DFLT 21

“That’s… I’m sorry.”

Under Heonyoung’s sharp questioning, An Minhyuk finally let out a sigh as if exhausted, apologizing weakly and bowing his head deeply.

“Did you think that just because you managed to scrape by for a few years, you’d be praised and given a deputy position? If so, it seems my judgment that you would at least take responsibility for my work was mistaken.”

“…….”

“Anyway, that’s a separate issue. Review everything from start to finish, make corrections, and let’s go over it tomorrow.”

Ah, another night of overtime, Yeonoh thought. Still, he felt a sense of relief that he hadn’t been fired, stroking his chest, when it happened.

“Deputy An Minhyuk.”

“Yes?”

“I’m telling you to take care of it, Deputy An Minhyuk. Yesterday, Secretary Ji Yeonoh stayed late and handled it alone.”

“…Understood.”

“Get out.”

Leaning back in his chair and pressing his thumb firmly between his brows, Heonyoung spoke in a tired voice.

No matter how different the versions were, if he had paid closer attention and checked, he might have noticed it right away. Yeonoh called out to Minhyuk, who was walking ahead, in an apologetic tone.

“Um, Deputy. Those documents… I’d like to stay late and finish them with you.”

At that moment, Minhyuk’s steps halted. The eyes that turned to look at Yeonoh were fiercely crumpled. That familiar gaze. Yeonoh could roughly guess what he was about to say.

“Follow me.”

An Minhyuk grabbed Yeonoh’s wrist without mercy. Unable to even let out a sound at the sharp pain of his bones twisting, Yeonoh was dragged to the employee break room. After confirming no one was there and locking the door, An Minhyuk shoved Yeonoh toward the wall, roughly shaking off the wrist he had been gripping.

“…Hngh!”

As the hard wall hit his back and the back of his head, Yeonoh let out a pained sound and tightly shut his eyes from the jarring impact.

“Damn it. Hey, didn’t I tell you to stop showing off?”

“What?”

“A beta like you, are you only satisfied when you finally beat me?”

Before the pain could even subside, it felt like another bat had struck the back of his head, leaving it numb. What kind of nonsense was this? Yeonoh glared up at An Minhyuk with force in his eyes.

“What are you looking at, you piece of trash? What do you think you’re relying on to act so cocky? Oh.”

As Yeonoh looked up at him, losing all will to fight under the barrage of baseless, insult-laden accusations, An Minhyuk seemed to realize something, continuing with a sigh. For some reason, he let out a snicker as if amused.

“I heard there are types like that among alphas.”

An Minhyuk suddenly raised a finger and poked Yeonoh’s stomach, who was standing still in disbelief. The firm fingertip digging into his skin was quite painful.

“Those filthy bastards who mess around with betas who can’t get pregnant, tarnishing the face of alphas. Is that Seo Heonyoung? You commute together, so do you offer your body too? Does he pamper you because you suck him off?”

“What are you talking about? That’s not true!”

“A beta with a dull head who can’t even do his job. I always wondered why they’d call someone like you to the secretarial office, but now I get it. With a pretty face, you’re perfect to keep around for fun.”

“Absolutely not!”

Even if TG was a place where rank was everything, Yeonoh couldn’t tolerate someone casually spewing words that scraped at a person’s dignity. With reddened eyes, Yeonoh shot back at An Minhyuk.

“Not true? Hey, didn’t Executive Director Seo tell you not to go out smoking with him? Damn it, and you still say it’s not true?”

Did Seo Heonyoung really say that? That Seo Heonyoung, who seemed completely indifferent to others? Yeonoh’s eyes widened in disbelief for a moment, but then, realizing he couldn’t let himself be swayed, he opened his mouth again.

“I was coughing like I was going to die, so he probably felt sorry for me!”

“Oh, so I’m the bastard?”

“Deputy!”

It felt like hanging upside down. As if his blood was rushing backward in anger, his body trembled uncontrollably, and he clenched his fists tightly. His nails dug into his skin so hard he didn’t even notice the pain.

“Listen well. The bastard is you, Ji Yeonoh.”

An Minhyuk raised his arm and pressed hard just below Yeonoh’s collarbone. Pinned helplessly against the wall under the forceful pressure, Yeonoh gasped and shouted, his throat constricting.

“Ugh, let me go!”

“I told you, didn’t I? Shut up and do as you’re told. You, who’ve messed up the natural order and made it this far, think you’re in a position to help me? Don’t reach out like you’re doing me a favor. It’s really pathetic.”

Did everyone at TG look at him and think that? That Ji Yeonoh was nothing but a foreign object? The blatant alpha supremacy from head to toe made his stomach churn. Facing the disgust that had always lurked beneath the surface, now laid bare, felt far filthier than he had ever imagined.

Finally, An Minhyuk released the arm holding Yeonoh. As the heavy pressure on his chest eased, a wave of exhaustion hit, and Yeonoh collapsed to the floor.

“This feels like crap.”

An Minhyuk adjusted his disheveled clothes, tightening the loosened knot of his tie. Looking down at Yeonoh, who was rubbing his still-throbbing chest, Minhyuk said,

“Come out in five minutes.”

Then he closed the door and left as if nothing had happened. Yeonoh, slumped on the floor, leaned his shoulder against the wall and blinked weakly. Fear ebbed away like the tide. Suddenly feeling an unfamiliar sensation on his cheek, he wiped it with the back of his hand and found it wet.

Hah, he let out a self-deprecating laugh and muttered softly.

“…What a life, Ji Yeonoh.”

He even had the luxury of shedding tears. He had once vowed he’d sell his soul just to get into TG, yet the human heart could be so fickle.

While he was rubbing his face dry, the door suddenly burst open. Caught off guard, Yeonoh hurriedly wiped his tears with the back of his hand and stood up.

“Mr. Yeonoh, you were here?”

Noticing Yeonoh’s appearance, Office Manager Kim paused in surprise mid-step.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Were you looking for me?”

“Oh, yes. The Executive Director asked for you. Mr. Yeonoh, are you okay?”

“Yes! Just a bit tired…”

“Uh, okay. Shall we go?”

Worried that Manager Kim might notice he’d been crying, Yeonoh quickly bowed his head and followed behind Office Manager Kim Jinhwan.

“Executive Director, Mr. Yeonoh is here.”

Yeonoh had thought Minhyuk would be called too, but it was just him and Manager Kim entering. Was he about to get scolded? He felt like he wanted to leave early. Heonyoung gestured for Yeonoh, who was hesitating at the door, to close it and come inside. The serious atmosphere made it even scarier. Was he about to be sat down and told to resign? A chill ran down his spine.

“They say they’re imposing tariffs on imported home appliances from the U.S., so collaborate with the U.S. branch and…”

Feeling foolish for being so tense, Yeonoh noted that Heonyoung gave instructions for other tasks with a nonchalant expression. Just in case, Yeonoh jotted down all the directions in the notebook he’d brought.

“Then let’s start looking into it. We need to move quickly, so by tomorrow.”

After the brief task instructions, Manager Kim left the office. Yeonoh was about to follow but hesitated, holding the door.

“Executive Director.”

Finally, he closed the half-open door and called out to Heonyoung. Heonyoung, who had been focused on his monitor, looked at Yeonoh without responding.

“…I’m really sorry about today.”

“What now?”

“I think I caused trouble for you at the general meeting with the wrong data…”

“Trouble?”

Heonyoung took off his blue-light-blocking glasses and let out a small laugh.

“Real trouble is when incorrect performance reports are released to the public. That’s why we have the safety net of final reviews.”

“…….”

“There’s no such thing as a perfect process, so mistakes are bound to happen somewhere. The issue is the attitude toward acknowledging them.”

Yeonoh fidgeted with his fingers, hesitating.

“There are people who shift the blame for their mistakes onto others or brush it off as the fault of a busy environment. Deputy An Minhyuk did that today.”

Learn from mistakes and don’t repeat them. Yeonoh nodded lightly as if he understood.

“That’s why Deputy An Minhyuk will be reassigned to a regional branch. We need people who are ready to learn, not those who think they’ve already learned.”

Yeonoh’s eyes widened at the unexpected news.

“I hope Secretary Ji Yeonoh is someone ready to learn. You can go now.”

What was going on? With his mind in a whirl, Yeonoh bowed dazedly and turned to leave.

“Oh, and.”

Suddenly, Heonyoung called Yeonoh back.

“Yes?”

“The estimate report—you summarized the key points clearly and made it easy to read. Good job.”

With an utterly indifferent face that didn’t seem like it was giving praise, Heonyoung put his glasses back on and focused on his monitor.

“…Oh…”

That flat, uninflected comment felt like popping a mint candy into his mouth, miraculously refreshing after a day of plummeting emotions. That was the beginning of a budding love.