Chapter 111: Whispers Behind the Door

“Do I trust Lee Sunghyuk?”

What kind of bullshit was that.

Of course Hyunwoo didn’t trust Sunghyuk completely,
but he trusted him far more than the man standing in front of him.

Hyunwoo’s face twisted in irritation.

“Obviously, no one can be trusted perfectly.”

“…….”

“But Sunghyuk is a talented asset.
Naturally, I should value him.”

He said it deliberately, provoking Cha Kwon-oh.

If that bastard was still coveting Sunghyuk,
Hyunwoo felt he should at least throw this much in his face.

But all Cha did was let out a soft, mocking laugh.

“Well, then cherish him while you can.”

“…….”

“You do know that interns jumping to other companies is pretty common, right?”

He sounded far too confident.

Hyunwoo frowned.

What disgusting plan was he plotting now?

And worse—Cha’s pheromones felt sharp and unpleasant.
Hyunwoo’s mood soured instantly.

“I’m aware.
It’s not exactly surprising.”

Whatever Cha was trying to do,
this topic wouldn’t shake Hyunwoo.

He had already experienced the worst in the previous timeline.

Sunghyuk had betrayed him—
not once, but twice.

Once by marrying him, then joining L&S right after as if mocking him.
And the second time by developing a program at L&S
that created absolute hell for Hyunwoo, who was an executive at Munseong.

But even then—
Hyunwoo didn’t blame him.

Given how much resentment Sunghyuk had held,
it was understandable.

So even if Sunghyuk betrayed him again in this life,
Hyunwoo felt he could take it.
He’d already lived through it once.

He wouldn’t be shocked or hurt again.

‘I like you, Hyunwoo hyung.’

But then—
why did his voice echo in Hyunwoo’s head like a hallucination?

Hyunwoo bit his lip.

Cha continued sneering.

“You sound confident.
Well, you two were stuck together all weekend, weren’t you?”

“…This isn’t the place.
Watch your mouth.”

“Ha.
Why?
Did I hit a nerve?”

“…….”

Hyunwoo no longer saw any reason to stand here.

He had originally stayed because people were watching,
but if this went on,
his reputation would sink right alongside Cha’s.

Director Kang had the right idea escaping quickly.

“If you’re just here to talk nonsense, I’m leaving.”

“Executive Director Joo.”

“……!”

He tried to walk away,
but Cha grabbed his arm.

Hyunwoo glared at him, disgusted.

“You’ll regret it if you don’t listen to me.
I’m warning you.”

“…….”

The quiet whisper sent a chill down Hyunwoo’s spine.

He didn’t respond—
if he spoke, he would definitely curse.

Not something he could afford in a public event.

He shook off Cha’s hand firmly but discreetly
and turned away without a word.

The economic forum went exactly as Hyunwoo expected—
boring and pointless.

He sat there smiling politely,
listening to awkward jokes and long-winded speeches from the higher-ups.

When it finally ended,
Hyunwoo undid his suffocating tie with a sigh.

“Phew… Jung-hoon, go home for the day.
I’ll return to the office and finish up a bit.”

“Ah… will you be alright?”

“Of course.”

After the storm chaos,
Jung-hoon looked exhausted.

Hyunwoo wanted to give him a vacation,
but it wasn’t realistic.

All he could do was let him leave early whenever possible.

“Thank you, Director.
I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Go safely.”

After parting ways with Jung-hoon,
Hyunwoo headed alone to the office.

It was almost quitting time,
but with the recent workload,
several employees were likely still working.

Maybe he should bring snacks.

He thought for a moment—
then decided on fried chicken.

No one dislikes chicken.

He bought several boxes and returned to the office.

Seeing the planning team’s sign,
he entered and glanced around.

“Oh? Director Joo, you haven’t gone home yet?”

“Not yet.
Still some work left.”

Just as expected,
quite a few employees were still there.

Hyunwoo held out the bags of chicken.

“Eat some while you work.”

“Oh? It’s chicken?”

“Chicken?”

Even those who hadn’t noticed him earlier turned their heads.

They sniffed at the air like hungry zombies,
slowly gathering around.

“Wow, thank you, Director!”

“Sure… but where’s everyone else?
Is this all who’s left?”

He bought plenty assuming more people were here.

If too much was left over,
he’d take it home—
Hyunjin or Sunghyuk would eat it.

A staff member answered:

“They all rushed into the pantry just now.
They’ll be out soon.”

“Ah, perfect.
I need a drink anyway—
I’ll go tell them.
You all start eating.”

“Yes, please!”

The employees nodded enthusiastically, relieved.

No one wanted to be the one to go fetch people from the pantry.

Hyunwoo smiled and turned away.

Just as he reached the pantry,
he stretched out a hand to open the door—

but froze at the voices coming from inside.

“…Speaking of which, about Sunghyuk—
I heard the Director personally pushed him in.”

“……?”

Hearing Sunghyuk’s name,
Hyunwoo paused.

Several employees were inside,
talking loudly.

They were gossiping about Sunghyuk—
and about him.

“So that’s why he’s getting special treatment?”

“He’s an intern, but he gets treated like royalty.
The welcome dinner, the business trip…”

“…You think maybe… they’re involved?”

“No way.
They’re both Alphas.”

“They say Alpha–Alpha couples are trendy now.”

“…….”

The immaturity of the gossip made Hyunwoo lower his hand.

It wasn’t worth confronting.

This level of petty talk was better ignored.

Still—
talking this loudly, in the middle of the office,
was unprofessional.

He’d mention it quietly to Jung-hoon later.

Hyunwoo turned to leave—

when—

“But do you think it’s true?
That thing about Sunghyuk?”

“What, that he stole information?”

“Yeah, the project used Deputy Im’s proposal.
She put so much effort into it…
and then the intern caused an incident…”

“Come on.
There were tons of people in the office.
He wouldn’t do that openly.
It’s probably a misunderstanding.”

“You think so?”

As expected,
the earlier incident was still circulating.

Hyunwoo had already spoken to both Sunghyuk and Deputy Im.

She didn’t suspect Sunghyuk at all—
she only apologized for not managing her files well.

But Deputy Kim—
Kim Jinho—
was strangely hostile toward Sunghyuk.

He caused a scene,
so everyone in the office found out.

Hyunwoo sighed softly and stepped back.

At least Sunghyuk wasn’t here to hear this.

If he did,
he would feel awful—
and he wasn’t skilled at hiding his emotions yet.

Hyunwoo breathed out a quiet sigh—

“Hyung, you’re still here?”

“……!”

He turned—
and there was Sunghyuk.

Hyunwoo froze.

“Why weren’t you answering my calls?
I thought you’d gone home.”

“No, I…”

“……?”

Sunghyuk tilted his head.

He stepped closer—
unfortunately toward the pantry.

“Ah—”

“…….”

The chatter inside the pantry was loud and clear.

Sunghyuk stopped where he stood.

His eyes darkened—
briefly flicking toward the pantry door.

But almost immediately,
he looked back at Hyunwoo
with a perfectly calm expression.