MM 68

‘Ugh…’

How could he talk about such embarrassing things so casually, and in a place like this… Yu-young felt his neck heat up instantly, and before he knew it, he turned his head.

“I’m really fine now.”

“Even if it’s not right now. I mean, anytime. Of course, if Assistant Manager Han’s pheromones become unstable, I’ll notice it first.”

His voice, blending with the sound of water, seemed to hit Yu-young’s ears more directly today. The way he said he’ll notice it first had a certain weight behind it.

Yu-young didn’t respond and simply nodded. Meanwhile, Do-won took Yu-young’s hand out of the sink and examined the injury. Thanks to the quick first aid and the fact that Yu-young had adjusted the water temperature properly, the burn had mostly settled, not leaving any significant marks. Still, it stung a little.

“How’s it feel?”

“Ah, I’m fine. You can let go now…”

“Apply some ointment, and at least wrap it in a bandage for the day.”

“No, it’s really not necessary…”

No matter what Yu-young said, Do-won pulled him to the table and sat him down. He rummaged through the storage cabinet, pulled out the first aid kit, and laid it out on the table. It was all unused—since they hadn’t had a reason to use it much, the ointment and bandages were still brand new.

After carefully checking the expiration date on the medicine, Do-won took Yu-young’s hand and placed it in front of him. He cautiously applied the ointment with a cotton swab, gently rubbing it over the burn. His serious expression as he treated the hand almost made it seem like he was treating someone whose hand had been severed, causing Yu-young to uncontrollably chuckle.

While wrapping the bandage, Do-won asked,

“Why are you laughing?”

“Ah, no… it’s just… you look so serious while treating me. Also…”

With a smile still lingering on his face, Yu-young continued,

“Which team leader would do this—treating a team member who got a little burn, cooling it down and treating it personally?”

“……”

“At first, I didn’t realize, but the more I see it… I think you’re kind.”

Despite the irritation he’d felt earlier, these words were sincere. He definitely saw a kind side to Do-won that he hadn’t noticed before. Whether others knew it or if it was something only he saw, he wasn’t sure.

However, after hearing Yu-young’s words, Do-won gave him a quiet, intense glance.

“Do I seem like the kind of person who would do this for any team member?”

“…Huh?”

Yu-young blinked in surprise at the unexpected remark.

“It’s true that I treat everyone fairly, but I’m not kind to everyone.”

“……”

The words Do-won had spoken echoed in Yu-young’s mind, leaving him confused. As he frowned, still trying to understand, Do-won tossed out,

“You’re done now, so go.”

“Huh? …Ah! Yes.”

When Yu-young came to his senses, he saw that his hand had been neatly bandaged. Looking down at his hand blankly, he thought that the thorough and careful way Do-won had finished the treatment was just like his personality.

“…Then, I’ll be going now. Ahem. And…”

Already sitting at his desk, Do-won glanced up as if to see if Yu-young had any more to say.

“…Thank you. For treating me.”

“Mm.”

Do-won accepted Yu-young’s gratitude with a small nod, appearing as usual. As Yu-young closed the door behind him, he let out a small sigh. Was he the only one whose heart was still in turmoil?

What did Do-won mean by treating everyone fairly, but not being kind to everyone? And why had he said that to him?

Yu-young sat down at his desk and opened his computer, staring at it with a thoughtful expression as if he were trying to solve a problem.

His gaze drifted to a pamphlet stuck in the small bookstand beside his keyboard. It was a flyer he had taken without thinking when a part-time worker had handed them out in front of the office. It was a flyer with a list of household appliances.

Right, no one would probably have a team leader who would do something like this for a team member… So maybe, just maybe, to Do-won, he was a little, just a little, more special than the other team members. …Maybe.

With that thought, Yu-young pushed the pamphlet out of sight with a short sigh. Overthinking this kind of thing before getting to work wouldn’t be helpful.

But no matter how much he pushed the pamphlet away and focused on his work files, the carefully wrapped bandage on his hand kept reminding him of what had just happened.

Do-won, intentionally adopting a more formal attitude, saw Yu-young out of the Team Leader’s office. As he listened to the sound of his footsteps fading, he dropped his mouse onto the desk.

With a sigh, he turned his gaze out the window. In the distance, the row of trees swayed gently in the breeze. Watching the leaves fluttering in the wind and the morning sunlight beginning to pour over them, Do-won recalled Yu-young’s voice, chattering about stars just a little while ago with a voice soaked in longing. It was like the sound of a small bird singing.

Again.

Do-won briefly shut his eyes tightly, then opened them and turned his gaze back from the window toward the monitor. If he gave himself a little room, his thoughts would branch out unguarded, so he had to consciously cut them off. Still, his mind kept stretching toward Yu-young, who was likely sitting outside with his puppy-like face.

Honestly, he hadn’t expected Yu-young to agree so easily to the contract after just one day.

Of course, up until now, he had never been rejected after making a proposal to someone. No matter the company or business, whenever he set his mind to it, he had never failed to persuade the other person. Some had called him astute, while others had said he was like a bulldozer.

Pushing forward with determination and achieving clear results was the way Do-won had always worked. Expanding this, it was also the way he had lived.

However, this had always been in the public sphere. Of course, many people, including Sun-hyung, actively approached him, but that was always their initiative. He had never tried to exert that kind of momentum in matters like marriage or romance. There had never been anyone he wanted to push for in that way.

Yu-young was different from anyone he had ever dealt with before. He was unpredictable, but Do-won wasn’t without trust in his quirky personality. Energetic and noisy, strong yet soft-hearted. He loved beautiful things and was easily moved by aesthetics. He was someone who openly expressed his emotions.

And Do-won couldn’t help but admit it. His heart was indeed stirred by Yu-young’s personality to some extent.

It was a far cry from how he had thought of him at first as someone he didn’t want to deal with. No matter how clear the benefits were, he didn’t want to enter into a marriage contract with just anyone.

That alone was enough for him to realize that Yu-young had now become a somewhat special presence in his heart.

Just as Yu-young had thought of stars when he saw the many trees in the city, Do-won could no longer see Yu-young among the team members as just another one of them.

He hated the mixing of business and personal matters more than anyone and had been confident it wouldn’t happen, but sometimes when he looked at Yu-young, he felt a tightness in his chest that he couldn’t explain. He was just confused. There were times when he felt anger too, especially when he saw Lee Yoon-seok being overly familiar with Yu-young.

Could it be? Am I falling for Han Yu-young?

But Do-won pushed his chair back slightly and tilted his head back. A heavy sigh escaped his lips.

It was wrong. He had been the one to propose the contract marriage first. He had already brought up a contract that shouldn’t involve any emotions, and now to have these feelings was wrong.

Above all, Yu-young had been someone who had hesitated about marrying an alpha. He had even requested to pretend to be a lover to avoid marrying an alpha. He didn’t want to bring the kind of pain or difficulties that Yu-young had experienced before.

He mustn’t fall in love.

Recalling the clause he had written himself, Do-won let out a hollow laugh. If the day came when his own emotions, which had grown unchecked, caused him to break that clause, he would have to bear the consequences alone, and even that would be difficult. He didn’t want Yu-young to get hurt because of his own excessive feelings.

Not causing harm.

The image of Yu-young, holding out his pinky finger while saying that, was still etched in Do-won’s heart. Even now, that same face, which had lightly knocked on his heart like a soft tap, remained vivid in his mind.

For now, it was fine. He had never experienced the disgrace of ruining something because of not being able to control his feelings. He believed he wouldn’t in the future either, and with that, Do-won let out another long sigh, clearing the emotions that had accumulated in his chest.