By Zephyria 
“Mind your own business.”
Executive Director Kwon Young-je retorted coldly and stood up first. That was the end of his business.
Hui-won, who stood up following him, took the prescription stamped with a seal and politely greeted Professor Hong. That was only for a moment, as he was forcibly dragged out of the examination room by Executive Director Kwon Young-je’s hand.
Professor Hong watched the scene carefully. He was dubious, and his eyebrows kept rising.
“Oh, whatever, they’ll figure it out themselves.”
It was ridiculous to worry about grown adults. Professor Hong, who threw down his pen, immediately called the next patient.
Hui-won had only been away from his desk for two days, but a mountain of work was waiting for him.
Secretary Ji, who had just placed a stack of documents on Hui-won’s desk, smiled sheepishly, as if he was embarrassed.
“It was… very busy while the General manager was away.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You sighed as soon as you saw it.”
He even left some chocolate to cheer him up. Hui-won sat down and immediately unwrapped the foil and put the round chocolate in his mouth. It was perfect timing, as his stamina had been steadily declining.
Before starting work, he made sure to take the emergency contraceptive pill. For some reason, the pill got stuck in his throat and wouldn’t go down easily. He remembered the uncomfortable feeling for a long time. Thinking that it was all the price he had to pay for his sins.
He was working diligently when Secretary Song cautiously approached his desk. Her hands were also full of documents.
“General manager, this is next week’s schedule…”
“Ah, just put it up there. Do I just need to review it?”
“Yes…” Secretary Song replied in her characteristically delicate voice. She added the file she had brought to the end of the row of document files arranged according to her own rules.
“……”
Hui-won subtly lifted his eyes from the documents. Seeing Secretary Song lingering at his desk as if she still had something to say, his lips felt parched.
“Are you… feeling alright?”
Secretary Song opened her mouth with difficulty. Unlike her cautious voice, an intense light was pouring out of her eyes as she stared at Hui-won.
He didn’t expect her to mention what happened during the business trip first. Hui-won had been deliberately cutting off any chance of talking to her. Executive Director Kwon Young-je said that he could just pretend he didn’t remember since it wasn’t his problem, but it wasn’t that easy. The saliva that had already gathered in his mouth was swallowed.
Moreover, that look in her eyes, that crazy look that knew everything. This was really not easy.
Hui-won leaned back loosely in his chair. He put on a softer smile.
“I’m fine. I heard that Secretary Song worked hard. Thanks to you, the contract was successfully completed.”
“……”
“You worked hard. Thank you.”
At his neat dismissal, Secretary Song glanced away. It was only for a moment, but her gaze was clearly directed towards the office where Executive Director Kwon Young-je was.
“There’s… no problem, is there?”
“No. Not at all.”
“……”
“What’s wrong? Is something the matter?”
It was better to just play dumb than to put on a bad act that wouldn’t work anyway. When Hui-won asked back, Secretary Song waved her hands in embarrassment.
“No, it’s okay if you’re alright.”
She hesitated and turned around. Hui-won, who watched her walk back to her seat, hid his face behind the monitor.
He could feel his heart pounding through his thin shirt as he touched his chest. He was going crazy, really. Hui-won muttered to himself with a serious face.
After lunch, Executive Director Kwon Young-je headed to Chairman Kwon’s office on the 29th floor of the headquarters to report on his business trip.
While he was having a private meeting inside, Hui-won was waiting as usual. As he was spending his time aimlessly, a welcome face came and spoke to him.
“Secretary Kim, don’t just stand there, have a cup of tea with me.”
It was Jung Yong-sik, Chairman Kwon’s personal secretary. Seeing his beckoning gesture, Hui-won followed him to the reception room.
Longjing tea, which Chairman Kwon often enjoyed, was placed on the table. Even the smooth teacups looked luxurious, as if they were made by a master craftsman.
“……”
It was a luxury he couldn’t easily enjoy, but because of the ordeal he had gone through before, he couldn’t bring himself to drink it. Hui-won stared blankly at the teacup before barely wetting his lips.
Fortunately, there was nothing wrong with the Longjing tea. As the accumulated tension in his body finally subsided, Hui-won carefully put down the teacup and straightened his back.
“Secretary Jung, you look even better.”
“Well, I’m carefree now. The subordinates take care of all the hard work, and Chairman Kwon spends more days at home than at the company.”
Secretary Jung patted the armrest of the sofa and smiled contentedly. The man in his mid-60s with a gentle impression exuded relaxation from his whole body.
He might be carefree, but as he served Chairman Kwon, Secretary Jung’s daily life was definitely not easy.
He had been working as Chairman Kwon’s secretary for almost 40 years. He was recognized for his contributions and was given the title of outside director. So what? He should have retired a long time ago, but he was still active. He even heard that he had a grandchild recently.
Whenever Hui-won saw Secretary Jung, he thought that his future would be like that.
“Anything new these days?”
“It’s the same as always.”
“Well, being safe is the best.”
They exchanged various greetings. Secretary Jung didn’t pry into the fact that Hui-won had developed as an Omega. He was quick-witted and had the ability to make others feel comfortable. He was a person with many things to learn from.
“Hmm… It seems like Director Kwon Young-ho has really settled down in China.”
When he brought up Kwon Young-ho’s recent situation, Hui-won also showed interest. This was rare and valuable information that was hard to come by.
“How is he doing specifically?”
“He seems very determined. It seems he has already gathered his own people, and there are rumors that his performance in the second half of the year will be great.”
“…Is that so?”
A small sigh escaped from Hui-won’s lips. The news that Kwon Young-ho was succeeding was close to being bad news. He had been sent to fail, but he was gaining momentum there. Well, he had the ability, so there was no way he would let it rot.
Secretary Jung, who had been staring blankly at Hui-won, chuckled.
“Are you worried?”
“I guess I am a little, right?”
Secretary Jung knew better than anyone about the succession battle in the owner’s family. If he was just an ordinary employee, it wouldn’t matter who became the successor, but for a personal secretary, it was an important issue. As if understanding Hui-won’s feelings, Secretary Jung quietly nodded.
“He won’t be back soon, will he?”
“We’ll have to wait and see.”
“……”
“I don’t know if I should say this to Secretary Kim, but I’m on Director Kwon Young-je’s side.”
Hui-won slightly pursed his lips. Along with the thought that Secretary Jung’s statement was a relief, a bigger question arose.
“Is that also Chairman’s intention?”
Secretary Jung only smiled as he drank his tea.
“I hope you’ll take good care of him by his side.”
He was a man who was an expert at keeping secrets. There was an unwavering force hidden in his soft smile. Perhaps because he had been with him for a long time, he gradually had a similar atmosphere to Chairman Kwon.
As they chatted, time flew by. He stopped and tidied up his clothes. He waited in front of the door, and after a while, Executive Director Kwon Young-je came out with a somewhat tired face after finishing his private meeting.
He walked out in step with him. They walked down the long hallway and stopped in front of the elevator lobby.
Hui-won took the lead and pressed the down button. He straightened his posture and stared at the instrument panel, but he felt a blatant gaze from the side.
When he turned his head, Executive Director Kwon Young-je was staring intently at his face. He wondered if something was on his face, so he touched his mouth for no reason. His lips, which had been drinking tea, were far from being wet and were only dry.
“…What’s wrong?”
“No, nothing.”
Executive Director Kwon Young-je immediately turned his head away. He couldn’t tell what he was thinking from his consistently stiff face. Hui-won gave up trying to interpret it and also looked forward. Just then, the elevator arrived and the doors were opening wide.
The executive elevator was always quiet, but today it stopped on quite a few floors. Even on the 25th floor, a group of directors got on. They had just finished a meeting, so everyone’s voices were loud and their expressions were excited.
“Hello, Executive Director Kwon Young-je.”
“Haha, it’s been a while.”
Amidst the countless greetings, Executive Director Kwon Young-je only gave a silent nod. Knowing his personality, the directors didn’t bother to ask for a conversation.
The elevator became crowded with the packed crowd. People had no choice but to touch each other.
Hui-won created space with his eyes. Unfortunately, Chief Manager Choi, who was quite large, was standing in front of him. As he stepped back to avoid the bodies pushing in, he was suddenly right next to Executive Director Kwon Young-je.
Hui-won struggled to twist his body in a situation where he couldn’t do anything. When he lowered his hand, he accidentally touched something hard.
“…I’m sorry.”
“……”
Executive Director Kwon Young-je’s gaze was unbearable. So what if he touched his thigh a little? Why was he looking at him like he was going to kill him?
Hui-won kept his wandering gaze fixed on the floor number indicator at the top. His cheeks felt like they were going to be pierced by the glares coming from close range, but he had no choice but to endure it.
An hour later, as quite a few items to be approved piled up, Hui-won hugged them all and headed to the office.
Inside, Executive Director Kwon Young-je was reviewing documents with his back straight. He approached him and did his job on his own. He sorted out the document boards in order of urgency, and spread out the items that needed immediate approval so that he could easily check them.
“Secretary Kim, this…”
At that moment, his arm collided with Executive Director Kwon Young-je, who was turning his chair. As the scattered documents fell to the floor, Hui-won reflexively bent down.
He crawled under the desk to pick up the documents that had flown deep inside.
His bent knees were almost touching the floor, and his forehead was slightly sweaty as he struggled in the narrow space. The hem of his pants, which wrapped around his buttocks, tightened as he twisted his waist. As he stretched out his hand, a groan escaped without him realizing it.
Hui-won picked up the last sheet and barely pulled his head out.
When he came out, he could immediately see the chair that had turned sideways and Executive Director Kwon Young-je’s legs that were wide open. Because of his lowered eye level, his gaze unknowingly went between his legs.
Executive Director Kwon Young-je took out the cap of his fountain pen and put it on the nib. The sound of it clicking into place pulled Hui-won’s careless gaze upwards. The space between Executive Director Kwon Young-je’s eyebrows was fiercely furrowed.
“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”