Born to Be a Secretary

"Heugh, Executive Director, ugh, please... just a little."
A wheezing moan escaped involuntarily. Heewon wrapped Youngjae Kwon’s left arm around his shoulder and took one difficult step after another.

An intoxicated body feels many times heavier. Though the distance from the front gate to the entrance was barely fifty meters, to Heewon's eyes the destination looked endlessly far. Pressed down by the heavy weight, his legs wobbled again.
Each step made his body sway sideways. With his center of gravity unstable, even Heewon supporting him staggered in a zigzag pattern. If he had known this, he would have just called the driver. Moving Kwon without help was quite a burden.
On the hot summer night, in the sticky, windless heat, sweat soaked Heewon's neck. After finally stepping up the stone stairs and reaching the front door, he let out rough breaths like he'd climbed a mountain peak.

Heewon roughly slipped off his own shoes and entered the house. Forget the bedroom—he collapsed Youngjae onto the living room sofa.
"Ah, I'm dying..."
Exhausted, he collapsed onto the floor. Rubbing his sweat-drenched face, he shrugged off his stuffy jacket. After exerting himself in this heat, a hot wave had gathered inside the jacket. His soaked shirt clung tightly to his skin.

As he fanned his shirt to catch his breath, he heard movement behind him. Turning his head, he saw Youngjae twisting slightly on the sofa.
Seeing him uncomfortable, Heewon reached out. First, he took off Kwon’s shoes and approached the sofa, bending deeply at the waist.
It was the first time he saw Youngjae's face so close while sleeping soundly. Relaxed, he looked much softer than usual. Executive Director Kwon with a gentle expression—what an unlikely combination.

Deciding changing clothes was too much, he resolved to remove only the jacket and loosen the tie. Sliding his fingers between the crooked tie knot and pulling gently, he felt the smooth silk loosen in his hand. For some reason, a strange chill ran down his spine.
What was this? It was something he did every day, yet just loosening Kwon’s tie gave him goosebumps.
Heewon blinked hard to erase the odd thought creeping into his mind. He looked down at Kwon with as blank an expression as possible and began undoing the buttons of his shirt.

Click, click. As each button came undone, the neck hidden beneath was revealed. His sweat-dampened skin gleamed softly in the light. Heewon paused, staring at the sight. His face was expressionless, but his eyes trembled like an earthquake.
The pheromones were overwhelmingly intense. Instantly, the dominant Alpha’s pheromones filled the air, and his own senses were irresistibly drawn.
This is driving me crazy.

He moistened his dry lips with his tongue and hesitated for a moment. Even if he tried not to notice, it wasn’t something that could be controlled.
Deciding there was no point in delaying, he quickly slid his hand inside the jacket. Supporting the firm back with his palm, he struggled to pull the jacket off Kwon’s shoulders. Suddenly, Kwon moved his arm.
"Executive Director, just take off the jacket and sleep... wait, wait a minute!"

Unexpectedly, Kwon wrapped his arms around Heewon’s waist. Not only tightening his collapsed upper body close but also wrapping his long legs around Heewon’s. Before Heewon could resist, he was dragged onto the sofa and ended up lying on top of Kwon.
"Wait a minute, let me go!"
Heewon struggled quietly inside Kwon’s embrace. The more force he used, the rougher his breath became, making him inhale Kwon’s pheromones even deeper.
Executive Director Kwon, this bastard... did he really plan to kill me? Resentment and despair clashed inside him. It was truly maddening.

As his labored breath seeped through the open collar of Kwon’s shirt, Kwon’s upper body twitched. A long exhale soaked with alcohol escaped. His tilted head brushed softly against Heewon’s neck. The prominent nose started rubbing lightly over the sweat-moistened bare skin.
"...Why are you giving off such a horny smell today? Not managing yourself properly?"
The low mutter tickled Heewon’s eardrums. The dense pheromones Kwon emitted made Heewon’s vision blur momentarily. He clenched the stiff fabric of the jacket tightly in both hands and ground his teeth hard. Despite his effort, he couldn’t stop his body from trembling.

"Doing this again... you’ll only learn when you get punished."
Smack. A large hand struck Heewon’s buttocks. Shock and pain crashed down like lightning, and Heewon let out a sound.
"Executive Director, please stop..."

His head buried against Kwon’s chest, Heewon barely managed to steady his trembling knees. Whenever he tried to escape, Kwon’s long arms would wrap around and hold him down.
After repeatedly falling and getting up, half giving up, he lay down on top of Kwon. Pressing his nose against the solid chest, he listened to the steady beat of his heart. Unlike his own wildly racing pulse, Kwon’s was calm and steady.
Whether it was from the alcohol or not, Kwon soon started breathing softly again and fell asleep. Feeling his limbs go limp, Heewon quickly rolled aside. Thud! He knocked over a table, but he found it hard to gather strength. Forcing himself up, he sat and quietly put some distance between himself and Kwon.

"Heugh, huh, heugh."
Heaved breaths escaped as he squeezed his eyes shut. His underwear was starting to get wet. He didn’t even need to check what had suddenly leaked between his legs a moment ago.
He crawled out on his knees. Slipping his shoes on, he fled the house like running for his life. The door didn’t even close properly, but the omega who was looking out for himself didn’t look back and just ran.

Once he reached the villa and got on the elevator, he finally checked his condition. His face reflected in the mirror was entirely flushed red.
Get a grip, Kim Heewon. You’re just like this because you drank.
Though the flushed cheeks cooled somewhat, the burning heat inside wouldn’t subside. Heewon gave up and let out a long sigh. This wasn’t a job to take on again. The late regret made him shudder.

The elevator soon reached the eighth floor. As the doors opened, Heewon stepped out. Late at night, the silent hallway echoed with hurried footsteps.
Just then, Han Jinseo rounded the corner. Meeting a neighbor so late, he narrowed his eyes in surprise.
"Hello."

"Hello."
Heewon rubbed his flushed face and nodded slightly. His pace was still quick, and he didn’t have the energy to pay attention even to a neighbor.
"You must have been very startled last time..."

Han Jinseo started to speak but stopped midway. The neighbor’s abrupt refusal to engage and sharp passing left Heewon dumbfounded. It was his first time «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» experiencing such a blatant cold shoulder, and he even let out a bitter laugh.
With a slam of the front door, the hallway was silent again. Han Jinseo kept watching the direction of unit 801 for a long time. Though the person was gone, the pheromones left behind lingered like a tail he hadn’t noticed.
"Wow... what’s with those pheromones."

Han Jinseo pressed the inside of his cheek with the tip of his tongue. He couldn’t be more intrigued by this neighbor.
The next morning, Secretary Kim arrived about ten minutes earlier than usual. He entered as if it were his own home and went straight to the dressing room.
Secretary Kim gave a brief bow.

"Did you sleep well last night?"
Even after all this time, his respectful demeanor remained.
Youngjae Kwon shifted his gaze to his orderly secretary in the early morning. Kim held fresh tomato juice instead of the usual hot coffee.

Heewon neatly laid a few napkins on the console table and set the juice beside them. Knowing it was bought for him, Kwon took the juice without a word.
"Is your stomach okay?"
"I'm fine."

His voice was somewhat rough, but Kwon didn’t show it outwardly. The smoothly blended fresh fruit juice went down well. He quickly drank half and kept his eyes fixed on Secretary Kim standing before him.
His face was serious as he examined his tie. Dark shadows lay beneath his eyes. The visible fatigue was puzzling.
Kwon wiped his wet mouth clean with a tissue. Supporting himself with both hands on the console, he leaned back slightly.

"Why does your face look like that?"
Kim kept his eyes fixed on the tie and answered.
"I didn’t sleep well last night."

"You drank that much, and it actually helped you sleep, didn’t it?"
Only then did Heewon look up. The face he met head-on was a sight to behold. The whites of his eyes showed sparse blood vessels—the face of someone who had stayed up all night.
"The tie, will you wear this one?"

Skillfully shifting the topic to the tie, Kwon received a nod in reply. As always, Heewon stepped forward and wrapped the tie around his neck. With a steady hand, he began to tie it tightly.
"Executive Director, do you happen to remember... what happened yesterday?"