NAME 65

“Actually, I was already a bit interested in that place, and seeing the flyer really tempts me, you know? So… Assistant Manager Jeong, would you like to go with me?”

“Go where?”

“I just told you. The matchmaking agency! They said the consultation is free for now and told me to come by. They said since we’re Samil employees, they’d give us a big discount, so they insisted we visit.”

It was such an unexpected proposal that he hesitated to answer. To Seowon, who wasn’t even dating, let alone thinking of marriage, a matchmaking agency was like a story from a foreign land. However, Seo Jiyeon, who was already completely hooked on the idea, had eyes sparkling with excitement.

“To be honest, it’s a bit awkward to go alone… I guess you could say it’s embarrassing. Apparently, if you go, they evaluate your specs and tell you what kind of people you can be introduced to.”

“Ah, no. Ms. Seo, I’m not really…”

As soon as he showed signs of refusing, Seo Jiyeon grabbed Seowon’s sleeve and started begging.

“I’ll buy lunch. No, I can even buy drinks. It’s because the pressure to get married from home is so intense lately. Please, I’m begging you.”

“Then maybe going with someone else instead of me…”

“Honestly, it’s a bit embarrassing to go with a friend. Going with my parents is also a bit much… They said it’s much safer than apps, too. And actually, a friend of mine who got married recently met someone through an agency.”

“Ah…”

“I already told them I’d be coming during lunch today. You’ll go with me, right?”

His head was already a mess because of the out-of-the-blue secretary proposal, and now he had to visit a matchmaking agency. However, Seo Jiyeon pleaded so earnestly that it was difficult to refuse. When Seowon reluctantly nodded, she beamed and suddenly grabbed his hand.

“Assistant Manager Jeong, thank you!”

But right then, someone abruptly opened the breakroom door and walked in.

“What is so wonderful?”

It was Baek Kanghyun. As he stepped into the breakroom, his gaze focused on Seowon’s hand held by Seo Jiyeon. Seowon hurriedly pulled his hand away and hid it behind his back like someone caught having an affair. As Baek Kanghyun exuded a chilling atmosphere, Seo Jiyeon laughed awkwardly, saying it was nothing, and fled the breakroom as if escaping, leaving only Seowon and Baek Kanghyun behind.

“… .”

Not sure whether he should lie or tell the truth, Seowon just stood there in silence. Baek Kanghyun set his tumbler down with a thud and pressed the button on the electric kettle. In the awkward atmosphere, Seowon drained his half-cooled coffee in one gulp. The sound of the coffee sliding down his throat echoed through the quiet breakroom.

“You’re not answering.”

He spoke in a nonchalant tone.

“It wasn’t really much of a conversation.”

Seowon answered in a small, crawling voice.

“If the two of you were holding hands, it seems like there was plenty of conversation.”

Coldness dripped from every single word he spoke. Seowon couldn’t fathom why he was so displeased.

“It’s just, Ms. Seo asked to go somewhere during lunch.”

“And where is that?”

The electric kettle beep-beeped to signal the water had finished boiling, but he didn’t care at all and was only looking at Seowon. Standing crookedly with his arms crossed, he didn’t look like he would back down unless Seowon answered. Would it be okay to tell him? Seowon opened his mouth, avoiding the sharp gaze fixed on him.

“A matchmaking agency.”

“…What?”

He asked back in an agitated tone. Baek Kanghyun’s handsome features distorted rapidly in real-time.

“Don’t tell me, you’re planning to get married?”

It sounded as if he were asking how someone like Seowon dared to dream of marriage. Hearing that from Baek Kanghyun—the very person who had twisted his life 180 degrees—made Seowon feel stubborn. So, instead of explaining that he wasn’t interested but was just following because Seo Jiyeon asked him to go, he simply raised his eyes to meet the man’s.

“Why? Am I not allowed to?”

As a child, Seowon lived under his grandparents after his parents divorced; he had no decent family to speak of, nor any assets worth mentioning. All he had was the deposit for his current rental home and the title of Assistant Manager at Samil Electronics. Furthermore, his trait was an Omega. Even then, since his pheromone gland was abnormal and essentially half-functional, Seowon himself knew best how difficult marriage would be for him. He also had no desire to go out of his way to visit a place like a matchmaking agency to get married.

Despite that, Baek Kanghyun’s reaction made Seowon’s stomach turn with resentment.

“Are you serious?”

“Well…”

Trailing off with the suggestion that he’d find out once he got there, he brushed past Baek Kanghyun and left the breakroom. He felt the man following behind him, but Seowon ultimately did not look back until he reached his seat.

[Team Leader Baek Kanghyun: The method is quite creative.]

[Team Leader Baek Kanghyun: Unbelievable.]

[Team Leader Baek Kanghyun: This one was quite effective.]

Baek Kanghyun sent messages in succession. It was completely unclear what method was creative or what was effective. So, Seowon closed the message window without replying. His head felt prickly from his forehead to the crown of his scalp. He could feel a piercing gaze coming from across the partition.

[Team Leader Baek Kanghyun: You’re not answering.]

[Team Leader Baek Kanghyun: Let’s talk during lunch. Don’t go anywhere.]

Less than a minute after ignoring his message, another one arrived. Even though he clearly knew Seowon already had plans for lunch, he made his demand very confidently.

Since the man was trying to stop him from going, Seowon wanted to go all the more. For a moment, he understood the wicked psychology of Baek Kanghyun, who did things even more when told not to.

Seowon immediately sent a reply to the last message he had sent.

[Assistant Manager Jeong Seowon: I’ll see you after I return from the matchmaking agency. I have a prior engagement with Ms. Seo.]

He deliberately wrote ‘matchmaking agency’. No sooner had he pressed the button than a notification window flashed yellow in the bottom right of the screen, indicating the man had checked the message. Then, Baek Kanghyun abruptly stood up from his seat, puffed out his shoulders, and shouted toward Seowon.

“Assistant Manager Jeong, to the meeting room. Right now.”

The eyes of the people in Sales Team 3 shifted to him in an instant. It happened ten minutes before the start of the lunch hour. Seowon let out a small sigh as he stood up and gave a faint smile. On his way to the meeting room, he spoke quietly to Seo Jiyeon. He told her it seemed he wouldn’t be able to keep their appointment.

“Did you call for me?”

“Sit.”

Closing the meeting room door tightly, Seowon sat diagonally from him. His pheromones, which were usually well-contained, were leaking out. His emotions were clearly felt in the pheromones as well.

Was this really something to get this angry about?

It was ambiguous whether he was angry at the fact that Seowon was going to a matchmaking agency, or if he was angry that Seowon had spoken to him in a teasing manner. Seowon waited for him to speak while hiding his nervousness well.

“Is this your answer?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

He boldly omitted the context and threw out a question point-blank. Seowon sincerely couldn’t understand the meaning, so he spoke politely. However, Baek Kanghyun glared at Seowon with narrowed eyes.

“Are you going to pretend you don’t know?”

With his ears flushed red, he was the very picture of a wild beast enraged because it couldn’t catch its prey. His eyes, dripping with chilling fire, slanted upward sharply and remained fixed on Seowon.

It had been a long time since he’d seen the man this angry, so it felt foreign and, in a way, made his heart flutter. If—just if—he was this angry because Seowon was going to a matchmaking agency.

<Because I need you.>

His heart, tinted in pale pink, whispered that perhaps he could interpret what the man said this morning differently.

Foolishly.

“It’s none of your business, Team Leader.”

However, since he had the experience of being deeply hurt by Baek Kanghyun in the past, Seowon did not intend to utter any hasty words.

“Whether I get married or not.”

It meant he would absolutely not do the foolish act of concluding why the man was acting like this and letting his heart flutter.

<I like you because you keep your boundaries well.>

Back then, he didn’t know what the ‘boundaries’ the man spoke of were, so he was dragged around like a fool until he met a catastrophic end, covered in wounds. But now it’s different. He wants to keep the boundaries with him clearly. He tries to tell himself that sharing bodies and pheromones with him is enough.

Baek Kanghyun couldn’t take it anymore and stood up abruptly. Seowon also stood up quietly and faced him directly.

“Besides, it’s not like I’m getting married right away.”

Not right away. But someday, a moment might come for him to consider marriage. And Baek Kanghyun, too, would surely end up getting married. Because he was a perfect man who had everything. Since he was a close associate of the chairman, he’d likely go on arranged dates and marry someone from a good family or a great corporation. Moreover, Baek Kanghyun had already entered his 30s. In other words, he was at an age where it wouldn’t be strange whenever he married.

“And talking about this kind of thing with you is very strange.”

Before he knew it, Seowon was speaking in a self-deprecating tone. However, he didn’t realize at all what kind of expression he was making. It wasn’t clear if his brow was furrowed or if his lips were twisted.

“If you’re finished speaking, may I leave? Lunch hour has started.”

“You can’t.”

He flatly refused Seowon’s request, which had been offered cautiously with a smiling face. Seowon glanced outside the meeting room and spoke.

“Assistant Manager Seo Jiyeon probably went alone. I told her I wouldn’t be able to make it.”

“… .”

“Because the Team Leader called for me.”