#69
Eunhong stood up abruptly, breathing heavily. Though his messy hair diminished any sense of dignity, he still wore an angry expression. As he pulled down his T-shirt to cover himself and hurriedly fled to the bathroom, well, it only made Jaeha laugh.
Rushing into the bathroom and standing in front of the bright mirror, his face was a sight to behold. His flushed red face made him look like someone completely drunk. Eunhong vigorously washed his face with cold water.
Had his body always been this sensitive to stimulation? He wanted to ask himself which part exactly had caused him to get aroused just now. Had Lee Jaeha himself become some kind of arousal button?
Eunhong raised his hands and slapped both his cheeks.
The more he tried to empty his mind and not recall anything, the more his brain seemed to malfunction, continuously bringing up related information. In less than a month, his body had changed and so many things had happened, but in the end, the only images left were…
Jaeha’s lips, body heat, pheromones, and that thing that seemed like a third leg… His mind, filled only with intense memories, had been plastered with R-rated images in that short time. And his stupid body had become one that got aroused at the slightest touch. No, it would be more accurate to say it got aroused just by looking.
Eunhong almost cried out as he suddenly remembered the feeling of that volume against his buttocks the night before.
***
“Why are you drawing the lips like that?”
The hand that had been carelessly moving across the tablet pad suddenly stopped.
A hand tapped his shoulder – after removing his headset, he saw a finger pointing at the screen. On the screen was a greatly enlarged face of a handsome male character. As Yoo Junseok had pointed out, Eunhong was in the middle of emphatically detailing lips that weren’t even necessary. The red, well-shaped lips that strongly resembled Jaeha’s must have been his imagination. Eunhong quickly reduced the image, scrunching his eyes.
“Is this for the upcoming update? It looks finished. You don’t need to add so much detail to the face.”
“The face needs to look good for the design to come out well…”
Junseok laughed and patted Eunhong’s shoulder. He told him to stop talking nonsense and get up. Wondering what was going on, Eunhong looked up to see everyone getting up and moving. He rose hesitantly from his seat. He wondered if today was the day for announcing the first half’s business schedule. Junseok picked up Eunhong’s employee ID that had been thrown on the desk and hung it around his neck.
“Let’s go. I heard they’ll be talking about the overseas launch today.”
Ah, he had forgotten.
“Ugh, they’ll make us create an overseas team. I can’t do it.”
Junseok patted Eunhong, who was shuddering. It was understandable because if they were to provide overseas service, the characters would need overall modifications or additions. It was inevitable that Eunhong’s workload would increase.
Gil Dong-wook and Seo Heeseung joined them in front of the seminar room. They didn’t seem to have any intention of listening seriously, having bought a lot of coffee and cookies for everyone to eat. Gil Dong-wook, who had somehow secured the seat next to Eunhong, fumbled to offer him some snacks.
“Eunhong, your skin is glowing these days. Have you been going to a dermatologist? You drink iced latte, right? I added an extra shot.”
“Thank you.” Eunhong accepted the coffee and glanced towards Shim AD. When their eyes met, he nodded slightly as if to say it was okay. Gil Dong-wook, a passionate alpha, seemed completely oblivious to the fact that Eunhong was an omega. Or rather, he had fallen into his own trap, and even if Eunhong were to emit pheromones right now, he would probably think it was just his scent.
In fact, Gil Dong-wook had been going on about omegas for a long time, even before Eunhong manifested as one. So you could say he had the best instincts. It was almost like precognition. So maybe that so-called radar that alphas supposedly have wasn’t complete nonsense.
It’s not that Eunhong liked being constantly pestered with questions about being an omega during his beta days. He just became curious. He wondered if Gil Dong-wook’s attraction to him was due to faint pheromones or something else. Was it really because of that ‘radar’ that alphas supposedly have? Eunhong became curious.
The seminar room darkened and lights came on at the podium. The department head, holding a microphone, began presenting the first half’s service plans, showing the games currently serviced by the company one by one on a large screen. Gil Dong-wook lowered his voice and started talking to Eunhong.
“How was the interview you had? Isn’t that CEO nice? Actually, I used to…”
“Yes, his work guidance was clear, and I liked the project.”
Sensing that personal stories were about to come out if he wasn’t careful, Eunhong quickly cut off the conversation.
“Actually, if motion wasn’t my main skill, I might have gone to that company. Their CEO offers high salaries.”
“I’ve given up on changing jobs and just plan to do a lot of freelance work.” Gil Dong-wook whispered, lowering his voice even more. As he said, Gil Dong-wook, whose main skill was video production, was making good money from freelance work. “That’s nice,” Eunhong replied casually, but the thought of studying animation work quietly crept into his mind.
“Well, you must be busy dating. I have nothing to do so I just make money. You know I’m quite skilled.”
Seo Heeseung, who had been eavesdropping from the side, jabbed Gil Dong-wook in the ribs.
“What would you have done without that skill? When I think about how I lost money following your advice to buy KN stocks…”
“Look, Heeseung, if you don’t know anything, just shut up and buy Han Jung stocks like I told you. Why did you have to follow me and make a fuss?”
“Wow, listen to this guy talk. Back then, you said it was a sure thing.”
Eunhong, who had no interest in stocks, couldn’t really understand what they were talking about. He only gathered that Heeseung had suffered a loss because of Gil Dong-wook, and that Jaeha’s family was being mentioned. Heeseung and Gil Dong-wook continued to bicker in whispers, avoiding the department head’s gaze.
Ah, I need to make a lot of money too…
Since the seminar room had tiered seating, Eunhong could see other teams sitting in front clearly. As it was the day for announcing the overseas service launch, Woohyun’s team sitting at the very front caught his eye. As if sensing his gaze, Woohyun suddenly turned his head, causing their eyes to meet. After glaring at Eunhong for a while, Woohyun abruptly turned his head back.
Eunhong let out a shallow sigh, thinking about his bank balance and the deposit tied up in his studio apartment. He knew that sorting out his relationship with Woohyun wouldn’t be easy, but the thought of the mud-slinging fight ahead made him feel sick.
“Did you see the rumors about the Han Jung grandson? They say if it goes through, the stock will soar. You should buy some TK.”
“Rumors?”
When Eunhong showed interest in the rumor talk after half-listening to their conversation, Gil Dong-wook’s eyes sparkled.
“You know TK Company, right? In the energy sector. Their grandson, Kim Buyoung, loves F Company cars so much that he attends every new car release. This year, Han Jung’s Lee Jaeha was there too. They even took pictures together. And they both bought limited editions, I hear.”
“It’s not like it’s unusual for them to buy cars.”
When Seo Heeseung showed an unexpectedly lukewarm response, Gil Dong-wook tried to speak more dramatically, exaggerating his expression.
“They met alone when taking over the acquisition too.”
“Wow, was it a date?”
“That’s right. And you know Kim Buyoung is famous for being one of the few omega heirs in chaebol families. They say he dates based on alpha matching. They deny it publicly, but everyone who knows, knows, right? How many people have spotted him at Handae Hospital? And Lee Jaeha was seen there too.”
Eunhong raised his eyebrows. He inadvertently learned that he had participated in manufacturing rumors about Jaeha.
“Wow! So should we buy TK stocks? Go all in?”
Seo Heeseung’s eyes sparkled with excitement. No, you shouldn’t buy, Heeseung… Eunhong suddenly felt a moral responsibility he shouldn’t have to feel. If left like this, Heeseung’s bank account was in danger.
“Why would Han Jung’s Lee Jaeha go to Handae Hospital? He must have gone for a matching test. Besides, when a D Daily reporter asked, the trait center there only said ‘no comment’, right? Not a denial, just no comment. And after that, a huge amount of research funds went from Han Jung to Handae Hospital.”
So this is how rumors are born in the world. Eunhong rolled his eyes wildly. How could he naturally let them know not to buy stocks based on rumors? He couldn’t just gag Gil Dong-wook.
“What else could it be? It means they’re supporting TK Bio and the trait research sector. Soon, there will be dating rumors between Lee Jaeha and Kim Buyoung.”
Somehow, the last words were hard to ignore. Eunhong’s eyebrows twitched subtly. The department head announced a short break before the next presentation and stepped down from the podium. As the lights came on in the seminar room, the spacious area was suddenly filled with murmurs. Eunhong turned and asked:
“You think those two are dating simply because of trait compatibility or whatever? Why would people who lack nothing do that? Isn’t it too risky to invest money based on such speculation?”
Taken aback by the sharp point, Gil Dong-wook was flustered but didn’t lose his composure.
“They met and bought cars together, right? And went to the hospital together.”
“They probably own dozens of cars. These are people who build car showrooms in their basements…”
“When alphas and omegas meet and do things like that together, they quickly grow fond of each other.”
“Do 2-star trait holders fall in love just by meeting because of pheromones? Isn’t it that they grow to like each other’s pheromones as they like each other? You seem to view human relationships too simplistically, which is why rumors can’t be trusted.”
“Well… that…”
Eunhong realized his tone was becoming increasingly argumentative. It was because he suddenly felt irritated. Why do people create rumors that don’t exist? Moreover, he felt worse because Jaeha’s visit to Handae Hospital was because of him. Who even is this TK Kim Buyoung? Eunhong picked up his phone to search.
“Wow. Related search terms are already popping up.”
