A Flag Reawakened

“Of course, I’m not saying you’re like that. It’s just, how should I put it… our salary is quite decent, isn’t it? You don’t seem like a spendthrift, yet you looked so financially strained. A few years ago, my youngest brother went through a hard time because of a bad loan, and I saw his image in you. That’s why I was being nosy. I’m sorry.”

If she were someone I-seo never had to see again, or if she hadn’t shown him such kindness until now, he would have snapped at her to mind her own business.

But he had to continue working with her. Besides, it felt wrong to be too sharp with Natalie, who had treated him so well.

“It’s fine. But that is a personal matter, so you don’t need to worry about it, Natalie.”

He heard her sincere apology, but his nerves—once frayed—did not settle easily, and his voice naturally came out pointed. An awkward silence enveloped them.

“Shall we head back now?”

“Ah, yes.”

Natalie followed as I-seo stood up first. Once they changed locations, the stiff atmosphere loosened slightly. Taking the opportunity to smooth things over, Natalie shared her wish to come in just thirty minutes late tomorrow. I-seo, unable to ignore her effort, smiled and said he felt the same.

Though he was much better, his condition hadn’t fully returned to normal, and he tired easily. Perhaps due to the high fever, a lingering muscle ache remained. He had heard that the self-healing abilities of Alphas and Omegas were superior to those of Betas; in moments like this, he truly envied them.

Still, there was no end to counting one’s grievances. Telling himself that if he had time to grumble about things that wouldn’t change, he should use it to work, I-seo returned to the office and resumed his tasks, staring intently at the monitor.

By the time he clocked out, he thought this week was turning out quite well. He finished a bit earlier than usual, and at the sandwich shop where he stopped for dinner, the owner recognized him and even gave him a freshly made hash brown as a service, telling him to take it home and enjoy. He walked with a light step, almost humming.

Then, I-seo froze. He saw a black figure standing in front of his apartment door. He had thought things were going strangely well this time.

‘Gambling… or something like that.’

Natalie’s words from lunch flashed through his mind. Would it have been better if it were something like that? A long sigh escaped his lips.

The slumping black shadow noticed I-seo and straightened up.

The next day.

Everyone who saw I-seo widened their eyes in shock. He could never get used to those curious stares. But then again, if I-seo had seen someone walking around in this state, he would have stopped to check, too.

When he checked his face in the bathroom mirror that morning, his left cheek was swollen and red. It was so visible to the naked eye that it would clearly take time for the swelling to go down enough to be inconspicuous. Had it been a weekend, he would have tried various remedies, but since it happened just last night, he couldn’t.

He had pressed ice to his cheek in a hurry, which seemed to be why it was only this bad. He was lucky the swelling hadn’t reached his eyes. It’s a relief it’s only this much. Still, the throbbing pain whenever he spoke or moved to eat was unavoidable.

When he entered the office, Natalie’s already large eyes grew even wider, and her mouth fell open.

“I-seo? No, what happened? Your face! Your cheek—what on earth happened?”

“Last night, I was getting up from the sofa and didn’t see a bottle under my feet. I stepped on it, tripped, and hit the table.”

I-seo demonstrated by hitting his fist against his other palm to show the impact. Natalie winced, her eyes narrowing as if she could see the scene herself. He felt tense, worried she might ask more questions about the injury, but fortunately, she said nothing else.

He wasn’t sure if she was staying quiet because of their conversation yesterday or if she actually believed him. There was no way to tell, but he was just glad he didn’t have to come up with another excuse. Natalie crinkled her neatly lipsticked lips and spoke.

“Ugh. That must have hurt so much. Did you ice it properly?”

“Yes. That’s why it’s only this bad.”

“Such a pretty face… I’m the one who feels upset for you.”

“Ahaha. Thanks.”

After thanking Natalie with somewhat slurred pronunciation as she looked as pained as if she were the one injured, I-seo sat at his desk. He wanted to correct her on the “pretty face” comment out of gratitude for her help with the documents, but he didn’t want to nitpick small things.

Fortunately, because he was the CEO’s secretary, his and Natalie’s office was separated from the other employees by partitions. Otherwise, he would have had to deal with curious gazes and worried comments all day long.

Ethan didn’t come into the office today due to outside schedules. Not that Ethan’s absence meant less work for I-seo. But today, he wanted to avoid a confrontation if possible.

Part of it was the unnatural way he spoke due to the swelling, but more than anything, he didn’t want his low mood to be discovered. He tried his best not to let it show, but since emotions don’t always follow a plan, he was worried someone might notice. He felt the fewer people he had to deal with, the better.

“Natalie. I’m going down to General Affairs.”

“Alright.”

After a quick nod to Natalie, I-seo pressed the elevator button and waited. He tapped his feet together as he watched the floor indicator hit 23.

Ding. With a cheerful chime, the elevator doors opened. I-seo, habitually about to step in, froze when he saw the person already inside.

It was Ethan. He hadn’t heard that the CEO was returning to the office today.

“Hello, Sir.”

“Hm. Good afternoon.”

I-seo felt Ethan’s gaze land on his cheek. It felt awkward being in the elevator with just the two of them. Noticing the button for the 55th floor was lit, I-seo pressed the 40th and stood beside Ethan, facing forward.

Is Strategy and Planning on the 55th? While wondering, I-seo saw their reflection in the polished elevator doors.

Standing side-by-side like this, the difference in their physiques was almost absurd. They looked like an uncle and a nephew. Was Ethan always this big? I-seo glanced at Ethan, only to catch his eye.

“That.”

“Oh, yes?”

Surprised by the sudden voice, I-seo’s voice cracked. He gave a small cough and turned toward Ethan. Ethan tapped his own left cheek with his index finger. Realizing the meaning, I-seo let out an “Ah.”

“This? Last night, I was getting up from the sofa, stepped on a bottle I didn’t see, and hit the table when I fell.”

“Dear me.”

Ethan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“I didn’t take you for the type, but I suppose you’re a bit clumsy.”

I-seo flinched for a moment, catching the slight hint of a smile in Ethan’s voice. It was because the thought flashed through his mind like lightning: in the original novel My Beloved Beta, the reason Ethan first became interested in I-seo was because he discovered the gap between his appearance and his actual personality.

He thought things were deviating from the original since it was Alexander, not Ethan, who found him at the launch venue, but now this happened.

Of course, in the original novel, the flow was about the energetic and bold I-seo actually showing a fragile and innocent side, which was different from now, but he couldn’t help but feel uneasy. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the “force of the original script” was making things happen one way or another.

“Hmm.”

Perhaps because of the enclosed space, he could hear the small sound Ethan made. When I-seo looked up as if to ask what was wrong, Ethan tilted his head slightly.

“I was just thinking that I haven’t had many chances to speak with you like this, I-seo. I usually deal with Natalie. Now that I think about it, I’m starting to wonder if you did that on purpose.”

“No way. Not at all.”

He’s sharp. It wasn’t “no way”—it was the truth. I-seo wanted to be an acquaintance of Ethan. He needed to be close, but not too close, and finding that distance was incredibly difficult. What I-seo wanted from the main characters, including Ethan, was for them to think: ‘Ah, Yeon I-seo. I know him. He’s that person.’

If he could just achieve that, he wouldn’t have trouble getting a recommendation letter after leaving Daimin. Meanwhile, to avoid developing a romantic relationship like in the original, he decided it was best to minimize close contact as much as possible.

Anxiously watching the numbers rise rapidly, I-seo felt grateful as his floor drew nearer.