NOVPUB"If you need to, just speak up."
"...It's not like that."
"I never thought I'd be robbed in my own room. And by someone I trusted, too."
"I told you it wasn't like °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° that... Representative."
"Are you angry, Baek Secretary?"
Anger surged. Last night, Yoon Taeo had just stared at me before closing the door and leaving. Of course, I couldn't chase after him. The shame that came over me clung to my ankles, not letting go. I couldn’t come up with a decent excuse either. It was embarrassing to say, "I was just looking at how it looked."
"That's not possible... How could I be angry with you, Representative..."
"Smile."
This damn bastard. The command was unpleasant, but my lips involuntarily curled upward. I squinted my eyes as much as I could. It felt like my face might break, but since he told me to smile, I had to. Because right now, Yoon Taeo was holding a fork like a weapon, and if I didn't smile properly, he seemed like he'd threaten to slit my mouth open and make me live with a smiling face forever.
"It's so much better, talking while smiling."
"...Right... I shouldn't have been frowning at the breakfast table."
I gave up on any further conversation and began eating. The breakfast was simple—scrambled eggs with arugula and a seafood cream soup, with plenty of milk. Though Yoon Taeo had a picky palate, he wasn’t one to refuse food. Lately, he seemed to have grown up a bit, eating whatever was given to him without fuss... no, he was devouring it cleanly.
"This."
"...What is this?"
While we were eating, Yoon Taeo suddenly held out a small velvet pouch.
"A gift. I didn’t have time to wrap it."
"...A gift...? It’s not even a special day."
"You came all the way here because you were worried about me, I can't treat you coldly."
...He seemed to be mocking me strangely. Even though he called it a gift, I didn’t want to open it, but as I hesitated, Yoon Taeo urged me to open it with a motion of his chin. Reluctantly, I opened the velvet pouch.
What the hell is this? I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, and I spilled the contents of the pouch onto the table.
"Representative!"
This crazy bastard. Condoms, something I never wanted to see, fell out of the pouch.
"Next time, just say it. It’s not officially imported to Korea, but I’m giving it to Baek Secretary as a special gift."
What the hell is so amusing, Yoon Taeo’s voice added to the ridiculousness, as though he was trying to hold back laughter. My head felt like it was going to explode.
"You say you have no experience, but you're so bold."
Smuggling, let's smuggle.... Every time I’m near Yoon Taeo, my life feels like it's shortening from the stress. How did my virginity become a joke?
"You should go out today. I think I’ll have to leave tomorrow as well."
"U-Representative..."
"Why?"
It was the moment I had been waiting for. Should I call it bittersweet? That seems insane, right? It’s refreshing to be away from this bastard, but it’s also sad that the time that felt like vacation is ending. I had a vague feeling, so today, I changed back into the clothes I wore when I first entered here.
"Can I ask you one thing?"
"What is it?"
We were close enough to spend every day together at home and at work, yet somehow, it felt like we were nearing an end. Honestly, Yoon Taeo’s recent behavior had been very unfamiliar. It felt like he wasn’t the Yoon Taeo I knew, I didn’t sense any distance. That couldn’t be, he was a man who seemed somewhat kind.
"Why did you tell me to stay home during your rut period?"
"Why are you asking that now? It’s not like I kept that order anyway."
He still had the same annoying and scary attitude, but it felt slightly different. How should I understand that he excluded me from his rut period?
"...Did you really not need me?"
Yoon Taeo clearly didn’t want to answer, but I couldn’t stop myself from asking.
"Do I have to say it out loud? Of course..."
His eyebrows twitched. His face seemed displeased, but there was a faint smile in his expression.
But then it happened. In an instant, the expression on Yoon Taeo’s face disappeared one by one. His eyes remained the same, but his face turned blank, like his mind had flown away.
"I don’t need you."
The voice that came out was very familiar. It was the kind of answer that matched Yoon Taeo’s arrogant personality, who didn’t know how to cherish anything. His face, now back to a neutral expression, also matched.
"Let’s stop and go out. It’s late."
I watched his back as he entered the room, disappearing. I couldn’t explain it, but a strange and chilling feeling washed over me.
"...What was that..."
It felt like someone switched in an instant. Before Yoon Taeo said he didn’t need me, he was definitely going to say something else. I couldn’t know for sure, but his atmosphere and expression told me that. Then suddenly, his face crumbled, and an awkward response came out that didn’t follow the previous mood.
It was an indescribable, very uncomfortable situation. I stared at the closed door for a while before turning around.
There was something, something I didn’t know. I was sure of it.
"Hey! Come here."
"Team Leader...! Please be quiet!"
As I quietly slipped out through the back door of the villa, Kang Seokho called out loudly. He was the only one who knew I had entered this villa, and now he had come to escort me out safely. Why does this bastard have such a loud voice?
"Why be quiet? The others have all left. Only the secretaries are left."
"...Really? Why?"
"He said to send everyone off. He doesn’t think it’s the rut cycle, but told the doctor to hold on to the damn doctor."
"Ah... You should've told me that first. I got all nervous for nothing."
As he said, during the time it took to move from the villa to the car, I didn’t encounter anyone. But then an unexpected ambush came.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
"It hurts, it hurts! My neck's gonna break!"
Kang Seokho grabbed my neck and locked it in a headlock with his arm. His arm was like a chunk of iron, and even with just a little bit of pressure, my neck felt like it would snap. I wasn’t exaggerating; he really seemed like he was trying to kill me.
"Yeah. You should just die today."
"I’m sorry, I’m sorry!"
"What for?"
"Ahhh!"
I let out a scream, trying to be quiet, but a tearful groan escaped my lips. It wasn’t a joke; my eyes were starting to fill with tears. Desperately, I said I was sorry, even though I didn’t know what I had done wrong. But I hadn’t confessed what I had done wrong, so his arm tightened even further. I waved my arms around frantically, and something I grabbed in my hand was squeezed with all my might.
"You crazy bastard!"
"Let go, quickly... Agh!"
"If you don’t let go, I won’t let you go!"
"Well, you let go first..."
We agreed on three. On the count of three, Kang Seokho released his grip on my neck. It felt like my neck had exploded. As I lifted my head, my vision spun around.
Filled with anger, I gripped whatever I had in my hand tighter.
"Hey! Let go... damn...!"
"Hah, Team Leader Kang, why are you attacking people like that?"
My hand, unconsciously, had been working hard. Luckily, I had grabbed Kang Seokho’s most sensitive spot.
"Is it going to burst if I apply more force...?"
That bastard, looking so ignorant, had sturdy balls too.
"Don’t roll it! You crazy bastard!"
"I told you, stop using strength. It’s too pathetic to bully a weakling like me with force."
Seeing Kang Seokho nodding like a madman, I almost wanted to torment him some more. This must be how he gets off to tormenting others until they die. It was oddly exciting. But hold on...
"...Team Leader Kang...?"
I had to let go of what I had been holding onto. Something inside my hand... felt disturbingly different.
"You’re really going to die one day. Don’t follow me."
Kang Seokho quickly walked away. Maybe it was just my imagination, but his steps seemed a bit off, like he was walking awkwardly. ...He’s a sensitive type.
"Team Leader, let's go together!"
"You're not embarrassed, huh?"
"You should be happy, Team Leader. It’s proof that you’re a healthy man, isn’t it? Oh my, I’m impressed that it’s standing up even in this cold weather."
"Shut up. You’re really gonna die."
Kang Seokho was seriously pissed off. Why did I have to mess with him like that? After calming him down, I finally managed to sit him down at a café, but he was still sulking, not letting go of his irritation.
"Do you think I’m really a jerk? Do you think I’m the easiest thing in the world?"
"Yes...?"
Unlike our usual banter, Kang Seokho now stared at me with a sharp gaze and scolded me.
"Didn’t I tell you not to enter the villa? Did I, or did I not?"
"Ah... about that..."
"Ah, that? Is that something to just brush off? What the hell has this company done for you that you’re working your ass off for them like this? When did secretary duties include this kind of stuff?"
Though it was a secret to everyone, I had to tell Kang Seokho the truth to make sure my absence wasn’t noticed. Thanks to that, no one had contacted me through the phone or work tablet.
"You’re not the one who took the knife for the Representative, are you? I heard you’ve got a huge scar on your stomach."
"That’s now! Hah... does that compare? If the Representative had been in the rut cycle, what would’ve happened?"
He didn’t know it, but personally, I thought the rut cycle might have been easier to handle. Just thinking about the time I faced Yoon Taeo when he was sober still makes me want to die.
Although I’m not sure what he truly thinks, he tried to justify it with the excuse of "the younger brother worrying for his older brother." At least he didn’t dig deeper into my visit. That was a relief.
"Well, I guess it turned out okay..."
"So, you spent a week with the Representative inside the villa without the team knowing?"
"Six days..."
"Are you messing with me now?"
"...Sorry..."
It was strange to see this side of him. The usual playful attitude was nowhere to be found, and it felt unnervingly intimidating.
"Nothing happened, right?"
"Yeah. Since it wasn’t a rut cycle, what could’ve happened...?"
Actually, not nothing, but there was nothing I wanted to share. More than that, I wanted to get to the bottom of something I was curious about.
"By the way, Team Leader..."
"Don’t call me that so familiarly. It makes me nervous."
"It’s not like that. Did the Representative... Why did he tell me not to come to his rut location?"
"Ah, that..."
I had already asked Yoon Taeo, but no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t shake the discomfort. The way Yoon Taeo answered that question was still stuck in my head.
"I don’t really understand it either..."
Kang Seokho scratched the back of his head and opened his mouth cautiously. He followed it with a warning that I should never talk about this to anyone.
"...He said he was worried about you. Said you’re a bit too scared."
...What? Worried...?
