chapter 56

As if being dragged by his strength, Se-hyeon walked out of the bathroom, and Shin Tae-oh pulled Se-hyeon completely out of the room once again.

"Boss? Wait a moment."

"It's funny that I had to tell you twice to leave work for the day."

Shin Tae-oh handed Se-hyeon his phone and casually patted his chest.

"Uh, what are you doing...?"

Caught off guard, Se-hyeon could only recoil as he looked at the card that Shin Tae-oh had found. It seemed that it wasn't just a casual touch, but rather he had found the card.

"This time, don't come in and go straight home."

Shin Tae-oh smiled with a gentle voice as he ushered Se-hyeon away.

"Thank you."

With those words, Shin Tae-oh closed the door, leaving Se-hyeon standing there with the damp towel and the phone in his hand.

Now, he could finally go home feeling relieved, but there seemed to be a deeper meaning behind Shin Tae-oh's final goodbye. It felt like there was something more to their interaction than simply helping each other out...

"I don't know what that was."

It seemed like this uneasy feeling will still linger even after going home.

Drops of water fell from the damp towel, leaving stains behind.

***

Ha Jin-seong walked through the empty corridor.

"Could it be that he left?"

The party wasn't over yet. Soon, they would announce the name of the person who made the largest donation, and until then, he planned to take Se-hyeon with him.

Jin-seong wanted to show him. He wanted to prove that he was better than Shin Tae-oh, but when he tried to find Se-hyeon, there was no trace, not even a single strand of hair.

He had already circled the floor twice, so it seemed like he had to look on another floor or consider that he had left.

"It seems like it would make you feel uncomfortable if I mentioned going to the room."

Suddenly, he recalled the sighting of Shin Tae-oh and Se-hyeon together at the hotel. At that time, it was merely a means to mock Shin Tae-oh, but now, as he thought about it, his mood was sinking.

Ha Jin-seong stopped in his tracks and crossed his arms, looking up at the ceiling.

Should he search through each room?

Although there was an efficient means like a cellphone, his increasingly twisted feelings resisted taking the easy way out.

Eventually, just as Ha Jin-seong was about to turn his body to head towards the desk, a familiar face caught his sight.

"Ahn Se-hyeon."

He couldn't find him when he was searching, but now when he was about to turn everything upside down, he appeared.

"Why are you showing up now?"

As Ha Jin-seong complained in frustration, Se-hyeon, who had been walking towards him, stopped and gave him a puzzled look.

"You should have shown up later after I make a scene."

Ha Jin-seong had intended to cause a commotion by telling him to come to the desk, but since Se-hyeon appeared on time, he couldn't proceed with his plan. So, while expressing his dissatisfaction, a faint smile appeared on Ha Jin-seong's lips.

But then, as if sensing something, Ha Jin-seong's smile disappeared, leaving a cold gaze.

"What's wrong?"

Even with Ha Jin-seong's brief question, Se-hyeon understood immediately what he meant.

"I'm sorry. Will you please step aside?"

"What's the matter?"

"I have no obligation to tell you."

Se-hyeon didn't give Ha Jin-seong the desired answer, even in response to his irritated tone and similar words. There was no reason to do so.

I didn't have any intention of confiding in

Ha Jin-seong, no matter what happened between me and Shin Tae-oh.

"Ha.., you really know how to provoke someone."

Ha Jin-seong glanced at Se-hyeon, stealing a quick glimpse of his visibly irritated expression.

"Just because you've been looking cute all this time, did you think I was easy to handle?"

His displeasure seemed to be evident all over his body. However, Se-hyeon remained expressionless as ever.

"All this time, I've only said one thing. I decline. I am still Shin Tae-oh's secretary, and that won't change in the future."

Ha Jin-seong carefully pointed out the reasons why he shouldn't get excited. Although he felt like firmly putting Se-hyeon in his place, he didn't have the luxury to confront Shin Tae-oh right now.

Worriedly, Ha Jin-seong carefully explained the reasons why he shouldn't get excited. There was a concern that he might earn the strong dislike of this person and face severe consequences.

Why on earth is he coming to me and acting like this?

Moreover, Se-hyeon wasn't a person who had such deep feelings or thoughts about others like Yoo Jin-ha. He had no intention of interfering with the original story, sacrificing his own body, or taking on the responsibility of handling a family. And especially, he was the one who could enjoy watching the protagonist's hardships even when he knew about them.

So why does Ha Jin-seong expect me to have a broad mind like Yoo Jin-ha?

"Did you say the reason you need me is because of your pheromones?"

Since I had already started speaking, I opened my mouth with the intention of completely driving Ha Jin-seong away.

"Then I understand but I don't want to get

involved. Right now, I don't have the leisure for that, and I'm busy focusing on the boss I serve."

I spoke at length like this, but in the end, it was simple.

I don't like you. So let's not get involved.

In order to sort out my complicated feelings.

Se-hyeon, who had started by unraveling Ha Jin-seong, passed by him. Our shoulders touched because he didn't move aside, but Ha Jinseong didn't look back.

Se-hyeon couldn't see Ha Jin-seong, Ha Min-hyuk, and Yoo Jin-ha throwing a grand party, and suddenly worrying about the boss who came in a rush...

The feeling of frustration enveloped se-hyeon entire being to the point where he felt like reserving a room and just going in to sleep.

I can't afford to spend tens of thousands of won just to take a rest.

Se-hyeon continued to move forward with weary but steady steps. He had already forgotten about Ha Jin-seong, who had spoken to him.

As Se-hyeon disappeared and Ha Jin-seong was left alone, he replayed the events that had unfolded between them over and over again. After repeating it several times, Ha Jin-seong finally accepted reality and muttered to himself.

"I guess I was really underestimated."

****

Se-hyeon's pov

Crawling all the way to the top of my head like this.

If it had turned out like this, I should have pretended not to know about Jin-seong’s secret until the end. I shouldn't have helped him. Even if I was panicking and falling apart, I shouldn't have reached out my hand.

"This is messed up."

****

With Ha jin-seong

Ha Jin-seong’s body trembled with anger that surpassed the rejection of the scouting offer.

No, it was since he could sense the pheromones of another alpha from Se-hyeon’s body that he got angry. Now that he had reached a point where he couldn't bear it any longer, the trembling disappeared as if to say, 'When did this happen?'

With the same calm eyes as before, Ha Jin-seong picked up his phone and dialed a number.

"let's get started."

Without even waiting for Ha Jin-woong's response, Jin-seong lowered his phone. He had discreetly stolen the pheromones that were lingering on Se-hyeon’s shoulder with his fingertips and then extended his tongue to lick it.

It was unmistakably the pheromones of an

alpha that made his stomach churn. Unlike his disgusted insides, Ha Jin-seong smiled and continued walking forward.

***

A post appeared on the company's intranet. It was on an anonymous bulletin board, so it was.unknown who posted it, but only employees could post on it.

[TL note: An intranet is a private network contained within an enterprise that is used to securely share company information and computing resources among employees. It can also be used for working in groups and teleconferences. Intranets encourage communication within an organization.]

Our CEO and the executive secretary are so suspicious.

What's going on between them????

└Are you crazy? Don't you know the CEO can see this? Take the post down;

└Wait, why did you see something like that??

└Haha, okay, are you going to quit tomorrow? Haha

└No, I'm not saying this for no reason.

I saw them at a hotel, and the CEO told the executive secretary that he was his...

The conversation on the bulletin board continued with various responses and speculations.

-Moreover, today,the executive secretary got pheromones on him; An alpha's pheromones;

└Wait, are you a part-time worker? Are you crazy to talk about this on the company's intranet? If you want to stay here for long, take it down.

After a single post appeared on the bulletin board, it was taken down exactly ten minutes later. The impact of the brief passing post was revealed the next day.

"Did you see that, Team Leader?"

Park Se-jin, a design department employee, pulled a chair and whispered to Kim Sung-hoon, who sat next to her.

"What?"

"The post that was on the bulletin board yesterday."

Kim Sung-hoon raised his head, and Park Se-jin lowered her voice even more, as if she expected that.

"It said that the CEO and the executive secretary, cough, have a relationship that's not normal."

Perhaps because Sung-hoon wasn't an easy person to gossip with, Park Se-jin's voice became quieter, but it didn't stop. The short-lived post from yesterday had quite a lingering impact.

After all, there's nothing as fragrant as the scent of an office secret romance.

"I don't know about that. Besides, the executive secretary always accompanies the CEO."

"Getting pheromones on oneself is pretty much a clear indication."

As for how far the executive secretary will follow the CEO, well, they can't really intervene or set any criteria. But isn't it a situation that raises enough suspicion when it comes to getting the pheromones of an alpha on oneself?

"Isn't that because Secretary Ahn is a beta? He might not be able to sense pheromones, so he might not even be aware of being buried."

"Oh, they're dating?"

Park Se-jin thumped her chest as if she were frustrated.

"When Assistant Manager Yoo Jin-ha asked if the executive secretary had a lover, Se-hyeon said yes. And that lover is the CEO. The CEO."

"Is that so?"

Now, Kim Sung-hoon also seemed to be wavering, shaking his head back and forth before spotting someone and falling silent.

"I see."

Hwang Hye-sung, who had been half-listening to Park Se-jin's words, asked with a somewhat dazed expression. Hwang Hye-sung, who had confessed to Se-hyeon before and got rejected, looked gloomy and turned away.

"Assistant Manager Hwang, I sent you an email. Could you check it now...?"

Yoo Jin-ha approached and started speaking, but Hwang Hye-sung walked past, ignoring him, causing his words to trail off. He didn't know why Hwang Hye-sung was acting that way, so he looked at someone else.

"Why are you acting like this, Assistant Manager Hwang?"

"Th-this seems wrong."

"Yeah, the line has been crossed."

People who would usually kindly inform him avoided Yoo Jin-ha's gaze today.

Subconsciously, they couldn't bring themselves to tell Yoo Jin-ha about the close relationship with Se-hyeon.