Episode 7

"Good morning, boss" Magdalena greeted with her usual kindness as she stood up upon seeing him enter his office. Her blonde hair was tied up in a high bun.

"Hello, how's everything going?"

"All is well, sir, everything is perfect. No calls and no last-minute meetings for you. Your day should be pretty calm."

"That's good" he remarked.

They both entered the office, where Magdalena briefed him on a few matters, which he paid close attention to while responding to some emails.

"Of course, that's absolutely necessary. Please extend my congratulations. Also, order a bouquet of flowers with a card."

"As you wish. But he's expecting you to come in person since he wants to use that day to discuss some new investments he's hoping you'll be on board with, boss."

"I see. Tell him I'll review my schedule and decide if I can make it."

"Certainly. Are you very tired?" she asked, noticing him sigh and rotate his neck slightly in a circular motion.

"I think I didn't sleep well last night. My neck is really sore."

Seizing the opportunity, she viewed this as an excellent chance not to be missed. Her aspirations to be close to him had been stalled by his supposed marriage, but seeing as he seldom talked about it and sometimes didn't even wear his ring, she started believing it was of little significance to him.

"If I may, I can help with that" she whispered, circling the desk, "I know how to give good massages. You'll feel much better."

Jaehan wanted to refuse since it wasn't her job at all, but realizing Magdalena wasn't exaggerating, it proved impossible to decline. She had taken classes at some point in her life and always massaged her mother, so she was more than used to it and knew exactly where and how hard to press to relieve someone.

"There's a lot of tension, boss. Are you sure it's nothing serious? I'm here to assist with whatever you need" she reminded him amiably.

He caught a glimpse of her shiny black hair, tinged with a blue hue. He didn't quite understand why, and he hadn't mentioned anything either. She leaned in to catch a bit of his scent and smiled, loving it. She was certain that if they had children together, they'd be Alphas and the most famous offspring in the world.

"Just some household troubles, that's all."

"With your husband? You're supposed to be happy, but it seems like you just get more and more problems every day."

Jaehan processed her words and moved back.

"Thank you, Magdalena, you may leave now."

She noted the change in his tone and gave a nervous smile.

"Of course, boss. Let me know if you need anything else."

Jaehan watched her leave and turned away. He turned on the office TV, which was only talking about his wedding and how the Omega remained a mystery. He sighed and told himself he had to speak to Saije as soon as possible, or things might get worse. It was a secret, but secrets could never be kept that way; they always come to light eventually.

Feeling guilty for what he'd done two days ago, he thought about mending his mistake. He was spoiled, but he knew that wasn't the right way to teach someone how the world worked.

He went on to his scheduled meetings where he was shown presentations about the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. With winter approaching, Magdalena served coffee to everyone as hot chocolates started becoming popular in many places. He thought about the broken heating at home, likely needing a fix so that Saije, who would have to spend more time there, wouldn't suffer from cold.

At the end of the day, his driver maneuvered the car downtown. He looked out the window until he asked the driver to stop to deal with some errands before going home and ensure everything was in place for the Omega to accept his offer and behave appropriately.

Finished with his tasks, he stood on the sidewalk, noticing a florist shop still open. He had never given flowers, but knew sometimes there was no need to apologize when you came with a bouquet. He walked in, purchased the largest bouquet available, and got back into the car, heading straight home. As expected, the house was silent and empty upon arrival. He ascended the stairs to find Saije half-way down after coming out of the shower, droplets falling from his hair, the dye fading with excessive washing, similar to the Alfa's own.

They exchanged stares for a few silent seconds, then the Omega simply walked to his room. Jaehan followed, trying to speak when the door closed forcefully in his face.

Swallowing hard, he knocked on the door to no response, not even a curse. Inside, Saije was drying his hair, seated on the bed, unaware of the plans brewing. He thought he was smart given his size, but if he thought an insignificant bouquet would win him over, he was sorely mistaken.

He heard the door being knocked again and continued to look on as the persistent knocking continued. To Jaehan, his knuckles hurt from knocking, but he needed to resolve the situation before it was too late.

Seeing the door open, he grabbed the towel firmly.

"Hey, can we..." the Alpha didn't finish as the towel hit his face abruptly.

"I've used that to dry my backside" Saije announced with a grin as he watched him remove the towel from his face.

"Listen, I got this..."

"I can't hear, I can't hear, I'm made of wood, I have fish ears!" he exclaimed, tumbling onto the bed and covering his ears.

"Just listen to..."

"I can't hear, I'm made of wood!"

"It's just a small thing that..."

"I can't hear, I can't hear, I'm made of wood, and I have fish ears!" he shouted, covering his ears with the single goal of annoying him.

"Fine, since you're not interested in a credit card, I'll leave."

He turned to exit the room.

"Wait" Saije blurted out, "why would you give me a credit card? Is this another one of your jokes? Because if it is, I won't be responsible for what might happen to you."

The Alpha turned back to see him, now seated on the bed, clad in a sweater and sweatpants, awaiting patiently for him to speak.

"You need to accompany me to a dinner and behave yourself. Do that, and this credit card is yours" he said, showing the card from his pocket.

Saije eyed the card and almost said yes immediately, but crossed his arms, knowing it wasn't as simple as just behaving.

"What's the dinner for?"

"The press has been talking about us for a while. We need to show ourselves or things will worsen. I don't want any trouble and don't want my reputation questioned because of you, so just do this and nothing more. You can buy whatever you want then."

They stared intently at each other for a few seconds. Saije narrowed his eyes, trying to spot a hint of deception, but saw none. Jaehan's face only showed that everything was truthful.

"So, I just have to behave?" he asked skeptically. "I see. You should be thankful that because of me they're even talking about you. Before, they hardly knew you existed. I didn't even know anything about you" he added, although he was clearly lying since Jaehan's name had come up often before.

"Will you do it?"

"I don't know, it depends. Having to act like the loving husband to an idiot like you isn't easy."

Jaehan exhaled deeply.

"Depends on what?"

"How many zeros are on that card."

"Six."

Saije grinned.

"Okay, fine, but I won't go to any second-rate place, it has to be a three-star minimum. And the flowers?"

The Alpha briefly looked at the bouquet he was holding because he had completely forgotten about them. He almost wanted to throw them away, but since he was there, he lost nothing by giving them to Saije, suspecting that he might just dump them on the ground or even spit on them.

"I bought these for you, to apologize for the incident with the dogs the other day. That was wrong; I don't usually act that way, so I'm sorry" he said, offering the bouquet to the Omega.

Saije suspected they must be poisonous flowers or something since the idea of being gifted such a thing didn't add up. He wanted to mock him and say something harsh, but nothing witty came to mind. All he thought about was that no one had ever given him flowers, not even for Valentine's Day or his birthday.

"Fine, I'll just leave them here."

Jaehan placed the bouquet on the nightstand beside the card and left the room immediately. The Omega couldn't take his eyes off the flowers as he stood up and picked up the bouquet, inhaling the various scents and swallowing hard.

Then, he inspected the card.

When it was time for bed, Saije couldn't stop glancing at the bouquet of flowers on the nightstand.

***This work has been signed with NovelToon, and piracy such as reprinting without permission is strictly prohibited.***

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***