“Wow... you’re telling me you’re married?”
Manager Kim kept firing off questions. He didn’t seem to have noticed Yoon Haegang still standing in the doorway.
“So your spouse must be a Beta too? How old’s the kid?”
Manager Kim had always been a talker, and getting fresh intel on Seojin seemed to have wound him right up. The words came pouring out of him.
“Uh... no. I’m not married.”
“You’re not? Ah-ha, living together, then?”
“No. It’s just the kid...”
Why is this man saying things like that out loud! Seojin, horrified, was opening his mouth to correct him when—
“Move. How long do you plan on blocking the door?”
Yoon Haegang cut into the conversation. His tone was as mild as ever, but Seojin’s shoulders shrank in on themselves before he could stop them.
“Huh? Ah, President, you’re back!”
Only then did Manager Kim register his existence and greet him. Seojin scrambled aside as well, but for some reason Yoon Haegang stayed planted in the doorway without moving an inch.
What’s with him now?
That stare stayed fastened on him, and Seojin, unable to go forward or back, just let his eyes wander aimlessly.
“Where are you two going?”
“Ah, um, the thing is. Manager Kim said we should head home for the day, so we were on our way out.”
At Yoon Haegang’s question, Seojin — frozen stiff like a kid caught in a game of freeze tag — hurried to get the words out.
“Ah, that’s right. There wasn’t anything urgent on the books, so I’m the one who suggested it. I forwarded the phones to my line too.”
Manager Kim stepped in to back him up. But Yoon Haegang said nothing and simply looked at Seojin.
That gaze crawled slowly from the crown of his head down to the nape of his neck and clung there, prickling. It was a long while before Yoon Haegang turned away, unhurried.
What on earth... was that just now?
Seojin could only stare blankly at his back as he disappeared inside without a word.
“President, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Manager Kim tossed out his goodbye and bolted from the office. He flapped a hand at Seojin to hurry up.
Seojin edged sideways step by step, keeping one eye on Yoon Haegang. He’d already dropped onto the sofa and was lounging there like a well-fed beast, tapping at his phone.
He’d already called the daycare, so this was no time to dither. Holding even his breath in, Seojin crab-walked straight out the door.
“So how old’s the kid?”
“Five.”
Even on the way down the stairs, Manager Kim kept up the chatter.
“Aigoo, that’s the cutest age there is. A girl? Or a boy?”
“A girl.”
“Ooh... got any photos?”
Manager Kim’s eyes were actually sparkling with interest, which struck Seojin as odd enough that he turned to look at him.
“You like kids?”
“Is there anyone who doesn’t?”
Seojin’s eyes drifted up the stairwell toward the office without his meaning them to. Manager Kim must have caught it, because he burst out with a snort of laughter.
“You never know, our President might like them too.”
“...Seriously?”
“Our President may not look it, but he donates to childcare centers every single month. Visits twice a year, too.”
“...Seriously?”
The first time he’d asked with his eyes narrowed; the second time his voice shot up on its own out of sheer shock. Yoon Haegang — who fit “sub yandere top” far better than plain old “sub top” — doing something that wholesome?
The two just would not go together!
“The President really needs to see the face you’re making right now!”
Manager Kim was cackling with the kind of expression that, in a KakaoTalk message, would have come with a string of “lololol” after it. But there was nothing to be done about it. Watching him clutch his stomach like it hurt, Seojin stuck out his lower lip.
Where exactly was anyone supposed to find the line connecting Yoon Haegang to charitable donations?
“Please stop laughing...”
“Then again, our President does come off a bit like some chaebol family’s son. All haughty. Right?”
Seojin nodded readily. One look at the navy shirt and ivory slacks was enough — the man was urbane by anyone’s standards.
If he walked down the street and claimed to be a model or an actor, everyone would believe him.
When you look at it that way, I guess fate really does have its own plans.
Honestly, on looks alone, Yoon Haegang didn’t come up short against the main top.
Both were dominant Alphas, and there was barely any gap in their wealth either.
Granted, a fourth-generation chaebol heir and a man who’d quit the gangs to start an information company weren’t exactly in the same position.
But in terms of raw capability, they’re about even, aren’t they?
They just pointed it in different directions.
“Yeah, from the outside, that’s exactly how he looks.”
“Haha... this is exactly why I like you, Seojin. You just say it, no holding back!”
The questions didn’t let up after that either, but strangely enough, the smile wouldn’t quite leave Seojin’s mouth. His steps on the way home were a good deal lighter than before, too.
“Euni, should we eat out tonight?”
It was a rare evening with room to breathe. He’d thought they could spend it out at a restaurant, but to his surprise Euni shook her head side to side.
“No.”
“No?”
“Mm-hm.”
“Why not?”
“Teacher said eating at home is what makes you healthy!”
Seojin barely managed to hold back a laugh. Euni’s eyes were shining as she nodded, like she was delivering news of enormous importance.
“...Oh, really? Teacher said that?”
“Mm! She said if you want to shoot up tall and get strong, you just have to eat the food your parents make!”
Watching his daughter tip her chin up as if daring him to say she was wrong, the laugh finally forced its way out between Seojin’s lips. Euni broke into a shy grin along with him, and he stroked her cheek fondly.
“Let’s do that, then. Tonight Daddy will make something extra tasty, just for you. What do you want to eat, Euni?”
“Hmm...”
Where on earth did she pick up a pose like that? Euni pressed an index finger under her chin and thought hard.
“Sausage and veggie stir-fry!”
If they were eating healthy, something other than sausage would have been the better choice. Still, she’d been thoughtful enough to ask for vegetables in it, so it wasn’t a request he could turn down. Seojin happily granted his daughter’s wish.
“All right. We’ll use Euni’s favorite sausages. Want to stop by the store on the way?”
“Yes!”
Euni answered with gusto, and he took her hand and headed for the big supermarket nearby. The second they stepped through the entrance, she shouted in excitement.
“Euni wants to push it!”
The store kept a separate set of little kid-sized shopping carts, and that was what she meant.
“Should we?”
They weren’t buying much today anyway, so once again Seojin didn’t say no. Euni ran off, thrilled, and came back wheeling a child’s cart.
“Shall we go have a look around, then?”
“Yes!”
Seojin flashed her a grin, and her whole face bloomed. Not the least bit shy, she made straight for the shelves of packaged food.
“Daddy, that one!”
She was still too short to pull down what she wanted herself, though. Euni jabbed a finger at the sausages she had her heart set on.
“This one?”
“No, the one next to it.”
“This one?”
“Nooo. Next to that! The pink one!”
Try after try and he still hadn’t landed on it, and her heels started bouncing off the floor. Naturally, it wasn’t that Seojin really didn’t know.
“I’m all confused. Euni, tell me the name. Daddy taught it to you before, remember?”
Catching on to what he was up to, the child stuck out her lower lip.
“Squishy-Squishy Sausages!”
Sulky as the answer came out, Seojin looked at her like she’d done something wonderful. Only then did he take down the package she wanted and hold it out.
“Here you go. Euni’s very favorite Squishy-Squishy Sausages.”
“Thank you.”
Now that she had what she wanted, her face lit right back up. Even the way she set it into her tiny cart was giddy. And yet, at the same time, her eyes slid sideways toward another shelf.
Not the long ones she’d just picked, but the small, round little ones. She wanted those too, apparently, and was busy weighing whether it was all right to ask for a second kind when she’d already chosen one.
“Um, Daddy...”
One look at her hesitating up at him and he knew exactly what was coming, but he played dumb.
“Mm. What is it?”
“You said today you’d buy Euni everything she wants.”
Instead of calling out the sly little way she’d slipped her own wish in there, he waited, letting her keep going.
Sure enough, Euni took the silence as a yes and promptly pointed at the other sausages. In the end Seojin lost the battle with the laugh he’d been holding in, burst out with it, and picked out exactly what she wanted.
Euni gripped the handle of the little cart with both hands, the picture of someone who had done her duty. She pushed ahead gamely, eyes locked forward, until she nearly clipped the corner of a display and Seojin reached over to steer her clear.
“Nice and slow.”
“Euni’s doing it good.”
“You are. You’re doing great, but you have to look ahead and to the sides.”
Euni nodded, solemn-faced, for a moment, and after that she moved one careful step at a time. Then she caught the eye of a passing shopper and even gave a little bow. The stranger smiled like she was the cutest thing in the world, and for no good reason Seojin felt his own shoulders rise a bit.
Swallowing a laugh, Seojin gave her head a light stroke. Even a small exchange like this filled one corner of his chest with warmth.
