10 rules of a Secretary chapter 99

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“This is the CEO’s former fiancée. And this… well, it’s merely an inevitable mishap during the schedule adjustment process,” he said, picking up a towel with his other hand to wipe the dampness lingering uncomfortably on his neck.

Loosening his tie and undoing two buttons, he pressed the towel into the nape of his neck.

“Today was a bit much, I admit…”

After roughly drying himself off, he patted his shoulders to absorb any remaining moisture and neatly folded the towel that had been carelessly draped around him.

What a waste of towels, he thought, as he folded a few and placed them on a nearby shelf.

Just as he was about to sit down again, he felt his body sway, the slippery floor catching him off guard because of his damp socks.

As he began to lose his balance, Doha’s broad hand caught him around the waist.

But in their precarious position, Doha, too, started to tumble with him.

Without time for even a gasp, they fell together into the bathtub, tangled.

“Uh…”

When he opened his eyes, Doha was hovering over him in a dangerously close position.

One arm held his waist, while the other propped against the bathroom wall, his heavy breaths echoing loudly in the acoustics of the bathroom.

“I… I apologize. Um… I mean…”

Struggling to push Doha off him, he reached out to grab something and pull himself up.

At that moment, his hand slipped, and the sunflower showerhead above them sprayed water.

Reflexively, he raised his arm to shield his face, tightly closing his eyes.

But unexpectedly, no water fell on him.

Opening his eyes cautiously, he found that Doha had covered him entirely, shielding him from the spray.

It was a stark contrast to the moment earlier when he’d been soaking helplessly.

“…”

“…”

The shower gushed down with a refreshing sound.

Doha’s white shirt clung to his skin, revealing his defined muscles underneath the translucent fabric.

The sight of his firm, toned muscles was both mesmerizing and impossible to ignore, a tangible warmth and weight pressed close against him.

He couldn’t help but swallow dryly as he took in the sight of Doha’s chest muscles, familiar from countless weekends, subtly twitching with each breath.

A flush of warmth surged, especially as his gaze unintentionally lingered on the subtle contours visible through the buttons of his shirt.

Hastily, he averted his gaze.

“…”

Doha’s hazel eyes, shadowed and intense, were fixed on him, a steady gaze as if he’d only ever looked at him.

The intensity in Doha’s eyes seemed unwavering, almost consuming.

Summoning the strength to gently push against Doha’s thigh, he watched as Doha reached to turn off the shower, his hand grazing his neck momentarily, causing him to flinch from the brief contact.

The bathroom, once filled with noise, suddenly grew heavy with silence.

Doha’s eyes, shadowed in a deep hazel hue, rested on him quietly, their intent unreadable.

The man who had once seemed so familiar now felt distant, almost unreachable.

The water dripped from his jawline in thick droplets, splashing heavily onto his own soaked shirt.

Each droplet, seemingly small, resonated with an almost tangible weight in his chest.

Their gazes remained locked, bound as if neither could look away.

His fingertips trembled briefly, and he fought the urge to wipe the water from Doha’s jawline, to thank him instead of apologizing.

Words rushed unbidden into his mind, crowding his thoughts and filling his mouth.

As the number of droplets decreased, Doha’s eyes slowly closed.

He took a deep breath, his chest expanding noticeably.

“Hah…”

With a heavy exhale, Doha rose, wiping the water from his cheek with the back of his hand.

As he stepped out of the tub, he pulled a fresh towel from a closed shelf and tossed it to him.

“Get cleaned up,” he murmured softly.

By the time he looked up, the door was already closed.

Sitting there, towel in hand, he tried to ignore his racing heartbeat, brushing his hands over his face.

His face was hot, his entire body warming instead of cooling despite the water.

Inside his closed eyes, Doha’s gaze lingered, etched in his memory.

He lightly tapped his cheek with the back of his hand and let out a deep sigh.

---

Doha, who had briefly stepped out to get medicine, grew impatient even with that short separation.

Returning quickly to the hotel room, he felt a strange sense of relief at the familiar scent that filled the room.

It seemed Seonyul had fallen asleep in his absence, a subtle, lingering pheromone in the air as evidence.

Moving further inside, he noticed the scent was both fresh and warm, closer to that of an Omega’s scent despite its odd resemblance to an Alpha’s.

For some reason, the scent was strong and pervasive, though it should have been faint and barely traceable, given his suppression habits.

But ever since stopping the suppressants, the scent had intensified, as if it wanted to dominate, to surpass even Doha’s own.

Doha decided not to dwell on it, locking the door behind him.

Following the faint scent, he eventually found Seonyul, his beautiful figure curled up, dozing on the small table by the window.

Yul’s delicate, fair calves peeked out from under his fluffy robe, and though his thigh was barely visible, he seemed to be deep in sleep, unmoving.

Doha resisted the urge to kiss those slender legs, to rub his cheek against that soft skin.

Perhaps some would call it strange, but he doubted anyone could hold back such impulses around someone as enchanting as Seonyul.

Doha gently shook Seonyul’s shoulder, but he waved it off, mumbling as he drifted back to sleep.

It wasn’t the first time Doha noticed that once Seonyul fell asleep, he was slow to fully awaken.

“Yul-ah…”

“Mmm…”

Even half-asleep, Seonyul’s soft mumbling was endearing.

His long lashes fluttered briefly before settling down, as if too tired to stay awake.

Given how Doha kept him up every night, it was no wonder Seonyul was sleep-deprived.

Doha’s pheromones directly affected Seonyul, stabilizing him recently.

As the doctor suggested, it was an efficient way to help, though it came with a frequency that surprised even Doha.

Despite the exhaustion, Seonyul’s Omega pheromones persisted in defying Doha’s dominant presence.

It was perplexing yet reassuring, proving Seonyul’s resilience.

For now, brushing the troubling thoughts aside, Doha traced his fingers along Seonyul’s cheek gently.

‘Then let’s go, meet the prospective bridegroom.’

Upon hearing those words at the vacation spot, Doha finally understood the source of his unease.

No matter how meticulously he planned, ensuring not even a fly approached Seonyul, it would all be pointless if Seonyul’s feelings didn’t shift, even just a little.

Seeing Seonyul unable to relax, Doha chose to step back.

For now, he’d retreat and wait for another time.

That’s how the unplanned return home happened.

When an out-of-cycle rut hit him at a marriage meeting he attended to reject, Doha decided to endure it.

The influence Seonyul’s pheromones had on him was strong enough to disrupt his cycle, so waiting and holding back were something he’d grown accustomed to by now.

“Han Doha!”

When Seonyul appeared in his vision like an illusion, Doha couldn’t help but laugh at himself.

Now he was seeing things; he must be going mad.

“Seonyul…”

He wished it had been the real Seonyul.

The hollow laughter came with that hopeless thought.

“Doha, I’m still on vacation.”

At that small, casual remark, his whole body’s cells seemed to awaken.

Following the instinct that whispered for him to rush over, he let his body move.

What followed felt a little easier.

Moving closer to Seonyul, who no longer had a home, he found glimpses of Seonyul’s heart in the cracks that had formed.

Waking up in the same house, sharing meals, having one toothbrush become two, filling the once-empty space with warmth.

Everything became smoother, flowing naturally like water.

Sometimes, Seonyul would look at Doha with an expression that was hard to read, but he never pulled back his offered hand.

Doha didn’t plan to address the secret until Seonyul himself was ready to reveal it.

He couldn’t pry open a secret that Seonyul clearly didn’t want to share.

Past experiences had already taught him this.

Seonyul was keen on hiding that fact. I

f so, he’d simply play along as needed.

One day, if Seonyul shyly confessed, Doha wondered what expression he’d make to comfort him and assure him it was okay.

The more he imagined, the closer he felt to Seonyul. It was an arrogant, foolish judgment.

“Do you know that Seonyul’s alone?”

It was a call from Ha Eunjoo.

“Yes, I know.”

He was aware that Seonyul had gone to meet with the Chairman to discuss schedules.

That’s what the last update he’d checked had said.

He hadn’t questioned Seonyul’s absence, understanding it as Seonyul’s way of sparing him from worry.

But Eunju’s response was unexpected.

“Then you must know he’s at our hotel right now, too?”

Before the question of “Why?” even crossed his mind, his body was already on its way to the hotel.

There, he found Seonyul, irritably brushing back his damp hair.

“Why did you hide it?”

“Because it’s something I had to do.”

It was clear Seonyul didn’t give a single thought to Doha’s feelings.

No, he probably didn’t care at all.

The person he knew as Seonyul drew a firm line with others.

Outwardly friendly, appearing kind enough, but that wasn’t his true nature.

Seonyul wasn’t interested in emotional exchanges with others.

Doha, who’d seen this closest up, had witnessed it firsthand.

A few years back, a new attorney in the legal team once tried confessing to Seonyul, only to be met with, “Yes, I like you too. But isn’t the legal team on the floor below? What brings you to the 32nd floor…?”

Back then, Doha had thought it was a novel way to reject someone, but over time, he realized it hadn’t even been a rejection.

Now and then, people with ulterior motives would bring Seonyul’s favorite drinks or snacks, but he refused them all.

Though it seemed like a firm stance against both giving and receiving, it was deeper than that.

Seonyul didn’t register baseless kindness or think for a moment that others might actually like him.

Though Seonyul was sensitive to others’ reactions, if it was directed at him, he dismissed it lightly and moved on.

The day Doha first imprinted on Seonyul, he instinctively realized: if he unleashed his feelings recklessly, if he voiced them aloud, Seonyul would dismiss even Doha’s deepest emotions as nonsense.

Until Seonyul faced his own true feelings, he’d easily disregard Doha’s sincerity.

That’s why he couldn’t speak easily.

He feared his feelings would be brushed off as just another passing word.

Why was it so difficult?

Seonyul, why are you such a difficult person?

And why did I fall for someone this challenging?

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