27

I was ready to jump out of the window when the clock struck 4:45 PM. I didn't even know why the heck I was so anxious about everything.

Mr Min opened the glass door to 3D to help us enter. Mirae gave me one last panicked look when she caught Mr Han already waiting. He offered the most polite smile I had ever seen when we sat down opposite him. Mr Jeon and Mrs Seo hadn't arrived yet so it was fucking awkward in there. None of us spoke. We just sat there, terrified.

Mirae was already turning to water next to me and I pitied her. She was still so new to Neureva. This wasn't the type of welcome she would have expected from her seniors. Honestly, had I been in her shoes, I would have left the company already.

"Haerin...are you okay?" She whispered, touching my clenched fists below the table.

I gulped and nodded. "Of course." I smiled at her.

I was about to shit my pants at this rate. My stomach felt queasy and I only hoped that I didn't fart from all the stress. This meeting room was too compact to escape the accusations.

God please, I didn't want to drop any bombs here. I'd have to resign.

I clenched my thighs, grabbing my trousers for support.

"Great. We have everybody." I heard an unfamiliar voice and turned to find Director Seo entering.

My blood ran cold. Everybody? Where the fuck was Jungkook—? Did he ditch me? After promising that he would take care of this?

I was about to ask Mr Min to let me leave when Jeon Jungkook followed Director Seo through the glass door too. I let the handle of my seat go, slightly relieved. What the heck, Haerin? Why was I so panicked?

He looked...different.

Everyone stood up and bowed to each other. Mr Min and Mr Han shook hands with both the directors. Then, Jungkook turned to me.

I blinked.

I was expecting him to stop the handshake with Mr Han. But my smile turned pathetically plastic when he offered his hand for a shake.

I didn't want to.

I wanted to kick him in the groin for scheduling this stupid meeting.

But everyone was staring and I didn't want to look crazy. So I lent my hand out.

"Director Jeon." I shook his warm hand. It was too warm. I was practically a corpse with my hands freezing against his.

"Miss Kang." He acknowledged and turned to Mirae, letting my hand go too quickly. Like I was made of poo or something.

Director Seo followed suit and shook hands with me. I smiled at her.

"Director Seo," I said and she only smiled, probably because she didn't even know my name. I had seen her a few times but we never had a memorable interaction.

Director Seo was tall,—could be the stilettoes—pretty in a way that reminded me of the actress Song Hye Kyo. She looked like she was young but definitely older than me. Considering that she was in a directorial position, she would have to be in her thirties at least. It kind of motivated me to vie for something like that too. Maybe be a director and schedule meetings all day. And on the days I didn't have meetings, I could just scold people by email.

Director Seo and Jeon sat at the head of the table. Mr Han sat on one side and we three on the other.

"Director Jeon," Director Seo said, "Would you like to begin?"

YES. Yes. He would absolutely like to begin. And God forbid if he didn't end this too.

I glanced at him and he just nodded, his eyes on the laptop sitting before him. I didn't like his face when he didn't have that wicked smirk on. He looked like he was actually serious or something.

His hands. My eyes slid to the veins pulsing on his arm as if he could punch through the table.

He had rolled the sleeves up to his elbows again. His patent vest over the cream shirt that I remembered from this morning. But why did he look so...weird?

It was like I didn't even know him anymore and he hadn't even opened his fucking mouth yet.

Was this some Discovery Channel shit he was pulling again?

Either way, I didn't like that look on his face. He was too...serious. Wait. I didn't even like that smirk. So what the fuck was I even missing here? Dumbass Haerin. Pull yourself together.

"Congratulations on your recent promotion, Mr Han." Jungkook looked at him, his voice laced with professionalism that made me want to run into the glass door.

"Thank you, Director Jeon." Mr Han nodded.

"I heard that your interview was exceptional." Jungkook continued.

"Thank you, again."

"Alright." Jungkook nodded. "I have scheduled this meeting to discuss a few matters as this is serious considering your recent promotion."

My throat bobbed.

"This issue isn't about office gossip. It's about intent. When a junior employee reports discomfort over physical proximity, and the response is to invalidate her claim with unrelated personal speculation, that's not miscommunication. That's Abuse of Authority."

Jungkook didn't even look around, he was fixated on Mr Han.

"Although, I will leave that part of the matter to be further addressed by Mr Min as Miss Yoo and Miss Kang's reporting manager."

He took my name second. Was that deliberate? Oh fuck this overthinking. I wanted to pee so bad all of a sudden.

Why was this man attacking my bladder?!

"What I want to address here is the use of my name." He said.

Ah, there it is. His name.

"When that speculation includes accusations involving another department head—without evidence, without HR involvement—then it's no longer hearsay. It's defamation. And it creates a hostile work environment for multiple employees."

Oh, I was getting sick. And fast. I felt like throwing up, but my stomach twisted, and I held back my gasp.

"Earlier this month I had rolled out an email asking that no one encourage any rumours about me and Miss Kang. I had clearly warned the employees that strict action would be taken if I came across this instance again." He continued.

Right. Fuck.

Did this mean I was under fire too?

Cold sweats broke out on me.

Please don't fart, Haerin. Please don't. It's too quiet.

I wasn't even about to fart but I was afraid this situation might make me gassy for no reason.

On top of that, if I was under fire too, then I must have looked so stupid Cirqing him to not involve me in this. The national championship for foolery was mine to bag. Again.

"If you have proof of this so-called affair, Mr Han, I'm open to being investigated. But if you don't—and I suspect you don't—then you've risked slandering not one, but two colleagues, to discredit a harassment claim."

Investigated HOW, bitch? Was he seriously kidding me right now?

I got it that he was trying to challenge the grounds on which Mr Han based the claim but I was freaking out over here. Somebody had to tell this man to stop, or I was going to throw up on his laptop!

There was silence for quite the second after that.

Then, Mr Han cleared his throat like he was preparing for battle too. He smiled, polite and professional still.

"Director Jeon, Director Seo," he turned to look at her, "If I may, I'd like to address this issue myself."

Director Seo nodded, permitting him the chance to speak.

It was as if I was watching a drama. What the heck was even going on?

I squeezed my knees together beneath the table, trying to be as calm as possible above my hips.

"Miss Yoo," he turned to the small girl next to me. The perfect target. "Did you find my actions uncomfortable?"

Mirae's eyes were wide. She looked at me and then at the entire room that was pinned on her. My throat bobbed. No way. They couldn't put her in a tight spot like this.

"Mr Han—"

"If I did," he cut me off.

HE CUT ME OFF!!!

"I am truly sorry. That was not my intent. And I completely understand that you might have been uncomfortable. Everyone has different levels of tolerance to casual compliments." He said, his tone soft and pathetic like she was a wounded animal. "And while I appreciate Director Jeon's stand on this, this meeting is proving to be a tight spot for the girls here."

Hah?

What the fuck was this man on?

Jungkook sighed, then his gaze shifted to me.

I opened my mouth. But nothing came out. But something that did come out of me with sudden warmth was between my legs.

Fuck.

Fuck.

FUUUUCCCKK!!

My mouth opened but it flapped shut. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't even see myself through this. My hip felt the first break and a dull ache crawled through.

Oh, please.

Not here.

Not now.

Not in front of him.

My hands flew to the table beneath, grabbing my knees and pressing my lips together.

"In that case," Jungkook turned. "Let's make them only a witness to the discussion. I wouldn't want them to feel like they've been cornered."

I felt slightly relieved but fuck that shit because the damage was already between my thighs.

Oh my god. I wish I had slowly farted instead because this was so much worse.

Why, god, why?

Mr Han produced another soft smile. Like he really meant it or something.

"Miss Yoo is a promising employee," he began, "What happened in the pantry was a misunderstanding. If I encroached on her space, I truly regret it. I did not mean to."

My throat went dry.

This was some Nancy Drew-level strategy I was witnessing.

"And Miss Kang," his gaze shifted to me. "We've always had that dynamic, don't we? Light banter, casual joking—what I said might have been phrased wrongly but I always had your best interests at heart."

My stomach was already cramping.

I couldn't give a fuck about what he wanted to say.

Dynamic? To hell with our dynamics!

He was trying to play smart. I could see it on his face. He was just trying to make it look like he was the mature one here.

"And the same goes for Mirae," he said and I clenched my eyes shut. "She is like a daughter to me. I was only professing how fortunate I would have been if someone like her was in my team. That's all."

My eyes met Jungkook's and I swear I didn't recognise him. He was so sharp that I felt my body cut. What was he thinking?

My brows furrowed at him and I looked away, adamant to show him that I hated him there.

"The matter of what was inappropriate will be dealt with separately with HR," Director Seo said. "Although it's unfortunate, I would prefer that this meeting be subject to what Director Jeon's main concern is. Mr Han, we'd like to know if you mentioned Miss Kang and Director Jeon's relationship as one that attracts the wrong attention. Did you also state that Miss Kang couldn't stand up for Mirae because of this?"

Ugh...

Somebody kill me, please.

"As I said, they are like daughters to me." He began again, "I was just giving Miss Kang some perspective of what things might look like. She is someone that I have high career expectations of and I hate to see her become the target of such rumours."

"Explain the rumours, please," Jungkook said.

Mr Han went silent for a second. Then yapped again, "Miss Kang is a very cheery girl. Her openness and her delight in life are always welcome; however, they threaten her ability to become a manager in the future. As a mentor, all I wanted to do was advise."

"With all due respect, Mr Han," Jungkook almost snapped. "You're not her mentor. You're her superior. There's a difference. And, regarding the rumours you talked about, I had shared a strict warning with everyone to make sure they didn't encourage such rumours. Do you understand what it looks like if someone does the exact same thing I warned them not to?"

"For which I apologise, Director Jeon." I bowed so cordially that the room fell silent.

And he might have won. Because now it looked like we were singling him out. Like a professional bullying of some kind.

Should I cry? Maybe throw my hands in the air and blame the system and men altogether to make it look like I'm the victim? I felt so fucking sorry for Mirae. She might have just lost all hope in the management and the people.

I blinked at my trembling thighs. I was already dreaming about ripping a pad open and sealing the wound in my vagina.

"I hope you do not drag his name again, Mr Han." Director Seo said. "And no one else's either. We respect employees who accept their faults. And it is very important that Neureva mustn't be a place that makes someone feel uncomfortable about speaking up."

Jungkook stood, and just like that it ended.

I didn't even know what happened in the end. The noise just bounced over my head like I was underwater.

I just heard Mr Min's loud snap at Mirae to follow him for a discussion and then everyone smiled and walked out.

I don't know why but it suddenly felt like Jungkook deliberately chose to be the one to leave last.

"Miss Kang—"

"Don't talk to me." I raised my finger to stop him. "I hate you."

"You hate me." His voice fell. I saw his shadow enveloping me under the bright lights of the meeting room. "That is old news now."

"I told you that I'm not going to speak." I hissed, glaring at him. "But you didn't even keep your promise. I was so scared that I—"

My throat caught the words. Warmth filled my face, not because I was embarrassed. I was seething.

"You what?" He tilted his head, eyes narrowing.

I shot him an angry look, "I bled."

Yeah. That's right. And don't get me wrong. This wasn't something out of a novel that I wanted to do. All period pain and wholesome care. No. This was revenge. Bloody revenge for making me spiral like this.

I wanted to make him take responsibility for doing this to me. Fucking pay for it, Jeon Jungkook.

"Bled?" He echoed, the laptop still in his hand but his jaw slipping faster. "As in—"

Ears red again.

"That's right." My voice shook as I spoke through my teeth. "You've been stressing me out all day! All because of your stupid, stupid mood I couldn't get a second of peace. And now, I want to kill myself because it's early!"

He looked severely taken aback.

His throat bobbed, eyes reflexively lowering to my stomach and then flipping back at me.

"Is that—is that a thing?" His brows twitched.

"Of course it is. My hormones committed suicide, Mr Jeon." I snapped back. "What do I do now? I'm so scared to even stand up all because of YOU!"

"Because of me?" He scoffed. "Sure."

"You know what?" I snarled. "I don't think you deserve to stand here and just keep on freaking me out. Why don't you go get my purse?"

His brow shot up. Jeonalisa was back in the house.

"My purse. Now."

"I think you've forgotten whose job title begins with 'assistant', Miss Kang." He smirked. "Am I your dog?"

"Oh, but it's not your day today." My smile tightened. "I'm going to bleed through my clothes. Get me my purse. Sixth floor. Left. You know where I sit. Olive coloured bag."

"What—" he smirked. "You really—"

"Now!"

"Jesus Christ." He rolled his eyes but didn't say a word and just trudged outside the room like he didn't even know what to say.

I hated life at this point so who cared about Jeon Jungkook and what he thought of me? That's right. Nobody.

I waited there. My body crumpled but I wasn't going to get weak. I had too much to do.

Slowly, I walked out of there, heading towards the women's room on the third floor. The condition couldn't let me travel far enough. I checked myself in the washroom and my clothes were just fine. I hadn't bled through the trousers so at least I was safe.

Jungkook called me on my phone after five minutes.

"Where are you?"

"Women's room." I groaned. "I'll come outside. Wait."

"As if I have—"

I hung up. No time for this crap.

He was standing diligently with my bag outside and it almost made me scoff. I limped my way outside and snatched the bag from him.

"Your bag was open," he stated, "And there were two more green bags there so I had to—"

"My bag is olive. Not green." I scowled.

"Yeah, but they looked the same!" He protested. "I had to find something with your name to make sure!"

"And what did you find?" I tilted my head.

"A murder kit." He straightened, eyes accusatory.

I just smirked.

"You have a baton and a sack in your bag, Miss Kang. Tell me that's because you live in a sack tent."

"It's for when I want to beat someone to death," I stretched my lips.

"And why didn't you do that when you got into that cab?" He bit back.

"Because I started keeping this after that incident." I paused to smile and then my face fell. "Thanks. I think that's all the help I needed. You can leave."

"Are you sure...?" He paused.

I raised my eyebrows questioningly.

"Do you need anything else?" His hand reached the back of his head, awkwardly stroking his hair.

"Yes. I do need something."

He froze, eyes twitching with curiosity.

"I need you to mind your business and get the hell out of here before I grow horns."