Marriage Mate: 16

Yu-young stuck out his tongue and briefly licked his dry lips before opening his mouth.

“Did you call for me?”

“Eat this first.”

Do-won gestured toward the high table set up along the wall. On the table were sandwiches and iced americano, the same ones sold on the first floor of the company.

Yu-young widened his eyes.

“…What’s this…?”

“Don’t you recognize it? Sandwich and coffee.”

“Then why are you giving it to me…?”

Yu-young’s voice trembled slightly. He suddenly felt uneasy, like something strange was in the air.

Was he a bad guy, but the kind who makes sure to give you food? Of course, when he thought of the humiliation he’d suffered until now, no amount of coffee or sandwiches would erase all the lingering bitterness, but there was no reason to feel upset about someone offering to feed him.

However, the moment Do-won spoke, the small sense of gratitude that had briefly risen was shattered.

“I can’t stand seeing my team members go hungry. Working while starving, staying late for no reason… that’s a sign of a leader’s incompetence.”

“…”

“So don’t starve for no reason. Eat, then come back to work. It bothers me to see someone dragging themselves through work like that.”

A sharp look swept across Yu-young’s face.

“Well, judging by how happily you were cursing me earlier, you seem full of energy without food.”

With those words, Do-won quickly left the break room. Yu-young’s mouth hung open in shock, unable to close. His anger flared up, and he muttered curses to himself, trembling.

“What the hell… who asked you to buy this?!”

That annoying guy. Of course, he didn’t buy this thinking of me!

If it were up to him, he’d throw the sandwich and coffee back into the team leader’s office, but Yu-young was too hungry, and the food wasn’t at fault. He scowled at the innocent sandwich and coffee before sitting in a corner of the break room and devouring them in 10 minutes.

…

“Everyone, go ahead and clock out.”

It was exactly 6 o’clock. With that announcement, Do-won came out of the team leader’s office.

Judging by the team leader’s temper and how he issued work orders, Yu-young thought they’d probably be stuck with overtime every day. He muttered weakly as everyone, half resigned, kept typing away at their keyboards. After all, even a welcome ceremony for himself had been postponed until the report was finished.

When the team members were left wide-eyed in surprise, Do-won added,

“It’d be great if we could avoid unnecessary overtime. Tomorrow’s a company dinner, and from next week, we’ll start working on a new project, so go home early today.”

“Yes, thank you!”

“Thank you!”

One of the team members quickly answered, and everyone followed suit, packing up their things in a hurry. Do-won nodded at them before returning to the team leader’s office. As everyone began chatting and stood up to leave, Yu-young remained seated, glaring at the monitor, his lips pressed tightly together.

“Ah, I think I’m almost done with this…”

Determined to finish the report, Yu-young had been focused ever since lunch, his determination burning as he worked. He figured it would only take another 30 minutes to an hour. Lee Yoon-seok, eyes wide, approached Yu Young and whispered,

“Mr. Han… Aren’t you going home?”

“I’ll finish this and go.”

“You’re working so hard alone… Is there anything I can do to help?”

Though Yoon-seok asked, his eyes and hands desperately clutched his bag, silently begging for an excuse to leave. Yu-young smiled and gestured for him to go.

“It’s okay. I think I’ll be done in an hour. Go ahead and leave.”

The team members all exchanged sympathetic glances toward Yu-young, but none hesitated to leave. Yu-young watched them disappear quickly, a tinge of envy in his eyes. Then he turned back to his monitor, reigniting his determination.

“I’ll finish this today, and tomorrow I’ll do my own work.”

Clicking his mouse rapidly, Yu-young returned to his task. The office fell silent again. Though the team leader was present, the door to his office was firmly shut, leaving Yu-young alone.

“Why’s he staying late when everyone else is leaving? Well, I guess it’s a bit awkward to leave on the first day.”

Yu-young thought nonchalantly as he typed away. It didn’t matter if the team leader stayed, as long as he could submit his report and leave when the team leader was around.

Suddenly, Yu-young felt a chill again. He put on his jacket, which he had draped over his chair, but the cold didn’t go away. His face flushed as if he was coming down with something, and it felt like his pheromones were acting up again.

He’d taken the last pill at lunch; why was this happening now? There were no more pills left, and the only clinic nearby that treated pheromone issues was closed for night hours on Mondays. So, Yu-young would have to go to a clinic near his home, but that would mean coming back after 8 o’clock.

What should I do? After thinking for a moment, Yu-young quickly decided to finish up and leave.

“It’s 6 o’clock now, and the clinic is open until 8… I’ll just finish quickly, get the medication, and then go home.”

Yu-young’s gaze sharpened as he skimmed through the report. He had put so much effort into it since morning, and even he could tell it looked much better than before. With renewed determination, he straightened his posture.

How much time passed? Yu-young, lost in the final touches, was startled by the sound of someone tapping on the desk next to him. He jumped and let out a loud scream.

“Ah! You scared me!”

“Assistant Manager Han.”

Snapping back to reality, Yu-young saw Do-won glaring at him, his face twisted into an unpleasant expression. Yu-young had no idea why he was making such a face. At this point, just seeing that expression was enough to drive him mad, but he tried not to show it as he looked up at Do-won.

Do-won spoke harshly.

“Don’t get too comfortable just because the office is empty. This isn’t your bedroom.”

“…Excuse me?”

What was he talking about? Yu-young quickly glanced down at his outfit to check it. Anyone who overheard might think he was in his underwear. However, he was still dressed neatly in his suit.

Yu-young asked, confused,

“…What do you mean by that?”

“If you don’t know, you should control your pheromones first. This has been happening repeatedly, haven’t you learned how to manage them yet?”

As he said this, Do-won looked at Yu-young with an expression of disgust, as if he were deeply contemptuous.

At this point, Yu-young feelings were less about anger and more about sadness. It felt like he had been scolded endlessly all day. He wanted to explain that it wasn’t intentional, that his health wasn’t good and he had to get medication but couldn’t find the time, that he was just finishing up before heading out. But instead of speaking, the overwhelming sadness rose, and Yu-young bit his lip hard, trying to hold back tears.

However, Do-won paid no mind to his distress and coldly continued.

“You’ve probably been comfortable here with no one monitoring you, but from now on, I’d appreciate it if you paid more attention.”

“…I’m sorry. But it wasn’t intentional.”

Yu-young barely managed to speak as he turned his back on Do-won. Do-won raised an eyebrow and looked back at him.

“What do you mean by that?”

“My body is a bit… unwell, and I’m having trouble controlling my pheromones.” The overwhelming sadness almost made Yu-young’s tears spill over.

“I didn’t realize at first, and I’ve caused discomfort because of the pheromones. That’s why I even visited the hospital during my vacation.”

“…”

“I took medication until lunch, but suddenly, it seems like I can’t control them again. I just wanted to finish this and report it before heading to the hospital… I’m sorry for causing discomfort.”

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment. Do-won’s eyes, still harsh, lingered on Yu-young, but he didn’t say anything further. Yu-young also held his ground, staring directly at him. The atmosphere was far heavier than their earlier shouting match.

Sighing, Do-won turned his head and spoke again.

“Just go now.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Submit the report tomorrow, and go to the hospital first.” Do-won gruffly ran his hand over his face, sounding more irritated than before.

“If your body’s in that condition, you should have spoken up sooner. Are you a child? You can’t even manage your own schedule or health. Do I have to take care of everything, from meals to the hospital?”

Yu-young dam of emotions broke, and the tears he had been holding back threatened to spill over.

But he inhaled deeply, clenching his fists, and fought to keep the tears in check. He didn’t want to show them in front of this man. Taking one last deep breath, Yu-young raised his head sharply.

“I never asked the team leader to take care of me.”

“…What?”

“I don’t know why you hate me this much.”

Yu-young glared at Do-won with teary eyes.

“I might not be up to your standards, but I genuinely don’t understand why. Is it because I’m a team member who can’t manage their schedule or health? Or is it simply because I’m an omega?”

“Assistant Manager Han…”

“If it’s the first, I’ll try my best to improve. But if it’s the latter, I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Yu-young stood up slowly, shoving his things into his bag in a hurry. He then hit the print button for the report file he had been working on. The loud sound of the printer began as the report started printing.Yu-young quickly gathered the printed papers and handed the report to Do-won.

“I’ve finished editing the report. As you said, I’ll submit it tomorrow. I’ll go to the hospital now.”

With that, Yu-young rushed out of the office. There was no way he could face the team leader any longer. He decided to just go home for the day and think things over tomorrow.

It felt hopeless. He had caused trouble again, just a day after returning from vacation. First it was the deputy manager, and now it was with the team leader. Would his father find out about this too?

Sighing, Yu Young stopped thinking. Without another word, he started the car and headed toward the hospital.