Chapter 3: The Morning After

“Then, get home safely.”

The man spoke in a casual tone as he leaned his upper body forward.

As the distance closed in an instant, Yoonseo’s body tensed.

He instinctively held his breath as the lingering scent of his pheromones reached him.

It created the illusion of being in a refreshing forest, damp with the cool morning dew.

“And make sure you get your pheromones in order before you go.”

The man, who had whispered secretly, straightened his body again.

Startled, Yoonseo placed a hand on his flushed cheek.

He had taken his suppressants and was trying to control them, but it seemed his pheromones had leaked out regardless.

The man, who was watching him intently, smiled gently.

His face was completely devoid of any malice.

However, the man then uttered words that Yoonseo couldn’t easily comprehend.

“See you again.”

“…”

“Choi Yoonseo-ssi.”

He was confused, unable to understand how the man knew his name or why he was suggesting a next time.

Despite seeing the lost look in his eyes, the man turned around without hesitation and quickly moved away.

Only after the man had completely disappeared from sight did Yoonseo let out the breath he had been unknowingly holding.

He swallowed dryly and happened to glance down, realizing the employee ID was still hanging around his neck.

His photo and his full name were printed right on it.

‘If he saw this, finding out my name would have been easy, but…’

“…”

‘Why on earth did he say let’s see each other again?’

No matter how many times he mulled it over, it didn’t make sense.

Even if he knew his name, Yoonseo knew nothing about him.

If he worked at the broadcasting station, they might run into each other by chance, but the probability wasn’t high enough to declare it so confidently.

“Haah…”

His head throbbed, and Yoonseo gave up trying to think about it. He took one last look toward the emergency exit before quickly heading to the elevator.

Only then did he realize he was on the 2nd floor, where the lounge was.

He had frantically run all the way down to the 2nd floor, barely breathing, just to avoid Kim Injun. A hollow laugh escaped him.

After taking the elevator down to the 1st floor and passing through the speed gates, Yoonseo could finally relax a little.

He sent a quick reply to Team Leader Kim, letting him know he was on his way, and hurried his steps, but the afterimage of the man lingered in his mind.

Yoonseo was lost in thought again.

Who was that person?

He was certain it was their first meeting, so why did he feel so familiar, as if he’d seen him somewhere before?

Yoonseo wracked his brain, trying to dig up even the smallest clue from his memory.

Just as he stepped out of the revolving door and was met with the chill of the late winter air, his brows furrowed in deep concentration, he finally remembered.

“…Han Taekyung.”

He was Han Taekyung, the actor more famous for his promiscuous private life than for his handsome looks and natural acting talent.

Yoonseo woke up, keenly feeling that being able to hold one’s liquor had absolutely nothing to do with the next day’s hangover.

The previous night at the team dinner, he’d felt the drinks were going down particularly well and had readily accepted every glass Team Leader Kim poured for him.

That karma had returned as a throbbing pain in his head.

After sitting on his bed for a long while, pressing on his temples, Yoonseo finally managed to plant both feet on the floor and stand up.

In his small studio apartment, it was only a few steps to the refrigerator.

He immediately opened the door, grabbed a bottle of cold water, and chugged it down.

“Huuu…”

After quenching his thirst to some extent, he caught his breath and picked up the pill container from on top of the fridge.

The small pill he took every morning without fail was a pheromone suppressant.

Opening the lid, Yoonseo shook a pill into his palm and peered inside the container to check how many were left.

There was still plenty, so it seemed he didn’t need to worry.

He’d had his regular check-up last January, so there was no appointment this month either.

After swallowing the pill with the rest of the water, Yoonseo stretched and walked toward the entrance, stuffing the crushed plastic bottle into a large vinyl bag.

He returned to check his phone, which was on the pillow, and saw that it was already past eleven o’clock.

Today was Saturday, the day after the broadcast, and he had no filming scheduled.

However, Yoonseo had already planned to go to the office.

If he got ready quickly and hurried, he could probably arrive at the company by around noon.

After checking the time, the next thing Yoonseo did was to check if there were any messages from Kim Injun.

He swallowed dryly and anxiously scanned his messenger app, text messages, and call log, but fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, there was nothing from Kim Injun.

‘Can I be relieved by this?’

Given that his rut had started and he had even passed out from the strong pheromones, there was a high possibility that Kim Injun wouldn’t remember what happened.

It was said that sometimes, if individuals with secondary genders were overstimulated during a rut or heat cycle, they could experience memory lapses.

“Haah…”

For now, he decided to put aside thoughts of Kim Injun.

After letting out a faint sigh, Yoonseo checked the chat rooms with accumulated notifications one by one.

The viewership analysis report had already been posted in the group chat with all the team members, and there were a few unread messages in the group chat for just the production staff, excluding the writers.

Yoonseo decided to reply to Team Leader Kim Seungho’s private message first.

[Team Leader Kim Seungho: Yoonseo! Are you coming to the office today by any chance?]

Thankfully, the message hadn’t been sent too long ago.

Yoonseo ran a hand through his messy hair and sent a reply.

[Yes, I think I’ll be at the office around noon.]

[Team Leader Kim Seungho: Okay, Jaehoon is in, so grab some lunch with him!! Thanks in advance!!!]

The reply that came back shortly after was filled with exclamation points and all sorts of emojis.

He replied to Team Leader Kim, who was unabashedly showing his excitement, wishing him a good camping trip with his family.

Yoonseo placed his phone back on the bed, stretched his arms wide, and finally entered the bathroom to start getting ready for his late start at work.

It had already been a year since he joined “Today Live,” a daily program that aired on UBS, one of the terrestrial broadcasters, on weekday evenings.

For the first six months, he was an assistant director, and then he debuted as a main PD midway through, now confidently in charge of his own segment.

He had been in his third year as an assistant director and was getting anxious about when he would get to debut, but luck was on his side.

When one of the PDs quit, he got to make his debut instead of them hiring a new PD.

Even though the broadcast cycle was short and the schedule was tight, he was happy just to be doing the work he wanted to do.

The fact that he worked with good people was also a big part of it.

From Team Leader Kim to his partner writer Chaewon, as well as the other senior PDs, writers, and junior assistant directors, they were all decent people.

He had struggled in many ways when he first started, but now, as if in compensation, the team’s atmosphere was perfect.

Yoonseo splashed cold water on his face a few times, washing away the last traces of sleepiness.

With a small sigh, he looked in the mirror, and the first thing he saw was his gaunt eyes.

This week’s schedule had been particularly harsh, and he had drunk quite a lot yesterday, so his haggard appearance was the result of his own actions.

There was no one to blame.

‘I have to go filming on Monday, so I’ll go to the office for a bit today and then rest well until Sunday.’

Making a silent vow, Yoonseo tidied his messy hair and put a toothbrush in his mouth.

The face reflected in the mirror maintained a blank, emotionless expression.

It was a face etched with a coldness he had never shown to others, one that anyone who knew him would find incredibly unfamiliar.

According to the calendar, spring had officially begun, but the weather in mid-February could often be as harsh as the dead of winter.

Today was one of those days.

Yoonseo wore a long padded coat that came down below his knees, his body hunched against the cold.

With his hands shoved deep into his pockets, he started walking with quick, short steps.

He had gotten a studio apartment near the broadcasting station, so it was only about a ten-minute walk, but in the hot summer or cold winter, those ten minutes could feel like an hour.

After passing through the Annex lobby and going up to the 9th floor, Yoonseo briefly glanced toward the Sports Department before heading to his office.

There was still no word from Kim Injun, but he couldn’t completely let his guard down.

‘It’ll be okay. Nothing will happen. If what happened yesterday gets out, he’ll be in more trouble, so the story probably won’t spread that easily.’

Yoonseo comforted himself with these thoughts and turned toward the office.

However, a lingering sense of anxiety kept making him look back.

It was only when he stepped into the office with an anxious heart that Yoonseo finally let out a sigh of relief.

“Seonbaenim, you’re here.”

Jaehoon, one of the two assistant directors on the team, greeted him politely.

The office, around noon on a Saturday, was quiet and peaceful, as if to remind Yoonseo that his anxiety was unfounded.

Yoonseo returned the greeting with a slight smile and opened his mouth as he hung his backpack on the side of his desk.

“What time did you get in?”

“Around ten-thirty.”

“Why did you come in so early? You should have rested in the morning.”

“Jeongjin seonbaenim is leaving this afternoon, so I came in a little early to prepare… but I went home early yesterday, so I slept in before coming.”

Jaehoon replied to Yoonseo’s concerned words, rubbing his still sleepy face awkwardly.

Yoonseo patted Jaehoon’s back comfortingly, and without even sitting down at his desk, he opened a drawer and took out all the scattered receipts.

Usually, he would organize them on the same day after filming, but this time, he hadn’t had the time, so he had just collected them haphazardly.