"Help yourself."
Today, he felt drawn to something clean. Doh Yihyun ordered a salad and a few light dishes.
"I thought you only liked Korean food, Yihyun?"
Seo Jungwoon’s eyes widened. They were large to begin with, and it looked as if his bright pupils might spill out.
"I eat everything."
"Except raw food?"
"That too..."
Normally, he did eat it. But since becoming pregnant, the fishy taste felt unbearably strong, so he couldn’t.
"No."
Doh Yihyun lowered his head, roughly dodging the question.
"Hm."
He had expected further probing, but Seo Jungwoon showed little reaction.
"What will you have, Executive Director?"
"The same as Yihyun."
Seo Jungwoon answered simply. Doh Yihyun idly rotated his wrist.
He couldn’t remember how many years it had been since he had eaten breakfast with someone. He thought it would feel awkward, but unexpectedly, it wasn’t bad. Perhaps it was because Seo Jungwoon was so shameless.
After feeding him breakfast early, Seo Jungwoon spent time leisurely at the hotel until ten. Only when it started to feel questionable whether Doh Yihyun had come to work at all did they finally leave.
While looking at his phone, Doh Yihyun suddenly checked the date and swallowed a sigh. It struck him anew that not only on weekdays but even through the weekend, he would be spending time with Seo Jungwoon, just the two of them.
They headed straight to a logistics center on the outskirts of Busan. It took over an hour from the hotel.
"Isn’t the hotel too far?"
Doh Yihyun frowned slightly. A two-hour round trip. The route was far too inefficient.
Even at his complaint, Seo Jungwoon only smiled quietly.
"While I take a look around, would you like to rest in the office, Yihyun? It should be warm. Let me know if you need anything. I’ll have it prepared."
At Seo Jungwoon’s gentle tone, Doh Yihyun was left speechless. No matter how kindly he phrased it, the underlying meaning was that Doh Yihyun would be useless during the site inspection.
If he was just going to leave him in the office, why bring him all the way to Busan? New chapters come out on g.com first.
'He could’ve just told me to rest at the hotel. I would’ve made work for myself somehow.'
Doh Yihyun contacted Manager Choi from time to time, but each time Manager Choi brushed him off, saying the company was running fine and to focus on the business trip. It was obvious Seo Jungwoon had arranged something behind the scenes.
"Can I just wait in the car?"
Feeling irritated, Doh Yihyun asked sharply.
If he went somewhere filled with mixed pheromones without Seo Jungwoon, it was obvious his condition would worsen. It was better to stay still in the car, even if it was boring and uncomfortable.
"It might take quite a while. Are you sure? Do whatever you’re comfortable with."
Seo Jungwoon seemed puzzled by his choice but didn’t object. He didn’t even ask why Doh Yihyun avoided the office.
Since breakfast, Seo Jungwoon had been subtly keeping a psychological distance. Strangely, Doh Yihyun felt like he was being considered. Unlike his first impression a month ago, Seo Jungwoon was not completely unreasonable.
"Then I’ll be back. Stay put."
Seo Jungwoon winked playfully as he got out of the car. Doh Yihyun pretended not to see.
Staring at the clear sky, Doh Yihyun unconsciously followed Seo Jungwoon’s retreating figure with his eyes. But before long, he lost him in the crowd.
'...Where did he go.'
No matter where he looked, his vision was filled only with complete strangers. Even if members of Accounting Team 2 were among them, he wouldn’t recognize them.
His gaze wandered among work uniforms, searching for a high-end suit, then he suddenly closed his eyes. Even if Seo Jungwoon were dressed the same as everyone else, would he be able to find him?
...He wasn’t confident.
Doh Yihyun had prosopagnosia, but it wasn’t severe. If he made the effort, he could distinguish people.
Even so, he couldn’t recognize Kim Yumin, whom he saw almost every day, simply because he had never thought he needed others in his life.
If he didn’t need them, he didn’t pay attention. And if he didn’t pay attention, even forgetting became intentional.
But in this moment, Doh Yihyun realized for the first time that it wasn’t that he chose not to distinguish others—he simply couldn’t.
It was an absurd timing.
Doh Yihyun slowly opened his eyes. Not far away, someone was waving a hand widely. It was Seo Jungwoon, wearing a purple suit.
Yi. Hyun.
He took a deep breath. The faint trace of Seo Jungwoon’s scent lingering in the car kept clouding his mind.
Impulsively, Doh Yihyun opened the car door and stepped outside. Then he stood still and inhaled deeply.
Even the faint pheromones carried on the wind made his stomach churn.
Yet when Seo Jungwoon was beside him, even if Alphas or Omegas passed nearby, he could endure it.
Clenching his teeth, Doh Yihyun got back into the car and instinctively followed Seo Jungwoon’s scent. The churning in his stomach gradually calmed under the faint floral fragrance.
"Ha..."
Realizing his own behavior, Doh Yihyun let out a deep sigh.
Since he was very young, he had been independent. His mother had not been particularly attentive either, so the concept of relying on someone simply did not exist for him.
But because of the entirely accidental event of pregnancy, Doh Yihyun had, for the first time in his life, found himself in a situation he could not resolve on his own.
Eating, sleeping. The collapse of such basic routines was more painful than he had imagined. Watching his body deteriorate moment by moment without any way to stop it, and hearing repeatedly that the child could be in danger—it was terrifying.
And yet, when he was with Seo Jungwoon, he felt at ease. That peace was so sweet he didn’t want to leave it.
It frustrated him, hurt his pride, that he couldn’t solve everything on his own—but now he had no choice but to admit it. For whatever reason, Doh Yihyun needed Seo Jungwoon.
'After just one day.'
Clicking his tongue at his own helplessness, Doh Yihyun felt dissatisfied. He didn’t like how quickly his resolve had collapsed.
But the fact that he had sunk into the comfort Seo Jungwoon offered without resistance was also proof of how deeply his resentment toward his flawed trait and his fear for the child inside him had taken root. He had simply been avoiding it all this time.
Doh Yihyun curled his body, wrapping his arms tightly around his lower abdomen.
'I should ask Executive Director Seo for help before it’s too late.'
He made up his mind firmly. Hesitating over an obvious choice was not his style.
'As long as our interests align, that’s enough.'
Doh Yihyun needed to eat with Seo Jungwoon to ease his nausea, and Seo Jungwoon, for some reason, wanted to get close to him. If he approached it carefully, there seemed to be a chance.
It was a kind of transaction. Each giving the other a little of what they wanted.
As he considered how to bring it up, drowsiness suddenly crashed over him. Without time to resist, Doh Yihyun began to nod off. In an instant, his broad upper body tilted and slowly collapsed to the side.