* * *
Junhee, who had hurriedly tried to offer an apology, found himself unable to speak.
There was no one seated in the front seat.
The engine was running, and only a faint light was seeping from the dashboard.
With the weakly blowing heater, the scent of pheromones lingered in the air.
Looking out the window, Junhee recognized the familiar alley.
It was near the entrance to the neighborhood where his villa was, under a flickering streetlamp.
Junhee pulled the handle and opened the door.
A cold breeze brushed against his cheek.
He glanced around, still wearing his coat on his arm, but he couldn’t find its owner.
‘…Should I just leave the coat behind?’
After a moment of hesitation, he decided it was only polite to leave a proper farewell, and was about to head further into the alley when—
“I’m too busy to go.”
He stopped dead at the low, gravelly voice that seemed to scratch at the throat.
A long shadow stretched across the road.
“Even if we gather a crowd, it’ll just turn into chaos. What good would come from having dinner together? Will the food even go down?”
Though he couldn’t see who was speaking, the tone was unmistakably sarcastic.
“Marriage? My uncle? Oh, really… If it’s not a remarriage but a third marriage, wouldn’t it be more appropriate to quietly handle the registration? The newspapers will swarm for another story. It’ll be quite the commotion. Yes, I’ll go watch. Alright, I’ll adjust my schedule then…”
The caller, Ki Taeryu, seemed to go quiet again.
From the faintly audible voice of the other party, there seemed to be a hint of anger.
“…Regarding that matter, I’ll explain it separately at Hyeonwol-gwan. No, doesn’t Grandfather know what kind of person Kang Heesung is?”
Junhee’s hand under the coat twitched.
Leaving aside the disrespectful tone used towards his grandfather, the name mentioned was something he couldn’t ignore.
Kang Heesung… wasn’t he the arrogant rich kid who had taken Junhee away?
“Whether it’s seven stitches or seventeen, I’ll make sure to keep his mouth shut. Don’t worry. I’m hanging up now.”
The call ended abruptly, and the sound of footsteps grew closer.
Junhee found himself face-to-face with Ki Taeryu, who turned the corner without any chance to retreat or catch his breath.
“Oh, I was… going to greet you, but I didn’t realize you were on the phone and was waiting for a moment.”
He tried to protest that he hadn’t been eavesdropping, but the sudden proximity of Ki Taeryu’s face made him lose his words.
“Good timing.”
“…What?”
“There’s another appointment coming up, and you’ll need to go with Assistant Yoo Junhee.”
For some reason, the sinister shadow in his eyes made it hard for me to say no, as if the words were stuck to the roof of my mouth.
Even though I hadn’t been the first to extend a helping hand, it was clear that I had received help from Ki Taeryu.
…Probably several times.
At the same time, a fear stirred within me that speaking carelessly might lead to a fate like someone else’s, getting my mouth stitched up.
‘No, stay focused, Yoo Junhee.’
Although it felt like ages ago, the events at the event venue had been just yesterday.
I had a strong premonition that staying close to Ki Taeryu would never lead to a smooth life.
“I’m sorry, but it seems unreasonable for me to always adjust to the department head’s weekend schedule. It’s outside of work hours to begin with…”
“Is it okay for Assistant Yoo Junhee to leak my schedule and cause a fuss?”
There was a strange light in those black eyes.
It felt terrifying, as if making even a single wrong move might cause me to fall into them forever.
“W-What do you mean by that…?”
“I told you, that omega is too noisy and I don’t like him.”
“…”
It was clear that everything had been exposed.
Junhee couldn’t hide his anxious gaze, like a child caught stealing.
This was exactly why you should never do something you’re ashamed of in the first place.
Warmth touched Junhee’s lower lip, which he was nervously chewing on as a habit.
Ki Taeryu’s thumb pressed firmly against his pale lips.
When Junhee looked up at him in surprise, Ki Taeryu smirked.
“Alright, let’s do it this way. I’ll meet that woman once more, and Assistant Yoo Junhee will meet with me.”
For a moment, Junhee’s confusion halted his thoughts, but he quickly started calculating.
“So… if I support the department head’s external schedule, you’ll meet with Moon Doyoung?”
Instead of answering, he rubbed Junhee’s lips and slightly curled the corners of his mouth.
“Then…”
Junhee swallowed dryly.
‘Can’t you just let me meet him exactly three times?’
There had already been one meeting at the event, so only two remained.
For Moon Doyoung, it was a matter of opportunity; for Junhee, it was a matter of endurance.
Determination surged in Junhee’s eyes as he made up his mind.
“…Twice.”
“What?”
“I will meet him twice. Please allow me to meet him twice.”
A peculiar smile spread across Ki Taeryu’s lips.
It looked like the expression of a fisherman watching a freshly caught fish wriggling.
“Assistant Yoo Junhee, do you know…?”
Junhee, who was keeping his guard up, felt Ki Taeryu’s hand lightly wrap around his chin.
“This is the first time Assistant Manager Yoo has asked me for something.”
With Ki Taeryu’s breath came a sudden wave of pheromones.
“…It’s not a request, it’s a trade.”
“You begged me to meet you twice.”
“It wasn’t begging…!”
Junhee, who was on the verge of losing his temper, managed to close his mouth and compose himself.
He knew too well that reacting to everything Ki Taeryu said wouldn’t benefit him.
Junhee looked at Ki Taeryu with a much calmer gaze.
“…Think of it however you like. No matter what I say, you’ll see it in a way that pleases you.”
As soon as he uttered those words, a twinge of regret struck him.
At that moment, Ki Taeryu’s other hand rose.
Junhee reflexively closed his eyes, and a dark shadow passed in front of him.
“Are you afraid I’m going to hit you?”
When he slightly opened his eyes, he saw a smirking face facing him.
“Hitting isn’t really my style. If Assistant Yoo’s taste runs that way, though, I suppose I could do it.”
Upon closer inspection, Junhee saw a familiar item wedged between Ki Taeryu’s index and middle fingers—a credit card.
“Take it.”
At that moment, Junhee thought it might have been better to just take the hit.
He bit his lower lip slightly before speaking.
“I clearly said earlier that I don’t need it.”
“Then should we go shopping together every time there’s a schedule, like last time?”
“…”
“Regardless, the partner’s outfit shouldn’t be something that embarrasses my face. After all, those people are quite something. Though, personally, I’d prefer it if Assistant Yoo were naked.”
Junhee’s ears began to turn red. Ki Taeryu patted Junhee’s stiff shoulders as if to brush off the dust.
“Think of it as a maintenance expense. It’s just pocket change anyway.”
Pocket change. The set of clothes alone cost more than a thousand, not just a hundred.
The saliva in his mouth felt particularly bitter.
He lived in a world vastly different from his own, where he struggled each month to pay rent and utility bills of just over a hundred thousand won.
He was worlds apart from someone who could nonchalantly handle the expense of a box of imported snacks costing 30,000 won each.
Ki Taeryu shook the finger holding the card in front of Junhee’s eyes and then slipped it into Junhee’s pocket.
“I’ll do my best to help you save face,” Junhee added in a small voice.
“Sigh… It’s the same thing again.”
Junhee was reflecting on yesterday’s events, crumpling the corner of the paper.
Why did he grab the offer like a starving person, even though it would have been enough to just say he’d consider it and get back to me?
As a result, although the proposal was initiated by them, it seemed like I was the one desperately hoping for the meeting.
Normally, his rationality functioned with icy precision, but it was as if it was completely incapacitated when it came to Ki Taeryu.
It might have been that damn pheromone, or maybe Ki Taeryu had a psychological knack for pressuring and squeezing others.
And then there was the card he had brought.
The thought that my relationship with Ki Taeryu had shifted from a simple superior-subordinate dynamic to something more like a sponsorship wouldn’t leave his mind.
“……Sir?”
Someone tapped Junhee’s elbow, pulling him out of his reverie.
“Assistant Yoo!”
Thanks to that, Junhee snapped out of his thoughts, but by the time he regained his composure, he was already under the scrutiny of several pairs of eyes in the conference room.
Everyone was looking at Junhee with puzzled expressions.
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
Junhee gathered his printed materials, took the wireless presenter remote, and stepped to the front.
“Next, we will have the performance report for our four couples this month. First, please look at the graph showing the trend of new member increases…”
After Junhee’s presentation ended smoothly, the performance reports of the other teams followed.
As the meeting concluded, the projector was turned off and the lights were brightened.
While people began to leave the conference room one by one, someone stopped Junhee, who was standing near the exit.
“Assistant Yoo.”
It was CEO Lee, who had been watching Junhee throughout the meeting.
“Could we talk for a moment?”
* * *
Gracias