"Department Chief, Choi," Mrs. Shim got up from the couch, and an old man in a suit walked over to the table. "This is Spoin CEO Kang Taejin, sir," Ms. Shim introduced him, pointing to the CEO. In response, Department Head Choi said, "Oh my God, nice to meet you," and held out his hand, "I'm Choi Seong-kyo, I'm working with Kwon Jae-kyung right now."

— I'm Kang Daejin.

General Manager Kang quickly shook hands with the head of the department and bowed his head. He then introduced Team Leader Lee and Jihong sitting next to him, "This is Lee Yujeong, the head of our management team. And this is Assistant Manager Jung Jihong from the marketing department."

"Nice to meet you, sir

The head of the department first shook hands with the head of the group, Lee Yujeong, and then turned to Jihong, "We finally met after 10 years."

Jihong felt out of place as soon as the old man mentioned this time.

– After the World Championships, when you had lunch with representatives of the federation, I was also there

"Yes, I remember

"I never thought I'd meet you again," the department head laughed and grabbed Jihon's hand as he continued the conversation, "I'm glad to see you as a Spoin employee. After all, an agent who used to be an athlete makes a big difference. Since you were an active member of the national team, I think you will understand Kwon Jaekyung well and give him a lot of support." Mrs Shim, who had just been seeing a chiropractor, added: "I was happy about it too."

Although CEO Kahn knew that it was obvious politeness, but he couldn't help but be nervous: "Yes, he'll definitely succeed. By the way, where is Mr. Kwon Jaekyung...?"

"Oh, he's going to change his clothes and come out," as soon as Department Head Choi finished speaking, the bedroom door opened and Jaekyung appeared.

Jihong was surprised as soon as he saw him. He knew that Jaekyung was tall, but not so tall. Jihon himself was 184 cm tall, and due to the nature of his work, he was used to seeing tall people. However, when the height of a person exceeded 190 cm, the viewing angle changed. And now he was in the opposite situation compared to the last time Jihong had seen him 10 years ago. Back then, Jaekyung was 10 cm shorter, which made the child raise his head a little. Now Jihon himself was in his place.

«……….»

When their eyes met, Jihon instinctively turned his head to avoid his gaze. It took Jihon a little time to realize everything. Jaekyung's face is the same as it was ten years ago, but there are still differences. No, his face had changed, but at the same time it remained the same. Jihong couldn't explain his feelings. Jaekyung's deep, dark brown eyes, long and voluminous eyelashes, and sculpted nose were the same as they had been back then, even his well-defined lips were still the same. However, he is no longer a child. If you take a closer look at each of his features, you can understand how beautiful he is. But the overall impression changed: you could feel masculinity and strength in him. It was stunning, as if all the time flashed before Jihon's eyes.

"I'm Kwon Jaekyung," he briefly introduced himself with an indifferent look as he casually combed his disheveled hair.

"Oh, yes. I'm Kang Taejin," CEO Kang belatedly greeted him and held out his hand, but by then, Jaekyung had already turned away and sat down on the single sofa in the living room, seemingly ignoring him. The design of the sofa with fox or yellow-throated marten fur was undoubtedly elegant and luxurious, but it was too small to comfortably accommodate a young man who was 192 cm tall and weighed 84 kg. However, he did not seem to be embarrassed by all this. He crossed his long legs and placed his hand on the armrest, shifting his weight onto it and almost lying on his side, and then simply closed his eyes.

The CEO's face hardened at Jaekyung's behavior, who showed no intention of participating in the conversation.

"I think he was very relaxed by manual therapy," Jaekyung's mother said on behalf of her son, justifying herself.

"Ah, he must be tired. Even I can't keep my eyes open after the massage," team leader Lee Yujeong quickly came to the rescue. "Jet lag is probably to blame. After all, he has just arrived in Korea," Department Chief Choi added with a smile.

"What kind of jet lag? It's been more than a week since he returned to Korea, and the time difference with Australia is only one hour," Jihong couldn't help but think about it, but CEO Kang replied in a meaningful tone, "Yes, I think so. Only a week has passed," and sat down in his seat. Finally, the discussion of the contract began. Speaking of it, it was still in the briefing stage, so CEO Kang and Team Leader Lee were eager to talk about the scope and different types of athlete support the company could provide, with Ms. Shim asking questions from time to time.

On the contrary, Jaekyung remained completely silent. He didn't seem to be listening, sitting sideways on the couch with his eyes closed and showing no interest in what was happening. Even Mrs. Shim, who had previously been overwhelmed with enthusiasm, gradually subsided as the discussion continued: "I see. So, at the moment, this is the maximum..."

Clearly, Ms. Shim is unhappy with the terms of the contract, especially the down payment, which she found unreasonable. The terms offered by CEO Kahn were maximum at normal levels, but couldn't compare to a wealthy company like Kava. The discussion dragged on, and Jihong couldn't shake the feeling that he was sitting on pins and needles. He had expected some tension, but he hadn't expected the atmosphere to be so terrible.

He couldn't help but wonder why they were invited to a meeting, because no agency could compete with Kava. Suppressing a sigh, Jihon suddenly felt a look on him and quickly raised his head. His eyes and Jakyon's met.

«……….»

The realization that the person Jihon had assumed was asleep had clearly woken up made his whole body tense. 'Since when has he been looking?' he thought, even after Jaekyung stared at him without looking away. He got up from the sofa and walked over to the table. "Oh my God, you scared me," at one point, Jaekyung's mother was startled to see her son standing next to her. She blinked in bewilderment. The expression on her face seemed to say, "To think that little asshole is here, what's going on with the world."

"Mr. Kwon Jaekyung, do you have any questions for us?" "If you have any additional requirements, please let us know," he added with a smile. However, Jaekyung didn't seem to pay any attention to him. He didn't even try to pretend to look at the CEO. Instead, he focused his gaze solely on Jihon.

«…….»

Jihon's agitated anxiety grew. He didn't dare to ask about the reasons for this behavior. Instead, Jihong carefully took a stack of documents from the table and covered his face, trying to hide his discomfort.

However, his actions were interrupted when he heard a voice from above, "Hyun."

Just one word made Jihon's heart beat faster and fall at the same time.

"Are you talking about assistant manager Jung Ji-hon?" said CEO Kang.

"Assistant Manager Jeong," Jaekyung called out to him again, using the given address as CEO Kang corrected him. And then there was a completely unexpected question that widened Jihon's eyes: "You're a beta, aren't you?"

Not only Jihong, everyone was in shock and stared at Jaekyung with the same expression on their faces.

"Why... Are you interested?" - Director General Kang asked a question on behalf of Jihon.

Jaekyung finally looked at him, even though the CEO looked extremely displeased.

— Do you have any other questions directly related to the contract?

"I'm sorry, Mr. Kahn," Mrs. Shim interjected insistently. - As you may know, Jakyun alpha. We will meet frequently in the future, if cooperation takes place. But if the assistant manager is omega, problems may arise. Maybe that's why he asked."

If this was the real reason, then it was quite understandable why Jaekyung wanted to elaborate. Jihon just wanted to believe in her. However, CEO Kang didn't seem to put up with this: "Omegas don't release pheromones thanks to chips. In addition, athletes take medications that desensitize them, so it is difficult to determine who an omega is. If you are really concerned about this situation, you can suggest that we include a condition in the contract that only betting staff are present during the competition.

The more CEO Kahn spoke, the stronger his voice became. In the end, he turned to Jaekyung with a harsh tone and a fierce look, "You asked because you are genuinely interested in working with us?"

Jaekyung glanced at CEO Kang for a moment and replied curtly, "No." Next to him, Mrs. Shim exclaimed, "Hey, Jaekyung-ah."

CEO Kang sneered as if he had been doused with cold water, and then quickly began to collect the materials scattered around the table. Team leader Lee Yujeong hurriedly sorted through the documents. As soon as CEO Kang stood up, the others followed suit.

"I'm sorry to have wasted your time.

The CEO gave a brief speech and glanced at Lee Yujeong and Jihong, signaling them to leave with him. Jihon was the first to leave the living room, contrary to the order they entered. From behind, he could hear Department Head Choi and Jaekyung's mother muttering as if trying to calm down the CEO. But he didn't even try to pretend to be listening.