13

Office gossip was sweeter than coffee for most. And I too, was heavy on the addiction. The latest news: a Team Manager had officially resigned and was serving his notice of two weeks. Meaning, a position was vacant for application. Someone could be promoted or hired as a manager.

Definitely not me.

Mr Min was going to hate me for it but that was the truth. I couldn't rush into something just because his ass was on fire. He would probably talk about my potential. But potential? My foot.

I would be sucked dry by the senior management if I went in too early. It was dangerous grounds to step in without enough strategy. One thing I was learning at Neureva was that the higher the position, the severe the political warfare. At some point in the hierarchy, maybe the war stops and you have the ultimate power—but wouldn't that end up being the board of Trustees or something?

Anyway, so my denial was final. And I hated to be competition with no other than Mr Han for the place. I didn't have the headspace for that.

Just as I punched my passive-aggressive email signature, a sugary voice sliced through.

"Hello Haerin!" Mirae dropped her berry blue bag on the desk, piling her things beside it as she entered.

"Good morning." I tried to smile.

Plopping onto her seat, she began arranging her things and booting her system up.

Our eyes met and I couldn't smile this time. I looked away.

Then again. She blinked rapidly at me, tilting her head like a deer in the woods, ascertaining sounds.

"Ooh, is that new makeup?" She leaned closer to my face, her phone clutched to her chest in pity or awe—I did not know.

"What is?" I glanced at her, relentlessly typing my fifth email—on the side—since I had punched in. I had to clear enough tasks before getting buried in the Cybersecurity floor today.

Mr Min's words from yesterday still rang in my head. He thought that my cybersecurity sessions were costing others work. As if I hadn't already broken my hip for the tasks I was already doing. Of course an added meeting was going to make ke de-prioritise some-fucking-thing.

I guess I had been a bit lax for the last few days, even though my nostrils were falling short of air. Clearly, they wanted me to donate a kidney to Neureva so that it could excrete well.

"You're a bit pinkish today,"

I froze.

A flash of horror passed my face, fingers curling into a fist. I knew what this was. Soju attack from last night. My skin was still flared and I looked like someone who had a sunstroke two seconds ago.

She stuck her tongue out, catching my terror, "Not in a bad way, of course. It's very minimal and it looks nice, I swear."

In conclusion, I looked like an ugly bitch.

That's what this was. I was sure I didn't look that bad when I left home today. How did this happen? I blame alcohol. I blame Jong Suk too.

All the Soju drinking last night had turned me beet in the morning. Bonus? I woke up late and had to do the minimum before rushing out.

Hearing someone say that they could see through my face was a bit humiliating, to be honest.

"Are you sure, Mirae?" I croaked, brushing my knuckles around my cheek cause that's the part that gets ruined easily for me. Number two would be my smile lines.

"Yeah, I'm sure!" She waved assuringly. "You've even used a glossier tint today. It's so damn pretty." She grinned and chugged some water from her bottle.

I sighed, fixing my hair, hoping that could fix my life too.

"I thought that you, Miss Kang, would offer to be the manager. Why didn't you apply?"

I leaned back in my seat. "I have a long way to go."

"Oh, I don't think so." Mirae nudged me. "You're better than most managers out here."

What does she even know? I had breached cybersecurity twice and almost ruined the company—as per Jeonalisa.

But it was good to hear someone appreciate me once in a while. I was busting my ass off here just to make it through the day. The least I needed was an ego boost.

"Sure. Tell me that when I prepare your weekly stats report and share it with you." I teased, "You're going to hate me."

"Unless you forge information to make me look bad, I don't think I'll have a problem." She shrugged dramatically and side-eyed me.

I smiled and nodded.

I hoped from the bottom of my heart that Mr Han fell flat on his face, didn't get promoted, and then left the company for his ego. This was the perfect storyline for this man. But that man was good at his job. What kind of evil combination was this? How could a perverted man have the skills to be management material. This was like sticking a thorn up every woman's butt at Neureva.

Well, anyway.

By the time it was nine, I was rushing to Jeon Jungkook's cabin again.

My heels slapped the floor, my laptop stuck to my chest as I held the door handle and tried to push. It flew open and a crisp-suited Jungkook guided me backwards outside before I had the chance to say anything.

"You're early, Miss Kang." His smile flattened as he walked into me. I stumbled behind, gasping. He wired his hand around my waist and shoved me into him to save the fall. The flat of my laptop pressed into his chest and I scowled.

The door shut with a defining thud behind him.

Bastard.

Was he trying to kill me?

"You can tell me if you want me gone, Mr Jeon. Pushing me out is unnecessary." I wiggled out of his grip, annoyed.

"Now why would I want you gone, Miss Kang?" He raised a brow. Again. This fucking forehead had to be taped or something.

He stepped back, hands in his pockets. "We will attend a session today."

"We?"

He frowned, tilting his dramatically, "Someone said they won't attend any sessions without me now, didn't they?"

Realisation caught my face and I nodded. I sharpened my stance, checking left and right, ready for the battle.

"Yes. Where? Where is the session? Let's go."

I was hoping he would lead the way but he didn't move. He was just staring. Not in that perverted-Mr-Han type of way—just...blankly. Like he was studying something on me.

"Is something wrong, Mr Jeon?" I said in the sweetest way I could ever.

He blinked. Then, looked at me up and down.

He was really looking at me now. Something flickered in his eyes—soft and starry. Night sky starry.

I blinked, taken aback.

For once, it felt like he had to maliciousness to him at all. Just tender something of examination and admiration.

For one terrifying second I almost thought he was about to say something nice. Then—

"You look like Peppa Pig today."

My head snapped at him. "Excuse me?!"

A curt nod. No smile. "Rosy cheeks. Pink and round. Very...cartoon network of you."

He continued to stare blankly as if my soul hadn't just been violated. Violated the fuck out of. Peppa pig? Cartoon network? What the fuck was wrong with this man?

"Mr Jeon, this must be a joke." I was aghast, "I look pink? Like, pink pink?"

He smirked and brushed past me, leading the way to the meeting room.

"Oh no no no." I chased after him, swerving and blocking his path. "Do I look that bad? I—I saw my face in the morning and it was just fine! You've got to be kidding me with the Peppa pig joke, Mr Jeon."

He tilted his head, gaining better focus on the details of my face. I tried not to hyperventilate. I am very particular about my appearance and my makeup. This could be the start of my downfall and I wasn't even kidding.

I hadn't had the chance to wear enough make up today. Usually I make sure I at least use foundation. But last night, after drinking surreal amounts of Soju, I scrubbed my face for more than an hour to the point that I woke up pink as a pumpkin. I tried to soothe my skin with ice and it did work. I looked just fine in the morning when I threw on some toner and a prayer. Matter of fact, I looked better than the rest of the days.

"I just said you look pink. I didn't say you're ugly, Miss Kang." He stated, too relaxed for someone who had blown my confidence to bits. "Your face is fine. It's just...different from the usual stuff you do. We have a meeting. Let's go."

He walked past me, faster this time. I trudged behind him, shaken.

We walked by the glass wall and I could see the meeting already in progress.

A projector was set up to display the ones who had joined online. A fair amount of people were around the large table too. It looked like a pretty heavy session.

Jungkook opened the door for me, gesturing me to step in first.

I forced a smile at him and entered. I wiped the sweat off my upper lip, begging myself to forget the Peppa Pig joke.

Everyone stopped. The room went quiet. The wanky host looked like his bladder was taking an early retirement.

Oh, of course. Nobody wanted him here. Just like me. But my reasons were pretty personal so that's that.

"Oh! Mr Jeon!" He jumped, greeting him with fake warmth.

Jungkook motioned him to stop there. "Please continue. I am just here to accompany Miss Kang from Admin. This is her first session and I will oversee her understanding."

My understanding?

Shocked, I passed him a glare but he ignored me completely and tapped the chair of a guy.

"Let the lady sit."

He huddled up, confused as he looked around.

"Wha—What? No—No!" I tried to move away. "I can stand. It's alright. I can get a new chair—"

"That's not a problem." The guy smiled, desperate from the looks of it. "I'll bring an extra chair for Mr Jeon and me. Please, sit."

Oh god. I felt like someone who loves taking advantage of the people around me. Oh wait. That's the defining quality of the dragon behind me!

Embarrassed, I seated myself and opened my laptop.

"Please, continue." Jungkook urged the host. His presence was vehement on my back. As if he was a sack of corn and I was the donkey

Someone kick him out of this meeting room already, please.

"Alright." The host began. "We will start with the password hygiene. I will share a case study with you for each point so that we can answer our assessments better."

Great.

The host kept up. Cleanly explaining the points, much on his alertness because of that miasmic presence loitering in the pure white room.

I made notes. I made notes like hell. Not because I was excited or interested in this boring digital security soup. I was under surveillance every second of the session. Heavy surveillance. Surveillance that was one step away from being a personal vendetta.

"Any questions so far?" The host asked and no one uttered a word.

Silence.

I didn't say anything either.

"Mr Jae," Jungkook said. "Thank you that was very helpful. Miss Kang? How are things going for you? All good? I know it can be too much."

My fists curled into a tight ball. One that could perfectly land on his head.

"Yes, Mr Jeon..."

I didn't look up. If I did, I knew I would glare. And everyone in the room would know that I was being targeted.

"That's great." He nodded. "You see, Mr Jae, Miss Kang is part of the operations department on the sixth floor. She recently wound up clicking on the link two weeks ago. Yes, the one with the critical files. She is learning and we must help her understand things. I would be grateful you could take detailed care of her understanding of the subject matter."

I'll kill him.

I swear I'll kill him.

My face burned but I dared not look at him. The host. He was probably debating on whether to move on order some popcorn. All because of this Mighty Cat Masked Meander.

I typed away at my system, making sufficient notes.

"Oh, I see. Definitely, Mr Jeon." The host nodded.

Then continued.

The next topic. Email spoofing. It went on for another perfect fifteen minutes where we were introduced to two case studies and shown with reasons why it was a phishing fail.

Quite interesting. Except for the fact that Jeon Jungkook was drilling into my face with his eyes like I was a concert video of TWICE.

"Miss Kang, all good?" He asked. Again. AGAIN.

"Yes, Mr Jeon." I raised my head, my voice syrupy as I smiled. "I completely understand. Mr Jae has been incredibly clear and helpful."

Mr Jae smiled, proud. Calm down dude. This is just an attack on this man.

"Definitely." Jungkook nodded, hands now tied to his back like he was an eight-year-old granny out for a walk. "Now, what was the qualifying factor of case study two. Why was it a fail, Miss Kang?"

My smile fell.

Oh god in heavens, this was the nightmare from my high school science class all over again.

I cleared my throat, and glanced at the notes in front of me. "Domain was incorrect."

My answer was too flat. Too flat. And he obviously didn't expect that.

But he was not going to get away with this.

"Yes. Of course." He began, "Tell me, what was the domain name of the email link you clicked on?"

My smile was plastic. Cheeks aching.

He didn’t blink.

I sat straighter and crossed my legs. Neatly. Properly. Like a lady under trial.

And I answered.

"Mr Jeon, I believe the domain was 'gov-prot.net', missing the original gov-protect extension. It redirected me to a page that looked authentic but didn’t request a second factor of verification. But of course—" I leaned forward slightly, dropping my voice just enough for only the two of us to catch it, "—I clicked it because I was too busy admiring the departmental forecast. I remember your name on it. I was overwhelmed with the colours and the artistic approach of your emails. It reminded me of when I first learned to draft emails in school. Very warm and very nostagic. Almost...cartoon network."

His head didn't move. But I knew that pause. That half-second stillness. His lips curved, only the faintest bit. Not a smile. Just… recognition. Like he found me out. But—meh. Whatever.

This was the final gut punch before the curtains closed. My answer landed on the mark and he made sure never to interrupt me again during this meeting. I earned a few gasps and silent stares but none that could kill me. They were just surprised.

The session ended soon. Almost at 10:00 AM. I gathered my things, eager to leave the fuck out of there when one of the guys stopped me.

"Miss Kang, were you the one who requested Mr Jeon to join meetings with you?" He asked.

I hesitated for a second. Then nodded. "Yes I did."

"Why did you do that?" He looked at me painstakingly. "This session is now ruined. Because of his involvement we won't be able to do things at our ease. I'm going to be stuck for three weeks with a session that won't let me breathe if I want to live!"

"Oh—I'm sorry—"

He didn't wait and walked away, utterly disappointed.

I sighed, uneasy with what had just happened. The guy was right. I did spoil it for everyone by including him. Even for the host to some extent.

Running my fingers through my hair, I turned, straight into the opulently suited man.

"So? It seems the people are not happy with your decision to include me." He smirked, folding his arms at his chest.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah. People aren't happy that I breathe too. Should I stop breathing then?"

Something flicked on his face. He tilted his head, smiling still. "I see. And do you like colourful emails, Miss Kang? I can include your manager in it too next time if he likes it too."

"Oh, wow. You're going to patronise a patron?" I scoffed.

"What?" He scowled.

"I mean—Mr Min is a man too. Why would you patronise him?"

"So you think I'm doing this to you because you're a woman?"

I stepped back, heated by the perfume. It was getting in my mouth. "Why else? You wouldn't have behaved this way with a guy now, would you?"

His scowl deepened. "Where do you even get these ideas from, Miss Kang?" His voice turned soft. Too soft. "You think too much."

I blinked. "Are you saying thinking is wrong?"

I turned and walked out into the hallway corridor. He followed.

"Mr Jeon!"

I frowned. What the—?

"Jeon Jungkook, right?" he huffed, pausing between us, panting.

"I am." Jungkook said.

"Apologies, sir. We couldn’t locate Miss Kang Haerin on the sixth floor, so the receptionist asked me to deliver these back to you."

My. Heart. Stopped.

Right there in my silk blouse.

Every eye in the corridor turned. And so did my soul. It just walked out of my body.

Jungkook stared at the bouquet. Cold.Silent. Like a villain about to enter act two.

He turned his gaze to the man.

"I didn't send any roses."He stressed any. As if he wanted the whole goddamn floor to hear it.

"But sir, there's a note." The man flipped the bouquet. "'Let’s go on a second date, Miss Kang. It was lovely meeting you.' Signed, Jungkook."

My brain short-circuited.

Oh. My. God.

It wasn’t him.

It was the other Jungkook. The blind date Jungkook. That—that fucking Bae Jungkook!

And now—now everyone thought the Jeon Jungkook sent me roses.

In front of him. To him.

And me? I just stood there like I had been slapped across the face.

If I confessed now—"Oh no, it’s from another guy I’m also seeing, haha…"I might as well just quit. Strip. Move to Peru.

So I stood there.

Mouth parted.

Cheeks burning.

And he looked at me.

Like I'd just kissed him non consensually. Deep. French. Tongue and all.