03
“Hey, hey, don’t just stand there, clean this up too.”
“Ah, yes…! One moment, please.”
“Come on, hyung. There are only two cigarette butts. What’s there to clean?”
“Little one, are you complaining about me giving you work?”
“No, it’s fine.”
“Since you ran the errand, I should give you a tip. Come here.”
“What? Oh, ah. No, it’s fine. …No, really, it’s fine.”
“When an adult gives you money, you should say thank you and accept it.”
This youthful voice was definitely familiar in his memory.
As far as Ji Seunghyeok remembered, there was no way the relationship between the owner of that voice and the employees working here could be that friendly. Ji Seunghyeok’s head turned at an angle, and Seo Yunyoung carefully observed his expression.
“…Should I go in first?”
Ji Seunghyeok let out a short breath at Seo Yunyoung’s cautious question.
“Why?”
“Sir, your expression right now is… Never mind.”
Seo Yunyoung seemed to give up on saying anything more and let her words trail off vaguely.
“Are you worried I might go in and wring someone’s neck?”
“…”
There was no response to his attempt at a joke. Ji Seunghyeok rubbed around his mouth once before stepping forward.
The employees who had been gathered in a corner chatting stopped laughing and stood up when they saw Ji Seunghyeok. The person with his back to the entrance sensed the tense atmosphere and slowly turned around.
His mouth opened and he let out a small sound, “Ah.”
“Jo Junghyun-ssi.”
“…Oh, CEO, you’re here. I heard— I mean, I thought you weren’t coming to the office today.”
Jo Junghyun changed his wording after sensing all the eyes on him.
Ji Seunghyeok looked around at the employees whose faces had gone pale. He wondered if they had become close enough to share his, the CEO’s, schedule.
Ji Seunghyeok looked around at the employees who were carefully watching him and opened his mouth.
“Even if you do this, it would be difficult to pay back your debt. Or were you trying to curry favor in hopes of getting special treatment? If so, you’ve chosen the wrong person to flatter.”
Jo Junghyun’s round eyes widened.
As the insulting words flowed out without restraint, everyone there seemed to hold their breath. But no one dared to contradict Ji Seunghyeok.
Jo Junghyun’s face visibly flushed red.
For a boy who had just graduated from high school, especially one who must have been pampered growing up, this was probably the first time he had experienced such sarcasm. It would be a relief if he didn’t burst into tears.
Jo Junghyun chewed on his lips several times. His already red lips became even more vivid.
“That’s really…”
His chest expanded as if drawing in a breath.
“…rude of you to say.”
And the words that came out were completely different from what Ji Seunghyeok had expected.
Jo Junghyun’s face was still flushed as he looked up at Ji Seunghyeok. Honestly, it was a bit unexpected. With eyes so large that looked like they might tear up at the slightest touch, it was interesting that he still said what he wanted to say.
“Team Leader Park, let’s go inside for a moment.”
“Yes, sir.”
Ji Seunghyeok glanced at Jo Junghyun before walking away. Jo Junghyun’s expression showed he was quite surprised that Ji Seunghyeok had called for someone else instead of him.
The middle-aged man who had been speaking familiarly to Jo Junghyun, calling him “little one,” stood up and followed Ji Seunghyeok.
Ji Seunghyeok pushed open the heavy wooden door and gestured for Park Seokyoung to take a seat. He stood a few steps away, looking down at Park Seokyoung who was seated on the black leather sofa.
The bad thing about leather sofas was that they made noise every time you moved, and the good thing was also that they made noise every time you moved.
In the silent room, even the slightest movement created enough noise to make someone psychologically intimidated. Park Seokyoung seemed aware of this, as he sat perfectly straight, trying not to disturb his posture.
After the wall clock’s second hand had made a couple of rotations, Ji Seunghyeok spoke.
“How long has this been going on? And why haven’t I been informed about it?”
“I apologize.”
“I didn’t ask for a blanket apology.”
“The cleaning in this building hasn’t been great, and his circumstances are a bit pitiful…”
“Are you letting him live and eat here because there’s no one else to clean?”
At Ji Seunghyeok’s words, Park Seokyoung’s mouth clamped shut. A suffocating silence fell again, so thick you could almost hear eyeballs rolling.
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
Ji Seunghyeok frowned at the sound that broke the silence.
When there was no answer, the door opened cautiously. A small face appeared in the doorway.
“Um, excuse me.”
Ji Seunghyeok could sense Park Seokyoung hurriedly checking his expression, knowing that he disliked being interrupted.
Jo Junghyun bowed his head as he entered and approached Ji Seunghyeok. Judging by how tightly he was clenching his fists, making his skin turn white, he was struggling to control his fear. Ji Seunghyeok’s gaze slowly moved to Jo Junghyun’s face.
“Well?”
“Pardon?”
“You came in because you have something to say, right?”
He wanted to hear what Jo Junghyun had to say.
When Ji Seunghyeok finished speaking, Jo Junghyun hunched his shoulders.
“If, if you’re going to scold someone, please scold me. I stubbornly insisted on staying here, and these people have only been kind to me.”
Ji Seunghyeok wasn’t sure if this was as expected or unexpected.
Perhaps encouraged by Ji Seunghyeok’s silent attitude, Jo Junghyun continued.
“If, if my staying here was inconvenient for you, you should have said so when I first asked. It’s not, not fair for you to say it was fine back then and then complain now.”
Well, look at this.
Ji Seunghyeok’s eyes narrowed.
Jo Junghyun finished speaking while maintaining eye contact with Ji Seunghyeok, not avoiding his gaze.
Ji Seunghyeok was well aware of how intimidating his own eyes were. They were so piercing that he often heard people were afraid to look directly at him. Yet this green boy was looking him in the eye and protesting.
He had far more courage than his delicate appearance suggested.
“Ha,” Ji Seunghyeok let out a low laugh.
Hearing that sound, Park Seokyoung froze.
“Do you have anything else to say?”
When Ji Seunghyeok asked, Jo Junghyun blinked his large eyes and then, as if having made a decision, continued.
“About, about what you said earlier, about currying favor. It wasn’t like that. It was just out of goodwill… though ‘goodwill’ sounds strange, but I was grateful that you let me stay here while I look for a job. There was no ulterior motive.”
“Out of gratitude, you say?”
“Yes. …Would, would you reduce my debt if I clean here?”
Ji Seunghyeok deliberately didn’t answer.
“I guess not, right? I know it’s an enormous amount. And, and I wasn’t hoping for that. I’m not, not shameless enough to expect that.”
His plump lips trembled visibly.
Despite his obvious nervousness physically showing, Jo Junghyun spoke firmly.
Ji Seunghyeok stared at Jo Junghyun.
It was refreshing to see him speaking fearlessly with a body that was much smaller and thinner than the people who worked here. Even Park Seokyoung, sitting on the sofa with his sturdy build of over 185cm, didn’t dare to speak carelessly to Ji Seunghyeok.
It wasn’t just the employer-employee relationship, but more importantly, it was due to the intimidating aura that Ji Seunghyeok possessed as an extreme alpha. The unique atmosphere that extreme alphas carried was effective even with betas. And Jo Junghyun was a recessive omega. His sensitivity would be more, not less, than a beta’s.
Ji Seunghyeok’s pupils dilated.
He could have pressed further. But it wasn’t easy to do so. It didn’t look good to keep intimidating a young kid who might flutter away at the slightest pressure, yet was standing there trembling while defending Ji Seunghyeok’s employee.
It seemed that his usually absent conscience had peeked out, taking advantage of his fatigue.
Breaking the heavy silence that had fallen, Ji Seunghyeok sighed lightly and spoke.
“…Eyes as big as marbles.”
“Pardon? I didn’t, didn’t catch what you said.”
He apparently heard the muttered comment. Jo Junghyun cautiously asked again. It would have made sense for him to read the room and stay quiet, but the fact that he specifically asked made it unclear whether he was scared or not.
“It’s nothing. I haven’t slept more than five hours in three days, so I’m extremely tired. If you have nothing else to say, step aside.”
As Ji Seunghyeok left the office, he watched Park Seokyoung pull back Jo Junghyun’s arm as the boy’s already round eyes grew even wider.
* * *
Watching Ji Seunghyeok leave like the wind without concluding the conversation, Jo Junghyun felt dazed as he stared at the retreating figure. Park Seokyoung grabbed Jo Junghyun’s arm as he was about to say something, giving him a look to stay quiet.
After Ji Seunghyeok disappeared, Park Seokyoung patted Jo Junghyun’s back. Though the pats were meant to be light, they were so forceful that Jo Junghyun’s body resonated with each one.
“Hey, little one. You’re lucky. Looks like you can stay here a bit longer…!”
“Uh… Wouldn’t that mean he wants me to leave?”
“Aish. The CEO is thorough about such things. If he wanted you out, he would have said so from the start. No comment means you can stay.”
Jo Junghyun furrowed his brows.
“Really…?”
“Yes, yes. Ah, that’s good. Whew, when I was called in, I thought I was going to wet myself.”
As Jo Junghyun watched Park Seokyoung leave while shuddering, he tilted his head to one side. It was quite suspicious, but since Park Seokyoung probably knew Ji Seunghyeok’s tendencies well, he decided to believe what he said.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
