Chapter 100: The Night of Unspoken Feelings

“Uh… Director?”

When Hyunwoo appeared inside the restaurant, the employees shot up from their seats in surprise.

Hyunwoo waved his hand dismissively toward them.

“I’m only staying for a bit, so don’t mind me.”

“Wow… the Director actually came to an intern welcome dinner.”

“I got a request from the HR team leader to look after him.”

Hyunwoo lied smoothly, smiling as if nothing were unusual.

He took a seat and glanced at Seunghyuk sitting beside him.

“Eat a lot.

And don’t drink too much, since we have work tomorrow.”

“Yes, Director.”

“Haha….”

The employee who had been trying to push alcohol earlier let out an awkward laugh.

Other employees clicked their tongues at him.

“Don’t worry about the cost.

Order anything you want.”

“Wow, Director is the best!”

Welcome dinners for interns weren’t official team dinners, so they weren’t reimbursed.

Hyunwoo was paying out of pocket.

It wasn’t a big amount for him, but hearing the employees praise him for being generous made him feel oddly embarrassed.

“Seunghyuk, what would you like to drink?”

“Just cider, please.”

“Oh, you like cider.”

“Yes… sort of.”

The employee sitting next to Seunghyuk asked eagerly.

His Omega scent and excitement were obvious.

“…….”

Hyunwoo drank the water in front of him silently.

He purposely avoided even glancing in Seunghyuk’s direction.

He hadn’t planned to come here.

He had only intended to hand his card to Junghoon and go home.

But imagining Seunghyuk being surrounded and stared at like an animal in a zoo made it impossible to ignore.

Sure enough, he witnessed the employee with the worst reputation trying to force drinks on Seunghyuk even though it was a weekday.

And before he knew it, he had sat down right beside him.

I should pretend to eat and slip out quickly.

He’d always tried not to make employees uncomfortable with his presence at dinners.

So leaving early was best to keep things relaxed.

“Hy— Director, what would you like to drink?”

“…….”

Seunghyuk almost called him “hyung” by accident and changed his words in a hurry.

Thankfully, the restaurant was noisy.

If a coworker had heard it, things would have sounded strange.

See?

When they were close, he kept revealing hints.

Hyunwoo swallowed a sigh and answered shortly.

“The same as him, please.”

“Yes.”

Sensing Hyunwoo’s displeasure in his tone, Seunghyuk nodded quietly.

He had definitely almost slipped up a moment ago.

“Oh— I’m not good at grilling meat.”

“I’ll do it.”

“Wow, thank you.”

“…….”

Hearing the Omega employee speak in a cutesy tone, Hyunwoo silently drank his cider.

So he could talk like that too.

He’d only ever heard the man’s tired office voice until now.

Just as he expected, the place had become a wildlife documentary.

Omega and Beta employees staring at Seunghyuk with hungry eyes.

Not that it mattered—Seunghyuk already had someone fated to him.

Ha…

The memory of Hyunjin’s birthday nightmare resurfaced.

Hyunwoo immediately felt gloomy and suppressed a sigh.

“Director, have some meat.”

“…I’ll eat on my own.”

“I’ll cut some here for you, so help yourself.”

“…….”

Ignoring Hyunwoo’s cold reaction, Seunghyuk spoke gently.

Hyunwoo kept his lips tightly shut.

“…I’m going to step outside for a moment.”

“Yes, sir! Go ahead!”

Hyunwoo, who had barely eaten, finally stood up.

Even though the dinner had only just begun, some people were already smoking outside, and the pheromones filling the air made his head spin.

He needed some fresh air.

Then he would hand the card to Junghoon and leave.

Hyunwoo escaped the barbecue restaurant like he was running away.

“…….”

Seunghyuk glanced toward the exit where Hyunwoo had disappeared.

He hadn’t been eating much, telling others to eat first.

His complexion didn’t look good.

Seunghyuk felt uneasy.

He started to rise to follow him, but the employee beside him spoke first.

“Seunghyuk, you’re amazing.

I can barely speak properly in front of the Director.”

“Ah….”

“Yeah, it’s not easy to talk so comfortably around someone that high up.”

“…….”

Another employee nodded in agreement.

From their perspective, it was a high-ranking executive versus an intern.

It made no sense for an intern to approach someone like that comfortably.

They were meant to take it as praise.

But it didn’t feel like just praise.

“It’s just… the Director is a bit intimidating, you know?”

“Yeah.

It’s surprising he even came tonight.”

“…….”

As expected, they shifted to subtly complaining about Hyunwoo.

Seunghyuk kept quiet.

They didn’t realize Hyunwoo had left early for his sake.

He muttered inwardly, then stood up.

“I’ll step outside as well.”

“Oh… sure.”

The Omega employee’s face briefly showed disappointment, but Seunghyuk ignored him and headed out.

Outside, the sky had darkened, and neon signs lit up the street.

Seunghyuk looked around for Hyunwoo.

But he couldn’t see even a strand of his hair.

Where did he go?

He couldn’t have gone far—only a little time had passed.

He searched the alley beside the restaurant just in case.

“Hmm….”

Looking into the dim alley, Seunghyuk felt a sudden chill.

He thought of Cha Kwon-oh’s case.

And the attack at the bar not long ago.

His chest tightened.

Quickly, he walked deeper into the alley.

“Hm?”

“Hyung!”

He spotted Hyunwoo sitting with his head lowered at the far end of the alley.

Seunghyuk rushed toward him.

“Hyung, are you okay?”

“Uh….”

Hyunwoo’s eyes widened.

He hadn’t expected Seunghyuk to follow him this far.

He scanned the surroundings nervously, checking if any employees were around.

“There’s no one here but me.”

“…Ha… good.”

The tension that Hyunwoo had been carrying all day came crashing down.

Rubbing his stiff neck, he looked up at Seunghyuk.

“What are you doing here?”

“I was worried about you.”

“Me?”

“…….”

Hyunwoo let out a disbelieving laugh.

Seunghyuk stared at him quietly.

He could now tell Hyunwoo’s emotional state from the faint pheromone he gave off.

“I came out because my head hurt a bit.

I don’t like crowded places.”

“You said you were okay these days.”

“Well, it comes and goes.”

Hyunwoo chuckled lightly.

Looking past Seunghyuk’s shoulder at the faint restaurant lights, he spoke again.

“You should go back.

People are probably looking for you.”

“…Me?”

“Yeah.

You’re the star today.”

“…….”

Something felt off about the way Hyunwoo said “star.”

Maybe it was just his imagination.

Seunghyuk opened his mouth.

“Let’s go back together.”

“I’m staying out here a bit longer.”

“Then I’m not going back either.”

“…….”

Hyunwoo frowned at Seunghyuk’s stubbornness.

He was always like this—never listening when it counted.

Hyunwoo gave up on arguing and turned away.

“Do what you want.”

“Where are you going?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Hyung.”

“…….”

Seunghyuk stepped forward and grabbed Hyunwoo’s arm.

Hyunwoo couldn’t escape and let out a long sigh as he turned back.

“What?”

“What do you mean, what?

You’ve been avoiding me all day.

Did I do something wrong?”

“…….”

Wrong?

Hearing that word from Seunghyuk felt absurd.

Hyunwoo laughed briefly before answering.

“That’s not it.

I’m just avoiding you so others don’t see us together too much.”

“Is that really all?”

“And…”

Hyunwoo suddenly remembered what Seunghyuk had said in the meeting room.

He was almost certain that “the person he would marry” meant him.

“I know you don’t want to get involved with others here, but don’t use me as an excuse.”

“…….”

“If people start talking about us, it’ll only cause trouble for you.”

Hyunwoo tried to sound calm.

He didn’t want to assume anything about Seunghyuk’s words or feelings.

He just wanted to make their boundaries at work clear.

But that wasn’t how Seunghyuk interpreted it.

Seeing his expression twist, Hyunwoo instantly regretted speaking.

“…That was about you.”

“…….”

So it was him.

Relief washed over Hyunwoo for a moment.

He had been worried the “marriage partner” might be someone else—like Hyunjin or a complete stranger.

“But… Hyung, are you jealous?”

“…What?”

That was the one thing Hyunwoo absolutely did not expect.

His expression crumpled instantly.