Carefully picking up the bag and placing it on his thigh, Yeonwoo examined the contents to find neatly folded clothes wrapped in transparent plastic. Though they looked new, they were familiar—definitely his clothes. The ones he had bought to wear on his arranged date with Ho Munbeom.
He never thought they would return to his hands like this.
After staring blankly for a while, Yeonwoo shifted his gaze to the window. Then he touched his left cheek. The moist cream had already been gently absorbed into his skin.
***
Ho Munbeom was a workaholic. He fundamentally enjoyed working, and his disposition was such that he felt pleasure when his efforts increased performance and led to business success. Since he was earning money doing what he liked, it could be said he was living a highly satisfying life. However, when a boss is a workaholic, those working under them inevitably suffer.
Despite lunch time having long passed, his boss showed no intention of getting a meal. Unable to eat alone, Secretary Kang was about to make do with just a cup of coffee when he received a call from the reception desk downstairs and hurriedly headed to the Executive Director’s office.
Taking a deep breath, Secretary Kang knocked twice, waited five seconds, then opened the door and entered.
Ho Munbeom was sitting at his desk, staring only at his monitor. Though his face showed little interest in whoever had entered, Secretary Kang knew he was actually waiting for what he had to say.
“Director Ho from Ho Moon Industries has arrived. He says he stopped by on his way somewhere, thinking you might have lunch together.”
No sooner had those words finished than a thin wrinkle formed between Ho Munbeom’s brows. Finally taking his eyes off the monitor, Ho Munbeom looked at Secretary Kang.
“Did I have a lunch appointment with that person today?”
“No, sir.”
“Then send him away.”
Ho Munbeom was the type who would cancel even pre-arranged appointments depending on the situation. So for someone to just drop by unexpectedly and suggest lunch—such a thing wouldn’t work with him.
Secretary Kang had anticipated his boss’s reaction, but there was nothing he could do. Director Ho, Ho Hyeonho, was Ho Munbeom’s cousin and part of the Ho Moon Group family. That’s why his excuse of “just stopping by” had worked, and even if they had tried to block him downstairs, he could have made his way up.
Just when Secretary Kang thought he might have arrived by now, there was a knock and the door swung wide open.
“Excuse me!”
Hearing the voice behind him, Secretary Kang hid his surprise and turned around.
A slender man was standing beside the wide-open door. It was Director Ho, who had supposedly just been passing by. Unable to look at Ho Munbeom’s face, Secretary Kang hesitated before saying “Excuse me” and quickly left the room. Ho Hyeonho watched Secretary Kang greet him and exit, then smiled as if amused.
“Isn’t he someone who used to work under Grandfather? The old man who never gives away people, only things—what’s going on? I knew he favored you, but this seems excessive. I’m feeling hurt.”
With a face showing no hurt whatsoever, Ho Hyeonho entered and sat on the sofa. Apparently finding the plush sofa to his liking, he let out a small “hmm” while stroking the armrest, then looked at Ho Munbeom.
“I haven’t come somewhere I shouldn’t be, right? I know you’re busy, but spare me some time. Let’s have a meal together.”
“…”
“It’s been three months since I returned to the country. I thought you might contact me first if I waited, but you didn’t. I know you’re a cold person, but I thought I might be special.”
Ho Hyeonho remained consistently cheerful, regardless of Ho Munbeom’s icy stare.
As a dominant Omega, he knew well how to appeal with his charm. And despite appearing to act carelessly, he actually knew how to maintain appropriate boundaries. One of these was that he never released his pheromones in front of Ho Munbeom, no matter when or in what situation. This earned him a place as one of Ho Munbeom’s few acquaintances.
Of course, Ho Munbeom wasn’t the type to particularly look after someone just because they were an acquaintance.
When Ho Munbeom shifted his gaze back to the monitor, Ho Hyeonho grumbled, “What’s this?”
“I’m making time out of my busy schedule to visit, and you really won’t treat me to a meal?”
“When have I ever eaten with you?”
“Well, never.”
“Then stop talking nonsense and just tell me briefly why you’re here.”
He knew from the start that Hyeonho hadn’t really come for a meal. Still, Ho Munbeom was being excessively cold, but Ho Hyeonho spoke calmly without showing any signs of feeling offended.
“As always, I came at Aunt’s request. And incidentally to check if you’re staying healthy.”
“…”
“Just by looking at your face, you seem to be doing well.”
Though he hadn’t been warm during their earlier conversation, all expression disappeared from his face the moment his mother was mentioned. With a face as expressionless as if wearing a mask, Ho Munbeom asked in a subdued voice:
“Why are you in contact with that person?”
“I didn’t contact her first. She bribed people around me to cleverly establish contact. Seeing that she’s reached out to me, she’s probably done the same with others. But those guys are too afraid of you to say anything, so I came here deliberately.”
“…”
“I was going to tell you when you came to see me, but this is ridiculous—I can’t even see your face unless I come to you.”
Despite his complaints, Ho Munbeom showed little reaction. Seeing his hardened expression gradually soften, it seemed he had quickly erased thoughts of her from his mind.
Ho Hyeonho thought of Heo Yeongran, Ho Munbeom’s mother and his own aunt, then quickly dismissed the thought. She was someone he disliked enough to feel unpleasant just by briefly thinking about her. After what she had done to her son, Ho Munbeom, to now try to make contact—he knew she was shameless, but this was remarkable in many ways. Clicking his tongue, Ho Hyeonho stood up.
“It seems I won’t be welcome no matter how long I stay, so I’ll be going now. I’ll be in the country for a while. Contact me if you get bored.”
There was no response, not even a glance. Despite the blatant disregard, Ho Hyeonho didn’t feel embarrassed.
The great Ho Munbeom would never be bored. Even if he were, he wouldn’t contact Ho Hyeonho—knowing this, he had said it anyway.
Ho Munbeom had been an uninteresting person since childhood. People packaged this as “mature,” but to Ho Hyeonho, who was the same age, he was just unpleasant. Once, he had envied and been jealous of him for receiving affection from adults and all of his grandfather’s attention, but as he grew up and became an adult, he let it all go. More precisely, perhaps he gave up after realizing he could never beat Ho Munbeom, an extreme dominant Alpha, no matter what he did.
Now he occasionally delivered various news like a pigeon, earning pocket money. This work sometimes led him to discover things others didn’t know.
Before leaving, Ho Hyeonho casually threw out a comment:
“You went on arranged dates for a year. Was there really not a single Omega you liked among them? Should I introduce you to someone? There’s a good one…”
“Are you still here?”
“…”
He thought he had let go of a lot, but apparently not.
The words thrown without even a glance in his direction hurt his pride a little. Sometimes he wished Ho Munbeom would show him even a little kindness. If he wasn’t so disagreeable, if he would just engage with him, Ho Hyeonho would have given him his all. But then again, what need did someone born as the crown prince of Ho Moon Group have to be kind to others?
Could such a man ever give his heart to another person?
When he heard that Ho Munbeom had been going on arranged dates for a year, he thought something might have changed, but apparently not.
Shaking his head, Ho Hyeonho turned away without lingering regrets.
After Ho Hyeonho left, Secretary Kang returned. Having something to report, he also apologized for not being able to prevent Director Ho from coming up.
“Who could stop Hyeonho if he wanted to come in? Don’t worry about it.”
“…Thank you for understanding.”
Like most conglomerates, Ho Moon Group followed a bloodline succession.
Though not specifically ordered from above, most employees memorized who in the Ho Moon Group held what position and where, just to avoid making mistakes.
Ho Hyeonho had been dispatched to an overseas branch, but he was the same age as Ho Munbeom and was famous for having grown up with him. If Ho Munbeom became the head of Ho Moon Group, Ho Hyeonho’s position would also rise higher than it was now. For this reason, Secretary Kang and other employees didn’t want to upset such people. That’s why the reception desk hadn’t actively blocked Ho Hyeonho.
Ho Munbeom probably knew this and pretended not to notice.
With a grateful heart, Secretary Kang carefully brought up the subject of lunch.
“What would you like to do about your meal?”
“Prepare something simple in an hour.”
“Understood.”
Ho Munbeom preferred eating simply in the space next to his office rather than going out. That didn’t mean he only worked all day, though. Before coming to work, he would stop by a health club or swimming pool to warm up lightly. After work, he also enjoyed an hour of running or simple ball sports every other day.
His recent hobby was hiking. On weekends, he found it quite suitable to sweat profusely while running and walking up a mountain on private property for about half a day.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
