* * *
The woman looked to be in her late sixties or early seventies.
Her clean, serene face and neatly tied long hair gave off an air of grace and elegance.
‘Hmm… she reminds me of someone…’
But no specific face came to mind, so he brushed the thought aside.
In any case, if she was here for the Business Strategy Department TF team, she was likely someone’s parent or a guest.
If that were the case, someone should’ve come down to meet her, but no one had gotten up when he’d left.
She must have come without contacting anyone beforehand.
“You’ll need to go to the information desk over there and get a visitor’s pass before heading up.”
He pointed the way, and the woman, after glancing in that direction, turned back and spoke again.
“Is that so? Thank you. But, by any chance, do you know someone named Gil Wookyung who works in the Business Strategy Department?”
“…Excuse me?”
Who? That name sounds oddly familiar.
Wait, isn’t that his name?
And what was going on today, anyway?
Why did weird things keep happening one after another?
“Ah, if you’re not in the same department, you may not know him. Thank you anyway.”
Thankfully, she didn’t seem to realize she was speaking to Gil Wookyung himself.
She smiled warmly and started heading toward the information desk.
“Not at all.”
Wookyung stared hard at her retreating figure.
No matter how he looked at her, she wasn’t someone he recognized.
‘But she asked for me?’
He had thought she looked familiar earlier.
Could it be… someone who knew the “Gil Wookyung” before he entered this body?
A relative? A teacher?
‘No way. If someone was coming to see me, one of my dads would’ve let me know.’
Maybe not his alpha dad, but his omega dad definitely wouldn’t have stayed silent.
He’d at least have sent a text.
‘Then who is she?’
Now it felt awkward to go after her and say, “Actually, I am Gil Wookyung,” and yet ignoring it didn’t sit right either.
He was still hesitating when—
“Oh, you’re looking for Assistant Manager Gil Wookyung? That’s him, right over there.”
The receptionist pointed straight at him with a cheerful smile.
The elderly woman turned her head to follow the gesture—right back at him.
‘I’m doomed.’
Wookyung hoped his face didn’t look too stiff.
Thankfully, he trusted his typically unreadable expression.
Now he just had to figure out what to say.
While he was still brainstorming, the woman reached him.
“Um…”
“Nice to meet you. Are you Gil Wookyung?”
With that question, there was no escaping it.
Wookyung nodded slowly, about to say yes.
“I’m Choi Hyejoo—Saheon’s grandmother.”
And just like that, his mouth snapped shut.
‘What… did I just hear?’
His pupils darted and then trembled violently.
Choi Hyejoo.
That was none other than the name of the chairwoman of HK Group—the head of the entire conglomerate.
Why on earth would someone like her come here alone?
And wait—did she not run into CEO Choi on his way out just moments ago?
…No. That couldn’t be a coincidence.
‘Why me? What for? Was that elevator encounter earlier supposed to be a sign that she was on her way to meet me?!’
In an instant, Wookyung’s mind exploded with scenes straight out of a cliché soap opera.
Throwing envelopes of money, splashing water, yelling “Break up with my grandson immediately!”
‘Aren’t meetings like this usually held in some secretive, private location?’
Or, being the chairwoman of a conglomerate, shouldn’t she be sending a secretary?
Or pulling up in a car and commanding someone to follow her?
That’s how it normally goes, right?
Then why on earth was she just standing here alone, smiling so kindly?
“If you have a moment, may I have a word with you?”
It wasn’t just anyone—it was Saheon’s grandmother.
There was no way Wookyung could say no.
‘But how come no one’s recognizing her!’
Sure, the lobby was quiet, but still.
A company chairwoman showing up like this?
It didn’t make sense.
Grumbling inwardly, even though he hadn’t realized either, Wookyung said, “I’m still on the clock, so I can’t talk for long.”
He’d planned to take a 15-minute break for a walk.
But with five minutes already gone, he had only ten left.
“Of course. Can’t take too much time from a busy professional.”
To be honest, it was meant to gently suggest they meet some other time.
But she didn’t seem to be backing down.
“Then this way…”
Wookyung tried to guide her toward the café, intending to keep the conversation brief.
But the elderly woman was already on the phone with someone.
“It’s me. What do you mean, ‘What’s going on’? A grandmother can call her grandson, can’t she? More importantly, I’m at your company’s first-floor café. Come down.”
‘Grandmother? Grandson?’
Was he the only one feeling nervous hearing such familiar terms?
Wookyung’s gaze fixed on the smartphone in her hand.
Sensing it, the chairwoman—Chairwoman Choi—met his eyes.
“Come anyway. I have something to discuss with Gil Wookyung too.”
There it was—his name.
Wookyung could almost guess what kind of expression Saheon must be making while holding that phone.
After ending the call, she and Wookyung had barely sat down at the café for five minutes when—
“Grandmother.”
Right on cue, Saheon appeared, his expression stiff.
Wookyung quickly scanned the café.
Aside from one group, all the tables were empty.
Thankfully, no one seemed likely to witness this awkward three-way encounter.
“There you are.”
Chairwoman Choi smiled again with gentle recognition.
Wookyung wasn’t sure whether he should say something, but before he could decide, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
‘What is he doing in front of his grandmother?!’
Wookyung tried to brush it off quickly, but Saheon only gripped tighter, lacing their fingers firmly together.
“What are you doing here? Why are you meeting with Wookyung?”
Even in the middle of this, Wookyung noticed how Saheon didn’t refer to him formally as “Assistant Manager Gil,” but used his name affectionately.
His ears twitched at that.
Still, jumping in might draw more attention, so he simply tightened his grip in return.
But then, maybe misreading the signal, Saheon interlaced their fingers completely.
“What else? I came to greet the person you’re seeing.”
“Like this?”
“Well, it’s convenient.”
Chairwoman Choi gave Wookyung a meaningful smile that only added to his nerves.
At last—the situation he had feared was coming true.
“You’re even better-looking than I heard.”
“Ah… um… thank you.”
The unexpected compliment threw Wookyung off beat.
But unfazed, Chairwoman Choi smiled again.
“Don’t worry about anything. I’ll take care of matters on my end, so please take good care of our Saheon from now on. That’s what I came to say.”
What… what does that even mean?
Could she maybe explain it a bit more clearly?
Wookyung looked at her desperately, then turned to Saheon for help.
He’d been unusually quiet throughout all this.
Of course, if anyone caused a scene, it would be Wookyung who’d suffer for it.
Still. He could’ve at least saved him from this awkwardness!
“Now that I’ve said my piece, I’ll be going. Let’s have dinner sometime soon when we both have time.”
Wookyung’s stunned eyes followed Chairwoman Choi as she rose from her seat.
Clearly, she had no plans to elaborate on what she had just said.
At some point, an elderly gentleman in a black suit had appeared beside her.
‘Ah, that man!’
Wookyung recognized him—he had seen him during a past company anniversary.
That was the chief secretary who often stood in for the chairwoman.
Come to think of it, Chairwoman Choi rarely made public appearances.
When she was younger, she had often been in the media, but at some point, she’d disappeared from even press releases.
‘So I’m the only one who didn’t know. Just me.’
Then again, he only worked at KH Furniture.
It wasn’t so strange not to recognize the head of the parent conglomerate.
“Thank you so much for meeting me today. I’ll see you next time.”
Even after escorting the politely bowing chairwoman to the building’s entrance, Wookyung remained in a daze.
It wasn’t until she disappeared in her domestic sedan that he turned sharply to Saheon.
“Saheon.”
“I’m sorry, Wookyung. I really didn’t see this coming either.”
That much was obvious. If he had known, he wouldn’t have looked so rattled.
But that wasn’t the point of Wookyung’s question.
“That’s not what I’m asking. Earlier, what your grandmother said—do you know what she meant?”
“Ah…”
Oh, would you look at that? The alpha was avoiding eye contact. He definitely knew something but was figuring out how to say it.
“Tell me straight. Why is she acting like that?”
Now that he thought about it, even CEO Choi’s behavior in the elevator earlier had seemed strange.
At the time, he’d just thought, ‘What’s up with her?’
But now that he’d met the chairwoman too, it was clearly not a simple matter.
It had to mean that Saheon had said something behind his back.
“I just told the chairwoman the truth.”
“About what?”
“Why I decided to come back to Korea.”
“…And what was that?”
Even as he asked, Wookyung had a gut feeling about the answer.
His neck and ears were already heating up.
“To marry you, Wookyung.”
This damn alpha!
* * *
Lmao “this damn alpha” indeed 😂