“People at Seonho say Executive Director’s face is a welfare benefit.”

“But now we have our CEO.” 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

“Right, right.”

Once felt, that gaze didn’t leave me, not even while the employees added their jokes. Not when I brushed it off with a laugh, saying, “A welfare benefit, really...,” nor when I awkwardly downed another drink. Those dark, steady eyes remained fixed unwaveringly on me.

“CEO, should I pour you another?”

Thankfully, the already-drunk employees paid no attention to who Yido was watching. They only noticed the empty bottles and, their faces flushed, ordered another sake without hesitation. When another employee started rolling up his sleeves to peel shrimp for me, I waved him off to say it wasn’t necessary.

“Everyone, please eat more. I’m full.”

“Come on, CEO, you should eat more.”

“Right, you look like you’ve lost weight.”

It happened often—at company dinners, the employees always fussed over making sure I ate. Grilling meat and putting it on my plate, pushing side dishes toward me. At first, I’d thought it was flattery, but by now I knew it wasn’t.

“CEO, please try this.”

“Come to think of it, I thought you couldn’t handle raw food, but I’m glad you eat sashimi.”

“...What kind of image is that supposed to be?”

I forced myself, desperately, to pretend I didn’t notice Kwon Yido’s stare. If I so much as turned my head, our eyes would meet, so I kept my gaze only on the employees. I took a bite of king crab meat someone had shelled for me, then drained the glass another had filled.

“I’ll devote my life to ‘Sejin’...”

Suddenly, one employee burst out crying with an emotional expression. Burying his face in his hands, he said he was glad he’d joined, his voice trembling. It was something that happened often at dinners, so I just let out a thin smile and teased back.

“People who say that are usually the first to quit.”

“I mean it, CEO!”

“All right, I’ll believe you.”

To show I understood, I patted his shoulder. He was broad-bodied, and when he leaned toward me, it felt like being engulfed, even though it wasn’t quite a hug.

“Assistant Manager’s doing this again.”

“Don’t indulge him.”

“He’ll get spoiled if you let him whine.”

They all clicked their tongues but couldn’t hold back their laughter. Honestly, drunken whining was rather endearing, so I usually let it slide. I patted the employee’s back to soothe him, but there was one person who didn’t smile.

“......”

A wave of unpleasantness hit me. No—what I felt was Yido’s emotion. The faint unease I’d been carrying suddenly plummeted to the ground.

“Assistant Manager, you’re such a handful!”

“Don’t be too hard on him. Maybe his last company was really tough.”

“Sure, our company’s benefits are good.”

The word “benefits” set off another round of laughter. By now the alcohol was in me too, so I could ignore the negativity. I’d always thought being drunk was unpleasant, but at times like this, when reason dulled, it wasn’t so bad.

“Ugh, I need the restroom.”

After much coaxing, the employee finally staggered up. Another wrinkled his nose and said that kind of thing shouldn’t be announced out loud. At the same time, he offered me another drink, and I readily held out my glass.

“CEO, you’re holding your liquor well tonight.”

“Do you like sake?”

“No, not particularly. It’s just going down easily today.”

Stop staring. Even if everyone else was drunk, surely he should be mindful of the eyes around us. Was he really planning to sit there like a statue until the dinner ended?

“Executive Director, won’t you drink more?”

“...Ah, let me just make a call.”

At last, only after someone addressed him, Yido rose to his feet. Watching him disappear toward the other side of the room, the stiffness in my shoulders slowly unwound. No matter how I tried to ignore him, his presence was always the sharpest.

“Aren’t we eating too much?”

“Seriously, imagine the bill.”

“...Don’t worry about it. Eat as much as you like.”

After all, it was Yido. He wouldn’t say one thing and then go back on it. No matter how much we ate, compared to his spending, it was trivial.

“Executive Director Kwon might be an angel...”

The law that the one who buys delicious food is the best person still held true. I could feel the employees’ fondness for him growing by leaps and bounds. Once just a “good person,” now they saw him as kind and considerate too.

Who knew how much longer we drank after that. Someone sat down in the empty seat beside me. I thought it was just another employee, until the faint scent of pheromones reached me—unfamiliar yet strangely familiar. Felt on my skin, in my breath, it cut through the haze of alcohol in my chest.

“......”

It was Yido. He had slipped naturally into the seat beside me. I didn’t need to turn to check; there was only one person here who could release pheromones.

“Assistant Manager, back from the restroom?”

“You said not to announce that...”

The returning employee didn’t look surprised. He simply went back to the seat where Yido had been. His face was less tear-streaked, and when our eyes met, he quickly looked away. Still, his sidelong glances carried a strangely elated expression.

“CEO, is something wrong?”

“...No, nothing.”

I felt... better, somehow. Was it because he sat next to me? Even knowing it was overthinking, I couldn’t help but wonder. Had Yido said something to that employee before coming here?

“Oh? When did Executive Director move here?”

“What’s the problem? Executive Director, shall I pour you a drink?”

But this time, Yido didn’t accept the drinks. He didn’t touch the glasses, nor the chopsticks placed before him. Likely because they had already been used by the employees.

“I really think this new perfume launch will succeed.”

“Especially the floral musk...”

When he sat across from me, I could pretend not to notice. But sitting right beside me, the slightest movement made our arms brush. It almost seemed deliberate, the way he sat so close.

“CEO, more sake?”

An employee offered me the bottle. Feeling increasingly unsettled, I covered my glass with my hand and gave an awkward smile. The flutter in my stomach was surely just the alcohol.

“I think I’ll—”

“Maybe you should stop.”

Before I could refuse, a quiet voice cut in. Yido, who had been silent all this time. Slowly, I turned my head, and there was his familiar impassive face.

“You’ve nearly finished a bottle by yourself. You hardly even drink.”

“......”

Really, why did he have to say it out loud? How did he even know how much I’d had, when I myself didn’t?

“And...”

He drew the word out, then locked eyes with me. For the first time since the dinner began, we faced each other directly. Tilting his head slightly, he whispered softly enough that no one else could hear.

“You smell like flowers right now, Sejin.”

“......”

His low voice was uneasy. At once cautious, but underneath it, worried. I hadn’t put on perfume—there was no reason for any such scent.

“Are you all right?”

Yido asked carefully. My chest tightened with a sudden throb. I managed to look away from him and answer slowly.

“Yes.”

“......”

“It’s better, actually.”

Not that... I’d intended to tell Yido.

'Your pheromone glands seem much more stable.'

Was it because of the mark? Unlike before, I could now release pheromones even in daily life. Still not normal, but sometimes they rose faintly when I felt good. It was so slight, and I never had reason to release them deliberately, so I hadn’t noticed until now.

“...That’s good, then.”

Even so, Yido didn’t remove the concern from his eyes. By now, neither I could sense others’ pheromones, nor could others sense mine. To everyone else, I might as well be a beta—and Yido too, for that matter.

“Assistant Manager Kim, pour me another, please.”

“Oh, another? Wait a moment, I’ll get a fresh one for you!”

I slid the glass I’d blocked toward the employee. I’d planned to stop, but with my mind tangled up, I needed more. So this is why people drink. I could already imagine my doctor’s horrified face.

“Here you go, CEO.”

This time, Yido didn’t stop me. He only pressed his lips together, silently watching my complexion. His heavy, troubled mood seeped into me.

***

My vision kept blurring. My body leaned sideways, my spirits floating as if walking on clouds. My lips loosened, and I laughed aloud at every word from an employee.

“Haha...”

“Seriously, it was insane that time.”

I understood only half of what was being said. The employee’s tongue was slurred too, but everyone was drunk, myself included. Before I realized it, I slumped against the person next to me.

“I wish I’d seen that...”

“If CEO had, you’d have laughed for a week!”

It hadn’t been on purpose—just the alcohol moving me. I couldn’t even tell if I was leaning against a wall or a person. The employee talking to me only grinned, his face flushed.

“I bet it was funny.”

I laughed back, when suddenly I heard someone sigh. The “wall” I was leaning against shifted, then settled into a more comfortable position. I blinked heavily, nodding off before snapping my head back up.

“Ah... I think I drank too much.”

“Oh no, are you unwell?”

“No, not that...”

How much had I drunk? Every glass poured, I’d emptied—surely the most I’d ever had in my life. I didn’t even know my limit, but I must have far surpassed it.

“My heart’s... beating too fast.”

I let out a long breath, pressing a hand to my chest. The pulse under my palm was only a little quicker than usual. Strange. It felt like it should have been pounding harder.

“That’s normal when you drink.”

“...Really?”

“Of course.”

I see. Another thing I hadn’t known. I’d never drunk enough to get this drunk—so this was what it felt like.

“Any more funny stories?”

“Oh, I’ve got plenty. Back in college...”

The familiar pheromone eased me. My intoxicated mind had long since abandoned rational thought. My stomach didn’t feel great, but my mood was so buoyant that I didn’t care.

“You must’ve had fun in school.”

“What about you, CEO, in college?”

“Oh, just studying, mostly...”

I replied sluggishly, bracing myself with my right hand on the chair. My balance felt off, so I tried to straighten up. But my hand brushed against the leg of the person beside me.

“...Maybe studying abroad?”

“Oh, where did you go?”

His thigh was solid. When my hand touched it, it went rigid, like stone. If I’d been sober, I’d have snatched my hand away immediately. But drunk, my first thought was curiosity. My fingers twitched, brushing the smooth fabric of his trousers.

“Where was it... France, I think.”

At that moment, a cool hand closed over mine. Firmly, almost urgently, stripping away my freedom. The sensation silenced me, and the employee tilted his head.

“France?”

“...Ah, yes. I studied in France.”

I didn’t pull away. That hand was too familiar—the size, the chill of his skin, and most of all, the faint trace of pheromones.

“I studied management there...”

My hand was pressed down against the chair, held still. I tried to pull back, but my drunk body wouldn’t cooperate.

“I regret not going abroad. Even just as an exchange student.”

Then, slowly, that hand slid across mine. Since I stayed still, the touch grew bolder. Fingers laced through mine, entwining tightly like shackles.

“Do you speak French, then?”

“......”

I never said he could hold my hand.

Before I realized it, he was interlocking his fingers with mine. His grasp was strong, as if he’d never let go, then softened with careful gentleness, as though handling something fragile.

“...CEO?”

“Ah... you asked if I spoke French?”

“Yes, do you?”

“Just the basics...”

My heart thudded, heavy and loud. I couldn’t even focus on the employee’s words anymore. Heat flushed my face—was it really just the alcohol? Every nerve felt electrified, bristling like raised hair.

“You’re amazing. There’s {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} nothing you can’t do.”

“Haha... hardly.”

I didn’t hold his hand back, but I didn’t pull away either. Nor did I turn to look. I simply sat there, limp, letting him do as he pleased.

“Another drink, CEO?”

“...No, I think I’ll stop.”

Before I could finish, his grip tightened. Like a nagging husband, scolding me without words. I shook my head as casually as I could, fiddling with my glass with my free hand.

“You’ve had plenty. I just... oh, I feel it too, the buzz...”

It was good I’d been drinking. Otherwise, he would’ve noticed how flushed my face was. Otherwise, I’d have had no excuse for staying still. In fact, if I hadn’t drunk, none of this would’ve happened.

For the first time, I realized you could feel a pulse in your fingertips. The heat rising in me didn’t cool even under Yido’s cold touch. On the contrary, his hand gradually warmed with mine.

“By the way, Team Leader Yoon was saying...”

Is it okay to feel this good? The thought flickered, even as I knew it was wrong. I wanted to close my eyes, pretend not to notice, excuse it as nothing but alcohol.

It was laughable. We’d touched far more than this. We had kissed, slept together countless times.

The tension wasn’t mine alone. The thrill running through us wasn’t only his. I ignored his hand for a long time, and he gladly savored the moment. Our entwined fingers stayed bound together for a long, long while.