TSG 15

Se-hyun, who had received back the gift Shin Tae-oh had given to Yoo Jin-ha, stared at it in silence.

“I have to give this…”

He brought it back to the office, but when he realized Shin Tae-oh wasn’t there, he had a lot of thoughts. What would Shin Tae-oh’s expression be like if he gave him this? Act as if it were natural. Or maybe he would be curious about why Jin-ha changed his mind.

Wouldn’t he be disappointed?

“Why am I like this?”

He must have been crazy to suddenly worry about Shin Tae-oh after he had enjoyed watching so far.

Until now, he was just an errand boy caught between Shin Tae-oh and Yoo Jin-ha, but this time, the errand boy became involved in the story. Struggling as if in agony, Se-hyun maintained his usual expression when someone else passed by his desk

Whether he knew it or not, it quietly suggests that he just stopped projecting a triumphant image in front of others.

“Now, there’s nothing I can do. Let’s treat it like normal.”

He continued to treat Shin Tae-oh in this way, and this gift was no exception. The best option was to hand it over and leave as if nothing had happened.

The next thing… let’s leave it to the Chief Secretary.

When facing a difficult situation, it was best to pass it on to others.

Se-hyun was just checking the schedule to see when Shin Tae-oh would arrive. As the door opened and footsteps came in, Se-hyun stood up without looking in that direction.

“You are here, Sir?”

When he bowed his head in greeting, Shin Tae-oh, who was passing by, stopped. Shin Tae-oh, who had been lost in thought for a moment while looking ahead, gradually turned around.

When their eyes met, Se-hyun’s hand went up to the box.

‘How did he see this?’

Se-hyun was about to mention it first when he realized Shin Tae-oh had stopped because he noticed the box he received from Yoo Jin-ha

“How did you know?”

“Yoo… Yes?”

‘How’ was what he wanted to ask. Since Shin Tae-oh was his superior, he refrained from asking questions and tried to explain the situation immediately, but he was thrown off by Shin Tae-oh’s following question.

“I mean, how did you know it was me without even looking at me?”

Se-hyun closed his mouth in response to the unexpected question.

“That’s because I saw you come in…”

“You didn’t look at me.”

Right, he didn’t see. Even without seeing, he guessed correctly. Because it’s Shin Tae-oh.

But could he give such an answer? Normally, he would have responded casually without hesitation, but now he hesitated a bit. Shin Tae-oh’s gaze appeared to grow more intense as time passed, and Se-hyun couldn’t act as if nothing had happened. Se-hyun pressed and scratched the end of the box with his fingernails, and didn’t keep his hands still.

“Sir.”

That was the moment. The Chief secretary who had followed came forward, and Shin Tae-oh’s eyebrows slightly furrowed. Unfortunately, he happened to be standing facing Se-hyun, so that expression was clearly visible.

“Our secretaries can recognize the sound of your footsteps, sir.”

“They can?”

“Yes. It’s quite heavy, isn’t it?”

The expression “heavy” made Se-hyun and the other secretaries flinch, and they glanced at Shin Tae-oh.

“With such a large physique, you must be quite heavy. For example… like a bear walking?”

The Chief secretary explained on Se-hyun’s behalf. Now that the question of how he knew was meaningless, Shin Tae-oh turned away as if he couldn’t help it.

Shin Tae-oh took the lead, and the Chief secretary followed behind and narrowed his eyes at Se-hyun. Se-hyun made eye contact with him and smiled slightly.

Normally, the Chief secretary wouldn’t mention words like “bear.” Se-hyun was grateful that he made the joke for his sake.

This was why it was impossible not to like Chief Secretary Lee Jin-ho.

“Why aren’t you coming in?”

“I’m going.”

Hearing Shin Tae-oh’s displeased voice, the chief secretary walked towards him. Se-hyun, who had been watching the opening and closing of the office door, once again lowered his head when his eyes met with Shin Tae-oh’s. Although Shin Tae-oh had entered first and Se-hyun didn’t know why he was standing near the door, he couldn’t just stay still when their eyes met.

Se-hyun, who had calmed, let out a small sigh and lowered his head only after the door closed.

Come to think of it, he couldn’t tell Shin Tae-oh about Eugene’s story…

“Ugh.”

He gasped when he saw that the end of the box had become crumpled. Se-hyun probably touched the box without realizing it because he felt burdened by Shin Tae-oh’s gaze.

“I was trying to get a refund…”

Could the item be refunded since it had not been used and the box was slightly worn?

Meanwhile, Shin Tae-oh, who entered the office, crossed his arms without hiding his discomfort. He looked back and forth between Se-hyun, who was still outside the door, and the chief secretary, who was standing next to him.

He thought Se-hyun knew him well because he recognized him without even looking, but the chief secretary intervened and interrupted him. Even Se-hyun was a problem.

Se-hyun smiled when he saw the chief secretary, but not to him.

“Why are you doing that?”

The chief secretary, who had just opened the schedule on the tablet, asked Shin Tae-oh, who had not yet gone to his seat. Shin Tae-oh looked at the blank expression on Lee Jin-ho’s face and became irritated.

“You don’t need to know about the fourth thing.”

Lee Jin-ho tilted his head as Shin Tae-oh returned to his seat.

“Just what on earth is the fourth mean?”

CEO Shin Tae-oh, Personal Secretary Ahn Se-hyun, Driving assistant Moon Ha-jun, and himself would be the fourth… Lee Jin-ho, who had chosen four people, looked down between his legs.

Was it a hierarchy?

⍣⍣⍣

Ha Min-hyuk, Yoo Jin-ha, Shin Tae-oh, Ha Jin-seong, Ha Jin-woong…

Se-hyun wrote down the names one by one in his diary. It was the second time since he became Ahn Se-hyun and thought about how he would live in the future.

Now it was time to think again.

“Where are we now in terms of the original work, and when will the villain appear, and…”

In fact, he couldn’t help but be reminded of the original work.

“When will Shin Tae-oh’s feelings change?”

The title of the original work was <Sweet Alpha, Cool Omega> and it was a BL novel based on the keyword Omegaverse. It was a seemingly simple novel where Alpha Ha Min-hyuk with sweet pheromones and Omega Yu Jin-ha with a cool pheromone clashed emotionally and fell in love.

However, this novel was not as calm as expected. Instead, it used major events to adjust the ups and downs, making it impossible to relax. Although they felt attracted to each other from the beginning and were in a relationship, their peaceful daily life faced obstacles several times.

The villain, Ha Jin-woong, intervenes and creates misunderstandings between them (probably also related to the fight they had last time…), and Shin Tae-oh expressing affection for Yu Jin-ha since the beginning. When they managed to overcome the misunderstanding, the antagonist intervened again, repeating the process, and the two fully trusted each other in the later part of the story.

“Shin Tae-oh.”

Se-hyun pressed his name with a pen.

He thought it was more than just a crush on Yoo Jin-ha. Since he called out Jin-ha’s name every day, bought gifts for him, and dreamed of a future together.

But what confused Se-hyun now was the question of whether Shin Tae-oh really loved Yoo Jin-ha.

“He definitely likes him.”

Shin Tae-oh clearly liked Yoo Jin-ha in the novel he read.

“Did something change in the middle?”

So, what if the overall setting of the original remained the same, but there was a minor difference somewhere? But even that seemed strange.

“There is no reason for the content to deviate.”

It wouldn’t be so frustrating if someone other than himself knew the original work. So far, he had observed that he was the only one who knew this original work, and Se-hyun hadn’t intervened with the flow of the plot. Se-hyun becoming Shin Tae-oh’s secretary did not have any influence on this novel, and the important supporting roles remained unchanged.

So, going back to the original, Shin Tae-oh should be harboring unrequited love for Yoo Jin-ha…

“I can’t understand Taenyang-i’s thoughts.”

Taenyang-i had previously used Yoo Jin-ha’s fight with Ha Min-hyuk as an opportunity, but now it appeared that everything had gone wrong.

⍣⍣⍣

Se-hyun arrived at Shin Tae-oh’s house and placed a box on one side after learning that the coffee machine could be refunded.

“Is he taking a shower?”

As he approached the bathroom and put his ear to the door, he heard the sound of water running. Now that he confirmed he was taking a shower, he had to wait…

Se-hyun turned away and walked into the living room. He looked around the room, which was even more beautiful than a hotel suite. It was neat but didn’t look empty. Shin Tae-oh used the walls to balance the dullness of the room rather than filling it extravagantly.

Shin Tae-oh, despite his large build, surprisingly paid attention to delicate details. If he had to think of one, he remembered the door cap he installed to prevent hands from getting caught in the door. Shin Tae-oh had installed it when he first built the building. Now, it was used in any new apartment, but Shin Tae-oh had already applied it a few years ago, making the difference quite noticeable.

They say that the apartment brand value has increased since Shin Tae-oh became the CEO. Perhaps this was the reason.

“That should be applied to Yoo Jin-ha.”

Instead of strange excuses… If he was going to waste three years like that, shouldn’t he feel something?

“He’s strangely slow to notice.”

Se-hyun clicked his tongue in frustration, walked into the hallway, and looked at the picture frame hanging on the wall.

“He bought this when I went with him, this is what his other secretary flew all the way to America to get, and this… ”

Se-hyun looked briefly at the wall area that had never been empty even once while wandering around Shin Tae-oh’s house.

Even if the frames were changed, only this specific spot on the wall remained unchanged.

That meant the place where the frames hung was more important than the frames themselves.

“There’s a safe behind here.”

It was Shin Tae-oh’s secret that Se-hyun knew even though he had not told anyone. It was a specially designed treasure vault that only Shin Tae-oh could create by breaking through the wall.

“Hmm…”

Although Se-hyun had never opened it before, he knew what was inside.

“What are you doing?”

Just as Se-hyun was trying to remember what was in the safe, Shin Tae-oh asked. It was either Shin Tae-oh had quickly finished washing up or Se-hyun hadn’t realized how time had passed while admiring the painting… anyway, Se-hyun turned away with a calm expression.

“I was just admiring the painting for a moment.”

“Really? The Chief Secretary said he spent a lot of money this time, so I guess you like sunflowers.”

Se-hyun nodded, knowing that the question was about the picture frame hanging in the place where the safe was.

“I like them.”

“I see. By the way, do you know that? The saying that sunflowers bring wealth?”

“I didn’t know.”

Se-hyun moved his steps further into the living room as he learned new facts.

“Mr. Yoo Jin-ha…”

Se-hyun continued to explain the reason for his visit, his voice fading away as Shin Tae-oh turned around to look at him.

A painting with yellow sunflowers…