DFLT 3

Oh… Yeonoh sighed inwardly.

He wasn’t oblivious to Heonyoung’s intent in defending him. He probably didn’t want his employee, or by extension himself, to be looked down upon by the other party. But it was a first. No one had ever pulled Yeonoh’s insignificant existence up from the depths like that.

“How did a beta like you get selected for the TG Foundation? Be honest, did you cheat on the answers?”

“Your dream company is TG Group? Yeonoh, as your teacher, I have a duty to tell you the truth: that’s a company only the elite among alphas can enter.”

The world constantly reminded him, as a beta, that there weren’t many places for him in this society, so he should just keep his head down and live as he was told.

Everyone confidently declared that he wouldn’t last a month at the company. When the man named Kim Jaemin mocked him, Yeonoh himself was certain that it would soon come to that.

“What?”

“It’s proof that he overcame the superior traits alphas are born with through skill and effort.”

There were times when Yeonoh had nosebleeds or fainted from studying late into the night. His sole goal was to ensure that his younger sibling, diagnosed with leukemia and undergoing chemotherapy, and his family would not be crushed by financial burdens.

When Yeonoh was in high school, his younger sibling, then just an elementary school student, was receiving chemotherapy over two years. Watching his parents grovel before relatives to borrow money for the mounting medical bills, Yeonoh etched his goal deep into his heart.

Seo Heonyoung was one of the few people who didn’t mock Yeonoh’s efforts as mere greed. Overwhelmed with emotion, Yeonoh struggled to hold back tears, suppressing the urge to let them fall right there.

“Don’t you get what that means?”

“No, damn it. What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Tell your father that if he wants to push his reelection promise of tablet support for low-income families, he should show up himself.”

“Hey, that’s low, threatening me with money.”

“Money is something you can’t have with just skill and effort, so you’d better at least try, Jaemin.”

As if deeming the conversation unworthy of continuing, Heonyoung stood up, and Yeonoh, discreetly wiping away a stray tear with his fingertip, quickly followed behind.

Back to the present.

Though it was well past regular working hours, Gangnam-daero was still hopelessly congested with no gaps in sight. Due to a time difference, a late-night meeting with the U.S. branch was necessary, and the clock was now nearing midnight.

Yeonoh cautiously glanced at the rearview mirror, rolling his eyes carefully. Heonyoung was dozing off with his eyes closed. Perhaps it was the strain from taking suppressants that morning, but he looked a bit tired.

Even in the darkness of the late hour, his features were strikingly clear. The finely sculpted bridge of his nose and his red lips stood out. Suddenly, Yeonoh recalled Doh Sehyun from earlier that day. That face was likely the reason Sehyun had shot him a wary glance. A mere beta secretary having a private meeting with someone who might become Heonyoung’s spouse probably didn’t sit well with him.

“Ji Yeonoh.”

Thinking Heonyoung was asleep, Yeonoh was startled when he spoke without opening his eyes, calling his name. Yeonoh quickly averted his gaze from the rearview mirror.

“…You’re awake?”

Pretending he hadn’t been stealing glances, Yeonoh fixed his eyes on the window.

“Are you feeling alright?”

“Do you know why I keep you by my side instead of all those countless alphas?”

Seo Heonyoung’s side. Of course, the meaning wasn’t what Yeonoh wished for, but even so, he had to rein in his foolishly racing heart. How absurd. So Yeonoh remained silent.

“At least in the car, I want to keep those damn pheromones at a distance. That’s why I put you, whose driving skills weren’t even proven, behind the wheel from day one.”

His voice, tinged with exhaustion, carried a strange languor. Yeonoh’s fluttering heart plummeted to the pit of his stomach.

“But when you stare at me like that, do you think I can sleep or not?”

The flat question didn’t rise at the end, but his irritation was unmistakable. Yeonoh had no choice but to apologize, admitting he’d been caught staring. This unrequited love was truly damn exhausting.

He never thought this love could come to fruition. That would be far too presumptuous, wouldn’t it? Besides, Seo Heonyoung had never given him even the slightest opening. It was entirely Yeonoh’s one-sided affection.

“Yes, Mother.”

Heonyoung’s voice from the back seat interrupted Yeonoh’s spiraling thoughts, pulling him back to reality.

“No, Sehyun stopped by earlier.”

As the traffic light turned red and Yeonoh pressed the brake, that name, which had already soured his mood today, came up again, causing him to unintentionally press harder on the pedal. The car, slowing to a stop, jolted slightly from the forceful brake. Instead of speaking, Yeonoh bowed his head in apology toward Heonyoung.

“You already know everything without me saying it. You’re calling now because you know, right?”

Though the details weren’t clear, Mrs. Yoon Sangah’s displeased voice echoed through the quiet car. Heonyoung’s previously languid expression began to show traces of irritation.

“A family dinner this weekend? Why would you arrange that without asking me?”

Yeonoh resolved to tune out as much as possible and focused on driving. Before he knew it, the car had arrived at Heonyoung’s residence, and Yeonoh pulled up in front of the entrance connected to the elevator.

“We’ve arrived. Good work today, Executive Director.”

“Yeah, good work.”

Still in a sour mood from the call with his mother, Heonyoung gave a curt farewell and got out of the car. With a dull thud, the car door closed, and Heonyoung walked away without looking back.

Letting out a short sigh and about to shift into drive, Yeonoh was startled when the entrance door opened again, and Heonyoung reappeared. Staring in confusion, Yeonoh saw him bend his index finger and tap on the passenger window.

“Executive Director, did you forget something…?”

“Take a taxi home. Use the company card.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s past midnight.”

This car was used for Heonyoung’s official duties. Naturally, after work, Yeonoh would park it in the residence’s lot and take public transportation home.

With it being late and a surcharge likely, Yeonoh was about to thank him, but Heonyoung didn’t give him a chance to respond before heading back inside. He probably didn’t need a reply. His concern wasn’t for Ji Yeonoh personally but for employee welfare as a boss.

Seo Heonyoung was a good boss, a rational person. From what Yeonoh heard from friends at other companies, working for a reasonable boss was a stroke of luck.

Being the “Party B” in a contract didn’t bother him. The only exhausting part was living as the emotional “Party B.” No, that wasn’t right—Heonyoung had never even positioned himself as “Party A.” Even the role of “Party B” was more than Yeonoh deserved.

It felt like he had just fallen asleep, but when he opened his eyes, it was already time to get up. The fatigue clinging to his body tempted him to sleep just five more minutes, but he silenced the blaring phone alarm and got out of bed. Shaking his head, he dragged his heavy body upright.

“You worked late last night, didn’t you?”

As he finished getting ready and stepped out, his mother, busy preparing breakfast in the kitchen, looked at Yeonoh, who seemed noticeably more haggard overnight, and spoke with concern.

“It was because of a video conference with the U.S. branch. Did you and Seowon go to the hospital yesterday?”

“Yeah, Seowon had a blood test.”

“How were the results?”

“They were normal.”

“That’s a relief…”

It had been ten years since his younger sibling, Seowon, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. After two years of chemotherapy and nearly five years of follow-up monitoring, Seowon received a full recovery diagnosis three years ago and returned to normal life. Still, they went for regular blood tests about once a year to check their condition.

“You’re not eating breakfast?”

“No, I’ll stop by Seowon’s café on the way and grab a sandwich to go.”

On Tuesday mornings, when Seowon only had afternoon classes, they worked part-time at a café near home. Even though the illness was cured, stress wasn’t good for their health. Slightly worried, Yeonoh headed to the café where Seowon worked, partly to check on them.

The bell jingled as the door opened. Hyeyoon, a part-time worker on the same shift as Seowon, was bustling around serving the morning rush.

“Yeonoh oppa, hello! Is your face doing all the work again today? It’s working overtime with that beauty.”

Standing at the counter to order, Yeonoh was greeted by Hyeyoon, who clasped her hands and flashed a bright, teasing smile.

“Hey, Park Hyeyoon, stop with the old-man flattery and do your job.”

Seowon, busy making other orders, snapped with a tone soaked in irritation. But Hyeyoon, as if filtering Seowon out entirely, ignored them and continued.

“Thank you for coming. Thanks to you making the trip here, I think I can survive today’s morning rush just by looking at oppa’s face.”

“Oh, come on.”

Hearing such words in the morning, when he was so exhausted he’d barely splashed water on his face, felt almost embarrassingly flattering. Yeonoh awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.

“You must’ve worked late yesterday.”

“Uh, how’d you know?”

“You look like a scruffy Maltese that hasn’t been bathed in three days.”

“…I just showered earlier?”

What did she mean by a scruffy Maltese? And then, recalling what Doh Sehyun had said to him yesterday, Yeonoh’s mood sank rapidly.

“What’s wrong? Did I say something bad…?”

“No, it’s not that. Someone dissed my face earlier.”

Hyeyoon’s eyes glinted with a subtle madness as she gave an enigmatic smile.

“Who’s the brave soul? Want me to grind them up with the coffee beans in the grinder?”

“Every time you say stuff like that, I get genuinely scared you might actually do it.”

At first, Yeonoh kept his distance from Hyeyoon because her casual, chilling remarks were unnerving, but after realizing she was just a kind friend, he brushed them off as jokes.

“They don’t even know the charm of our scruffy Maltese-like oppa.”

Still, it was hard to tell if this was an insult or a compliment.