Apparently, This Is a Romance Novel?

“Pretty, right?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty.”

“Between the pink line and the beige line, I think pink would suit you better.

If we add a tie, it might look too flashy, so I left it out—but if you do want one, then among these three…”

“Leave out the one on the far right.

It makes him look older. He’s twenty-three.”

“Oh my, oh my.

That’s a nine-year gap with the branch manager…

Branch Manager, I didn’t take you for that kind of person.”

“You thought I was a gentleman? I’m just a thug who makes money off money.”

“If Vice Chairman hears that, he’ll be really upset.”

“Who cares if that old man gets upset or not.”

Having calmed himself down, Woo Jaeyoung sat on the sofa and made me stand there as he crossed his legs and scanned my outfit from head to toe.

“But why is it just this?”

“Huh?”

“Looks like you liked it enough to dress him up in it, but if you’re going to style someone, you should do it properly from head to toe.”

As Woo Jaeyoung lifted his hand, a nearby executive handed him a small design book.

“While I’m picking cufflinks, bring a pair of shoes too. Size 250mm.”

Leaning comfortably against the backrest, Woo Jaeyoung curled his lips into a smile.

“The clothes are a gift, right?”

“Huh?!”

I, who had been standing quietly, jumped in shock.

“A gift? Clothes?

You said it was just ready-made, a fitting, like… like some clueless person’s choice!”

“So that was your excuse this time?”

“You fell for it pretty easily, didn’t you? Cute.

Baby, want to sit next to the branch manager and wait a bit?”

I tried to protest at being called “baby,” but Woo Jaeyoung was faster—he grabbed me and sat me down beside him.

The moment I plopped down, he slung an arm over my shoulders and brought his nose close to the back of my neck, sniffing lightly.

A refined rose scent tickled my nose.

I liked the perfume they had sprayed on me, but judging by the way Woo Jaeyoung crooked a brow, he didn’t seem impressed—he looked downright delinquent.

“Hyung, you’re pouring out pheromones right now, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.”

He didn’t even deny it.

I crossed my arms and whispered to him.

“You didn’t even tell me and just dumped all that on me before leaving—what was I supposed to do?

The moment I walked into the shop, the owner noticed right away.

He said you’re over the top.”

“I am over the top. I’m doing it so people notice.”

“Ugh!”

I stared uneasily at the shoes being lined up neatly in front of me and whispered again.

“Hyung, but… I really wasn’t expecting a gift like this.

I thought I was just helping you with something.”

“Sowon, think about it logically.

What are you helping with?

You don’t even know anything.”

“Hearing you talk about ‘logic’ after punching a high schooler is honestly kind of refreshing.”

“Tch, you little mutt.”

“Anyway, this—these clothes look really expensive. I feel burdened.”

“Burden, my ass.”

As he dusted off my jacket, Woo Jaeyoung leaned his forehead against mine.

“Considering how much money I’ve spent here, I could wrap you from head to toe three more times and it’d still be nothing.

Don’t worry about it—just try on the shoes. These are my treat.”

In the end, I was caught by him and ended up wearing new cufflinks and even trying on shoes.

They had a warm tone like well-baked wood, with rounded toes and tiny perforations like freckles dotting the surface.

As the explanation about them being made from lamb leather continued, Woo Jaeyoung knelt on one knee in front of me, lightly holding my ankle in his hand as he tapped and brushed around carefully, checking the fit.

“Not bad. We’ll take these.”

“This kind of thing feels a bit awkward…”

“They’re pretty, so it’s fine.

Send the clothes he came in back to his place.

Looks like that bastard Gamja drove here to get him new clothes anyway, so have him handle it.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Let’s see… your hair’s a bit messy, but it’s fine like this.”

He stood up and suddenly lifted me into his arms.

Caught off guard, I lost my balance and quickly wrapped my arms around his shoulders.

“Why are you suddenly carrying me?
I can walk.”

“I know, Sowon, both your legs are working just fine now… ah, thinking about it again pisses me off.

Anyway, if you walk around in new shoes before breaking them in, you’ll hurt your feet.”

“But you have to break them in at least once…”

“Yeah.
Just not today.”

Still carrying me, Woo Jaeyoung strode into the parking lot.

“Our little mouse, now that you’re all dressed up, want to go eat out? Anything you want?”

After being forced to eat nothing but porridge for days thanks to Gamja’s overprotectiveness, I answered quickly.

“Anything I can chew more than three times.”

“Really? Head to the hotel. Reserve a window seat inside.”

That wasn’t exactly what I meant by eating properly… but he looked excited, so I let it slide.

A subordinate who had been quietly following us opened the car door.

“Yes, hyung. Also, Doctor Jang is asking where to send the documents he organized.”

“Take them to the house.”

“Yes, sir.”

Ah, right. Doctor Jang.

Since I’d already openly revealed the possession thing, I could at least warn him to be careful around Doctor Jang.

And if I brought up the original story I’d been waiting to mention, maybe Woo Jaeyoung would believe me a little more.

As I spaced out, the man beside me leaned closer. The distance shrank until our noses nearly touched.

When I stiffened slightly, his dark eyes narrowed and a mischievous smile spread across his lips.

The rose scent lingering on him—like mine had transferred over—felt sharper yet subtly deep.

“They say perfume smells different depending on the person.”

“Hyung, I have something to say.”

“Yeah. Go ahead.”

“Not here… it’s serious.”

“I get nervous every time you say that.”

His hand moved lazily as he smoothed down my messy hair.

“I’m not saying I’m running away.”

“Then it’s fine. Tell me while we eat. Sound good?”

I nodded firmly, my eyes shining with determination.

Woo Jaeyoung chuckled for a long while, then leaned in to press a kiss to my forehead before finally pulling away to fasten his own seatbelt.

“Doctor Jang is a spy.”

Clink.

The fork Woo Jaeyoung had been holding slipped and hit the plate.

“What kind of bullshit is this all of a sudden?”

He picked up the wine glass in front of me, took a sip, then even checked the bottle in the ice bucket carefully.

“It’s non-alcoholic? They brought it properly.”

Since I was on medication, he had made me drink something else while he drank red wine.

I took my glass back and had a sip.

“I’m not drunk. I’m serious.”

Leaning back slightly, Woo Jaeyoung nodded.

“Explain in detail.”

“I told you, I got possessed into this world and there was an original novel.”

“You did.”

“I remember some of its contents.

And among them, there’s something about Jang Hanseon.

It’ll help you, so please don’t dismiss it as drunken nonsense.”

Sitting upright, I relayed everything I had pieced together over the past few days whenever I had time.

‘It took a while because I wanted to organize my thoughts as clearly as possible.’

Doctor Jang, Jang Hanseon, is someone sent by Gong Chanhyuk.

Right now, he appears loyal to Woo Jaeyoung and the Taehan Capital Seoul Northern Branch, but at a certain turning point, he completely switches sides and becomes Gong Chanhyuk’s right-hand man.

“And during that process, he’ll definitely sell off a ton of internal information.

The incident that triggers it is… wait a second.

Hwang Seowung.

Who is Hwang Seowung?”

“…Yoo Sowon, how do you know that name?”

“I told you I read the original.

Stop forgetting I’m not the same person inside.

It’s hurtful when you make it obvious you don’t believe me.

So who is he?”

“Vice Chairman of Taegang Group.

Basically the parent company of Taehan.

He’s not officially inaugurated yet.”

“Ah. Then his inauguration must be the issue.

You really need to be careful during that event.”

Maybe because of how serious I sounded, Woo Jaeyoung stopped feeding me pieces of meat mid-conversation.

He carefully went over each of my words before speaking again.

“What else is there.

Was there anything about you in that original story?”

“There was. But not much.

I remember something about you… feeling some kind of doubt about your relationship with me—no, with Yoo Sowon.”

“…Hmm.”

“Oh, I know something else.

Among the guys who follow you, the leopard-print guy.

His name’s Kim Seokje, right?

Everyone just calls him ‘Leopard’ because he likes that pattern.”

I clapped my hands suddenly.

“Wait—no way.

The shirt you were wearing when we met at the beach.

Was that his?”

“When did you get close enough to call him ‘Leopard hyung’? He’s older than Gamja, call him ‘uncle.’”

“Is that really what matters right now?”

“It matters more than me borrowing that bastard’s clothes once.”

“Don’t wear leopard-print shirts. They don’t suit you. You look like a total delinquent.”

“Wow…”

“Anyway. Is this enough for you to believe me? I’m really not Yoo Sowon.”

“You definitely know things I never told you.

I never talk about work with you. It’s… pretty strange.”

Silence fell for a moment.

It made sense—he had just heard something completely unexpected, even shocking information that someone he trusted would betray him.

I patiently waited, poking at roasted potatoes with my fork.

Very generous of me, honestly.

“By the way, this ‘original story’ sounds pretty detailed.

There’s a lot about me too.

Is that why you never seemed that awkward around me?”

“Ah. That’s because… I think it was a romance novel centered around you.”

“Ro… what? Romance?”

“Yeah. A romance novel.

With you and me as the main characters.”

Woo Jaeyoung stared at me blankly, then slowly nodded.

It almost looked like his well-defined jaw might creak from the motion, which made me want to laugh.

“A romance novel… sure, but I don’t get why it would include stuff about Jang Hanseon being a spy and that old man becoming vice chairman.”

“Maybe it’s a noir harem-type story. Romance has all kinds of subgenres, you know.”

“This is driving me insane.”

Finally losing his composure, Woo Jaeyoung dragged a large hand over his face several times.

“Fine.

Let’s say… damn, saying it out loud makes it even more ridiculous.

Let’s say it’s a romance novel where I’m the main character.

But if it’s about you and me, why is it centered on me?

Shouldn’t it be centered on you?”

“Huh?”

“You said it’s romance.

Most romance is written to suit Omega or Beta women’s tastes.

Then it should be easier for them to immerse themselves—why focus on a mob boss?”

“……”

“Think about it. Romance sells Alphas.

That bastard Gamja reads romance novels all the time and cries over them, so I know this much.

If that’s true, you should be the one driving the story.

But you didn’t even know you were an art student until Moyoung told you.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

Seemingly calmer now, Woo Jaeyoung resumed feeding me diligently.

Green beans with a hint of pepper, soft roasted garlic, broccoli—one after another.

By the time I finished, my plate was almost empty.

“How would I know? I’m not the author.”

All I did was dig up whatever information I could from my head.

“Even if you ask me, I don’t know.

The author decides that stuff.

So don’t interrogate me about weird things—just be careful of Doctor Jang.

If you trust people too easily and get stabbed in the back, you’re screwed.

You still have to take responsibility for my welfare.”

“Right. I have to take responsibility for Yoo Sowon. Anyway…”

Woo Jaeyoung’s expression turned serious.

I nodded vigorously, feeling proud.

Finally, he’s listening! That feels so good!

Even while eating yuzu sorbet after the meal, he remained deep in thought.

From the occasional dark look on his face, it seemed like he was figuring out how to deal with Doctor Jang.

Once he seemed to have sorted things out, Woo Jaeyoung stood up and took my hand, pulling me to my feet.

“Sowon.”

“Yes, hyung.”

I smiled at him generously, full of goodwill.

Yeah. Whatever he says today, I’ll listen. Special service.

“Let’s stay at a hotel together tonight.”

…Yeah.

Special service revoked.