Chapter 9
Chapter 2: The Narcissist’s Relentless Offensive
After washing the dishes until they sparkled, Seo-ah turned them upside down to dry. She reheated the leftover kimchi stew one last time, then let it cool.
Shaking the water from her hands, she looked around the now-empty apartment before walking into her room.
Without the furniture, the house felt like the enchanted world of a fairy tale after the magic had disappeared.
All that remained where their belongings had once crowded every corner were freshly wallpapered walls. There wasn’t a single trace left of the years she had spent living there with Ji-hyun.
“Was the apartment always this spacious…?”
She had never imagined it would be emptied so completely.
Thankfully, she’d been told that all of her belongings had been placed into a storage moving truck, but the feeling was still strange.
How could she describe this sense that every corner of the house had suddenly become unfamiliar?
Am I really leaving this place?
Just as she stretched and rubbed the stiffness from the back of her neck, overwhelmed by the emptiness, Ji-hyun called.
“You terrible brat.”
Hearing the accusation thick with betrayal, Ji-hyun sighed.
“Did you meet him…?”
“So… if your brother is an Executive Director at my company, then what does that make you? And that ‘old man’ you talked about all the time… is he actually the Chairman?”
“…It’s not like I deliberately hid it. It just… kind of happened. You know me. I can’t lie. It’s just…”
Listening to Ji-hyun stumble over her words, Seo-ah could easily picture the flustered expression on her face.
Ji-hyun had always been like that.
Bright. Cheerful.
But impossible to truly read.
Even so, she’d never once tested Seo-ah’s trust.
She’d always treated her exactly the same, as though their friendship alone mattered.
Because of that, Seo-ah couldn’t believe Ji-hyun had ever had any ulterior motives.
“I know. At first there wasn’t any reason to tell me. Then after I joined the company, you probably didn’t want me to feel pressured. Hey, we’ve lived together for eight years. Do you really think I’d have treated you differently just because you’re rich?”
“Would you? If it weren’t for Min Seung-hyun, none of this would’ve happened! Damn it…”
“But what can I do? Your brother’s the actual owner of the apartment. If he tells me to leave, I have to leave. Besides, I could never afford the maintenance fees here. I only managed because of you… It’ll be easier if I just move out.”
“You don’t have to worry about the maintenance fees…! He really told you to leave?”
“He already moved all the furniture out and even had the wallpaper replaced. He gave me a week’s grace period, so I have to find somewhere before then.”
“Ugh, this is driving me crazy! Of all places, why did he suddenly move there instead of staying at the family home? Did he get into trouble?”
Seung-hyun… getting into trouble?
She couldn’t imagine it.
Did someone with that personality even have friends?
If anything, he seemed like the type who solved other people’s problems rather than caused them.
“Anyway, your department is different from my brother’s, so you shouldn’t run into him at work very often. I’ll keep calling him too, so just hang in there as long as you can. Deal?”
Seo-ah couldn’t bring herself to answer.
It was already bad enough that he was her landlord.
Now she also had to treat him as one of the company’s top executives.
Come to think of it…
Executive Director…
Division Head…
A corporate executive…
She froze.
Wait…
Did I… actually serve homemade kimchi stew to the Division Head? That stew…?
Covering her face with both hands, she remembered the hastily made kimchi stew.
Still…
He had eaten quite a lot of it.
He hadn’t criticized the taste.
If anything, he’d looked like he wanted another bowl of rice.
“Ji-hyun… is he really that scary?”
“It’s not that he’s scary… He’s ruthless. Even the executives are terrified of him. At home it’s always ‘Min Seung-hyun this, Min Seung-hyun that.’ He practically thinks he’s king.”
“That bad?”
“Yep. That’s why I told you not to get involved with him.”
Too late.
“I’m going to have to grow a thicker skin.”
“‘Grow a thicker skin?’ Aww, our Seo-ah’s all grown up!”
“I’ve been grown up since elementary school.”
“Alright, alright. Still, don’t be too afraid of him. My brother may be mean, but he’s not a bad person… Hmm, that sounds weird. Anyway, he won’t do anything truly bad. So don’t worry.”
For the first time, Seo-ah couldn’t bring herself to trust Ji-hyun’s reassurance.
She collapsed onto the bed and kicked her blanket in frustration.
She wanted to scream.
A migraine began pounding behind her eyes.
Too exhausted even to wash up, she buried her face in the pillow—
—and caught the faint scent of Seung-hyun’s skincare.
She shot upright.
She glared at the pillow for a moment before sighing deeply and flopping back down.
The Design Center was as busy as ever the next morning.
The first thing everyone did after arriving at work was drink an energy drink.
Coffee alone wasn’t enough anymore to keep up with the growing exhaustion.
The Fashion Division had been flooding them with work lately, leaving nearly everyone in the Design Center looking like sleep-deprived zombies.
Team C was no exception.
Since their job was solving problems that specialized departments either couldn’t or wouldn’t handle, Assistant Manager Choi’s desk was littered with empty energy drink bottles.
Watching the increasingly zombified Assistant Manager Choi, Seo-ah bit her lip.
If they dump the TF project on him too… he might actually end up claiming workers’ compensation…
Just as she returned to her seat, Kyung-jun tapped her shoulder.
“Sunbae. We’ve been called to the twenty-seventh floor.”
“Called?”
“Yeah. I got assigned to the TF too. Let’s go together.”
“Oh, really? I thought Eun-jae was joining.”
“So did I. Personally, I’m happy to work with you… but should I ask them to replace me with Ki Eun-jae?”
“Really? You’re going to tease your senior like that? Sigh… So we really have to go?”
Looking at Seo-ah’s miserable face, Kyung-jun chuckled and gently pulled her along.
“Come on.”
Cha Kyung-jun held the same rank as her—Assistant Manager—but because he was younger and had joined the company later, he always respectfully called her “sunbae.”
He was the textbook example of the perfect younger colleague.
Polite.
Reliable.
The kind of son every parent dreamed of.
Walking beside the tall Kyung-jun, Seo-ah found herself thinking about Min Seung-hyun again.
Memories flashed through her mind—
Hanging onto him like a cicada clinging to a tree.
Boldly grabbing his hand.
One embarrassing black-history moment after another.
“You know, I heard they’re bringing in an outside designer for this project. Owen Themis. Apparently he’s from the UK.”
“Owen Themis…? I think I saw his name in last year’s Paris Fashion Week lineup.”
“You go to Fashion Week too? Wow, you really know people. I usually stick to industrial design fairs instead.”
“I think it’s good to know every field of design.”
“You’re tiny, but you’re surprisingly packed with substance, Sunbae.”
Chuckling, Kyung-jun held his hand above her head as though measuring her height.
She barely reached the middle of his chest.
Seo-ah sighed and smacked his hand away.
“Enough. You really have no respect for your senior.”
“I meant it as a compliment. If I offended you, I’m sorry.”
He apologized with a grin that clearly showed he wasn’t sorry at all.
Greeting familiar faces as they walked, they arrived on the twenty-seventh floor.
The atmosphere changed completely.
The warmth and stylish comfort of the Design Center disappeared.
Here, every wall and every door existed solely for work.
Nervously sticking close to Kyung-jun, Seo-ah arrived outside Seung-hyun’s office.
Team Leader Lee Hee-young from the Business Division, who had already been chatting with several others, extended a hand.
“I’m Team Leader Lee Hee-young. I’ll be leading this project.”
“Hello, Team Leader. I’m Bae Seo-ah from Design Team C.”
“Nice to meet you. I’ll create a group chat later, so keep an eye out. Everyone, I’ll be counting on your cooperation. Especially the Design Team—we’ll be relying on you the most.”
“Yes. I’ll do my best.”
“Once the Division Head arrives, let’s greet him. Then how about we all have dinner together tonight?”
Since it wasn’t going to be a drinking party, everyone seemed willing to agree.
Seo-ah introduced herself to roughly twenty people from Planning, Sales, Marketing, Design, and other departments.
Unlike her, who was meeting most of them for the first time, Kyung-jun seemed to know many of them already.
The more I look at him, the more I think he’d be perfect for Sales…
Standing inside the conference room, waiting for Seung-hyun to arrive, Seo-ah worried about what kind of expression she should wear.
If it’s Min Seung-hyun… even with all these people around, there’s a 99.9% chance he’ll embarrass me for hiding my identity.
The thought alone made her stomach churn.
“Oh, he’s here.”
Of course.
Luck was never on her side.
Seo-ah instinctively edged even closer behind Kyung-jun.
It wasn’t intentional.
It was simply the instinct of prey sensing a predator.
Several senior executives she didn’t recognize followed behind Seung-hyun, quietly reporting things into his ear.
Heart pounding, she cautiously peeked out.
Unlike yesterday, he was wearing a dark gray vest beneath his tailored suit.
He looked like a model who had stepped straight out of a European fashion magazine.
Broad shoulders.
Long, elegant limbs.
Perfectly styled hair.
Flawless tailoring.
If only his personality matched his looks…
“Good morning, Director.”
Assistant Manager Park Young-hoon greeted him first.
The entire project team bowed respectfully.
Seo-ah hurriedly bowed as well, pulling her long hair forward to hide as much of her face as possible.
Seung-hyun strode confidently toward Team Leader Lee.
When she stole a glance, she saw him smiling politely as he extended his hand.
Team Leader Lee looked deeply honored, grabbing his hand enthusiastically and bowing almost ninety degrees.
“I’m Team Leader Lee Hee-young, Director!”
“I’m looking forward to working with you, Team Leader Lee. And with everyone else as well.”
His voice was refined.
Elegant.
Gone was the sarcastic tone he’d used at home.
Now he spoke with the calm dignity expected of a senior executive.
After shaking hands repeatedly with Team Leader Lee, he continued down the line.
One by one.
Closer.
Closer.
Seo-ah wanted to cry.
She even switched places with Kyung-jun, hoping to delay the inevitable.
It didn’t help.
“I’m Cha Kyung-jun from Design.”
“Ah, the Design Team. You’ll probably be the busiest department.”
“I’ll work hard.”
Her heart sank.
Head lowered, Seo-ah saw polished Derby shoes stop in front of her.
A long, pale hand reached out.
Carefully taking it, she bowed deeply.
Seung-hyun lowered his gaze.
His eyes narrowed.
“Look up.”
His deep voice nearly stole her breath.
There was no escaping now.
Feeling as though his gaze was piercing her skin, Seo-ah slowly raised her head.
The next instant, Seung-hyun frowned in disbelief.
He grabbed her employee ID badge and pulled it toward him.
Forced onto her tiptoes, Seo-ah’s eyes widened.
“Taeha Trading… Design Team C… Assistant Manager… Bae Seo-ah?”
Everyone around them looked startled.
The polite executive who had been warmly greeting everyone had vanished.
In his place stood the devil who looked ready to devour her alive.
“We… seem to meet quite often.”
Forcing an awkward smile, Seo-ah gently tugged her ID badge back while bowing again.
“I-I’ll work hard.”
“Really?”
“Yes!”
She braced herself for the devastating verbal attack she knew was coming.
Her shoulders tensed instinctively.
Yet Seung-hyun simply stared at her.
Without saying another word.
Please… can’t you just pretend you don’t know me?
He probably couldn’t read her desperate eyes.
Still, she pleaded silently.
Only then did he finally step aside with a slight frown.
After finishing the introductions, Seung-hyun slowly looked around the room.
“I heard you’ve all made dinner plans. I’ll be treating everyone. I’ll see you all after work.”
The Division Head’s invitation left everyone visibly tense.
Without looking at Seo-ah again, Seung-hyun left.
Hiding behind Kyung-jun, Seo-ah hurried off the twenty-seventh floor.
She had hoped no one would ask questions.
Instead, the fear of what might happen later only grew stronger.
Like prey fleeing from a hunting dog, she rushed back to her desk.
The moment she arrived, her coworkers bombarded her with questions.
Completely oblivious to her misery.
Ignoring every message demanding her impressions of the “ridiculously handsome executive,” she collapsed face-first onto her desk, kicking her short legs helplessly.
I knew this would happen… I knew it…!
