Please do not copy, repost, or share this translation. Click the translator’s name to see more of their works. Enjoying this translation? Give the novel a good rating on NovelUpdates, thank you! For advance chapter updates, individual novel pings, free chapter alerts, and more, you can also join my Discord!
DFLT 20
by soapa“I’m hanging up.”
Perhaps due to an urgent matter, his usually neatly styled hair was casually down, and he wore a relaxed lounge knit.
Caught off guard by this different side of Executive Director Seo Heonyoung, Yeonoh was momentarily entranced. Why did even his disheveled appearance look so refined?
“Mr. Ji Yeonoh, didn’t you leave work earlier?”
“Oh, uh, I still have some work left.”
“What work?”
Yeonoh regretted his words instantly. If he slipped up, it might seem like Minhyuk was passing off tasks, so what should he do? As Yeonoh fumbled with his lips, unsure, Manager Kim spoke up.
“Executive Director, sorry for being late. The U.S. branch meeting is ready now.”
“Alright.”
Finishing his sentence, Heonyoung took a few steps toward the meeting room, then turned back and stood in front of Yeonoh again. Suddenly, he extended his right hand and pointed to his lower lip.
“Here.”
What? He didn’t seem the type to act cute out of nowhere. Slightly flustered, Yeonoh couldn’t find words and just blinked.
“Pardon?”
“Get the seaweed off.”
His fingertip, pointing at his lower lip, shifted to a triangle kimbap wrapper on Yeonoh’s desk. Realizing a piece of seaweed from the hastily eaten kimbap was stuck to his lip, Yeonoh hurriedly scrubbed it off with the back of his hand.
“Manager Kim, check why Mr. Ji Yeonoh is still here at this hour and report back.”
Heonyoung finished plainly and walked into the meeting room. Only then did Manager Kim Jinhwan, noticing Yeonoh, approach with wide eyes.
“Mr. Yeonoh, what are you doing here this late?”
“Well, uh…”
Fidgeting and stomping his feet, Yeonoh was at a loss, but Manager Kim patted his shoulder without pressing further.
“I’ll handle it with him. Don’t worry.”
“…Thank you. But why are you back at this hour?”
“There’s news about import appliance regulations in the U.S., so a meeting was urgently scheduled. Finish up appropriately and go home, alright?”
Patting Yeonoh’s shoulder, Manager Kim walked away. Pretending to look at his monitor, Yeonoh subtly glanced at the meeting room beyond. The glass walls revealed Manager Kim and Heonyoung across from him clearly. The contrast between his casual attire and his usual serious work demeanor felt striking.
…It oddly made his heart race.
“It’s because I’m working too much.”
Snap out of it, Ji Yeonoh. What are you doing, fawning over your boss? Muttering to himself, he slapped his cheeks with both palms. Spotting this odd behavior, Heonyoung shifted his gaze from the screen to Yeonoh.
Oh, caught acting like a fool again. Messing up his hair, Yeonoh hastily tidied his work and fled.
The next afternoon, all department heads gathered for the final review as scheduled. The data, checked with An Minhyuk that morning, should be fine. Trembling with nerves, Yeonoh sat at the edge of the meeting room, taking minutes.
“The decline in first-quarter display operating profit is due to investments for the second-half strategy…”
He typed every word meticulously. Formal dialogue and Yeonoh’s typing filled the room until someone, after a thoughtful breath, spoke.
“Executive Director, the display division’s sales differ from our data. It’s a 2-point decrease year-over-year, but this shows an 18-point drop.”
Yeonoh’s hands, busy on the keyboard, froze. His heart plummeted, crashing through the floor and beyond.
“The data came from the division.”
Executive Director Seo Heonyoung, with a displeased expression, furrowed his brows and asked. Sensing it was his mistake, Yeonoh’s trembling fingertips shook. Noticing Yeonoh’s uneasy reaction, Heonyoung closed his notebook and spoke.
“Seems like a communication issue. Let’s cross-check and reschedule. That’s all for today.”
The meeting ended earlier than expected with Heonyoung’s conclusion, and everyone except the secretarial staff left one by one.
“Assistant Manager An and Secretary Ji, come to my office.”
Heonyoung closed the door a bit irritably and left, and Yeonoh followed hesitantly. Nervous, cold sweat dripped down his neck. He thought he heard An Minhyuk muttering curses behind him. His head spun, as if the ground were rising.
“Care to explain?”
Heonyoung tossed his notebook onto the desk and sat on its edge.
“I’m sorry. It’s my fault.”
An Minhyuk, entering last and closing the door, stood beside Yeonoh and bowed. Yeonoh followed, lowering his head too.
“I don’t have time to point fingers, so explain the cause.”
“Senior Park Kyunghwan’s work manual details it, and I shared the correct data with Mr. Yeonoh. The formulas were set so copying them would yield correct numbers… but as his mentor, it’s my fault for not checking properly.”
“So, Mr. Ji Yeonoh, who ignored procedure and used it arbitrarily, is the cause?”
“Yes, that’s how I understand it.”
Yeonoh’s heart raced.
“Let’s fact-check. Forward me the email you sent to Secretary Ji.”
The file would reveal his mistake instantly. Was this how livestock felt being led to slaughter? His neck felt cold as the blade of judgment neared.
Heonyoung’s brow stiffened as he reviewed the file. The sound of the mouse wheel scrolling felt like terror.
Would he really get fired? What about rent? Seowon’s academy fees? He’d boasted to his mother, who worked cleaning buildings to pay off his father’s accident settlement debts, that she wouldn’t have to struggle anymore. If he got fired in less than two months, what then? If only he could turn back time, he’d do anything.
After comparing formulas across two files for a while, Heonyoung’s lips parted.
“The versions are different?”
“Pardon?”
An Minhyuk asked in a dazed tone, and Yeonoh, narrowing his brows, struggled to grasp the meaning.
“The version Senior Park used for the data differs slightly from what Mr. Ji Yeonoh received. Using old formulas on the new format produced incorrect values.”
“Well, that’s…”
“So, if we’re assigning blame, it seems like Assistant Manager An Minhyuk’s fault for sharing wrong data without checking the format.”
“I was… busy with other tasks.”
Heonyoung’s previously level brows curved.
“Care to share why you were so busy? Dumping the bidding and performance data on your junior suggests you were swamped.”
Yeonoh’s shoulders flinched. How did he know An Minhyuk passed off the quotation document?
Yeonoh had heard rumors that Executive Director Seo Heonyoung, born with a silver spoon, earned his title young. But seeing Heonyoung analyze complex files, pinpoint causes, and even discern the author of an unnamed report between the lines, Yeonoh understood. It wasn’t just his status as a conglomerate heir—it was his sheer ability that turned company gossip into mere chatter.
If someone said they felt inexplicable comfort in the cold, emotionless gaze of Executive Director Seo Heonyoung, others might call them crazy.
Yet, Seo Heonyoung’s methodical, habitual gaze felt like a silent acknowledgment that accepted Yeonoh as part of society without prejudice against his beta status. For anyone but an alpha or dominant omega, subtle disdain was a constant shadow. Media labeled such people “beta discriminators,” but in reality, beta discrimination was a societal norm, and labels did no harm.
A professional gaze, free of pity or disgust. It made Yeonoh feel that Seo Heonyoung saw him not as an inferior beta but as a human Ji Yeonoh, striving at his job. He foolishly took it as Heonyoung’s brand of kindness, knowing how absurd and laughable that was.