Reasonable Loss - 44

“But why are you still at the office, Director?”

“Ah, Eunsoo, you ask me questions without saying anything yourself?”

Seongheon’s playful comment surprised Eunsoo. Eunsoo quickly waved his hands.

“No, no. If it’s inconvenient, you don’t have to tell me. Really.”

Seeing Eunsoo’s lively reaction, Seongheon rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forward. Then, he whispered as if sharing a secret.

“I was taking out company secrets. I plan to sell them to a broker.”

“…What?”

Eunsoo’s small face turned to confusion. His dark eyes darted around in disarray. Seongheon stared at him with a blank expression, almost as if threatening.

Eunsoo’s fingers fidgeted, not knowing what to do. Watching that, Seongheon suddenly chuckled and clapped his hands.

“I’m joking. Even if I stole secrets and sold them to a broker, how much would it be worth? I’ve always felt that teasing you is quite fun.”

“Ah… ahh… Why are you doing this, Director?”

Eunsoo relaxed his shoulders, which had been tensed up to his earlobes. Seongheon smiled as if he had accomplished something.

“I stayed because I’m dealing with the US branch’s work. It’s peak business hours there.”

“Ahh…”

“That’s what I say outwardly. Actually, I haven’t adjusted to the time difference yet. I feel like I’m going crazy with sleepiness as soon as the sun rises. But as a director, I can’t just not come to work, so I make up excuses.”

Eunsoo chuckled quietly at the very realistic words. The two of them chatted briefly about recent events. As they talked, Eunsoo’s eyelids grew heavy. The time, which he checked briefly, was 3 a.m., so it was understandable.

After battling the subway from the morning, dealing with accumulated work after arriving at work, studying about pregnancy and childcare after work, taking a taxi to the hospital upon hearing that Dokwon had collapsed, then going to Dokwon’s house and being kicked out, wandering the streets at night, ending up here—feeling sleepy was the least strange thing.

Eunsoo’s head was about to drop. Seongheon crossed his legs the other way and hummed. Then, he tapped the sofa’s armrest with his finger.

“But the more I think about it, the more amazing it is.”

“…What?”

“That Dokwon and Eunsoo have become so close.”

“Is it… surprising?”

“Dokwon used to really hate omegas.”

“…Dokwon? Hated omegas?”

Eunsoo, shocked by the combination of Dokwon and omegas, seemed to snap back to attention. Seongheon rolled his eyes dramatically in response to Eunsoo’s intense gaze.

“Well, saying he just disliked them might be an understatement… I’d say he had aversion or hatred.”

“…Why? Why did he hate them?”

“There was a lot of work.”

“What work?”

Eunsoo interrogated eagerly. His back, which had been lazily leaning on the sofa, became rigid. His upper body leaned towards Seongheon as if pulled.

“I’m not sure if I should say this… Well, it’s old news anyway. Now, he loves you so much that he’d dedicate his life to you, so it should be fine.”

Seongheon smiled and began a long story.

By the time the dim morning approached, Eunsoo left the company. He left the box at the company. So, all he had on him was his phone and wallet, and his limbs felt heavy.

Eunsoo slumped onto a bench at the subway station. He stared blankly at the sign indicating that the subway was three stations away. He wished the subway icon, moving slowly like a slug, would move faster. But he also wished it would move as slowly as possible so he wouldn’t have to get up from the bench.