"I’m fine."
Doh Yihyun gripped his spoon and refused curtly. He wouldn’t be able to eat anyway, and he had no intention of receiving special treatment from Seo Jeongun.
"Do whatever you want, Yihyun. I’ll do whatever I want too."
As if he had already grown used to Yihyun’s refusals, Seo Jeongun didn’t even blink.
'Is the executive office the strange part? Or…'
Yihyun put a spoonful of bibimbap into his mouth and glanced sideways at Seo Jeongun, who was smiling brightly. It was unlikely, but he hoped the reason his nausea had eased wasn’t just because of Seo Jeongun.
However, the next day, Doh Yihyun refused Seo Jeongun’s summons and went to the company cafeteria instead—only to be unable to suppress a gag and end up running to the bathroom.
He had no choice but to admit it now. He didn’t know the reason, but whenever he ate with Seo Jeongun in the executive office, the horrible nausea temporarily disappeared as if it had been wiped clean.
With reluctant steps, Doh Yihyun headed toward the executive office.
It had already been twenty minutes since lunch break started. Even if Seo Jeongun had lost interest and left, Yihyun wouldn’t have had anything to say.
"The Executive Director is inside."
But the secretary guided him the moment he appeared.
After retching for so long, everything felt bothersome. Like yesterday, Yihyun gave a perfunctory knock and stepped inside.
The moment Seo Jeongun spotted him, he sprang up from his slouched position on the sofa. The slightly wrinkled navy vest stretched tight.
"You’re a bit late today. You know you’re the first person who’s ever stood me up—and made me wait like this, right?"
Yihyun inhaled deeply, letting Seo Jeongun’s nonsense pass by as usual. His stomach had been churning the entire way here, and he had nearly given up, but the moment he stepped into the executive office, the nausea gradually subsided.
"Why is your complexion so pale? Did something happen?"
Seo Jeongun reached out toward his face with a concerned expression.
Just before those long, delicate fingers could touch his cheek, Yihyun raised his arm and pushed him away.
"From now on, please refrain from giving Kim Yumin instructions unrelated to work."
"Yihyun."
Without saying it directly, Yihyun conveyed that he would come for lunch even if he wasn’t called. He didn’t know when the nausea might act up again, but until then, he planned to keep checking in at the executive office. The child mattered more than inconvenience or unease.
"Okay, got it."
Quick-witted, Seo Jeongun immediately understood what Yihyun meant and smiled brightly.
"I’ll also cover the meal expenses."
"That’s not necessary. But if I tell you not to pay, you won’t come, right?"
"Yes."
"Then I have no choice. I’ll bill you all at once later."
Seo Jeongun let out an exaggerated sigh and shook his head.
Yihyun raised an eyebrow. He said that, but Seo Jeongun would definitely never actually charge him.
Still, whatever scheme he was plotting didn’t really matter. When the time came, Yihyun could simply ask how much had piled up.
"I’m happy I get to see you often, Yihyun."
Seo Jeongun smiled shyly, surprisingly out of place for his size.
A crease formed between Yihyun’s brows. He wanted to snap at him for being irritating, but the moment he met those crescent shaped eyes, neatly curved in a smile, he found himself at a loss for words.
Work gradually became busier, and time passed in a blur. Before he knew it, it was already Friday.
From Monday to Friday, Doh Yihyun had eaten lunch with Seo Jeongun a total of five times. Aside from lunch, he could barely manage fruit, but even having one proper meal a day brought some color back to his face.
Waking up repeatedly during the night had also decreased noticeably.
After hearing Seo Jeongun’s nonsense over and over, he had built up a tolerance and could ignore it. Since they had settled into an unspoken agreement about a fixed lunchtime, he no longer needed to stay on edge wondering if Seo Jeongun would show up at random.
'Should I be happy about this?'
Yihyun wiped his face dry.
"Team Lead, Team Lead."
Just before quitting time, Kim Yumin came running over, out of breath.
"It looks like Executive Director Seo really wants to get closer to you. He even gave us his card and told us to have a team dinner."
Kim Yumin discreetly pulled out a rectangular card and whispered.
"Okay." Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Yihyun responded indifferently, turning his gaze away. No matter how he thought about it, it didn’t seem like Seo Jeongun wanted to be friends with him. It was more likely he was stubbornly fixated on something.
"This is his personal card. He said we can eat anything—beef, whatever we want."
Kim Yumin kept talking enthusiastically despite Yihyun’s lukewarm reaction. Ironically, it seemed Kim Yumin himself had grown close enough to Seo Jeongun to even exchange small talk.
Even though Seo Jeongun acted easygoing, there were moments when he unmistakably felt like a chaebol. The excessive amount of food prepared for just the two of them, or casually funding a team dinner out of his own pocket. He had no hesitation when it came to spending money.
"It’s been a while since you joined us, Team Lead, so maybe this time—"
"No."
Yihyun cut him off before he could even properly invite him. He didn’t like team dinners to begin with, and today he had a scheduled checkup at the hospital.
"If you come, maybe Executive Director Seo might also… join us."
"That won’t happen."
Kim Yumin was unusually persistent today. Had Seo Jeongun secretly asked him for something?
When Yihyun looked at him suspiciously, Kim Yumin laughed awkwardly and took a step back.
The other team members were already watching Yihyun with great interest, having apparently heard about the card.
By now, rumors had spread throughout the company that Yihyun stopped by the executive office every lunchtime. It wasn’t that Kim Yumin or the others had spread it. Seo Jeongun had been visiting Accounting Team 2’s office even before, and gossip about "what kind of relationship exists between Executive Director Seo and Team Lead Doh" had naturally become a hot topic.
From coworkers whose names he didn’t even remember to various managers and department heads—everywhere he went, people tried to probe his relationship with Seo Jeongun. Of course, Yihyun ignored them all. Fortunately, most people quickly gave up, knowing his stubborn personality well.
Still, he couldn’t stop the attention focused on his every move from increasing compared to before.
"I wonder what Executive Director Seo’s pheromones smell like."
As Seo Jeongun came up in conversation, someone casually voiced their curiosity.
Unless it was during heat or rut, or unless there was a deliberate intention, pheromones could be considered just a slightly stronger natural body scent. Quite a few people even treated pheromones like perfume, and there were surgeries to alter one’s pheromone scent—though the effect wasn’t dramatic.
"No one here has ever smelled his pheromones, right?"
"Probably no one in the company. He controls them perfectly."
'…Now that I think about it, I’ve never smelled them either.'
Before he started reacting negatively to pheromones due to pregnancy, Doh Yihyun could barely distinguish between Alpha and Omega. He knew Seo Jeongun was an Alpha, but since he had never felt any rejection even when they were together, he hadn’t truly been aware of it.