By Zephyria 
The straight desk facing the 13th-floor elevator was the secretaries’ workspace. Everything, from the company phones and Duoback chairs to the mini-drawers with passwords, came in pairs, but today only Yoon Eun-ah was sitting in her seat.
Yoon Eun-ah, who always kept her back straight and maintained a good posture, never let the phone ring more than three times when answering business calls, and diligently cleaned her glasses even when she had nothing to do, was a highly motivated junior secretary.
Behind Yoon Secretary’s bright face, a neat black sign created a heavy atmosphere. The three letters ‘AOM’ engraved in relief intermittently emitted a white light.
Yoon Secretary timed how many seconds apart the light flickered. That was all she could do right now. It was 1:59 PM, and the afternoon was so leisurely and boring while her direct superior, CEO Cheon Tae-rim, was in a meeting.
It was right then that the elevator doors opened with a ‘ding’ sound. When Yoon Secretary raised her head, the clock hands that had changed to 2:00 PM and a huge flower basket filled her vision at the same time.
“Hello.”
Said the man who was hugging a flower basket in pink, green, and ivory colors. Because his face was hidden by the petals, it was as if the flowers, not him, were speaking.
“Ah, yes. Hello. How may I help you?”
A beat late, Yoon Secretary asked, coming to her senses.
Then the flower basket, waddling, was carefully placed on the desk, and the man’s face suddenly appeared next to the green leaves. Yoon Secretary’s heart fluttered at the sight.
If he had been an average Korean man commonly seen on the streets, she wouldn’t have been surprised, but would have thought, ‘What the hell,’ at the action of sticking his face out. But when a handsome man did the same thing, it felt like coquetry.
‘Wow… how can a flower delivery guy be this good-looking?’
Even the bold Yoon Secretary’s ears were about to burn.
“I’m here to see CEO Cheon Tae-rim.”
He whispered in a soft, low voice.
“Ah…”
Yoon Secretary blankly scanned his face. Each of his features was distinct and assertive within his small face, but his eyes were subtle and his jawline was slender, so nothing was excessive. His skin seemed to be made only of the inner flesh of a baby’s arm, and his eyes were unusually clear in this day and age.
Yoon Secretary had always thought that CEO Cheon Tae-rim was the most handsome man she would ever meet in her life. Her heart, which had become accustomed to his broad shoulders and deep, heavy appearance and had thought that she would no longer be easily excited, was pounding for the first time in a while.
The man moved his face closer to Yoon Secretary, who was silent with a dazed expression.
“Excuse me…”
Then a strong fragrance wafted over.
A woody scent that wasn’t completely hidden by the flower scent tickled Yoon Secretary’s nose. The masculine scent, which was fresh yet had a dignified charm, was the smell of pheromones.
‘Is he an Alpha? Or… an Omega?’
She slyly raised her head and took a deep breath, but his pheromones were too faint and the scent of the flower basket was too strong, making it difficult to distinguish between the two.
If she had been the Qing Dynasty Emperor of the 16th century instead of the junior secretary of the 21st century, she would have made this man her Imperial Concubine and wouldn’t have let him go until he had given birth to twelve princes.
“Excuse me?”
For a moment, Yoon Secretary was startled awake.
“Ah, yes. Yes! What did you say?”
The man laughed as he looked down at her, who was blinking her eyes rapidly.
“The flower basket. I’m here to deliver it to CEO Cheon Tae-rim. Is he in the office right now?”
“Ah… I, I’m sorry. The CEO is in a meeting right now.”
“Ah, then I’ll wait.”
“Pardon? No. You can leave it with me.”
Yoon Secretary quickly replied, reaching out for the flower basket. Then the man’s arm quickly reached out, separating the basket and her. It was as if he was trying to protect his prized possession.
“Um. I…”
Then he gave an awkward smile.
“Yes, what is it?”
Yoon Secretary looked up at him, bewildered. Then the man smiled, strangely creasing his neat eyebrows.
“Um, well. I…”
Even after staring at his embarrassed smile and the eyes that held a sense of awkwardness, Yoon Secretary couldn’t figure out why he was hesitating.
“Ah!”
She opened her mouth. Then his face, which had briefly shone with light,
“Do you need a signature? Give me the receipt, I’ll take care of it.”
Turned red up to his ears as if he was embarrassed.
“Ah… ah.”
He moved his feet back and forth for no reason, and rubbed his mouth and cheeks with the back of his hand.
“No, it’s okay. Haha.”
Then he laughed to himself as if something was funny, and took out the sky-blue envelope stuck in the flower basket and put it in his pocket.
“Yes. Then, please make sure to deliver the flowers to the CEO. Yoon Secretary.”
“Yes? Ah, yes…”
The man turned toward the elevator. In the meantime, the number on the display panel had changed to B2. While waiting after pressing the button, his gaze lingered on the painting in the center of the hallway leading to the CEO’s office.
The abstract painting, with its sophisticated layering of various colors and prominent brushstrokes, was a piece that Cheon Tae-rim had suddenly brought in one day, tucking it under his arm. He even had a custom-made wooden frame made for it, enclosing it in a glass case to prevent even a speck of dust from entering.
“So, he hung it here…”
The man muttered to himself in a low voice.
Soon, he stretched his neck, alternately examining the painting and the transparent window of the CEO’s office. Then, he stepped back a couple of paces and began to openly admire the painting. He was confirming that the location where the painting was hung was the most visible spot from the CEO’s seat.
Like a boy who had discovered a delightful secret, he smiled quietly.
Emboldened by that smile, Secretary Yoon rose from her seat. The handsome florist was not leaving easily, and she couldn’t stand still, feeling impatient that this might be a new opportunity for a meeting.
His attitude of not concealing his pheromone scent was telling. In a first meeting, an Alpha or Omega subtly releasing their scent was usually a signal that they were interested in you. It was a starting signal for a sweet tug-of-war, asking you to reveal your trait by releasing your body scent as well.
“Excuse me…”
Gathering her courage, Secretary Yoon opened her mouth.
“Perhaps, your contact information…”
“Pardon?”
“Um, I was wondering if you could give me your phone number… Oh, I apologize if I’ve misunderstood, but I was wondering if you might be interested.”
“Interested?”
Soon, a quiet silence fell over the hallway. The moment she saw his bewildered eyes, Secretary Yoon realized she had made a mistake.
However, the man did not offer a common rejection like, “I have a girlfriend,” or, “I’m sorry, but I’m not interested in you.” Instead, he said something strange.
“Ah, haha. The phone number is fine. If you just deliver the flowers, Tae-rim-ssi will know it’s me. He already knows, the phone number.”
Ending with a cryptic remark,
“Well, have a good day.”
He boarded the elevator that had just arrived. The elevator doors closed quickly.
‘I got rejected…’
Secretary Yoon’s body slumped back onto the office chair. “Ugh,” she sighed audibly, scratching her nose.
‘And here I was, getting my hopes up… Oh well! No, he looked too young! He must have been a college student. A handsome, popular younger man—it’s not the time for me to date a guy like that.’
Like the fox in the fairy tale, she tried to belittle him. If she had him, he would have turned out to be an unripe, sour grape! His brown eyes shone like a clear lake, his smile was innocent and bright, and his voice, as if reading from a script, revealed a kind nature, but still…
Her head tilted, lost in thought.
‘But, I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before… It’s like he resembles someone?’
It was too late for such contemplation. All that remained beside her was the radiant flower basket. Upon closer inspection, it was exceptionally beautiful. It wasn’t a common basket sold at a street flower shop, but rather resembled a floral arrangement. A white floral stem stretched out long to the left, and colorful buds gathered in a shape that was neither too many nor too few, with a light-colored hydrangea in the center enveloping pink globe amaranth.
‘It smells so good…’
As she sat admiring the basket, a commotion of voices shattered the brief peace. Team leaders emerged from the conference room in a rush, each with an employee by their side, pouring out words.
At the very end of the procession was Cheon Tae-rim. Standing out with his head taller than the others, he stopped in front of the desk.
“What time is Vice President Kang Hae-in’s visit?”
Receiving the documents he placed down with both hands, Secretary Yoon quickly checked the scheduler.
“Tomorrow at 10 a.m.”
“Tell them to move it to 11:30. Tell them I want to talk over a meal.”
“Ah, yes, yes.”
Clicking the end of her pen, Secretary Yoon began to meticulously note down what she heard. For the sake of the youngest employee who still lacked experience, Cheon Tae-rim easily assessed Han-seong’s vice president as “more flexible in private settings.”
“But what are those flowers?”
He asked, resting his thick arm on the desk. Secretary Yoon, who had been noting down “flexibility,” raised her head in a flash.
“Ah, this! It was delivered a little while ago. The delivery person said… to give it to you, CEO.”
“Delivery person?”
“Um…”
Suddenly, her mind cleared with a pale clarity. The hazy sense of déjà vu lifted, and her mind became as clear as a spring valley stream.
“D-did I perhaps… send Kang Hae-ah away…?”
Secretary Yoon said in a barely audible voice.
“What?”
In contrast to her, Cheon Tae-rim’s voice was close to a shout. The employees waiting for the elevator turned their heads all at once at the outburst.
“When did he leave?”
Cheon Tae-rim asked with a face that had hardened in an instant.
“J-just a little while ago. Really, really just a moment ago…”
Quick-witted team leaders parted to the left and right, like the miracle of Moses, but the number on the elevator display panel went down from 3 to 2. Cheon Tae-rim made a stomping sound in place. It was as if his impatience was visible to the naked eye.
Secretary Yoon became desperate.
“It might not be him, CEO! He didn’t even say he was Kang Hae-ah, and, and he looked so different from the photos!”
To the excuse shouted from her seat,
“Kang Hae-ah never photographs well!”
Cheon Tae-rim retorted almost screaming, then disappeared down the hallway. He had run to the emergency stairs.
Thud!
The steel door closed loudly, and Secretary Yoon slumped back into her seat, seemingly drained.
‘Oh my gosh, I messed up. I just thought I’d seen him somewhere before… No, but he looked so different from the photos! He’s much more handsome in person!’
As Secretary Yoon tore at her hair, the team leaders held their breath, watching her.
This was all because Si Eun-cheol, the chief secretary, had gone on vacation for a whopping three months. As if he was in a great hurry, he only vaguely left the main tasks in a messenger announcement and then disappeared, so the handover was incomplete and the chief secretary position was vacant.
Rumor had it that he had won the lottery, gotten into an accident and gone to jail, suddenly gotten married, or that his One-sided Imprinting on CEO Cheon had been exposed, and he was undergoing treatment with the help of medicine.
“Ah, Secretary Si… Please come back soon…”
Ignoring the painful whispers, the team leaders only looked up at the display panel.
“Secretary Yoon is going to die now.”
Someone murmured very quietly. It was a joking whisper.
“To think she sent away the CEO’s lover?”
“She might as well have rejected Chairman Kang Jun-il…” Someone added, and laughter mingled with the words. Although they had never rejected Chairman Kang Jun-il, there had been an incident where his eldest son had been chased away with a flushed face.
“Ah, I feel so bad for her.”
Ending with a mumbled remark, the team leaders’ topic of conversation shifted to the lunch menu. Secretary Yoon glared at the team leaders, who were getting on the elevator and disappearing, filled with anger.
Soon, only a silence worse than nothing remained in the hallway. Secretary Yoon’s anxious eyes could not leave the elevator display panel. Even while answering incoming work calls, she couldn’t shake off her worries. Every time the number on the display panel moved up and down, Secretary Yoon’s heart seemed to drop to the left and right.
Finally, the elevator that had started moving again stopped briefly on the 9th floor, then passed 10, 11, and 12, and opened with a ‘ding’ on the 13th floor.
‘Oh no…’
Secretary Yoon’s cheeks turned white as she imagined the face of the CEO, terrifyingly angry.
But unexpectedly, Cheon Tae-rim, walking out of the elevator, wore a generous smile, radiating an aura like a golden Buddha statue. There was a reddish heat and a slight sheen of sweat on the back of his neck, and he held an envelope in his right hand. It was a love letter that Kang Hae-ah had collected earlier, unable to entrust it to the youngest secretary.
“Y-you met him.”
Secretary Yoon muttered to herself, unable to hide her relief.
“Yes. He was waiting at the cafe on the first floor. He said he was craving caffeine… but I guess he just felt bad about leaving.”
Cheon Tae-rim, who was usually taciturn and blunt, tended to speak particularly long sentences only when the subject was ‘Kang Hae-ah.’
Letting out a long sigh of relief, Secretary Yoon adjusted her posture. Then, she quickly regained her energy. It was because she recognized the opportunity to naturally cover up her mistake.
“At the cafe on the first floor? Their Americano is 1,500 won. Do even the chaebols drink that?”
Secretary Yoon said, trying to continue the small talk, and
“No.”
Cheon Tae-rim’s answer was utterly indifferent.
“Kang Hae-ah would never touch anything but a Kopi Luwak coffee carefully brewed drop by drop by a first-generation barista with water boiled at 95 degrees.”
Then, he recited it with an ordinary face. Secretary Yoon’s mind grew faint at the somewhat lengthy explanation.
“Wow… the chaebols really do that…”
Secretary Yoon muttered with her mouth open, and
“Of course not.”
Cheon Tae-rim frowned.
“…Yes?”
“What Kopi Luwak? He would boycott it as a product of animal abuse.”
A chuckle escaped at the end of his words. Secretary Yoon could only nod, saying, ‘Ah, yes,’ unable to show any particular reaction.
Cheon Tae-rim’s interest quickly faded from the bewildered Secretary Yoon. Unable to hide his pleased smile, he stood in front of the desk and began to admire the flower basket.
As she glanced at him, trying to gauge his mood, she noticed the envelope held preciously in his large hand. The crumpled marks on the heart-shaped sticker attached to the opening hinted that it had already been opened.
“Secretary Yoon. Do you know what the flower meaning of globe amaranth is?”
Cheon Tae-rim asked suddenly. ‘Ah, yes, just a moment,’ Secretary Yoon said, placing her hand on the keyboard. But before she could open a search window and type in the name of the unfamiliar flower, Cheon Tae-rim, who was in high spirits, took out the letter in his hand and read it.
“‘Unchanging love,’ it says.”
“……”
If he were an animal, he would definitely be a carnivore, and he leaned down and deeply inhaled the scent of the flowers.
Even Cinderella, welcoming the prince who had stepped down from the carriage, couldn’t have made such an expression. As she watched Cheon Tae-rim, who had thick, dark eyelashes and half-lowered eyes that seemed as deep as a troubled beast, smelling the flowers,
‘He really is a princess…’
Secretary Yoon thought.
Among the employees of the secretarial office, Cheon Tae-rim’s recent nickname was ‘Princess.’ It was because, in romance movies or novels, the princess who receives a proposal from a prince from a foreign land was exactly like him. Every day was spent welcoming carriages carrying precious gifts and receiving letters.
Instead of a carriage carrying silk, gifts much smaller but more expensive than that arrived at the CEO’s office every day. Who would have known that a watch, escorted by two department store employees wearing white gloves, would arrive for CEO Cheon Tae-rim, whose family history was known for being frugal and upright…?
So, five days ago, it was a wristwatch, four days ago, a bracelet studded with diamonds, the day before yesterday was a holiday, but judging from the suddenly changed atmosphere, he seemed to have received a full set of suits, and yesterday he received a tie and champagne, and today he received a flower basket and a letter with the flower meaning written on it.
“Now, all that’s left is the shoes, and it’ll be perfect.”
Resting her chin on her hand, Secretary Yoon muttered. Cheon Tae-rim looked down at her with a questioning face.
“From your current outfit, it seems like the shoes are the only thing that weren’t given to you by him.”
As she shrugged, Cheon Tae-rim’s gaze went down to his own thick body.
“Accurate.”
Then he started laughing. Secretary Yoon blinked her eyes, feeling awkward at the sudden burst of loud laughter.
At one time, Cheon Tae-rim had been her perfect boss. But after he started dating, he seemed to have gone crazy.
Cheon Tae-rim, who was shaking his shoulders alone as he laughed, had no interest in the youngest secretary’s inner thoughts. He was just reminded of something Kang Hae-ah had muttered once.
‘They say that if you buy your lover shoes, they’ll wear them backwards and go off to cheat on you. Isn’t that a really scary story? Shoes are so hard, why would they wear them backwards?’
He had mixed the story of the soldiers’ rubber shoes with the anecdote of the shoe gift when he said it, and his expression was so serious that it was so cute.
No matter how many people he met in his life, there would never be two people as interesting as Kang Hae-ah. At least, that was the case for Cheon Tae-rim. If his boring life was a businessman’s star, Kang Hae-ah was the Little Prince who had willingly settled on that star.
Cheon Tae-rim held up the huge flower basket as if handling a baby.
‘Should I give him roses as a reward…’
Lost in pleasant thoughts, he put the letter with the flower meaning written on it into his jacket pocket, then stopped. The subtle smile disappeared, and his face instantly turned cold.
“Secretary Yoon.”
And he muttered absentmindedly.
“Then, do you know what the flower meaning of hellebores is?”
“Yes, yes, what is it?”
Secretary Yoon replied casually, tidying up the sticky notes attached to the scheduler. Then, as soon as she finished speaking, a displeased voice fell heavily under her feet, as if dropping.
“Why do I need to know something like that?”
‘Ha,’ he sighed, and checked the pretty envelope again. A stern light appeared on his blunt face, then it darkened like someone who had heard a sad sound, and soon his neck was covered with a blush that reddened even his earlobes.
“I’m such a crazy bastard. I’m imitating someone because this is the only thing I’ve ever received… Even though I know everything, why does that feel so good?”
His voice, muttering to himself, was so low that the silence that followed the end of his words was no different from his voice.
With a troubled face, Cheon Tae-rim disappeared into the CEO’s office. As she watched his back walking quickly and the door closing silently, Secretary Yoon took a long breath. Her direct superior and highest-ranking boss kept going back and forth between hot and cold baths, and she thought she was going to have a heart attack.
‘Why is he like this these days, really? I thought I just had to organize the schedule well… Do I have to know the flower meanings now?’
Worrying, she grabbed the mouse and gently shook it from side to side. The monitor, which had turned off for a moment, quickly lit up again. She deleted ‘cheonilㅎ’ that she had been searching for, and typed in ‘hellebores.’ When she tapped Enter, the flower’s information filled the screen.
“Flower meaning. ‘Soothe my anxiety’?”
What is this? Sitting in her seat, Secretary Yoon only blinked her eyes, then clicked on the related search terms. The next time the CEO was worried about a flower gift, she would recommend a flower meaning that was much more romantic than this! She resolved to do so.
Then suddenly, Secretary Yoon stopped her hand.
‘Huh…’
She was reminded of the subtle pheromone scent that she had inhaled a little while ago, along with the sweet floral fragrance. She realized a step late that the scent could not have been solely Kang Hae-ah’s body scent.
‘The paradox of relationships that the system embraces,’ ‘Love that cannot be solved with formulas,’ ‘An inevitable relationship’… She didn’t know how many times she had already delivered documents with such cheesy and spine-chilling promotional phrases. Han-seong would present them along with discussions of renewing the collaboration project, and Cheon Tae-rim would reject them all at once.
It was Cheon Tae-rim who had proposed to Kang Hae-ah, who hadn’t even had his awakening yet, and put an engagement ring on him. The romance between the CEO of AOM and the celebrity Kang Hae-ah was a good promotional tool between companies. Han-seong, who had a ghostly sense of the smell of money, was eager to sell their love story to the world, and Cheon Tae-rim… To be honest, Secretary Yoon couldn’t understand his inner thoughts.
‘What on earth do you have to do to… how can an Alpha pheromone be so embedded in a Beta’s body?’
She could only shudder at the chilling realization.
‘Ew, ew, ew! I sniffed the CEO’s pheromones!’
Secretary Yoon pulled out a tissue and blew her nose loudly, gagging. If she could, she would tear off her nose right away and rinse it in running water.
She shuddered at the unpleasant feeling, but it was only for a moment.
Soon, the phone rang,
―Secretary Yoon. Don’t forget to contact the vice president. …And tell Team Leader Kim Min-soo to come up.
A new workload was piling up.
Only half of the 4th floor was covered in bluish darkness. The noise of typewriters was also only half, ringing incessantly only in the area where the incandescent lights were on.
With all his subordinate employees gone home, the man left in the office with fatigue etched as purple dark circles was Kim Min-soo, the development team leader. He stared at the light-pouring monitor for a long time, filled in the blanks on a memo pad covered with stickers, and then looked back at the monitor, tapping away at the keyboard. The circular patch on his thin wrist was peeling off at the edges, and the contactless keyboard made a light, clicking sound.
Other than that,
“……”
Deathly silence. That was all.
AOM was a rising sun in a nascent field that had never been commercialized, let alone researched at the corporate level. It not only had a solid foundation and competitiveness, but also excellent employee benefits, with an average turnover rate of 7 percent over three years, and a turnover rate of less than 10 percent for employees with less than one year of service. Considering it was a startup company, it was a tremendous achievement.
As the numbers showed, AOM employees were exceptionally loyal to the company. Every department was so busy that they had to work overtime as a group once a week, but the financial benefits outweighed all the disadvantages. Which new employee would quit when their first paycheck was followed by 1 million won with the words ‘Welcome Bonus’ filling their bank account? Moreover, the monthly incentives doubled after one year of service.
Thanks to this, all employees were as kind to each other as civil servants. They all thought, ‘We’re going to be buried in this company, so we can’t afford to fight and be awkward for 30 years.’
Kim Min-soo was such a workaholic among those employees that he was called a weirdo. He loved his work and was good at it. Since his home was far away, working overtime was a daily routine and a hobby for him.
In that sense, today’s overtime could have been a pleasant experience for him, if his top boss hadn’t been with him.
“……”
“……”
Kim Min-soo glanced up at the monitor. Cheon Tae-rim, sitting on the desk across from him and reading through worn-out documents, was with him.
‘Doesn’t that guy get cramps in his legs…?’
He had been sitting straight as a rock, moving only his eyes and hands, for two hours today alone. In terms of days, it had been two months today.
Every Friday night, the CEO and the development team leader spent time together in the development team office on the 4th floor. It was a secretive meeting that was perfect for spreading unhealthy rumors, but the actual atmosphere was no different from a reading room the day before the college entrance exam. Kim Min-soo reported on the work he was assigned, and Cheon Tae-rim did what he called ‘studying.’
The study materials were tattered with slashes and notes. Until two months ago, they were Beta Test reports that Kim Min-soo had loaded onto a cart and begged him to look at.
Cheon Tae-rim, who used to throw them around, mock them as third-rate novels, and order them to be shredded, was not here. Today, he was busy with a very serious face, transcribing undeciphered code one by one, and analyzing uncertain graphs.
Cheon Tae-rim, the CEO, who was known for his ability to manipulate people and his business acumen, having been born with a Dominant Alpha trait that was classified as extremely Dominant among Dominant Alphas, was someone he knew well. But he didn’t know he was so good at programming languages. A month after he started studying, he recognized and pointed out the code that Kim Min-soo had changed arbitrarily, and two months later, he was able to decipher the AOM results himself.
‘Why do you have to do that with me…?’
Because of his diligent, smart, and perfect boss, Kim Min-soo felt the urge to quit for the first time in his life.
He swallowed a sigh and frowned.
‘Damn it….’
Cheon Tae-rim was already analyzing the last graph of the Beta Test report. Although the complexity of each person’s work was different, Kim Min-soo couldn’t stand the fact that his work was slower than his studying, since they had crossed the starting line together.
No competition could be so fierce and pathetic.
‘It’s all because of Kang Hae-ah!’
Kim Min-soo thought.
‘How on earth did he win over the CEO?’
It wasn’t unreasonable for the arrow of blame to be directed at Kang Hae-ah. It was the evening after he first met Kang Hae-ah that Cheon Tae-rim suddenly suggested working overtime with a great incentive bonus.
He heard it was just an ordinary blind date, but whether he was abducted by aliens in the middle of it, Cheon Tae-rim had changed since that day. For a while, he acted like a lost soul, then he gave his secretary, Si Eun-cheol, who he carried around like a partner Pokémon, a vacation, and suddenly started dressing up like he was going to slap a fashionista in the face, and in preparation for a business trip to the United States, he bought a luxurious mansion in New York as a ‘gift,’ not a wedding gift.
When he tore Kim Min-soo’s pride to shreds by criticizing the Beta Test AI settings,
‘Is Kang Hae-ah’s AI still sleeping?’
It was around that time that he suddenly asked about his news.
‘Huh? What kind of sleep does an artificial intelligence have? It’s in a stopped state at the end point.’
Kim Min-soo replied casually, picking at the skin on his chapped lips. Cheon Tae-rim seemed to be thinking about something for a while, then he gave a simple and clear order to restart the automatically stopped program and suggested working overtime.
‘Restart it. Put my AI back where it belongs.’
‘Yes? Where it belongs? What, what do you mean?’
‘I mean, make it go home.’
No, damn it, that’s easier said than done… Kim Min-soo thought. It was an absurd suggestion to just restart a program that had entered the self-termination point and stopped on its own, without any separate resetting.
If that was the case, why did you create the termination point in the first place? Wasn’t it a meaningless and laborious task that completely contradicted the purpose of the program?
But Kim Min-soo also had a pride that he couldn’t give up.
‘Why, Team Leader Kim? Can’t you do it?’
He could easily say ‘I can’t leave work on time today,’ ‘I can’t quit smoking,’ and ‘I can’t get married in this life’ without any emotional agitation, but he couldn’t bring himself to say ‘I can’t do it’ when it came to the AOM program, which was his own creation.
So Kim Min-soo raised a fuss for no reason. He grumbled about why he had to send it home, and if he thought this was The Sims.
Then Cheon Tae-rim, with a face that seemed to be caught in an ambiguous emotion, said,
‘Then you’ll know, that the message has been delivered. …I know. I would.’
He only said things that were impossible to understand. All Kim Min-soo realized was that Cheon Tae-rim didn’t know what ‘The Sims’ was.
Anyway, Cheon Tae-rim was a man who was the symbol of inequality in himself. He was the one who only said things that were hard to understand, but why was he the idiot for not understanding what he was saying? Kim Min-soo couldn’t understand it at all.
‘Team Leader Kim wouldn’t understand even if I explained it. How shitty it feels to live in debt….’
No, what the hell are you talking about? Do you even know what a student loan is? You were born with a gold spoon in your mouth and you’re dating a diamond fork, what do you know about debt! …He wanted to shout that, but Kim Min-soo suppressed his anger. The incentive that Cheon Tae-rim had offered was equal to his pension.
‘Why do I have to help the CEO with his AI dating?’
…It was too much money to refuse.
Kim Min-soo had a dream. He wanted to buy a car, he wanted to buy a house, and he wanted to buy an HPC… a supercomputer. That’s why he joined this company. Because it had the coolest HPC in Korea, and his heart fluttered at the sound of the machine running….
It wasn’t easy to commute from Ilsan to Seoul to hear that sound. Even if he finished work at 11 p.m., it was more efficient to just sleep in the sleeping room and work overtime.
‘I’m going to work hard and buy a house in Seoul!’
With that hope in mind, he put strength into the hand that was typing on the keyboard.
The hand that had been typing away at the keyboard with burning eyes, however, soon stopped. After staring blankly at the error window that had popped up for the fifteenth time today, Kim Min-soo opened the Google search window in a clumsy manner.
‘T… y… pe… Error… object….’
Tak, tak… His dejected fingers transcribed the error message exactly. The phrases that many developers had already searched for lined up as related search terms.
While Kim Min-soo was fighting with his self-loathing, Cheon Tae-rim’s phone rang faintly. Picking up the intermittently vibrating cell phone, Cheon Tae-rim quickly pressed the call button. The screen of the cell phone touched his smiling cheek.
“Yes. Cheon Tae-rim speaking, Kang Hae-ah.”
As he greeted stiffly in a firm voice, there was no response from beyond the cell phone. After a few seconds of silence, a displeased snort was heard.
―I’m sorry. I think I dialed the wrong number.
Then the line went dead. Looking down at the 7-second call record, Cheon Tae-rim chuckled. He had been joking around trying to be stiff, but the other party had hung up.
But the silence was only temporary. Once again, the rectangular screen turned green. After confirming the same caller as before, Cheon Tae-rim answered the phone with a smile.
“Yeah, honey.”
Then a small laugh tickled his ear.
―Yeah, Tae-rim-ssi.
At the murmuring voice, which was always pleasant to hear, Cheon Tae-rim was intoxicated by the feeling of all the muscles in his body loosening.
―I was about to go to bed, did I wake you up?
Listening to the soft voice, Cheon Tae-rim tilted his head slightly. Kang Hae-ah had a mysterious power. When he whispered sweet words in a gentle voice, the fatigue he had forgotten would rush in helplessly, making him want to be spoiled.
“No…, I’m still at the office. I have some things to finish up.”
He said, tapping the Beta Test report bundle. Due to the numerous memos and added materials stapled together, the report was twice as thick as it had been two months ago.
―Oh, you were working. I’m sorry to bother you. Should I hang up?
“No, no. It’s okay. Why did you call?”
Then there was no response from beyond the cell phone for a few seconds. Just as Cheon Tae-rim was about to open his mouth to ask what he needed,
―I just called because I missed you.
Kang Hae-ah whispered.
Cheon Tae-rim smiled brightly. Just imagining his fiancé sitting on the bed, hiding his bare feet under the blanket, and leaning his ear against the phone made his heart flutter. Feeling the pounding pulse in his neck, he lowered his voice.
“I miss you too. How’s your schedule tomorrow? Is our writer still busy these days with his work?”
―I’m busy, but… I think I can make time to see our CEO?
“Haha.”
Silence ensued. It was a very comfortable silence. Only one side of his ear was warm from the heat emanating from the flushed screen, and the very faint noise was the sound of his lover’s breathing on the other end of the phone.
Turning his head toward the office with the blue darkness settling in, Cheon Tae-rim scanned the turned-off computer, the slightly turned chair, and the whiteboard with various numbers, alphabets, and jokes written on it. There was no particular reason why he suddenly looked around at the objects surrounding him. He was simply observing something to enjoy a pleasant night.
Cheon Tae-rim thought that Kang Hae-ah was probably the same as him. Otherwise, as soon as he blinked his tired eyes,
―Then… I’ll hang up. Good night, Tae-rim-ssi.
He couldn’t have offered his belated greetings.
Suppressing a snicker, Cheon Tae-rim whispered slowly.
“Okay. See you tomorrow. Good night, Hae-ah.”
The comfortable phone call, which had more silence than conversation, ended.
As he was about to wipe the cell phone that had become shiny with heat, Cheon Tae-rim discovered the missed call record at the top. There were a total of three call records from an unfamiliar number.
Looking at the familiar last four digits of the number, he opened the message box. Then he stiffened his hand with a start.
Two messages suddenly awakened his momentarily blurred mind.
[We are the management of the Animal Rescue Association.
Is it possible to talk now?]
10:22 PM
[The transport volunteer is
moving the child to your home.
Sending you the volunteer’s
contact information.]
10:23 PM
Startled, Cheon Tae-rim swallowed the bitter saliva that had gathered in his mouth and checked the calendar app. He had forgotten because his secretary, who used to remind him of all the small schedules inside and outside of work three days ago, one day ago, and one hour ago, was away.
‘Ah…, the moving date was originally today.’
…He had sent in an application to adopt a Jindo mix abandoned dog according to that date, and even gave his home address.
But his circumstances were different then and now. His desire to adopt the dog, who would be called ‘Do-jin,’ was still firm. The problem was that the scheduled wedding date had changed as he broke off his marriage contract with Han-seong and started dating Kang Hae-ah step by step, and as a result, the date of moving to the newlywed home had also been pushed back.
Therefore, the large house where the transport volunteer had taken the young dog was an empty house that had not even been furnished yet.
With a gesture that clearly showed his embarrassment, Cheon Tae-rim quickly checked the contact information he had received. Cold sweat covered his thumb as he pressed the call button.
―Yes, hello!
The volunteer who answered the phone was a young woman. Cheon Tae-rim was slightly relieved by the bright voice and bowed his head to the invisible person and apologized.
“I’m sorry for calling you so late. I was too busy with work to answer the phone. I’ll leave right away, so can you wait just 20 minutes?”
But the answer he received was unexpected.
―Ahaha, no, it’s okay. Your husband received the child, so don’t worry.
“……”
Cheon Tae-rim’s brow furrowed quietly. It wasn’t because he didn’t understand the simple sentence. He was dumbfounded by the situation of a man called her husband coming out of the empty house and receiving the dog instead, so he had nothing to say.
Perhaps sensing the puzzled look in the silence, the volunteer on the other end of the phone added a kind explanation.
―I greeted him because he was at home, and when I told him that I came from the shelter, he said he understood and told me to leave him! Wow, I thought it was just a person with the same name when I looked at the documents… I didn’t know it was really writer Kang Hae-ah.
“Ah…, I see.”
He answered only after hearing the name ‘Kang Hae-ah.’ As soon as he finished his thank you, a small sigh escaped from the tip of his nose.
‘Why… is Hae-ah at that house at this late hour?’
It had only been five minutes since he had talked to him, ending with a good night. Even while having a friendly conversation, Kang Hae-ah had not said a word about the house or the dog.
Cheon Tae-rim felt the metronome in his head ticking slowly. Could Hae-ah have remembered that today was the scheduled moving date? Knowing that the date had changed, could he have gone to that house alone, feeling sorry?
‘Nah, no way.’
He shook his head, then stopped abruptly.
―I just called because I missed you.
Kang Hae-ah was the kind of person who would lie like that, sitting alone in a big, empty house, hugging a strange dog that had suddenly come to him. He was more considerate than necessary, and with an innocent face, he was calmer than anyone else in the world, he was… a young master who would catch people off guard with ‘no way.’
Soon Cheon Tae-rim became busy. He quickly loosened the shirt sleeves that he had folded up, and he found his jacket and put it on. He gathered the scattered documents and notes and threw them haphazardly into his square bag.
“Team Leader Kim.”
“Yes, yes. I’m almost done too.”
Cheon Tae-rim didn’t even look at Kim Min-soo as he shoved his heels into the shoes he had half taken off.
“I’m going to head in first.”
“Yes?”
Then he ran out without even hearing his beloved subordinate’s greeting. He had filled the room with his huge presence, but his exit was so swift that it was as if lightning had passed.
“……”
Blinking his eyes, Kim Min-soo looked around. The office where Cheon Tae-rim had disappeared felt desolate and wide, as if a wall had been torn down. He had been treating him like an uninvited guest and feeling awkward, but it was too hard to ignore his disappeared presence.
The cold air conditioning silently shook the hair on Kim Min-soo’s crown. After shuddering once, Kim Min-soo belatedly burst into anger.
“Damn it, I’m going to have a house in Seoul too. I’m going to run out and go home at this hour too….”
Stretching his dry neck, he checked the place where Cheon Tae-rim had been. A single sheet of paper with a graph that had not yet been interpreted was left on the desk of an employee who was on childcare leave.
“Hmph.”
Kim Min-soo snorted.
“Still, I won this time.”
He muttered the boast to no one, then pressed Enter with his index finger. With a ‘click,’ the terminated program began to run again.
—Recalculating route.
It felt as though thick grease had formed inside his eyelids. He blinked, rolling his eyes left and right to dislodge the foreign sensation, and the streaks of light outside the car window filled his vision.
After a few seconds, he fully regained his senses, and the car window was clear. He must have blankly stared out the window for two or three minutes. Some people were walking along the road.
It was a dark, deep night, with midnight approaching.
—Initiating guidance to ‘home.’
He raised his hands and gripped the steering wheel. His fatigue-laden arms felt heavy, and each of his fingers ached.
His body was tired after a long night of hard work, but he wasn’t in so much pain that he couldn’t drive.
The quietly started car smoothly glided onto the roads of Seoul. Some traffic lights had entered their own rest periods, but even the still-lit intersection lights were, luckily, all green.
Incredibly quickly and easily, he arrived home. He briefly parked the car on the gentle uphill slope and looked up, and a vermilion light was leaking from the windows of the large two-story house that should have been dark.
The garden lights were bright, like mischievous spirits eager to guide the way. The terrace windows of the spacious living room emitted a diamond-shaped light like a carpet.
In that moment, various emotions mixed together, creating a feeling that no one had yet named. A sweet sense of relief and a heart-pounding joy intertwined within a heart filled with affection. Even the fatigue that spread throughout his body like a fever felt just right, making it a pleasant moment.
He very slowly got out of the car and pushed open the already open garden gate. Even the front door was wide open, as if it had sensed the arrival of its visitor. He walked into the house with long, inefficiently slow strides, and the entire house was warm and welcoming.
Above the living room sofa, which boasted a high ceiling, a small head peeked out. A hand casually draped over the back of the sofa was also visible. Dressed in comfortable pajamas, he was buried deep in the sofa, which was much larger than his body.
The white dog heard the footsteps even before him. The dog, who had been sitting on his owner’s lap, poked his head over the armrest of the sofa. He didn’t run to greet him, but the way he wagged his tail showed the lazy dog’s personality.
The one who had been petting the dog’s head soon followed suit, turning his head. A sleepy blush spread across his delicate cheeks.
He simply smiled without any excuses or explanations. Then he, like a child who liked to imitate, smiled brightly.
The one sitting on the sofa was the first to speak, his smile slowly spreading.
“Welcome back?”
A sheepish feeling crept into his sleep-filled smile.
He had been waiting for the day to exchange such an ordinary greeting, and now that his wish was coming true, he seemed shy and embarrassed.
“Yeah, I’m back.”
The reply was deliberately clear and loud.
Then he burst into laughter. He seemed to like the sight of him rushing home, caught up in childish and poignant emotions. After laughing like that for a while, he raised his body, which had been slumped deep in the sofa.
He slowly approached the arms of the one who was quietly opening them. He narrowed his eyes as if he didn’t want to wait even a moment, but he couldn’t help but want to savor this moment for a long time.
As he slowly approached and their bodies touched, his arms lovingly gathered around him.
He hugged him tightly, ran his fingers through his soft hair, and met his gentle eyes.
When he pressed his lips to his, a sound of laughter leaked out as his shoulders shook. He wrinkled his nose, blushed, and then,
“Tae-rim-ssi.”
Hae-ah called out to him.
So he told him.
“I love you. From the moment I first heard that voice… I’ve always loved you.”
A subtle light leaked out of the window. After a long journey, he had finally arrived, and all around him was a world that was, perhaps, too kind to him.
It was an ordinary night.