TSG 51

Shin Tae-oh’s condition was not good. It wasn’t his external appearance that was off, but rather, if Se-hyun had to say, he seemed lost in thought all the time. Well, it was not just today, but…

“Sir?”

Se-hyun saw that Shin Tae-oh was unfocused and called him out.

“Oh. What did you say?”

Shin Tae-oh, who was lost in other thoughts, raised his head and made eye contact with him. His focus was still not clear. While he usually had a tendency to be absent-minded, he rarely got lost in thoughts like this.

“I was talking about the location of today’s party. It’s done by Seongha Interior.”

Se-hyun didn’t know it when he received the invitation, but he remembered seeing the photos after looking into it separately. He wanted to mention today’s charity party as well as his intention to arrange another meeting with Seongha.

“Ah, Seongha.”

Shin Tae-oh mumbled “Seongha” a few times, and while he did, Se-hyun scrutinized his face. Is he still…?

Until now, Shin Tae-oh has always been ignored by Yoo Jin-ha. Then, he seemed shaken when he received the unexpected gift.

‘I wonder if his feelings for Yoojinha have returned.’

If that’s the case, the friendly attitude he showed him all this time will probably disappear.

As he pressed the elevator button, Se-hyun carefully rounded his thoughts. His heart pounded loudly at the thought that just crossed his mind. What’s this?

‘Anyway, it wasn’t sincere.’

Shin Tae-oh had expressed his interest in Se-hyun twice. At first, he reacted quite emotionally, saying that he fell for him because of his heat. And then, there was another time when there was no particular reason. His behavior just seemed slightly different. However, Se-hyun did not think seriously about it because he thought it was not sincere.

In addition, Se-hyun thought that the fact that he was shaken was a natural thing that happened while spending time with Shin Tae-oh.

Now that he thought about it, he couldn’t put the gift that Yoo Jin-ha gave him in Shin Tae-oh’s hand, so he put it aside. Did he open it?

He didn’t know if they bought the same thing, but Se-hyun’s gift was a fountain pen. Despite Shin Tae-oh mainly using phones and tablets, using a fountain pen occasionally felt nice. The grip and writing feel were both good.

‘I should do something in return.’

Se-hyun pondered over having only received from Yujinha, and as he did, he noticed something in Shin Tae-oh reflected in the elevator doors.

Shin Tae-oh noticed that Se-hyun’s gaze was focused there and adjusted his tie.

“It’s not bad.”

It was the tie Se-hyun had gifted him at the department store. Shin Tae-oh’s expression softened as he ran his fingers over the tie. It seemed like he recalled the memory of buying the tie.

Until just now, he was absent-minded, lost in thought, but now he’s back to being his usual self.

Why was his emotions so fluctuating?

Se-hyun simply averted her gaze.

⍣⍣⍣

“I hope you have a good time.”

He bid farewell to Shin Tae-oh at the entrance. The secretary would accompany him only up to this point. Unless something special happened, he wouldn’t enter the party venue.

“You can accompany me inside.”

“It’s okay. I’ll wait here.”

A waiting room was provided for the secretaries. Se-hyun planned to stay there and only sneak in to watch the uproarious party when it started.

‘I shouldn’t get too close like last time and end up caught by Ha Jin-seong.’

This time, he would hide among the crowd and watch discreetly.

“Feel free to contact me if you need anything.”

“Sure.”

Shin Tae-oh reluctantly turned away, realizing Se-hyun was determined not to accompany him inside.

Se-hyun frowned as he watched Shin Tae-oh until he was out of sight.

“His face doesn’t look good.”

Shin Tae-oh’s face seemed paler than usual when he turned around.

“The color of his lips is pale and his breathing sounds off… is he feeling unwell?”

Realizing the atmosphere was unusually subdued, Se-hyun noticed Shin Tae-oh’s discomfort too late.

Se-hyun, who was about to head to the waiting room, hesitated and glanced back at where Shin Tae-oh had been. Even though he wasn’t there now, his pheromones seemed to linger…

⍣⍣⍣

“Why are you alone?”

In response to Ha Jin-seong’s question, Shin Tae-oh wrote down the donation and gave it to the waiting employee. The format of today’s party was as follows. They took the piece of paper stuck in the middle of the table and wrote down the donation they would make. Then, all they had to do was give it to an employee nearby. They could do it once or ten times—it didn’t matter.

“Then why are the two of you together?”

Shin Tae-oh replied indifferently, putting the fountain pen in his pocket.

“We?”

Ha Jin-seong smiled at Ha Min-hyuk sitting next to him.

“I get along well with Min-hyuk these days.”

“Your other younger brother would be sad if he heard this. What was his name? I think it was a bear.”

The name of Ha Jin-woong’s ‘웅(Woong)’ is not the same as the one in the word bear, but Shin Tae-oh interpreted it however he wanted.

“My other younger brother is also kind and treats him well. So where is Secretary Ahn?”

Ha Jin-seong turned around and returned to the main topic. The presence of Shin Tae-oh means that Ahn Se-hyun was also nearby, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Now I’m starting to get curious.”

Ha Jin-seong, who was taking out the donation paper after hearing Shin Tae-oh’s words, made eye contact.

“Did you really like him?”

At first, Shin Tae-oh thought it was just a scheme to take him away since he was next to him. However, as he watched Ha Jin-seong, Shin Tae-oh got the impression that he was quite serious.

Are you really interested in Se-hyun itself?

Ha Jin-seong answered Shin Tae-oh’s question while watching Ha Min-hyuk stand up.

“I don’t know how he ended up next to you, but I like him.”

Ha Jin-seong’s answer was now beyond the point where every single one of his reactions to Se-hyun could be ignored.

“What can you gain from Ahn Se-hyun?”

“What?”

“I can’t understand it, that’s why.”

To Shin Tae-oh, Se-hyun was more than just is more than a secretary, but he was curious about whether he was someone who would give that much meaning to Ha Jin-seong.

Ha Jin-seong laughed when he saw Shin Tae-oh wanting to see his true feelings.

“People…”

Ha Min-hyuk disappeared and there was silence at the table where only the two of them were left.

“A person’s heart skips a beat for someone who recognizes them.”

Ha Jin-seong spoke at a speed that was neither fast nor slow, and Shin Tae-oh thought of Se-hyun whose presence was as natural as air. Now Ha Jin-seong kept wanting to take Se-hyun with him.

Now that Shin Tae-oh has already melted into Se-hyun.

His heart raced when he thought of Se-hyun. His fingertips trembled uncontrollably, perhaps due to the rush of blood coursing through his body.

Feeling the warmth spreading through him, he couldn’t help but yearn to see Se-hyun.

“Then there’s nothing I can’t do for him. Who cares about a half-brother when there is someone who touched my heart?”

As if infected by Ha Jin-seong’s laughter, Shin Tae-oh’s lips also gently curved up.

“So what is it?”

“If you’re curious, ask Ahn Se-hyun.”

Ha Jin-seong stood up from his seat.

“As always, brush it off well this time too. The world is meant to be lived alone.”

Ha Jin-seong tapped Shin Tae-oh on the shoulder once while showing a friend-like reaction for the first time, and soon slowly entered the inside of the party hall.

“Talking about him made me miss him.”

Thirsty for Se-hyun, Shin Tae-oh grabbed the first bottle of champagne in sight and drank it.

⍣⍣⍣

“I think I can go in for a moment at this point.”

Se-hyun, who had been spending time wandering around the waiting room and other places, turned towards the party venue.

“Today might be…”

It was the day when an irreparable rift occurred between Ha Jin-seong and Ha Min-hyuk.

It all started when Ha Min-hyuk discovered that Ha Jin-seong had no pheromone scent.

‘Ha Min-hyuk saw him spraying Alpha perfume in the bathroom.’

Since Ha Min-hyuk discovered his secret, Ha Jin-seong harbored more than just simple jealousy or resentment. It was hatred, a desire to kill Ha Min-hyuk to erase any trace of his confession.

From that moment on, Ha Jin-seong’s torment escalated to a level beyond mere teasing, as he relentlessly sought to bring Ha Min-hyuk down. He did not hesitate to use dirty means to tarnish his family name.

His sole goal was to destroy Ha Min-hyuk.

“I’ll only watch until just before that happens.”

The moment Ha Jin-seong becomes serious, it’s best to stay out of it. But until then, it might be quite entertaining to watch.

‘They’re going to growl at each other with Yoo Jin-ha in between them. and our Taenyang-i… Well, he’s aiming for an opportunity, just like in the original work…’

Did he by chance know anything? Se-hyun wondered if Shin Tae-oh’s heart went back to Yoo Jinha because of the last gift.

After finding Yoo Jin-ha, who had obviously been invited separately by Ha Min-hyuk, Se-hyun went behind the other person and hid his face. And as he went to find a place to watch discreetly.

“Shin Tae-oh.”

As soon as he saw Shin Tae-oh’s uneasy appearance, he didn’t hesitate and ran towards him. Se-hyun had always watched over Shin Tae-oh, and beyond his role as his secretary, he knew immediately that something was different from usual.

“Sir.”

As soon as he approached Shin Tae-oh, he got down on one knee. Looking at his profile, Se-hyun noticed his hair was damp with sweat. He gently wiped the sweat running down his cheek with his palm and flinched.

‘It’s hot.’

His skin was radiating heat.

Se-hyun placed his hand on Shin Tae-oh’s shoulder as he lowered his head. The pheromones flowing out as much as it was sizzling were unusual. The pheromones emitting from him were still weak, but he never knew when they might explode.

As soon as he became somewhat aware of Shin Tae-oh’s condition, Se-hyun looked around. After finding out the location of the exit, he called Shin Tae-oh.

“Sir, it’s me, Secretary Ahn.”

Shin Tae-oh turned his head at Se-hyun’s low voice. His face was just a little red, but even that was enough to make Se-hyun’s heart drop.

His lips filled with hot breath parted and a wet red tongue was revealed.

“I’m thirsty.”

I’m thirsty… And your mouth looked wet right now.