NAME 68

“I kept doing it because you wouldn’t answer the phone, and the same goes for the messages. I tend to be a bit impatient.”

“Yes.”

“Just as you said, it’s fun. You tremble and recoil in disgust if I provoke you even a little. And…”

“And what?”

It had felt so serious when he thought about it alone, but now that Baek Kanghyun mentioned it, it felt like nothing. Perhaps for a man whose life difficulty itself was much lower than others because he was born gifted, everything might seem easy and trivial. Even emotions like like or dislike might just be cumbersome and annoying tasks to him.

He shouldn’t have brought it up. Just as he was thinking that everything was a waste of time, Baek Kanghyun spoke.

“It’s the same for me. I’m not usually this kind of person.”

“… .”

“I’m saying I’m only like this specifically toward you.”

Letting the words slip that it wasn’t just because of pheromones, he grabbed Seowon’s hand and pulled him along. The man’s confession, which was neither one thing nor the other, only added to the confusion.

While he was out of his mind, they ended up near the man’s car.

“Have you eaten dinner?”

“No, not yet.”

Seowon’s prickly tone had become docile before he knew it. After pouring everything out, he felt a bit drained and could no longer maintain his sharp edge. It was due to his nature, which was born to be soft-hearted.

“Was it such an important matter that you couldn’t even manage a meal?”

Seowon did not answer the indirect question asking where he had been. Furthermore, without even offering the courtesy of asking if the Team Leader had eaten, he stared at the man as he took out a cigarette and put it to his lips. After taking a long drag of the tobacco, the man exhaled a large breath and spoke.

“You’ll be my secretary, won’t you.”

It was an implicit certainty, a request rather than a demand. What was a mere secretary anyway, that Baek Kanghyun would take such a low stance unlike himself?

“What happens if I refuse?”

“I haven’t thought about it. It’s already a decided matter.”

“My god.”

It wasn’t that he hadn’t expected it. There had been numerous instances where the man decided everything and simply notified Seowon. Perhaps that was why he only felt dumbfounded rather than angry.

“What becomes of Sales Team 3?”

“Why are you worrying about that too?”

“Of course I worry. It’s the department I’ve worked in ever since I joined Samil. Is it being disbanded?”

“Well, you’ll find out if you wait and see.”

So it is being disbanded. He didn’t feel good. Seo Jiyeon, Manager Park, Assistant Manager Kim, and the youngest staff member, who all likely knew nothing yet, would be shocked when they found out.

He felt a pang of conscience because he was the only one moving up with Baek Kanghyun while everyone else was being scattered and might go to even more difficult departments. No, in fact, it was by no means something to feel guilty about. He would rather go to another department like the other team members. Sincerely.

“You said it’s already been decided.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Is there no room for negotiation?”

“Negotiation? Is there something you want?”

“If I tell you, will you grant it?”

“It depends on what it is.”

“Since you acted according to your own will this time, it’s only fair that I get to do at least one thing according to mine.”

Seowon tried to be stubborn like Baek Kanghyun. He didn’t want to miss the opportunity while the man was acting soft. It felt as though the man would grant whatever he demanded right now.

“Tell me.”

“If I say I want to quit, please accept it without a word. Whether it’s being your secretary or your partner.”

“Quit?”

The atmosphere around him instantly turned menacing. Pheromones mixed with the smell of cigarettes drifted up like smoke around him. His shoulders shook slightly in response to the pheromones. However, Seowon steadied his trembling hands and voice and spoke.

“I don’t mean quitting right now. I mean later.”

“When is that ‘later’?”

“I don’t know that either.”

He said that, but in reality, Seowon intended to leave him somehow once the development of his pheromone gland was finished. In the past, the man had used him as a tool for sexual desire, so shouldn’t he be able to use the man a bit too? After all, it was all Baek Kanghyun’s fault that his body had become like this.

And he needed this kind of insurance. In the past, he could end the relationship simply by not being the first to contact him, but now it was different. Now that Baek Kanghyun knew his name and called it, he might not be able to end it as easily as before.

“And one more thing.”

“One condition is enough.”

The man cut off Seowon’s words flatly. Then he leaned his body close to Seowon and whispered.

“But since I’ve come all this way, surely you aren’t going to tell me to just go?”

“You came here of your own accord, Team Leader.”

“It happened because you wouldn’t answer the phone. Without even saying where you were going.”

“You cannot come into the house. I suppose up to the front of the house is okay.”

“That’s not bad either.”

He let out a deep sigh and nodded. Reproaching himself for being as soft as silken tofu, he headed toward his house. A biting wind blew through the narrow alley, but he didn’t feel particularly cold. It seemed to be because a man like a wall was walking closely beside him.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

Notice of Personnel Appointment and Transfer

One week after the day Baek Kanghyun sought Seowon out near his house, the personnel change notice was posted. Baek Kanghyun was appointed as Managing Director, Seowon as his secretary, and Sales Team 3 was shattered into pieces, just as Seowon had feared. It wasn’t just Sales Team 3. Other departments also underwent the ordeal of having team members changed and reassigned. And among those swept away by the wave of that ordeal was Jaehwan.

‘My god, how can this be…’

The place where he, a native of Seoul, was assigned was even Busan. No matter how much he thought about it, it was an action that could only be regarded as a demotion.

“Assistant Manager Jeong, what happened with this? How can this happen so suddenly!”

Seo Jiyeon, whose team had disappeared and was sent to Sales Team 1, looked miserable. The expressions of Manager Park and the other employees weren’t very good either. In particular, Seowon, who had been assigned as the secretary for the Managing Director’s office, received stinging glares from the people of Sales Team 3. The atmosphere was so grim that Seowon could only watch the others’ reactions, unable to even explain that it wasn’t what he wanted.

“Good morning.”

Amidst the morning atmosphere that felt like walking on thin ice, Baek Kanghyun appeared. Even though it could never be a good morning, he spoke as usual and went to his seat.

“Team Leader, regarding the personnel appointment notice today. Do you happen to know the reason why this happened?”

As soon as Baek Kanghyun sat down, Manager Park asked. He was very distressed because he had been assigned to a branch office on the outskirts of the Gyeonggi region. At least the others were able to remain at the headquarters, but Manager Park alone was sent to a branch.

Once one goes to a branch, it becomes extremely difficult to return to the headquarters unless their performance is remarkably good. To Manager Park, who wanted to stick to the headquarters and go the long and thin route if possible, this personnel action was like a bolt from the blue.

“Is there a problem?”

However, Baek Kanghyun barked coldly at Manager Park’s questioning. With chilling eyes, he stood up and looked down at Manager Park. And to the hesitating Manager Park, he held out an L-shaped folder containing some documents.

“What is this…?!”

Manager Park’s face crumpled miserably as he checked the contents inside the transparent file. His hands holding the documents were trembling violently.

“Do you need further explanation?”

“Team Leader, th-this… I am truly sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry to me for; apologize to our team members. Especially to Assistant Manager Jeong, who worked so hard.”

After a conversation that only the two of them could understand passed between them, Manager Park sat down quietly. Having stared into space as if despondent, he soon left the office while letting out deep sighs.

While everyone was just watching the situation, Seo Jiyeon poked Seowon in the side.

“Assistant Manager Jeong, do you happen to know what’s going on?”

“No.”

Seowon shook his head. If he asked Baek Kanghyun, he would likely know the whole story immediately. While he was debating whether to ask or not, a message arrived.

[Team Leader Baek Kanghyun: Are you curious?]

It felt as if he could hear the man’s voice in the letters. Seowon mindlessly raised his head and his eyes met with the man’s across the partition.

“… .”

Recalling Manager Park’s appearance from a moment ago—looking as if his world had collapsed—Seowon sent a reply immediately.

[Assistant Manager Jeong Seowon: No, I’m fine.]

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

Manager Park, who had been drifting in and out of the office all morning, used his annual leave and left before lunch. After he left, the atmosphere in the office became so grim that not even the sound of breathing could be heard.

Everyone seemed curious about what on earth Manager Park had done to act that way, but no one could bring up the subject. This was because the atmosphere exuded by Baek Kanghyun was also unusual.

‘What should Assistant Manager Lee do…’

Meanwhile, Seowon was more worried about Jaehwan than Manager Park. He suspected that perhaps Baek Kanghyun’s will had intervened in the man’s transfer to Busan. This was by no means an assumption made out of self-importance. Since Baek Kanghyun would growl while mentioning Jaehwan’s name at every turn, it was quite possible.

Should I tell Baek Kanghyun even now that my relationship with Jaehwan was just a simple one and that we don’t even contact each other now? Why should I? However, thinking of Jaehwan, who would be chased away to Busan without even knowing why, he felt so sorry and concerned.

[Assistant Manager Jeong Seowon: Team Leader, do you have a moment during lunch?]

After agonizing for a long time, Seowon sent him a message. This was the first time Seowon had first asked him if he had time.

[Team Leader Baek Kanghyun: Sure.]

A reply came immediately. And then messages followed in succession.