Marriage Mate: 18

Yu-young silently blinked as he looked down at him.

“Yesterday, Assistant Han said this, right? Whether it’s because I thinks he lacks ability or simply because he’s an Omega.”

His voice was dry and businesslike, just like when he had told him to correct the content of the report.

“To avoid any misunderstandings, I will make it clear. I don’t dislike Assistant Han because he’s an Omega. It’s simply that you don’t seem to consider that I am an alpha and your pheromones made me uncomfortable. I didn’t know you were unwell, but now that I know, I won’t misunderstand again. It would be nice if Assistant Han could manage his condition better in the future.”

Yu-young wanted to slap him with a retort, especially because each of his words was so annoying. But, despite being irritating, none of it was wrong, so Yu-young nodded with a grim expression. After all, he had made a mistake unintentionally.

“Understood. I’m sorry for causing discomfort.”

“The part ‘You can’t manage your condition, and you can’t manage your schedule’ was Assistant Manager Han’s own words, I won’t exactly deny it..”

That bastard, is he really trying to push it this far? Yu-young’s face was turning sour as he thought.

“And,”

Do-won handed the report back to Yu-young. It was the same report Yu-young had submitted yesterday.

“I’ve reviewed the report. It’s much better.”

“…..”

“I’ve marked a couple of areas that need to be fixed, so just address those and send it back as a file. Thanks for your hard work yesterday. You can go now.”

Even though his eyes and voice were impassive, Yu-young’s eyes widened in surprise.

Did he just say it’s much better? And he said ‘good job’ too?

“Yes. I’ll be going now.”

Yu-young tried to hide his excitement and replied calmly. Do-won nodded lightly and turned back to his monitor. Yu-young, trying to hide the twitch at the corners of his mouth, turned and walked away.

A thrilling sense of joy surged through him. Objectively, it wasn’t an overwhelming compliment, but Yu-young’s chest was pounding. The hard work he put in yesterday hadn’t been in vain. Even from that annoying mouth, praise had come.

Back at his desk, Yu-young greeted the team members as they came in and quickly skimmed through the report. As Do-won had said, there were a few areas marked in red, and next to them, post-it notes had been placed.

[For the conclusion, it’s fine to present completely opposite options.]

[This part should be summarized more concisely, leaving just the core content.]

It was Do-won’s handwriting, and it reflected his uncompromising personality. His writing was clean and precise, almost as if printed. Yu-young reread it several times, then opened the file. After making the corrections as suggested, Yu-young agreed with him—it really looked perfect.

How’s that, you bastard? I can do it too, I thought. With a grin threatening to break out, Yu-young sent the revised report to Team Leader Choi Do-won. After sending it, he felt a refreshing sense of relief in his chest.

At that moment, the team messenger flashed, signaling a new message.

[We’re having a company dinner at 6:30 PM tonight. Please choose a suitable venue.]

…..

The sizzling sound of meat cooking filled the air. Lee Yoon-seok rolled up his sleeves and hurriedly flipped the meat with tongs. Soju and side dishes appeared on the table as team members gathered around, laughing and chatting in low voices. It was the first company dinner since the previous team leader’s farewell.

“Alright, let’s start with a toast. Who should do it? I guess it’s Assistant Manager Kim right?”

“Yes! I’ll do it!”

Kim Ju-yeon raised her hand and stood up, cheerfully lifting her glass.

“To the eternal success of the Planning Team 1, and to our new Team Leader Choi!”

“To success!”

With a cheerful clink, several glasses collided and then dispersed. Yu-young tilted his head back, swallowing the bitter, cold liquid, and involuntarily let out a “ugh”

Normally, Yu-young wasn’t a fan of soju, but for some reason, he couldn’t help but drink it just for tonight.

Today had gone far smoother than yesterday. Yu-young reflected on how extraordinary yesterday had been. He had started the day by being late, then discovered that the man who lived next door was his superior. After a scolding from him, he worked without eating, and by the end of the day, he had stormed out of an argument with his boss. It was a brilliantly disastrous day.

Today, however, had been peaceful. After submitting his report early in the morning and even receiving positive feedback, Yu-young could go about his tasks with a refreshed mind. Ever since Team Leader Choi had prohibited passing off work to him, Yu-young had felt much more at ease.

He worked leisurely and had lunch with the team. Fortunately, both the deputy manager and team leader sat far away from him, so he could enjoy his meal comfortably. Having had such a pleasant day, Yu-young was now enjoying the company dinner.

“Yu-young, you really worked hard. Doing that report all by yourself, wow…”

“Well, Kim Ju-yeon did help me a bit with the materials,” Yu-young replied modestly.

“No, I just handed over a few materials. You really worked hard. Truly,” Ju-yeon said.

“Yeah, Assistant Han, you’re amazing,” said Yoon-seok.

“Haha, thanks.”

Kim Ju-yeon and Lee Yoon-seok pretended to rub Yu-young’s shoulders and filled his glass with more alcohol. Yu-young glanced sideways to see the deputy manager holding a conversation with another team member, so the three of them clinked glasses and drank up.

“So, how’s the new team leader?” Yoon-seok asked, lowering his voice.

“Yeah, how was he? You seemed to have a much better expression today than yesterday.”

“Ah….”

“Come on, tell us honestly. You said his personality is really bad earlier.”

Ju-yeon leaned forward in an excited tone and looked at Yu-young and Yoon-seok.

“But Yu-young, the things you said in the messenger, are you two already familiar with each other?”

Yu-young paused for a moment as he was about to take a sip from his drink. Originally, he had wanted to share his frustrations with Ju-yeon, vent about the difficulties he had faced, and freely complain about the team leader, when he had some free time. Until now, he hadn’t had the chance, but this seemed like the perfect time to expose the team leader’s true nature. The team leader was sitting at a table far away, and with the noisy atmosphere, it seemed unlikely anyone would overhear their conversation.

However, when he actually thought about it, he hesitated a little. He realized that while discussing the whole situation, he would inevitably have to mention that the team leader lived in the same building as him, and Yu-young’s current apartment didn’t exactly match the image his team members had of his situation. Moreover, explaining the pheromones, which had been the root cause of the conflict, to betas felt a bit awkward.

With a lukewarm smile, Yu-young shook his head.

“…Well, how would you know? It’s just that I got that impression from the start.”

“Really?”

Ju-yeob narrowed her eyes, a skeptical expression on her face.

“But with that said, don’t you feel something… off? It seems like the team leader is acting a little stiff only around you, Yu-young?”

“Ah, you too, huh? I felt the same way.”

“Right? It almost seems like he’s kind of, I don’t know… being a bit harsh on Yu-young?”

Ju-yeon and Yoon-seok both nodded vigorously in agreement. Yu-young quickly waved his hand.

“Oh, that’s not it… As you know, I’ve had a bad start with the team leader. I was late on the first day, remember? And the team leader is a bit of a stickler for rules, so maybe that’s why.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, and honestly, it’s not the first time my superiors dislike me, haha.”

“Oh, come on, Yu-young! What’s wrong with you? You do your job so well.”

“Thank you, Ju-yeon, but you’ve helped me out a few times too, haven’t you?”

“No, no. I’ve only given you a few materials. Anyway, you’ve really worked hard. Truly.”

“Yes, Mr. Han really is awesome.”

“Ha, thank you.”

Ju-yeon and Yoon-seok, sitting around the table, pretended to massage Yu-young’s shoulder and poured more alcohol into his glass. Yu-young noticed that Yoon-seok, who was especially fired up today, had a tendency to go overboard with his enthusiasm. Every time his glass emptied, Yoon-seok would pour more, and Ju-yeon would propose a toast, making the drinking pace much faster than usual.

But Yu-young couldn’t bring himself to advise Yoon-seok to slow down, as he understood how it felt to be in his shoes. When he first joined the company, he had also quickly filled his senior’s glass, only to be scolded for “trying to kill him.”

Yeah, it’s just been three months, and he’s trying my best,Yu-young thought as he smiled and took the drink that Yoon-seok handed him.

After successfully finishing the report, he felt much more at ease compared to yesterday.

“Anyway, Yu-young, thank you so much for taking charge of the report. You did a great job.”

“Yes, let’s toast to Mr. Han!”

Ju-yeon, who was feeling energized, was encouraging Yu-young to drink even more. Known for her lively and easygoing personality, Ju-yeon was the undeniable mood maker of the team. She was also quite strong when it came to drinking, and people who sat at the same table as her during team dinners always ended up more intoxicated than others.

“What’s up with this table? It’s unusually lively, huh?”

“Did the manager arrive? Should I pour you a drink?”

“Oh, Yoon-seok! You should’ve poured him one earlier!”

“Sorry, Manager!”

“Hehe, it’s fine. Let’s try the drink that Yoon-seok is pouring for us.” At that moment, the manager came over to the table, smiling. Everyone stood up in unison, but the manager quickly made them sit back down with a smile. Yu-young politely offered his seat to the manager.

The atmosphere then shifted to a conversation between the manager and Ju-yeon. Yu-young quietly excused himself from the table and headed to the restroom. It wasn’t until he stood up that he felt the effects of the alcohol kick in.

He staggered a bit and made his way to the restroom, which was located next to the door leading outside. His face was flushed red in the mirror.

“Ah… I should stop drinking now.”

Washing his hands with cold water, Yu-young tried to sober up. As he did, he noticed himself swaying a bit, indicating he had definitely drunk more than usual. He thought to himself that he should be more cautious once he returned to the table, already feeling the effects of the alcohol.

As Yu-young looked in the mirror, running his wet hands through his hair, his eyes met those of Do-won, who had just entered the restroom.

“…”

“…”