Marriage Mate: 19

After a brief, awkward eye contact, Yu-young quickly gave a small nod and turned his gaze away. Without reason, he washed his hands again, letting out a deep breath. He didn’t want to show Do-won the mess he had become, so Yu-young tried to put on a composed expression.

Do-won also came to the sink and began washing his hands. As he got closer, Yu-young could smell a strong, raw pheromone scent that wasn’t tainted by alcohol. His usual rugged, wild aura seemed even more intense than usual, likely due to the drinking.

Better leave before things get worse.

Yu-young wiped his face with some cold water, trying to shake off the alcohol that seemed to only intensify the more he tried to sober up. He was especially weak to soju, and today, sitting at the same table with Ju-yeon had led him to overdo it.

Just as he turned to leave, his vision suddenly spun.

“Uh…uh…”

At that moment, his steps faltered. His body began to tilt dangerously. Yu-young’s eyes widened, and a faint, precarious sound escaped his lips. Instinctively, he reached out for something to grab, but there was nothing but empty air.

I’m going to fall…

Even in the midst of this, Yu-young’s greatest concern was showing Do-won a clumsy fall. But his body was quickly losing balance.

I guess I’ll look like a fool again in front of the team leader. What kind of bad fate do I have with him that every time we’re together, things like this happen…

As Yu-young cursed his unfortunate fate, he felt a firm, solid arm under his waist, halting his fall.

“…What?”

Yu-young cautiously opened his eyes and saw Do-won’s face and upper body filling his vision. It took a moment for Yu-young to realize that Do-won had caught him from falling. His wide eyes grew even larger.

“What is this…”

The arm supporting his waist didn’t waver. The eyes looking down at him were equally calm. The intense pheromone scent seemed to awaken every sensation in Yu-young’s body. A dull sound echoed in his ears.

But as soon as Do-won spoke, the overwhelming sound disappeared without a trace.

“When are you going to get up?”

“…Pardon?”

“Get up. Do I need to lift you myself?”

His voice was cold, like a sharp wind. Only then did Yu-young realize the expression on Do-won’s face was extremely frosty.

I should’ve known. I thought for a second he might be kind, but I was a fool, Yu-young thought bitterly as he tried to get up.

“I’ll get up on my own. Don’t worry about it.”

But Yu-young’s body was very different from the defiant words coming from his mouth. When he tried to push himself up with the sink next to him, his ankle suddenly ached. It seemed he had twisted it when his steps faltered earlier.

“O-Oww…”

Yu-young let out a soft groan, despite his attempt to keep a composed expression. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like a serious injury, but it was hard to stand properly.

Looking at Yu-young with disdain, Do-won clicked his tongue and reached out a hand. As Do-won wrapped his solid arm around Yu-young, he was instantly lifted up, steadying Yu-young.

“Let me help you. Let’s go back to your seat.”

“I’m fine. You can finish your business.”

“Stop being stubborn and get up.”

Do-won’s voice was filled with irritation. Yu-young, seeing his cold expression, felt the same sense of frustration from the previous day rush back.

Yu-young tried to shake off Do-won’s arm coldly.

“I said I’m fine. I’ll go on my own.”

“…”

Their eyes met in midair. Yu-young stared back at Do-won, defiantly. He didn’t feel like Do-won, as his superior, had any right to make him feel humiliated over such a minor issue.

However, Do-won’s grip on Yu-young’s arm remained firm, and his expression was even more menacing now.

“Let’s be reasonable, Assistant Han. You’re not a child.”

Do-won’s face came dangerously close, and his now aggressive pheromone scent made Yu-young involuntarily hold his breath.

“…Fine, then…”

“Don’t make me repeat myself three times. Are you going to keep insisting on walking by yourself and end up injuring yourself even more, showing up late tomorrow?”

Do-won growled lowly, taking control and guiding Yu-young out. By this point, Yu-young, half-resigned, closed his mouth. He didn’t have the strength to refuse anymore. His ankle hurt, and the alcohol made him dizzy. He knew he’d likely fall if he insisted on walking alone.

Despite his angry expression and tone, he was quite thoughtful. Matching his pace with Yu-young, who could only walk slowly, Do-won moved slowly. The arm that held him tightly was firm yet didn’t hurt. Yu-young realized that he had unconsciously relaxed and entrusted his body to Do-won’s hand.

Do-won didn’t let go of him even when they reached the table. Yu-young tried to shyly pull his arm away, but Do-won’s support didn’t end until Yu-young sat down at the seat.

“Uh? Team Leader, is Yu-young injured?” Ju-yeon, who had been happily making soju cocktails, asked with wide eyes. By then, the department head had moved to a different table, and Ju-yeon and Yoon-seok were happily drinking together.

Yu-young smiled awkwardly and waved his hand.

“Ah, it’s nothing… I twisted my ankle a little in the restroom. It’s fine.”

“How much did you twist it that Team Leader had to support you? Let me see!”

“I’m fine, really. It’s not that bad. I’ll just ice it when I get home.”

After Yu-young suggested a solution in a sincere tone, Ju-yeon stopped trying to lift his ankle to inspect it. This was when Do-won, with an indifferent expression, was about to turn away.

“Hey, Team Leader, where are you going? You should have a drink before you go! Yoon-seok, what are you doing?”

“Team Leader! I’ll pour you a drink!”

The two worked in perfect harmony as Ju-yeon gently grabbed Do-won’s arm and led him to an empty seat, while Yoon-seok ordered a new glass. As soon as the glass arrived, Ju-yeon took the soju bottle and started filling Do-won’s glass with a respectful gesture.

Do-won accepted the drink with grace and formality. Then, he took the soju bottle and filled Ju-yeon and Yoon-seok’s glasses. The only glass left empty was Yu-young’s. ju-yeon, with an anxious look, urged him.

“Team Leader, aren’t you going to give Yu-young a drink?”

“Assistant Han should stop drinking now. He can have water,” Do-won replied coldly, cutting her off firmly. The atmosphere at the table immediately became tense.

Ju-yeon and Yoon-seok nervously glanced between Do-won and Yu-young. Since they didn’t know that Yu-young had collapsed into Do-won’s arms just moments ago, they couldn’t help but question why Do-won was not filling Yu-young’s glass.

“U-um, Team Leader… Don’t you think Yu-young might be upset about this?”

“It’s fine,” Yu-young said with a disgruntled expression as he grabbed the soju bottle that Do-won had set down.

“I’ll pour it myself,” Yu-young said, filling his own glass before Do-won could stop him. Yu-young knew why Do-won was acting that way, but he couldn’t help feeling spiteful. It didn’t make sense for him to react so overly, especially when Yu-young had only had a little too much to drink. Besides, he was already irritated from earlier in the restroom when Do-won had to help him, even after he had been so annoyed.

When someone keeps nagging not to do something, it often makes you want to do it even more. Do-won’s voice scolding him in the restroom for acting like a child, resurfaced in his mind. With a look of anger, Yu-young raised his glass.

“Cheers. Cheers.”

“Cheers! Welcome, Team Leader!”

Yu-young tilted his head slightly and quickly downed his drink. Do-won glanced at him with a displeased look but emptied his glass with a graceful gesture.

“Thank you for the welcome. I look forward to working with you,” Do-won said politely, to which Ju-yeon and Yoon-seok responded cheerfully, “Yes!”

After that, the conversation drifted to the current state of the team, and the glasses were filled a few more times. However, throughout all of this, Yu-young didn’t get a single drink from Do-won.

As Yu-young was about to say something angrily to Do-won, he stood up.

“Thank you again for the warm welcome. Now, please drink comfortably.”

“Ah, yes! Got it.”

With those words, Do-won moved to sit at another table with the rest of the team. Surrounded by the heat and noise from the other tables, Ju-yeon, leaning closer, whispered to Yu-young.

“Yu-young, seriously… Did something else happen? Why is it that only you aren’t getting any drinks from Team Leader?”

“Ha… Actually, I fell on him in the restroom.”

Yu-young said gloomily while trying to fill his glass, but Ju-yeon, who never stopped Yu-young from drinking, grabbed the soju bottle and filled his glass.

“No, but still! It’s not like you’re completely wasted or anything. You’re speaking just fine!”

“Yeah, exactly. I didn’t fall down completely. My foot just got twisted!”

“No way. Drink up, drink up. Let’s show them what it means to be a real mess! Yoon-seok, what are you doing? Why are you slacking off?”

“Ah, sorry! Cheers!”

“Cheers!”

As Yu-young huffed and puffed, Ju-yeon and Yoon-seok raised their glasses in unison to comfort him. As expected, being with people who were in tune with him made the drinks go down smoothly. With a happy mood, Yu-young raised his glass to his lips and drank in one go, just as the face of the deputy manager, who had approached him, came into view..