His head was throbbing, his stomach was burning, and though he’d talked with Robert yesterday, he didn’t even know exactly what he was supposed to do.
“Did you eat breakfast?”
At Ondal’s words, Hyedam hid his desire to lie down on the plush sofa visible in front of him and went further inside. Just how big is this house? And where’s the kitchen? Looking around, Hyedam headed toward what seemed to be the kitchen.
He didn’t know whether the other person was in a good mood or not, but since he was told he liked bread, it seemed like he just needed to find bread in the kitchen. Seeing the bread on the island table, Hyedam chuckled. He really does like bread. Is that why he sang that he wanted to eat bread?
After washing his hands in the sink, Hyedam picked up a plain bagel and looked around again. Where’s the toaster?
Whether luxurious or shabby, people’s lives are all the same, so while searching for the toaster with his eyes, Hyedam opened the island table drawer. Successfully finding a bread knife, and successfully finding a cutting board below that.
As he was cutting the plain bagel in half to toast it nicely, his eyes caught sight of an oven on one side. He’s already drinking espresso, so he probably doesn’t need to prepare more. With the thought of working as much as he was paid, Hyedam was busily moving around another person’s kitchen.
“Do you eat jam?”
Though he was told he liked light and clean tastes, jam and cheese were essential for bagels, so Hyedam raised his head to ask his preference. He seemed to be nearby just a moment ago, but confirming that he was alone in the spacious area, Hyedam pulled over a chair and sat down.
What the hell am I doing here?
Even if he didn’t remember, his personality and preferences seemed unchanged.
He acknowledged that aesthetic perspectives differ from person to person, but still, he wasn’t that ugly. Well, growing up watching parents with such outstanding looks, his standards would naturally become high. His own face played a part too. What could he do when the average appearance around him was celestial class?
Just yesterday morning he was told by the team leader that he was handsome, but this morning he hears he’s ugly? Hyedam, who had never thought about his appearance except for that one time a few years ago, raised his hand to dry-wash his face.
Maybe because he drank a lot yesterday, his eyes and cheeks seemed a bit swollen.
“Did you eat something?”
Hyedam, who had been sitting blankly in the chair ruffling his not-quite-dry hair in the encroaching self-loathing, jumped up from his seat at Ondal’s voice.
“I haven’t received the schedule yet, but is there a schedule I should reference? If you need management of personal schedules too, you can tell me that part. The only schedule I know for today is a 10 AM meeting with the marketing team. You can think of it as a business report on what the marketing team is currently working on and a meeting to greet the team members you’ll be working with.”
“I wasn’t asking about today’s schedule but about your meal, so answer that first.”
Leo, who had changed clothes in the meantime—wearing a neatly tailored suit instead of a bathrobe—was approaching while putting on cufflinks.
“I didn’t eat.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t usually eat breakfast.”
“…I deliberately left the room for you.”
Not paying attention to Leo’s muttering, Hyedam went to the oven where the alarm was ringing and took out the baked bagel.
“Do I have to come here to pick up the team leader every day?”
Using tongs to transfer the baked bagel to a plate, Hyedam looked up at him standing across the island table.
“Don’t you like it?”
Of course I don’t like it. This guy’s never done social life and he’s showing it so obviously here. What subordinate wants to stick with their boss for long? Plus, from Junseok’s place it’s only 10 minutes to here, but from my house it’s a 30-minute distance. Which means from now on I have to wake up at least an hour earlier.
“Robert-ssi is here, and those bodyguards, I should say? I saw other people out front.”
A large hand approached and picked up one side of the bagel. Taking a bite of the crisply toasted bagel, he slowly moved his mouth. At the sight of him staring at Hyedam while eating the bagel, Hyedam subtly turned his gaze and took out the tablet he always carried.
“The bread… is delicious.”
Though there was nothing to check, Hyedam, who was opening the schedule app and looking at his schedule with only one measly entry, slowly raised his head at his leisurely words.
“The scent is good too.”
“I heard you like plain bagels.”
“Robert?”
“Yes. He said when you’re not in a good mood, I should give you plain bagels and espresso.”
“Let’s go to work.”
After saying it was delicious, the bagel with only one bite taken was placed back on the plate, and following Leo who walked ahead, Hyedam stuck out the tip of his tongue to moisten his dry lips.
He needed caffeine and thought he wanted to drink coffee. But now, should he say it felt like he’d drunk high-quality coffee to his heart’s content? His stomach still burned, but the headache seemed to have lessened a bit.
“Do you like coffee?”
At the question from him walking ahead, Hyedam shook his head. It wasn’t spoken aloud, and there was no way the small head shake he made behind him would reach him, but it was an answer in its own way.
Since both Robert and Leo were tall, it was natural that their strides were wide. Looking at the back walking ahead, there were things that came to mind afresh. Even when walking the narrow country road, he kept getting further from him. Not knowing the way but going so diligently.
Since there were no side roads to particularly turn into, Hyedam, who had been following regardless of the distance, was at some point walking shoulder to shoulder with him.
Even when riding the elevator, Hyedam naturally stood behind him. Now that he’d become a personal secretary, there would be no more walking shoulder to shoulder from now on.
When getting in the car too, as if it was predetermined, when Robert headed to the driver’s seat, Hyedam headed to the passenger seat. What did it matter to call it driver’s seat or passenger seat in a self-driving car, but anyway, Hyedam, who sat according to remaining customs, let out a small sigh while feeling the texture of the plush seat.
Everything was the best. The car he was riding in now was also the latest self-driving electric car that hadn’t been officially imported domestically yet. All the seats in the car could rotate to any desired angle and recline comfortably like a recliner, drawing people’s attention with promotions emphasizing comfort.
Awkward silence. Classical music flowed in the car, and since he had no intention of looking at Leo sitting in the back, Hyedam covered his mouth with one hand and yawned quietly. Did I say I’d be a personal secretary for no reason? Commuting like this every time and sharing the same space for this long seemed quite troublesome.
He already missed his usual life of just managing schedules, meeting at the company to brief on schedules, and calling other people to coordinate schedules. Hyedam, who rested his head against the cold car window, decided to shake off the depressing thoughts and think about what to eat today.
What’s more important to an office worker than these two things: today’s lunch menu and can I leave on time?
Hyedam, who was blankly thinking about today’s menu while watching the scenery passing by quickly, straightened his head that had been against the window at the coffee scent brushing his nose.
From the moment he entered Leo’s house, he felt like he was drowning in coffee. Later he didn’t even know whether there was a coffee scent or not, but at the scent that suddenly became thick, Hyedam slowly turned around.
Seeing Leo, who had reclined his seat comfortably and crossed his long legs while concentrating on looking at something, Hyedam held his breath for a moment. A coffee scent in a space without coffee. That was also a part he’d passed over without thinking deeply back then. And he’d had the same doubt then and asked the same question.
“Team leader.”
“Yes.”
“I heard you said you preferred a beta.”
“I did.”
“May I ask why?”
“Because I don’t want to get caught up in troublesome matters.”
“Are you an alpha?”
Though he answered questions right away, Hyedam, meeting Leo’s green eyes that hadn’t looked away from what he was viewing, pressed his lips tightly and waited for his answer.
“I’m an alpha but not an alpha.”
“If I were an omega, your personal secretary offer wouldn’t have come, would it?”
Asking about traits was a rude question from the start. As sunlight came in and disappeared between the fast-moving cars, the color of his green eyes changed to various colors every moment. Hyedam, who felt like he was looking at a really pretty and beautiful jewel, slowly lowered his eyes.
He avoided his gaze, but he didn’t escape from his gaze. While sitting in the chair and only turning his upper body to look at him, Hyedam’s chair slowly moved, and before he knew it, he was sitting facing Leo.
The momentary flinch at the chair’s sudden movement was brief—he should have offered an apology for his rude question with a sorry, but he didn’t want to. Because the conversation he was having with him now would greatly influence his actions going forward.
“If I hadn’t agreed to all the conditions you wanted, you wouldn’t have become my secretary?”
What returned to the most important question was not an answer but a question. The coffee scent that had been heavily filling the space gradually faded. As if feeling the coffee scent in this space had all been an illusion, the air he breathed in and out didn’t have any scent permeating it.
