chapter 17

A few hours must have passed. It's

probably less than two hours. Se-hyeon rubbed his tired eyes. After drinking a lot of coffee yesterday, he barely managed to

fall asleep in the early morning, so now his entire body felt exhausted and fatigued.

If possible, he wanted to find a place to lie down and sleep, but today he had to follow Shin Tae-oh's busy schedule, as it was his fate to accompany him.

"I need to be particularly alert today."

Because today was the day when the characters from the original work gathered in one place. There was a product launch event at Ha Min-hyuk's company, and both Shin Tae-oh and Yoo Jin-ha would be attending. Moreover, the two indispensable antagonists, Ha Jin-seong and Ha Jin-woong, would also be there, making it a thrilling and tight schedule.

"Ha Jin-seong, Ha Min-hyuk."

The two individuals with the same last name were brothers. So, when you add Ha Jin-woong in the middle, they become three brothers. The reason why the two above-mentioned individuals were classified as villains was simple. Ha Min-hyuk was a bastard child born to his father from another omega. Therefore, he was always in a position of being

tormented, but he bravely held his ground

and eventually pushed his two brothers aside. Starting with this product launch event, Ha Min-hyuk would be entrusted with even bigger projects and would acquire the strength to fight against Ha Jin-seong. There was one thing I had to do in the midst of their rivalry.

"To protect the weakling in a whale's fight."

Se-hyeon adjusted his tie reflected in the elevator mirror, gathering his

determination. Yoo Jin-ha was Ha Min-hyuk's lover, so there was nothing he could do about it, but it wasn't Shin

Tae-oh.

Although he was an important character in the story who wouldn't be swayed, he couldn't help but feel uneasy.

"I have to protect him."

Since he was the only one who knew the original work. Se-hyeon, who had cleared his sleepness and regained his composure, stepped out of the elevator with a determined gaze.

"Good morning."

Shin Tae-oh, who had been waiting after finishing all the preparations, looked at Se-hyeon with a strange expression.

"You seem different from usual."

"Is that so?"

Normally, when someone says "You seem different," they would either ask if you didn't get enough sleep or inquire about what's changed. But Se-hyeon brushed it off casually. The moment he entertained conversations like this, the line between the boss and the secretary could blur. So, he suppressed a different response... but...

"Are you going to a battlefield or something? You seem strangely combative."

Se-hyeon was slightly taken aback because he had accurately assessed his state of mind.

"No, I didn't."

Se-hyeon, who lied to cover up the situation, hoped that Shin Tae-oh would just let this conversation pass. He couldn't bring himself to say something like,

'I'm trying to protect you.'

"Well, if that's how the secretary is."

It was more suspicious that it was easily dismissed than he had expected, but Se-hyeon stepped aside for now. As Shin Tae-oh entered the room, he turned back towards Se-hyeon.

"Is there something lacking today?"

It was a question that meant something like,

"How about taking a look before leaving home?"

Se-hyeon carefully examined Shin Tae-oh's face. His handsome face that he saw every day passed inspection. The suit that accentuated his figure and the combination with the necktie that suited him perfectly were also flawless.

"No, there isn't."

"How about comparing me to someone else?"

Why would he want to compare himself to someone else? It was getting really childish, but Se-hyeon gave him the answer he wanted to hear.

"You are the most handsome, sir."

"That's a strange thing to say."

"Pardon?"

He couldn't understand why it was considered strange when he gave the answer Shin Tae-oh wanted to hear.

"I've already been used to 'you're handsome before'. Don't you have anything else to say?"

He had praised him, showing admiration and how impressive... Well, something along those lines. But it seemed like it wasn't enough. Since it had come to this, he needed to come up with another compliment. What could it be?

"You're very good-looking."

After all, the simpler the compliment, the better it works.

"That's too cliché."

Shin Tae-oh shook his head as if he had heard that phrase too many times.

"Anything else?"

The corner of Shin Tae-oh's mouth raised whenever he was praised but he tried to maintain blank face as if already heard those complement and asked more from se-hyeon.

***

"Sir, hello."

Yoo Jin-ha, who was chatting with the company staff, spotted Shin Tae-oh and approached him. As others noticed and greeted him one by one, Shin Tae-oh gestured inside.

"Why are you waiting out here? Come in first."

"I was waiting for you, sir."

"What's the point?"

As Shin Tae-oh coldly received Yoo Jin-ha's approach, the company employees looked at each other in surprise, trying to gauge the situation. If the Chief Secretary were here, he would have helped ease the tension. Unfortunately, Lee Jin-ho was absent.

"Didn't the Chief Secretary come with you?"

The team leader couldn't contain his awkwardness and asked, to which Shin Tae-oh replied, brushing it off.

"He's unable to come because he's going to buy sunflowers."

"Sunflowers...?"

The team leader seemed puzzled and tried to ask further, but Shin Tae-oh walked away as if he had nothing more to say.

Se-hyeon had no thoughts other than watching Shin Tae-oh's retreating figure. There were often times when the Chief Secretary would move to resolve a situation, so he assumed it would be the same this time.

The change in surroundings became apparent as they stepped on the carpet with comfortable cushioning, transitioning from the solid floor. The floor had become soft and cushioned, but their body remained tense like thorns. Looking around, searching for the characters from the original work, Se-hyeon suddenly felt someone grabbing their arm.

"Um..."

"What's the matter?"

Se-hyeon looked down at Yoo Jin-ha, who had grabbed his arm, and asked. At that moment, as they entered the hallway and the lighting dimmed, Se-hyeon noticed that Yoo Jin-ha's pupils seemed darker than usual.

"That item..."

In a hushed whisper that others couldn't hear, Se-hyeon leaned closer to Yoo Jin-ha.

"Did you return it properly?"

Yoo Jin-ha belatedly realized his mistake and apologized, but Se-hyeon stood up without saying that everything was okay. Since Se-hyeon was not Yoo Jin-ha's secretary, there was no need to consider his feelings.

"And thank you."

However, Se-hyeon couldn't just let the expression of gratitude pass by. As if questioning why, Yoo Jin-ha looked elsewhere for a moment. It seemed like he was trying to hide his embarrassment.

Noticing a slight flush on Yoo Jin-ha's cheeks, Se-hyeon took a step back without realizing it. Startled by the touch on his back, Se-hyeon continued speaking without perceiving the presence of someone who had approached them while Yoo Jin-ha looked elsewhere.

"The porridge you bought that day and the medicine I took..."

"Mr. Yoo Jin-ha."

Se-hyeon raised his head as he heard the voice resonating behind his back and saw Shin Taeoh.

"They're waiting for you over there with the team."

"I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize. They're all taking care of you, so go and see them."

Shin Tae-oh's expression suddenly softened, and his tone became warm and comforting as he tried to console Yoo Jin-ha. As expected, Yoo Jin-ha seemed to respond to his gentle voice.

Se-hyeon stood up, distancing himself from the physical contact he had with Yoo Jin-ha.

"I'll buy coffee later."

Yoo Jin-ha quickly uttered those words to Se-hyeon and headed towards where the team members were. Watching him, Se-hyeon became curious about Shin Tae-oh's intentions. Since they would all end up in the same place anyway, why did Tae-oh choose to send Yoo Jin-ha ahead?

"Did you buy porridge and medicine for Jin-ha?"

"Yes. I gave it to him when I went to get the coffee machine."

"You're so caring. My secretary is truly caring."

Sensing a strange undertone in his words, Shin Tae-oh turned his gaze in another direction.

"We're going this way."

The place Shin Tae-oh pointed out was not where Se-hyeon had anticipated. He hadn't fully grasped when the seating

arrangement had changed, but impulsively following Shin Tae-oh, Se-hyeon held his phone in hand. He hurriedly sent a message to the Chief Secretary, asking

about the change in seating, but received no response.

Meanwhile, in the airplane, the Secretary's gaze was distant as he looked at the opaque surroundings that appeared like fog, indicating that he had entered a cloud-like space. Suddenly, he was in the midst of following the CEO's order to fly to another country to buy sunflowers.

"Why do I have to go all the way to the Netherlands to buy sunflowers?"

The Chief Secretary, Lee Jin-ho, who recalled the instruction to take down the painting depicting sunflowers that covered the safe and buy a picture with a depiction of a sunflower, couldn't help but feel frustrated. An overseas business trip? If there were such plans, it wouldn't have been so unjustifiable. Flying on an airplane, then rushing to buy the reserved artwork and flying back. With a tight

schedule where there was hardly any time to eat unless it was airplane food, he twisted his body in discomfort.

He switched his phone to airplane mode and started typing a message to Shin Tae-oh, knowing he wouldn't receive any communication.

"You sunflower-like human. Tremble under the shining stars and live alone for the rest of your life."

With a bitter heart, he sent the message, cursing with the same spell.