Secretary Gwanggong's Survival Diary-Chapter 45

"The CEO has moved to the villa, and the medical staff and secretaries are waiting nearby."

"Good work. Make sure to check with the CEO regularly, and encourage him to manage with medication on the first day."

Yoon Taeo had made it clear last night. I, Baek Sieon, was unnecessary to him. I thought he had softened up a little recently, but it turns out that his nasty attitude is still the same.

In this world, Yoon Taeo's orders are absolute, but I couldn't just stand there and watch.

Even this morning, I didn’t bother to send him off because I couldn’t stand looking at him, but once he left, I couldn’t help but feel worried. So now, I’m secretly getting reports from my fanatical secretary team. Since Yoon Taeo is already in the villa, the reports are mostly just to confirm whether there’s a problem or not.

“...It’s boring.”

Yesterday, I thought my life was pretty good, but now I see that it’s not. The house feels unnecessarily large, and the space with no one around feels especially empty. It’s only one person missing, yet it feels unbearable to think about spending the next few days alone in this big house.

Today, I didn’t even call anyone for home management. With Yoon Taeo in the villa, there’s no point in using their help. But I made a mistake. Being alone in this big house with no one to talk to turned out to be far lonelier than I expected. It hasn’t even been a full day yet. How did Taeo live alone in a house like this...? The image of him alone in the desolate space started to overlap in my mind.

To shake off these thoughts, I figured I might as well get to work and sat on the sofa.

"Crazy bastard. How the hell can he be so free...?”

I got my work tablet back. As I lay on the living room sofa and checked Yoon Taeo’s schedule from yesterday and the day before, it was a mess. He barely managed to go through any of his appointments.

On the day he came home for lunch, he was supposed to have a lunch meeting with the executives but ended up canceling it. The rest of his schedule was full of cancellations. I’m sure, once the rut cycle is over and he returns, he’ll have to go through a hellish schedule.

The secretary team pointed to Yoon Taeo as the reason behind the delays, saying that he simply refused to go, so they had no choice but to cancel.

I was deep in thought, wondering how I could revive this wrecked schedule when my phone vibrated. I thought maybe I was wrong. I shouldn’t have taken the phone back. The same vibration felt ominous. And the caller’s identity wasn’t much better.

"Team Leader Baek, something’s wrong!"

...That phrase is a taboo in this world.

"Team Leader Kang, what’s going on again?"

The voice of Kang Seokho from the speaker was unrefined. With Taeo locked away in the villa, what could possibly be wrong...? Judging by his usual behavior, it must be some sort of joke, but for some reason, I didn’t feel that way.

"I came to pick up Kang Haewoon, but I can’t get in touch."

"...What? Beta?"

"Yeah. I heard he was supposed to do a commercial shoot this morning, and they were supposed to meet this afternoon, but he’s gone."

"Where’s his manager? The company must know, right?"

I was talking about Kang Haewoon, the Beta Yoon Taeo had prepared for his rut. We had made the deal under calculated conditions. It wasn’t a coercive deal, so there shouldn’t have been any reason for him to run away...?

"They don’t know. He told them to not contact him for a week starting today."

“I’ll go right now.”

...This is bad. My head was spinning as I grabbed my phone and tablet and left the house.

❖ ❖ ❖

"Ha... this is insane. Where the hell did he go?"

I wanted to cry. I had attached all available personnel except for the secretaries and security team guarding the villa. Through the manager, I checked all the places Haewoon frequented and combed through them, but I couldn’t find any trace of him.

“Do you think he ran away after hearing the rumors...?” freēnovelkiss.com

"...Rumors?"

"Well, honestly, everyone knows. Among the Betas that have been through the CEO, how many are still living a normal life? Maybe he ran because he thought...?”

“This is because he was afraid you’d get obsessed with him, right?”

The loyal bastard probably couldn’t bring himself to insult his master directly. After dancing around the issue with polite words, it was clear he meant to say that Haewoon must have run away because he was scared Taeo would get too possessive and clingy.

“I... I never said anything like that...”

“Anyway, it’s not impossible. Betas do tend to change, for better or for worse.”

Some have struggled with interpersonal relationships because of Taeo, while others, after suddenly gaining wealth, became corrupted, so rumors about them couldn’t be avoided.

“But if he was really that scared, he wouldn’t have signed the contract in the first place.”

No matter how much I think about it, this is strange. Kang Haewoon, who had been so eager to do a commercial, suddenly disappears? Moreover, someone so well-known just vanishes out of the blue? This doesn’t make sense. And more importantly...

“We need to find him quickly. We don’t know when the CEO will go berserk.”

I’m worried about Taeo. No matter how much tranquilizers he’s given, can he endure his rut alone without a partner? Taeo might be able to handle it, but what about the aftermath? The trauma from those times when he fought through it alone might haunt him as nightmares every time the rut comes.

“Hey, let’s go! Where are we going...?”

“We have to go somewhere.”

We didn’t have any backup lists. The only Beta Yoon Taeo singled out was Kang Haewoon. We had to find him, no matter what. Even in the cold weather, sweat dripped down my scalp. Despite that, my pace quickened.

“...Wait a minute.”

As I was heading to the next location in the car, an idea suddenly popped into my head.

“What? Why are you acting like a crazy person... Don’t make me scared...”

“Isn’t it strange? There’s no way we can’t find him like this.”

I could consider myself somewhat of an expert. I’ve chased after Betas running from Yoon Taeo before. Thanks to that, I’m good at working in sync. Some go to the port, others to the station. If we just check the house and the main routes, we’d find them in no time, just like when I caught Kim Daehyun.

“We might not find him, but why are you complaining?”

“No, that’s not it. What if... he left the country?”

“...Huh?”

Kang Seokho seemed to think my guess was reasonable and quickly took out his phone and made a call. As he spoke about Haewoon’s details, his face started to twist. With his already fierce face, he looked even scarier, and it made me nervous.

“I got it.”

He hung up the phone, and although he didn’t curse, he looked ready to throw the phone in anger.

“What did they say...?”

“He went to Russia.”

“Ru...Russia? Suddenly?”

“They say he went alone. I don’t know if it was planned, but he bought the ticket today and left immediately.”

...Why? No matter how little our company is involved in the entertainment industry, anyone would know that we’re not a place ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) to be treated so lightly...? If he really ran away from a secret contract related to the CEO’s rut cycle, he would never be forgiven.

“Send someone to Russia. Find him, no matter what.”

“Uh? Uh...”

My head felt like it was going to explode. How dare someone play with a life like that? I won’t let this slide.

“But...”

“What?”

“Are you giving me orders now?”

“...Huh? M-me?”

For a moment, I was so absorbed in the situation I didn’t even realize. Was I channeling Taeo’s way of thinking...?

“Ugh, Team Leader, you’re mistaken. How could I give orders to Team Leader Kang? It’s a request, a very polite request.”

The black tattoos on his face were sharp as his eyes glinted. I lowered my tail and gave Kang Seokho’s arm a few pats. What’s wrong with me? This guy, despite looking like this, is the leader of Security Team 3...

“...You’ll catch him, right?”

“You better stop acting if you go anywhere. I don’t even want to do what I was planning.”

This bastard... Does he think he knows who I am, talking such nonsense?

“Then I’ll trust you, Team Leader, and go to the villa.”

“Hey, wait a minute!”

Catching the runaway Beta is now more of Seokho’s job than mine. A big hand grabbed my shoulder, stopping me as I was about to turn around.

“You can’t go to the villa.”

“...Why?”

“CEO’s orders. Actually, you shouldn’t have been told about Kang Haewoon either, but it’s urgent...”

Kang Seokho scratched his cheek and watched me carefully. He was asking me to keep it a secret from Taeo.

“I’m the team leader of the secretary team...”

“...Yeah, I don’t understand it either, but anyway, you’re not allowed to go to the villa.”

What a bastard. Here I am, sweating in the cold, chasing after the runaway Beta for him, and that asshole still thinks I’m unnecessary.

“I’m not going. I’m going home.”

If he hates it this much, I’m rejecting it. I got in the car in frustration, completely annoyed at having spent all day worrying about his rut. I ignored Kang Seokho’s calls from behind. Both Taeo and his subordinates are equally annoying.

Even as I drove home, I couldn’t calm down. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand Taeo’s order this time. As my mind was in chaos, I drove a bit more roughly when my phone rang.

“Hello...”

“Team Leader! I can’t reach the CEO...! Something’s definitely wrong.”

Before I could finish speaking, a frantic voice filled the car.

“Stay put. Don’t just go in recklessly.”

The news hit me like a punch in the gut. I turned the wheel with all my strength. That was a piece of news I couldn’t ignore. Something’s happened to Yoon Taeo.