* * *
What a shock.
The novel is over, and yet the main couple is breaking up?
Sure, in an epilogue, a crisis like this might come up… but still.
“Why…?”
“I’m just tired.”
“Oh.”
It was only one word, but Wookyung could understand what Manager Shin must have felt to make such a decision.
“I really feel like I’ve had enough. I just want it to be over.”
Shin let out a heavy sigh, his gaze falling to the ground.
“I loved Director Min. I really did. But I never imagined that loving him would make me the weaker one. Fine, I could’ve lived with that. But at the very least, if you love someone—if someone loves you—shouldn’t they be on your side?”
But Director Min wasn’t.
He was always looking over his shoulder at his mother, never once standing firmly or showing trust in any of those critical moments.
To be honest, even Wookyung had often wondered if that guy was really the “main character” material.
“I took your advice. I told him honestly—how I felt suffocated by the CEO’s interference, how the constant pressure to get married was exhausting.”
Shin let out a bitter laugh and looked up.
“I even told him everything I’d been holding back about what his mother said to me over the years. Like how if I’m an Omega, I should act like one and just have a kid. Or how I was ruining the future of a promising young Alpha by using the company as an excuse. And that I should stop being difficult and just go home and prepare for pregnancy.”
“…Wow.”
Wookyung had seen up close just how hard Shin worked, how passionate he was about his job.
Thanks to his leadership, Planning Team 1 had become one of the top-performing departments in the entire company.
That success helped Min’s image with the executives, too.
‘Even if most of the credit was eaten away by his personal life.’
On the flip side, manager Shin’s achievements were often downplayed because of his known relationship with Min.
‘What a waste. Even thinking about it now, Manager Shin really deserved better.’
So yeah, he should be supported in this decision.
But… could Manager Shin really let go of Director Min?
If he could, he wouldn’t have let things drag on for this long in the first place.
“But do you know what I really couldn’t take anymore? That bastard Min actually said, ‘That’s why I suggested we have a kid.’ Like, seriously?”
Shin laughed bitterly, half in disbelief.
“Is Director Min out of his mind?!”
Wookyung blurted out the words before he could stop himself, then glanced nervously at Manager Shin.
Maybe that was a bit too harsh?
“Exactly! How could he say that?! After everything I’ve gone through because of his mom—how many times did I just let it slide? But now, I just… can’t anymore.”
“You made the right call.”
“You think so?”
“Yes. What does he even have going for him? Everything he has is thanks to his family. He didn’t do a single thing properly on his own.”
“Right? I’m the one who dragged his ass through college!”
“Exactly! You turned him into a decent human being, and he still doesn’t get it!”
Before long, Wookyung had forgotten where they were and was too busy cheering Manager Shin on.
“Just break up with him. There’s nothing left to think about.”
“You really think so?”
“Of course. Fifteen years is more than enough.”
“…Yeah. You’re right. Hey, Wookyung. You’ve helped us out a lot over the years, haven’t you?”
That sentence made Wookyung snap back to attention.
That was the kind of line someone says right before asking for a huge favor.
“Can you give me your opinion this time too?”
“About what?”
“Just quitting the company won’t be enough to break things off cleanly with Min. You know how persistent and clingy he is.”
“Well, yeah, he’s kind of like that…”
Maybe not “clingy,” but he definitely stuck to Manager Shin like glue.
Even in the original story, he kept chasing Shin even after they became adults—a tenacious Alpha to the core.
But would he really go that far even after a breakup?
Still, CEO Choi probably wouldn’t just sit back and let that happen.
“If he keeps chasing me after we break up, there’s no way the chairman’s going to let me off the hook. So I need to cut Min off completely. Wookyung, what do you think is the best way to do that?”
It was a question, but Wookyung had the feeling Manager Shin already had an answer in mind.
Maybe he just needed someone to give him a little push.
“Out of sight, out of mind. Why not go somewhere he won’t be able to find you?”
“I knew it.”
Yeah, looks like that’s what Manager Shin was planning all along.
Seeing the gleam in his eyes gave Wookyung a weird feeling.
Even a pair like them, tied together by fate as Alpha and Omega, was breaking up.
Could he really stay with Saheon for the long haul?
“…Ah.”
Suddenly, Wookyung realized why he hadn’t been able to give Saheon a proper answer.
That’s what it was.
That’s why.
“Wookyung? What’s wrong?”
“Hyung… When you started dating Director Min, did you ever think there might be a future like this? I mean… did you really say yes to being with him, even not knowing if you might break up someday?”
Manager Shin stared off into the distance, as if remembering the past.
“No, I don’t think I ever thought about stuff like that back then. I just really liked Director Min. I just wanted to be with him. Honestly… we were young, both of us. Maybe that’s why things ended up this way.”
“Do you regret it?”
“No, I don’t.”
Really?
After being made into the weaker one, after hearing such awful things because of him, after all this pain?
“That’s just… how I felt back then.”
“What about now?”
“Now, things have changed. That’s just how it is. But I don’t regret the past. I just feel… sad.”
Sad? About what? That they couldn’t have a future together? Or that they didn’t break up sooner?
“I just wish we’d had more honest conversations. That we’d spent more time building trust in each other before anyone could come between us.”
Shin had somehow given Wookyung the exact answer he didn’t know he needed.
“So Wookyung, don’t make the same mistake. Think things through carefully before you start dating someone. Talk a lot. Figure out what it really means to care for each other. It’s not too late to get together after that.”
At some point, Manager Shin had turned to look directly at Wookyung.
“We were too young and naive. That’s why everything started in such a half-baked way. And now, it’s too hard to fix it. Don’t let that happen to you.”
“…Okay.”
Wookyung didn’t know if Manager Shin was saying all this because he knew something.
But he simply nodded in response.
“You’re always on my side, right, Wookyung?”
“Of course.”
“Thanks.”
They chatted about little things for a bit before parting ways.
Manager Shin said he was going to take a walk to clear his head, and Wookyung returned to the office.
Just as he was about to sit down, he noticed Saheon’s empty seat.
Quietly, he pulled out his phone to check.
He was probably still up in the air… but you never know.
But as expected, there was still no word.
Even after sitting down, he hesitated for a moment—wondering whether or not to send Saheon a message to let him know he’d arrived.
Before he could decide, a new notification popped up on his messenger.
From none other than Associate Choi, who was sitting right next to him.
“What the…?”
Why would he bother?
Associate Choi: Assistant Manager.
That was it.
Just three words.
But the typing indicator kept blinking, as if there was still more he wanted to say.
Wookyung turned his head.
Sure enough, Associate Choi was fidgeting with his fingers, clearly nervous.
“Mr. Choi Siwon.”
At the sound of his name, Associate Choi flinched and looked over at him.
“What is it? What’s going on?”
“Ah, um, well…”
Associate Choi couldn’t answer right away, his eyes darting around.
‘What now?’
Did he screw something up?
Lose some important data?
As Wookyung ran through all the possibilities in his head, another alert popped up from the messenger.
[Associate Choi: I kept thinking about it, and I really think you should know.
Associate Choi: Saheon took leave because of his rut. He’s not on a business trip.]
Wookyung blinked at the messages as they appeared one after another.
‘’Rut?’
That… hadn’t been mentioned.
But now, he could recall how feverish Saheon’s forehead had felt, and how he seemed more languid than usual.
‘Why? Why would Saheon hide that from me?’
Alphas usually have a fairly predictable rut cycle.
Especially dominant ones.
He would’ve had plenty of chances to tell me.
[Associate Choi: Also… I just happened to overhear this earlier.
Associate Choi: The CEO sent an omega to Saheon’s place to help him through his rut…]
He couldn’t read the rest.
Clatter!
His chair screeched as it was pushed back violently.
Wookyung grabbed only his phone and wallet and rushed out of the office.
People called out to him in surprise from behind, but he didn’t look back.
The only thoughts echoing in his head were: ‘Saheon is in rut. And someone else—a different omega—is with him.’
* * *
Damn, I would call the police and press charges because of prostitution and sexual harassment if I were him, going with a full scale war, even if nothing happens.