chapter 49

Shin Tae-oh looked at Se-hyeon with an unfriendly gaze, showing no interest in the box Sehyeon was holding.

"I'm sorry, but could you please repeat that?"

"Who allowed you to bring something like that on your own?"

Shin Tae-oh inserted his hands into his pockets, tilting his head slightly in a dismissive manner. If what is visible appears distorted, then perhaps the world itself is perceived that way.

In response to Shin Tae-oh's rebellious reaction, Se-hyeon rolled his eyes, still holding the box.

Whose decision is it to make?

If Shin Tae-oh asked whose feelings were contained in the gift that he had asked Se-hyeon to deliver...

"Of course, it contains the feelings of the person who gave it, but..."

That's what a gift is.

"Secretary, what I'm asking is not about that. I never told you to bring something like this, so why did you bring it?"

"Um..."

Se-hyeon found himself caught in a dilemma over a gift that he thought would be resolved simply by handing it over.

Did I do something I haven't done before? No. Did I receive a gift from a completely unknown person?..No.

In that case, Se-hyeon felt that he could adequately explain the situation.

"I was told it was a token of appreciation for the gifts you have given to Mr. Yoo Jinha."

"What are you talking about? I haven't given anything to him recently"

"But now you received his feelings."

Shin Tae-oh faltered at Se-hyeon's composed response.

"Even though you didn't receive any physical items, you have continuously received his heartfelt intentions."

So when Yoo Jin-ha asked Se-hyeon to deliver the gift, he didn't find it strange and accepted it.

"Did I... give my feelings?"

Shin Tae-oh asked, seeming somewhat disoriented, and Se-hyeon looked up at him and nodded.

"That's what a gift is."

That's why Se-hyeon refused when Shin Tae-oh tried to give him a gift directly. The gifts he couldn't deliver to Yoo Jin-ha were nothing more than empty shells without any heartfelt intentions. So when Shin Tae-oh directly gave something to Se-hyeon, it felt burdensome.

While thinking like that, there was a slight uneasiness about not being able to refused a few times.

"Anyway, I gave it to the CEO, so if you're going to refuse, please let me know. I will return it to Yoo Jin-ha."

Even so, it doesn't mean that Yoo Jin-ha's feelings will disappear.

Se-hyeon extended the hand holding the box towards Shin Tae-oh as if urging him to make a decision. It wasn't heavy, but it felt burdensome to keep holding it.

"Did I...?"

Shin Tae-oh mumbled while staring at the box. Se-hyeon looked at his mouth intently, trying to catch his words, but they were too soft to hear clearly.

"So that's how it is. Until now, I... did that."

I did that?, Se-hyeon thought as he heard Shin Tae-oh say it twice. He gave up on hearing more and waited.

Shin Tae-oh couldn't take his eyes off the box. The box he saw kept changing sizes.

In reality, it was empty. It was just a reminder of the gifts Se-hyeon had delivered to Yoo Jin-ha all this time.

(Shin tae-oh's pov)

Now he finally realized. What kind of errands I had sent Se-hyeon on, and how wrong they were.

Instinctively drawn to Yoo Jin-ha, he had realized his feelings for Se-hyeon and stopped giving gifts. And subtly, he had revealed his own feelings to Se-hyeon.

To treat Se-hyeon, who had been conveying my feelings to Yoo Jin-ha, so nonchalantly, are there really such pitiful individuals in this world?

How big of a mistake I have made. I couldn't bring myself to lift my head and look at Sehyeon's face.

"CEO?"

As Se-hyeon tried to meet my gaze, I covered my face with my hand and avoided it.

"Are you okay?"

"Just a moment..."

I reached out my hand, preventing Se-hyeon from coming closer.

"Just give me a moment alone. It won't take long."

"Understood."

As Se-hyeon's footsteps retreated, I heard the sound of the front door closing.

"Haah. I really..."

I let out a hollow laugh, my eyes still covered.

Every time the memories of my actions came to mind, I felt self-disgust. And it was none other than Ahn Se-hyeon. Being by my side, he knew me best and could clearly perceive the flow of my emotions.

Yet, I never explained to him what my feelings towards Yoo Jin-ha were. And... I naturally acted as if my heart had turned away from him.

I understand why Se-hyeon felt reluctance towards my gifts. Now that I realized how disrespectful this was to Se-hyeon, I couldn't even bring myself to laugh anymore.

It felt like someone had gripped my heart tightly, causing it to constrict.

There was no excuse for this.

Perhaps Se-hyeon knew everything and rejected me. If that's the case, I shouldn't force myself into his heart...

As Shin Tae-oh lowered his hand and opened his eyes, his thoughts were interrupted.

"..."

"Are you okay?"

It was Ahn Se-hyeon, whom he thought had left.

"How...?"

"Ah..."

Se-hyeon turned around and looked at the closed front door. After a brief moment of thought, he responded.

"I secretly stood here because I wondered if you really couldn't see me. You seems to too deep in your thoughts to notice that I haven't left."

"..."

Shin Tae-oh felt his mind go blank with surprise. As he continued to stare, Se-hyeon's face displayed an embarrassed smile.

"I was just joking because you looked serious. Was I being oblivious?"

His laughter restored Shin Tae-oh's constricted heart to its original state.

"I'm not usually one to play pranks."

It was something he would never do in his normal state. So when Shin Tae-oh covered his eyes and he pretended to leave, taking a few steps in place before closing the front door, it was something he wouldn't normally do.

Of course, he had all sorts of thoughts running through his mind.

Still, he didn't like playful pranks like Shin Tae-oh...

What am I doing right now? (Se-hyeon's pov)

I kept rationalizing that I was just playing a prank for the sake of it.

Shin Tae-oh seemed serious, and I thought he might be swayed by Yoo Jin-ha's gift, so I had a strong urge to reassure him that it is fine to accept.

However, Shin Tae-oh couldn't seem to relax his stiff expression. If I had known it would turn out like this, I should have just left.

"I will proceed with today's schedule briefing."

In the midst of this, I absentmindedly picked up my tablet, thinking of doing some work. My phone vibrated, and I quickly checked the notification pop up before going into the messaging

app.

"It's President Seong. They contacted me to meet up. What should I do?"

My previous appointments were crumpled up as President Seong, the representative, seemed to have disappeared somewhere. Since the mistake was on the other party's side, I asked for Shin Tae-oh's opinion, thinking he wouldn't need to meet with them.

Without even turning his head, Shin Tae-oh, who was looking outside the window, replied.

"Cancel it."

Shin tae-oh was someone I had praised for being quite perceptive. But seeing him act as if he didn't care, Se-hyeon put his phone back in his pocket.

"Understood."

Once an instruction was given, he wouldn't question it. Without going against Shin Tae-oh's feelings, Se-hyeon picked up the tablet.

***

As Shin Tae-oh tilted his glass, he didn't bother to strike up a conversation with the man standing next to him, pretending not to know him.

"If you're going to ignore me like that, then I won't come next time."

The man he had called over sat down next to him, offering a sarcastic greeting.

"It seems like things aren't going well with Se-hyeon."

"It couldn't have worked out well from the beginning."

"It's been a while since I've seen the younger Shin Tae-oh."

It was a mumbled mention of the past when shin tae-oh used to excel at everything but lacked confidence and showed a small side of himself at crucial moments. Before he gave up everything and started living, Shin Tae-oh was a boy who experienced a lot of frustration.

"Yeah, it's been a while."

Shin Tae-oh forced a self-pitying smile and took another sip of his drink.

During that time, he had momentarily forgotten while being with Se-hyeon. What his life used to be like.

Everyone had been avoiding me. Even when someone who only looked at me appeared, they didn't stay for long. I had parents and friends, but strangely, I couldn't shake off the feeling of loneliness. When I read books, I would often empathize with characters other than the protagonist because it seemed like I couldn't live a life like theirs.

So I gave up everything and lived, but in the meantime, I forgot and spent time with Sehyeon. (Shin tae-oh's pov)

"I've done a lot of things I shouldn't have done to Se-hyeon."

"Why? Were you treating him badly?"

"It might have been similar."

It wasn't like I had to torment him. He was quick-witted, so I made him do a lot of errands for me. Most of them were about asking him to buy gifts for Jin-ha. Yeah, and then I revealed that I had feelings for him. How cruel of a boss was I?

Today, I couldn't see Se-hyeon's face.

"So you wanted to give up?"

Yoo Jin-hyeon accurately picked up on the conversation that was going in circles.

Give up on Se-hyeon?

It's unimaginable.

"Let's start over from the beginning."

That's when Yoo Jin-hyeon was smoothly interjected.

"You're good at something, you know."

"What am I good at?"

"Yeah. Even when you were giving up on everything, you held onto one thing."

Yoo Jin-hyeon chuckled softly. Given the time they had spent together, it was clear that there was something he couldn't give up on. From his perspective, Shin Tae-oh's current dilemma was no different than providing him with entertaining amusement.

"What was it again? Because the world turned its back on you, you said you had to hold onto something? And then you started bringing various things to Jin-ha?"

That's right.

If I couldn't be the center anyway, I decided to give up. Instead, I had the stubborn determination to hold onto one thing.

As Shin Tae-oh got lost in his thoughts, Yoo Jin-hyeon chuckled ominously and subtly

released his pheromones towards him. He had been waiting for an opportunity like this. Since this guy treated my pheromones with disdainful odour, I had planned to return the favour someday. Opportunities like today were rare.

Let's see how he reacts when he's exposed to the pheromones of an alpha he dislikes.

"Huh?"

As Shin Tae-oh was about to notice it, his own pheromones suddenly surged, causing Yoo Jin-hyeon to stop in surprise. It felt like there was a significant difference between what I had released and what he was experiencing now...