NAME 69

[Team Leader Baek Kanghyun: Come down to the parking lot by 12:10. Think about what you want to eat.]

Seowon let out a small lament. He hadn’t meant for them to eat lunch together. However, he just stayed quiet.

“… .”

It was because he had the illusion that he saw the man’s eyes, gently curved toward him, beyond the partition.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

“Have you thought about what to eat? Is it Korean food again?”

“I prefer Korean food.”

The man asked as soon as Seowon got into the car. Seowon was quite flustered because the man, who had acted so frighteningly this morning, was now speaking with a rising inflection at the end of his sentences. Is he that excited to go eat? Could he have been that hungry? Or…

‘Does he like eating with me?’

Seowon tried exercising his meager imagination. He deleted the thought from his head immediately, though, as it was such a nonsensical assumption. He guessed that since the appointment as Managing Director was finalized today, the man was probably in a good mood because of that.

In fact, the work of the sales team tended to be too rough and miscellaneous for someone who was a close associate of the chairman. Furthermore, having recently switched clients from Haewang to Taegang, he must have been quite exhausted from doing a lot of unnecessary work. Or perhaps he hadn’t liked the Team Leader position in the first place.

If he hadn’t come as the Team Leader from the start…

‘We would never have met again.’

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Before long, the car came to a stop. The restaurant Seowon followed Baek Kanghyun into was a Korean restaurant with a relatively casual atmosphere. It wasn’t excessively luxurious, nor was it humble; it felt like a place wealthy people would visit when they wanted to eat a home-style meal. Perhaps because of that, the prices weren’t extremely expensive. Of course, that was by Baek Kanghyun’s standards. By Seowon’s standards, the prices were high. The pork kimchi stew set cost 30,000 won.

Seowon ordered the bulgogi set for 27,000 won, and Baek Kanghyun ordered the same.

“What’s the occasion?”

As if considering the situation of busy office workers, the food came out very quickly. Baek Kanghyun asked as soon as Seowon picked up his utensils.

Seowon’s gaze pooled on the man’s gently curved lips. It seemed it definitely hadn’t been an illusion that he thought Baek Kanghyun had been in a good mood since earlier.

“Just, there was something I was curious about.”

“What is it? Manager Park?”

The bulgogi tasted quite good. It was moderately sweet and salty, making it decent to eat with the stone pot rice it came with. The side dishes were also clean, so Seowon moved his spoon and chopsticks diligently for the first time in a while.

“Well, actually…”

He was curious about the Manager Park matter, but the person Seowon was concerned about was Jaehwan. Baek Kanghyun likely hadn’t been involved in every single personnel move—he might have only manipulated the people in Sales Team 3—but the seed of doubt, once planted, did not disappear easily.

“Please give us more of these side dishes.”

However, Baek Kanghyun called over a staff member while holding the empty side dish bowls. He even went so far as to give his own portion of the side dishes, which he hadn’t touched, to Seowon bowl and all. It was just a minor kindness, but because it was Baek Kanghyun and not someone else, it felt different.

“I’m fine.”

“Just eat.”

The conversation made no progress. It was difficult to continue a dialogue while eating, and Seowon also hesitated. After completely finishing the bulgogi plate and the stone pot rice, he felt a bit more relaxed, but even then, Seowon faltered and couldn’t bring himself to state his business.

“You’re acting strange today.”

He let out the meaningless words instead.

“You’re always like that, Assistant Manager Jeong.”

“Like what?”

“Whenever I treat you well, you say it’s strange.”

They also ordered coffee for dessert. Hot Americanos; Baek Kanghyun ordered the same thing as Seowon this time too.

“Because it really is strange. You weren’t like this before.”

The “before” Seowon referred to included seven years ago.

“…Is that so.”

It was a lingering answer.

“There was a bit of a connection between Haewang Industry and Manager Park.”

“Pardon?”

Then, Baek Kanghyun brought up Manager Park out of the blue.

“It kept bothering me because it seemed like Manager Park was pushing them too much, and then that president jerk, …anyway. Still, because of the work he’s done so far, I ended it at that level.”

“Are you saying that Manager Park took kickbacks or something like that?”

“They were relatives. It’s no different from pocketing the company’s money for himself. The disbandment of Team 3 was also due to the company’s situation. I reassigned the other team members with as much consideration as possible, so you don’t need to worry too much. I’m telling you not to mind them for no reason.”

“Consideration… you say?”

He was definitely strange today. To think he would speak of consideration… However, if that’s the case, Manager Park is one thing, but why did Jaehwan end up going all the way to Busan? Was it really because of him? He wanted to confirm that his assumption wasn’t a delusion caused by self-importance.

“Why? Did you think I decided on it without any thought?”

“Then what about Jaehwan?”

“…What?”

“Jaehwan—no, Assistant Manager Lee in the PR team. Why is Assistant Manager Lee going to Busan? Did he do something wrong?”

The atmosphere flipped instantly. Chilling cold dripped from his eyes, which had held warmth throughout the lunch. However, Seowon couldn’t stop.

“I’d like to think it isn’t the case—I really think it absolutely isn’t—but I’m asking just in case. If Assistant Manager Lee is being chased away to Busan because of me, I’d feel too sorry…”

“…Is that so?”

“He’s a good person. To me, he’s someone I’m especially grateful for.”

“So you think I’ve sent that bastard all the way to Busan, then.”

Seowon hesitated, then simply nodded.

“As expected, this time it’s also my self-importance…”

“No, you’re right.”

“…Pardon?”

“I’m saying it’s true that I sent him.”

When the thing he had feared turned out to be true, his mind went blank in an instant. With his face turning pale, Seowon shook his head vigorously.

“Are… are you cr— No, what on earth is the reason? Assistant Manager Lee Jaehwan is a native of Seoul! But sending him to Busan so suddenly like this is the same as telling him to quit the company! Did Assistant Manager Lee Jaehwan get into some kind of massive trouble?”

Seowon asked demandingly in an agitated tone. However, the answer that came back from Baek Kanghyun was absurd.

“Because he’s an eyesore.”

His speech was blocked momentarily. However, he couldn’t just stay silent, so he asked back once more.

“What is so eyesore-inducing? What did Jaehwan do wrong…!”

Shouting, Seowon met the man’s gaze, which had frozen over coldly. His voice dropped sharply as if it had hit a speed bump. Still, he had no intention of stopping. He couldn’t possibly stop this time. Because to Seowon, Jaehwan was like a sore thumb.

<What am I to you? Am I just a fuel tank you call and use when you need it?>

The image of Jaehwan, who rarely got angry, shouting like that was still vivid in his mind.

“Jaehwan was just my fellow recruit.”

“Can’t you stop talking about that bastard?”

Then, Baek Kanghyun shouted as he jumped to his feet. Furrowing his brow intensely, he placed his hands on his waist and puffed out his shoulders. Seowon also stood up and faced him without backing down. He glared at the man fiercely with the determination never to retreat.

In a tense standoff where they only glared at each other without speaking, Seowon opened his mouth first.

“I’m quitting.”

The words that sprang from his lips were his own, yet they were surprising. It was an impromptu and impulsive declaration that didn’t consider his current debt, career, or future at all. However, Seowon felt that it was for the better. Telling himself that this is how it should have been from the start, he clenched his fists, soothing his fearful self.

“What…?”

Baek Kanghyun’s brow crumpled so miserably it couldn’t be furrowed any further.

“Didn’t you hear me? I said I’m quitting.”

Seowon spoke in a very firm tone. Jaehwan being chased to Busan was a problem, and becoming the man’s secretary was even more of a problem. It hadn’t been easy even as a Team Leader and Assistant Manager, but if he even became the man’s secretary, he would be swayed by him even more.

“Are you saying that seriously right now?”

No matter how much he would miss the Alpha pheromones, this wasn’t it. Even if he lived as a half-functional Omega whose pheromones leaked at every turn, it was better than being continuously dragged around by Baek Kanghyun.

Having made up his mind, he became cold instead. He felt like he could understand the feelings of people who throw their resignation letters in a fit of anger.

“Yes.”

After answering shortly, Seowon sprinted out of the restaurant. Feeling the man following behind him, he quickened his pace. However, the man caught up with the loud sound of dress shoes clicking and grabbed his shoulder firmly.

“Let go.”

Seowon shook off the grabbed shoulder forcefully. And he spoke without even looking back.

“I told you to let go.”

“Jeong Seowon!”

A voice full of rage pierced his ears. The gazes of the people passing on the sidewalk shifted to the two of them. However, Seowon had no energy to care about the people around him.

“Rather than causing harm to an innocent person, it’s better that I leave.”

“… .”

“In the end, it’s all because of me anyway. I’ll quit being your pheromone partner and the company too. Since I’m leaving, please return Jaehwan to how he was.”