Marriage Mate: 26

A few peaceful days passed after that.

For the next few days, Yu-young anxiously observed Do-won’s behavior, but fortunately, it seemed he didn’t report what happened that day to the higher-ups. He wasn’t as much of a troublemaker as I thought. Or maybe he simply just stopped caring about him completely. Either way, it was a relief for Yu-young.

The most eventful week since joining the company was finally coming to an end.

“What are you doing today, Yoon-seok?”

“Oh, I’m just going to go home, clean up, and maybe watch a late-night movie by myself. What about you, Sir?”

“Me? I’m going to meet my boyfriend.”

The faces of the team members, who were gathering their things, lit up with excitement. Finally, it was Friday evening, a time to put down the fatigue from the long week and enjoy the weekend. Everyone chatted happily about their weekend plans as they cleaned up their desks.

Yu-young waved his hand at Ju-yeon and Yoon-seok as they got up to leave, and both of them looked at him with wide eyes before approaching him.

“Hey? Aren’t you leaving, Yu-young?”

“Oh, I’ve got something to look at… I’ll be done soon.”

“What? Why are you so busy alone? Do you need help? I’ll help!”

Both of them were loyal to a fault. Yu-young smiled faintly as he looked at them. Their loyalty was appreciated, but both of them probably wanted to go home quickly… It wasn’t really urgent work, and Yu-young had no intention of asking them to help him. He just wanted to finish all his work quickly on this Friday and enjoy the weekend with peace of mind.

Yu-young waved his hand dismissively at them.

“It’ll only take an hour or so. Hurry up and go.”

“I feel bad, but… I have plans, so…”

“That’s why I’m saying, go quickly!”

“Assistant Manager, I’ll stay with you if…”

“Ah, just go already.”

Ju-yeon and Yoon-seok, mixed in with the others leaving the office. Hearing their voices fading as they talked about what to eat for dinner made Yu-young realize he was getting a bit hungry. He had only had coffee around 4 PM, so he was glad he had that, otherwise, he might have really been starving.

First, let’s get to work. Just as he was about to focus on the task, a low voice came from behind.

“Why are you alone?”

It was Do-won’s voice. He had just come out of his office, it seemed.

“Oh, I’m analyzing the results from the Gyeonggi branch… I think I’ll be done in an hour or two.” Yu-young said, casually pointing at his monitor. His gaze was fixed on the space between Do-won’s nose and eyebrows. Even though several days had passed since the terrible dinner incident, it still felt uncomfortable to look the team leader directly in the eyes.

Lately, whenever he saw the team leader’s face, memories of that day kept flooding back. The intense and wild pheromone scent when his face was buried in his chest, the comfortable and soothing smell that lingered in his house. Lying comfortably on the sofa, oblivious to the world, and the photos he had seen in the living room.

These lingering images continued to disturb Yu-young’s mind. Because of this, he hadn’t been able to look the team leader in the eye properly for the past few days. Of course, he had exchanged words with him for work purposes and had been called into his office a few times, but it was always business-like, saying only what needed to be said and leaving quickly.

After answering him, Yu-young tried to turn back to his computer and focus on work again. But he could still feel the team leader’s gaze fixed on him, so Yu-young awkwardly looked up at Do-won again. Surprisingly, Do-won was scowling.

Why… what’s the problem? Yu-young asked awkwardly, raising the corner of his mouth. Maybe the worst was finally coming.

“Um… is there something you want to say to me?”

“It’s already seven, aren’t you going to eat dinner?”

The answer he got was completely different from what he had expected. From his expression, Yu-young thought that the team leader was finally going to bring up the behavior he had exhibited while drunk a few days ago or criticize him for any shortcomings at work.

Yu-young widened his eyes in surprise and inadvertently stammered.

“…Well, I think I’ll finish soon…”

As Yu-young said, there were only a couple of hours of work left to do, and he didn’t feel like going out to eat dinner alone. He planned to finish quickly and either eat at home or do something later. Skipping a meal until around 8 or 9 was a common thing for Yu-young.

But… why is he so concerned about not eating? It’s not like I’ve done something wrong… As he was about to feel a little resentful about it, Do-won suddenly turned and left the office. Watching his retreating back blankly, Yu-young turned his gaze back to the monitor.

Come to think of it, when does he even leave work?

It had been just over a week since they started working together, and Yu-young had never seen Do-won leave at a normal time. There had been rumors before that he was a workaholic even before he joined the company, and since he had just started at a new place, it was expected that he would be putting in extra effort, but he was even more serious about his work than Yu-young and the other team members had anticipated.

Do-won worked like a bulldozer. He dug up every single one of the flawed systems and protocols that had been silently building up in the team. At every meeting, he checked with the team members on how to correct them, and he appropriately distributed tasks.

However, since Do-won handled most of the process, unlike the team members who only worked a few extra hours, the amount of work he took on was beyond what the team members could even imagine. Yet, he silently did his work and skillfully led the team. Even the manager openly admired the way he handle work.

The team members’ evaluations of him mostly fluctuated between “scary” and “considerate.” How can these two completely opposite words coexist? Yet, the team members exchanged these very words.

“When he looks over the report, he’s terrifying. I almost got my soul stripped bare right there.”

“Still, he didn’t make me rewrite it from scratch.”

“But, don’t you think he’s kind of considerate? He makes sure we leave on time and takes care of meals.”

“Yeah, he’s a bit indifferent but kind-hearted?”

“Nah, kind-hearted is too much. He just treats us strictly and professionally, right?”

Though only a week had passed, Yu-young concluded that Do-won wasn’t as bad as he had expected as a team leader. No, he was someone with the qualities of a leader. That was the conclusion Yu-young, as a member of the team, reached.

Of course, if he thought of him as the alpha living next door, his opinion would be different. From that position, Do-won was just an annoying person to Yu-young. But after working with him for a week, Yu-young had no choice but to admit that he was the most capable team leader he’d ever encountered.

I just want to finish quickly and go home…

While Yu-young was frowning, carefully comparing numbers, he didn’t even hear the sound of the office door opening. He was looking for things to check off on the post-it note he had written when, suddenly, with a rustling sound, a bag appeared beside him.

Startled, Yu-young looked up.

“…Team leader?”

“Eat and then work.”

Yu-young stared at him with his mouth open.

“…But why… this… for me?”

“Don’t skip meals out of habit. It’s bad for your health.”

Do-won’s words made Yu-young’s eyes widen even more. It felt like he had just heard something he wasn’t supposed to. Is he worried about me skipping meals…?

His heart suddenly skipped a beat. Yu-young couldn’t focus and looked away awkwardly. However, seeing Do-won’s still indifferent expression, Yu-young couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.

What am I thinking? This person hates seeing his team members skip meals.

Now that he thought about it, Do-won had another identical bag in his hand. He didn’t look like the type, but he really did care about food… Oddly enough, Yu-young felt a sense of camaraderie and nodded to himself.

Whatever the reason he bought it, food is food, and I’m grateful.

Accepting the fact gracefully, Yu-young spoke up.

“Uh… so, you bought this for me to eat, right? Thank you.”

Surprised that Yu-young thanked him so readily, Do-won’s indifferent expression faltered slightly.

“…I’ll eat and work hard.”

“…..”

“…Then I hope you have a nice dinner, Team Leader.”

The lingering silence was awkward, and Yu-young awkwardly finished the conversation with a thankful remark. It wasn’t like a work email… and after saying it, his earlobes were burning with embarrassment.

sigh… what am I… a robot?

Yu-young bit his lip, scolding himself internally. His face was growing hotter by the second. Without saying anything else, Do-won turned his back, and Yu-young could almost hear the sound of air escaping from his back.

…It’s just a misunderstanding. He’s not… The cold-hearted type.

After confirming that he had entered his office, Yu-young cautiously opened the bag. Inside was sushi from a shop right in front of the company. He probably didn’t know it, but it was Yu-young’s favorite food.

As he placed the warm soup and sushi next to his computer, he instantly felt happy. Yu-young happily took the chopsticks. He dipped a piece of sushi into some soy sauce mixed with wasabi and popped it in his mouth. It melted in his mouth like honey.

Hmm… not bad at all.

Yu-young mumbled to himself as he glanced at the manager’s office. Come to think of it, he had been treated to a meal twice in a week: sandwiches and sushi.

Do the other team members get treated like this too? Probably. He thought casually, as he picked up another piece of sushi. The sushi was fresh and delicious. What’s more, Do-won hadn’t bought the basic sushi—there was even tuna, wagyu, and soy sauce shrimp, a special sushi set.