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To: IT Support TeamCC: Min YoongiDate: Thursday, 8:12 AM

Hi,

Just flagging a minor issue I encountered this week while using the Cirq internal messenger. A few messages appeared to have been sent without confirmation — potentially triggered by UI lag or a keyboard sensitivity issue on my end. Not sure if it's device-specific, but it’s worth a quick look in case others are experiencing the same issue.

I've rebooted and updated my system since then, so I'll continue to monitor. Just wanted to document it in case any chain issue occurs across all systems.

Best,Kang HaerinAssistant ManagerClient Administration

---

I hit send.

Masterstroke.

My plan was secure—more secured than that damned cybersecurity on the third floor. Last night I sent some random emojis to a few people, including Mr Min and a few teammates, later also apologising that I didn't know how those got sent.

Then—I dropped an email this morning to IT support, marking a possible issue with my system. Now I had enough on paper to back me up if he did plan to threaten me with HR.

Now, Jeon Jungkook. Report me to HR. I'll wait.

Smug, I leaned back into my seat. A victorious poise in me. 8:15 a.m.—the clock on my laptop said.

My phone buzzed.

The smile faded to a twist in my lips when I saw the name flashing on the screen.

Jong Suk.

I had deleted his number, but I wasn't brave enough to block him yet. Yeah, bite me for that. And cut me down for the fact that I remembered his number. I couldn't remember how many times I clicked that damn link but here I was, recognising digits from hell. But Jong Suk wasn't the type to come crawling back to me. He was making sure I knew that. But that simmering tension beneath—I hated that I still could feel that whenever his name popped up.

Maybe it was shallow of me, but the fact that I had seen him up close, undressed and kissing me like it meant the world was making it worse. I could still see it all in my head whenever his name appeared. Fucking hell.

I had always known that his ego was the size of the sun. So I had always presumed that he was happy that I was gone. And he was. Except that we were constantly returning things and paying for a past we didn't want.

I sighed long, mentally wanting him to hang up. But he didn't. Persistent in the wrong area always.

I answered it.

"Does your mother know that you called me?"

He grunted, taken aback, and I couldn't help but smirk.

"Tsk. Return my books, Haerin. My novels." He muffled through the speaker. "God forbid you don't bring my mother into something."

"What novels?" I scowled. "And your mom was everywhere we went, calling and checking up on you. As if you were dating the monster under your bed. Of course, I bring her up. It's a transaction."

"Yeah?" He scoffed but didn't say anything. I hated that. He shut me down in the most awkward situations. "Those paperbacks. Osamu Dazai and Albert Camus."

I straightened in my chair.

Those were—

"You want them back?" I scowled, completely ignoring the fact that the IT team had responded to my email. Who the fuck cared about an email when your ex-boyfriend asks back something that was supposed to be yours? "Jong Suk, you let me have them. Why the hell ask them back? Are you weaponising paperbacks now just to loiter in my after-hours?"

"I never let you have them." He asserted. "They were with you because I knew that I could read them anytime. Now I can't. And I want to."

I let out a silent scoff, making sure nobody around me was spiralling in a radius that invited gossip.

"You're such a—you know what," my fingers tore through my hair. "Take them back. I'm not depressed, so I don't carry those books to work. I'll post them to you."

"Post? Do you want my mother to check the mail and see your name on it?"

What the fuuuuuuck?

He used his mother-bullet on me?

That genuinely sucked. My hand caught my chest. Something had cracked inside already.

"Do I have to care?" I pointedly answered, my voice shaking a little now.

"Yes. I'll pick them up tomorrow after your work. Carry them with you." He said. "Unless you want me to drop by your place for it."

"Stop talking like you're smarter than me. I broke up with you. I did. Don't use that tone with me." I snapped.

He chuckled behind the speaker, and it drove me mad. Was he testing me today? Was this fucking cyborg from the third floor not enough for today's headlines?

"You did." His voice softened for a second. And suddenly, I felt like a prick for saying that to him.

God—no.

This is not my day. This is not what I dreamt last night.

I sighed into the phone and then cleared my throat, "Drop by after the office tomorrow. I'll bring them. Bye."

I hung up, slamming my phone on the desk and turning to the email inbox again.

"Jong Suk doesn't deserve my disarray," I muttered under my breath. No, he didn't. He couldn't. I had promised myself that he wouldn't.

The IT team had thanked me in their email for raising this concern, but pointed out that it could be a system issue because there was no known error in this category. Of course, it was not known—I fucking made it up, IT guys.

I used the team meeting to bring myself back to work. Back to the battlefield. Yes.

I had everything planned out perfectly.

At a perfect 8:50 AM, I collected my things and left for the training. The elevators were compliant today, and it made me happy. As if the force of fate was with me. Yeah, it fucking was.

"Good morning," A voice from the third floor made my feet halt.

I turned.

"...Miss Kang?" The unknown man asked.

"Good morning," I smiled—the type that radiates confidence and security. Absolutely ridiculous to be using the s word on the cybersecurity floor.

Today was different.

I sensed it in the hallway. People greeted me. What could I say—with much power came many greetings.

I tapped my heels across the marble floors, smiling sweetly at Park Bo Gum, who was headed in the same direction. We stepped into the training room, my heart now pounding.

Park Bo Gum was still staring at me when I put my laptop on the desk. I flashed him a smile that he awkwardly couldn't return.

He hesitated for a few seconds and then began setting up the projector while I waited patiently in my seat.

My eyes fell to the frosted glass. Jungkook sat on the other side, unaware or uninterested in me. But he was about to be. And in a way that he would not like.

Bo Gum cleared his throat.

"Tomorrow is Friday." He began, hesitant still.

Should I ask him what was wrong? Would it be too soon? Heck yeah. Hold your excitement in, Haerin.

"That means your first assessment," he continued. "And a report of what we covered this week. Based on your assessment, Mr Jeon will judge whether we've done well enough. I'll go through some scenarios with you to help you understand what the assessment is like."

Yeah yeah. I got it. I meekly smiled, as if I wasn't just about to laugh out loud at this situation.

He cleared his throat for the third time.

But he went on. Some slides about the nature of the questions and how there would be scenarios and links in the assessment that I will have to navigate. Pretty standard. Pretty boring.

But then, the door swung open.

Ah, the highlight.

Jeon Jungkook strode in, his eyes flickering as if ready to burn the room. Then, he located me like a rifle target. For a second, I thought his eyes went black.

And, he looked every bit the corporate hottie he was. After all, I am a woman. I notice things—good things, nice things. He stomped inside, all shiny shoes and the sharp cut of his dark vest. My eyes rolled down to the expensive sculpt of his trousers, undulating over his tight butt. And that's how my eyes snapped back up. Dangerous territory, Haerin. Not worth it.

"Bo Gum," he snarled, gripping the table before me. "Leave."

Aha.

He leaned forward on the table—almost interrogatively.

I blinked, designing confusion as I gripped the handles of my seat. A frown grew on my head. My eyes snapped to Bo Gum, who was pinching the bridge of his nose now, disappointed and expecting this to start, too. Good going, Bo Gum. That's how we predict malfunctions.

"Mr Jeon..."

"I said leave." Jungkook continued boring his laser eyes into my face.

I scowled, still pretending to be confused. Yet, I didn't speak.

Park Bo Gum had no chance. He quietly walked out, letting his things lie there as he closed the door behind him.

For a moment there, I thought he would never talk. The silence was almost indecent.

"So," Jungkook's voice turned dramatic, but his expression remained stone-cut and seething. "Apparently, I have been dragging you by the hair to this phoney training because I like you?"

Damn right, buddy.

I raised a brow because yes, I have eyebrows too and prettier than his!

"Is that a question, Mr Jeon?"

He smirked, "Is it? I hear that I'm misusing my authority. For romantic gain."

Heavens knew how hard I was holding myself from laughing in his face. The way he said it. Romantic gain. It sounded like I was in a shareholders' meeting or something.

"What?" I blinked, acting flustered.

"Not only that," He breathed fire. Dragonalisa. Wait. There was no sign of his name in this nickname now. "You've not responded to my advances yet, but I..." His expression flickered, and I bit my lip. "...I persist."

"That is a serious accusation, Mr Jeon." I toned in, darker and making sure I didn't blink.

He shifted, uneasy. His hands stuffed in his pockets, but the accusatory look in his eyes hadn't died yet. He suspected me.

"You started this." His voice lowered, as if on the edge. "Skipping your lunch today, Miss Kang? Chewing on my reputation, aren't you?"

I stood up, a little discomforted by how direct he was about this. Well, I stood up also because I wanted to make sure I put my outfit to the best use today. They say colours affect people a lot. So I had put in a lot of effort planning out this blush pink blouse and beige pencil skirt. Making me look too innocent for this kind of cheap trick—and he did hesitate. His eyes simmered.

I tapped my burgundy heels on the floor, narrowing my eyes at him.

"What you've said is extremely insulting to me, Mr Jeon." I placed a hand on my chest, as if my trust had been misused—damn right it was misused, my obsessed admirer. "I can take this up with HR."

Boom.

He scanned me, astounded for a moment. His thumb glided over his lower lip, mouth hanging open. Then, he scoffed. As if to say, really?

"So you say you don't know how this rumour started." He examined me, still unbelieving.

I folded my arms across my chest, "I keep no liaisons to such things."

"Is that how you mark your field?" He smirked, standing up taller now, crossing his arms too.

"Per my previous statement," I sweetly put, "I do not. This is no field. This is no game, Mr Jeon. If you find the perception of people uncomfortable, I'd be happy to step back from these sessions."

His jaw dropped further. Now, he knew the board. I had scored again. Haerin - 2. Jungkook - 1.

He scoffed, tilting his head to examine me like I was a relic in a museum. Too entertaining and at the same time confusing. Well, go ahead. I couldn't care less for that.

That's what he got for trying to keep me hanging by the leash of HR.

My plan was simple. All I did was twist it back on him. The threat he gave me was the same threat I placed on him. I accidentally planted a few seeds in the minds of the people on the third floor. Specifically.

And I knew that he would get to know about it sooner or later.

The silence was so loud that I started hearing the watch on my hand ticking. He waited. Assessed. Like he was planning something. I did not like that.

Then, he smirked.

"You're right, Miss Kang." He nodded, suspiciously calm in a quick minute. "We must not feed the rumours mill."

Was he finally letting me the fuck go?

I looked at him through my lashes, glaring with doubt.

"From next week, your training will be conducted in my office."

Something snapped in my spine when he said that. My smile faltered slightly.

"Closed environment. Full focus. No distractions." He continued. "That way, no one gets the wrong idea."

What...?

I blinked.

He stepped behind, preparing to leave, so smug and dignified in his well-pressed suit. "I can take an HR approval, if you want."

And with that, he turned on his heel, sashaying out of there as if he had won the battle right before the last scar.

I waited—my fists burning with the pressure of my nails.

What the fracking heck was this?

In his office? Was he using my own trick against me?

My ears burned, face getting hotter by the second as I bit my teeth. "HR approval, my ass..." I muttered under my breath as the door swung from the inertia of his sharp push.

What did he think of himself?

I slid back into my chair, my head still ringing from what had just happened. I couldn't believe it. He was trying to play smart. Too smart.

Of course. I mean—no fucking dummy would just get promoted to the head of a department just like that. He had to justify his designation. But still. This was bugging me the wrong way.

Before I could conclude my downfall for the day, my laptop pinged.

My hands snapped to the cursor, opening the email.

From: Jeon JungkookTo: CSM TeamCC: Kang HaerinTime: Thursday, 9:45 AM

Dear team,

It has come to my attention that certain individuals have taken an unfortunate interest in misconstruing the nature of an internal training protocol currently underway with Miss Kang Haerin.

Allow me to clarify—these sessions are the direct result of a security oversight which Miss Kang has taken full accountability for, and are designed to support her professional development in line with cybersecurity standards. Any insinuation beyond this is not only baseless but deeply disrespectful to the integrity of her work ethic and our shared commitment to professionalism.

Miss Kang, like many of us, is working diligently to overcome challenges and grow within her role. I would advise all recipients of this email to extend her the courtesy and privacy necessary to do so.

I trust this will be the last time I have to address a matter of this nature. Any future violations of conduct, gossip included, will be documented and dealt with formally.

Let’s keep our focus where it belongs.

Best,Jeon JungkookHead of CybersecurityInformation Technology Division

---

Information Technology, my foot!

Was this man seriously challenging me? And what the heck was all this Haerin's working diligently shit? He was smirking at me in his emails. In his emails?

I slapped my laptop shut and held my head in my hands.

He had scored.

Haerin - 2. Jungkook - 3.

Twice, now. One with the 'private session' and now this email.

This was personal now. My blood was boiling.

"Miss Kang?" Park Bo Gum stepped inside awkwardly and then sized up my situation. Then said, "Let's end the session early today and get some coffee."

I stood up, limp and devoid of any will in me.

Park Bo Gum remained tactfully silent. He led me to the coffee machine, pulling out two chairs in the pantry for us.

"There is clearly some heaviness between Mr Jeon and you. I'd say, something quite the opposite of what the rumours said."

I drove my fingers through my hair, messing with it as I pushed them behind my back.

"It's not, actually." I lied. My fingers pressed into the handle of my coffee cup. "We're pretty normal. It's work. We both know it."

Like hell we did. This was personal now. Personal like, he-hurt-my-family personal.

"Of course," Bo Gum nodded. "He hasn't been...that fond of you since the start. The circumstances haven't been supportive."

Circumstances?

This was a plotted graph. We were strategising for war right now. Fuck that phishing email. I was more annoyed by the fact that he was actively trying to one-up me.

"That's alright. This is corporate life." I mumbled, pausing to sip from the cup. "In fact, Mr Jeon made sure that he sent an email out to protect my pride. I appreciate that."

He was fucking cornering me out.

"He even insisted that we use his office for training to make sure I won't be subject to such rumours." I sighed, pressing my lips for a smile.

Park Bo Gum looked impressed now. He was definitely seeing the light I had faked out. He nodded.

"I'm glad to hear that. Mr Jeon is a very capable leader. He will make sure you aren't affected by small matters."

Yeah, he will kill me quick and clean.

"And it is a good idea to use his office for training. We can use his guidance whenever needed." Park Bo Gum was trying so hard to make it sound alright, but I was falling apart in my head.

Because no. Blood for blood, Jeon Jungkook. He had underestimated me big time. I already knew how I'd bite back.

This was war.