Chapter 9
“Then I’ll get off first.”
As Yeon Yiseo greeted Ethan and was about to exit, he caught the closing door with one hand. Surprised by his sudden action, Yeon Yiseo widened his eyes.
“I heard that you overexerted yourself to bring the file that Natalie forgot at the new product launch, to the point of collapsing. I thought I might have forgotten to thank you.”
“Thank you. But it was Natalie who worked hard. While I was sick and resting, she did everything.”
“I heard that too. Including all of that, I want to say thank you.”
I hadn’t expected to receive such a direct expression of gratitude. It made sense that if Natalie hadn’t reported it to Ethan, he wouldn’t have known. For that report, she would have had to mention her own mistake, yet the fact that she credited Yeon Yiseo was quite surprising.
She didn’t have to do that. Right now, I was more worried about what Ethan thought of Natalie than feeling grateful for him attributing the credit to me. I resolved to talk to her later. I recalled how Natalie had always been considerate of Yeon Yiseo, who was a Beta.
Especially since I couldn’t shake off the memory of how coldly I had reacted to Natalie yesterday. Her action of telling Ethan everything showed that she truly regarded Yeon Yiseo as a younger brother. Yeon Yiseo looked down at his toes with a nervous feeling.
“Well then.”
“Please go ahead.”
Yeon Yiseo bowed politely. After the elevator doors closed and Ethan disappeared, he let out a long breath. Somehow, he had a feeling that he had made a good impression on him. The number of secretaries was small, so they had known each other until now, but he felt that this meeting would change something going forward.
“The compulsion of the original work...”
He mumbled to herself. Does it happen in some way? For now, he couldn’t say for sure, but it was true that he felt uneasy in many ways. For now, what Yeon Yiseo needed to do was go to the General Affairs Department. After all, he was a salaried worker.
After finishing his business in the General Affairs Department and returning to his desk, Yeon Yiseo approached Natalie. When he asked what report she had given to Ethan on the day of the new product launch, Natalie initially looked puzzled but quickly realized what had happened and smiled.
“Oh, I just told it as it was.”
“You could have skipped mentioning it.”
“First of all, the CEO said he saw you outside the conference room. Someone who was sick and left early wouldn’t just show up. So, as we talked, it turned out that way. Don’t worry too much about it. And it’s true that I made a mistake.”
Hearing Natalie’s words, Yeon Yiseo almost nodded along. However, as he said, it wasn’t something that had to happen. It was something that could have been glossed over, yet she had chosen to speak the truth. Yeon Yiseo couldn’t understand why she made that choice, and it seemed that Natalie had no intention of explaining it either.
“Thank you. But please don’t do that next time.”
This wasn’t how it should be. Yeon Yiseo felt despair at the cold voice that came out of his mouth. He could have been more amiable. If he had been a bit more tactful, he could have conveyed her gratitude to Natalie, but Yeon Yiseo didn’t know how to do that well.
“Hehe. I understand. You’re really kind, Yiseo.”
But she spoke as if she already knew Yeon Yiseo’s feelings.
“Is it just me?”
“Oh my. Look at that. That’s why I like you, Yiseo.”
In the end, Yeon Yiseo smiled back at Natalie, who was grinning. The reason he could endure in this place, where he had to handle an enormous workload, was not just the salary but also because someone like Natalie was his colleague.
He wanted to treat her to a meal, but his finances weren’t in great shape right now. However, making a casual remark about having a meal together would make him seem insincere, so he decided to keep the meal promise in his heart.
After that, Yeon Yiseo returned to work and was busily occupied. The enthusiasm with which he had resolved to work hard evaporated completely by the time he was about to leave that day. He thought that by tomorrow morning, he would recharge.
Returning home, he barely washed up and lay down on his bed. Staring at the familiar old ceiling, he began to wonder what all this engagement and everything else mattered. After blinking a couple of times, he realized he needed to apply a hot compress to his swollen face, but he was too lazy to get up and move.
How nice would it be if someone could just take care of that for him? A sibling, a parent, or perhaps a roommate. Just having someone in the same space would be nice.
He missed the background noise of someone else’s life, but soon he couldn’t resist the drowsiness that washed over him. Yeon Yiseo thought he would just rest for a moment and closed his eyes.
“Uh, …what?”
He had only closed his eyes for a moment, but before he knew it, it was time to get up and go to work. It felt unfair. He wondered if living day by day like this was right, but when he thought of other jobs that had similar hardships but paid less than his, gratitude welled up inside him.
Moreover, Yeon Yiseo barely earned enough to scrape by.
“...Let’s get up.”
Seeing the dark window with no sunlight yet, Yeon Yiseo rose from his bed.
“Tomorrow, the sun will rise.”
It was a famous line from a famous movie. For Yeon Yiseo, it didn’t carry a hopeful meaning. Like being trapped in a cycle, he felt a light despair at the reality of another day repeating itself. But he couldn’t refuse or escape it. Yeon Yiseo moved to prepare for work.
Arriving at the office and sitting down, he reviewed his tasks. As usual, there was a lot of work to do today. He knew that just because one project had ended didn’t mean he could rest, but knowing that didn’t make it any easier. It was astonishing that Ethan managed to handle a workload that would be difficult even for two secretaries all by himself. Was it because he was an extreme Alpha?
“Yeon Yiseo.”
“Uh. Yes...!”
He was so lost in thought about Ethan that he was startled when he called his name. Surprised by his name appearing on the call screen, Yeon Yiseo awkwardly stood up and entered the CEO’s office.
As he recalled their conversation when they met in the elevator, he wondered if he had called her on purpose. Although he couldn’t directly ask.
“Yes, CEO. Did you call for me?”
“Hmm.”
He must have called his for work, but it felt like he was staring at his face too much. Yeon Yiseo felt Ethan’s gaze and instinctively raised the corners of his mouth. As the muscles in his cheeks were used, his swollen cheek hurt a bit, causing him to frown, resulting in a somewhat strange expression.
“It seems the swelling in your face hasn’t changed. Didn’t you treat it at home?”
“I was going to, but I didn’t have time yesterday and just fell asleep. It’ll fade away on its own.”
As he spoke, he added with a smile, fearing that it might sound like he was blaming Ethan for not giving his enough time to rest. Ethan looked at him with a puzzled expression, as if he didn’t understand his words, then let out a small exclamation of realization.
“I see. You’re a Beta, right?”
“Yes.”
Only then did Yeon Yiseo understand why Ethan had made that expression. Unlike Alphas, who only need about five hours of sleep, Betas need at least eight hours to meet their required sleep time. As an extreme Alpha, Ethan probably needed even less than that.
Since he had lived that way as if it were normal, it must have sounded strange to him that Yeon Yiseo was saying this. He might have thought, ‘Isn’t that enough time after work...?’
“I’m a Beta, after all.”
After saying that, he wondered if his voice sounded strange and glanced at Ethan. However, he didn’t seem to be in a bad mood. It was more accurate to say he didn’t care much.
“By the way, what did you call me for?”
He wouldn’t have called just to talk about his face. Whether Yeon Yiseo’s thoughts were correct or not, Ethan handed him a small USB.
“Take this to Scott Industries. And you can go home right after.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Scott Industries? He couldn’t tell if it was a personal errand or an official task. But it wasn’t something he needed to know. What did it matter? Leaving early was a tremendous bonus. There couldn’t be anything more exciting than this.
Of course, it would take some time to get to Scott Industries by subway, but that was a price he was willing to pay. Lost in the dream of leaving early, Yeon Yiseo took the USB with glee and was about to leave the CEO’s office.
“Since you’re leaving early today, the swelling might go down a bit.”
Huh? Turning around, Yeon Yiseo paused, startled by the voice that came from behind him, stopping his steps. He wondered if he had heard correctly and turned to see Ethan looking at him while examining some documents. As he raised an eyebrow, as if asking if he had something to say, Yeon Yiseo waved his hand, indicating it was nothing, and stepped outside.
