TSG 9

I thought I was going to get fired, but what’s this nonsense.

When did you start calling Yoo Jin-ha’s name like that? You are falling for me? Se-hyun suppressed the urge to swear.

Shin Tae-oh was not the type to hide anything. He wasn’t one to create schemes, and since Se-hyun was his secretary, he was even more comfortable revealing things. But this was too much.

“I don’t think I understand what you mean.”

Se-hyun couldn’t casually speak his mind to the CEO no matter what he felt inside.

“No, I don’t really understand either, but I think I’ve fallen for Secretary Ahn’s… charm.”

…What does he mean by falling for it?

Shin Tae-oh’s voice became so quiet in the middle that Se-hyun couldn’t hear it properly. He couldn’t remember what happened that night, so Se-hyun didn’t bother to ask him where he fell for him.

“Oh, I’m sorry if I offend you by saying this.”

“That’s…”

It might sound like a confession in a workplace context. However, Se-hyun didn’t think it was uncomfortable. Perhaps it was gratitude for calming down his heat cycle.

‘Besides, he’s not a bad person.’

When it comes to Shin Tae-oh, Se-hyun knows him best. He was a good man who had feelings for Yoo Jin-ha and stepped aside for his happiness. In fact, as a result of observing him as his superior, Shin Tae-oh was not a black-hearted person.

“I didn’t say anything with ill intentions; I just shared what I felt.”

…Was he black-hearted?

Anyway, there was no reason to prolong this conversation.

“I’m sorry.”

There was only one response Se-hyun could give. He wanted to serve Shin Tae-oh as his boss for a long time and to do that, it was best to exclude emotional exchanges beforehand.

Se-hyun thought Shin Tae-oh was going to ask him to quit for hiding the trait, but it wasn’t something he could accept anyway.

“It’s okay.”

However, Shin Tae-oh’s reaction was cleaner than expected. He didn’t look disappointed or regretful.

‘I wondered what is he thinking.’

“Honestly, even if it were me, I would react like Secretary Ahn. No, I might react even more intensely. You can swear at me, start with ‘are you crazy,’ and vent all kinds of insults, it’s fine.”

Shin Tae-oh was so casual about belittling himself that Se-hyun became flustered. Trying to conceal his fluctuating emotions, he tightly gripped the tablet. Se-hyun could see his hands going white as he glanced at Shin Tae-oh. Usually, Se-hyun had no trouble seeing through Shin Tae-oh’s emotions, but this time, it was the opposite. It was uncomfortable and… unsettling to see his own emotions laid bare to him.

“Does it make sense to talk so seriously about Yoo Jin-ha and then change to Secretary Ahn Se-hyun overnight?”

Naturally, it doesn’t make sense.

“So for now, I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing so far.”

For the first time, Se-hyun could no longer understand Shin Tae-oh’s thoughts.

“If I continue to live my life as usual… and I still like Secretary Ahn even then, will you reconsider my confession?”

“…”

What he just said is not a confession. It clearly isn’t a confession, so why does it sound like one to him?

“With that in mind, should I give this to Jin-ha?”

Hearing Shin Tae-oh’s lightened tone, Se-hyun lowered his gaze to the item in his hand. It wasn’t strange to give beautiful and good things to Yoo Jin-ha, as he usually did…

“Do you mean the coffee or the mug?”

Shin Tae-oh was speaking while holding a cold coffee-filled mug, so he didn’t know how to interpret it.

“…Both.”

Shin Tae-oh’s answer sounded ambiguous.

“All right. “I will prepare and send it to you with a coffee machine and a new mug set.”

“I understand. I’ll prepare a coffee machine and a new mug set to send to Jin-ha.”

Even after finishing his words, Se-hyun couldn’t easily turn away.

“Do you have anything else to say?”

“I apologize for not clarifying my trait in advance.”

It was an apology for deceiving him.

“If you say you deceived me for not saying something, then I also haven’t said anything about mine either… Is this enough?”

Se-hyun didn’t ask because he knew Shin Tae-oh was an Alpha. But does it work that way?

“And?”

“Nothing.”

⍣⍣⍣

Se-hyun, who was holding the coffee machine and mug set, was troubled by Yoo Jin-ha’s puzzled expression when they faced each other.

Yoo Jin-ha was said to be feeling unwell today and had to take his monthly leave, so Se-hyun contacted and asked permission to come visit him. Unlike himself, who took monthly leave due to the heat cycle, Yoo Jin-ha’s complexion looked bad, as if he was truly sick.

“Did hyung, I mean the CEO, give me this too?”

“That’s right.”

“Did he tell you the reason by any chance?”

“The reason? Well…”

Se-hyun asked and got an answer. Normally, Shin Tae-oh would not buy and gift items for unreasonable reasons, but there was no other reason today. It seemed that the previous conversation they had might be the cause, but he couldn’t tell Yoo Jin-ha the contents of that conversation.

“He didn’t say anything else.”

It was strange to add such a ridiculous reason in the first place, so it was better to just say it didn’t exist. And…

‘He will reject it again.’

Even if it wasn’t for that reason, there was no reason for Yoo Jin-ha to accept the gift, so if he refused, Se-hyun planned to turn away without a second thought.

‘And he needs to refund it.’

He purposely kept the receipt.

If nothing else, but Se-hyun didn’t think he would be happy to have these items in his hands just because Yoo Jin-ha rejected them.

“Are you refusing?”

To Se-hyun’s question, Yoo Jin-ha looked at the coffee machine for a moment and then reached out his hand. It was strange. Why was his hand, which usually gestured to decline, coming forward this time?

“… I will accept it.”

“Yes…”

It was the first time.

“Please convey my thanks.”

“All right.”

Se-hyun, who calmed himself by keeping his empty hand to his body, bowed lightly to Yoo Jin-ha and walked away.

Se-hyun couldn’t come to his senses since so many unexpected things happened, but not revealing it on the surface is an indication of his greatest effort since entering into this world.

Se-hyun walked forward, pretending not to see Yoo Jin-ha’s obvious glance behind him.

⍣⍣⍣

“Secretary Ahn!”

Se-hyun, who had just delivered a gift to Jin-ha Yoo, stopped when he saw a familiar car. He was wondering if he had any plans for the day when the chief secretary stepped out of the car and approached him.

“Chief.”

“I’ve been busy today, so I didn’t get a chance to greet you properly.”

Getting out of the car for greetings meant that Shin Tae-oh wasn’t present, so Se-hyun looked at the chief secretary comfortably.

“That’s fine with me. If anything, I should relieve you of some of your work. You must have had a lot of work in my absence, right?”

He said this because he knew that when he took a vacation day, it was always the chief secretary who took care of the work, not someone else.

“I should do that much. It’s not anyone else, but Se-hyun-ssi.”

When the chief secretary addresses him by his name and not “Secretary Ahn,” Se-hyun can’t help but let down his guard. The place where he became acquainted with the chief secretary was when he came to be Shin Tae-oh’s secretary, and this was his greatest advantage.

There was no detail about what kind of character he was in the novel. He just appeared as someone who followed Shin Tae-oh’s commands as a secretary, so he didn’t go beyond the position of an extra, but when Se-hyun saw him in person, he was a really kind and considerate person.

So, Se-hyun liked the chief secretary, Lee Jin-ho as a person. Fourth on the list.

“Don’t you think it would make them feel bad if someone else heard those words just now?”

“They might even understand. After all, you’re the busiest among us.”

“If you think that way, I’m fine with it.”

“In that case, I’ll let you leave early.”

Se-hyun looked at his watch without realizing it. It wasn’t even five o’clock yet, and he was suggesting to let him leave?

“If you take the boss home.”

Accepting the condition that followed, Se-hyun took the car keys that Lee Jin-ho handed over with a look that said, “Well, then.”

“For some reason, I thought you were very happy to see me.”

“It’s always nice to meet you. Because you’re the one who controls the boss’s mood the best.”

“Mood? Is he not in a good mood now?”

“Hmm… I think it’s better to see it for yourself than hear it from me.”

As Lee Jin-ho turned his head toward the direction he was pointing to, Shin Tae-oh walked out. He had an expressionless face, so it wasn’t clear if he was in a bad mood or not.

“I have something to do, so I’ll go inside.”

With a nod to convey the request, Lee Jin-ho lightly tapped Se-hyun’s arm and went into the building. Se-hyun waited with the car keys in hand. Shin Tae-oh had a puzzled expression as he approached, but he didn’t seem to be in a bad mood.

“Why is Secretary Ahn standing there?”

“I’ll drive you.”

Se-hyun opened the back seat door without another word, while Shin Tae-oh saw the back of Lee Jin-ho, who seemed to know what was going on and entered the building.

“Putting off your own work for someone else… I guess he’s not suitable to be the chief secretary.”

“Sir. I delivered the gift to Mr. Yoo Jin-ha.”

Shin Tae-oh looked at Se-hyun silently for a moment before speaking abruptly.

“Really… he received it?”

Given the constant rejections before, this was surprising. But shouldn’t he be happy? What’s with that slightly disappointed look?

“That’s right. I’ve just returned from delivering it to his house.”

“You didn’t have to go all the way to his house.”

“He liked it.”

“I see. He accepted it.”

Shin Tae-oh nodded expressionlessly while responding, then suddenly looked at the car door that Se-hyun had just opened.

“What’s wrong?”

“I think I’m going to get motion sickness.”

“Ah, let me get you some medicine. Or should I take you to the nearby hospital?”

When Se-hyun quickly offered to handle the situation, Shin Tae-oh shook his head.

“It’s okay. Sitting in the front passenger seat usually helps with motion sickness…”

He then climbed into the front passenger seat, making Se-hyun’s opening the back door and waiting meaningless.

‘What.’

Not only did he suddenly say he was getting motion sickness, but he also said something like the passenger seat could be the medicine for it.