NAME 2

The suppressants had already been taken, and this was not a situation that could be settled with something like a fever reducer. As he headed toward the restroom, sweat trickled down his back. He felt nauseous deep inside, as if he might even throw up.

“Ha…”

It had been a very long time since his body had acted out like this. Even when he had been harshly rejected by the former Team Leader Hong, he hadn’t been this stressed. Wasn’t his greatest strength always maintaining his composure? Then why was he so anxious?

‘Pathetic, really.’

He followed the breathing techniques a hospital had taught him once and washed his face with cold water several times. Then, he opened a window on one side of the restroom and let the breeze hit his dripping face.

The wind, heavy with moisture, clung to his face. He whispered words like “inner peace” and “peace of mind,” trying to calm his fluctuating heart. However, the pheromones were still leaking, and the nape of his neck, which had been cooled by the water, grew hot with fever once again.

There was no particular remedy when a fever broke out. In cases like this where medicine couldn’t be used, one had to simply wait it out or be exposed to Alpha pheromones. But pheromones didn’t just drop out of thin air, so in this situation, there was nothing to do but endure.

‘I can’t call him during work hours.’

He desperately thought of his pheromone partner at the same company. However, he felt too shameless to call someone who was in the middle of working and ask them to release pheromones, so he suppressed and swallowed the urge.

“This won’t do. I should just go.”

After waiting for about 15 minutes, Seowon decided to just return to the office. It didn’t seem like his condition would get any better by waiting longer, and being away from his desk for too long was strictly a neglect of duty. Since it would be lunchtime in a little while anyway, he planned to go to a hospital if things were still this bad by then.

He tidied his disheveled clothes and cautiously entered the office. However, the atmosphere in the office was unusual. It felt excessively subdued. As Seowon entered the office, the eyes of the Sales Team 3 members pinned onto him simultaneously.

“It looks like everyone is here. Then I can introduce him. This is Baek Kanghyun, who will be taking over as the Team Leader of Sales Team 3 starting today.”

“I am Baek Kanghyun. I look forward to working with you.”

The man who introduced himself as Baek Kanghyun smiled broadly and looked around at the people of Sales Team 3. At that, the people smiled and even gave him a round of applause. They seemed happy about the appearance of a Team Leader who was younger and more handsome than expected. However, Seowon stopped right in front of the office entrance and did not budge. No, he couldn’t.

“Assistant Manager Jung? What are you doing? Come over here.”

If Assistant Manager Seo Jiyeon hadn’t called him, Seowon would have continued standing there like a stone. He barely managed to gather his crumbling spirit and headed toward his seat.

‘This… makes no sense.’

It became difficult to breathe, as if someone had shoved a fist into his mouth. He couldn’t believe that the one and only ‘bastard’ of his life was approaching him.

He couldn’t bring himself to rub his eyes, so instead, he squeezed his eyelids shut and then snapped them open to check again. Only his hairstyle had changed slightly; his features, his frame, his characteristic stride—everything was the same as the image in Seowon’s memory.

<I was just getting bored… want to go together?>

A conversation they had shared long ago came to mind. The memory he had kept well-sealed for seven years ruthlessly broke through its shell and stirred Seowon up in an instant. Thorny memories—no, the past that had now become a memory he wanted to forget—pushed the current Seowon to the edge of a cliff.

Thump-thump, thump-thump.

His heart beat as if it would explode. Out of fear that he might recognize him, or rather, out of fear that he might not. No, he’d rather he recognize him, or rather he wouldn’t…

His ambivalence jumped around crazily. With his mind in a mess, the best he could do was keep his eyes on the man who was getting closer and closer.

He couldn’t even tell if he was breathing or if he was standing upright. Everything except Baek Kanghyun was entirely gray. That didn’t mean he looked radiant, though.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Baek Kanghyun.”

Finally, he stood before Seowon. Smiling like a good person, he held out his hand. In an instant, the eyes of the two collided in midair.

“Ah.”

Seeing him up close, he was the same as ever. His tall height, broad shoulders, and his handsome face and good scent… Seowon stared blankly at his right hand hanging in the air.

He rebuked his pathetically shaking ego, telling himself this was reality, not the past. He wiped his right hand, which had become soaked with sweat, against his shirt and finally entwined his hand with his.

“Nice to meet you… for the first time. I am Jeong Seowon.”

Mentioning “the first time” to him was a kind of test. Concern that he might retort that it wasn’t the first time and expectation that he might do so arose simultaneously. He wasn’t even sure what or how he had spoken. His heartbeat was so loud that he couldn’t even hear his own voice properly.

Throughout the encounter, Seowon’s gaze was fixed on the end of the man’s tie. He couldn’t bring himself to lift his head and meet his eyes.

“I… look forward to working with you, Team Leader.”

By the time he barely finished speaking, even the rims of his eyes grew hot. A burning sensation, like a flat iron being pressed against his back, arose.

“I look forward to it too.”

Unlike the trembling Seowon, he replied in a very dry tone.

“I’ve heard that Assistant Manager Jung is very good at his job. I have high expectations.”

Baek Kanghyun smiled. His trademark smile, which made even the surroundings brighten, was directed solely at Seowon. Seowon lifted his head for a moment and then hung it low again. Seowon was someone who smiled well and was polite to everyone, but to him specifically, he could do nothing and was busy avoiding his gaze.

‘He doesn’t… recognize me.’

He wondered if it was a relief, but his mouth felt very bitter. Since he was a person who didn’t even know his name back then, it was natural that he wouldn’t remember him. Because seven years ago, the two of them weren’t even in a relationship that could be called anything.

‘Sex partners.’

If he had to put a name to their past relationship, it would be about that. Seowon desperately suppressed his churning heart.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

“…”

Seowon could hardly focus on work all afternoon. This was the first time since joining the company that he was this distracted by what was beyond the partition. Baek Kanghyun was in a place visible just by poking his neck out slightly. Unlike Seowon, whose face was flushed red and whose limbs were trembling, Baek Kanghyun was full of composure.

‘I’m really screwed.’

Somehow, he had thought his life had been going well lately. He had never been this troubled since joining the company. Should he really resign? No, why should I, after all I did to get into this company?

Seowon liked himself as an Assistant Manager at Samin Electronics. They say every Korean office worker carries a resignation letter in their heart, but that wasn’t the case for Seowon.

What kind of place was Samin Electronics? It was a representative company of Korea that no Korean could fail to know. From mobile phones to refrigerators, washing machines, and TVs used mainly at home, to semiconductors and other high-tech industries, there was no field Samin Electronics hadn’t touched. There was even a saying, “You can meet Samin everywhere your feet touch.”

It had been four years since he got a job here. Considering the effort he put in to get accepted into Samin, it was right for him to stay with the company for the next 10, no, 20 years. Moreover, he was in a state where he had taken out a loan of hundreds of millions to clear his debts. Quitting the company just because a former sex partner had become his superior was too unfair.

‘Whew…’

When he let out a deep, silent sigh and inadvertently raised his head, he saw Baek Kanghyun. Unfortunately, from Seowon’s seat, he was too visible.

It was appalling how his ordinary appearance hadn’t changed at all since his college days. His smooth forehead and straight bridge of his nose, his sleek cheeks and clear lips, and his sharply angled jaw. He was exactly as Seowon had liked him.

“…!”

As if sensing the gaze, he lifted his dark eyes. Seowon quickly lowered his eyes and fixed his gaze on the bottom of the monitor. Heat rose to the nape of his neck, and he loosened his tie, blowing a short breath toward the ceiling.

‘Don’t mind him. Please, I beg of you, Jeong Seowon.’

He clicked the mouse, shouting to himself that if he looked at Baek Kanghyun again, he was a beast, no, a cockroach.

The clicking sound of the mouse, which usually didn’t bother him much, was incredibly annoying. No matter how hard he tried, his stray thoughts wouldn’t stop. There was a lot of work he had organized on his list to do today, but he hadn’t even completed half of it. It had been a long time since his work efficiency had dropped this much.

“Um, I’ll go have some tea for a moment.”

“Assistant Manager Jung, are you going to the pantry? I’ll go with you.”

Just then, Assistant Manager Seo Jiyeon also stood up. Since he had often gone to the pantry with her, he gave a light nod.

“What are you going to drink, Assistant Manager Jung?”

“You choose first. I’ll choose later.”

While Assistant Manager Seo Jiyeon chose a tea bag, Seowon filled the kettle with water. Then, while he was cleaning his tumbler as the water boiled, she spoke to him in a whispering tone.

“The new Team Leader, they say he’s from the Chairman’s maternal side. I heard he’s a graduate of Korea University and studied abroad?”

“Ah, I, is that so?”

“Yes. But the Team Leader, he’s an Alpha, right? Don’t you know, Assistant Manager Jung? I don’t know about those things, but you…”

Seowon just nodded, keeping his lips pressed together. He had known for a long time that he was an Alpha.

But it was just as the water in the kettle started to boil.

“Oh, Team Leader, you’re here?”