chapter 44

"Couldn't you just ask directly?"

"There could have been a chance that he would lie."

Shin Tae-oh looked at Se-hyeon's name displayed on his phone and spoke.

"I can't ask my reliable secretary, who takes care of my meals, where you are."

So, he poked the team leader's side. He called Se-hyeon to find out where he was and even suggested having lunch together while he was at it. Lee Jin-ho responded hesitantly, but that could be ignored.

"I only roughly know the location, will you go?"

In response to Lee Jin-ho's question, Shin Tae-oh nodded while patting his phone.

"Of course, I will."

"Even though you don't know exactly where he went?"

"It would have been nice if I found out, but it's a shame. Do better next time."

After sending a message to Se-hyeon, Shin Tae-oh tapped Lee Jin-ho's shoulder. He was done talking to him, so there was no need to stay any longer.

"Enjoy your meal."

Shin Tae-oh inserted a card between Lee Jin-ho's fingers. It was the price for extracting information from Se-hyeon through a phone call.

"Have a pleasant meal."

Lee Jin-ho accepted the black card with a bright smile.

***

"Have a seat."

Ha Jin-seong pointed to the sofa in front of him. Se-hyeon obediently took a seat at his gesture, and the secretary who had opened the door approached.

"Would you like some coffee?"

"I'll have tea, please."

Upon hearing Se-hyeon's polite response, Ha Jin-seong's secretary nodded and left the room.

"How is it?"

Se-hyeon looked at Ha Jin-seong, not sure of the meaning behind his words. Ha Jin-seong gestured to the door with his chin.

"Is it okay to work together as colleagues in the future?"

He was referring to the comment about the secretary who had just left.

To work together as colleagues...

He was about to say that he had no intention of doing so, but he stopped himself. That wasn't important right now.

"Have I been the only one who you a scouting proposal so far?"

"Are you asking if I've said that to someone else?"

"Yes."

Ha Jin-seong sank back into his chair completely. As his gaze naturally turned to the ceiling, Se-hyeon waited without receiving an answer.

Ha Jin-seong approached Se-hyeon after getting up from his chair. Instead of leaning back on the sofa as he had done on the chair, he didn't lean on anything.

Rather, he leaned forward to see Se-hyeon's face, as if he wanted a closer look.

As a result, Se-hyeon, who was brought closer to Ha Jin-seong, stiffened his face with discomfort.

"What do you feel about me?"

"Yes?"

Ha Jin-seong posed a question rather than providing an answer.

It seemed like I could hear what I wanted by answering his question.

Reluctantly, Se-hyeon looked at Ha Jin-seong's face. His raised eyes and thin lips carried a sense of joy. He may have looked rough, but overall, he had a decent face.

So what did I feel?

What kind of answer does he want...?

Frowning, Se-hyeon thought, and suddenly, he felt something.

"Pheromones."

He could sense alpha pheromones emanating from Ha Jin-seong. Unlike Shin Tae-oh, who had a mischievous personality, but possessed a deep and heavy pheromone. It was reminiscent of woody fragrance, sensuous yet elegant.

It carried a scent like perfume, but experiencing it went beyond the sense of smell, encompassing all senses.

In contrast, Ha Jin-seong's pheromones were somewhat ambiguous, but they heavily relied on the sense of smell.

Although Ha Jin-seong manifested as an alpha, he didn't emit pheromones. Se-hyeon knew the secret, which was why he spilt wine on him the last time.

Se-hyeon didn't try to act like he knew everything, even though he knew a few things. There was no benefit in revealing his knowledge. So he remained still, but it was like Ha Jin-seong was offering him bait by extending it.

"As expected, you know."

Ha Jin-seong leaned back and smiled in a cheerful manner. Se-hyeon chose silence because pretending to not understand would be more advantageous to him.

"I thought you were a beta...."

The atmosphere made it seem like pretending not to know would be futile. Although he hadn't mentioned pheromones in front of him from the beginning, Ha Jin-seong undoubtedly

noticed when Se-hyeon spilled the wine.

But it wouldn't be right to say that he doesn't know the secret just because he was a beta, would it?

That would be outright lying.

"Now that I think about it, you also seem like an omega."

Se-hyeon tilted his head at Ha Jin-seong's remark, unsure of how to respond.

"I'm sorry, but I haven't revealed my designation." Se-hyeon replied maintaining a calm expression.

"Then you're an alpha?"

That's not necessarily the case.

Just then, the door opened and the secretary entered. The secretary placed tea in front of Ha Jin-seong and Se-hyeon in turn.

"Secretary Kim."

"Yes, Director."

"Is Secretary Kim an omega?"

"Yes, that's correct."

Ha Jin-seong maintained his gaze towards Se-hyeon and directed another question to Secretary Kim.

"What do you feel about me in terms of pheromones?"

Secretary Kim blushed slightly and seemed momentarily flustered. She appeared to

concentrate on Ha Jin-seong's pheromones before casually responding.

"I can strongly sense the scent of deep white musk."

"Leave."

"Yes, Director."

As Secretary Kim swiftly moved to close the door, Ha Jin-seong asked again.

"You know it now, even when my secretary, who is always by my side, doesn't."

Those with ordinary designations wouldn't notice anything strange about Ha Jin-seong's pheromones. The moment it was confirmed, any means of escape vanished.

Se-hyeon felt invisible spiderwebs. It was as if I had been caught in the web the moment I came to see Ha Jin-seong.

"So you spilt the wine on me because you knew my pheromones were fake."

As Ha Jin-seong mentioned aloud, Se-hyeon was now completely trapped and unable to escape so he stay silent.

"Did you ask if I made a scouting offer to someone else earlier? No, I didn't. I only went to the person who knew that my pheromones were fake."

Upon hearing Ha Jin-seong's response, the situation became uncomfortable. Se-hyeon knew that ha jin-seong hadn't approached Yoo Jin-ha, but at the same time, he inadvertently revealed that he knew Ha Jin-seong's secret.

"Now, what are you going to do? Don't you want to take care of the poor me?"

Ha Jin-seong uttered those words with a completely unsympathetic expression.

"I'm sorry."

Se-hyeon clearly conveyed his intention not to go.

"Did you come all the way here just to say that? Or did you want to tell me to focus on someone else if I had reached out to them?"

Of course, Se-hyeon didn't just come here for that. If that were the case, he could simply wait for Ha Jin-seong to come again someday

"The coffee here is quite good."

Se-hyeon handed a business card to Ha Jin-seong.

"When did I can ask you out on a date?"

Ha Jin-seong accepted the business card and made a remark that made Se-hyeon frown and show displeasure.

"That's not what I meant. Anyway, you don't have to thank me for spilling the wine last time. Just please shop here often."

"I asked you to pay for the shirt."

"I was just trying to help."

So, asking him to pay for the shirt was forced.

"Did you come here today to see me? And accept to be my secretary?"

"I can answer that at any time. I decline."

Ha Jin-seong observed Se-hyeon, who remained steadfast and silent.

"Do you treat Shin Tae-oh the same way?"

"He's the one who pays me, so why are you speaking like this?"

"Is it just me?"

Se-hyeon remained silent, not wanting to give a direct answer.

"More accurately, I give special treatment to CEO Shin Tae-oh."

Knowing that he shouldn't back down in this situation, Se-hyeon didn't change his expression and countered calmly.

"Is that your natural disposition?"

"At least I'm better than someone who receives favours and then demands payment."

Ungrateful scoundrel.

"Well then, I will take my leave. Thank you for meeting with me. I just came here to draw a clear line that I will not leave my current job so please stop bothering me. We were tense together, so pretend like you don't know me."

Se-hyeon smiled professionally and turned around, quickly leaving the office in case Ha Jinseong tried to stop him. Secretary Kim, who had been waiting outside, turned to exchange greetings and they both entered the elevator.

"Phew."

Se-hyeon sighed with frustration, finally releasing the tension. He had said everything he needed to say to Ha Jin-seong, more or less.

'It's trying to deviate the original story back to track.'

It was flowing in a different direction than what I knew. That couldn't happen.

'If it deviates, it will affect Shin Tae-oh. And that means...'

It will affect me too.

'No!'

It absolutely couldn't happen. How could I maintain this stable life? I may have used the original story as a reference, but I never intended to be swept away by it.

'I feel sorry for the main characters.'

For Ha Min-hyuk and Yoo Jin-ha, Ha Jin-seong was a crisis and a trial. I knew that, but I couldn't help it. Ha Jin-seong had to continue tormenting them as he had before, to keep their relationship even closer.

It meant sticking to Yoo Jin-ha, not me.

That's why I gave him a cafe business card. The café wasn't anything special; it was simply located on the street Yoo Jin-ha passed by frequently.

Ha Jin-seong would often be at that café and would call out to Yoo Jin-ha as he passed by.

Ha jin-seong would strike up a conversation and play his tricks, telling you jin-ha to come to him...

Anyway, I had introduced the café so that these encounters with Yoo Jin-ha could be

orchestrated.

By creating those moments of collision with Yoo Jin-ha, I could also find opportunities to torment the thorn in my side, Ha jinhyuk...

"Secretary Ahn?"

As Se-hyeon was exiting the building, he came face-to-face with Shin Tae-oh and froze in place.

Shin Tae-oh stared directly at Se-hyeon's face before approaching closer.

"What's going on?"

Se-hyeon rolled his eyes and looked at Shin Tae-oh.

Why is he here?

Shin Tae-oh raised his hand and gently brushed Se-hyeon's lips with his fingertips.

"Why is our Secretary Ahn smiling?"

"What... well, I can smile too."

"Is that so? But your smile feels a bit insidious."

Shin Tae-oh murmured, questioning the reason behind Se-hyeon's lips being lightly scratched. It seemed like only this side was elevated.