“Ah. But this is a bit…”
No, no. It’s better to meet like that anyway. That’s the advantage. He didn’t like meeting secretly and briefly like this. His blood Saebyeok concentration was way too low!
It wasn’t right to separate a young couple in the bloom of fresh love like this.
Gong Pyeonghwa steeled his resolve.
Just. Do it.
The moment Pyeonghwa finished his decision, his mother-in-law approached and spoke to him.
“Gong Seobangie, is there anything you’d like to eat?”
Though she did it willingly, since family members didn’t have strong food preferences, sometimes she racked her brains trying to plan menus for each meal.
But for the past week, she could put together meals without any worry.
That was because her son-in-law always had plenty of things he wanted to eat.
Mrs. Lee was quite fond of Gong Pyeonghwa.
Pyeonghwa was good at acting cute in a gentle way, and he laughed a lot. He would make a big fuss over small things, showing gratitude and appreciation. He had a gentle and sensitive nature. Not only that, he ate whatever she made heartily and deliciously, and took on tedious tasks without complaint.
At first, she thought he would just coast by on his good looks, but he wasn’t like that at all.
Every day, he would stick close to her, asking for tips when making food that Saebyeok liked, grumbling in an endearing way, creating a homey atmosphere.
He was someone who could make her son smile.
Although Mrs. Lee had hoped her son would be paired with an ordinary woman, she thought Gong Pyeonghwa would be fine.
Keeping the children apart like this seemed heartless, but she was also grateful that it allowed her to see what kind of person her son’s partner was.
If she could have her way, she would buy them a nice house to live in. But since her husband and the in-laws were strongly against their relationship, she at least wanted to prepare delicious meals for them.
“Hmm? Is there anything you want to eat?”
“Hmm…”
Although he paused, he would surely list foods one after another like a word chain game.
Mrs. Lee waited for Pyeonghwa’s next words with a sense of fulfillment.
“Today… I’m not… really… hungry…”
How could this be? No appetite?
“I don’t… want to eat anything…”
He doesn’t want to eat anything! And this is my son-in-law we’re talking about!
“I guess everyone has days like this. Well… haha…”
His laughter lacked energy. My son-in-law isn’t usually someone who trails off at the end of sentences.
Nor is he someone without an appetite.
He’s someone who would devour four bowls of rice heaped up high, truly showing the person feeding him what fulfillment means.
“Mmm, I see… Are you feeling the spring fever?”
“I guess so. Spring is coming soon. Ah… I feel so lonely…”
Mrs. Lee, who couldn’t imagine that Pyeonghwa was setting up for a hunger strike, just felt sorry for her son-in-law.
“I usually don’t get spring fever, you know. Right? There’s no reason to. I have a boyfriend, lover, and husband. I’m being passionately loved. There’s no reason to be lonely. But… sigh… I feel lonely…”
This passive-aggressive approach would have no effect on Pyeonghwa’s parents, but it was incredibly effective on Mrs. Lee.
‘How hard must it be for him to have no appetite? Lovesickness is a real illness… Am I doing the right thing? Forcibly separating a couple that was living well…’
Her conscience pricked with guilt.
“It’s okay… Since we’re trying to gain acceptance for our love, I can endure it…”
His weak smile looked pitiful. It felt like she was doing something unforgivable to another person, and she couldn’t face her son-in-law.
“Mmm, okay… Oh dear, what should I do…”
Pyeonghwa, surprised that it was working better than expected, calmly managed his expression. Now is not the right time. This is the build-up phase.
“Haha, it’s fine… Ah, actually, I think I want to eat mugwort fritters today. Mother-in-law, with wild chive soy sauce, mugwort fritters, mushroom pancakes, pickled seaweed, pan-fried tofu, and gondeure greens…”
Mrs. Lee felt even more sorry seeing her son-in-law trying so hard to appear cheerful.
“Mmm, let’s do that. That sounds delicious.”
“Hehe…”
Oh my goodness. His smile wasn’t like usual. The sight of him trying to appear bright despite everything pierced her heart.
Mrs. Lee, unaware of Pyeonghwa’s acting skills, felt her heart drop.
“Ah! That sounds delicious! Let’s eat quickly, Mother-in-law.”
Pyeonghwa flattered his mother-in-law while pretending to be fine.
‘Hehe. Mugwort fritters will be tasty.’
***
“Hmm…”
Pyeonghwa, I hope you’re alright? Saebyeok was worried about Pyeonghwa, who was probably plotting something big on his own.
There was no news yet, but that made him even more worried.
Saebyeok sighed all day looking at his phone with no messages.
There was no way he’d get a call in the morning. Right now, he’s probably doing yoga.
Thinking about his husband becoming even more flexible, Saebyeok brewed and drank coffee in the pantry.
He briefly greeted a few employees who had come in early to leave work on time.
Maybe it was because of the coffee, but he started craving something sweet. Fortunately, there were quite a few snacks in the pantry.
Saebyeok ate chocolate chip cookies and butter cookies. They must have put a lot of expensive butter in the basic dough, as the butter aroma was excellent. There was no egg smell or raw flour scent.
After satisfyingly devouring the snacks, Saebyeok ran into Team Manager Dok on his way out with his coffee.
“Good morning.”
“Hey. Did you get home alright yesterday?”
“Yes, I got home fine.”
My husband drove me all the way to my house. And he even brought his daughter. Just thinking about yesterday made me smile uncontrollably.
Saebyeok’s lips trembled as he tried to suppress his laughter.
“I don’t know if you have good stamina or not.”
“Pardon?”
“I mean, coming to work the next day with a normal face even after working overtime. Hmm, no. Is it because you slept at the company?”
When did I ever sleep at the company? I never wasted a single minute during the contractual hours.
I never even opened the messenger that the employee next to me or the assistant manager two seats over used. Only the company messenger.
Although I occasionally had the urge to contact Pyeonghwa, I restrained myself and just worked. If my father-in-law found out, it would cost me points.
“I’ve never dozed off during working hours…”
“I’m not criticizing you. Yesterday you were sleeping even after closing time, so I figured that was why. You didn’t even notice when I touched you.”
Ah. Now that I think about it, that did happen yesterday.
While I was asleep, someone rubbed their lousy pheromones on me and disturbed my sensitive Pyeonghwa. Most likely it was Team Manager Dok, but I can’t be sure.
“Excuse me, Team Manager. Someone put their pheromones on me while I was asleep. Did you see who did it?”
“I didn’t see.”
Wasn’t it you? You? I was suspicious but had no evidence.
“I didn’t see who did it, but I know who did.”
“Who was it?”
“Me.”
Are you crazy? Well, it makes sense that someone who would kiss a company superior and chairman without consent must be insane.
“Intern Shin is an omega, right?”
This is ridiculous. Why does he think I’m an omega? I could be an alpha too.
The salesperson with no concept of personal space once again closed the distance arbitrarily.
Team Manager Dok sniffed around Saebyeok’s nape.
“I can still smell fruit.”
Well, that’s because it’s not my pheromones. It’s the lingering pheromones left by my man. My husband is a refreshing fruit juice kind of guy! My alpha can smell fragrant too! What can I do if my Pyeonghwa’s pheromones are tropical fruits citrus pure?
Saebyeok, as excited as Pyeonghwa would be, quickly recited the multiplication tables in his head to calm down.
“It’s not my pheromones, it’s my husband’s…”
Team Manager Dok pretended not to hear and left, saying it was time to work.
“Huh.”
Is he ignoring me because I’m new? Is this his personality? Excuse me, I’m talking here?
His head felt a bit hot, but Saebyeok was also a contract worker with the company, so his body dutifully headed to the office.
Saebyeok, who preferred working at a leisurely pace and actually maintained it, was swamped with backed-up emails, documents, and materials he needed to study personally.
Work-life balance, was it? More like work-caused life balance collapse.
There didn’t seem to be enough work to call it overloaded, but somehow he felt busy and tired.
[Employee-Kim Saetbyeol: I’m collecting money for the Team Manager’s birthday present, and you’re the only one who hasn’t contributed, so I’m contacting you.]
Ah, do I have to do this too? I don’t have cash. It’s not even about cash, I don’t have any money to spare right now.
After deliberating, Saebyeok sent a message. Not to employee Saetbyeol, but to Executive Director Gong Jeong.
[Me: Executive Director, could you lend me some money? The reason is, they’re collecting for the Team Manager’s birthday present, and as you know, I currently don’t have any money… (See more)]
[Executive Director-Gong Jeong: I almost blocked you thinking you were asking for money LOL]
[Executive Director-Gong Jeong: Ah… you are asking for money…]
[Executive Director-Gong Jeong: I’ll give it to you during lunch. But why are they collecting from someone who’s only been employed for a week? LOL You haven’t even received your salary yet LOL My principle is not to interfere with team culture unless it’s really bad~ But still?]
[Executive Director-Gong Jeong: I’m worried this might end up on the internet LOL]
[Executive Director-Gong Jeong: I’ll be watching Team Haeying 1 LOL]
[Executive Director-Gong Jeong: About the money, okay fine, is 100,000 won enough?]
[Executive Director-Gong Jeong: Use it for your date LOL]
[Executive Director-Gong Jeong: If anyone gives you trouble, tell me right away LOL]
After thanking him and replying to Saetbyeol that I would give it to her directly during lunch, I got a message from another employee.
[Employee-Kang Dongseok: About our C team’s English presentation next week… (See more)]
Ah. Right. The presentation. Ah. I need to prepare for the presentation too. I’ll have to analyze the case and write the script all weekend.
Saebyeok inwardly gritted his teeth at the documents that had piled up again.
‘Think I can’t do it?’
His competitive spirit blazed. Saebyeok decided to neatly finish his work, use the remaining time to prepare for the presentation, and definitely go on a date afterwards.
Today he was supposed to watch a movie with Pyeonghwa. Somehow, he would get through it all.
Saebyeok combatively completed his daily tasks and tackled the additional work that came in.
After dealing with emails and messages in between, it was already lunchtime.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
