By Zephyria 
“Good morning.”
As Kim Hui-won greeted casually and entered the office, the astonished faces of the secretaries were the first thing he saw. Anticipating this reaction, Hui-won smiled brightly.
“General manager!”
“What, what is going on! What happened!”
“Are you back?”
The secretarial office was in an uproar. Forgoing greetings, they all rushed over, grabbing Hui-won’s arms and clinging to him. Secretary Ji was even teary-eyed, that’s how moved she was.
“I’m just here for a bit. To hand over duties.”
“No way! You can’t leave again! Stay here and work with us forever!”
Secretary Ji wrapped her arms around Hui-won’s waist and clung tightly. It wasn’t a joke; she really couldn’t let him go.
“Can you stop it? We don’t have time for this.”
Hui-won poked Secretary Ji’s forehead, who was clinging to him like a leech. “My waist is going to break,” he lightly scolded, and Secretary Ji made a sad “Eeeing” sound, letting go.
Hui-won naturally went to his seat. Even though it had been about three weeks since he left the company, the desk was exactly as it had been before he left. As if they thought Hui-won would return at any moment, not a single sticky note on the monitor had been thrown away.
Looking around the desk, all sorts of emotions flooded in. Hui-won smiled faintly, placing his hand on the edge of the desk. He could indulge in sentimentality later. First, he had to deal with urgent matters.
Hui-won raised his smooth face and spoke to the secretaries, who were only looking at him expectantly.
“Let’s have individual interviews. Who should start?”
Excluding Hui-won, there were a total of four employees in the secretarial office. It seemed that they had each divided their roles to assist Executive Director Kwon.
Secretary Ji was in charge of the morning commute, while Secretary Song was in charge of greeting guests and managing Executive Director Kwon’s schedule. Secretary Lee, the most senior, was responsible for external events and overall support. Even the new recruit, who hadn’t been with the company for long, was in charge of document management. How commendable.
Hui-won couldn’t be prouder that these well-nurtured talents were faithfully carrying out their respective duties.
“Secretary Ji, were there any special issues?”
“Um… it seems like he doesn’t drink coffee anymore.”
Hui-won paused and looked up.
“Executive Director Kwon?”
“Yes. I order the same thing from the cafe you told me about. A short-sized Americano with an extra shot. But he doesn’t drink it.”
That couldn’t be. Executive Director Kwon always started his day with coffee in the morning. There were no exceptions.
“Anything else?”
“He seems to be more sensitive to the heat these days. He always opens the window when he gets in the car.”
“…….”
Hui-won rested his chin on his hand and stared at Ji Seung-hyun. What could be the reason? He racked his brain to find the cause.
Then, suddenly, an unfamiliar scent permeated the tip of his nose. Since his trait changed, his sense of smell had become more sensitive, allowing him to easily detect the scents of others.
Hui-won pulled Secretary Ji’s hand and brought his nose to her wrist. He inhaled, catching a faint scent. Ah, that must be it.
“It doesn’t smell like perfume, is it body lotion?”
“Yes? Ah… yes. It’s from a perfume brand.”
“Executive Director Kwon doesn’t like artificial scents. Especially these musk-based ones, he hates them because they give him a headache. The lotion itself doesn’t have a strong scent, but since the car is enclosed, it must be uncomfortable for him…”
Secretary Ji’s mouth gaped open as if she had a great realization. Hui-won smiled and looked down. He wrote down the relevant information on a piece of paper.
“That’s not to say you shouldn’t use body lotion at all. It would be good if you could switch to one with a less noticeable scent.”
“Yes!”
Still, he didn’t get annoyed and just opened the window with that sensitive personality. Executive Director Kwon has become much milder.
He must also know how hard the secretaries are working and how capable they are. It was obvious that Executive Director Kwon was also enduring a lot.
If they keep adjusting like this, there will be a moment when they click. Hui-won suppressed a laugh and continued to record.
After that, he finished the interviews with Secretary Song and the new recruit. The secretaries each expressed their difficulties, and Hui-won gave them appropriate advice. Change is inherently difficult. They had to overcome this process safely, and it was Kim Hui-won’s role to help them.
As he was finishing his conversation with the new recruit, he heard footsteps from outside. Kwon Young-je, having finished his external schedule, was entering the office.
Hui-won stood up and buttoned his jacket. He pressed down on his dangling employee ID with his hand and greeted him politely. Kwon Young-je stopped walking, and the two exchanged glances for a moment.
Secretary Lee, who was following behind, widened her eyes in surprise. Her face clearly showed both joy and astonishment. On the other hand, Kwon Young-je stared at Hui-won with a dry expression.
The seat that had been empty for so long had found its owner. It was just one person filling the spot, but the atmosphere of the office seemed to have regained its stability.
“We have a meeting soon, right? Let’s prepare.”
Kwon Young-je didn’t mention Hui-won’s presence at all and gave instructions to Secretary Lee. “Yes, Executive Director Kwon.” Secretary Lee replied politely and gestured to the new recruit. The new recruit, who had been standing awkwardly, returned to her seat and began gathering the meeting materials.
With the appearance of Executive Director Kwon, the secretarial office was bustling again. Hui-won also took his seat and organized the scattered documents.
Soon, Secretary Lee came to his seat. She suddenly turned the chair Hui-won was sitting in and grabbed his shoulder tightly. Her blazing eyes were unusual. She was on the verge of spewing harsh words.
“What is going on?”
“Secretary Lee, don’t get excited. You’re going to grab my collar.”
“How can I not be excited right now?!”
Still, because it was the office, the decibel level of her voice wasn’t high. However, if her gaze had a physical form, Hui-won would have been shredded to pieces. That’s how fierce and ferocious Secretary Lee’s eyes were.
“Is it true that you became an Omega?”
“Yeah.”
“No way? You’re the same as before?”
Secretary Lee’s head turned from side to side. Where does he look like an Omega? He’s just the same General manager Kim. The thoughts she was having were clearly visible, and Hui-won burst out laughing.
“Stop it, it’s making me dizzy.”
“Your skin seems to have gotten better, but I don’t know if it’s because of the trait or because you’re more relaxed. I think it’s more likely the latter.”
“And Secretary Lee… um, you look very tired.”
Secretary Lee pulled up an empty chair and plopped down. She spread her legs wide, leaned her back deeply, and scratched her neat hair. “I’m going to die.” A voice filled with lamentation came out.
Hui-won turned to the side. He leaned his upper body deeply into the back of the chair, watching Secretary Lee writhing like an artist in agony. It was time to listen to Secretary Lee’s complaints.
“What have you been doing all this time?”
“What’s so hard about it?”
“It feels like my lifespan is shortening every day? I feel like I’m going to die young and wither away?”
“That’s an exaggeration.”
“Executive Director Kwon is the most meticulous person I’ve ever met. If you make a mistake, he stares at you… I really feel like I’m going to have arrhythmia.”
“Who was it that said he had a blessed face? Who said that just looking at him increased efficiency?”
“Scratch that, he looks the scariest in the world.”
Secretary Lee shook her head, holding her forehead. She seemed to have suffered terribly from Executive Director Kwon, judging by how much she was fed up.
Hui-won tapped the armrest of the chair for a moment, lost in thought. He didn’t feel comfortable seeing Secretary Lee, who was suffering while taking his place.
He tapped her shoulder, and Secretary Lee groggily raised her head. Seeing the sophisticated beauty looking miserable, Hui-won nodded his chin at her.
“Let’s go out, I’ll buy you coffee.”
They bought coffee from the first-floor cafe and moved to the break room. Perhaps because it was during work hours, the break room was deserted. Hui-won set an alarm for ten minutes before the end of the meeting and chatted with Secretary Lee.
“It must be hard. It’s not like I didn’t get yelled at. I was often criticized. Secretary Lee saw a lot of it too.”
“But when Executive Director Kwon treated General manager, there was trust and generosity as a base. We don’t get any of that.”
The conversation was mostly about complaining about Executive Director Kwon. Why he pursued perfection so much, why he didn’t rest even for 10 minutes, and she added, “Workaholic is too much of a sugar-coated word. He’s just crazy about work.” Secretary Lee even showed her bald spot, saying that she had alopecia areata from being in a constant state of tension all day.
“Why aren’t you hiring an executive secretary?”
Hui-won asked, pinpointing the most important fact. No matter how capable the secretaries were, it was inconvenient for them to divide their roles as they were now. They could manage like this for now, but they couldn’t continue this state for long.
“Executive Director Kwon hasn’t mentioned it either. We’ve been too busy to look into it.”
“Does Secretary Lee want to do it?”
“General manager!”
Secretary Lee shouted, almost grabbing his collar. Hui-won quietly pressed down on Secretary Lee’s hooked hand, calming her down.
“I’m not joking. Who’s more meticulous than Secretary Lee? Executive Director Kwon knows that, so he takes you with him.”
“Can you just say it’s a joke? Can you see the goosebumps I have right now?”
“Do you hate it that much? They’ll raise your salary a lot. You know Executive Director Kwon is generous with rewards.”
“Ah, I can’t do it. I can’t do it even if I die.”
She was barely holding on now, and Secretary Lee shook her head. Her intention was firm.
Hui-won sipped his coffee. Honestly, he was thinking of recommending Secretary Lee as the executive secretary, but he was at a loss since she refused so strongly. In the end, he had to look for someone else.
As he quietly drank his coffee, he turned his head to the side. Secretary Lee, who was pouting her lower lip, met his gaze. Hui-won gave her a friendly smile.
“I’m only coming to work until the day after tomorrow.”
Secretary Lee clenched her empty fist.
“Are you trying to fight me right now?”
“No, what I mean is I’m going to finish all my work before then. I’ll narrow down the candidates for the executive secretary. Of course, you’ll have to have interviews, and the most important thing is whether Executive Director Kwon approves or not… Anyway, Secretary Lee, please put up with it until then.”
“…….”
“I’m sorry I can’t help you much.”
Her sullen lips gradually curved downward. She was almost about to cry. As she forced out the words “thank you,” Hui-won quietly patted her shoulder.