LGHTNOVELBOOK #16
#16
“How many times a year does Jaeha have his rut?”
Professor Choi answered while refilling Eunhong’s empty cup with tea.
“…That information is also confidential, so I can’t tell you. However…”
“……”
“If you think about it, you should be able to figure it out. You’re the closest person to CEO Lee.”
Professor Choi’s expression was peculiar. It wasn’t a reproachful look, but it wasn’t a smile either. Eunhong’s eyes darted around quickly. Come to think of it, he remembered that last winter, Jaeha had disappeared for a month, saying he was busy.
Seeing that Eunhong seemed to have realized something, Professor Choi muttered:
“CEO Lee really does everything with you, Mr. Eunhong. Except for one thing – his rut.”
“So, are you saying Jaeha has gone to ‘resolve’ his rut now?”
“…That’s also difficult for me to say.”
Then what exactly are you trying to say? Eunhong frowned deeply. The conversation had come full circle. He wasn’t sure if Professor Choi was implying that Jaeha’s condition was good or bad, or what his intention was in bringing this up. Seeing no point in continuing the conversation, Eunhong gathered his belongings and stood up.
Returning to the room where he had slept, Eunhong looked around and found a wireless charger on the bedside table. When he placed his phone on it, a red battery icon appeared on the completely drained black screen. Eunhong lay down on the bed, waiting for the battery to charge somewhat.
He tried to recall the events of last night, working backwards through his memories. He had drunk heavily because he was angry with Woohyun, and he had an intense dream… In the dream, his mother’s temple cat appeared. It had given birth to many kittens. He had showered one particularly cute black kitten with kisses, which suddenly made Jaeha angry.
Come to think of it, he vaguely remembered Jaeha getting angry in his fragmented memories.
Jaeha gripping his hand tightly, running on the snowy road, panting as he chased after him… sitting down and catching his breath – these memories came back in order.
‘Whether you’re recessive or dominant, I don’t eat things like you.’
It seemed like the first time he had seen him so angry. Jaeha’s low, stern voice had been unfamiliar.
“What do you mean, eat? How can you eat a person?”
As he muttered nonsensically, his phone turned on after charging. As the screen lit up, message alerts came in noisily.
[Hong, did you get home safely? We took care of Woohyun.]
[Eunhong, your phone is off. Are you okay? Who was that person yesterday? You’re really okay, right?]
Eunhong’s finger stopped abruptly as he was skimming through his friends’ messages. There was a message from Jaeha.
[Eat and rest comfortably before you leave. I’ll be busy for a while, so I won’t be able to contact you.]
[Go to the dressing room and take any car key. Don’t walk out in the cold.]
Eunhong, who had been reading with a smile, suddenly froze.
[And don’t drink alcohol from now on. You.]
***
The Monday morning weekly meeting felt like being in the middle of a messy drug party. There wasn’t a single person with clear eyes in the conference room. Among them, Eunhong’s eyes were particularly glazed over, like those of a dead fish.
“Next, we have an announcement regarding the update schedule.”
“The current status of bug fixes for the 4.3.3 update version scheduled for February next year is…”
The neat screen filled with monochrome colors was packed with all sorts of graphs and numbers. It resembled the personality of Oh Deokhyung, the lead programmer and project general manager giving the presentation. He was a man who wore shirts of the same style but different colors every day.
“We’ll share the test version client for the next update with everyone by the end of today. We plan to have an in-house testing time during afternoon work hours, so please check the time and don’t leave your seats.”
The square screen flashed by. Oh’s shadow flickered on the screen from the beam projector. Eunhong’s consciousness gradually became hazy.
Lee Jaeha walked into the conference room wearing a gray checked suit. He grabbed Oh and started arguing about why he was making people work overtime, then viciously tore Oh’s shirt. Ah, that feels satisfying. Now please buy some different clothes, Manager. Eunhong’s lips moved slightly.
‘Bunhong, you… are you really sleeping like this?’
Jaeha smiled beautifully. No, he seemed to be frowning a bit. His face was getting closer. Huh? Huuh?
‘Hm? Are you really asleep?’
“……”
“…Shit.”
“Mr. Eunhong!”
“Waaah!”
Startled by the hand on his shoulder, Eunhong woke up with a jolt. The meeting had already ended, and the lights were on. Among all the team members getting up to leave, it was Gil Dong-wook who had looked after Eunhong. Eunhong looked at Gil Dong-wook with a dazed expression.
Jaeha had definitely been manifesting. He looked around and wiped the drool from his mouth.
“Get yourself together. Your soul is still drifting away. Tsk tsk.”
“……”
“Let’s go get some coffee. I think we’ll need to work up some energy to plan the schedule.”
Eunhong followed, blinking slowly like a zombie with its brain removed.
The first-floor cafeteria run by the company was already crowded. After asking for a coffee order, Eunhong sat by the window where sunlight was pouring in. His face was blank as he watched his colleagues ordering coffee at the kiosk.
“What did you do over the weekend to end up like this?”
“Me? I just stayed at home.”
“And a person who did that has dark circles down to their knees?”
Gil Dong-wook leaned his upper body towards Eunhong, resting his arms on the table to an uncomfortable degree. Eunhong leaned back as far as he could, avoiding eye contact.
“Doesn’t our team leader have a lover? Aren’t you tired from meeting your lover?”
At Seo Heeseung’s words, Eunhong vehemently denied it. Jaeha was an alpha, so he couldn’t be in a relationship with Eunhong, who was a beta. He frowned unconsciously and gulped down his iced coffee.
On the way back to the office with the remaining coffee, Gil Dong-wook approached as usual and subtly pressed his shoulder against Eunhong’s. A strong scent wafted over, making Eunhong rub his nose. Ah, please use less perfume.
“Did Eunhong have a lover?”
“…Ah, well…”
As he was about to say no, Gil Dong-wook’s chin resting on his shoulder was very irritating. His sparkling eyes seemed particularly unpleasant today, and the scent seemed to be getting stronger. Eunhong wrinkled his nose bridge and blurted out in frustration:
“Yes. I have a lover. We’ve been dating for a while.”
“…You’re lying.”
“It’s true.”
Eunhong fumbled with his phone and showed a picture taken with Jaeha. It was a photo taken while watching a movie at Jaeha’s house, where Jaeha was wearing pajamas. They had their cheeks pressed together in the photo, which made it seem more credible.
“No way. Eunhong, aren’t you a beta? You’re dating an alpha?”
“And why are you…”
He almost said, “Why are you hitting on me then?”
Just then, Yoo Junseok intervened with an exclamation, diffusing the tense atmosphere.
“Wow… This is a total defeat. If you’re dating someone like that, I don’t think you’d go to Dong-wook even if you broke up.”
“If it were me, I’d stay celibate. If we broke up, I’d stay celibate. I’d build a chaste woman’s gate in the 21st century.”
As Kim Jieun joined in with the teasing, Gil Dong-wook trembled like a wounded animal. His eyes shook as if he had suffered a great betrayal, then he turned his head abruptly and ran away.
Eunhong’s jaw dropped in disbelief.
“What? Did I do something wrong just now?”
Seo Heeseung threw her head back, laughing loudly. She handed Eunhong a macaron with a pleased, or rather, a mischievous smile.
“I support Team Leader Ban’s romance. I approve of that person. I hope you two have a beautiful love and be happy.”
“No, why are you all acting like this?”
This company really has nothing but strange people…
***
He repeatedly drew and erased lines on the white canvas he had opened. Despite the wealth of reference material displayed on the second monitor, there was little progress in his work.
Strange thoughts kept occurring to him.
Lee Jaeha’s scent, his clear face, the feel of his skin, his body temperature… It was maddening that he couldn’t remember clearly. He felt like something had definitely happened that night…
This was why he had barely been able to work over the past weekend. Eunhong tugged at his hair in frustration.
The person in question said they couldn’t meet because of their rut or whatever. But even if they met, how could he ask? “Jaeha, I don’t remember clearly, but nothing happened between us that night, right?”
Stopping his assault on his precious hair, Eunhong decided to go wash his face. As he stood up abruptly, stars suddenly flashed before his eyes. He had headbutted Shim AD’s chin, who had been watching him struggle with his work.
“Aack!”
“Ouch!”
Eunhong clutched his head and sat back down in his chair. Shim AD, who had been hit unexpectedly, also held his chin and groaned in pain. It was enough to make their eyes water.
“Damn… My tooth might be broken…”
“Aaaaargh!!”
Shim AD, who was about to complain in frustration, was startled by Eunhong’s sudden scream. The faces of the graphic team members, who had been working while looking at their monitors, all turned towards Eunhong at once. The scream was so loud that even the programming team beyond the partition looked up.
All the meerkats residing in the office raised their heads simultaneously.
The color had drained from Eunhong’s face as he looked up. Shim AD, who had been trembling thinking his subordinate had finally gone mad, instead asked in surprise:
“Wha-wha-what is it? What’s wrong? Does your head hurt?”
Eunhong, who had turned pale, muttered in a desperate voice:
“Lips…”
“Lips, what?”
“Lee Jaeha’s lips…!”
He remembered everything. Jaeha’s temperature and weight as he looked down at him. The sensation when their lips met. The warm flesh that had pushed its way in.
Even the trembling of his eyelashes that he had glimpsed when he slightly opened his eyes.
Huh… Eunhong breathed rapidly in urgency.
Did I kiss him? Lee Jaeha?