Chapter 10
Chapter 2. The Narcissist’s Full-Scale Offensive
After washing the dishes until they were spotless, Seo-a turned them upside down to dry. She reheated the leftover kimchi stew once more before letting it cool.
Shaking the water from her hands, she looked around the now-empty apartment before returning to her room.
The empty house felt like a fairy tale after the magic had worn off.
The only thing left where the furniture and belongings had once crowded every corner was fresh wallpaper. There wasn’t a single trace of the years she had spent living there with Ji-hyun.
“Was the apartment always this big…?”
She never imagined he would clear everything out so thoroughly.
Thankfully, the movers had put all of her belongings into storage, but the feeling was strange. Everywhere she looked felt unfamiliar.
Am I really leaving this place?
As the emptiness washed over her, she stretched and rubbed the stiffness from the back of her neck.
Just then, Ji-hyun called.
“You little traitor.”
Filled with guilt, Ji-hyun sighed.
“Did you meet him…?”
“So what does that make you if your brother is our Executive Director? That old man you kept talking about… is he really the chairman?”
“…I wasn’t trying to hide it on purpose. It just… happened somehow. You know me. I’m terrible at lying. I just…”
Hearing Ji-hyun hesitate, Seo-a could easily picture the flustered expression on her face.
That was exactly what Min Ji-hyun had always been like.
Always cheerful and energetic, yet impossible to completely read. But not once had she ever tested Seo-a or taken advantage of her.
She had accepted Seo-a exactly as she was, asking for nothing except friendship.
That was why Seo-a couldn’t believe Ji-hyun had hidden her identity out of any selfish motive.
“I know. At first, there wasn’t any reason to tell me. And after I joined the company, you probably didn’t want to make me feel uncomfortable. Hey—we lived together for eight years. If I’d known you were rich, do you think I would’ve treated you any differently?”
“Would you ever do something like that? None of this would’ve happened if it weren’t for Min Seung-hyun! Damn it…”
“So what can I do? Your brother really is the owner of the apartment, isn’t he? If the owner tells me to leave, I have to leave. Besides, I can’t afford this place anyway. I only managed because of you… Honestly, it’s 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 replaced the wallpaper. I got a one-week extension, so I have to find somewhere before then.”
“Ugh! This is driving me crazy! Why did he move into that apartment instead of staying at the family house? Did he get into trouble or something?”
Min Seung-hyun… causing trouble?
Seo-a couldn’t even picture it.
With that personality, did he even have friends? If there was trouble, he looked more like the kind of person who solved it rather than caused it.
“Anyway, you won’t run into him much at work since you’re in different departments. I’ll keep calling him, so hang in there as long as you can. Deal?”
Seo-a couldn’t bring herself to answer.
Not only was he her landlord, but now she also had to treat him as her superior at work.
Come to think of it…
Executive Director… Division Head… Executive…
She froze.
Wait…
Did I… actually serve kimchi stew to the Division Head…?
Covering her face, she recalled the simple stew she’d casually thrown together.
But…
He had definitely eaten quite a lot.
He never criticized the taste.
If anything, he’d looked like he wanted another bowl.
“Ji-hyun… is your brother really that scary?”
“Scary isn’t the right word. Ruthless. He has executives trembling around him, and even at home it’s always ‘Min Seung-hyun this, Min Seung-hyun that.’ He acts like he’s the king.”
“That bad?”
“Yeah. So don’t get involved with him.”
Too late.
“So… should I just shamelessly stick it out?”
“‘Shamelessly’? Aww, our Seo-a has grown up.”
“I already grew up back in elementary school.”
“Okay, okay. But don’t be too afraid. My brother may be difficult, but he isn’t a bad person. Does that sound weird? Anyway… he won’t do anything truly bad. So don’t worry.”
For the first time, Seo-a couldn’t fully trust Ji-hyun’s reassurance.
Throwing herself onto the bed, she kicked the blanket in frustration.
She wanted to scream.
A headache throbbed behind her eyes. Too exhausted even to wash up, she buried her face in the pillow.
It still carried the faint scent of Seung-hyun’s cologne.
She jerked upright, glared at the pillow for a second, sighed deeply, and collapsed face-first onto it again.
The morning at the Design Center was as busy as ever.
The first thing everyone did after arriving at work was drink an energy drink.
Coffee simply wasn’t enough anymore.
The Fashion Division had been flooding them with work lately, leaving nearly everyone in the Design Center looking like zombies.
Team C was no exception.
Their job was to solve problems that other departments either couldn’t or wouldn’t handle, and Manager Choi’s desk was covered in empty energy drink bottles.
Standing behind him, Seo-a bit her lip.
If they dump this TF project on him too, he might end up claiming workers’ compensation…
Just then, Kyung-jun walked over and lightly tapped her shoulder.
“Sunbae, we’ve been called up to the 27th floor.”
“Called?”
“Yep. 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. Should I ask them to swap me with Ki Eun-jae?”
“Oh, stop teasing me. Ugh… do we really have to go?”
Watching her make a miserable face, Kyung-jun chuckled and gently tugged her arm.
“Come on.”
Cha Kyung-jun.
Assistant Manager.
Though they held the same rank, he always addressed her respectfully as sunbae because he was younger and had joined the company later.
He was practically the model employee—polite, hardworking, and good-looking.
Walking beside someone as tall as him reminded Seo-a of Min Seung-hyun again.
She remembered clinging to him like a cicada on a tree… and boldly grabbing his hand.
Both memories instantly became embarrassing black history.
“Did you hear? They’re supposedly bringing in a designer for this project. Owen Temis—apparently a British designer.”
“Owen Temis… I think I saw his name at last year’s Paris Fashion Week.”
“You go to Fashion Week too? Wow, you’ve got connections. I usually stick to industrial design fairs, so I don’t follow fashion much.”
“I think it’s good to learn a bit of everything. Design is design.”
“You’re tiny, but you’re packed with substance.”
Laughing softly, Kyung-jun held his hand above her head as if measuring her height.
She barely reached his chest.
Seo-a sighed and slapped his hand away.
“Enough already. You really don’t know when to stop teasing your senior.”
“I meant it as a compliment. Sorry if it bothered you.”
He apologized with a bright smile that clearly said he wasn’t sorry at all.
Greeting acquaintances along the way, they arrived on the 27th floor.
The atmosphere there was completely different.
Unlike the warm and stylish Design Center, the executive floor consisted of nothing but offices, conference rooms, and business.
Clinging close to Kyung-jun, Seo-a arrived outside Seung-hyun’s office.
Team Leader Lee Hee-young from the Business Division greeted them with a handshake.
“I’m leading this project. Lee Hee-young.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Bae Seo-a from Design Team C.”
“Likewise. I’ll create a group chat for everyone. Please cooperate fully on this project. Especially the Design Team—we’ll be relying on you the most.”
“We’ll do our best.”
“Once the Division Head arrives, let’s introduce ourselves. How about dinner together afterward?”
Since it wasn’t a drinking party, everyone agreed.
Seo-a spent the next several minutes introducing herself to roughly twenty people from Planning, Sales, Marketing, and Design.
Unlike her, Kyung-jun already seemed to know many of them and chatted comfortably.
The more I look at him, the more I think he belongs in Sales…
Waiting in the conference room for Seung-hyun, who hadn’t arrived yet, Seo-a wondered what expression she should wear.
If it was Min Seung-hyun…
Even with a room full of people, there was a 99.9% chance he’d publicly expose her for pretending not to know him.
Just imagining it made her stomach tighten.
“Oh, he’s here.”
Of course, luck wasn’t on her side.
Seo-a instinctively moved even closer behind Kyung-jun.
Not intentionally…
More like prey instinctively hiding from a predator.
Several senior executives followed Seung-hyun while quietly reporting things to him.
She nervously peeked over.
Unlike yesterday, he was wearing a dark charcoal vest beneath his suit.
He looked like he’d stepped straight out of a European fashion magazine.
Broad shoulders.
Long legs.
Perfectly styled hair.
Flawless tailoring.
If only his personality matched his looks…
“Good afternoon, Division Head.”
Following Assistant Manager Park Young-hoon’s greeting, everyone bowed in unison.
Seo-a bowed too, pulling her long hair forward to hide as much of her face as possible.
Seung-hyun walked straight over to Team Leader Lee.
To her surprise, he smiled politely and extended his hand.
The thrilled team leader grabbed it enthusiastically and bowed so deeply it looked like his forehead might touch the floor.
“I’m Lee Hee-young, Division Head!”
“Pleasure working with you, Team Leader Lee. I look forward to working with everyone else as well.”
His refined, elegant tone was completely different from the sarcastic man she’d met at home.
One by one, he shook everyone’s hand.
Closer.
Closer.
Seo-a wanted to cry.
She even swapped places with Kyung-jun in a desperate attempt to delay the inevitable.
It didn’t work.
“Nice to meet you. Cha Kyung-jun.”
“Ah, the Design Team. You’ll probably have the busiest workload.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Feeling her heart sink, Seo-a kept her head lowered.
A pair of polished derby shoes appeared before her.
Then came a long, pale hand.
She carefully took it and bowed deeply.
“…Raise your head.”
His voice was low enough to steal her breath.
There was no escaping now.
Feeling his gaze prick her skin, Seo-a slowly looked up.
Seung-hyun frowned in disbelief.
Then, without warning, he grabbed her employee ID card.
Forced onto her tiptoes, Seo-a’s eyes widened.
“Taeha Trading… Design Team C… Assistant Manager…”
“Bae Seo-a?”
Everyone around them froze.
The polite executive who had just greeted everyone had vanished.
In his place stood the devil himself, looking as though he wanted to devour her.
“For someone I supposedly don’t know…”
She forced an awkward smile.
“Y-Yes… I’ll work hard.”
“Really?”
“Yes!”
She braced herself for another brutal verbal assault.
Her shoulders instinctively tensed.
But…
He simply stared at her in silence.
Please…
Can’t you just pretend we don’t know each other?
Though he couldn’t possibly hear her thoughts, Seo-a silently pleaded with her eyes.
At last, he frowned and stepped aside.
After finishing his greetings, Seung-hyun slowly surveyed the team.
“I heard you all planned to have dinner together.”
“I’ll treat everyone.”
“I’ll see you after work.”
The invitation from the Division Head only made everyone more nervous.
Seung-hyun never looked at Seo-a again.
Hiding behind Kyung-jun, she hurried out of the 27th floor.
She’d hoped no one would ask questions.
Instead, she found herself even more afraid of what might come later.
As soon as she returned to her desk, coworkers bombarded her with messages, demanding to know what it was like meeting such a handsome executive.
Ignoring every single one, Seo-a collapsed face-down onto her desk, kicking her short legs wildly.
“I knew this was going to happen… I just knew it…!”
