TSG 34

The moment he realized he hadn’t sprayed the pheromone perfume he always forgot to wear, he panicked. It was like his body was caught in an invisible net, he couldn’t move and see anything.

“… Perfume…”

He had never forgotten it until now. What if someone noticed that he didn’t have any pheromones?

The day it was discovered that he was a half-Alpha, everything he had worked hard to hide until now would collapse.

It was a time when he felt like his heart had fallen into the abyss.

A calm voice brought him back to reality, along with the hem of his clothes getting wet.

“I’m sorry. I came to greet you and accidentally knocked over the glass.”

Only then did the color of his clothes stained by the water become visible. How dare…

It was a bizarre situation.

‘Ahn Se-hyun?’

Suddenly appearing and spilling wine? As he looked at his wet clothes in amazement, he heard a voice that didn’t sound like a mistake at all.

“You smell like wine.”

“…”

The unpleasant feeling disappeared when he heard the word “smell.” Was that all? He completely forgot why he was so shocked.

“Please bill me for the dry cleaning.”

“What’s wrong, oppa? Are you okay?”

Even when Jin Hye-in held his arm and expressed her concern, Ha Jin-seong could not take his eyes off Ahn Se-hyun.

⍣⍣⍣

“You were really playing with him.”

Se-hyun, who was in the passenger seat, turned to look at Sin Tae-oh in the back seat. He quickly raced his mind to figure out the meaning behind the words.

If he was referring to spilling wine on Ha Jin-seong’s clothes earlier…

‘It’s about hiding the pheromones.’

More precisely, the fact that there were no pheromones.

He didn’t want to know, but he had to. It was just covering up Ha Jin-seong’s weakness seen in the original work.

‘Even if it’s not me, it will be revealed someday.’

They’ll clash with Ha Min-hyuk and fight until each other’s secrets were revealed. It should happen then, so that’s why he covered it up now.

“Who did I play with?”

Se-hyun asked nonchalantly. And if Shin Tae-oh answered that it was Ha Jin-seong, he was going to answer that it wasn’t like that.

“There is someone else besides me.”

“Excuse me?”

Not Ha Jin-seong?

“I don’t want anyone else between us.”

“I’m sorry.”

Se-hyun neatly apologized and cleaned things up. Since he heard it was about Sin Tae-oh, he didn’t inquire further.

‘I know how to get caught up in it.’

If it was Sin Tae-oh, he wouldn’t know how to catch his words and twist them.

“There’s nothing to apologize for.”

Sin Tae-oh didn’t hide his disappointment. What was worse was the driver’s eyes kept looking back and forth between him and Shin Tae-oh. Se-hyun cleared his throat and turned the situation around.

“I’ll really pay next time.”

“I said it’s fine because I knew your salary was not enough.”

Sin Tae-oh crossed his arms and turned his head towards the window. The atmosphere seemed to settle with just his profile visible. Now, Se-hyun didn’t understand why Sin Tae-oh was acting this way, but…

“It’s not my salary.”

Se-hyun sat in the passenger seat and did not look back at Shin Tae-oh. All he had to do was turn around and look at his face and speak, but strangely, that wasn’t easy.

“I received a meal voucher.”

“You did?”

“The chief secretary gave it to me, but if I knew we were going there, I would have brought them. So, next time we go, I’ll pay.”

“Hmm…”

Instead of answering, Sin Tae-oh let out a sigh.

“Well, it must have been sudden.”

“Yes? Ah, yes. That’s right.”

Se-hyun didn’t bother to mention what the chief secretary told him to go with his lover. It would be like fanning the flames of a burning house.

“Since you said so, I should go.”

“Thank you.”

“Should we coordinate our dress code next time?”

Se-hyun imagined entering a restaurant dressed up with Shin Tae-oh.

“… No.”

“You hesitated in your response. Did you happen to imagine it?”

“No.”

“Can I imagine what Se-hyun-ssi imagined?”

“No, please make your judgment based on reality.”

Shin Tae-oh laughed as Se-hyun cut him off which seemed to say it was impossible.

⍣⍣⍣

“Did you hear about it?”

Ha Jin-seong did not get up from the bed even when he heard Ha Jin-woong’s voice coming in at will.

“They said they entrusted this project to Ha Min-hyuk. Father must be crazy. Otherwise, how could he give it to that guy…”

Ha Jin-woong was so angry that he swung his fist in the air.

“We should have stopped him since he transferred to the headquarters. That was the whole idea.”

After spewing out a lot of complaints, Ha Jin-woong realized belatedly that Ha Jin-seong wasn’t reacting.

“What. Are you dead?”

Ha Jin-woong approached the bed and looked at Ha Jin-seong. Even though they were twins, he couldn’t bring himself to touch him and only stared at his condition. Confirming that Ha Jin-seong was looking at the ceiling, Ha Jin-woong sighed and waved his hand in front of his face.

“Put it away.”

“What? You’re awake.”

Ha Jin-woong obediently removed his hand. As long as he could hear him, it didn’t matter how he responded.

“Are you just going to leave Ha Min-hyuk like that?”

Every time Ha Min-hyuk struggled, they had intervened, so when it happened this time, it was natural for Ha Jin-seong to feel that something needed to be done. Ha Jin-seong suddenly sprang to his feet at the suggestion.

“Oh, surprised me.”

Ha Jin-woong pulled his upper body back in surprise.

“…Did you think the same way, hyung?”

When asked if that’s why he got up, Ha Jin-seong didn’t answer.

“What’s up?”

Ha Jin-woong looked at Ha Jin-seong intently at something strange that he would never have done normally. What’s really going on?

“Did he really not know?”

“Don’t know what. Do you think he doesn’t know the relationship between us?”

So when he handed the project over to Ha Min-hyuk, he did it in a way that everyone could know.

“If he knew, it would be even scarier.”

“That bastard Ha Min-hyuk has been hiding everything until now. Pretending to be the only victim, so Dad also fell for it.”

Ha Jin-woong confronted Ha Min-hyuk. No matter how much he pretended to be of the same bloodline as them, it was clear how much he was deceiving himself.

Ha Jin-woong was grinding his teeth, but Ha Jin-seong remained absent-minded. It wasn’t his usual response, indicating he was lost in thought.

Then, a light appeared in Ha Jin-seong’s eyes.

“I should bring him in after all.”

“Why bring him in? We should ruin him.”

He had no intention of sharing the company with Ha Min-hyuk. Therefore, Ha Jin-woong pondered how to drive him out. Of course, his older brother was good at such considerations.

Then it happened. Ha Jin-seong looked at Ha Jin-woong.

“Gather everyone.”

“Really? Are you really calling them?”

Ha Jin-woong confirmed several times, and Ha Jin-seong frowned.

“Don’t make me say it twice.”

“Got it. I’ll call them right now.”

Ha Jin-woong took out his cell phone. When Ha Jin-seong asked him to gather everyone, it meant calling in all the people they had sponsored so far. They had been diligently nurturing them for times like this, and now it was finally time to call them in.

“So you’re planning to kick Ha Min-hyuk out altogether.”

Ha Jin-woong wore a delighted expression as he exited the room.

As the large figure disappeared, Ha Jin-seong was left alone in the original spacious room.

“It smells like wine.”

As Ahn Se-hyun’s pleasant voice kept repeating itself, he was confused as to whether it was just an illusion.

That ringing was getting on his nerves. Whenever he tried to focus elsewhere, the ringing grew louder.

The only solution seemed to be bringing Ahn Seyun back by his side.

What used to be a thought of conveniently using him, now felt like a necessity.

With his thoughts concluded, Ha Jin-seong stretched out his arms to the side. Then he opened the lid of the container that was placed with the cell phone. They were all filled with the same strawberry-flavored candies, and Ha Jin-seong took out one.

⍣⍣⍣

“CEO Shin Tae-oh.”

Se-hyun, who had just entered the lobby, saw Ha Min-hyuk blocking the path in front of him, or more precisely, in front of Shin Tae-oh.

“Do you have a moment?”

To Ha Min-hyuk’s abrupt question, Se-hyun intervened between him and Shin Tae-oh. Meeting Ha Min-hyuk’s gaze, he declined on his behalf.

“I’m sorry, but unless it’s a scheduled appointment, it’s not possible.”

Even though he might be the protagonist of the original story, business was business.

Additionally, Shin Tae-oh may seem like a bit of a slob, but he was actually quite busy. It meant he wasn’t just sitting around, looking at payment documents but actively involved in various tasks.

There were times when Se-hyun wondered why he worked so hard. With so much money at his disposal, couldn’t he just enjoy life? Why was he so diligent?

Unlike other third-generation chaebol heirs, who would socialize and have drinks with acquaintances, Shin Tae-oh never did.

Last time, he seemed uncomfortable even at the hotel.

It wasn’t just because he was his superior, but Shin Tae-oh truly seemed naturally oblivious to extravagance, despite being a third-generation chaebol.

Therefore, Shin Tae-oh’s schedule had to be planned without any errors, so Ha Min-hyuk couldn’t just freely allocate his time as he pleased.

“Can’t you spare even a moment?”

Now Se-hyun could see Ha Min-hyuk’s expression as his eyes were fixed on him, not Shin Tae-oh. At a glance, it seemed no different from usual, but upon closer inspection, there was a subtle anxiety hidden within.

‘What could it be… Ah.’

It marked the beginning of that project where Ha Min-hyuk delved into the company’s management in earnest and faced interference from his siblings.

So, coming here like this meant…

‘He’s going to propose a consortium to Shin Tae-oh.’

In the original work, despite knowing Shin Tae-oh’s interest in Yoo Jin-ha, Ha Min-hyuk still proposed a deal.

And how did Shin Tae-oh respond then?

“It’s not possible.”

They don’t join hands. That was the original storyline.

And personally, Se-hyun didn’t want to throw Shin Tae-oh into the mess Ha Min-hyuk would bring.

Because I am Shin Tae-oh’s secretary, not Ha Min-hyuk.

Some things just can’t be allowed.