When he was with him, it felt like he had become an omega or alpha.
A being that feels the other person’s pheromones and is affected by them. There were too many strange points for him to be called a special trait. It wasn’t like he’d never met alphas and omegas before—his late parents had been an alpha and omega.
He was born diagnosed as an omega and showed traits, but after his parents passed away, all of that disappeared. He was rediagnosed as a beta, even passed the physical examination and was honorably discharged after completing his service—it made no sense for him to be a special trait. If it were real, what about the injustice of having gone to the military? In any case, the very notion of feeling pheromones or scent only with Leo was nonsensical.
To the question of whether Leo was an alpha, he only gave ambiguous answers, and seeing that he chose himself, a beta, he seemed like an alpha, but there was no way to know unless he revealed it himself.
Leaving aside Leo’s trait, late manifestation at this age really made no sense, but still, you never know with human matters, so should he go to the hospital? At the scent that felt particularly strong today, Hyedam’s free stream of consciousness was even reaching the hospital.
“Do you like tea?”
“Ah, yes!”
Hyedam, who had been thinking of the hospital while waiting for Leo’s words and even thinking about which hospital would be good, reflexively answered at the unexpected question.
“And you dislike coffee?”
“Rather than dislike……”
At the same time as he opened his mouth, the coffee scent disappeared. As if it had never been there, as if it hadn’t existed from the beginning, instead of the scent he naturally felt with each breath, the smell of bread brushed his nose.
Coffee. He still liked it. But even when drinking famous and delicious coffee, he just couldn’t be satisfied with the feeling that he’d already drunk coffee more delicious than that. So he came to enjoy tea more than coffee, and naturally everyone thought he liked tea.
“Find some more materials related to this.”
If you’re going to make me work anyway, why say strange things? As Hyedam received the file Leo handed him, he placed his gaze on the bread on his desk. He didn’t know who bought it, but different bread was on his desk every day. But Leo seemed to not have touched the bread at all today either.
“Understood.”
“I’m going out now, so get ready.”
At the words that he was going out, Hyedam immediately looked at the clock. 11:24. It’s almost lunchtime, where are you going? And the words he just said seemed to include the meaning that he would be coming along too.
Wondering if it might be his misunderstanding, he pointed at himself with his fingertip, and at the same time Leo’s eyebrows twitched, so he slowly lowered his hand.
“Team Leader-nim has a lunch appointment, can we return before that? If it’s impossible, I’ll try to adjust the schedule.”
“Ah. Tell them to change it.”
“Yes, should the 2 PM meeting proceed as is?”
“We should be able to come back by then.”
Though it was almost lunchtime, canceling even the lunch appointment and going somewhere at this hour. On top of that, at the fact that he was accompanying him too, Hyedam couldn’t hide his bitterness and tightly closed his lips.
Leaving the team leader’s office, Hyedam contacted Robert to request changing the lunch appointment and preparing to go out, then called Stella to cancel his lunch appointment too. He’d been planning to have lunch with the old secretarial team for once.
“You’re going out now?”
Hyedam, who had been simply organizing the messy table, slightly frowned at Yujin’s eyes looking at him, then immediately relaxed.
“Yes, the team leader is going out. And about the storyboard from earlier. My opinion is to mix B and D.”
“Going out now? It’s almost lunchtime though?”
Normal people’s thoughts are all similar. Just like himself who thought of lunchtime as soon as he heard Leo’s words, Yujin also mentioned lunchtime, so Hyedam chuckled. Exactly.
“Really, Hyedam-ssi, you shouldn’t talk with team members.”
After organizing his desk and grabbing his coat, Hyedam looked at Yujin, not understanding her words.
“Every time you talk with us, it’s errands or field work.”
“Pardon?”
“Think about it carefully.”
At the same time Leo came out of the team leader’s office, Hyedam, whose conversation with Yujin ended, walked a few steps ahead and pressed the elevator button.
“If you tell me where you’re going and for what purpose, I’ll prepare what’s necessary.”
“Do you like checking and preparing everything like that every time?”
At Leo’s words, Hyedam swallowed a sigh inwardly. He wasn’t such a diligent person. What checking in advance and preparing—everything’s such a bother. He did it because it was his job, but he couldn’t do that at all for matters related to himself.
“Because it’s what a secretary does.”
“Are you going to blame your job for not being able to refuse requests too?”
“People make requests because they need help, and if there’s no particular reason to refuse, I think helping isn’t bad.”
“Any request?”
“If it’s something I can do……”
While conversing with Leo, Hyedam, who felt a strange feeling, raised his head to look up at him standing beside him. At the sight of him narrowing his eyes and looking down at him, as if something was displeasing again, Hyedam opened his eyes wider with a questioning meaning.
“Then. Give me your hand.”
Why your hand? As soon as Leo’s words ended, Hyedam held out his right palm facing the sky. The right hand he extended toward him was soon caught in his hand. His palm touched below the back of his hand, and Leo, who gently held his hand, brought his face to his wrist.
He, who had been looking at his eyes until just now, slowly closed his eyes and slowly breathed in. He’d even seen him sleeping, yet at that one small action of merely closing his eyes, his mouth went dry.
When warm breath was soon felt on his wrist, Hyedam hunched his shoulders and tried to pull out his hand caught in his grip. It felt like all the fine hair from head to toe was standing up. At the unfamiliar sensation, Hyedam, who instinctively stepped back, quickly closed his lips tightly when his eyes met Leo’s opened eyes.
At Leo’s action of slowly closing his eyes again and breathing in, uncomfortable Hyedam put a bit more strength into his hand. Unlike at first, his face, which easily let go of his hand, had a faint smile on it.
“That was dangerous just now. Right?”
At Leo’s low, small whisper, Hyedam grasped his wrist where his breath had just touched with his other hand.
What? What was dangerous? You’re the crazy one suddenly asking for my hand and putting your nose to my wrist and sniffing.
“If I ask this time too, will you grant it?”
Hyedam, who turned his head to the side to avoid his gaze that looked strangely pleased, clenched and unclenched his fist. Since he didn’t know what he would demand, he couldn’t answer hastily. If it were an acquaintance, he would flatly tell them not to do such things in the future, but he was a workplace superior.
What saved Hyedam, placed in an awkward situation, was the stopped elevator. The door naturally opened and Hyedam, who faced the people waiting for the elevator, escaped the narrow elevator as it was.
In the continuing silence, the place Hyedam arrived at with Leo was a famous nearby brunch cafe. Hyedam, who ended up sitting facing Leo in a European-style decorated room at a place that was even difficult to make reservations for, blankly stared at him looking at the menu.
Suddenly canceling an appointment and coming to a brunch cafe. And just the two of them, plus thinking about what just happened in the elevator, his head throbbed.
From the first meeting, he was strange. He wasn’t such an outstanding secretary, and just because the company recommended him, there was no need to make him his personal secretary while giving salary increases, bonuses, and vacation like that.
It was also strange to have him come to his house every morning when there wasn’t particularly anything to make him do, paying additional allowance every day.
“Team Leader-nim.”
“Yes.”
“Why here?”
“We have to eat lunch.”
“Is there a reason you had to come to this place with me while even changing your prior appointment?”
Hyedam, who had been staring at Leo looking at the menu with a serious expression, brought out the words circling in his mouth.
“Is there food you can’t eat?”
“……”
“What do you want to eat?”
When he didn’t answer, Leo slightly moved his eyebrows and soon called in the staff.
“Black tea?”
When his gaze, which had been ordering on its own, touched him, Hyedam nodded slightly, and at the same time Leo’s order ended, only the two of them remained in the room.
“You said you like tea.”
“Pardon?”
“Didn’t you like tea?”
“I do like it.”
“I heard the tea here is good.”
At the words said while clasping his hands together and placing them on the table, Hyedam tightly closed his mouth. He canceled an appointment and came to this place just because he liked tea?
“That habit of biting your lips is troublesome. Your ugly dimples stand out too much.”
Before Hyedam could avoid it, Leo’s fingertips that approached touched his chin, and where his hand touched next was his own dimple.
Hyedam, who quickly moved his body to escape Leo’s touch, raised one hand to cover his lower face. Saying his eyes, nose, mouth, and even dimples were all ugly—his aesthetic standards were clearly firm.
Seeing how he still called me ugly the same way even after time passed.
“If you don’t like my habits, I’ll try to fix them. Are there any problematic behaviors other than closing my lips and showing my dimples?”
Trying not to show his hurt feelings, Hyedam spoke as calmly as possible.
“Hyedam-ssi. You’re angry.”
Conversations with Leo were always like this. Work-related conversations were concise and comfortable, but as soon as even slightly personal talk began, only questions like twenty questions piled up. Did he receive all other education well but not speech education? Recalling Leo, who spoke more coherently than anyone during meetings, Hyedam gave an awkward smile.
“How is your evening tomorrow?”
Though he had a playful tone until just now, at his action of wiping the smile completely off his face and checking tomorrow’s evening time with a serious expression, Hyedam slightly shook his head.
Tomorrow evening, the day after tomorrow evening—even if he had no appointments and time was overflowing, he had absolutely no intention of setting aside time separately for Leo.
