CHAPTER 294: SHOULD I STOP HER?

We walked into the elevator and started heading to the next floor below. Hae-Jin didn’t say anything and I didn’t say anything to him either. We stayed silent till the elevator doors opened.

"This should be the same floor where the Boss is having a meeting." Hae-Jin suddenly said and my eyes gradually widened.

Why didn’t he say that before we got here?

I don’t want it to look like I’m hovering around him when he’s busy.

"Can we get a cup of coffee on another floor?" I asked.

It doesn’t have to be on the aka floor as the meeting room.

"Yes, but this place has better bean bags." He said. "The rest will probably just be instant coffee on a sachet."

The office life, I guess.

"I don’t mind," I said. "Instant coffee is fine by me too."

The reason why this floor must have great bean bags must be because this floor was regularly used by the higher-ups to conduct meetings and such.

"Hm, in that case, legs go to another floor then." He said and I nodded.

I was already getting an inkling that, apart from looking like I’m hovering around Seo-Jun, the people of this floor would suddenly look for trouble with me.

Word that someone like me walked in with Seo-Jun must’ve already spread, and they were all on the lookout for me.

I could tell as the whispering had already started and all eyes had turned to me.

I was wearing a red waistcoat, very hard to miss. So naturally, they would guess I was the one.

And who knows? My picture might already be circulating around their group chats.

I’m famous, huhu.

The intensity of their gaze increased before I could even take a step back to the elevator with Hae-Jin.

They weren’t even trying to hide their wild curiosity.

I knew I was in for some office drama as soon as I stepped down but I feel this is rather too soon. I need to get my coffee.

Then, I noticed a woman in a sleek pencil skirt and crimson lipstick approaching. Hae-Jin noticed it too and leaned to ask,

"Should I stop her?" But I shook my head.

What’s an office drama without a lady with a pencil skirt, black wavy hair, and red lipstick? Haha.

But I might say, she was a dashing young lady. Just look at her skin. It was as if she were regularly being bathed in fresh milk. And that face... I would immediately believe it if someone told me she was Seo-Jun’s favorite in the office.

She was like a supermodel.

But of course, I don’t fall too short compared to her, ahem. I may be shorter... let me wear a pair of stilettos, and I may not have the kind of chest she has... I’m male after all, and that slim waist carrying such perfect hips... Hm, if I were a woman, I’m sure I’d do better.

This is me dwelling in my silly imagination just so I wouldn’t feel let down by some lady’s perfect figure.

She approached me and stopped in front of us with a smile too bright to be considered innocent and then the interrogation began.

"Excuse me," she said smoothly, her lips curling softly. "Are you perhaps... close to the Boss?"

Her tone was sugar-coated, but her eyes had the sharpness of a hawk. I don’t want to admit it, but she was Seo-Jun’s type. I mean, the type he liked to break underneath him, if I was going by the references that were mentioned in the novel.

Why am I even thinking deeply about it?

She was very much my rival and someone who was a part of Seo-Jun’s divided attention and yet I’m praising her sharp and refined good looks.

I shook my head.

And before I could answer, another voice cut in. It was a man in a fitted navy suit who practically radiated curiosity. He had a small body that could somewhat be compared to mine.

Was he an Omega?

No, I don’t feel it. He might just be a small-bodied Beta.

Yet another one of Seo-Jun’s regular visits, I thought.

"They walked in holding hands." He said. "That’s not just ’close,’ that’s... unprecedented." He gazed at me, his eyes planning to bore into mine.

His curiosity seemed to overshadow whatever excellence he had, and he was a bit fidgety with his fingers and sweating in his neck.

"Who... Who exactly are you to him?" He asked and I twisted my lips.

Well, isn’t this unusual?

More people gathered and I could feel the circle forming around me. Men, women, all colors of curiosity and envy dripping from their eyes. Hate, included.

It was like a fire they wanted to poke until it sparked into an explosion. But who was going to explode?

Not me, obviously. I already anticipated all of this but I did feel a little overwhelmed since it was happening in the flesh.

This wasn’t a page I was reading in a book or a scene of someone’s love affair I was watching from afar with little curiosity. This was a drama staged set with me in the middle.

Now, how do I tackle this?

To stop their nonstop rambling and near-correct guesses, I clasped my hands together.

Thankfully, the bandages softened the impact so I didn’t feel that hurt.

This made them quiet and so I tilted my head, gave them my best polite smile, and delivered the kind of answer that was both tactical and reckless all at once:

"Well," I said softly, "Let’s just say I’m someone Seo-Jun doesn’t mind letting into places no one else has ever been."

Yes, let’s go with that. It’s my way of saying I’m someone special to him but let’s go about it in a roundabout manner and poke at some strings.

I grinned.

The silence that followed was delicious, if I do say so myself. They looked at me with eyes of disbelief and then they began to grit their teeth.

Was that too much? Huhu, I wonder.

Whatcha gonna do about it? Hit me? You wanna hit me?

Most of these people haven’t even been able to get into bed with Seo-Jun, I think. They were waiting for their turn. Waiting to catch his eye. Waiting for that right opportunity to be declared special.

You know, like how a Casanova moves around with multiple ladies in their arms and then notices this particular one who doesn’t even give him attention.

That’s where a cliche love story starts.

I have a feeling so many of them planned to set the stage for that cliche love story and so they waited patiently, but now that I, someone whom they had never seen before, claimed the position right next to him and got his smiles, they felt threatened.

They felt their cliche love story had ended before it even began, and they, disappointedly, didn’t get to be the main character but the side character whose faces weren’t even drawn.

Then the uproar began.

Their faces flushed with outrage. Some gasped, some sneered, and some visibly bristled, their chins clenching, their eyebrows furrowed, and their shoulders raised like they were about to start a war with me.

A few stepped forward like they wanted to grab me, shake me until I gave them the juicy details they thought I was hiding, the ultimate secret to win their Boss’s love.

But before they could get too close, a firm hand landed on my shoulder and pulled me back gently.

Hae-Jin stepped forward, blocking their path like a stone wall. His expression was calm and he was smiling like he previously did, but his stance was sharp as steel, forcing a distance between me and them.

"Sorry," he said evenly. "But I can’t let you touch him."

His gaze swept over the group, unwavering.

"He’s mine to protect, you see."

The words hung in the air like a blade. Did he have to say that last part? Jeez, it was a bit embarrassing.

And in that moment, I realized just how serious Seo-Jun had been when he said Hae-Jin was the perfect person for the job.

He did fit my description but it looked like he had a better reason to put him next to me.

The workers were a bit dumbfounded.

They’ve seen Hae-Jin before, it looked like.

But where did he come from all of a sudden?

While they focused their attention on me, they had completely ignored Hae-Jin’s existence beside me.

Well, that was that.

But... Wasn’t this an opportunity?

Hae-Jin seemed reliable enough so he wouldn’t let them hurt me. No matter what I said, even if they wanted to charge at me, they couldn’t.

They could only gnash their teeth and watch me ramble.

Muhahaha, time to spice this drama a bit. I won’t hold back, I tell you. I’ve been wanting to say this to all of Seo-Jun’s flings for a while now because I feel so jealous.

I’m not saying I wish he had never touched them, but the thought that they were shamelessly standing in front of me, trying to intimidate me, made my heart burn.

They don’t deserve any form of respect.

I leaned a little to the side, peeking at them from behind Hae-Jin’s shoulder, and let my smile curve wider in a sharp grin.

"My! You’re all so noisy. Is this what you do in your free time in the office? I think I might have to tell Seo-Jun about this, haha."

(Jo-Pil is having the fun of his life, haha)