small smile on his face. "What are we playing tonight?"
"...You're not alone?" The voice on the other end asked, noting the code. The voice was garbled and distorted, hiding the identity of the caller.
"Nope, I'm at work but I can swing by if you want?" He said, his words meaning [I have nothing in the way.]
(AN: The brackets are the meaning of his code-speak.)
"Good, we have another mission for you."
"Another game session? Awesome! Solo or co-op?" [Another mission? Will I be working alone?]
"No, you'll be working in a team. You are to defer to them."
"Ah, I'm being paired up with a bunch of noobs?" [Do I know them?]
"You've worked with them before." The voice assured him, sounding annoyed.
"I guess it's fine but the game better be fun or I'm out." [What's the mission and payout]
"I'll send the information to you via the usual means." The voice said, the sound of clicking faintly in the background. "I'll expect you to have it done as soon as possible."
"Kay, see ya later." [Got it.]
Qin Rong told his manager he had to head out and was soon rushing home. Finally! He got another mission. He was running low on cash and working at Wonderburger* barely paid for his groceries, let alone his rent. It was evening by the time he reached home.
Entering his dingy apartment, Qin Rong went over to his closet and took out his hidden laptop. Powering it up took seconds and after some code breaking, he successfully got through his encryption. Due to the nature of his night job, he couldn't just leave his laptop with no defenses. It wasn't a genius level encryption but it was enough that the regular run of the mill hacker would find nothing strange.
In the usual place, he found a message from his boss. Another mission, this time requiring him to travel a bit. He sighed, a bit upset that he'd have to skip out on work and probably get fired. He liked the job, cover or not. Plus he finally found some folks to talk about dramas with.
Speaking off, since he would be out of the country, he should probably set his favorite shows to record so when he came back, he could comfortably binge watch the new episodes. He might not be able to discuss it with his co-workers but at least he'll know how the story ends.