Born to Be a Secretary

Kim Heewon was a special case. He had passed the press exam and joined a major domestic news agency as a social affairs reporter—a notoriously tough department to enter—but soon realized it wasn’t his path and quit the company after just six months.
After that, he joined Apex. Apex was a pharmaceutical company specializing in developing medicines for Alphas and Omegas—that is, for genetic trait carriers—and had a global influence.
Heewon’s corporate life went fairly smoothly. Besides natural intelligence, his background as a reporter gave him excellent verbal skills and sharp intuition. Rumor had it that the publicity team had gained a golden rookie.

When Heewon was a first-year newcomer, Youngjae Kwon had joined the previous year. No one was unaware that he was a direct descendant of Chairman Kwon. It was also well known that he was fiercely competing with his cousin Youngho Kwon for the next CEO position.
Youngjae Kwon was a dominant Alpha who had followed an elite path. Although he formally started as an employee, he was promoted to team leader within a year. It could be seen as nepotism, but his exceptional ability also backed it up.
The two first met at a publicity team reporting meeting. That day’s presentation was led by a third-year junior, and Heewon’s role was to support the senior.

Because Youngjae Kwon arrived thirty minutes early, the presenter from the publicity team was visibly frozen. Though it wasn’t her first presentation, she was extremely nervous.
“Heewon, what do I do? I’m so nervous my stomach hurts…”
“It’s okay, you’ll do well.”

Heewon skillfully comforted his senior and helped finish preparations. Whenever someone entered the conference room, he greeted them accordingly, and once it filled up, he arranged drinks on the table.
Youngjae Kwon carefully watched Heewon’s hand as he placed down a paper cup. Neatly trimmed nails, spotless shirt sleeves without any dirt. Most of all, there was almost no scent ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) from the man. When standing close, even the usual fabric softener scent was absent.
In front of Kwon was a short-sized paper cup. An Americano close to espresso—his favorite coffee.

Looking around, Heewon saw different drinks at each seat, thoughtfully considering each attendee’s preference.
Then the presentation began. It went smoothly until the projector suddenly broke down, forcing a short interruption.
In the crisis of the halted presentation, Heewon distributed printed PPT materials to attendees and swiftly arranged for a large monitor, connecting it to a laptop. His arrangement skills were impeccable.

Youngjae Kwon observed everything carefully. He repeatedly memorized the employee badge peeking out from the tidy jacket—Publicity Team’s Kim Heewon.
He deliberately requested meetings with the publicity team and met Heewon five more times afterward. Each time seeing Heewon’s consistent performance, Kwon grew confident.
“Would you consider being my executive secretary?”

“I can meet all your conditions. Salary and benefits will be the best in the industry.”
“I’ll treat you well. Trust me, and let’s work together.”
The proposal from a future company CEO was frankly tempting. Youngjae Kwon was competent, had a clean private life, and was praised as a rare, mannered, and nice person even among chaebols.
Being the same age was a slight concern, but rank mattered more than age at the company. He wasn’t naive enough to not know that. Besides, it wasn’t like he was younger. Better to serve someone your own age than a younger kid.

After a week of consideration, Heewon accepted the offer. Since then, he had spent six years as Kwon’s right hand.
Thanks to his meticulous nature and innate sense, he adapted well to the executive secretary role. Kwon’s lack of humanity was a major flaw, but Heewon rarely got hurt by it—his mental strength was solid.
Of course, it wasn’t an easy job. People often asked how he could do such a hard job. Every time, Heewon answered:

Turns out, being a secretary was his true calling.
Heewon double-checked the attendees of the upcoming weekly report meeting. Since Apex was a trait-specialized pharmaceutical company, the ratio of trait carriers was far higher than at other companies.
Checking which employees were Omegas was an important task. Though they were adults capable of self-control, accidents could always happen.

Especially since Youngjae Kwon was a dominant Alpha, there were frequent incidents where Omegas made mistakes in his presence.
Therefore, constant vigilance was necessary. As a Beta, Heewon still found the trait world difficult. But what could he do? His boss was a dominant Alpha.
After finishing preparations, he stood, grabbed the jacket hanging on the chair, and looked around the office.

The secretarial office was busy in the morning. Organizing approval documents arriving for Executive Director Kwon, scheduling appointments, and extension phones ringing nonstop. Having a workaholic boss meant secretaries had a ton to do.
“When will our new hire start?”
“The first of next month.”

With more staff soon, things would probably ease up. Heewon buttoned his jacket and said,
“Prepare the new hire’s application and recruitment report so I can report to the Executive Director.”
“Yes!”

He then entered the office, reminded Kwon of the meeting schedule, and helped him put on his jacket.
Kwon quietly let go of his tasks and accepted the assistance. It was as if the earlier scolding had never happened—both acted as usual.
Their clean, no-hard-feelings relationship was the secret to six years of smooth sailing.

The 9th-floor conference room was known for having the best natural light in the Apex building. Through the wide glass, the open Seoul Forest was visible. Of course, no one enjoyed the view.
The tension was almost palpable in the air since it was a meeting reporting research results to Executive Director Kwon. Especially, researchers dressed in suits instead of their usual white coats looked stiff and tense.
“Hello, researcher. I’m Kim Heewon, Executive Secretary to Executive Director Youngjae Kwon. Excuse me, but are you feeling well today?”

Heewon cautiously approached an Omega researcher. The stern-looking researcher glared at him with sharp eyes that scanned him from head to toe.
“You’re the person who sent the email last time, right?”
“Yes, I’m following up because there was no reply.”

“That was rude, so I didn’t respond.”
The response was quite cold. Heewon hid his awkwardness and smiled. Sometimes people reacted this sharply.
He could understand. A notice asking to carefully manage pheromones might sound coercive or humiliating.

“I apologize. But for a smooth meeting, we ask for cooperation. I understand it’s your first time attending with the Executive Director, who is very sensitive to pheromones. We have emergency medication ready if needed…”
“Do you realize how crossing the line that is? You’re ignoring Alphas and only managing Omegas! Isn’t that discrimination?”
“I’m sorry.”

Heewon apologized again. The researcher’s complaint was partly valid, so he had no choice but to back down. He had no authority to enforce anything further.
The meeting started. It seemed to proceed smoothly, but within ten minutes it was interrupted. Sensitive Executive Director Kwon frowned.
“Who is releasing pheromones right now?”

Silence fell in the meeting room. No one spoke; only eyes darted nervously.
Among the twelve attendees, one was Beta, eight Alphas, and three Omegas. The trait carriers hurriedly denied responsibility.
Kwon’s expression grew harsher. No matter how handsome, an angry Kwon was terrifying.

“Can’t you hear me? I’m asking who came into the meeting without controlling their pheromones.”
Even if asked, no one dared answer. The quiet meeting was so silent you could hear swallowing.
People began watching their surroundings. At first, they hadn’t noticed, but after Kwon’s remark, Omega pheromones were being detected. Whoever it was was clearly nervous and struggling to control them.

“I-I’m sorry…”
Eventually, one raised their hand voluntarily. It was the researcher who had sharply questioned Heewon earlier. She looked completely unprepared to be reprimanded by Kwon.
“Didn’t you receive prior notice?”

“Well… that’s…”
Her face gradually flushed red, and tears welled in her large eyes. She finally burst into tears. As her emotions ran high, pheromones began to spread uncontrollably.