“What are you talking about?”
Hyunwoo didn’t bother hiding his irritation as he asked.
Jealousy?
What on earth made him say something like that.
As Hyunwoo stared at him in disbelief, Seunghyuk tilted his head and spoke.
“If not, then never mind.”
“…….”
Is he kidding me?
He says something that gets on someone’s nerves, then casually says “never mind.”
Hyunwoo ground his teeth.
“You’re talking nonsense again.”
“It’s not nonsense… just a feeling?”
“Haha….”
No way.
There was no way he would ever feel something like that.
For a moment, the Omega employee’s cutesy voice flashed through his mind, but Hyunwoo repeated it to himself again and again.
“Anyway, you made the right decision not to date inside the company.
Getting tangled with teammates like that is just tiring.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.
So I’ll let it slide this once that you used me as an excuse.
But be careful from now on when you say things like that.”
“Hm….”
Even though Hyunwoo was speaking seriously, Seunghyuk hardly seemed to be listening.
Hyunwoo shot him a glare and tried to continue.
“But hey, hyung.”
“…What?”
But Seunghyuk interrupted.
Hyunwoo frowned at him.
Tilting his head slightly, Seunghyuk asked.
“So I can’t date anyone at the company, but… what about us?
We’re getting married soon.”
“…….”
“Is company dating banned but company marriage allowed?”
This crazy kid.
Hyunwoo barely stopped himself from swearing out loud.
He wasn’t going to play along with this kind of nasty joke.
He clenched his teeth and glared.
The way Seunghyuk acted clueless only made him angrier.
“Stop talking nonsense.
And be careful until your internship ends….”
“Uh?”
“……!”
Footsteps echoed in the quiet alley, followed by someone’s confused voice.
Hyunwoo whipped his head around in shock.
“Oh… Director…?”
“Ah….”
A man holding a cigarette flinched when he saw Hyunwoo.
It was an employee from their team.
Hyunwoo couldn’t hide his momentary panic.
“Why are you… with the intern….”
The employee’s eyes shifted from Hyunwoo to Seunghyuk.
Seeing the confusion in his expression, Hyunwoo bit his lip and stepped forward.
“I stepped out to get some air and happened to run into him.
He seemed nervous on his first day, so we were talking and lost track of time.”
“Ah… haha, right.
I came out because people were glaring at me inside when I tried to smoke.”
“I see.”
Hyunwoo’s gaze dropped to the cigarette in the employee’s mouth.
So this guy was the one who’d been smoking nonstop since the dinner started.
Hyunwoo stared at the cigarette like it was an enemy, then lifted his head.
“Well then, I’ll head back inside.”
“Ah, yes.”
Since the very person who’d driven him out of the restaurant had come outside, it was a good chance to slip away.
Later, he would pass his card to Junghoon and head home.
After sorting out his thoughts, Hyunwoo nodded politely at the bowing employee and walked away without looking back.
“Wow, did he really say that?”
“…….”
Inside the restaurant, the atmosphere was even more heated.
Hyunwoo saw that someone had already taken his seat and sighed before turning away.
“Oh? Director.”
“Tell everyone to order whatever they want.
And use this to pay.”
“Oh, thank you as always.”
Junghoon stood up and accepted the card respectfully.
Hyunwoo patted his shoulder.
“I’ll see you tomorrow at work.
It’s a weekday—don’t overdo it.”
“Haha, yes. Get home safely.”
“…….”
Junghoon’s face was already flushed red.
Hyunwoo didn’t trust him to stay sober, but there was nothing he could do except leave.
He turned to go.
“…….”
“…….”
And there, entering the restaurant again, was Seunghyuk.
They stared at each other without a word.
No unnecessary talking.
Hyunwoo conveyed the message with his eyes as he passed him.
Unlike in the alley, Seunghyuk didn’t grab him this time.
“Haa….”
The heat from earlier in the day had cooled slightly now that night had fallen.
Still, the lingering humidity clung to Hyunwoo’s cheeks.
He just needed to go home, wash up, and sleep.
Suddenly overwhelmed with fatigue, Hyunwoo quickened his steps.
Beep-beep-beep.
The day after the welcome dinner, Hyunwoo woke up exactly when his alarm rang.
“Hoo….”
His conversation with Seunghyuk still bothered him a little—it felt like something was off.
But Hyunwoo forced himself to ignore it.
He just wanted to live each day peacefully.
He got out of bed, washed up, and got ready for work.
Then, like Pavlov’s dog, he headed to the living room to grab the tumbler from the fridge.
“…….”
He paused in front of Seunghyuk’s door.
A faint forest scent seeped out from the narrow gap.
Hyunwoo unconsciously stood still and inhaled.
“……!”
Then he snapped back to reality, horrified at himself, and hurried away.
He could feel his face heating up.
“Haa….”
He rushed to the living room and opened the fridge, letting out a long sigh.
The tumbler was sitting there as always.
Hyunjin had given up lately, but Seunghyuk was persistent.
He seemed to leave home earlier than Hyunwoo, yet still found time to prepare a drink every morning.
And yesterday, he must have stayed late at the welcome dinner.
Beep, beep.
“Oh.”
Lost in thought, Hyunwoo hurriedly grabbed the tumbler when it beeped.
Then he closed the refrigerator.
“…….”
He stared down at the familiar blue tumbler before putting it into his bag and leaving.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning, Director.”
Upon arriving at the office, Hyunwoo greeted the employees he passed and entered his room.
“Hm…?”
Something felt unusual.
Hyunwoo frowned slightly.
Normally, more employees arrived at this hour.
And Junghoon, who always arrived early to prepare the schedule briefing, was nowhere to be seen.
Hyunwoo turned to an employee bringing documents.
“Has Junghoon not come in yet?”
“No, not yet.”
“Hm….”
Taking the documents, Hyunwoo let out a quiet sigh.
It was almost the official start time, yet many seats were still empty.
At this rate, there would be record-breaking numbers of late arrivals.
I told them not to drink too much….
Hyunwoo shook his head, remembering Junghoon’s flushed face the night before.
But then again, the welcome dinner had been on a weekday, and today was Friday.
He couldn’t blame them too harshly.
Buzz.
“……!”
His phone vibrated.
A message from Junghoon—he woke up feeling awful and would come in the afternoon.
Hyunwoo sighed softly.
“All right.
For today, allow lateness until half past.
And let anyone who’s sick take a half-day or use leave.”
“Yes, Director.”
The employee nodded with the signed documents.
After they left, Hyunwoo checked his own schedule.
He remembered something troublesome was planned for today….
“Oh… great.”
Of course.
He had a site visit scheduled with an external partner outside the city.
Round trip four hours by car.
He was supposed to leave early in the morning and return in the afternoon.
But now Junghoon was sick and couldn’t go.
It was too much to handle alone—someone needed to accompany him.
Hyunwoo felt uneasy but pushed it aside.
He stepped out of his office and spotted Assistant Manager Oh.
“Assistant Manager Oh.”
“Yes, Director? What’s wrong?”
“Is there anyone among the employees who could free up their schedule from morning to afternoon today?”
“Uh…”
Oh’s eyes darted nervously.
Then she turned quickly.
“I’ll check.”
Returning to her seat, she opened the company messenger.
As expected, very few employees were online.
After a few minutes, she looked back at Hyunwoo with an apologetic expression.
“It seems… no one can go today, Director….”
“Hm….”
Since it was Friday, no one was eager to go far.
If more employees had been present, maybe someone would have been available.
The situation wasn’t good.
“All right then…”
“Oh! Doesn’t Seunghyuk have a driver’s license?”
Assistant Manager Oh suddenly exclaimed.
Seunghyuk, sitting a short distance away, looked over.
And Hyunwoo froze in horror.