NAME 13

Seowon quickly sprayed pheromone deodorizer on his neck and wrists before going to him. The distance of a few meters felt as long and arduous as several hundred meters.

What is he going to say this time? Surely he won’t talk about last night, right? It was an incident far too private to bring up in such a public place. But one never knows. Baek Kanghyun might not care about Seowon’s circumstances at all. If he asks point-blank what that unseemly display was yesterday…

‘How should I even answer?’

Yesterday, he had glossed over it as a personal matter, but honestly, the future looked bleak.

“Team Leader, did you call for me?”

Meanwhile, Baek Kanghyun was glaring at his screen as if looking at the most serious document in the world. He seemed to be reviewing the report Seowon had rewritten and sent yesterday. Seowon kept his head down and swallowed hard. After scanning the document while moving the mouse wheel here and there, he finally spoke.

“It’s not bad.”

“Pardon? Oh, thank you.”

Seowon was dumbfounded by the response, which was more generous than expected.

“It’s not exactly a compliment. Isn’t checking for typos basic, no matter how much of a hurry you’re in? For now, summarize the contents of chapters 3 and 4 in Excel and upload them to the shared folder.”

Baek Kanghyun had a talent for saying even the same words in a very spiteful way. Still, Seowon was honestly relieved because this was a mild level of scolding. Since there were no special comments, it seemed there were no particular flaws in the report. It was worth the effort of writing with his eyes blazed until his pheromones exploded.

“Understood. I will organize it and upload it right away.”

After answering, Seowon stood next to Baek Kanghyun and waited for a moment. It felt like there was something more to be said. However, Baek Kanghyun shot Seowon a sideways glance and furrowed his brows. Interpreting the expression as a “why aren’t you leaving,” he quickly returned to his seat and sat down.

‘Whew…’

That’s strange. Is he really just letting it go? If so, I’m completely grateful. As his mind eased a bit, he could clearly feel his physical condition improving. He had no fever, and no pheromones were leaking.

He first cleaned up the desktop, which had become a mess while writing the report yesterday, and opened the report file. At the same time, he turned on Excel, summarized the content, and added notes here and there. If there was one thing he was confident in, it was organizing documents.

But just as the document organization was nearing completion, Baek Kanghyun sent a message.

[Team Leader Baek Kanghyun: Let’s have an interview during lunch.]

Seowon had been anxious since the notification of a new message popped up, but after checking the content, he became even more uneasy. Even though the purpose wasn’t written, he felt like he knew what it was, and his legs trembled.

[Team Leader Baek Kanghyun: Reply once you’ve checked.]

‘Understood.’

This one sentence would suffice, but his fingers simply wouldn’t move. He wrote out a bunch of things he heard in his mind, like “What is the interview about?” or “I have nothing to say to you,” then erased them all and barely managed to reply.

[Assistant Manager Jeong Seowon: Understood.]

He intentionally did not include tildes or smiley faces. With one hour left until lunch, he prayed that time would pass slowly.

“I’m heading out early today. Everyone, have a good meal.”

“Yes, have a delicious lunch, Team Leader!”

Ten minutes before lunch began, Baek Kanghyun rose from his seat. Watching him put on his jacket, Seowon harbored a secret hope. Maybe he had an important appointment! If that happened, Seowon’s interview today would be canceled. He didn’t want to waste his precious lunch hour on something like an interview with his boss.

However.

“Assistant Manager Jeong, what are you doing? Follow me out.”

“Pardon? Me too?”

Seowon’s expectations collapsed before they could even build up. He thought they would at least eat before the interview, but to be told to follow him out. Was he planning to starve him? He couldn’t even manage a fake smile; instead, his lips stuck out. It goes without saying that a vertical crease formed between his brows.

Draping his jacket loosely over his arm, he followed the man who had already stepped out of the office. Somehow, he felt sympathy in the gazes of his teammates directed at him.

“I’ll be back. Have a delicious lunch.”

The responses from everyone were weak. It was as if they were speaking for Seowon’s heart.

Baek Kanghyun stood in front of the elevator with his hands thrust into his trouser pockets. Since a man who was already tall and large was doing that, he looked even bigger. Seowon stood side-by-side with him and held his breath.

“…”

“…”

Upon boarding the elevator, he pressed the floor for the parking lot. While Seowon was wondering why it wasn’t the first floor, Baek Kanghyun’s voice struck him.

“This isn’t exactly a conversation to have near the company, is it.”

“Ah… Thank you for the, consideration.”

“It’s not particularly consideration. It’s common sense.”

Every single way Baek Kanghyun spoke was spiteful. But once a son of a bitch, always a son of a bitch. Seowon decided to think it was better than someone acting nice and stabbing him in the back.

After driving for about 15 minutes, they arrived at a relatively quiet restaurant. He wondered if they were actually going to eat, but he was deeply worried about whether he could swallow properly while sitting across from Baek Kanghyun. The faint growling in his stomach fell silent.

“I’ll order on my own. Eat whatever comes out.”

“I’m fine, though.”

“Then don’t eat and just watch.”

He really had no appetite, but once the food was in front of him, his mouth watered. However, thinking it would look ridiculous to eat after refusing, Seowon couldn’t easily pick up his utensils. Yet Baek Kanghyun didn’t pay Seowon the slightest bit of attention and began putting the served food into his mouth.

“…”

He looked at Baek Kanghyun, then at the plate set before him. The food was arranged so beautifully that he wondered if it was okay to eat something like this for lunch. For Seowon, who usually made do with the cafeteria or a simple meal set house right in front of the company, it was unfamiliar and excessive food.

“Are you really not going to eat?”

“Don’t you have something to say? I’d like to hear that first.”

It would be a disaster if he ate for no reason and got indigestion. Baek Kanghyun set down his utensils and crossed his arms. Then he stared intently at Seowon. His expression was one where it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. However, Seowon did not avoid his gaze, which he had been busy avoiding until now.

<Ah, uungh…>

<Open your legs, a bit.>

<Sunbae, your posture is too…>

Thinking about it, perhaps the reason he kept wanting to avoid his gaze wasn’t because he was worried the man would recognize him, but because they hadn’t actually met eyes that often. When they had relations, it was always in the doggy style—that is, the position of animals mating. They had almost never done it while facing each other. He had engaged in acts solely for the purpose of release with him, devoid of the tenderness of overlapping lips, sharing body heat, or rubbing skin.

Because he thought even that was love.

“You probably know why I called you.”

“Yes, I have an idea.”

Seen from the front, his face was perfectly balanced even in its symmetry. Left-right symmetry with not a single twisted corner. To think he had believed such a magnificent man would date someone as unremarkable as a Beta like himself. Immersed only in his own emotions, the Seowon of that time failed to recognize reality. He just thought something like a dream had happened to him and was happy like a child.

Thinking about it now, it’s a shameful and foolish memory.

“I’ll ask directly. Regarding yesterday, I need to know what Assistant Manager Jeong’s personal circumstances are.”

“It’s a private matter, so it’s difficult to speak in detail.”

As if Seowon’s firm answer was laughable, Baek Kanghyun gave a crooked smile. Then, after lightly rinsing his mouth with water, he set the water glass down with a thud.

At his appearance, which was clearly showing signs of displeasure, Seowon added a word.

“It is unrelated to company business.”

“Don’t make me laugh. Those personal circumstances are interfering with work, aren’t they? Even last time…!”

Seowon cut off Baek Kanghyun’s words and interjected.

“It doesn’t happen often. I will be careful so that such a thing doesn’t happen in the future.”

“Talk about specific measures.”

Baek Kanghyun seemed to have no intention of backing down. Whoo, Seowon let out a short breath and gulped down water. He wasn’t hungry at all, but his throat was parched.

“There is someone helping me. It’s fine as long as it’s managed well. I will be more cautious in the future.”

“That sounds like you’re saying you have a partner.”

“…It’s similar.”

A heavy and sharp silence continued. Baek Kanghyun glared at Seowon with eyes that looked as if they would devour him, as if something was very much not to his liking.