By Zephyria 
Hui-won tilted his head, wondering what was happening. The moment he saw Executive Director Kwon Young-je standing right above him, he had to doubt his eyes for a moment.
“Executive Director?”
“Are you out of your mind?”
Kwon Young-je forcibly swallowed the rising anger.
He had asked the driver to stop the car for a moment because he saw a familiar face through the car window. Seeing Kim Hui-won laughing and joking with some guy made him feel instantly sick. His hand had released the seatbelt on its own, and before he knew it, he had barged into this scene.
His sharp eyes scanned Kim Hui-won and his surroundings. The number of soju bottles on the table exceeded five. Drinking heavily in the middle of the night, and in public no less, was already outrageous, but even more absurd was the fact that Kim Hui-won was leaking pheromones like a sieve.
There was a limit to how defenseless a person could be. Did he have no sense of danger at all? Did he still not realize he was an Omega?
“Why are you doing this?”
Bewilderment was written all over Hui-won’s face. In the meantime, he had completely suppressed his pheromones. So he was still in his right mind.
“You don’t know why…”
Kwon Young-je stopped speaking and clenched his teeth. His chest, filled with anger, swelled up and then deflated.
He had been tormented by concerns about Kim Hui-won all day. Most of it was frivolous, disgusting, and no different from insults. Kim Hui-won, simply because he was an Omega, was dissected and consumed as mere entertainment by people’s gossip.
But the person in front of him now was no different from what people were talking about. His endlessly frivolous attitude made Kwon Young-je wonder if this was really the Secretary Kim he knew.
Seeing with his own eyes how carelessly he was leaking pheromones, his disappointment multiplied. Was he really struggling to keep such a person by his side?
Yet, his hand couldn’t let go of Hui-won’s collar. His pale neck was exposed through the stretched-out t-shirt. Kwon Young-je stared intently at the hollow part above his straight collarbone. An odd desire to tear off the skin covering that area surged through him.
When Kwon Young-je loosened his grip, Hui-won was finally able to pull his upper body back. The stretched-out t-shirt was not the problem. Rather, Kwon Young-je’s chilling gaze made Hui-won even more uncomfortable. He unconsciously got goosebumps and covered his neck. The skin under his palm felt strangely hot.
“No. Honestly, I don’t know why you’re angry.”
“……”
“Don’t tell me you’re scolding me for drinking outside? Are you worried about maintaining decorum or something?”
It wasn’t some shady bar, but just in front of a convenience store. Besides, Hui-won was a resident of this neighborhood. Since it was the only convenience store in the area, the chances of running into each other were high.
Did he think he expected to run into Kwon Young-je? He had never seen him set foot in a convenience store before, so it was equally absurd for both of them.
As Hui-won spoke clearly, Kwon Young-je gently bit his lip. He didn’t blink once, which somehow amplified the tension. Im Jaegyu, who was next to him, awkwardly rose from his seat, trying to find the right moment. He thought he should try to ease the atmosphere.
“Hello, Executive Director Kwon Young-je. I’m Team leader Im Jaegyu from the Labor-Management Relations Team. Kim Hui-won and I are colleagues who joined the company at the same time, and we happened to have some time today, so we’re having a drink…”
“Sit down. This isn’t your place to step in, Team leader Im Jaegyu.”
Kwon Young-je spoke without turning his head. His even voice, with its clear pronunciation, stabbed into his ear like a blade.
“Yes.”
Im Jaegyu immediately plopped back down on his chair. In the silence, the sound of the chair scraping was even more pathetic.
Wow, just exchanging a few words made his palm tingle. How did Kim Hui-won manage to stick with a guy like that? He was newly impressed by his colleague’s hard work.
Im Jaegyu chose to observe the confrontation between the two from the closest possible position, refraining from speaking. Both Executive Director Kwon Young-je and Kim Hui-won had no intention of yielding in their eyes. A taut tension, like a drawn bowstring, continued.
It was Kwon Young-je who spoke first. His lowered gaze was extremely cold, but his lips drew such an attractive curve that even onlookers were captivated.
“There’s a limit to how much you can annoy people. If you’re going to have a drinking party, go hide somewhere out of sight.”
“Executive Director.”
“If you’re going to leak your fucking pheromones everywhere, at least don’t let me see you.”
“Hey, Kwon Young-je!”
Hui-won couldn’t stand it any longer and jumped up from his seat. As the plastic chair tumbled backward, Im Jaegyu quickly reached out to catch it. Im Jaegyu’s eyes, as he righted the chair, were wide as if they were about to pop out.
It was rare for Kim Hui-won to get angry. Kwon Young-je had done it.
Hui-won swallowed his anger and took a step forward. His breath, which he was struggling to suppress, was rough.
“Don’t speak carelessly. What right do you have to treat me like this?”
As his anger flared up, the alcohol also rushed in. Hui-won swept back his hair with an annoyed gesture. Then, he glared at Kwon Young-je straight in the eye.
“I guess you still think I’m your secretary, but I quit that job a long time ago. You have no right to treat me however you want.”
Hui-won’s tone was firm. The words he spat out precisely flew like arrowheads and pierced the other person’s ears.
“What does it matter to you whether I have a drinking party or not? Is this Kwon Young-je’s personal property? Do you own it?”
“Kwon Young-je?”
“No… Ha, Young-je. To be honest, you and I are the same age. How long do I have to keep serving you? And please grow up.”
Kim Hui-won ended up saying something he shouldn’t have. Young-je, he said. That crazy bastard, what was he doing! He must be drunk. Im Jaegyu covered his mouth and screamed silently.
“Are you crazy?”
Kwon Young-je said the words that Im Jaegyu was shouting internally. Kim Hui-won’s behavior seemed abnormal to him as well.
Hui-won openly scoffed. Since the water had already been spilled, there was no way to pick it up again, so he had no choice but to let it out comfortably.
“Yeah, I’m on the verge of going crazy. Why are you like that? What crime did Omegas commit? People can leak pheromones sometimes, and you can’t stand it, so you’re trying to catch people like mice, huh?!”
“Go on, keep talking.”
Kwon Young-je firmly folded his arms. Just uttering a single word made the surrounding air cool down.
“What, what are you going to do if I glare at you? Is it all because you’re tall? Do you think I’m going to cower if you look down on me like that?”
“……”
“Let’s just stop this. If you’re over thirty, you have to compromise, how long are you going to live the way your dick pleases? If you don’t find a secretary, it’s your loss, not mine. Keep being so picky. See who has a harder time.”
“Are you done?”
“I’m not done yet! You need to fix the habit of interrupting people.”
Im Jaegyu quietly made the sign of the cross. Lord, it seems one lamb will be ascending to your side today. Please take good care of this drunkard.
Hui-won rubbed his face roughly as if washing it. He had been shouting so much that his head was spinning. He should have drunk more slowly. It seemed the problem was that he had downed the soju too quickly earlier.
He blew out a breath and swept back his disheveled hair. Still, he had to say everything he wanted to say.
“What’s the point of being handsome and rich? Your personality is rotten. Kwon Young-je, listen carefully. If you ever try to control me again…”
“What will you do?”
“…Haa, you’re really not doing this. I don’t even expect you to understand, but at least you shouldn’t harass me. We ended things a long time ago, so why do you have to be so eager to find fault with me every time you see me… But what is this… Kwon Young-je, are you releasing pheromones right now?”
Hui-won stopped pointing and blinked. A cozy scent was flowing from Kwon Young-je. It was the same bergamot scent, but instead of being as cold as it was the last time he smelled it, his whole body felt warm, as if he had a cotton blanket draped over his shoulders.
It was only a moment before his eyes closed. As the pheromones gently enveloped him, Hui-won collapsed as if his fuse had blown. He had been defenselessly receiving Alpha pheromones, and in the end, the alcohol had exceeded its limit.
Kwon Young-je easily carried the sleeping Hui-won on his back. Kim Hui-won was also unconsciously releasing pheromones. The more intense his emotions became, the more the Omega pheromones fluctuated. To stop him, it was better to just put him to sleep. So, he used his pheromones to raise Kim Hui-won’s body temperature.
The drunk was quite heavy. Kwon Young-je was embarrassed by the heavier-than-expected weight, and he tried to manage his expression as he adjusted the body on his shoulder once more. One of the slippers precariously perched on Hui-won’s instep eventually fell off.
Im Jaegyu carefully picked it up. What the heck was going on? He was just talking fine, so why did he fall asleep? And what was that about pheromones?
Im Jaegyu, a Beta, hugged the slipper and stared up at Kwon Young-je. He seemed to be expecting some explanation, but Kwon Young-je had no intention of doing so. He spoke to his subordinate in a dry tone, as if giving an order.
“I know Kim Secretary’s house. I’ll take responsibility for taking him there, so you.”
“Yes. I’ll take care of the cleanup here. Don’t worry.”
Im Jaegyu gave a trustworthy smile, but the other person didn’t even sneer. He just flicked his head as if to say, ‘Do as you please,’ and turned away.
Im Jaegyu slumped back into his chair and watched the receding figure. Whew, geez. Sounds similar to sighs flowed out in succession. He chuckled in disbelief and downed the remaining soju.
“It feels like I’ve been eavesdropping on someone else’s marital spat.”
A wife who had left home and the husband who came to find her. That was exactly the feeling. Even though the actual conversation consisted only of harsh words and reproaches.
Im Jaegyu decided to keep what he had witnessed today as his own secret. He had to protect himself as well, so he had no choice.
He would tell Kim Hui-won later when he asked. That he had a showdown with Executive Director Kwon.