Chapter 24 - Learning the Unwritten

Chapter 24: Learning the Unwritten

Ivan’s new workplace had no clock-in machine.

No fixed seats. No dress code. No two days that looked the same.

The first week, he nearly went insane.

People talked mid-meeting. Debates broke out over lunch. Someone put up a whiteboard titled “Things We Failed At This Week” like it was a point of pride.

Ivan stared at it for two full minutes.
Then added: “Misjudged server load on routing map v2.1”
Next day, someone left him a sticky note:

Respect. Welcome to the chaos.

He started small.

Organizing the backlog. Fixing naming conventions. Creating documentation nobody asked for — but everyone quietly appreciated.

They called him The Backbone.

He didn’t hate it.

One Friday, after a particularly long brainstorm, one of the engineers asked him out for drinks.

Ivan was about to say no. He never stayed out late on Fridays — it was relationship night.

Then he paused. And messaged her.

Drinks with the team. Mind if I’m back later?

She replied immediately.

Go. Socialize. I’ll save you some mango pudding.

He smiled.

And said yes.

That night, he sat under fairy lights in a cramped rooftop bar, surrounded by laughter and half-empty pints. Someone started talking about love and how dating in tech was “statistically doomed.”

Someone else turned to him.
“You’ve been in a long-term thing, right? Since forever?”

Ivan nodded.

“What’s the secret, man?”

He didn’t answer right away.

Then, quietly:
“Grow without leaving each other behind.”

A few heads nodded. Someone toasted to that.

He didn’t say more.

But he messaged her later that night.

I like this version of me. The one learning to bend.

She replied:

That version of you has always been here. You just finally gave him permission to speak.

He still wrote in his journal, late at night.

But now the entries had different tones.

Today I laughed louder.
Let someone interrupt me.
Let myself enjoy the mess.
This life isn’t spreadsheet-shaped — and that’s okay.
Maybe even good.