Born to Be a Secretary

“Executive Director.”

Only after entering the annex did Heewon catch hold of Kwon Youngjae. She twisted his tightly gripping wrist free and cautiously gauged his mood.
“What’s the matter?”
“......”

It was rare to see Kwon so agitated, so worry took hold immediately. The silence stretched on for quite a while. Patiently waiting for a reply, she saw him move his lips slightly but only ended up messing with his tie. His touch betrayed unmistakable irritation.
“...Don’t ask. Just follow orders this once.”
An answer that left no room for argument. Kwon was always the one in control, and naturally, Kim Heewon had to obey his instructions. With nothing more to say, she just nodded.

In the end, it was decided that everyone except Heewon would attend the signing ceremony. Amid the busy last-minute preparations, Kwon’s face was taut with tension.
Without a word, Heewon approached and fixed his twisted tie knot. To be so untidy right before a contract signing… clearly something was off with Kwon right now.
“I’ll be waiting in the room. Call me if you need anything.”

A sharp gaze bored into Heewon’s face. Kwon seemed about to speak but bit his lips tight. Then a long sigh escaped. Instead of words, he gripped Heewon’s shoulder firmly before releasing it.
At exactly six o’clock, both companies gathered for the license contract. Apex and Fujino Pharmaceuticals faced each other across a long, ㄷ-shaped conference table.
“......”

Kwon surveyed the assembled group with sharp eyes. On the Fujino side, only President Takano Yuichi and the working staff were present.
“The chairman says he will join for dinner. You met briefly earlier, yes?”
Takano tried to lighten the subdued mood with a smile and casual talk.

“Yes, a brief meeting.”
Kwon answered succinctly, matching the business tone with a polite smile.
So he really does intend to show his face.

He felt glad to have excluded Secretary Kim. Better to keep her out of sight than worry constantly. As his mind eased, his stiff expression slowly softened. He opened the covered document folder to proceed with the contract signing.
Meanwhile, Heewon remained alone in the room, glancing repeatedly at the clock.
Being present was only symbolic; a secretary had nothing to do to help here. She was just taking up space sitting there. Though she knew this logically, her nerves made her restless.
It would take at least two hours. She glanced once more at the clock. Staring at time wouldn’t make it pass faster, yet she kept repeating the foolish action.

Just then, a knock came at the door, breaking her intense thoughts. Opening it, a man who appeared to be in his fifties stood there. He bowed politely toward her.
“I heard some guests are still here. May I ask about your meal plans?”
Fluent Korean and impeccable manners marked the man’s respectful attitude. Heewon guessed he was probably in the same profession, likely attending to an important guest.

Though this could have been delegated, his direct attention suggested they were putting great care into guest service. Heewon bowed politely.
“Meals are fine. Thank you for your concern.”
“How about tea then? We just received a fine batch. We’d like to offer it to our precious guest.”

The man politely repeated the offer, almost making refusal awkward. After a brief pause, Heewon replied,
“I’m in a situation where I cannot leave. Could you bring it to my room?”
“No problem. I’ll prepare it right away.”

He left and soon knocked again on the sliding door. Expecting a tray of tea, Heewon opened immediately but froze, startled by the unexpected face.
She could not fail to recognize Takano Chairman, the real decision-maker of Fujino Pharmaceuticals. Without hesitation, she bowed deeply.
“Nice to meet you. I am Executive Secretary Kim Heewon.”

The chairman laughed heartily at her clumsy Japanese greeting. His hoarse, muffled laugh was low and rough. Heewon was so tense she didn’t notice his gleaming gaze.
“I’m a bored old man passing time. If you don’t mind, shall we have a cup of tea together?”
The man standing beside him immediately interpreted the chairman’s words. How could she refuse? She nodded and stepped back. As the sliding door fully opened, the chairman stepped inside.

An extravagant tea tray was prepared. On the lacquered black wooden table sat fine porcelain tea utensils and delicately shaped Japanese sweets. There was no time to admire the traditional beauty as tension tightened her ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) throat, forcing repeated dry swallows.
“A dominant Omega? The scent is indeed pleasant.”
“......”

“When a dominant Omega hits heat, the scent is several times stronger. It’s one of my obsessions. No matter how good the food, it cannot compare. There’s no delicacy like it.”
Takano sipped tea and spoke. Though mumbling in Japanese, Heewon understood nothing. She glanced at the man presumed to be his secretary, who, sensing her gaze, feigned ignorance and did not interpret. For some reason, he refused to translate.
Even for a chairman, his attitude toward guests was inappropriate. Clenching her fists on her lap, Heewon forced herself to speak.

“Apologies, but my Japanese is poor, and I’m having difficulty understanding the chairman’s words. May I use a translation app?”
Takano chuckled lightly. Surprisingly, he understood and replied.
“Put your phone away. I detest conversations held over such devices.”

“The chairman finds it unpleasant. Please refrain from using your phone.”
The man relayed the chairman’s words.
Heewon slowly raised her eyes. Takano seemed to understand Korean at least. The only communication channel she had was this man’s filtered interpretation. Why this was happening, she couldn’t tell. Was something being said she shouldn’t hear?

One thing was clear: the situation was quite unsettling to Heewon. She narrowed her eyes, trying to read the chairman’s hidden intent.
“You have a good look. Not easy to deal with, I like that.”
The chairman smiled thinly, pulling his wrinkled eyes narrow like a snake’s. Retracting his gaze, he said,

“I heard you met Executive Director Kwon Youngjae earlier. He seems to care for you a lot. I asked if I could borrow you for a night, but he got very angry. Are you two secretly close?”
“He asks if you have a special relationship with Executive Director Kwon.”
“…Ha, now you’re interpreting that.”

“......”
Unintentionally, Heewon’s voice sharpened. The man showed no sign of embarrassment.
His brazen attitude was infuriating, but she forced a deep breath to keep calm.

“No, I’m just his personal secretary.”
“Good. Then it’s easier for me to make a proposal.”
The chairman answered promptly.

The conversation was utterly baffling. The situation had long become uncomfortable.
Heewon kept drinking tea repeatedly. The heavy taste dulled her tongue, barely soothing her anxious stomach. She couldn’t even show a hint of displeasure, which made it worse.
“Bring it out.”

By the chairman’s order, the man placed a separate tea set on the table. Watching silently, Takano smiled kindly and tilted the teapot.
“It’s called Yuhwa-cho. A herb famous for promoting smooth energy flow. It’s also an ingredient in Novagen.”
Yellowish tea filled a new cup. The chairman poured it only for Kim Heewon.

“I’d like to smell your pheromones more. Of course, I have no other intent. Just an old man’s small pleasure. Having met an Omega I like, I want to comfortably enjoy the scent.”
As soon as he finished, Heewon stared intently at the man sitting diagonally, silently asking for interpretation.
The expressionless man slowly met her gaze and said with an unreadable expression,

“He requests you to emit pheromones.”
“…Excuse me?”
“The chairman likes you very much. He wants to smell a stronger scent than now. Drinking the tea will help with pheromone release.”

“......”
That old man was spouting perverted nonsense right in front of me.
Heewon barely swallowed the curse rising to her throat. She glared sharply at the man, who smiled as if pleased by her fierce eyes. She had felt uneasy about the chairman’s gaze from the start. Her instincts had been right.

“Can I refuse?”
“Of course. I’m not forcing you. But I hope, for the sake of relations between the two companies, you’ll consider accepting positively.”
“This is no different from offering sexual favors. Considering we are in the weaker position, it’s a very rude demand.”

“Well, from your side, it’s just pheromones. It shouldn’t be hard.”
“Maybe so, from your perspective.”
They had a separate purpose from the start in approaching me. Did Kwon know this? He couldn’t not know. That’s why he was so angry earlier.

Now that she understood the whole situation, Heewon’s mind grew more tangled. She said nothing for a long time, staring at the teacup before her.
The choice was open: refuse or accept. But her lips would not part easily.