TSG 28

There seemed to be a bit of silence. No, the surroundings were still noisy, but the atmosphere between them seemed to be calm. The two were clearly conscious of each other. At the end of that tense moment, Shin Tae-oh picked up his phone and at the same time Se-hyun grabbed his wrist.

“Do you like holding my wrist?”

I’m trying to turn the situation around with bullshit, but it’s impossible. Se-hyun squeezed Shin Tae-oh’s wrist with a knowing look on his face and climbed up onto it to grab the hand holding the cell phone.

“You don’t have to buy me anything.”

“What do you mean?”

Se-hyun snorted inwardly at Shin Tae-oh’s question as if he couldn’t understand what he was saying. It was unsettling to act as if he didn’t understand.

Even if Se-hyun didn’t know about others, Shin Tae-oh couldn’t fool him. Especially after he had witnessed all the various methods Shin Tae-oh used to buy gifts for Yoo Jin-ha.

“There are many things you can do with a phone. For example, buying things or buying gifts for someone.”

So, Se-hyun knew Shin Tae-oh took out his phone to buy him a gift. Put it back. Shin Tae-oh looked down at his cell phone and obediently put it in his pocket.

“Well, I’m not fooling anyone, not even you.”

Shin Tae-oh, who had said that he couldn’t fool him in the first place, turned away as if there was no lingering regret. When Shin Tae-oh turned the situation around, Se-hyun sighed in relief and followed a step behind.

‘He’s someone you can’t let your guard down around.’

Se-hyun was fiddling with the album and was wary of Shin Tae-oh. It seemed like it all started because of this. Shin Tae-oh never asked about it until the end. Instead, he went to Yoo Jin-hyun, whispered something, and said he would go first.

⍣⍣⍣

“Then finish well.”

The employees each greeted Shin Tae-oh, who was returning to the company first. Se-hyun, who stayed behind at the studio because of work, bowed in farewell when he met Shin Tae-oh’s eyes for the last time.

Shin Tae-oh’s gaze lingered on Se-hyun a little longer and then turned around. Se-hyun raised his head as he felt Shin Tae-oh’s heavy gaze disappear. Seeing Shin Tae-oh already walking away, Se-hyun secretly sighed.

Now that Se-hyun could finally catch his breath, he quickly tidied up the surroundings. The shooting was over, and only the work of selecting the A-cut remained.

Se-hyun sorted out the cluttered props, trying to figure out what could be organized. As he tidied up one by one, others came over to help. They were three people of similar age to Se-hyun.

“Sir, we’ll take care of this.”

“It’s okay.”

Se-hyun politely declined the offer of help from other employees and diligently continued to work. The reason he stayed here was to observe until the end and take the results with him. Thinking it would be efficient to tidy up in advance for that reason, Se-hyun continued to move, but the employees kept interfering with him.

“Still, you worked hard today.”

“Others worked harder than I did.”

Since he refused twice, they no longer told Se-hyun to rest. Instead, they exchanged glances with each other, and then one of them seemed to have made up his mind and stepped closer to Se-hyun.

Feeling his presence, Se-hyun looked up at him. He was as tall as Shin Tae-oh and had a somewhat gentle atmosphere, despite his rough appearance while tousling his hair. Se-hyun glanced at him for a moment, then furrowed his brow at the faint pheromones he sensed before returning to his usual self.

“Sir, do you know who I am?”

“Aren’t you Assistant Manager Hwang Hye-seong of the Design Department?”

Hwang Hye-seong, who was secretly holding up his employee ID card to introduce herself, nodded with a happy face.

“You’re right. I also know Secretary Ahn Se-hyun well. You come often to see Mr. Yoo Jinha.”

“Ah… yes.”

He often went by the design department to bring gifts from Shin Tae-oh.

“I asked Mr. Yoo Jin-ha to relay a message, but despite waiting, there was no response…”

It seemed he had come to see Se-hyun personally. Hwang Hye-seong was unable to continue his next words, but the strange energy that radiated from his head to toe made Se-hyun look back at the other person with him.

People who were cheering on him with clenched fists quickly lowered their hands and pretended to be busy elsewhere as soon as they caught Se-hyun’s gaze. Furthermore, they both said they would go to another place, giving Hwang Hye-seong the opportunity to muster up the courage and speak.

“I’m interested in Secretary Ahn Se-hyun. Oh, it’s not just a passing interest. I’ve been watching you for a long time. At first, I thought about giving up when I realized you were a Beta, but I realized that it wasn’t in my control, so I wanted to confess.”

At Hwang Hye-sung’s confession, Se-hyun looked at him without saying a word and bowed deeply.

“I’m sorry.”

Thank you for your confession. But I have no feelings for you. I’m sorry. He omitted all those words. It seemed like no words could sway his heart. He thought it would be best to draw the line quickly.

Se-hyun passed by Hwang Hye-seong, holding the album he had set to one side. It was the most awkward moment of a man looking straight ahead and not being able to make eye contact.

As Se-hyun disappeared and Hwang Hye-seong was left alone, he absentmindedly touched the back of his head out of habit, the two people who had left the room earlier approached him.

“Did you confess?”

Hwang Hye-seong nodded his head, forcing a smile.

“It ended cleanly.”

“What a shame. So he really had a lover? I thought you said he had a lover when you asked Mr. Yoo Jin-ha, maybe that’s why.”

“You said that was just something people say. Why are you changing your words now?”

The two, who were talking as if they were going to fight over Hwang Hye-seong, felt the awkward atmosphere again and looked at each other.

“Cheer up.”

“It’s okay.”

There was someone watching from afar as people comforted each other and acted like nothing was wrong.

“It’s a shame that Shin Tae-oh should have seen this, not me.”

It was Yoo Jin-hyun. After seeing Se-hyun’s confession from beginning to end, he smiled in compassion and took out his phone. And with just a few taps, he called Shin Tae-oh and turned around without any hesitation.

“It’s me.”

-What do you want to say?

“So cold. That makes me not want to tell you what I just saw.”

– What?

“Hmm…”

Yoo Jin-hyun, who purposefully trailed off, wondered how much longer he could delay the conversation. Then, thinking of what Se-hyun would do on the other side of the locked door, he spoke up.

“Thanks to you leaving early, saying you’d buy a gift…”

Yoo Jin-hyun who attributed Sin Tae-oh’s decision to return to the office early, smiled amusingly.

“Your secretary just got confessed to. Seems like the person is your company employee, but I can’t remember the name. If you’re curious, come find me. I’ll tell you who it is.”

Why would he hurry to leave, saying he’ll buy a gift…

“Speaking from the perspective of someone who witnessed it… Hey, hello? Hey, Sin Tae-oh.”

No sound came through, and when he looked at his phone, he saw that the call had ended.

⍣⍣⍣

He tried to come to a place where there was nobody around, and it ended up being the place where he received the album. It seemed like his promise to clean up the place had become meaningless. However, since he couldn’t go out again, Se-hyun just sat down on the chair. Then, he held onto the album that he had remembered to bring until the end.

“Why did I bring this?”

It was so absurd that even he couldn’t help but laugh. Se-hyun, finding it amusing himself, suddenly became interested in the photos in the album. Since he couldn’t leave immediately anyway, he thought he might as well take a quick look.

Se-hyun gently touched the album’s outer cover and carefully flipped through it, as if opening Pandora’s box.

“Wow…”

A gasp of admiration escaped Se-hyun’s lips as soon as he saw the photo on the front page. A tall alpha with a massive build, standing at 190 centimeters, and a face so handsome it didn’t match his playful personality…

“Cute.”

He became like a soft, cuddly child.

Se-hyun got a little excited and put his face close to the album, almost as if he was burying his nose in it.

“What? Is it even allowed to be this cute?”

The photos captured Shin Tae-oh’s childhood so vividly that it was difficult to go through each one.

“No way. Is this really Sin Tae-oh? It’s unbelievable. Why is he so adorable? What a chubby-cheeked baby.”

Now that he was alone, Se-hyun started talking to himself openly. There was no one to hear, and Sin Tae-oh was indeed an incredibly cute child. So Se-hyun abandoned his usual expression management and focused on the photos.

“Why did this innocent face turn into such a handsome one now?”

Se-hyun chuckled and flipped to the next page.

“Then did he become a smooth-talker when he grew up?”

He wondered if Sin Tae-oh gained his smooth talking skills after developing feelings for Yoo Jin-ha, but there was no way to confirm it, which was regrettable.

Yoo Jin-hyun’s skill in photography was evident from an early age, which explained why he was now a renowned photographer. Se-hyun was completely captivated by looking at his boss’s childhood photos and couldn’t understand why it was so amusing.

Unaware that the door was now open and that a tall figure was filling the space.