MW 25

“This is the friend I was talking about. I contacted you because I happened to be with him, but I didn’t drag a busy person out here for nothing, did I?”

“Ah, hello. I’m Seo Yijae. Not at all. I was finished with school, so it was fine.”

Yijae, who had bowed to the man sitting next to the manager, replied with a faint smile, saying it was okay. The manager, who had been staring intently at his smiling face, nudged the arm of the man sitting next to her and whispered, “See? I’m a good judge of character,” before telling Yijae to sit down.

“Oh, right. You said you go to Hangang University, didn’t you, Yijae? With that face, that height, and even a university education. That’s a whole other world.”

He didn’t know what ‘a whole other world’ meant, but judging from her tone and expression, it seemed to be a compliment. Yijae bowed his head again, said thank you, and looked at the menu she handed him.

“Strawberry Choco Latte….”

“Strawberry Choco Latte? You like this? It’s really sweet. You must like sweet things, Yijae.”

Yijae, who had unconsciously uttered the name of the drink Jaeha had bought for him, felt a bitter taste in his mouth. Not long after, the extra drink Yijae had ordered arrived, and in the midst of making small talk to break the awkward atmosphere, the manager tried to wrap up the conversation.

“Alright, I think that’s about enough talk, and the contract is between you two. You two talk it over and decide. Yijae, let’s grab a meal together sometime.”

“Ah, yes, thank you.”

“See you next time, then. I’m heading out first, Seungmin.”

She got up from her seat, waved with her characteristically bright smile, and left the cafe. Yijae, now left alone with the man named ‘Seungmin,’ kept sipping his drink to combat the awkwardness.

‘Why does he keep just staring at me? Does he have something to say?’

Yijae, who had glanced up while drinking, accidentally made eye contact with the man and let out a small cough, kol-lok.

‘This is awkward….’

Unable to look down or get up from his seat, Yijae was darting his eyes around when Seungmin’s next question made his eyes go wide like a rabbit’s.

“You’re an Omega, right?”

He hadn’t disclosed the fact that he was an Omega on the resume he submitted for the wedding hall part-time job. So the manager, of course….

“She might not know because she’s a Beta, but I’m an Alpha, so I can tell right away. I can smell a faint pheromone scent from you. Am I still wrong?”

“Ah… Yes, you’re right, actually. I should have told you beforehand. I’m sorry.”

Flustered, Yijae squeezed his eyes shut and apologized. Of course. There was no way he could get such a good job.

It was then that Yijae, with a self-deprecating smile, looked up. The man looked at Yijae with a thoughtful frown, glanced at the watch on his left wrist, and then spoke.

“You don’t seem to be a dominant. So you probably don’t have that many heats.”

“……”

“What, does this kind of talk make you uncomfortable?”

“N-No. It’s okay….”

It wasn’t polite for a stranger to ask such things, but it didn’t really matter. It wasn’t like his heat cycles came often anyway.

His doctor had said a heat cycle could come soon, but thankfully, the symptoms had weakened since his hospital visit. It seemed like he would get through this month just fine as well.

“What do you mean, it’s okay? There are a lot of guys who say weird shit at work. If you act all dazed like that, they’ll see you as an easy target and do useless things, so be careful.”

Does that mean… you’ll hire me?

Yijae stared at him with wide eyes. At that, Seungmin’s lips curved into a smirk, and he took out his wallet from the inner pocket of his jacket and handed him a business card.

“You’re hired. Start tomorrow.”

On the business card he was handed, the name of the establishment, ‘Hidden,’ was written along with the address.

“Like I briefly mentioned earlier, it’s a place in Cheongdam-dong, and the hourly wage is 30,000 won.”

No matter how he thought about it, the pay was too high. Could it be a strange, illicit business….

As if reading Yijae’s thoughts, Seungmin spoke with a slanted gaze.

“If you’re worried, you can look it up. I doubt that phone is just for decoration.”

Realizing his inner thoughts had been exposed, Yijae lowered his head. Oh no. What if he’s offended….

“I-I’m sorry….”

“It’s understandable.”

Seungmin nodded with an unfazed expression and, out of habit, put a cigarette to his lips. Then, with an “ah,” he muttered, “Ah, fuck. A cafe,” and broke the cigarette.

“But I’m a student. So on weekdays, mornings are a bit difficult, but I’m available after 6 p.m. Weekends are fine.”

His classes usually ended by 3, but he had assignments to do and couldn’t completely neglect his studies, so 6 seemed reasonable. Yijae answered, recalling Chairman Goo and Ms. Lee, who had thankfully and readily agreed to let him get a part-time job.

“That works out. We open at 7 p.m. since you’re a student, I guess working until dawn would be tough. Can you do until midnight?”

The man asked, squinting as if he couldn’t gauge.

“Yes, I can.”

“The place is closed on Mondays. From Tuesday to Sunday. Six days a week. We’ll do it like this for now until we find more people, and if it gets too hard, I’ll adjust your schedule.”

From 7 p.m. to midnight. If he worked six days a week, that was 3.6 million won. Yijae did the math in his head and his mouth fell open at the enormous sum he had never held in his hands his entire life.

There’s no way they would pay this much. Could there be some kind of mistake?

“Make sure you take your medication. A lot of Alpha customers come to the store. I hate it when unnecessary flies get drawn in, so conduct yourself accordingly.”

“Yes, yes.”

He hadn’t taken suppressants because he was told that taking them could strain his body by disrupting the regulation of his pheromone fluid production, unless they were prescribed by the hospital.

Suppressants…. Yijae once again mulled over the word ‘pheromone scent,’ which he had heard from several people in the past few days, and nodded. It wasn’t like he was stuck at home anymore; he had to go to school and work, so emitting pheromones was a nuisance. He thought he should stop by a pharmacy on his way back to get suppressants and clutched the business card tightly.

“Want to check out the place if you have time? I’m about to head over now.”

Seungmin asked as he got up from his seat, leaving the two empty drink cups on the table. Yijae looked at the time on his phone and, seeing it was still early, nodded. If he went home now anyway, the chances of running into Dohae or Dohyeon were higher.

Yijae’s pace quickened as he walked behind Seungmin. Then, he stopped in front of a parked sports car, his eyes widening as he looked at the man.

Given the high pay and the fact that he was already the owner of a bar in Cheongdam-dong at such a young age, there was no way he wasn’t rich. Yijae stared at the sports car, which he had never seen before, with a look of fascination.

“Are you a chaebol too, boss?”

Yijae asked Seungmin after getting into the car. He, who was driving with one hand, turned his head at the gaze he felt on his cheek and answered.

“Me? Not quite a chaebol, more like a golden spoon, maybe. Just well-off enough to get by.”

The curve of his lips as he smiled faintly seemed to reflect his personality. Yijae looked at his fingertips, which had been fidgeting with a cigarette pack since earlier, and said.

“You can smoke.”

“Really? Thanks.”

Seungmin put a cigarette in his mouth, as if holding back had been a real ordeal. The smoke was stronger than expected, and Yijae turned his head slightly towards the window.

‘This is nice….’

The cool air brushing against his cheeks through his hair felt good. Yijae closed his eyes and felt the wind, enjoying a peace he hadn’t experienced in a long time.

“We’re here.”

Not long after the car he was in with Seungmin had entered an area full of increasingly luxurious buildings, it stopped in front of one.

“Is this entire building your store, boss?”

“Except for the very top floor. That’s my house.”

“Ah….”

To own a five-story building in Cheongdam-dong and say he was just well-off enough to get by. Yijae looked around the magnificent building with fascination, even from the outside, and followed Seungmin as he entered.

“Welcome, boss.”

After passing through a long corridor and opening a gold-painted door, a man with a cheerful voice approached and greeted them.

“Everything’s been fine, right?”

Unlike Yijae, who jumped in surprise, Seungmin asked with a stoic face, as if this was a common occurrence.

“Yes, yessir, we were preparing for opening just fine. Is this my first rodeo? Oh, but who’s that behind you….”

“Ah, hello.”

Yijae, whose eyes met the man’s, bowed. At that, the man, who had been staring intently at Yijae’s face, blushed beet red and spoke in a flurry.

“Boss! Who is this? A celebrity? I’ve never seen anyone so pretty before!”

“You’re overreacting. Anyway, take him and give him a tour of the place.”

“What? Me?”

The man, looking quite flustered, stammered and grabbed Seungmin’s arm with jerky movements. Yijae burst out laughing at the sight of him fidgeting as if he was about to burst into tears at any moment.

“Pu-heu.”

“……Huh?”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to….”

Yijae, still with a lingering smile, rubbed his lips and shivered slightly.

“He’ll be working with you starting tomorrow. He’s only twenty, so you’re the older one. Teach him well.”

“Whaat? B-Boss?”