MM 58

“Assistant Manager, I… I feel strange. It’s… it’s strange…”

With a pitiful voice, Yoon-seok suddenly grabbed Yu-young’s wrist tightly. The grip was astonishingly strong. Surprised, Yu-young tried to back away and shake his hand off, but the firm hold on his wrist wouldn’t loosen.

“Ah, it hurts, Yoon-seok! Why are you doing this?!”

“It’s strange… I smell it… your smell… It keeps… the smell…”

Yoon-seok mumbled, repeating the same word. He suddenly pulled Yu-young’s toward him. Yu-young, with his small frame, was helplessly dragged into Yoon-seok’s embrace.

“Your smell, Assistant Manager… I want to smell it so badly… Please, just once…”

“Wait, wait, Yoon-seok! Calm down!”

Now, Yoon-seok was frightening. Hugging Yu-young tightly despite his struggles, Yoon-seok buried his nose into Yu-young’s nape and ear with his bloodshot eyes, sniffing wildly.

A chill ran through Yu-young from head to toe. It felt like being caught by a monstrous beast. His body began to tremble.

He couldn’t believe it. What was pouring out of him was definitely…

“Let go, let go of me!”

“Stop!”

Just as Yu-young was about to scream, a cold voice rang out from behind.

At the same time, Yoon-seok’s body was yanked away. The body that had been lunging at Yu-young like a beast turned in surprise. Do-won was holding Yoon-seok by the back of the neck with a cold expression. Despite being caught, Yoon-seok’s gaze stubbornly remained fixed on Yu-young.

“Team, Team Leader… I… huff… uh.”

“Calm down, Yoon-seok.”

“Please… my body… Assistant Manager, just once…”

“Stay still.”

Do-won muttered in a low voice and roughly pushed Yoon-seok’s struggling body onto an empty chair. Then, with a knee pressing firmly on his thigh, he leaned forward, forcefully pinning Yoon-seok.

Do-won’s eyes soon became sharp. Pheromones began pouring down on Yoon-seok like rain.

“Team Leader!”

Yu-young screamed and instinctively took a couple of steps back. The aggressive pheromones coming from Do-won were so overwhelming that his legs almost gave way.

“Ugh, huff… ah! Ugh… uh…”

“Ha…”

Yoon-seok, overwhelmed by the torrential Alpha pheromones, screamed and moaned, thrashing around. The chair he was in shook violently as he struggled, and eventually, he lost consciousness with his eyes rolled back. Seeing the limp Yoon-seok, Yu-young covered his mouth with both hands.

“Team Leader… Why… why is this happening? Is Yoon-seok okay?”

Do-won sighed briefly. For a moment, his expression seemed troubled, even somewhat fierce.

“He’s going through an Alpha manifestation.”

“An… Alpha? Yoon-seok?”

It occurred to Yu-young that earlier, when Yoon-seok was clinging to him, the unripe pheromones had been leaking out. It hadn’t been a strong enough scent to vibrate the air around them, but if they were in close contact, one could feel it faintly.

“By tomorrow, he should have fully manifested.”

“Goodness! What… what’s going on?”

Ju-yeon rushed into the office with wide eyes, shouting in shock. When her eyes met Do-won’s sharp gaze, she lowered her voice.

“W-What… what is this?”

“He’s going through a manifestation. He’ll probably need a few days off. For now, just tell the office staff he has a body ache. I’ll take Yoon-seok to the hospital.”

“Or… should we call an ambulance? It seems like it would be too hard for him alone…”

“It’s almost time for everyone else to arrive. Yoon-seok wouldn’t want that either.”

Understanding his meaning, Yu-young nodded silently, realizing that if he were in Yoon-seok’s shoes and later found out he had experienced a public manifestation episode at the office with an ambulance involved, he would be utterly embarrassed.

Do-won effortlessly lifted Yoon-seok’s limp body onto his back. Thankfully, there was a hospital nearby that specialized in pheromone-related conditions. Despite carrying Yoon-seok, Do-won showed no sign of struggling. However, Yu-young pressed the elevator button and escorted him to the first floor.

As they returned to the office, people began trickling in as Do-won had predicted. Ju-yeon rushed over with a shocked expression.

“What on earth happened here?! Oh my…”

“…I know.”

Yu-young slumped into his chair with a dazed look, and Ju-yeon went back to her seat. With a troubled heart, Yu-young turned on the computer. His heart, still racing violently, showed no sign of calming down.

Yoon-seok had felt like a beast earlier. He was so different from the Yoon-seok Yu-young knew, the one who smiled every day, massaged his shoulders, and often brought him coffee and honey water.

He also couldn’t forget how Do-won had aggressively poured out pheromones while pinning Yoon-seok down.

Do-won, who usually suppressed his pheromones so much, had unleashed such an overwhelming torrent of them on Yoon-seok, making it nearly impossible for Yu-young to breathe. Even though Yoon-seok hadn’t fully manifested yet, it was surreal to think that someone could be knocked unconscious in an instant by nothing but pheromones.

It must have been hard for Do-won to take Yoon-seok to the hospital, so that’s why he had taken those measures.

If Do-won hadn’t shown up then, what would have happened to me? The thought made Yu-young shiver involuntarily.

However, soon Yu-young shook his head. There was no need to think about situations that hadn’t even happened yet. Once the manifestation pain passed and after taking the suppressant, such incidents wouldn’t happen anymore. Yoon-seok hadn’t been in his right mind earlier. Whether Yoon-seok was an Alpha or an Omega, he was still the same kind coworker he had always been.

Regardless of anything else… I wonder if Yoon-seok is okay now.

However, his concern quickly shifted into a firm belief that everything would be fine. After all, Do-won was with him. Strangely, with Do-won there, he felt like there was nothing to worry about.

Yu-young rubbed his face with both hands and opened the file, as if trying to push all his complicated thoughts out of his mind.

Despite the commotion earlier, the morning passed quickly.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve done this.’

Yu-young grumbled as he stood in front of the copier. He had thought the deputy manager had calmed down recently, but it seemed like old habits die hard.

The deputy manager had asked Yu-young to make him coffee, and after that, he had sent him on errands to other departments. Now, it was copying documents.

Thanks to that, after lunch, Yu-young hadn’t even had the chance to sit at his computer, spending his time running errands for the deputy manager instead. With Yoon-seok absent and the team leader busy, the deputy manager had quietly started assigning him tasks.

‘Come to think of it, I’m feeling sleepy too… Maybe I’ll grab a coffee after I’m done.’

As the photocopier continued to spit out paper, Yu-young closed his eyes for a moment and leaned against the wall. Suddenly, a cool voice came from behind.

“What are you doing? Are you okay?”

“Oh, Team Leader. Oh, no, I was just dozing off for a second…”

“What’s this?”

Before Yu-young could even finish his reply, Do-won looked at the warm paper freshly printed.

“……”

Do-won narrowed his eyes coldly and naturally took a position in front of the copier. Now pushed aside by Do-won, Yu-young could only stare blankly at his face, unsure of what he was about to do.

The noisy photocopier finished its work, and Do-won gathered the papers and stapled them together. Without hesitation, he walked toward the deputy manager’s office.

“Ah, Yu-young, if you’re done, can you make copies of this… Ugh!”

The deputy manager, who had been quietly watching a baseball game, casually turned around, only to let out a half-scream and stumble backward. His chair was pushed back forcefully.

Do-won, with a blank expression, looked down as he handed the papers over to the deputy manager. The deputy manager took them with a face that looked as if he were seeing the grim reaper.

“W-Why is the Team Leader… doing this?”

“I saw that Assistant Manager Han was still struggling, so I took care of it for him.”

Do-won added as he glared down at the deputy manager with cold eyes.

“When a team member is sick, you should handle it yourself. Stop sending them on errands.”

“Yes, yes! I’m sorry!”

The deputy manager, pale as a ghost, stammered in response. Across from him, Ju-yeon was trying hard to suppress a laugh.

In truth, his body was already completely fine, and he wasn’t incapable of copying the papers… but it was still a bit annoying. At least now he could finally do his own work. Suppressing a smile that was slowly forming at the corners of his lips, Yu-young returned to his seat. At that moment, Do-won approached him.

“Is it possible to meet tonight?”

“Huh? For what reason…?”

Yu-young was momentarily confused by his sudden question but then realized what he meant.

“Ah, yes, I’m fine.”

“How’s your condition?”

“I’m really okay. I was just a little sleepy earlier.”

“Understood. Then, I’ll see you later.”

Do-won nodded and walked away toward his office. As he watched his back, Yu-young slowly recalled the events of yesterday.

He had asked for some time because he had something to say. When Yu-young had simply asked him to speak, Do-won had told him he would give him a proper explanation the next day. It had been unlike him, and he had left Yu-young waiting for a long time.

Now that the issues with his parents were already settled, what could possibly be so difficult to talk about? No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t quite grasp it.

Soon, his mind wandered to what had happened afterward. He recalled the photo albums stacked together and the framed pictures on the wall, and then suddenly, Do-won…

‘…Again. It’s starting again.’

With his face turning bright red, Yu-young fanned himself with his hand and lowered his head. One thing was for sure, though: since Do-won appeared, there hadn’t been a dull moment in his work life.

When they met tonight to talk, he couldn’t let himself act so self-conscious. Trying to calm the heat in his face, he poured himself some cold water and took a sip, hoping to return to a composed state.