PO 3

“Put it on.”

Lee Doyoung threw the door open, came in, and laid a jacket from the hanger on the bed. Woojeong did as he told him and tried on the jacket. Since their builds were similar, Lee Doyoung’s jacket fit Woojeong well enough.

“Why does it have to rain like this today?”

For winter rain, the downpour was heavy, and it hadn’t stopped all afternoon. Lee Doyoung clicked his tongue and looked toward the window that opened to the back garden. Rain had come on the very day of his arranged date, and annoyance filled his face.

“Does it make sense that he told me to come all the way to his office on a day like this? Is the meeting a joke? He thinks he can just summon me however he likes.”

“……”

“If it weren’t Hansae Group, I’d cut him off.”

Though he spoke like that, Lee Doyoung was swelling with expectation. An arranged meeting wasn’t a joke. If things went well today, his life might change.

Lee Doyoung wanted to leave an unforgettable first impression on his partner. For that, he needed Woojeong. To be exact, he needed Woojeong’s pheromone scent.

Lee Doyoung hadn’t been born with pheromone fragrance. Whenever he caught the clear and cool scent that belatedly manifested from Woojeong, he fell into needless inferiority.

But Lee Doyoung had found his own way to make up for that lack. He’d leave the clothes he planned to wear for important meetings hanging in Woojeong’s room for a while, or like now, he’d make Woojeong wear them briefly.

If he did that, Woojeong’s scent would cling naturally to the clothes, and he could feel for a while as if it were his own.

“No, that’s right. They say he’s busy with company matters, so I can at least do this much. It’s not some ordinary firm either, it’s Hansae Trading, right?”

“…Yeah.”

“As long as this goes well, I’ll become a Hansae Group man.”

Lee Doyoung stepped closer, seized the front of the jacket on Woojeong, and checked how it sat. He turned him around to check the back and even hummed as he did. After some time, he stripped the jacket off Woojeong and slipped it onto himself.

“Just wait. Next time, that man’ll be the one coming to our house to escort me.”

Lee Doyoung said those words and walked out of the room. With the jacket on, his preparations seemed done, and Woojeong soon heard his footsteps going down the stairs.

Thinking that his brother might really be getting married this time left Woojeong with a strange feeling. As he stared blankly at the open doorway, his phone chimed with a notification.

[I’m dropping by today]

The dark phone screen reflected Woojeong’s faint smile.

•••

“How about construction?”

“Sales in the fourth quarter were three trillion twelve billion won, and operating profit was one hundred forty-three billion. Sales were reported at 7.8% and operating profit at 13.1%.”

“And the resort?”

“Sales increased about 8%, but operating loss was over ten billion.”

Joo Yeongmo, who gave answers while looking down at the papers, took a sip of his cold coffee. Life as a secretary wasn’t easy. Sitting like this for hours without even going to the bathroom made his shoulders stiff and his back ache.

Even though he already had the report contents fixed in his mind, Han Jaegang always kept someone at his side and checked the details verbally once more. At times like this, if the answer slipped or sounded clumsy, he would receive a lethal glare.

Rolling the mouse wheel as he stared at the laptop, Han Jaegang pressed the corner of his eye with a finger. As if his sight wasn’t clear, he closed his eyes and opened them again.

Whenever he behaved like that, Han Jaegang grew more irritable than usual. His sight dulled for a time, and his nerves grew raw.

“Idiotic bastards.”

Since the poor results came from the resort branch where he’d once worked, the look he fixed on the laptop screen was cutting.

In the long economic slump, the branch that raised Hansae Trading’s operating profit in the fourth quarter by nearly 80% was the trading division that Han Jaegang led. His push for solar development and his quick response to predicted growth in steel and chemical raw material trade had played the main role.

“Yes. But Executive Director, it’s time you head out.”

Joo Yeongmo, who never thought Han Jaegang would keep working until this time, finally managed to speak. But even after hearing him, there was no response.

Though the work was heavy and the hours long, assisting a superior who advanced with firm goals and direction wasn’t only hardship. The load and the wear had an end, and the reward returned in kind. What truly made Joo Yeongmo weary lay elsewhere.

Supporting Han Jaegang’s private life carried far greater difficulty. He was someone who moved only when he judged it necessary, and he gave no glance to matters that went against him.

The matter of arranged dates was the same. Though his grandparents worked tirelessly to see him wed, Han Jaegang brushed aside every proposal without a thought.

So when he said he’d go to a date, Joo Yeongmo thought even the iron-willed Han Jaegang had finally agreed to his grandparents’ will.

Only later did he learn that during talks on the Vietnam project with Chairman Han, Han Jaegang had set his own arranged meeting as a condition, and he could only roll his tongue in disbelief.

“Ten minutes to the promised hour. Your partner arrived twenty minutes early and is waiting.”

“Must be someone with too much time.”

Now Joo Yeongmo’s urging wasn’t from fear of hearing nagging from the Chairman and his wife if the meeting failed. It was personal concern, not duty as a subordinate.

Right now, Han Jaegang needed someone. To be exact, he needed an omega whose nature matched his. But since that wasn’t easy to find, Joo Yeongmo wanted at least to search for an alternative.

Han Jaegang, blind to such thoughts, finished every electronic approval of the papers he was checking before he closed the laptop. Tightening his loosened tie knot, he picked up the desk calendar.

“Let’s arrange a dinner with the Strategic Planning Office this week. They raised results, so they should get to feel proud.”

“Yes, I’ll set it.”

“Prepare a generous bonus too.”

“Executive Director, please rise now.”

When Joo Yeongmo spoke carefully, afraid to anger him, Han Jaegang looked at him and stood up with a sigh. Only then did Joo Yeongmo feel relieved.

Taking the jacket from the hanger, Han Jaegang slipped it on and fastened the second button.

“Tell Manager Lee Yeonggyu to see me in forty minutes.”

“Forty minutes? Executive Director, you’re not going to a business meeting, you’re going to an arranged date.”

“Will it take more than that to figure out what sort of person he is?”

Han Jaegang used being busy as an excuse and arranged to meet his match partner in a gap during work. As if that weren’t enough, he went so far as to give a one-sided notice that the other should come out to a private cafe next to his office.

And now he was saying he’d spare no more than thirty to forty minutes for the one who had accepted all those terms without a word. That wasn’t only discourteous, but if the Madam later found out, it would cause a storm.

“You’re not recruiting staff now. Your partner came all this way with difficulty, so take time to talk properly, and if possible share a meal as well…”

“Secretary Joo.”

Han Jaegang flicked off Joo Yeongmo’s hand, which had clutched his arm. His face showed a faint smile, but it was cold.

“How is my arranged meeting different from recruiting staff?”

“……”

“Eat dinner while I’m out.”

“I’ll attend you.”

“Forget it.”

While Joo Yeongmo faltered, at a loss for words, Han Jaegang walked out of the office. Left alone in, Joo Yeongmo looked down at the master’s tidy desk and muttered.

“…It isn’t different.”

Most couples around Han Jaegang married with conditions aligned and strategy in mind. Yet for Han Jaegang there was a reason he couldn’t decide marriage so easily. Only a very few who knew his circumstances worried over him.

Pushed into a bind with no way forward, Joo Yeongmo sighed.

•••

While he took the elevator down, people who boarded from another floor recognized him and greeted him. Han Jaegang softened his rigid face and gave a slight bow. After he got off on the first floor, he passed through the cluttered lobby and headed for the entrance.

“……”

Just as he stepped outside, Han Jaegang halted. Rain was falling. The road that had been dry and dusty lay soaked and settled in quiet.

When he stretched out his hand, fine drops landed on his palm. Since the rain was bearable, Han Jaegang stepped beyond the building.

If he went out the front gate of the company and turned left, there was a small private cafe. Since it wasn’t crowded like the big franchises, he sometimes stopped there on his way to work to buy coffee.

When he opened the door marked “Close,” the owner standing behind the counter bowed his head. Since he had rented the whole shop for the hour, there were no other patrons. The man at the window table, who recognized him, quietly stood up.

“Mr. Lee Doyoung?”

“Yes.”

“Pleasure to meet you. I’m Han Jaegang.”

“I’m Lee Doyoung.”

As Han Jaegang introduced himself and extended his hand, the other responded with a handshake. His hand was unusually warm. Han Jaegang released the hold and offered him a seat.

“Please sit. I should have chosen a better place, but I’m sorry to have you come here.”

“No, it’s fine. I heard you’ve been very busy these days. Since it’s for work, I should understand.”

“Thank you for your consideration. What would you like to drink?”

When the other chose a hot Americano, Han Jaegang turned to the cafe owner. Catching on quick, the owner nodded and went back to the counter.

After undoing his jacket button and sitting, Han Jaegang gave the other a light once-over. The slim man had a delicate look, the mark of an omega raised well. His looks, his schooling, and his family background gave him enough to be able to stand proudly anywhere.

Wasn’t he said to be in his mid-twenties? Coming out to an arranged date at that age showed ambition.

But he seemed to have the wits to hide it and act as if he were naive.

“I’ve heard much about you.”

“Really? What did you hear?”

“I haven’t worked in society yet since I’m still a student, but I heard often that you’re capable. So I heard you’re very busy?”

“If you see it in a good way, that’s it, but if you see it in a bad way, I’m just a workaholic. You haven’t graduated yet, Mr. Lee Doyoung? Your major?”

“Business administration. My parents wanted it. I thought it was fine too.”

Lee Doyoung was sociable and eloquent. He also had the knack to ease awkward moods. Compared to the previous partner who sat tight-lipped expecting him to carry everything, he was far easier to deal with.

While Han Jaegang listened in silence to his words, he narrowed his eyes. From Lee Doyoung, who he thought had no scent, he caught one.

It wasn’t artificial. It was natural and fresh, and it was a fragrance he was sure he had smelled somewhere before.

“…Isn’t it a young age to meet with marriage in mind? How did you end up at an arranged date? You’re still a student too.”

“In truth I wanted to marry early since I was young. Because it means I’d have someone on my side. Just the thought of it makes me feel secure.”

Lee Doyoung spoke further with a shy smile.

“It’s my first time in a place like this, so it’s a little hard… but I think it was good that I came.”

“That’s fortunate.”

Han Jaegang had demanded his grandfather one condition in exchange for marrying. He wanted authority over the solar project in Vietnam. The time had come to think seriously of marriage, so he was to attend at least five arranged meetings.

Knowing his grandson’s nature well, the grandfather had ordered him to treat the meetings with sincerity. He hadn’t forgotten to warn him that if he made excuses of being busy or tried to brush it off lightly, he wouldn’t let it pass.

Han Jaegang accepted the condition without much thought. Lee Doyoung was the third partner he met.

Lee Doyoung’s views on marriage didn’t matter to Han Jaegang. As he had told Joo Yeongmo, this was another partner to handle about thirty minutes and then send away.

But it was regrettable, Lee Doyoung seemed to have come with grand dreams. To speak fully of his thoughts on marriage seemed important to him, and he continued in a calm voice.

“The truth is… I saw you at the Night of Charity, and I thought I really wanted to meet you once more. But I never dreamed such a chance would really come.”

Since wherever he went he met countless who showed him favor, Han Jaegang felt nothing from such words. Feeling his lukewarm reaction, Lee Doyoung changed the subject smoothly.

“I tend to be very guarded. If I haven’t known someone long, I can hardly speak… but today it’s strange. I keep feeling like I want to say something, like I want to ask you things.”

He didn’t seem like the type who couldn’t talk. Han Jaegang lifted a corner of his mouth and crossed his legs.

Lee Doyoung looked as if he had too much to say. In the midst of it, he plainly chose words carefully to hide ambition while showing interest.

Han Jaegang raised his mug. As Lee Doyoung began to bare his mind bit by bit, whatever interest he had dried completely.

While he drank the lukewarm coffee, Lee Doyoung continued by himself with words no one was listening to.

When it had been nearly thirty minutes since they sat, Han Jaegang set his cup down, ready to close the meeting.

“I heard you like travel. I also like to go off on trips alone. Where have you gone most recently?”

“Well. Recently I had no time for that.”

“Have you ever been to Inje in Gangwon Province?”

Han Jaegang thought of a trip to his villa about a month ago. It seemed someone had let slip that fact to Lee Doyoung.

As he pictured the faces of those who could have known, Han Jaegang let out a dry laugh.

“Yes. Since I have a villa there, I go sometimes.”

“Really? Actually I also went not long ago.”

Han Jaegang pretended ignorance and went along, he took his phone from the inner pocket of his jacket. He skimmed through the few messages stacked up and hummed.

Lee Doyoung’s effort to keep the conversation going was commendable, but it was time to close the meeting.

“What can I do? Something urgent came up, so I’ll have to return to the office.”

“Ah… is that so?”

“Yes. You came all the way here, I’m sorry.”

“It’s not like you planned it. But have you had dinner?”

“Since I couldn’t finish work, I’ll probably make do with a simple sandwich or something.”

“That’s perfect.”

Smiling brightly, Lee Doyoung lifted a shopping bag from beside him onto the table.

“I heard you often skip meals because you’re so busy. Since you asked me to come all the way here, I thought you’d probably do the same today, so I prepared a few simple things you can eat quickly.”

A gift so heavy for a first meeting. Han Jaegang gave a formal smile of thanks, but he froze for a moment and watched Lee Doyoung in silence.

It wasn’t because he was touched by the man’s thoughtfulness, nor because he felt guilty about leaving him and walking out first.

“……”

Pheromone scents resembled those of fruit, flowers, forests, and seas in nature. But even if they belonged to the same category, the feeling of each was distinctly different. Anyone with the trait could tell the subtle differences apart.

As Lee Doyoung moved and the air current changed, Han Jaegang caught a faint fragrance. It was one he knew.

Could pheromones from different people be so similar? Seized by a peculiar mood, Han Jaegang altered his plan on the spot.

“Let’s have dinner together. I’ll arrange the place.”

•••

Though Lee Doyoung had spent a long time preparing to go out, he returned less than two hours after leaving home. Kang Eonju, who had waited anxiously for his call, was so startled she ran to the entrance.

“Why are you back already?”

She had already heard from Madam Jang that Han Jaegang was too busy these days even to lift his head. That was why she had agreed without protest when told the meeting place should be where the other side wanted.

If it had been with anyone else, she wouldn’t have tolerated it, but since it was a match with Hansae Group, she could endure such things.

Since they had made enough concessions, she expected the other side would show the same sincerity. Sharing a meal and having a conversation would take at least three or four hours, so she thought he wouldn’t return before ten at night.

But here he was already. Something had gone wrong.

“What happened, hm?”

As soon as Lee Doyoung stepped inside, Kang Eonju held his arm and pushed him with questions. Lee Doyoung leaned back onto the sofa in the living room with her hanging on his side.

Oblivious to her burning anxiety, he closed his eyes. Woojeong, who was drinking water in the kitchen, silently watched them.

“Why don’t you talk? Do you want to see me lose my mind?”

“Hey, Lee Woojeong. Bring me some ice water.”

“Quick, get your brother some water. So did Han Jaegang actually show up?”

After draining the water Woojeong brought him, Lee Doyoung set the cup down on the table with a thump. Woojeong, awkwardly standing aside, quietly returned to the kitchen.

“He showed. Right on time.”

“And? Did you eat?”

“No. We just talked over coffee. We couldn’t stay long. He said urgent business came from the company.”

“So you split right after?”

“Do you think I’d do that?”

Lee Doyoung, who had been holding back words on purpose, sat up with an excited face. He began by saying that though he had felt annoyed at being told to come out to such a tiny cafe, it turned out to be quiet and cozy since the whole place seemed rented, and he actually liked that, then he started to recount every detail of his conversation with Han Jaegang.

Kang Eonju, who had been on edge the whole time, echoed his words and listened intently. When he said that thanks to knowing about his partner in advance the conversation went smoothly, she clapped her hands with joy.

“See? Didn’t I say you had to prepare ahead? That Jang Jeongok, all the trouble I went through to win her over was worth it. Can you believe how that matchmaker acts so high and mighty? Do you know how much money I spent on her? Just the other day I even bought her a bag.”

“You did well, Mom.”

“By the way, the snacks you brought?”

“I gave them, Mom. After that his eyes changed.”

“Really? Good heavens, that’s wonderful. Oh, my child. Handling yourself so smartly!”

Kang Eonju’s gushing praise of Lee Doyoung rang past the living room and reached into the kitchen. Woojeong, watching the affectionate pair from afar, quietly went upstairs.

Father had once told young Woojeong. You will have a new family now, so you won’t be lonely anymore.

Woojeong had believed that. But the new family he met was nothing like what he had hoped for. Growing up, he was always alone, and in the end even the distance with his father grew.

The things you can’t have hurt less if you never give your heart to them from the start. Woojeong lived holding himself back that way. He cut down his expectations and hopes little by little and tried not to covet anything.

“To me you’re the only one in this world. What could I possibly not give my son?”

What Woojeong had wanted was an ordinary family, but there was no place for him in it. Even though he knew it would never come true, he couldn’t fully let go, and the lingering regret gnawed at his chest with a dull ache.