Chapter 2
The message conveyed by Seokchan reached Manager Moon, quickly disseminating to all Hodie staff. Thanks to this prompt action, they managed to locate the individual in question within just half a day.
“You’ve found him?” Heerak inquired.
“Yes,” Seokchan confirmed.
Heerak had received the call while he was on his way to the HW head office after being summoned by his father. As he stood right outside the chairman’s office, he decided it was best not to have this conversation in front of his father. It was a sound judgment call.
“That’s good news. It was an employee, right?” Heerak asked.
“That is correct,” Seokchan replied.
Heerak frowned, his forehead creasing with concern.
“Tsk. I can’t believe I got involved with an employee. I should quit drinking.”
“I agree, that’s an issue,” Seokchan concurred.
“Are you implying there’s another problem?” Heerak questioned.
Seokchan’s response was vague. “Yes.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Heerak couldn’t grasp the full meaning of his secretary’s words. However, he realized that pondering it wouldn’t lead to an answer, so he followed Seokchan’s suggestion and headed to Hodie.
Before long, Heerak found himself face to face with the omega in question. They were the only two people remaining in Hodie’s office.
Ten minutes passed, but Heerak couldn’t find the words to speak. The only thing he had said since arriving was, “You can sit comfortably,” to the man who had stood up when he entered.
He observed the “omega” sitting upright on the couch. The man’s demeanor appeared nervous as he continually scanned the room. He circled the office desk and table, paused at the window, and then returned to the couch.
Throughout, the man remained within Heerak’s view.
Heerak flipped through the stack of papers on the desk once more. These were the documents Seokchan had handed him, suggesting he review them before entering the office.
Beta.
His birthdate and other miscellaneous information didn’t register in his mind.
That word dominated Heerak’s thoughts.
The moment he stepped into the office, Heerak had a foreboding feeling. He couldn’t detect any pheromones from the man, which was unusual. Some omegas and alphas used pheromone deodorizers at work, so he considered that the man might be one of them. However, his intuition was proven correct, unless these documents were fabricated.
“Let me ask you a few questions,” Heerak finally spoke, taking a seat across from the man.
The man raised his head slightly and responded, “Okay.”
“So, you were a beta?”
“Yes,” the man confirmed.
Heerak didn’t need to deny it any longer; it was now an undeniable fact.
No, wait.
Heerak’s mind raced. He didn’t want to jump to conclusions too hastily.
“Then, on Saturday night, uh…”
Heerak struggled to remember the man’s name.
As if reading his thoughts, the man replied quietly, “My name is Doseon Yoon.”
“Right, Mr. Yoon. Were you the one who helped me with my car?”
“Yes.”
“And you also got into the car with me?”
“Yes.”
“And then? Where did you get off?”
The immediate responses ceased. Instead, Doseon gazed at Heerak as if questioning why he was asking these questions. Heerak met his gaze without saying a word.
After a moment of silence, Doseon finally spoke.
“I got off at the same location as you, Director.”
“Where did we get off?”
A possibility began to take shape in Heerak’s mind.
Yes, we could have shared the same car. In my drunken state, I might have generously offered a ride to my concerned employee leaving work. Therefore, the person I spent the night with might be different from the one I shared a car with.
Heerak had been convinced that the blurry figure captured on surveillance footage was the omega he had spent the night with. Now, he desperately hoped that this certainty was merely a product of his imagination.
Regrettably, Doseon responded firmly, “It was a motel.”
Heerak let out a sigh of relief. There was no escape now. He had to acknowledge the undeniable truth before him. Heerak Cho had slept with a beta during his drunken stupor. He had to come to terms with this reality.
Heerak rubbed his face with his hands and muttered, “Could you please provide more details? I apologize in advance, but I can’t remember anything from that night.”
Doseon nodded and began to recount the events, “Where should I start?”
“Start from when you found me.”
“I found you on my way home from work. You were sleeping on a bench, so I got concerned. Knowing you were our executive director, I asked if you were alright and if I should call my manager. Then, you suddenly grabbed my wrist.”
“I see.”
“You stared at my face for a while and then asked, ‘Do you wanna do it with me?’ I responded with, ‘What do you mean by that?’ and you replied, ‘What else but sex?’ I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, so I asked, ‘Are you serious?’ Then you smiled and said, ‘I can’t be more serious than I am now.'”
Heerak couldn’t contain his frustration any longer and exclaimed, “Argh, fuck!”
Panic briefly crossed Doseon’s stoic face. Heerak quickly waved his hand and pressed his eye with the other hand, clarifying, “Oh, sorry. I wasn’t saying it to you. I was talking to myself. Please continue.”
“Alright. Then, a car came, and I got in with you. I asked you where you wanted to be dropped off, and you said, ‘wherever I can sleep with you as soon as possible,’ and then immediately fell asleep. I didn’t have a chance to ask your preferences, so I instructed the driver to take us to the nearest accommodations.”
Heerak looked as though he wanted to disappear, but he snapped back to reality. He realized that everything Doseon had said was true, and there was no reason to doubt it. The man in front of him didn’t appear to be a smooth-talker, and Heerak’s alleged comments sounded plausible.
A deep sense of unease settled in Heerak’s stomach. He needed to clear something up. “Doseon Yoon, let’s make one thing clear.”
“Okay.”
“When I asked you if this was rape while we were… doing it, you confirmed it wasn’t, right?”
Doseon nodded in acknowledgment and answered, “Yes.”
Heerak continued, “You knew I was the executive director, right?”
“Yes.”
“Did you consent because you felt you couldn’t refuse your superior’s request? I’m genuinely concerned about…”
Before Heerak could finish his question, Doseon firmly replied, “That was not the case at all.”
“Is that so? Then why did you go to the motel with me?”
Doseon’s expression became somewhat conflicted, and he appeared to struggle to grasp Heerak’s question, which made Heerak increasingly anxious. He felt like he had asked something he shouldn’t have, despite the question’s simplicity.
“Executive Director.”
At Doseon’s serious demeanor, Heerak responded with a tentative “Yes?” and locked eyes with him. Then, he heard an utterly unexpected question.
“Is there anyone in this world who could genuinely refuse your advances?”
Heerak’s eyes widened in surprise. “Aha, ahaha! What on earth is that? Is that a compliment? Wow, I’m embarrassed.”
There was no response.
Regardless of whether the individual before him continued to chatter and laugh, Doseon remained unwavering, his expression devoid of emotion.
“Ahem,” Heerak awkwardly cleared his throat.
There was a lingering silence in the air.
Heerak’s gaze remained fixed on the motionless man seated across from him. Even though he’d describe the man as “average,” it was impossible to discern any pheromone scent since the man was a beta. Despite the rudeness of his actions, Heerak couldn’t help but scrutinize the man’s appearance. The more he observed, the more he realized just how drunk he had been that night. He wished he could come up with an excuse, like being irresistibly drawn to this face, regardless of the man’s beta status.
The man before him was the embodiment of average, sporting a wholly unremarkable face.
“I… I really did have intercourse with you that night,” Heerak muttered to himself, his voice tinged with emptiness. As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized that the other person could hear him.
His statement carried numerous implications: having slept with a beta, especially one as ordinary as the man before him, was perplexing. Regret and unease swirled within that single utterance.
Heerak wasn’t sure how the other man interpreted his words, but his own tone was unmistakably despondent. “Yes, because you drank too much.”
All emotions seemed to vacate Heerak’s face. The usually lively expression he wore now resembled the impassive countenance of the man opposite him. He couldn’t fathom what he had just heard, and he was uncertain whether he had misunderstood, but Doseon’s response sounded like an attempt at consolation. This only deepened his inner conflict.
Reflecting on it, even if Heerak had been somewhat impolite, Doseon was saying some rather peculiar things. He couldn’t grasp Doseon’s true intentions, prompting Heerak to inquire dryly, “What do you mean? Are you suggesting that I wouldn’t have given you a second thought if I hadn’t been so intoxicated?”
“Yes.”
Without a doubt.
It was an incontrovertible truth.
If Heerak had not been so inebriated, there was no way he would have engaged with a beta.
Nonetheless, this situation was undeniably bizarre. Setting aside Heerak’s queries, the man continued to respond without a hint of awkwardness. He appeared honest, without any signs of self-loathing or distress. He simply seemed matter-of-fact about the whole matter.
“Executive Director, I feel the need to apologize,” Doseon suddenly blurted out, catching Heerak off guard.
Heerak’s narrowed eyes displayed more confusion than before. He grappled with an indescribable feeling that kept washing over him.
“To me? Why?”
“It all happened so quickly, and I didn’t have a chance to stop and think. But when I returned home, I realized I should have declined for your sake, and I regretted my decision. You were intoxicated, yet you ended up with someone like me. That can’t make you feel good.”
“Wow…”
What was going on with this guy?
Unspoken thoughts swirled inside Heerak’s mind. At this point, he felt like he was under some sort of psychological attack.
“I have a question for you too, Executive Director,” Doseon continued.
Heerak, rubbing his temples, replied, “Yes, go ahead.”
“Why did you seek me out?”
“Oh… I never expected to be with a beta, and before I met you, I was convinced you were an omega. But I didn’t use protection that night, you know? I didn’t even have the opportunity. So…”
Doseon nodded, as though comprehending.
“I see. Then I truly did something unforgivable to you.”
Is this the point where I should apologize too? Apologize for what happened between us?
Heerak pondered for a moment but found himself at a loss for words. His head throbbed with a pain more severe than any hangover.