Born to Be a Secretary

After work, Kwon Youngjae had personal plans and went separately. When he entered a wine bar in Sinsa-dong, a few men who recognized him waved.

“You said you’d be late, but you got here early anyway?”
“Executive Director Kwon’s been busy these days.”
“For someone that busy, you look pretty good.”

Their faces clearly showed delight. They were all Kwon Youngjae’s close friends—coming from good families, holding respectable jobs, and having unruffled personalities. Having built a long-standing friendship, there was nothing they didn’t know about each other.
They met at least once every three or four months, and Kwon attended unless he had unavoidable commitments. As usual, he answered their attention with an indifferent expression.
“No drinks for me.”

“I heard you entertained Assemblyman Myung yesterday already.”
“Must have been tough. That guy needs a rough night out.”
Good-natured friends worried about Kwon and didn’t bother pushing drinks on him. They cleared empty glasses and ordered sparkling water instead of wine. Just adding one more person to the mellow gathering made the atmosphere sturdier.

“Youngjae, actually, Seokjun said he wanted to ask you something if you came.”
Breaking the ice, Kim Seokjun, the third son of Hanyeong Corporation, sitting next to Kwon, gave an awkward smile.
“What’s that?”

Kwon moistened his dry lips with sparkling water. Glancing sideways, Seokjun nervously smoothed his short sideburns and hesitated oddly.
“Well… about your Secretary Kim.”
As Seokjun awkwardly began, the others at the table simultaneously shook their shoulders, already laughing from stories exchanged before Kwon arrived.

“Secretary Kim, what?”
“...Didn’t she come with you today?”
The sudden question made Kwon’s eyebrows rise crookedly. It wasn’t the first time they’d seen that expression, so the friends didn’t even blink.

“She left already.”
“Oh… I see. I was just wondering if she was nearby.”
Seokjun’s attitude was strange. He had always been friendly toward Secretary Kim, but he usually didn’t ask about her when she wasn’t there.
Noticing that everyone except him seemed to know something, Kwon’s brows immediately furrowed. Slowly licking his lips, one of the sharper-witted friends added an explanation.

“Seokjun wants to meet Secretary Kim. He’s liked her for a while.”
“Hey! How can you say that so directly?”
“I almost choked on my drink. You’re not even a virgin; why are you so shy?”

Laughter erupted around the table. Kwon was the only one who didn’t laugh and remained silent.
“......”
“Secretary Kim’s alright. I saw her briefly recently, and she seems different somehow.”

“In a good way? Or a bad way?”
“Positive. Maybe because she’s conscious about being an omega... but anyway, she feels a bit changed.”
“Oh, like an awakening effect? She always had a decent face anyway. At first, I thought Youngjae chose her because of that.”

Except for Seokjun, the others were all betas. Regardless of pheromones, they judged Kim Heewon solely by appearance.
Kwon kept his words few. The bitter taste in his mouth, he thought, was from the sparkling water he’d just drunk. Reaching for the wine bottle, he thought it might be better to drink alcohol.
“Youngjae, is working together okay?”

“The same as always. What’s different?”
“You used to hate omegas, but I guess you’re changing.”
“Good for Youngjae. That was the only flaw he couldn’t overcome. It caused so much trouble.”

He didn’t say that he still found other omegas’ pheromones disgusting. Even among close friends, such details weren’t discussed casually.
Besides, Kim Heewon is okay? Anyone could misunderstand that easily.
“So, Kim Seokjun. I set the stage—are you just going to sit quietly?”

The conversation circled back to Seokjun. Looking awkward, he cleared his throat.
“Could you call her out for a bit? If it’s difficult, we can meet next time.”
Kwon eyed Seokjun sharply as he took a sip of wine.

A third-year pediatric fellow, Seokjun was an alpha with a tall, clean appearance and an impeccable private life—someone worthy of being introduced.
A proper man, and interested in Kim Heewon.
With all conditions met, Kwon was speechless at his own hesitation. An unknown torment crept in as he bit his tongue and said,

“Well, isn’t it a bit late now?”
“Hey, it’s only eleven. When have you not called someone out at dawn?”
“Seokjun awkwardly brought it up; you should at least pretend.”

As the others chimed in, Seokjun awkwardly tried to calm them. Yet when he glanced at Kwon, his eyes unconsciously held hope.
“I’ll ask.”
With no other choice, Kwon took his phone from his jacket pocket and opened the message window with Heewon at the top. Their last conversation was just fifteen minutes ago.

[Secretary Kim]
As soon as he sent the message, it was marked read—as if always on standby.
Since it was off work hours, he thought a delay was fine, but Heewon was unnecessarily quick and diligent.

Secretary Kim
[Yes, Executive Director. Do you have something to ask?]
With no reply after calling, Heewon first asked what was needed. He slowly moved his thumb while looking at the messages.
[Are you home?]

Secretary Kim
[I can leave immediately. Should I bring the wine you requested earlier?]
If time’s good, come out briefly. Someone to introduce you to—
Kwon stopped mid-message. Watching the blinking cursor, he deleted the text he had painstakingly typed.

[No need to come yourself. Have Jung the driver wait.]
Heewon quickly replied yes to that. Having confirmed this, Kwon tucked the phone back into his jacket. Sharp gazes flew around. Everyone was waiting for his words.
“I have personal matters; today’s difficult.”

“Ah… that’s unfortunate.”
“Yeah. Seokjun won’t get to meet otherwise. Guess it’s not meant to be.”
“There’ll be another chance. Anyway, thanks, Youngjae.”

Seokjun smiled and raised his wine glass. The clink of glasses rang clear.
Kwon drank wine like water, working hard to justify what he’d just done. The answer was always the same. A self-mocking smile spread across his lips.
He didn’t want to show Secretary Kim. Did that make sense? It didn’t.

Mid-September, the late heat of summer was in full swing.
A long-awaited overseas business trip was scheduled—destination Japan. It was a short one, one night and two days.
Chairman Kwon had shown intense interest in the drug ‘Novagen’ developed by Fujino Pharmaceuticals since the end of last year. Thanks to long efforts, they had secured a License In contract with Fujino Pharmaceuticals.

This trip was to finalize the contract with signatures. After months of carefully negotiating major terms, he could board the plane with peace of mind.
This time, Secretary Song, fluent in Japanese, accompanied him. It was her first trip with Executive Director Kwon, and her face was quite tense. Meanwhile, she looked around in amazement at flying first class for the first time.
“Secretary Song, like first class?”

“It’s wonderful. How can the seats be this spacious?”
“Want to come along on the next trip too? Hopefully a long-distance one.”
Ah… Secretary Song genuinely declined with a troubled expression. Heewon smiled and helped with her luggage. After placing it on the overhead rack, she politely nodded thanks.

The first-class ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) cabin was sparsely occupied as boarding preparations continued. Heewon sat next to Secretary Song, closely observing Executive Director Kwon seated alone, who was busy reviewing legal clauses until the last moment.
“Chief, I won’t mess up, will I?”
Suddenly hearing a trembling voice beside him, Heewon turned his head the other way. Secretary Song was nervously flexing her stiff fingers repeatedly.

“You always do well, Secretary Song.”
“But this is my first time at an occasion like this…”
“I’m the one worried here. You’re going to be watching for cues all the time.”

Heewon barely spoke Japanese, only simple greetings. In contrast, Kwon was fluent in business conversation, and Secretary Song, having lived in Japan, was almost native-level.
One was nervous for her first trip, the other would struggle with communication, but they would compensate for each other’s weaknesses. Heewon comforted Secretary Song with a smile. After all, it was just a one-night, two-day trip. It would be over before they knew it.