- #1
well he did like his face from day one but liking his face was not enough for him to give up years of misguided persistence, although it shook him deeply from the first meeting. It’s important to note that called cool in the hotel probably effected him much more than anything that might have happened in the bed.
[collapse]The early chapters reveal a lot more foreshadowing than I picked up on during my first reading. There is so much more going on than just an Alpha getting moved by Omega pheromones. A more obvious example is that the CEO buys gloves that Jin-Ha, his so-called crush, citing the reason that it was “cold” despite Jin-Ha not being exposed to the elements during work. Who actually is? The secretary who will end up with the gift once Jin-Ha turns it down! There are many more blatant hints, so blatant that I did get deceived by the secretary’s perspective into thinking Mr. CEO was actually quite the insensitive guy and not realizing the deeper implications. Other hints reveal more about Mr. CEO’s personality and past, but the details would be too much of a spoiler! Suffice to say that I tend to get more impressed by this story the more I read, despite my initially indifferent impression of the novel due to it’s somewhat jerky writing style (jumping back and forth between plot points to force in extra suspense is bleh). I find this ability to increase my perception over time to be a rare and pleasing quality in a novel that really makes it worth a read for those interested in the office romance trope and who appreciate when consent is respected in an ABO novel.There is one aspect I am completely annoyed by in the current chapters regarding the interactions between the Secretary and one of the villains. SpoilerMr. Secretary wants a normal life and for the characters to finish the plot smoothly, yet he keeps swaying in front of the bad guy like he is afraid he might get missed by the pe*vert. He thinks he knows everything about him but does not take any measures to be less of a target despite very obvious overtures from the villain. To confirm that the plot is off track he also goes to the villain to confirm than the og!protagonist. That makes more sense my a**! A conversation with Jin-ha scoping out whether anyone has been annoying him lately would be much more natural considering their long term acquaintance. Instead the MC goes to the villain’s company to provoke him again. To be fair, his plan to cause a chance encounter between the villain and the protagonist would have worked if only the villain held any legitimate interest toward omega and had not made the plan to disrupt the og!protagonists with ulterior motives. Mr. Secretary is unaware the villain usually prefers betas over omegas due to knowing the plot from the perspective of the og!protagonist.
I am truly annoyed by this development and I’ll need to let chapters stockpile for a bit before I try reading again. However, I also recognize that his actions stem from a deep misunderstanding of the og!protagonist and his suitors. Mr. Secretary presumes that Jin-Ha never considered the ‘perfect’ sub-ML or the scheming villains due to having a “heart that can only hold Min-hyuk”. What he has failed to consider is that the og!male lead may have been the only suitor of Jin-Ha that was sincere to him. The others, including his CEO, were not actually that into him despite going to greater lengths in their pursuits than the boyfriend he actually accepts. Mr. CEO was moved by Jin-Ha, but he was more moved by a potential future he imagined of them together than by the actual person. JH is, somewhat tragically, a placeholder that fit his ideal spouse. He was moved specifically by the undivided attention he received over a bowl of ramen. He did like Jin-Ha, but he did not love him. Mr. CEO has his reasons and I admit I find it hilarious that the second male lead has what can only be called second male lead syndrome. He holds a deep desire to be prioritized by someone, because he is used to never being the one prioritized by anyone. He feels he is not the protagonist in his own life so he gives up easily on emotional attachments. One thing I respect about him is that never does anything to actually force Jin-Ha or anyone else to meet his unusually strong expectations. He gets rejected a lot and not just by the og!protagonist. It’s literally the title of the book. He accepts these rejections with grace. He is aware of his shortcomings and does want to be loved, but he also will not drag someone unwillingly into the mire even to save himself who is on the verge of drowning.
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