At that moment, Kang-hyun suddenly stood up and strode over to Hae-wan’s side. Looking down at Hae-wan, who gazed up at him with wide eyes, he smiled faintly and said:

“Follow me. I’ll show you other places too.”

Hae-wan hurriedly got up and followed behind Kang-hyun, who was heading toward the space on the left side of the courtyard.

Unlike the open area they had just been in, two rooms with doors came into view first. Kang-hyun opened the door to the inner room and pushed it slightly ajar.

“That place we were just at is where I consult with clients, and I do most of my work here.”

Since Kang-hyun didn’t seem inclined to go inside, Hae-wan only peered through the crack of the open door.

The workshop looked dark and cool inside, sealed off except for a long rectangular window positioned high up on the wall.

What immediately caught Hae-wan’s attention was a massive solid wood desk. It was completely surrounded by what appeared to be a custom-made five-tier rack, and those racks were packed full of the small fragrance bottles Hae-wan had seen earlier in the reception room.

If there had been about twenty or thirty bottles in the reception room, the ones here easily numbered over five hundred.

Sensing Hae-wan’s gaze, Kang-hyun spoke lightly:

“That’s my perfume organ where I work. It’s also called a perfume organ.”

“Do you use all of those to make perfume?”

Surprised by the unfamiliar sight, Hae-wan asked without thinking, and Kang-hyun answered matter-of-factly:

“Yes. Pheromone scents are incredibly complex, so there’s no telling how many combinations might be needed.”

Hae-wan quietly nodded. He knew that fact better than anyone.

After coming to Seoul and experiencing firsthand how people reacted to his disability, there had been a time when he tried to hide it using artificial fragrances.

However, it was nearly impossible to perfectly mimic the complex characteristics of pheromone scents with manufactured products. Moreover, most commercially available perfumes were designed to enhance or layer one’s existing scent to create a different impression, so when someone like him who had no scent wore perfume, it only created an awkward and monotonous feeling.

Even though this was something that should remain in the past, his mouth felt bitter for no reason.

To shake off that feeling, Hae-wan focused on observing Kang-hyun’s desk. Besides the overwhelming number of fragrance bottles, the desk held an electronic scale, beakers, mysterious vials, and droppers.

‘Usually, I make perfumes that perfectly copy people’s pheromone scents.’

Hae-wan recalled what Kang-hyun had said earlier. He knew such perfumes existed, but since they weren’t commonly distributed and he’d heard they cost over a million won per bottle, he’d never even considered trying to obtain one. This sparked various curiosities.

“Um…”

When Hae-wan cautiously spoke up, Kang-hyun glanced down at him.

“How long does it usually take to make a pheromone perfume?”

“Well, it depends on the case, but at least a month?”

“Ah… it really does take a long time.”

“Pheromone scents are much more finicky than you’d think. They change constantly depending on countless conditions.”

“What kind of conditions?”

“There are too many to explain them all, but the ones that usually have the biggest impact are body temperature, emotions, people you frequently come into contact with, and… the level of s*xual arousal.”

At the last word that came from Kang-hyun’s mouth, Hae-wan’s face flushed slightly. For someone who had lived most of his life without pheromone scents, it was one of the topics he was particularly unfamiliar with.

“Then, what kind of prices do you charge?”

He asked to change the subject, but talking about money was also embarrassing, so his flushed face didn’t cool down. However, Kang-hyun continued matter-of-factly:

“It varies depending on the raw materials and various factors, but the first scent creation starts at thirty million won, and after that it’s two million per bottle.”

Seeing Hae-wan’s dumbfounded expression, Kang-hyun burst into laughter.

“Seems like an absurd price?”

That thought had reflexively crossed his mind, but worried it might sound like he was dismissing Kang-hyun’s profession, Hae-wan couldn’t answer and just hemmed and hawed.

“Like I said earlier, the characteristics of pheromone scents are so complex and finicky that creating a scent that satisfies most people is extremely difficult work.”

“…”

“But the reason people still come to me for work is because no one can do it better than I can.”

While the words could have sounded arrogant, Kang-hyun’s attitude was matter-of-fact, showing nothing but confidence in his work.

Hae-wan fell silent for a moment, unable to think of what kind of work he could possibly do in a place like this. He could probably handle cleaning, but after hearing the prices, he was afraid he might ruin Kang-hyun’s work products and didn’t dare touch anything.

“So, about the work you’ll be doing, Mr. Yoon Bori.”

Kang-hyun spoke up, seemingly reading Hae-wan’s thoughts.

“When orders come in for products like diffusers or plaster air fresheners, I’d like you to help with things like putting labels on bottles or packaging them. Sometimes delivery too, if needed.”

He was skilled with his hands and confident in simple tasks. Relieved, Hae-wan nodded.

Then Kang-hyun led Hae-wan to the room next to the workshop. This place was dark and very cool with no windows, lined with shelves holding aluminum bottles containing expensive natural essence raw materials imported from overseas.

Next to them were storage units filled with perfume bottles and packaging boxes. These were all products ordered in small quantities from custom manufacturers, and sometimes he would need to go pick them up.

The packaging materials were black hardcover boxes. When you opened the lid, the front panel would fall forward, and the front was decorated with geometric patterns and elegant English text in gold foil, looking incredibly luxurious at first glance.

Kang-hyun then took out an empty bottle for Hae-wan to see. He said they only made 50-milliliter perfumes. The sleek rectangular perfume bottle was covered with an elegant, glossy round black cap, and the front had English text printed in gold letters on black label paper, just like the packaging.

[Osmanthus in the wood]

Hae-wan read the printed text to himself. He understood everything else, but he didn’t know what osmanthus was.

Feeling the texture of the perfume bottle in his fingers, Hae-wan carefully turned the bottle to the side. On the side panel, small flowers clustered on tree branches were carved with exquisite detail.

“What… what kind of flower is this?”

When Hae-wan asked, Kang-hyun quietly answered:

“Osmanthus. It actually refers to the entire sweet osmanthus scent family, but I had silver osmanthus in mind when I included it.”

“…”

“And that’s my brand name.”

So osmanthus was a flower name. Hae-wan put the bottle back in place and rolled the word around in his mouth.

Osmanthus in the wood.

He had never seen or smelled silver osmanthus flowers, but just hearing the name made him feel like he was gazing at a flowering tree in a quiet forest.

“What scent is the diffuser?”

“I’m still thinking about that. It’s something I’ve never done before.”

Seeing Hae-wan’s puzzled look, Kang-hyun continued:

“I’ve gotten a lot of requests to make them, but I didn’t want to expand my business. I’m the type who has to personally handle everything from labels to packaging for my products to feel satisfied.”

“But why did you suddenly decide to make diffusers?”

Then Kang-hyun said matter-of-factly:

“Because you asked for work.”

Hae-wan’s eyes widened at the thought that Kang-hyun was taking on unnecessary work just because of him.

“If it weren’t for you, Mr. Yoon Bori, I wouldn’t have done it, so think of the money I’m paying you as something you’re earning.”

Kang-hyun finished speaking with a hint of laughter in his voice. Hae-wan awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, looking troubled.

Ignoring Hae-wan’s reaction, Kang-hyun closed the storage room door and walked back toward the reception room, continuing to speak:

“Well, besides that, there will be plenty of other things for you to help with, Mr. Yoon Bori. I’m rather slow with my hands, so I waste a lot of time on these simple tasks. Plus, I’m the type who can’t stand having people with unpleasant smells touch my work.”

Hae-wan looked at Kang-hyun’s broad back and asked:

“What kind of smells… do you dislike?”

Then Kang-hyun stopped walking. Because the sun had shifted direction, only part of the courtyard corridor where he stood was bathed in sunlight, and only about half of Kang-hyun’s face was revealed in the bright area.

In an extremely light tone, he murmured like it was nothing:

“Almost all the smells that people have.”

At the unexpected answer, Hae-wan blinked blankly. In an instant, Kang-hyun’s expressionless face changed to a smiling one.

“I’m joking. It’s true that being too sensitive to scents makes things difficult sometimes. That’s also why I usually wear a mask when I go out. This place is my safe zone with only scents I like, so I become even more sensitive here.”

“Ah,” Hae-wan made a stupid sound with his mouth open. Come to think of it, he remembered that Kang-hyun had been wearing a mask for more than half of their few meetings.

“Well then, shall we go eat?”

“Suddenly?”

“Yes. We should have a company dinner. That’s what people usually do on their first day at work, right?”

Kang-hyun said this energetically and grinned at Hae-wan.

Well, having been born as a third-generation conglomerate heir, has he ever been to company dinner?

It seemed like something someone who didn’t know how the world worked would say, but his face looked so innocent that Hae-wan found himself following behind Kang-hyun in a dazed mood.