Chapter 3

The bus traveled smoothly and soon arrived in Gapyeong.

Once at the resort, the employees received their keys and dispersed to unpack.

Most were assigned rooms from the 2nd to 5th floors, but Lee Jiwoon was placed on the 6th floor with Seo Taecheon.

Still, since they had different rooms, it didn’t matter.

He was content.

Jiwoon took the VIP elevator that went straight to the 6th floor with Taecheon.

“Why did you pack so much?” Taecheon asked, looking at Jiwoon’s bulging suitcase.

“Delicious stuff. And I’m not sharing,” Jiwoon replied.

“I never asked,” Taecheon retorted indifferently.

In reality, Jiwoon’s suitcase was mostly filled with chocolate cookies, and he had no intention of sharing them with Taecheon.

Ding.

The elevator announced its arrival at the 6th floor.

Without a word, they exited and went to their respective rooms across the hall.

“Ah, finally some relief,” Jiwoon said, throwing himself onto the bed and stretching.

The stress from sitting next to an uncomfortable companion had stiffened his shoulders and neck.

“Time to eat something sweet and relax.”

Jiwoon got off the bed, opened his suitcase, and rummaged through his clothes.

As he pulled out a cookie and took a crunchy bite, he realized the white container that should have been next to the cookies was missing.

“Huh?”

There was no way he forgot to pack it.

What happened?

In a panic, Jiwoon frantically searched through his suitcase, turning it inside out.

But the container of pheromone suppressants was nowhere to be found.

“Damn it, damn it…!”

As a recessive Omega, Jiwoon couldn’t control his pheromones well.

While dominants had regular heat cycles and could manage their pheromones even in emergencies, recessives lacked this control.

“Oh no… No one else here would have Omega pheromone suppressants.”

As far as he knew, he was the only Omega attending the workshop.

Also, suppressants required a prescription from a doctor, making it impossible to obtain them quickly.

He realized he would have to endure the night without them.

“Let’s not overthink it. What could happen in one night?”

Since becoming an adult, Jiwoon had never missed a dose of his suppressants, so he wasn’t sure what would happen if he didn’t take them.

Still, he figured nothing significant would occur from skipping one day.

“Let’s just forget about it and have fun. Nothing bad will happen.”

He decided to stop worrying about something he couldn’t change and went outside, dressed comfortably in a shirt and summer slacks.

***

In the seminar room, a stack of paper booklets was placed in front of the gathered employees.

“We’ll be doing a personality type test. These questions are much more precise and accurate than the ones available publicly.”

The instructor explained that this session would help them understand their personalities and see which colleagues they were compatible with.

“Oh, this sounds fun.”

“Right? I wonder if it’ll show that we’re compatible,” said Ki Hyunjin, sitting next to Jiwoon, with curiosity.

“Yes, I think we’ll be a perfect match, Assistant Ki.”

Jiwoon thought Hyunjin was the colleague he got along with best, so naturally, their compatibility score should be high.

The worst match? Definitely BBG.

Jiwoon glanced at Taecheon, who was sitting in the front row attentively listening to the instructor, and glared.

“Now, carefully fill out the answer sheets in front of you. Score yourselves in four categories: A, B, C, and D.”

Following the instructor’s directions, the employees, including Taecheon and Jiwoon, completed the personality type assessment. The answer sheets were collected and brought to the instructor.

“Oh my, we have some very interesting results. There’s a pair with 99% compatibility in this group.”

“Really? How amazing.”

“Who are they?”

The employees were intrigued. Jiwoon perked up his ears.

“These two would excel at anything they do together. They’d even be in sync while committing a crime, communicating telepathically without words. If they worked on a project together, it would be a huge success.”

The instructor, marveling at the results, pulled out two answer sheets.

The anticipation among the employees grew.

“I’ll tell you who they are. One is Lee Jiwoon!”

“Me?”

Jiwoon’s eyes widened in surprise.

Who could his perfect match be?

Assistant Ki?

“And the other is Seo Taecheon, the head of the division.”

“What?”

“Excuse me?”

Jiwoon and Taecheon both reacted immediately.

“Yes, the two of you are a perfect match. You exhibit complementary traits in all categories: A, B, C, and D.”

This can’t be true. Jiwoon struggled to suppress a disbelieving laugh.

Taecheon also looked quite flustered.

“You even sat together on the bus, and now you’re perfect partners in personality type as well. Haha!”

Manager Park clapped and laughed.

Jiwoon forced a smile and laughed awkwardly.

“Haha…”

As Jiwoon collected his thoughts with a bittersweet smile, the personality analysis class concluded.

After a quick lunch, the teams spent the afternoon on a mock management game.

Jiwoon’s marketing team lost badly due to poor strategy and had to prepare the evening BBQ as a penalty.

“Ugh… We have to grill the meat and wash the lettuce. This is crazy.”

Though the resort’s restaurant provided the ingredients, the Marketing Team 1 had to light the charcoal, grill the meat, and set up the side dishes themselves.

Among the various tasks, Lee Jiwoon was assigned to wash vegetables.

He turned on the water at the faucet behind the resort garden and began washing the lettuce piled high in the basket.

“Washing lettuce for 60 people… What a life I’m leading.”

Bending awkwardly at the waist and getting water splashed everywhere while meticulously cleaning the lettuce was no easy feat.

Still, it wasn’t something he could blame anyone else for, so he worked alone out of sight without asking for help.

“Do you think you can finish washing by six o’clock?”

A grating voice sounded nearby.

Jiwoon turned his head to see Seo Taecheon standing idly by.

“Are you here to criticize me?”

“If there’s an inefficient employee, I must harshly address it.”

With that, Taecheon approached the faucet and stood next to Jiwoon.

Jiwoon waved him away to keep him from getting closer.

“You’re getting water everywhere. What are you doing?”

“I’m here to assist an inefficient employee.”

“What?”

“I’ll wash the perilla leaves and chili peppers.”

“You’re helping me?”

“Helping? I’m just ensuring the other employees don’t miss dinner because of you.”

Taecheon swiftly rinsed the perilla leaves in the running water and shook off the excess.

His movements were impressively quick and precise.

“Wow, you’re good at washing perilla leaves.”

“I’m even better with chili peppers.”

Taecheon lined up the chili peppers, which were scattered randomly, and gave them a thorough wash.

He then reached for the lettuce and in just five minutes, he finished all the washing.

Handing the basket back to Jiwoon, he left without a word.

“What the… I didn’t know he had such a talent.”

Jiwoon chuckled to himself as he headed to the barbecue area.

The barbecue party was filled with joy and laughter.

People who got along well exchanged drinks, and it was fun to gather with the supervisors and assistants, avoiding the managers.

“Pour it!”

“Drink it!”

Jiwoon downed three consecutive glasses of somaek (a mix of soju and beer), turning his face bright red.

“Shouldn’t you stop drinking now?”

Ki Hyunjin placed the back of his hand on Jiwoon’s cheek.

“No, I can drink more.”

“You’re drinking too much. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Jiwoon smiled broadly at Hyunjin, whose ears were turning red.

“Why are your ears red, Assistant Ki?”

“Uh… It’s nothing.”

“Let’s drink more!”

Jiwoon raised his glass of somaek again.

Suddenly, his colleagues covered their mouths in shock.

“Director!”

Seo Taecheon was standing right behind Jiwoon.

“Hiccup!”

Jiwoon hiccupped and widened his eyes.

“You seem quite drunk, Assistant Lee.”

“I’m not drunk.”

“Hmm… You look drunk to me.”

“No, I can drink more.”

As Jiwoon tried to bring the glass to his lips, Taecheon snatched it away.

The female employees let out a small squeal.

Taecheon downed the drink in one go and set the glass down firmly on the table.

“If you drink more, I’ll drink it for you.”

He then pulled Jiwoon up and gently led him away.

The other employees were too stunned to grasp what was happening.

“What just happened? We lost the life of the party.”

“Come back, Assistant Lee!”

***

Taecheon led Jiwoon to the resort lobby.

“Why are you dragging me?”

“We have something important to do.”

“Oh, what is it?”

“The divorce counselor just contacted us saying today’s selfie upload is late.”

“Gasp.”

Jiwoon suddenly remembered he hadn’t uploaded today’s bed selfie for the [Special Divorce Contemplation System] challenge.

Missing a daily upload resulted in point deductions, with one point docked for each hour it was late.

The point deductions were frightening because accumulating too many could extend the probation period, turning a six-month period into seven, eight months, or even a year.

To avoid this, Jiwoon had been diligently cooking meals, taking selfies in bed, and writing logs.

Missing an upload due to being drunk was unthinkable.

Even in his intoxicated state, he was alarmed.

“Hurry. Lie down with me. One bed! Quickly!”

“I’m on my way.”

“Get in bed with me!”

“You don’t need to shout.”

The front desk staff pretended not to hear their conversation, staring into space.

Fortunately, the elevator arrived quickly, and the two made it to the sixth floor in no time.