After lunch, Jihong went to Jakyong's room. He stopped in front of the door and knocked gently. From the kitchen, Mrs. Shim, while brewing coffee, shouted, "He won't answer. Just open the door and come in."

Listening to her advice, Jihong boldly pushed the door open. And the guy, lying on the bed in headphones, asked: "What?"

"Do you have any plans?"

"Why are you interested?"

"I'm going to see Chairman Cho." If you're free, do you want to go together?"

"On what occasion?"

— Just a small acquaintance. We will inform you about our cooperation, promising to take care of you in the future. And also ask him for support, and...

"I won't go

Jaekyung refused, without much thought about the offer.

"Why not?"

"If I'm there, he'll probably start talking about the Olympics. Why do I need to worry too much? Jaekyung explained irritably. "And I doubt the old man will want to see me." A few years ago, I stayed in Korea for a short time because of the Olympic selection, and the chairman kept calling me again and again. Well, I said too much."

"What exactly...?"

"I said that I didn't have time for training because of his constant, annoying calls.

«… Is he really?" - Jihong pondered. No matter how outspoken he is, it's hard to believe that Jaekyung would behave in this way with someone who gives him money. If he showed his temper in front of the weak, but also acted shy in front of the strong, Jihong would advise him to change his tone. But the guy does the same with absolutely everyone. Perhaps in the future, he may have problems with the functions of the right hemisphere of the brain, associated with the assessment of the situation and context, due to atrophy.

"Indeed... the chairman will be very surprised by your visit," Jihong nodded, informing him that he could handle it himself. But before closing the door, Jaekyung asked, "Do you only meet with the chairman?"

— No, I don't. I also need to visit the federation office

"Why?"

"I have to greet them too.

Jaekyung's eyes narrowed silently. It seemed that he was dissatisfied with something again. Jihon, deciding not to go into details, said goodbye: "Rest," and left the room.

"Will my son come with you?" asked Mrs. Shim, holding out her coffee.

"No, ma'am

"Nothing new," the lady shook her head as if her expectations were never high in the first place.

"He mentioned his fatigue earlier, having missed the afternoon's training. On such days, it is better to rest and avoid heavy load.

When Jiheon finished speaking, the bedroom door swung open and Jaekyung appeared wearing a baseball cap, "I have a meeting with a friend scheduled, but since we are on the same side, please give me a ride."

"Where are you going?"

Itaewon

Coincidentally, the federation office is just on the way.

"But first I need to go to the chairman. I'm supposed to be there at 2:00 p.m. Jihon said, checking his watch. - You may have to wait in the car. That's all right? It won't take long."

"I don't mind

"Okay, then let's go."

Jihon took a sip of his coffee and set the cup down on the table.

                                                                                                    ***

Arriving at the parking lot, Jihong told the guy to stay outside while he cleaned up the back seat of the car. After rearranging the scattered bags and items to make room for Jaekyung, he settled into the driver's seat.

"Get in."

But Jaekyung opened the door and sat down next to him, fastening his seat belt.

"Sit in the back." I removed all things for this.

— No, I don't. I'm not in a taxi

"Hey, are you saying that I'm not your personal driver?" Maybe you're just uncomfortable sitting there because I'm driving, right?

With any other athlete, Jihong would have easily interpreted the words this way, but since the interlocutor turned out to be Kwon Jaekyung, it took him a while to grasp the meaning.

"It's part of my job. You will always be provided with a car that is driven either by me or another employee. Every time you move from place to place, you will have to sit on the passenger car.

"I'll figure it out myself

Jaekyung interrupted him and made himself comfortable. The car was a relatively large and spacious sedan, however, when the two big guys sat side by side, a strange feeling of stuffiness crept in. Jihon quickly lowered the window.

"I'll open it for a while." It smells too strong.

He explained, belatedly turning on the air conditioner. Jaekyung didn't answer, but just continued to stare straight ahead, putting his hand on the windowsill. Judging by the expression on the athlete's face, nothing bothered him at all. Jihong double-checked several times to see if the chip was working properly. However, if the athlete notices the pheromones again, then Jihon will definitely sue the producers. He couldn't shake his anxiety: "Should I increase the dosage of the drug?"

As he taxied onto the road, Jihon thought for a moment. The current dosage was already the maximum allowable. But his excitement only increased, especially after hearing something from Dr. Lim. While he was mentally reviewing his schedule and figuring out when he would be able to visit the hospital, Jaekyung suddenly broke his silence.

"Hyung, is this your car?"

"No, I didn't buy it. It belongs to the company," Jihong replied, turning the steering wheel sharply.

"When did you get your license?"

— In college

"And in what year?"

— Well, I don't think it happened in the first year. Maybe on the second

"Have you ever bought a car?"

— No, I don't. During my studies, I used my father's car for a while, but after I came to the agency, I mostly walked or took the bus as it wasn't far.

Jihon couldn't help but wonder, "Is he asking because he cares about my driving experience?" This thought made him unnecessarily nervous and grip the steering wheel tighter.

Driving out of the hotel parking lot, Jihon made a smoother turn than usual. He left safely, relaxing for a while. However, Jaekyung's voice broke the silence again, "Have you ever given your lover a ride?" Jihon, not believing his own ears, asked again.

"What?"

"Have you ever given your lover a ride in a car while you were studying?"

Jihong looked at the guy: the baseball cap covered half of his face, and his chin rested on the back of his hand, exposing only half of his beautiful lips. Jihong looked back at the road and replied succinctly, "Yes, of course."

— Did you have relationships with women or men more often?

— According to statistics, there are more people of which gender?

Jihon smiled, dodging the sudden question. Jaekyung, still propping up his chin with his hand, said, "I don't know. You're the one everyone will like, hyung."

"What is it?" Praise won't do you anything

Jihong was burning with embarrassment, because a compliment from Jaekyung is such a rare occurrence. In his opinion, the guy has always remained impartial. He thought that Jaekyung could assume that all of his partners were men, since he was an Omega himself. However, Jaekyung asked about both men and women. It was both strange and somewhat surprising that the guy, being an alpha, was not limited by such prejudices. In fact, he shattered the stereotype that alpha males date exclusively omega males or alpha females. After all, Jaekyung has always chosen bet as partners.

"In college, the number of female students is only about a quarter of the number of men, even less, maybe closer to one-fifth. And in my faculty, most of the students are men. Is this explanation enough?

— What is your specialty?

– Sports Marketing

— Why did you choose this direction?

"Based on my grades and achievements, I decided that it would be the right choice to go there.

— Regardless of your talents?

"Talents, huh?"

Jihon muttered a word as if he had heard it for the first time.

— I don't remember thinking too much. I just felt that I had to go to a prestigious university, as my parents wanted. And the Faculty of Sports Marketing seemed promising.

"Do you like your job?"

"Do you think it matches my abilities?"

Jaekyung nodded his head silently.

"Who knows... How many people can really spend their lives just doing what they want? I can say for sure that I do not feel disgust for her.

Approaching the intersection, the neighboring car gave a signal, and gradually began to change lanes. Jihong slowed down slightly and added, "Until last week, I was working on the PR team. And my main task is writing press releases, sometimes I participated in marketing planning or helped with content production. If you look at my list of responsibilities, it's more like planning advertising campaigns than sports marketing. But it's worth it."

– So, is this the first time you follow an athlete?

"You mean management?" Yes, this is my first experience

— Does this role correspond to your abilities?

"I'm still not quite sure. In the end, not a day had passed

Jihon jokingly waved it off. At this moment, Jaekyung turned his head and looked at him for the first time. He propped his chin on the back of his hand as he watched him drive the car before asking another question, "If it's your first time in office, then why do you get along so well with that athlete?

"Who are you talking about?"

Jihon had no idea what he was talking about.

"The one we met in the elevator.

"In the elevator?" Ahhh

At the same time that Jihong muttered his name, the color of the traffic light changed.