* * *
That morning, there was a meeting to review the new brochure proposals for Company K.
The entire design team, including Yoonwoo, Dojin, and Minjae, were gathered in the conference room.
Yoonwoo reviewed the proposals prepared by the team members one by one, giving feedback.
His voice carried a sharp insight.
The meeting atmosphere was generally calm, but when it was Minjae’s turn, the air subtly changed.
“Mr. Minjae, this proposal doesn’t align with Company K’s brand guidelines at all.”
Yoonwoo pointed out calmly, zooming in on a specific part of the tablet screen.
“The specified logo usage standards are violated, and you arbitrarily changed the core color palette. Especially this sub-color, it’s a color that should not be used…”
“Excuse me? Violation of the guidelines?”
Minjae slightly frowned and retorted.
A hint of undisguised defiance and a slight condescension could be heard in his tone.
“Of course, I didn’t follow the existing guidelines exactly. But considering Company K’s target audience and the latest trends, the existing guidelines are too conservative. My proposal is an attempt to modernize and reinterpret those guidelines to maximize the effect. So, I actually improved upon the guidelines.”
He spoke confidently, as if his judgment were correct.
“To be honest, I think being too tied to the rules, like the Senior Designer, can actually stifle creativity. Well, that might be a Beta characteristic, but shouldn’t a more flexible perspective be needed for emotional branding work like this?”
His words sounded like a professional opinion on design, but they implicitly suggested the nuance that ‘You, being a Beta, lack this flexibility or sense.’
It was a clear challenge to Yoonwoo’s leadership, judgment, and implicitly, his secondary gender.
The air in the conference room instantly turned icy cold.
The other team members were flustered, glancing at each other or just flipping through irrelevant papers.
Yoonwoo’s heart chilled instantly, but he showed no outward reaction.
He was sick and tired of confronting this kind of prejudice and disrespect.
He quickly regained his composure.
“Mr. Minjae.”
Yoonwoo spoke in a voice that was lower and colder than usual, yet unwavering.
“Design is not an artist’s personal work of art. It is the job of a professional to respect the client’s goals and brand assets and produce the best results within the given guidelines. If you judge the guidelines to be conservative, the proper sequence is to discuss and revise them with the client based on evidence, not for the designer to arbitrarily violate them. Brand guidelines are a promise that must be kept, and creativity must be exercised upon that promise. Revise it and bring it back.”
His words were logical and irrefutable, and his gaze contained only objective coldness, devoid of any emotion.
Minjae seemed to want to argue his point further when his logic was blocked, but he eventually bit his lip in frustration and returned to his seat without further protest.
Watching this, Dojin clenched and unclenched his fists.
He was furious at Minjae’s absurd rudeness, but at the same time, he once again admired Yoonwoo’s ability to remain centered and unwavering even in such a situation.
*
Yoonwoo tried to appear unfazed as he concluded the meeting, but a deep fatigue washed over him when he returned to his desk.
The reality that he still had to clash with this kind of prejudice, even after returning to Seoul and proving his ability, exhausted him.
He pressed his throbbing temples and held his head for a moment.
It was just time for lunch, so he went out alone to clear his head.
Yoonwoo had lost his appetite and grabbed a quick lunch.
When he returned to the office, he stopped short, noticing an unexpected item on his desk.
A takeout cup that still had a hint of warmth.
Next to it was a small sticky note.
[Gaeul says cheer up, Senior Designer! Have something sweet and feel better! :)]
The handwriting was neat and clean, just like his personality.
Yoonwoo knew whose note it was right away.
It was Dojin’s clumsy but consistent way of comforting him, which had continued since their first meeting.
He smiled softly but sincerely, without realizing it.
He took a sip, and the warm, sweet taste of chocolate latte lingered in his mouth.
It was the exact drink Dojin had ordered for him on a day in Jeju when he was struggling in front of the lemon tea.
Dojin was still comforting Yoonwoo, in his own way.
Yoonwoo cupped the warm mug with both hands.
It felt as if the warm sunlight of Jeju was seeping into him again, melting away a corner of his hardened heart.
The unpleasantness and fatigue he had felt because of Minjae that morning seemed to melt away like snow.
He looked up and scanned the office.
His eyes met Dojin’s, who was pretending to be busy at his desk.
Dojin seemed slightly surprised when their eyes met, but he then smiled faintly at Yoonwoo with a shy yet warm look.
It was as if he was asking, ‘Are you okay?’ It was a comfort greater than any words.
Yoonwoo didn’t avoid his gaze.
He gave a very small, almost imperceptible nod and a slight smile.
Then, he turned his attention back to the chocolate latte on his desk and took another sip.
The drink was as sweet as his mood.
*
That afternoon, Minjae, who had been sharply criticized by Yoonwoo in the conference room, was sullenly brewing coffee in the break room.
He scoffed at another designer who happened to be nearby.
“Ugh, this is so annoying. My proposal is clearly much more sophisticated, but being a Beta, he’s so rigid and only talks about guidelines!”
He slammed his coffee cup down irritably.
“Shhh… Mr. Minjae, someone might hear you.”
The colleague looked displeased and did not want to listen to him, but Minjae ignored him.
He only pretended to lower his voice a little, but the dissatisfaction and sarcasm contained within were not concealed.
“I don’t care if they hear me! Shouldn’t design be a bit more flexible? You have to read the client’s desired sensibility and the latest trends! How long are we going to stick to outdated rules? That’s why he can’t understand the ‘creativity’ of my design. So frustrating.”
He implicitly suggested that his Omega sensitivity was superior.
“Still, he’s the Senior Designer… there must be a reason.”
“Reason my foot! He’s just jealous because I’m better than him! Since he’s a Beta and can never achieve that refined sense, isn’t he just nitpicking everything?”
Minjae said, convinced of his point.
“That’s why his Alpha of eight years dumped him! Who would date such a dull, boring Beta for long? In the end, they all go to the sensitive Omegas, I’m telling you.”
He even dragged Yoonwoo’s personal life into the conversation to justify his argument.
It was a cowardly display, refusing to acknowledge his own shortcomings and blaming everything on Yoonwoo’s ‘Beta’ secondary gender.
“It’s clear he parachuted into the Senior Designer position just by being close to CEO Kang. And the clients who praise Seo Yoonwoo, Seo Yoonwoo, are just curious because he’s a rare case. Ugh, I don’t know why Mr. Kim Dojin is under someone like that. Such a talented Alpha… he’d advance much faster if he learned from me.”
He openly expressed his disappointment regarding Dojin and his dissatisfaction with Yoonwoo.
His voice was full of envy and jealousy.
The conversation, tragically, pierced Yoonwoo’s ears just as he was heading to the break room to get some water.
His footsteps halted instantly, and his heart plummeted coldly.
A familiar sense of déjà vu washed over him.
It was a strange illusion, as if time had flowed backward, and he was standing in the university library lounge again.
It had been the same back then.
The cruel words hurled at him: ‘A mere Beta acting coy,’ ‘What can a Beta possibly do, even if he tries?’, ‘In the end, he’ll just be a lackey under an Alpha or an Omega…’
The voices that mocked and belittled him then seemed to overlap exactly with Minjae’s voice now.
The place, the time, and the people had changed, but the judgment against Yoonwoo had not changed at all.
No matter how much he tried to prove himself with skill, no matter how hard he pushed forward, he was still just a figure gossiped about under the label of ‘Beta.’
The cold despair and helplessness he had felt back then once again overwhelmed Yoonwoo.
The countless words of contempt and disregard aimed at him, the label of his secondary gender, and now the vulgarity of bringing up his past relationship.
The old wound instantly pricked him sharply. He involuntarily hunched his shoulders.
Dojin, who also happened to be heading to the break room for coffee, overheard the conversation as well.
His face instantly froze over.
‘How dare that crazy bastard talk about the Senior Designer like that…!’
Fury surged up, and he was about to move towards Minjae.
* * *
