Specifying in the contract that emotions shouldn’t get entangled was to prevent useless trouble. There were many people who, after having sex a few times, mistakenly thought they had become a special relationship.
Even if his symptoms didn’t improve, he thought one year was the limit for meeting with Chaehun. But ridiculously, now that four months had passed, he was looking forward to meeting with Chaehun.
“Emotions, huh.”
Seunggeon muttered while looking at the sparkling diamond bracelet on his desk.
Expecting what came next from Chaehun, who stood between love-hate and necessity, wasn’t a good sign. Although there were still eight months left until the contract ended, if his aftereffects were cured right away, it would be right not to meet Chaehun.
The change in his rut cycle was an encouraging sign. Chaehun suffered from the sudden rut. Still, it meant that meeting him wasn’t meaningless.
Recalling the moment of rut, Seunggeon frowned slightly. The suffocating heat and pleasure rose like an afterimage.
Unlike other alphas, Seunggeon didn’t place much meaning on ruts. Ruts were like an annoying flu that came once a year. He mostly relied on medication, and if there was someone he was seeing, he also had sex, but that was it.
But this time was different. It was the first time he lost his reason and pounced desperately. Though Chaehun was a beta, it could be because he was someone he had done an imaginary imprinting with.
Seunggeon met people dryly. The people who entered his line could be counted on one hand with fingers left over. He acknowledged that Chaehun was standing at that boundary now.
However, creating complicated affairs based on momentary emotions was something only fools did. A transaction was just a transaction.
Having made a concise decision, Chaehun put away the jewelry box and concentrated on documents again.
* * *
That day was Chaehun’s birthday. When he was young, he would have been excited about birthday parties and presents, but after getting older and starting work life, there was nothing particularly special about it.
Today too, the beginning was an ordinary day no different from yesterday. Chaehun woke up early in the morning, exercised at the gym, then went to work a bit early.
The atmosphere in the General Affairs Department office was chaotic beyond measure. It was because the medical accident that occurred at Taehwa Hospital was extensively reported on the 9 PM news the previous evening.
The news was about a 70-year-old man who suffered a cerebral hemorrhage two years ago due to a misdiagnosis by a doctor on duty in the emergency room. The man fortunately survived, but the problem was that the doctor on duty was intoxicated. The content was that despite the patient’s family’s protests, the doctor not only received no disciplinary action but also no compensation whatsoever.
It was natural that people were outraged by a medical accident that occurred at a hospital considered the best in the Republic of Korea. After the news aired, Taehwa Hospital was the number one real-time search on search portals. And it became even noisier when it was revealed that the emergency room doctor on duty at the time was the youngest son of the hospital director.
Protest calls poured into the hospital from early morning. As protest calls flowed even to the General Affairs Department, work didn’t proceed properly all morning. They could finally catch their breath when lunchtime arrived.
Even in the crowded cafeteria, the medical accident was the hot topic. Most cursed the resident who conducted intoxicated medical examinations, but there were many people who viewed the incident from a different perspective. Especially those interested in internal politics gave different opinions.
The senior staff of the General Affairs Department who gathered in the employee lounge whispered openly.
“This time he’s really going to do it.”
“How far will he go?”
“Won’t the director’s side counterattack?”
“No way. The scale is different.”
Chaehun, as always, silently listened to what the senior staff said. It was already a predicted matter that the hospital director would be pushed out. It was just a matter of when. But no one knew it would become this noisy.
It wasn’t just the medical accident. Last Friday, a rebate with a pharmaceutical company handled by initials was also published in a daily newspaper. Though Taehwa Hospital’s name wasn’t openly mentioned, it was clearly a targeted attack.
It was true that the director managed the hospital extravagantly. Everyone also knew that the doctor who caused the medical accident in the emergency room was the director’s youngest son. Besides that, it was no secret that his relatives occupied key positions in the hospital. If they seriously dug into it, dust would obviously fall in heaps.
“How far will the sparks fly?”
“There should be just one or two things caught to say that. He’s famously entangled with the pharmaceutical side. Will that blow up too?”
Listening to everyone worrying about how big the matter would get, Chaehun thought of Seunggeon. Though Seunggeon didn’t mention it in detail, he had said the hospital would get noisy.
The director of Taehwa Hospital, known as anti-chairman faction, and Seunggeon were in opposing positions, sharpening their angles. The fight of high-ranking people was irrelevant to him, who was at the bottom. However, Chaehun worried about the ripple effects of what happened ten days ago.
There was no one who found out Chaehun’s identity and approached him. When he asked Seunggeon just in case, he said it would be fine if he just followed the contract.
What made Chaehun more uncomfortable than that was Seunggeon’s gift offensive.
The suits custom-made at the tailor shop all arrived last weekend. Since Seo Jumyeong hadn’t found a place yet and they were still living together, Chaehun was quite nervous about the closet full of suits being discovered.
In the midst of this, Seunggeon called a tailor saying he would have summer suits made. It was a famous foreign custom suit brand, but Chaehun, who didn’t know anything, just went along with it. He also received several cufflinks and tie pins that matched the suits.
Besides that, Seunggeon presented yet another watch. It was meant as an apology for the various incidents that happened last weekend. Since he had decided not to refuse what Seunggeon gave, he said thank you and accepted it.
The watches he received from Seunggeon numbered nine, all expensive. It was to the extent that he could sell the watches and make a lump sum if necessary.
Though he received a bunch of expensive things, the most impressive was the chocolate. The feeling when he was handed a new box of chocolates that he couldn’t eat properly due to the uninvited guests’ intrusion was inadequate to describe as strange. It was even more so when Seunggeon added an explanation that he bought new ones since he couldn’t eat the chocolates properly that day.
He hadn’t even thought of the chocolate, but Seunggeon’s action of deliberately taking care of it made him want to attach some meaning to it.
Chaehun, who had been lost in other thoughts, came to his senses at his phone’s vibration. At times like this, Seunggeon would send a message with good timing.
Chaehun, who checked the message with a hopeful heart, was startled.
[Hello, Kang Chaehun-ssi. It’s Sunny. I’m at the bottle cafe on the 1st floor of the hospital right now. If you don’t come within 5 minutes, I’ll barge in. :D♥]
The disparity between the smiling emoticon and black heart attached to the end of the polite-toned threat was tremendous.
Chaehun didn’t know much about Sunny, but if it was Sunny, she seemed like she would barge in as she said. To get to the General Affairs Department office, she would have to pass through the security door that opened with an employee card, but he couldn’t help but worry about the what-ifs.
Chaehun slyly got up from his seat and moved.
*
*
“You came within 5 minutes. Come, sit down. Will you have coffee?”
Sunny, sitting inside the cafe, greeted Chaehun warmly. Her appearance in a shirt, cardigan, and jeans with her hair down was different from last time again.
Chaehun cautiously sat across from her.
“What’s the matter?”
“How direct. You must have a personality as stiff as you look. It’s nothing much. Since I came to the hospital, I wanted to see your face, talk, take care of business. All at once. It would be nice if we could have lunch together, but it’s unfortunate that I’m fasting all day today.”
“Are you sick somewhere?”
“Ah. Just a health checkup. Thanks for worrying. You’re kind after all.”
Chaehun said nothing while looking at Sunny smiling broadly. He had only met her twice. She was lively and showed no threat, but Seunggeon’s advice to stay away kept coming to mind.
“You don’t have to be so guarded. I have a personality that likes making friends, so I get close easily and grow distant easily. I’m pretty good at reading people, and Chaehun-ssi gives off a good feeling, so I’m trying to get close. Seunggeon oppa is a bit scary, but well, whatever. But did you know? About Seunggeon oppa fighting with his younger great-uncle, that is, the director here.”
Chaehun, who had been concentrating on the stories flowing quickly from Sunny’s mouth, stiffened his face at the last question.
“Why are you curious about that?”
“Ah, so he did tell you. Otherwise you would’ve said no, right?”
“I don’t like beating around the bush.”
Chaehun warned gently. Since he didn’t know what Sunny’s purpose was, he couldn’t let his guard down. But Sunny’s answer was unexpected.
“I wanted to curse out Seunggeon oppa.”
“……?”
“He could’ve at least told me when he was going to start. The stocks I was holding got destroyed because of this. Do you know how much money flew away? I thought I’d feel better if I complained to Chaehun-ssi at least.”
“Shouldn’t you be saying this to Seunggeon, not me?”
“Only if I could get a word in edgewise.”
Sunny, who had been grinding her teeth with a bright smile, downed her iced Americano in one go. Then she cursed Seunggeon in ways Chaehun had to agree with. That he was cold, that he thought only he was great, that he didn’t think much about other people—Chaehun resisted the urge to nod at these words.
“Ah. That feels refreshing. Chaehun-ssi, don’t you have any complaints about Seunggeon oppa? I’ll keep it a secret.”
“I don’t.”
“You’re like a fortress. That’s fine. We don’t become close from the start anyway. Actually, there’s another reason I came today.”
