* * *
He must have dozed off briefly after rolling around on his pillow, unable to fall asleep.
But then his eyes suddenly snapped open, and he grabbed his phone to check the time.
“Ugh… Why?! Why did I wake up an hour early?!”
This was unfair.
He needed more sleep.
Maybe his body was still in high alert from working late, but somehow, he had woken up even earlier than usual.
“No. Sleep more. You can do this.”
He muttered to himself and shut his eyes.
Took deep breaths.
Tried to clear his mind.
Pulled the blanket over his head, rolled to one side, then to the other.
He desperately tried to fall back asleep.
It didn’t work.
Instead, he became more awake.
Damn it. At this point, he had to give up.
“Sigh…”
With no choice left, he dragged himself out of bed.
His tousled hair bore the marks of his struggle.
He stepped into the bathroom for a shower, then came out feeling somewhat refreshed.
Since he was up early anyway, he figured he might as well eat a proper breakfast.
“Hmm… Let’s go with a traditional meal today.”
A Korean’s strength comes from rice.
Who knew what kind of grueling workday awaited him? He had to be prepared.
As he heated up side dishes and soup, his phone buzzed with a short notification.
“Who’s messaging this early?”
Tilting his head in curiosity, he tapped the screen and checked the sender’s name, then tilted his head again.
“Dad?”
The message was from his omega father.
[Dad: Wookyung, are you awake? Sorry for messaging you so early. I have some business near your company today. If you’re free, would you like to meet up?]
Come to think of it, he had been told to stop by a few days ago but had completely forgotten.
It was because of the sudden surge of work at the office, but that was his problem, not an excuse.
[Me: Dad, I’m sorry. I meant to call you, but I got so busy that I forgot. When will you be here? Of course, I’d love to see you.]
His father, who usually only checked in to ask how he was doing, had now asked to meet twice.
At this point, it was hard not to be concerned that something was going on.
Whether or not he could make time was uncertain, but he intended to try his best.
And sure enough, Dad replied, asking if they could have lunch together.
[Me: Sure. I’ll check in again once I get to work.
Dad: Okay. If you’re too busy, we can meet another time, so don’t push yourself.
Me: It’s fine. I have to eat lunch anyway.]
Even though he said that, he wasn’t entirely sure it would be possible.
The overwhelming workload Director Choi had dumped on him made it questionable.
“So that’s why I woke up so early.”
It must’ve been because of this.
He needed to get to work an hour early, finish up as much as possible, and then have lunch with his omega father.
After hurrying to get ready, he left the house.
Luck was on his side—he arrived at the station just in time to board the train.
A quick scan of his surroundings showed that the car was less crowded than usual, likely due to the early hour.
That didn’t mean there were any available seats, though, so he needed to keep an eye out.
His commute had only one transfer point, but there were two areas where the passenger flow was high.
That meant he had to gauge who was likely to stand up and move in quickly.
The fact that he had caught an early train allowed him to play this little game.
‘Nice.’
Sure enough, as soon as they passed the next station, a seat in front of him opened up.
Today seemed to be going well.
Without hesitation, he took the seat and pulled out his phone.
It had been so long since he commuted at a leisurely pace that he wasn’t sure what to do with the extra time.
He ended up aimlessly browsing a major portal site, hopping from page to page.
Then, a long banner ad caught his eye.
[Has That Beta’s Secret Been Exposed?!]
A beta, of all things.
And the wording made it sound like they were hiding something.
What kind of secrets would a beta have?
Maybe… they were in the same situation as him.
One day, their body burns up with fever, their limbs ache all over, breathing becomes difficult, and they pass out—only to wake up and find that their genetic traits have changed.
‘Though in my case, I got an extra feature.’
Sometimes, reality was even more novel-like than fiction.
He quickly lost interest in the article and killed time watching a few short videos before arriving at his stop.
It was definitely an early hour—normally, he would’ve spotted more office workers heading in the same direction, but today, the station was unusually empty.
‘Well, I mean… who in their right mind would come in early if they didn’t have to?’
If not for meeting his omega father, Wookyung wouldn’t have considered going to work an hour early either.
In the end, wasn’t ten minutes before start time enough?
Sometimes, you had to embrace the thrill of stepping in just one or two minutes before the clock hit nine.
“Oh! Assistant Manager Gil?”
Just as he was scanning his ID badge at the company lobby, a familiar voice called out.
“Lee Hyojeong? What brings you here so early?”
“Oh, I always come in at this time.”
Wookyung blankly stared at the young employee who had just dropped an absurd statement so nonchalantly.
Had he ever been like that?
…No. Definitely not.
Manager Shin had always been adamant about no overtime and encouraging people to leave on time.
No one under him would’ve been told to show up early.
“Why all the enthusiasm…?”
Was it because she was still new to the company?
“Huh?”
“Nothing. Just saying you’re diligent.”
He shook his head as if he hadn’t said anything.
“Not really. I argue with my mom every morning about it.”
“You have trouble waking up?”
“Yeah, a little. I set five alarms, but still….”
She flashed a sheepish smile, dimples showing.
They rode the elevator together, and she pressed the button for the planning team’s floor before also selecting Wookyung’s stop.
“Thanks.”
“Haha, no problem.”
This was awkward.
When would they reach his floor?
If there was at least one more person inside, it wouldn’t be so bad, but making conversation one-on-one was tricky.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you come in this early before, Assistant Manager Gil.”
As he anxiously watched the changing numbers, Lee Hyojeong spoke up again.
“Yeah, I have some work to do today.”
“I guess the TF team is really busy. What kind of boss is Director Choi?”
“Ah….”
She was looking at him expectantly.
Should he be honest?
About how on his first day, he had been buried under an avalanche of tasks and forced to work overtime?
And how Director Choi had vanished after getting called to the CEO’s office?
And how he later showed up with tuna sashimi as an apology?
Saying it was his way of making amends?
Even calling a cab for him afterward?
Wookyung had let it slide with just a small, petty revenge.
“Oh! We’re here. Have a great day, Assistant Manager!”
Fortunately, before he had to respond, the elevator stopped at his floor.
“Yeah. You too, Hyojeong.”
They waved goodbye as the doors closed.
“If you really want to know what Director Choi is like… you’ll find out soon enough.”
Thinking about what lay ahead, Wookyung sighed heavily.
In no time, the high-speed elevator reached his destination.
Stepping into the quiet hallway, he was reminded that this floor was exclusively used by the Business Strategy Division.
That alone showed how seriously the company was taking this project.
‘But what exactly is the plan?’
Since the team had only just been assembled yesterday, the specifics were still unclear.
However, considering Choi had requested all planning documents from the past three years, it was safe to assume this was a large-scale project.
That was probably why the TF team had been created in the first place.
Lost in thought, he arrived at the office and pushed the door open without much consideration—only to pause.
“Huh? Director Choi?”
He blinked.
But no, he wasn’t mistaken.
Sitting by the window, fully immersed in his work, was Director Choi.
Strangely, his clothes looked almost identical to what he had been wearing yesterday.
“Did you not go home?”
“Nope. Had some things to take care of.”
Choi said it so casually, as if pulling an all-nighter was no big deal.
Wookyung stared blankly.
Was he lying?
His face was too fresh.
He didn’t even look tired.
Just as suspicion started creeping in—
“What about you, Assistant Manager Gil? I thought you usually arrived ten minutes before work started.”
Wait, how did he know that? Sure, he ran into Lee Hyojeong earlier, but she saw him every day.
“Well, there’s a lot to do.”
“I told you it could wait until tomorrow.”
“I also have lunch plans later.”
Taking the opportunity, Wookyung subtly hinted that he’d be stepping out later.
Hopefully, Choi wouldn’t object.
“I see. Understood.”
To his surprise, Choi nodded without hesitation and returned to his work.
‘…What’s with him?’
Something felt off. But at least he got permission.
As for why Choi hadn’t gone home… well, that wasn’t his concern.
No need to be nosy about the boss’s business.
* * *
