At first, not knowing how to accept the sudden kindness, he put it back down in front of that house, pressed the doorbell once just as before, and went back upstairs. Then, in less than 5 minutes, the doorbell rang, and when he went outside, what Yeonwoo had left was right back there.
Though he knew it was dangerous to eat food from strangers especially in times like these, Yeonwoo stared at the two rolls of kimbap in the bag before bringing them inside. Laying them out on the table, he stood there and put one end piece in his mouth. It had a strong sesame oil flavor but was delicious. Suddenly feeling hungry, Yeonwoo boiled some ramen and ate it with one roll of kimbap. He ate the remaining roll the next day by dipping it in egg batter.
Then at lunch, he ate tteokbokki and sundae left outside his door, and sandwiches for dinner. And today…
He spotted a hamburger bag on the floor. Stepping outside, Yeonwoo stood in front of the stairway and looked down. Whoever had left it must have gone home, as no one was there.
“…”
Carrying the heavy bag into his home, Yeonwoo sat in the middle of the living room. Opening the bag, he found not just a hamburger but french fries as well.
It seemed like it had been a long time since he’d eaten a hamburger.
He picked up a french fry, put it in his mouth, and chewed slowly—it was delicious. Thinking it tasted much better than what he’d eaten before, Yeonwoo gazed at the veranda window. Then he realized that while the rain was still coming down hard, the hamburger bag wasn’t wet at all.
“…”
Suddenly, when experiencing such kindness from others, he wondered:
Why couldn’t people like this be my family or acquaintances? Why must I suffer so much because of those closest to me?
“…Was it my fault?”
Muttering to himself, Yeonwoo hung his head.
Eating the hamburger very slowly to avoid indigestion, Yeonwoo got up when he heard a vibration from somewhere. Wondering who might be contacting him this time, he picked up his phone from the blanket, and a familiar number immediately caught his eye.
At first, he thought he’d seen wrong. But as soon as he realized he hadn’t, Yeonwoo’s eyes widened.
Secretary Kang was busy today as well. It couldn’t be helped with a workaholic boss, but this week seemed particularly harsh. Fearing that any mistake could lead to disaster, he checked the schedule more meticulously than usual. Having made a mistake regarding Yeonwoo earlier, he wanted to be even more careful.
While checking the calendar, Secretary Kang realized something.
It wasn’t that this week had an unusually high workload. He was handling the same amount of work as usual. Realizing this, Secretary Kang became even more serious. Why did it feel more difficult despite working the same as usual? Just as Secretary Kang was coming to a conclusion, middle-aged men with pale faces came pouring out of the executive director’s office.
With meetings lined up throughout the week, it must have been excruciating. Understanding their exhaustion, the executive director’s secretarial team greeted each of them with a nod, offering a small comfort by saying they had worked hard.
At that moment, Secretary Kang’s eyes met with someone passing by. Being the youngest among the department heads, tall and with a full head of hair, he stood out, and he signaled for Secretary Kang to come outside. Although hesitant to leave his post, not knowing when Ho Munbeom might call, he couldn’t refuse given the persistent look.
Secretary Kang asked another nearby secretary to notify him if the executive director called, and quietly slipped away.
Still, not going far, he stood by the emergency exit, looking at Department Head Lee who had summoned him.
“What is it? Did something happen again?”
“There’s always something happening. But tell me, why is the executive director in such a bad mood today? No, this whole week has been no joke, but today is even more serious? I don’t think I’ll live out my natural lifespan at this rate.”
“…”
Suddenly, Secretary Kang recalled his earlier thought. The problem was that his boss, Ho Munbeom, was in a bad mood. He was naturally meticulous and sensitive when it came to work, but lately it had been especially pronounced. On top of that, the weather today was bad too.
Others might not know, but Ho Munbeom didn’t like days like this when it was cloudy and raining heavily. Though he didn’t show it in front of others, when alone with Secretary Kang, he would look up at the sky with a fierce expression, saying “Why is it raining so much?”
So Secretary Kang secretly thought that this kind of weather might be one of the few weaknesses of the extreme dominant alpha Ho Munbeom. Of course, with no intention of sharing this with anyone else, Secretary Kang just smiled.
“It probably means he has high expectations for this project. The harder it is, the bigger the success will be, and the rewards will follow accordingly. You know the executive director. He’s not someone who just works people hard without compensation.”
“No, no, I know that. I do know, but this time, as soon as I go in there, I can barely breathe. It’s not just me. I’m afraid Director Seo might collapse. His blood pressure is already high.”
“It will just be this time. After it passes, you won’t remember any of the hardship, so please hang in there a little longer.”
“…You must be tired dealing with the executive director every day too. Sorry for holding you up just to complain. But really, it’s too hard. I’m more afraid of the executive director than my own mother.”
Secretary Kang felt the same way. But he didn’t go that far in agreement, instead maintaining a friendly smile. Department Head Lee scratched the back of his head, apologized for calling out a busy person, and left. After confirming that Department Head Lee had gone down in the elevator, Secretary Kang returned to his seat, and just as he sat down, Ho Munbeom called for him.
“…”
Is this man a ghost? No, he shouldn’t even think such things. If even his thoughts could be detected, he cleared his throat and quickly headed to the executive director’s office. Standing in front of the door, he knocked twice, and after 5 seconds, opened the door, entered, and lightly bowed his head.
“You called for me, Executive Director.”
Usually when summoned, he could immediately hear what was needed and act accordingly. But with only silence in return, Secretary Kang eventually raised his head first. Peering ahead, he saw Munbeom standing near the desk, checking something.
Unusually, with his tie loosened and sleeves rolled up, his profile looked serious as he examined the documents.
…Maybe it wasn’t the weather but something work-related that was bothering him? Wondering what to do if that was the case, Secretary Kang was rolling his eyes when Munbeom raised his head.
The moment their eyes met, the corners of Secretary Kang’s mouth turned upward. Despite the artificially created smile, Munbeom’s expression didn’t change much. Finally lowering the corners of his mouth, Secretary Kang cleared his throat with a “hmm-hmm” and opened his mouth.
“Did you call for me?”
“Do you know where my mother is right now?”
“…”
Secretary Kang was aware that Ho Munbeom’s mother, Heo Yeongran, had entered the country. But since Heo Yeongran was managed by Chairman Ho Jaejung’s side, Secretary Kang couldn’t find out more than that.
Though she was no longer part of the Ho Moon Group after the divorce, she couldn’t be ignored as Ho Munbeom’s mother. While there were instructions from the chairman, Secretary Kang wondered if he should have assigned someone specifically, and bowed his head.
“I’ll find out right away.”
“No, there’s no need to go that far…”
Stopping mid-sentence, Munbeom fell into thought for a moment.
With various matters keeping him busy, he didn’t want to worry about Heo Yeongran too. Whatever she did was beyond his concern, he had no intention of meeting her again, and she would soon have to leave the country as if chased out. Most likely, if she left this time, it would be difficult for her to enter again, and there would be even less need to worry about her afterward.
But the reason he specifically asked about her whereabouts was because of a conversation he had with Hwayoung that morning.
Knowing that Munbeom’s condition was affected by the weather, Hwayoung had been thoroughly checking his condition since morning. He was planning to briefly reply that his pheromones were stable and his condition wasn’t bad recently. However, the perceptive Hwayoung detected his discomfort from his voice.
‘No? Your voice sounds a bit hoarse? What is it, are you in bad condition? Or is it your mood that’s the problem?’
‘…’
‘While I can’t touch on your private life, I can advise you regarding your rut. If you need medication this time too, please let me know.’
Hwayoung knew that Munbeom currently had someone he was seeing, if not a partner. If he was going to spend the upcoming rut with that person, there would be nothing to worry about, but if not, suppressants would need to be prepared in advance. Unlike the commonly distributed suppressants, those for an extreme dominant like Munbeom required special attention. They needed to start preparing now to be ready before the rut began.
For the sake of his health, he should have asked her to prepare without hesitation. But saying those words felt like admitting with his own mouth that he couldn’t be with Yeonwoo, which he was reluctant to do. Startled by his own thoughts, Munbeom unconsciously let out a sigh.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
