MM 147

Episode 2: Sweet Little Kiwi

“Manager Yoo, visit the site in person today. Employee Lee Yoon-seok, compile the survey results from Gyeonggi and bring them to me by 5 p.m.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Yes.”

Their energetic voices filled the meeting room. Without lifting his eyes from the documents, Do-won continued giving instructions.

“Assistant Manager Kim Ju-yeon, keep working closely with Employee Lee Yoon-seok on the Gyeonggi branch for now. If there are any questions, bring them to me immediately.”

“Yes, understood.”

“And Assistant Manager Han Yu-young, analyze the performance data for each branch and have everything [stolen content]organized with me by tonight—”

As he skimmed through the documents while speaking, Do-won glanced at Yu-young without much thought. Normally, just calling his name would make Yu-young straighten his back and focus on him with bright eyes, but today, he felt none of that presence. Lifting his head, Do-won’s expression suddenly turned cold.

“……”

Nod, nod. Yu-young’s small head repeatedly drooped forward and then jerked back up, swaying precariously in a battle against sleep. It was almost heartbreaking to watch.

An awkward silence settled in the room. Assistant Manager Kim Ju-yeon, too absorbed in checking her documents, only noticed the situation belatedly and hastily jabbed Yu-young’s side with her elbow.

“Yu-young!”

“Mm… Yes….”

“……”

“…Yes?”

Even then, Yu-young’s voice was still lost in a dream, but in the next moment, he startled awake and straightened his posture. As soon as he met Do-won’s icy gaze, a chill ran down his spine, and he stammered.

“I… I’m sorry.”

Without a word, Do-won let out a deep sigh. His furrowed brows made his displeasure unmistakable. His presence was so freezing that no one dared to make a sound.

“Assistant Manager Han.”

“…Yes, Team Leader.”

“Are you unable to pull yourself together? Do you think this is your bedroom?”

Even though Do-won’s voice was calm, it carried a cutting sharpness.

“Everyone else is paying attention and receiving their assignments. What stolen content exactly do you think you’re doing? Did you even hear what I said?”

“……”

Under Do-won’s cold gaze, Yu-young bit his lip and lowered his head. The man scolding him now was the epitome of a cold, unyielding superior—so distant from the partner who had cooked him a nice dinner last night and massaged his swollen legs with such care. It was almost impossible to believe they were the same person.

This was not the time to think about such things. He knew better than anyone that personal and professional matters should be kept separate, which was why they were keeping their relationship a secret from the team. But the stark contrast between Do-won’s tenderness at home and his current demeanor was unexpectedly difficult to process. Lately, his emotions had been all over the place.

Not knowing what was going through Yu-young’s mind, Do-won pressed him again, his voice still cold.

“Are you not going to answer me?”

“…I’m sorry. I…”

Licking his dry lips, Yu-young barely managed to respond in a small voice.

“…If you could repeat the instructions, I will make sure to take note immediately.”

“I told you to organize the performance analysis for each branch with me by tonight.”

“…Understood. I apologize.”

Hearing Yu-young’s quiet apology, Do-won let out another deep sigh.

“That concludes today’s meeting. Stay focused and get your work done.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Yes, understood!”

Only then did the tense team members, who had been stealing nervous glances at each other, finally rise from their seats with some energy. Manager Yoo casually patted Yu-young’s shoulder in silent encouragement, while Yoon-seok sent him a conflicted look. Sighing again, Yu-young accepted all of it.

Once everyone had left the meeting room, Ju-yeon approached him and asked cautiously,

“What’s going on, Yu-young? You’ve been looking down lately.”

“Sigh… I know.”

Yu-young rubbed his face with his palms. His hands felt unusually warm.

“For some reason… I’m so exhausted. My emotions are all over the place, too.”

“You’re not sick, are you? You look a little flushed. Do you have a fever?”

Worried, Ju-yeon placed a hand on Yu-young’s forehead, comparing it to her own. Seeing her concerned expression, Yu-young forced a smile.

“I’m fine. I don’t have any cold symptoms. I’m just… tired.”

“Jeez. Is it chronic fatigue? What’s going on?”

“Exactly. I even went to bed at 10:30 last night, but I still feel like this.”

As he spoke, Yu-young let out a long yawn. Even in the middle of all this frustration, he couldn’t stop yawning. Getting scolded in front of everyone was bad enough, but more than anything, he was furious at himself for dozing off in the meeting. It had only happened once before, but now it was the second time.

“Maybe you’ve been pushing yourself too hard. You should get some rest—oh, right. The team leader asked you to work late tonight. Ugh, what a mess.”

“Sigh… I’ll finish quickly and go home. Thanks for worrying.”

“Seriously, though. Did he really have to be that harsh just now?”

Even though no one else was around, Ju-yeon still glanced around before pouting.

“I mean, come on. He’s so scary! Lately, his face has been glowing, so we all figured love must be working wonders on him.”

“…Right.”

After much discussion, Do-won had decided to tell people that he had moved in with his fiancée, while Yu-young simply said he was seeing someone new. Their marriage had been unofficially disclosed only to a select few after their honeymoon.

Of course, the company was in an uproar. Since Do-won had only recently taken his position and was in a position not easily approached, people simply reacted with a ‘Oh, I see.’ However, the fact that Yu-young was dating someone became quite the topic for a while. Naturally, when people pried about who it was, Yu-young firmly maintained his stance that it was an absolute secret.

“But when he gets that scary when he’s angry… whew, doesn’t he seem like a cold-blooded person? I wonder if his fiancé knows about that side of him.”

Of course, Ju-yeon had no idea how those words might sound to Yu-young, but he still flared up for a moment.

“He’s not like that. It’s because I messed up.”

“…Huh?”

“He’s not that cold of a person. If you get to know him, he’s actually very caring…”

Yu-young trailed off the moment he realized what he had just said. Ju-yeon’s face was already showing Read onvisible suspicion in real-time.

“…Actually, what am I saying? He’s nothing but cold-blooded!”

He hastily changed his words, and only then did Ju-yeon’s expression relax.

“Right? I thought for a second you were taking his side.”

“Haha, taking his side? Why would I do that for someone so cold? Haha.”

“Well, yeah. Anyway, should we head out too?”

“Yeah.”

As he turned off the conference room lights and walked out, Yu-young let out a quiet sigh. He briefly felt a little guilty for badmouthing Do-won behind his back, but he soon pouted.

‘Hmph. What’s there to feel guilty about? I can resent visit our site my boss for scolding me a little. …Well, I mean, it was my fault. But seriously, why do I feel so exhausted these days?’

It wasn’t just his imagination—his body had been acting strange lately. He felt drowsy at random times and kept dozing off. He normally went to bed around midnight, but these days, he was already nodding off before ten.

Thinking it might be chronic fatigue, he took out some vitamins and health supplements he had stocked up at home, but they didn’t seem to help. Sometimes, he felt chills, while at other times, he would suddenly feel feverishly hot as if a fire was burning inside him.

‘Something’s definitely off.’

Why was this happening? No matter how much he thought about it, he always arrived at the same conclusion. It must be stress—the root cause of all modern illnesses. In times like this, the best solution was light exercise, good food, or pleasant scents.

However, as he sat at his desk pondering solutions, he realized with some surprise that none of those options seemed appealing. His body felt too heavy for exercise, his appetite had become strangely fickle—just that morning, he had craved homemade soup, but by the time he got off work, the thought of it made him nauseous—and even the scents of his beloved bath bombs and essential oils felt unpleasant just by imagining them.

There was only one thing he desperately craved: Choi Do-won’s pheromones. He wanted to rush home, go straight to their bedroom filled with Do-won’s scent, bury himself in the blankets soaked with that familiar smell, and fall asleep blissfully. If he could just do that, he wouldn’t ask for anything else.

‘…Get a grip and focus on work. And forget about Do-won’s blankets, for god’s sake. Have some dignity. After how he scolded you earlier?’

Shaking off his wandering thoughts, Yu-young secretly pouted as he glanced toward the team leader’s office. [stolen content]Sure, it was entirely his fault for dozing off during the meeting, but that didn’t stop him from feeling resentful. He couldn’t help but dislike the boss who had chewed him out.

‘Hmph, cold-blooded bastard. Idiot. Jerk.’

He silently hurled all kinds of complaints in his mind while glaring at the team leader’s office door before finally opening the files he needed to finish today. There was plenty of work he had to handle with Do-won later in the evening, so it was best to get everything else done now for peace of mind.

Soon, the office filled with the quiet sound of keyboard typing. His body, still refusing to cooperate, kept making him drowsy despite the scolding earlier. In the end, he had to go to the break room for a cup of sweet instant coffee before he could fully wake up.

[Where should we eat lunch today??]

The company messenger notification blinked. It was a message from Ju-yeon asking about the lunch menu.

Come to think of it, there were only five minutes left until lunch. Normally, they started discussing lunch options an hour in advance, but everyone must have been busy today.

[Shall we go to the cafeteria? Today’s menu is stir-fried pork with bean sprouts and cold seaweed soup.]

[Oh, nice!]

[Sounds good.]

All the team members responded positively after Yoon-seok’s diligent reply. Stir-fried pork with bean sprouts was one of Yu-young’s favorite dishes as well. He absentmindedly moved his fingers to type his agreement—when suddenly, just thinking about the stir-fried pork made his stomach churn violently.

“…Ugh.”

Startled, he quickly covered his mouth with his hand. Fortunately, he had caught himself before making too much noise, so no one seemed to notice.