NLFSD Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The two of them entered Seo Taecheon’s suite, kicked off their shoes, and collapsed onto the bed. Seo Taecheon propped a pillow under Lee Jiwoon, who couldn’t even hold himself up properly, then raised his camera with one hand.

“I’m taking the picture.”

“Ku…ul…”

“…Assistant Manager Jiwoon?”

Seo Taecheon looked to the side and saw that Lee Jiwoon had already closed his eyes and slipped into deep sleep mode.

“…Cool…”

He fell asleep in that short time?

Seo Taecheon tried shaking Lee Jiwoon awake, but he didn’t budge.

Letting out a sigh as if he couldn’t believe it, Seo Taecheon ended up taking a photo with the sleeping Lee Jiwoon and uploaded it to the reflection journal app. Meanwhile, Lee Jiwoon, guided by the tipsiness of the alcohol, had fallen into a solid sleep. It was the perfect image of someone who wouldn’t notice even if he were carried away.

Then, as time passed and dawn approached, Lee Jiwoon woke up due to a dull heat.

“Ah… it’s hot.”

Why is my whole body so hot? I want to drink cold water.

The room was already dark, and with his groggy mind, he couldn’t see anything. His breath became rough, his forehead burned, and even his hands and feet were radiating heat.

Why do I keep feeling like this? My body’s so hot it’s driving me crazy.

Looking closely, this felt fundamentally different from a hangover. It wasn’t just thirst or a headache—he felt as if something deep inside his body was scorching and burning up.

I’m so thirsty. I want something cold… something icy to steal this heat away from my body.

His mind grew fuzzier and fuzzier. Lee Jiwoon drifted across the boundary between dream and reality and eventually slipped back into unconsciousness.

Then, before long, an astonishingly cool and moist touch brushed his cheek.

“Ah…”

Even though it was in a dream, the sensation felt incredibly vivid. The hand, like ice that wouldn’t melt, carried a coolness that felt wonderful.

“So refreshing…”

Lee Jiwoon overlapped his hand with that one and rubbed his face against it. A chilling scent rose from somewhere, tickling the tip of his nose. It was an indescribably fragrant yet dizzying scent.

“…More…”

The cold air mixed with the intoxicating scent intensified his thirst even further. If only he could absorb this sensation into his body, how amazing would that be? If he could just swallow it, how refreshing would that feel? Just as he thought that, something cool touched his lips. It was soft and moist.

“Mm…”

His breath caught in his throat, and then the cool sensation poured into his mouth.

A kiss. Who am I kissing?

Even with a hazy mind, he could tell what he was doing. But the effects of the alcohol and the dream were too strong for rational thought.

Enveloped in a tipsy daze, Lee Jiwoon felt as if his whole body was floating in the air. It felt like he was flying through the sky, and every time an electric current flowed through his fingertips and toes, his chest, pressed against the other person, thumped wildly.

“Stay still.”

The other person grabbed Jiwoon’s wrist as he fidgeted, pinning him down against the mattress. With his hands restrained, Jiwoon couldn’t move at all. All he could do was breathe in the icy sensation piercing between his lips and the overwhelming fragrance.

“Haah…”

Occasionally, when their lips parted, sighs like moans escaped. As the heat slowly drained from his body, a different kind of energy began to stir. His body tingled and grew sensitively tense. His inner wrists, cheeks, and earlobes all tickled under the weight of the other person straddling him.

“That’s enough.”

A low voice sounded very close, and then his body felt lighter.

…What a dream.

Lee Jiwoon sank back into the world of unconsciousness.

Sunlight poured into the room through the window. The summer sun was so blinding that Lee Jiwoon barely managed to open his eyes. Rubbing his heavy eyelids and looking around, he saw himself lying on a bed as wide as the Pacific Ocean, and beyond his vision was a vast room with a reception area in the distance.

“Where am I…?”

This definitely wasn’t the room he had unpacked in. Wasn’t it just a cozy standard room? This place could fit thirty people rolling around with no problem.

Holding his dizzy head, Jiwoon slowly sat up. From the reception room, he heard signs of movement, and soon Seo Taecheon appeared.

“You slept very well.”

“Huh? Is this your room, Director?”

“That’s right.”

“Why am I… here?”

“You fell asleep while doing your photo self-reflection assignment. Don’t remember?”

Seo Taecheon replied as he sat on the sofa next to the side table. Only then did Jiwoon begin to vaguely recall bits of the night before. He had gotten completely drunk and been dragged here by Seo Taecheon. He fell asleep right after taking the picture…

Wait. Didn’t I have a weird dream at dawn? I was burning up and kissed someone refreshingly cold. Someone who smelled like the forest. It was such an amazing scent, I couldn’t believe something so pleasant even existed…

Jiwoon placed his palm on his forehead. It wasn’t hot at all—just the right temperature. It was hard to believe he’d been burning like fire.

“What a nonsense dream.”

“What was that?”

“Ah, nothing.”

“Then eat some breakfast and come out when you’re ready.”

“Breakfast?”

Looking at the wall clock, he saw it was 8 a.m. If he washed up and went down to the staff cafeteria, he’d barely make it in time for meal service.

“I think I’ll be short on time.”

“Room service will be here soon.”

“Excuse me?”

“I forgot I had an executive meeting and ordered it anyway. The menu just so happens to be dried pollack hangover soup. It’d be a waste to leave it, so you eat it.”

“Really?”

Jiwoon scratched the back of his head and blinked. Am I lucky today? No need for hangover soup elsewhere.

“Then let’s pretend we don’t know anything again today.”

“Likewise.”

Seo Taecheon checked his perfectly pressed shirt in the mirror and soon left the room.

“Ah, a weird dream followed by free food. Is this a sign that today’s going to be lucky…?”

He didn’t know for sure, but his body felt light, and it seemed like there were no pheromone problems either. That was good.

Just in case, Jiwoon sniffed around various parts of his body, but he couldn’t detect any pheromones.

So skipping a suppressant for one day doesn’t cause any issues. Yeah. Nothing to worry about.

Jiwoon thought with utter ease, but there was one possibility he hadn’t considered. When an Omega’s pheromones get disrupted and leak externally, if they come into close contact with Alpha pheromones, the energy gets neutralized.

Simply put, skinship with an Alpha could stop the scent from spilling everywhere. Jiwoon, never even imagining that second possibility, happily waited for his room service.

“Today’s highlight! The Teamwork Pride Sports Day!”

Manager Kim, acting as the MC, fired up the atmosphere inside the indoor gymnasium. The 60 participants were divided into six teams, passionately cheering and chanting their slogans.

Lee Jiwoon and Ki Hyunjin were in Team 1. The two showed great teamwork in group games like tug-of-war and ball rolling, and they even won first place in mini soccer, performing outstandingly.

“Team 1 is on a roll! At this rate, they might win! But we have one final game left—the three-legged race! If another team wins here, they could still turn things around!”

“Waaah!”

The employees clapped and cheered.

“Assistant Manager Ki and Deputy Manager Lee, you two should go out there! You two worked so well together!”

“That’s right, that’s right. If those two go out, victory is a sure thing.”

The employees all agreed that Ki Hyunjin and Lee Jiwoon should pair up. Jiwoon also thought that teaming up with Hyunjin for the three-legged race might give them a good chance of winning.

“From Team 1, I’ll go with Assistant Manager Ki.”

Jiwoon went to the event headquarters and registered for the race. But the staff member shook their head.

“Uh, that won’t work.”

“Why not, sir?”

“For Team 1, the director has to participate. It’s the finale, it should be commemorative. Didn’t you hear earlier?”

Jiwoon was taken aback by the staff member’s words. No matter how much of a show this event was, this was too much. What’s the point of having an executive participate in a sports event?

“Understood. Then Assistant Manager Ki and the director will race—”

“Deputy Manager Lee and I will run.”

“What?”

Seo Taecheon had approached without them noticing and stood there with his arms folded, looking confident.

“Wait. You want to run with me?”

“Why not? I saw you performing well in every event earlier.”

“Uh… that’s true, but still…”

“Okay, we’re out of time! Director! Deputy Manager Lee! Please head to the starting line!”

The staff came running over and hurried the two to the starting line. Jiwoon was dragged over before he could say anything. Taecheon quickly tied their ankles together and slung his arm over Jiwoon’s shoulder.

“Left foot first, or right foot?”

“Let’s go with the inside foot first.”

The two began a simple practice run. And each time they counted in unison—one, two, one, two—they moved in perfect sync.

What the heck? Why are we so in sync?

It wasn’t a good feeling or a bad one. Just strange.

He recalled the instructor during the personality test saying, “If these two did a project together, it’d go really well.” Could that test actually have been accurate?

Jiwoon pouted.

Ugh, this is annoying. It’s like the whole world is trying to pair me with this guy.

The three-legged race ended with the two of them taking a decisive first place. Applause erupted for Jiwoon and Taecheon as they crossed the finish line.

“Incredible! The director and deputy manager teamed up to win first place! The prize is… a hotel voucher!”

“Wow! I’m so jealous!”

“Well done!”

A voucher for one stay at an affiliate hotel was placed in Jiwoon’s hand.

But isn’t it just a hotel we can use at a staff discount anyway? This coupon doesn’t exactly thrill me… But I guess I have to smile and pretend it does. That’s what being a professional is about.

The dazed look on Jiwoon’s face and Taecheon’s composed expression were captured forever in a photo.

After a chaotic and eventful two-day, one-night trip, the ride back coincided with rush hour and heavy traffic. As they entered Seoul, the congestion got worse. Jiwoon dozed off in the sluggishly moving car.

“Mmm…”

Ah, so nice.

Jiwoon really liked the unidentified object his head was resting on. The perfect balance of cushion and firmness made for a comfortable nap.

“Ah… it’s so bouncy.”

He reached out and squeezed the cushion. It was so elastic that even pressing hard and patting it firmly didn’t deform its shape at all. What is this thing made of?

And the moment he opened his eyes—he met the gaze of Seo Taecheon, who was staring at him as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“Gasp. I’m sorry.”

“…I’m less worried about the touching and more afraid you drooled on my shoulder.”

“I didn’t drool!”

Jiwoon quickly pulled away from Taecheon’s shoulder and checked his face in his phone screen just to be sure. Luckily, there were no traces of drool.

“This is Gangnam Station. Everyone, please exit carefully.”

The car finally came to a stop. Jiwoon got off first and pulled his suitcase from the luggage compartment. As he did, he quickly scanned the crowd of dozens, looking for Taecheon. But he was nowhere to be seen.