“I’m, I’m sorry! I was thoughtless!”
“I am well aware of your usual short and lacking thoughts, so find a new way to apologize in the future.”
“Yes…”
There was nothing to say to the various pickings. Hye Won bit her lips as she put down the jacket.
Dressed in a vest, Tae Beom sat down in his place. He was feeling groggy from lack of sleep.
“Did you sleep well?”
Tae Beom asked, looking at Hye Won who had a weary look on her face.
Feeling as if she had received a difficult question, Hye Won hesitated for a moment.
Saying that she had slept well would probably result in her being scolded for being able to sleep after causing such a ruckus.
“Did you sleep well?”
She felt if she said she hadn’t, he might scold her for making life difficult when she should at least have slept well.
“Yes, well, soso…….”
In situations like this, a vague response is best.
Hye Won hesitated in her response, making Tae Beom chuckle lightly.
“Deputy Yoon Hye Won.”
Ah. Was it time for real harsh words?
Hye Won braced herself, her shoulders tense.
“Yes. Executive Director.”
“I want to make it clear that I have never forced Deputy Yoon Hye Won to drink. Please remember that you drank because you liked it.”
“Yes…… Of course I voluntarily…….”
“At the company dinner, six regular employees and five security staff encountered Deputy Yoon Hye Won, who had disrupted the gathering and was drunk. I had to support her on the way.”
“…….”
“I feel like my already awful image is improving in realtime thanks to someone. Is it just me?”
“I’m sorry…….”
Hye Won bowed her head. Her memory after she had fallen asleep the previous day was a complete blank.
She would not have walked herself to the company, picked up the English newspaper in the executive’s office, laid it on the floor, and slept on it. The process was obvious.
The jacket left by Tae Beom, was a crucial clue that he had escorted her.
Seeing Hye Won, who was unusually out of control, Tae Beom cracked his knuckles.
“You made a poor impression at your first company dinner. Especially since it ended up with just you and your boss left.”
She was at a loss for words.
“You felt sorry for me drinking alone on my inauguration day and joined me, right? You couldn’t even argue against that.
“I spent some time thinking about how I should interpret this.”
“I…… That was not…… intended……”
“Of course not. It definitely wasn’t.”
Tae Beom looked at Hye Won as he spoke firmly.
Hye Won’s face, from which she had wiped off all her light makeup, was very clean. There was a freshness that went well with the not so bright morning.
Her vibrant energy when she smiled was overwhelming, but when she closed her mouth, she was unnecessarily nervewracking. Tae Beom raised his eyebrows at Hye Won’s peculiar atmosphere.
“I’m sorry, Executive Director. I will take care to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
“You should. Next time you wake up, it might not be the office floor.”
As Tae Beom stood from his seat, Hye Won raised her eyes.
The sound of slow footsteps echoed. As the footsteps, which seemed to be approaching her, made Hye Won flinch, Tae Beom stepped aside.
“The morning meeting is at ten.”
“Yes. Executive Director.”
“So it seems you have enough time to go home.”
“Ah…… Yes. I understand.”
Having finished what he had to say, Tae Beom first left the executive office, taking steps.
Phew…… Hye Won heaved a small sigh, her eyes wide open. Then she looked down at the jacket, which had not been returned to its owner.
“I thought I was going to get fired. Ugh.”
Hye Won, who was looking around, picked up a jacket and sniffed it.
The scent that made her feel at ease overnight, that fragrance.
“I should send it to the laundry. I have to hurry home. Ha.”
It was his woody scent.
“Manager Yoon!”
Hye Won, who had gone home, cleaned up, and came to work, stopped in her steps.
“Senior!”
It was Kang Seok Hoon, the manager who had been working with her in the Business Strategy Office until recently.
When Hye Won smiled brightly, Seok Hoon approached. He patted her shoulder as if it had been a while.
“Manager Yoon, you’re alive?”
“As you can see.”
The two who met in the lobby exchanged pleasant greetings.
“Are you just coming to work now?”
“Yes? Oh, I had something to do. What about you, senior?”
“I’ve been visiting a client.”
They walked side by side. Manager Kang Seok Hoon was the first boss who Hye Won followed like a chick.
Hye Won liked Seok Hoon’s character, who had a clear beginning and end. She always remembered the gratitude she felt during her early days, when he would casually assist her with work.
As she moved with Seok Hoon, Hye Won recalled the peaceful work environment of her department and let out a small sigh.
Seok Hoon, who glanced at her, opened his mouth.
“Is it hard?”
“No, not really. I’m not even at a level where I can properly work yet. I’m just being a nuisance here and there.”
“No way. How could you be a nuisance when I’ve raised you to be such an excellent talent?”
The steps towards the elevator were quite light. Hye Won let out a rare laugh.
Ah. She looked down at the two bottles of beverages she was holding and handed one to Seok Hoon.
“Senior, please have this.”
“This isn’t something you bought to give me. Isn’t it a drink owned by someone else?”
“No, it’s not. It was one plus one, so I bought two.”
In fact, she wanted to give one to Tae Beom who might be suffering from a hangover like her, but she thought it would be too much while walking.
Seok Hoon accepted the drink she offered.
“Since I got a drink, I should buy lunch. Let’s have it together.”
“Oh, really? That’s a great gain!”
As Hye Won burst into laughter repeatedly and cheered quietly, Seok Hoon also laughed.
“It felt empty in the Business Strategy Office without Manager Yoon.”
Seok Hoon, who had stopped in front of the elevator, murmured.
Hye Won gripped the beverage bottle she was holding tighter.
“If I knew you were going to transfer departments so soon, I would have treated you better. It’s a bit regrettable.”
“You treated me more than well enough. Without you, I wouldn’t be here either.”
“Well, if Manager Yoon hadn’t been there, I might not have been there either.”
Hye Won lifted her gaze to look at Seok Hoon. Tae Beom, who growled whenever their eyes met, and her boss Seok Hoon, were clearly different.
Even when overwhelmed with work, even when tormented by the nagging head of department, she could endure because Seok Hoon was there. Maybe.
For some reason, tears welled up in her eyes. She, who had been indifferent, felt like throwing a tantrum for no apparent reason.
Sniff, senior…
“I’ve always been grateful to you, senior. I didn’t even give you a proper farewell.”
“You talk like we’ll never see each other again. Makes me think I didn’t get a goodbye. What should we have for lunch?”
He was always warm and grateful.
My mental pillar, a strong windbreak, a mentor I wanted to emulate.
“I’ll be grateful for anything you treat me to, senior.”
“The way Yoon Hye Won speaks, it puts even more pressure on me. I wonder what I should buy to get a good reputation.”
That’s when it happened.
In the middle of creating a jovial and warm atmosphere, Tae Beom, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, approached as if waiting for the next elevator.
Startled, Hye Won instinctively hunched her shoulders.
“Assistant Manager Yoon Hye Won.”
“Yes. Yes, Director!”
Looking at the descending elevator, Tae Beom opened his mouth.
Seok Hoon saluted Tae Beom, and Hye Won’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Prepare for a business trip.”
The Villainous Demon Lord Laid an Egg for Her (Female-Dominated)
Several months after transmigrating into a book, Yu Wu found herself facing the demon lord Li You, who could no longer conceal his dragon horns. With one hand on her aching waist and the other gripping a sharp sword, she stared at him.
The demon lord’s eyes were red with fury:
“This is all your doing! Today, I won’t rest until I kill you!”
Yu Wu rubbed her temples. Putting aside the taboo against bloodshed during pregnancy, wasn’t it this very man who willingly walked into her trap that day?!
Warnings:
- Male pregnancy.
- Height ratios are set to mirror typical male-female height proportions.
- Characters include a foot-loving demon lord and an eldest daughter from an immortal family’s concubine lineage.
