I decided to redirect the arrow since it seemed like they’d dig deeper if we continued with this lukewarm atmosphere.
“How’s the Section Chief’s wife doing? I heard she’s pregnant with your second child.”
“Ah~ this one’s different from the first one.”
When I threw out the topic I’d racked my brains to find, the Section Chief’s eyes lit up and he eagerly bit. People who are drunk find talking about themselves the most fun.
I listened to the Section Chief’s talk about his second child, nodding my head as if deeply moved. Section Chief Kim joined in, and fortunately the talk about my love life seemed to have passed over smoothly.
I didn’t expect them to ask about Deputy Manager Han. With Deputy Manager Han, I’d just occasionally gone out to eat lunch—there really wasn’t anything clearly definite about it, but I didn’t know everyone would be this interested. This is why you shouldn’t get entangled with company celebrities.
While outwardly exclaiming in admiration at the Section Chief’s passionate speech, I secretly took out my phone under the table to check, and there was a reply from Won Dogyeong.
When I opened it, there were three consecutive emoticons of a rabbit with a heavily furrowed brow flipping a desk. I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle and covered my mouth.
As I put my phone back in my pocket and raised my head, I locked eyes with Deputy Manager Han, who had been looking at me.
He soon looked away as if nothing had happened.
Did he see me grinning to myself? If he did, that’s a bit embarrassing.
Before I knew it, it was night and the atmosphere was wrapping up the first round. As I gathered my things and headed outside, I resolved that I absolutely had to escape at this timing and secretly clenched my fist.
The Section Chief, who had finished paying and come outside, started talking about a second round, as expected.
“We should go for a second round.”
No. I’m definitely escaping.
Won Dogyeong, who must be waiting to come pick me up, had been on my mind since earlier. I wonder if he ate dinner at home alone. He didn’t skip it watching dramas again, did he?
As I was watching for timing to speak up, Deputy Manager Han suddenly bowed his head and said,
“I’ll be heading home.”
“Ah, I’ll be going home first too.”
I jumped on it thinking this was the time.
“Oh, okay okay. You’re not feeling well either, so go home and rest.”
“Deputy Manager Han, get home safely too.”
The two Section Chiefs waved their hands without stopping us, already plenty happy without us. The other people, drunk and in high spirits, seemed to want to go to the second round thinking they could mooch free drinks.
It was as good as saying I could go home because they were following the Section Chiefs. I sent deep gratitude in my heart.
After briefly conferring on where to go, they soon left saying they’d see us on Monday. Deputy Manager Han stood beside me with a proper smile and bowed his head, then let out a small sigh once the group disappeared from view.
“They’re drunk.”
“Right?”
“How are you getting home?”
“Someone’s coming to pick me up…”
Deputy Manager Han went “Ah” and closed his mouth. After hesitating while looking at me for a moment, he carefully parted his lips.
“I’m really sorry if I’m wrong, but…”
“Yes.”
“By any chance, that…”
He pursed his lips with a troubled expression. I soon realized his gaze was resting around my belly area and widened my eyes in surprise.
…He noticed?
There’s been no change in my appearance at all, so how on earth…?
Deputy Manager Han hesitated for a long time before finally asking me as if to confirm.
“…Am I right?”
I moved my lips, then asked helplessly.
“How did you know?”
“I have an older sister. She lives nearby so I see her often even after she got married, and you’re exactly the same as when my sister was pregnant. My sister’s an omega too.”
Ah, the intuition of someone with experience.
“You often skip lunch, you don’t drink the coffee you always drank, I’ve seen you dozing off a few times, and I don’t know if you’re aware, but your pheromones leak out sometimes. It’s not enough to worry about, but I thought you should know.”
I really didn’t know. Since there are no trait-holders around me at the company, there was no one who could notice, so no one had given me any hints until now.
I had heard that many people’s control becomes dull when they’re pregnant.
Won Dogyeong must have known, so why didn’t he tell me?
“And before, when we ran into each other in the morning, um… you had a lot of your partner’s pheromones on you…”
“Right, that’s right…”
I bit my tongue in embarrassment. Come to think of it, we did run into each other in front of the elevator in the morning when I was covered in Won Dogyeong’s pheromones.
Deputy Manager Han continued with a worried expression.
“Wouldn’t it be better to tell the Section Chief? Otherwise, you’ll keep getting dragged to company dinners.”
“I’m planning to tell him soon. It’s not that I’m hiding it, I was going to talk about it once I enter the stable period…”
As I spoke, I became embarrassed about why I was explaining all these little details and my words gradually trailed off. He probably isn’t curious about these circumstances.
I couldn’t stop floundering, having been caught off guard by such an unexpected person.
Deputy Manager Han touched his lips with an apologetic look.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked. I won’t tell anyone.”
“…You can…”
It was true that the words slipped out from embarrassment, but I really didn’t mind. Even if he didn’t go around talking about it, in a few months my belly would come out and everyone would know anyway. Nothing would change much by it being moved up a bit.
“I won’t.”
He smiled slightly and waved his hand.
Come to think of it, did this person keep helping me knowing I was pregnant?
No wonder he blocked for me saying I wasn’t feeling well even though we’d never talked about it.
Normally he wasn’t someone who would leave a company dinner, but him saying he’d go home after the first round also seemed like he stepped up worried I’d have trouble leaving alone.
“Thank you for being considerate about various things today. Thanks to you, I escaped well.”
“Not at all, I was tired today too and wanted to go home early. Since you were there, Jeongwon, I could say it without worry.”
An adult… He’s an adult.
I was enveloped in a feeling of becoming an endless child from the social skills that shone through his covering for me in case I felt sorry. I could assert right now that this person suited a parental role more than either me or Won Dogyeong, who was actually having a child. I could glimpse the dignity of someone in their thirties.
“It’s that person, right? The one who came to the lobby looking for you, Jeongwon.”
Just as Won Dogyeong remembered Deputy Manager Han, he must have remembered Won Dogyeong too. That guy is tall and thin like a model, so he stands out even when covered up.
“…Yes.”
“He was cool.”
He made a motion of pressing down a cap and smiled.
“Did you see anything?”
“I can tell even without seeing.”
He says the exact same thing as Myeong Haemin.
He went “Hmm” and paused, then opened his mouth with an awkward smile.
“I’m sorry. Everyone kept trying to push us together, so it must have been uncomfortable.”
“It’s okay. It’s not like you did that, Deputy Manager.”
“Actually, it was because of me.”
“Pardon?”
I reflexively asked back and whipped around to look at him. Deputy Manager Han avoided my eyes with an apologetic expression.
“Every time we ate lunch together, whenever someone asked, I went around answering straightforwardly that I went out to eat with you, Jeongwon.”
He was apologizing, so I got tense thinking he’d spread some weird rumor or something. Just for that…?
“I know even trivial things become rumors at the company quickly, but I did it on purpose.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted things to work out between us.”
As soon as I heard those words, my mouth clamped shut like a clam. Seeing my face nakedly filled with dismay, he let out a hearty laugh.
Isn’t this person being way too honest all of a sudden?
I couldn’t find a place to put my eyes and just wandered here and there over the asphalt.
“I guess I dragged my feet too much…”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry, I’m popular.”
I know. There’s a truckload of people on our floor asking to be introduced to Deputy Manager Han.
“You’re not quitting the company, are you?”
“No, for now… I’m planning to take leave in December.”
“Then just chat with Haemin on the rooftop again. Even if not in that sense, I like you, Jeongwon. I want to stay close.”
“…Yes.”
How can he be so relaxed while saying things like this? He’s an amazing person.
Even suggesting we meet with Haemin included so I wouldn’t feel uncomfortable—anyway, I felt the dignity of an elder, so my self-esteem kept shrinking. He’s only one year older than me.
Then again, looking at how my older sister is that way even though she’s eight years older than me, age wasn’t the problem.
“I’ll head out first. See you at work.”
“Yes, get home safely.”
Deputy Manager Han waved with a refreshing smile and disappeared.
I stood still and kicked a pebble rolling on the ground with my foot.
Actually, even now I don’t think it’s really something to feel sorry about, but having what I’d been pretending not to know all this time delivered so skillfully did make my heart feel a bit heavy.
No! The person who didn’t pick up on it quickly is the bad one, yeah.
I quickly pushed away the uncomfortable feeling since getting into Won Dogyeong’s car with this mood would be even more awkward. What was important to me right now wasn’t Deputy Manager Han.
It’s obvious, but Deputy Manager Han could meet a good person even if not me.
As he said himself, he’s popular at the company. He’ll be even more popular outside, so he’ll figure it out.
I opened my phone and checked the messenger window with Won Dogyeong. There was a rabbit emoticon holding up an OK sign in immediate response to my message before leaving the restaurant that the gathering had disbanded.
He must be hooked on this character. When I scrolled up and looked at the angry rabbits flipping desks again, a chuckle escaped me.
I surveyed the alley while breathing in the damp night air. It should be about time.
Sure enough, the car that entered honking its horn carried a familiar license plate.
