By Zephyria President Jeong. Hello. This is Ryu Jeong.
It’s not that, but I’m going to be working part-time this weekend.
I don’t think it’ll be easy to make an appointment.
I’m sorry.
“……”
A short vibration was felt in his jacket pocket. Lee Do-hyeon, who took out his cell phone and checked the contents, stopped walking abruptly. Stiff sentences ending with periods came into view. Lee Do-hyeon’s expression, who read the short message of only a few lines several times, did not contain any emotion.
It wasn’t that he didn’t expect a message like this to come. He knew that Ryu Jeong was slow to speak and tended to think a lot, but I wasn’t so clueless that I couldn’t tell the difference between being late to answer because he was thinking and delaying answering to avoid it. I thought it was a hasty judgment, so I tried to guess once, but I just got upset and quit, but I didn’t expect to receive a message like this in just one day.
With this, Lee Do-hyeon was convinced that his guess was correct. Ryu Jeong is uncomfortable with him.
Is it my fault for being unnecessarily quick-witted? Or is it Ryu Jeong’s fault for being unskilled at hiding his emotions? What was more important than thinking about whose fault it was was how to overcome this situation right now.
“President?”
Chief Yoon’s puzzled voice popped out from behind Lee Do-hyeon, who was already narrowing his brows and staring only at the cell phone screen. Perhaps he was a little embarrassed by the sudden stop without any warning, the man who had always stood one step behind hesitated and came to stand next to him.
“Aren’t you getting in?”
“…Ah.”
Only then did Lee Do-hyeon remember that he was waiting for the elevator. He must have forgotten what he was trying to do because he was checking the message from Ryu Jeong just before getting on the elevator that had just arrived.
Lee Do-hyeon, who sighed quietly, stepped into the elevator. Chief Yoon, who followed him, pressed the 30th floor where the President’s office was located and stood behind Lee Do-hyeon.
“What’s wrong? What kind of message did you receive that made you….”
Chief Yoon glanced at Lee Do-hyeon, who was putting his cell phone away as if nothing had happened, with suspicious eyes. It had been a long time since he had shown such displeasure, even when provoked by Kim Mi-hee and Lee Gyu-hyeon. Lee Do-hyeon seemed to be trying to pretend that nothing was wrong until the end, but he seemed to have changed his mind when Chief Yoon spoke to him.
“Chief Yoon.”
Lee Do-hyeon, who had been absorbed in thought with his eyes half-lowered, opened his mouth. Chief Yoon, who had been stealing glances at his profile, raised his head at the call.
“The other person is openly… well, not openly, but subtly showing that they’re uncomfortable, what could be the reason?”
Chief Yoon narrowed his brows and rolled his eyes. The ‘other person’ Lee Do-hyeon was talking about couldn’t be Kim Mi-hee or Lee Gyu-hyeon. Those two were not people he would worry about this much. Then who is showing Lee Do-hyeon that they are uncomfortable? Even if I asked who it was, he probably wouldn’t answer.
“What are they uncomfortable about?”
“Me.”
“Is that person’s trait perhaps Alpha?”
“Why are you asking that?”
At the sensitive reaction, Chief Yoon shrugged without a word.
The reason he asked about the trait was simply because people with the same trait usually feel uncomfortable with each other. Chief Yoon was sure that the person who was uncomfortable with him must be an Alpha. But the problem was that there was no one he could think of. Because he spends almost every day with Lee Do-hyeon except for sleeping hours, Lee Do-hyeon’s acquaintances are also his acquaintances, but as far as he knows, the only Alphas among his acquaintances are Chairman Lee, who shares the same surname, Lee Gyu-hyeon, and his younger sister Lee Do-hee.
He tried to think if there were any Alphas among the company employees, but in the first place, trait people are only 1% of the total population, so it was not easy to find them in the company. Most of the secretarial staff who he often runs into were Betas. Of course, the employees would be uncomfortable with Lee Do-hyeon as their boss, and Lee Do-hyeon was not the type of person to care whether they were or not.
“……”
Could it be that he’s talking to me separately from the message I just checked…?
Just as he was thinking that he might have been acting clueless, Lee Do-hyeon sighed deeply and readily revealed the answer.
“He’s an Omega.”
“…Is he your lover?”
“Why does everyone think he’s my lover? No.”
“Then what is your relationship?”
“It’s not really a relationship.”
“How did you meet?”
“Just, by chance. But I’m the one who asked, why are you so curious about this?”
He’s getting annoyed after only a few questions. It’s not a situation where he should be annoyed at all, but seeing him so on edge, it was not something to just pass over. That’s what the sense and intuition he gained from a long social life as Lee Do-hyeon’s secretary was telling him.
“If you’re going to cause trouble, please do it quietly.”
“…Are you crazy?”
“Nothing that will make the news. Absolutely. Then you really won’t have another chance.”
At the very serious voice, Lee Do-hyeon turned his head and looked at Chief Yoon. The expression that looked back at him without wavering was also serious. It meant he was serious. He was probably saying that with the thought of re-challenging for the position of successor in mind.
He is the one who knows better than anyone that he needs to be careful in his conduct, but it was absurd that he was being made out to be the worst and most thoughtless person in the world just for asking a question. Lee Do-hyeon let out a short, hollow laugh. He was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t speak.
“It’s not the kind of thing you’re worried about, and it won’t be, so don’t worry about unnecessary things.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Let’s not talk.”
Lee Do-hyeon, who shook his head as if he was fed up, looked forward again. He seemed no different from usual, but the fact that Lee Do-hyeon had confided in someone meant that he was deeply troubled. Thinking so, Chief Yoon, who was concerned, swallowed a sigh as if he was reluctant and asked as if he couldn’t win.
“Why are you so worried about him?”
“About what.”
“That Omega. Isn’t it Ryu Jeong who lives in Wolhyeon-dong?”
“……”
“Don’t ask how I knew.”
Chief Yoon, who read Lee Do-hyeon’s thoughts with just a short silence, warned quietly. Just looking at his actions as far as he knows, he can see that he is extremely worried, but he doesn’t know what happened with that kid that he is so distracted even during work hours.
Before they knew it, the elevator the two were in arrived on the 30th floor. Until they reached the office in the empty hallway, Lee Do-hyeon only stared straight ahead without saying a word. At that time, Chief Yoon fell into deep thought. He was torn between letting Lee Do-hyeon go into the President’s office and going back to his seat, or following him in.
“Strangely… he’s uncomfortable with me.”
So what did you do? Lee Do-hyeon turned around just as he was about to enter the office.
“He doesn’t openly refuse, but his answers are vague and he clearly shows that he’s uncomfortable.”
“He must be uncomfortable.”
“Because I can only talk to him on the phone without seeing his face, I wonder if I’m mistaken.”
With a seriously hardened face, he has desperate eyes as if he needs someone else’s help. Chief Yoon, who felt burdened for some reason, hesitated and took two steps back.
“So I want to meet him and talk, but he says he’s busy and sorry. He’s not usually like that? He’s the type who can’t refuse requests. But he’s busy. That’s a refusal.”
“He must be really busy.”
“I asked to see him that evening, and when I said let’s see each other if he’s off on the weekend, I just got a message. He’s working.”
“Why do you keep trying to meet him? Just leave him alone.”
“Because I’m frustrated to death.”
“That’s……”
Chief Yoon frowned. He wondered if he should say this, but he couldn’t think of an alternative, so he hesitated and opened his mouth.
“President… you’re more clueless than I thought.”
“What?”
“You keep acting so clueless when he says he doesn’t want to meet you, as you said. How pathetic.”
“Pathetic……? Me?”
Seeing his face go blank as if he had heard something shocking, Chief Yoon, who thought that if he was going to say it, he should say it to the end, continued to speak.
“This is a presumptuous question, but… did you touch him?”
“…You know that I don’t do things I can’t take responsibility for, Chief Yoon.”
“Then why did you touch him?”
“Are you testing me now?”
“If you’re enjoying it as entertainment, stop here. It’s no use messing with a kid like that.”
Chief Yoon snorted lightly and returned to his seat. No, he was about to go. If it weren’t for the pheromones of the Dominant Alpha that were attacking from behind. Heavy pheromones pressed down on Chief Yoon as if a heavy rock had fallen from above.
“Ugh… President?”
“What do you mean by a kid like that?”
“Yes? Ugh……”
He doesn’t even give him a chance to speak, but his eyes are shining fiercely as if telling him to explain quickly. Chief Yoon forced strength into his body, which seemed like it would fall to the floor, and barely managed to hold on by grabbing the desk.
“What do you mean by a kid like that.”
“He’s young, and, sigh, the situation isn’t favorable either.”
“So what.”
“From his point of view, you’re no different from a gangster who destroys a perfectly good house. If someone who’s about to come and destroy my house is nice to me, I’d be uncomfortable too. And, and….”
“And.”
Lee Do-hyeon took another step closer to Chief Yoon, who was out of his mind and panting.
“One-sided and excessive kindness… will be burdensome. You said you’re not even in a relationship.”
Lee Do-hyeon frowned slightly as he listened to the words he was struggling to spit out. He was reminded of the word ‘okay’ that Ryu Jeong always said like a habit. Was it because he was burdened?
Indeed, even if he thought about it himself, it was true that he was being too kind to Ryu Jeong. It was true that such excessive kindness was not necessary for someone who was just a convenience store part-timer and a resident of a shabby neighborhood. It was enough to be moderately polite as a person to person, and to be moderately kind to satisfy the relationship.
But at some point, he was only looking at Ryu Jeong. Just as he thought, as his heart went. Recently, the days when he had to see Ryu Jeong with his own eyes if he was lingering in front of his eyes were continuing. And after having sex, he felt disappointed seeing Ryu Jeong’s attitude towards him subtly change.
“……”
So why. This time it seems ‘one-sided’, but he couldn’t stand it anymore.
Whether he was clueless or not, the decision to meet him did not go away. Lee Do-hyeon, who had made up his mind resolutely, turned back the way he had come, passing by Chief Yoon.
“Oh, where are you going?”
“I have to meet him.”
“Ugh, no. How many pending approval documents are there now! Today is really not possible. I have a date with my girlfriend after work today!”
The pheromones that had been threatening all along, to the point where cold sweat was dripping, disappeared in an instant. Before he could even catch his breath, Chief Yoon grabbed Lee Do-hyeon’s sleeve in horror. He didn’t have much time to stay in the office because he was having meetings with people involved in hotel construction, and if he left work for personal matters like this, when would he ever get any work done? Above all, the more Lee Do-hyeon acted as he pleased, the more his own departure would be canceled.
“Don’t even dream about the weekend. The meeting with Daehyung Corporation is a meeting that can’t be canceled anymore!”
“Fuck.”
At the brutal curse, Chief Yoon hunched his shoulders. Perhaps it was the aftermath of being attacked by pheromones a little while ago, or perhaps it was because of Lee Do-hyeon, who was grinding his teeth in front of him, but his fingertips seemed to be trembling a little.
“Should I just quit.”
“……”
“No. I have to destroy it. Before the demolition starts, I have to destroy this company first, damn it……”
Lee Do-hyeon, who clenched his teeth and muttered as if suppressing his anger, slammed the door open and went into the President’s office. Chief Yoon, who was left alone, swallowed hard and quickly picked up the approval documents. Anyway, he had to work. That was for everyone’s sake. But even if he thought so, his pounding heart did not calm down. All he could do now was hope that the target of that curse was not just him.