25

"Okay, Doraemon's sister."

"Doraemi?" Mirae whispered, confused.

Jungkook's dead eyes shifted to me, "Wow. I can't stop laughing, Miss Kang. You're so funny." He sassed, his face as stern as a rock.

My eyes switched between the sewing kit in his hands and him, "Please tell me this is a keepsake from your mother."

It was a standard teak box with a metal latch to protect the items. I was tempted to ask him where he got it but then I realised that I couldn't afford stuff from a man who wore real leather shoes. Plus, it would just be embarrassing to acknowledge he had good taste. I was not broke but that sewing kit could leave me in stitches.

He ate the distance between us, trying to give me the broad-shouldered intimidation. Failed—I smirked. I didn't give a rat's ass about the fact that he was taller and broader than me. One kick to his Mr Dickinson and he'd shrink to my size~

I pursued my laugh and looked away, uninterested.

He was the last person I had expected a fucking sewing kit from. For what he was, it would have been much more believable if he had a ripping kit or the like. Like, the opposite of the woman who lived in a shoe. The man who died in a hat, maybe?

"After what happened to your top last time, I realised that this thing might come in handy." He casually put the kit on the table, gesturing for Mirae to make use of it. "Your clothes lack sturdiness and I need to be prepared, if you aren't."

Seriously? I shot a look at him, trying to be cordial in front of Mirae but the girl was bubbling with curiosity.

"What happened to your top, Haerin?" Mirae asked.

"It tore a bit. Nothing much." I said, keeping my glare intact on him.

He didn't back down either.

"Huh." A creepy smile spread on his face. "Nothing much, you say? Did you forget the part where you borrowed—"

"Time to sew!" I threw my hands in the air and turned to Mirae. She gasped, not prepared for my burst of awkward laughter.

"Your skirt needs to be mended quickly!"

Damn this pipe leak of a man.

"Y—Yeah." Mirae tried to smile, stunned by my sudden shout. And she should be. I looked fucking crazy and I knew it. "But I don't think I'll be able to sew. It's a bit uncomfortable. Haerin, can you try...?"

My smile turned plastic.

I looked at Mirae like she had stabbed me in my ass. "I—I mean, sure..."

"You don't know." Jungkook's head leaned forward, smirking at me from the corner of my eye. "You don't know how to sew."

Rat bastard.

My head whipped in his direction, my face already red. "Sorry if I'm not the old woman who lives in a shoe. I cannot mend her clothes and kiss you both to bed. Maybe you can, since you're all needle and thread?"

He sucked a laugh in and then nodded. Just—nodded. As if he has no choice but to agree. As if he was waiting to do it.

I was a steam engine by now. God, I wanted to choo-choo my way out of here so fast.

"If it is alright with you, Miss," Jungkook stepped closer to Mirae and away from me, "I can stitch it up for you."

"You can?" Mirae and I echoed together.

"Yes. I don't keep a sewing kit just for the sake of it. I have children to mend clothes for." He smirked and—god—my brain ran into a wall.

"Al—Alright." Mirae looked at me and then at Jungkook. "Thank you, Mr Jeon."

"Not a problem." He said, crouching on his knees in front of her and opening the sewing kit.

It was an award-winning horror comedy scene. I watched, eyes narrowed as he expertly plucked out a black thread and a needle from the neatly arranged box.

It had so much stuff in it. Buttons, scissors, small blades, threads of so many colours that it looked like a pride march. I gawked, my hand reflexively reaching for the cutter first.

"Are you hiding your serial killing activities under a needle and thread kit?" I scowled, puzzled by how sharp the objects were. They could easily make a Macbeth stage.

"Careful with the blades, Miss Kang. You've drawn enough blood for this month." He muttered and my head snapped up.

He had a death wish.

Yeah, that's what he had because what the hell?

"I said, how did you manage to get this in? Is this even allowed?" I pushed aggressively, examining the items.

He turned his neck to me, one glance at the box and then one at me. Maybe judging. "If I want to hurt someone, Miss Kang, I wouldn't use thread clippers."

Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.

Mirae almost chuckled too. She almost did. I closed my eyes. I had to calm down. Haerin, don't show him how it's done with thread clippers too. Don't.

It didn't take him much time to put it through the eye and knot it up like he had done it a million times before. What the fuck kind of situation even make him learn this kind of thing? I had questions. Offensive ones.

"Hold this part, please." He softly instructed Mirae and she quietly blushed as she obliged.

Maybe this was the perfect trick to get a woman. Maybe that's what he was doing. He wasn't one bit the sweet person he was pretending to be. Maybe this was a strategy to impress Mirae! Did he like her? Mirae was a pretty girl so I'd totally understand.

This was a fucking discovery channel level snake.

"Hold the hem from the inside?" He didn't even look at me when he asked that. "Keep it flat while I start from this end."

There we go. He couldn't even do it himself. I was going to take credit for this.

I sighed, kneeling down next to him and pushing my fingers beneath the skirt, holding it just enough. My thumb accidentally pushed his hand and I stuck my tongue out but didn't apologise. "Like this?"

He had paused. "Tighter, Miss Kang."

"Yeah yeah..." I muttered pushing my knees further towards him and nudging him to move away. He did, after he had been dazed for a second.

The perfume he wore burned my brain. Mirae tried to adjust her legs to make it easier, but I said it was fine.

His approach was far too delicate for my stomach to untwist. Within a quick tangible five minutes, he had done exceptionally well for the skirt. It wasn't perfectly new but that was some expert work I hated to admit.

Was this monster this sweet to the girls he dated? Million-dollar question.

I glanced at his face and his ear had turned red. Was he really falling for Mirae? I couldn't help but wonder.

He shut the box, bowing to Mirae as he stood up and gave me the nastiest prideful look. It was as if he were trying to show me how perfect he was. Ugh. Damn it. He was already one-upping me in this stupid stuff. I didn't think that chores belonged to girls or guys but I did call him a girl for carrying a sewing kit. But that was because it was just so unexpected of him! How would I even respond to that? It was as if I carried—you know, a sex toy meant for men! Something like that shit. No wait. Maybe the comparison was too bad but the point was made.

"Are you okay now?" I asked Mirae and she nodded.

"Way better. Thank you." She smiled coyly. "I don't know what I would have done if you weren't around, Haerin."

"Well, I hope there would have been someone else on the floor to help you out." I patted her head. "Do you want to fix your make-up before we head to the sixth floor?"

She let out a deep breath, preparing herself and then she stood up.

"I'm just finishing my assessment," I told her. "Wait for me in the women's room. I'll be there in ten minutes, okay?"

"Okay." She smiled and then headed outside.

I let out a deep breath too and turned to Jungkook, "So, yeah. My assessment."

"Yep." He sat on his chair, putting the kit to the side, "Two more questions to go."

I headed to the chair and settled down. "Mr Han has to be the pervert of the century for the audacity..." I muttered more to myself as I skimmed through the question.

And I had hoped it would be me but Jungkook responded, "What is wrong with all these men assaulting women all of a sudden?"

"All of a sudden? It's been happening since the beginning of time." I rolled my eyes.

"I mean the men around me, Miss Kang." He softly answered as if he had turned into the needle and thread kit himself. "It's exhausting hearing all of these happening over and over to the women around me."

"Exhausting?" I sneered. "You should get an award for saying the wrong things. You'd probably say something wrong in the acceptance speech too."

He shot out a laugh, "What?"

"Yeah, because it's exhausting for you. But what about the women? We're fucking scared!" I rolled my eyes. "It's like there's nothing we can do except kill. You know, needle and thread some other things."

He didn't answer that. And he couldn't because I finished my test and I shut the laptop, standing up quickly. "Well, thanks for the cyber secure bullying, Mr Jeon. My assessment is done."

I said and I walked out of there in a chase to find Mirae first.

Upstairs, I found the asshole as soon as I entered the floor. He was drinking coffee with a few 'managers'. Acting all dignified when he was an S Class asshole. I knew that it could turn the wrong way the minute I did something impulsive. I didn't want to jeopardize anything for Mirae. Not her. That girl was still so new and fresh.

So I requested him for a word separately and he enthusiastically obliged to it.

Once we found a secluded meeting room for Mirae, him and me, I took one of the chairs and smiled. As cordially as I could.

This wasn't going to be vile. It was going to be professional.

Mr Han looked very neat that day. His hair was gelled and he was wearing a blazer on his shirt. Maybe he was trying to look the part too. I mean, yeah, go ahead you, Discovery Channel snake number one.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Miss Kang?" He smiled and then looked back and forth between me and Mirae.

That innocent smile. Bastard.

"Please don't take any offence to this." I began, "I am here for my team as I do believe that it is my responsibility to make sure they have good working conditions. I'd request you to treat this as a request from us."

"Oh, sure. Go ahead." He leaned back, his eyes glinting with the kind of recognition that had the power to make me lose it.

One thing that I could never tolerate was sexual harassment. Sexist jokes? I'd kill you with a single needle. Inequality in professional and career matters? Sure, I'd stab them with a knife. But sexual predation over a woman? Lose your dick and your nails while I grill you over a burner because it's fucking personal now.

I wanted to make sure that I didn't actually perform this activity in the Neureva premises. It wouldn't bode well for anyone. So I had to give him the opportunity to recognise that what he did made Mirae uncomfortable.

"Mirae is a new joinee. She is still learning a lot of things. And I want to make sure that people like us help her out." I said. "She did say that she was a little uncomfortable with your actions in the pantry this morning. Can we please make sure we don't...you know, violate anyone's personal space? I'm sure you understand my intent behind this, considering you're so experienced and older than us."

He should have caved then.

But he smiled with that leery old face that made it crystal clear that he didn't give a fuck about this. "Is this what I have been called for? You know, Miss Kang, I'm no longer an assistant manager. I have plenty of tasks that don't allow me to waste any time."

"Waste your time?" I scowled.

"Yes. This is...a rather small matter. We shouldn't escalate them out to be more than what they are. I didn't even realise what made her uncomfortable." He shrugged. "If it bothered her so much, she could have said something there. Why didn't you say anything then, Mirae?" He turned to her and I gripped her hand beneath the table to tell her it was alright.

"Because she is still new to the system, Mr Han. You of all people should understand that she might have been shocked to speak." I intervened. "And she did approach me immediately so it doesn't matter if she told you anything or not, because I am telling you right now. I hope you will handle this feedback well."

His gaze shifted to me. And I saw something dark boil beneath. Like he was pissed off with my mouth running. Meh. Big deal. It was his fucking fault for having an ass for a personality. I was being nice and he couldn't even take the feedback.

"You know what, Miss Kang? You girls are too sensitive." He slowly said. "You are living in a man's world and yet you do not learn. It is things like this that make it more difficult for you than it already is."

What?

I opened my mouth but he wasn't finished.

"You call casual compliments offensive. Next, you will complain that I blinked." He shook his head as if he was truly disappointed. As if this was something to be disappointed about. This rascal.

"Casual compliments are well-suited in casual settings with casual people, Mr Han." I retaliated, cutting him off. "This is a professional setting and we don't know each other that well. We must maintain corporate decorum."

"What corporate decorum?" He scowled. "The one where you girls spank each other on the office floor? Or the one where you wear tight skirts and revealing blouses? I don't think you can draw a line when it fits you, Miss Kang."

My jaw fell open.

I exchanged shocked glances with Mirae and her face was losing colour. Fast.

"That is not the point of discussion right now, Mr Han. And you aren't a twenty-five-year-old girl either, to compare." My voice rose a little and so did my spine because who the fuck did this man think he was talking to?

"We're all under the same lens in a corporate setting, Miss Kang." He folded his hands across his chest defiantly. "And matter of fact, let me remind you that you don't hold a very upright reputation either. Not after the rumours of your illicit affair with the department head downstairs. With women who do this in corporate surroundings, do you think it is fair to judge a simple compliment from me to a fresher?"

What the fuck was going on?

My flap opened and then shut. Why was this suddenly about me and what fucking rumours? Did he mean the ones I created during the start of my sessions? But that was just about Mr Jeon liking me?! Nothing about having an affair! Did it get twisted somewhere along the way?

My heart rammed against my chest like a truck. Somebody, swallow me up because what in the HBO was this game he was playing with us right now?

"They are rumours for a reason, Mr Han. They aren't true." I snapped. "He is my cybersecurity mentor. And I don't think there is any comparison between this and me—"

"There is." He cut in, a bit sternly this time but the creepy smile on his face didn't leave. I suddenly missed Jungkook's harmless smirk in the face of this.

"If you stand up for something, make sure you practice it yourself, Miss Kang, no offence." He said and then stood up, "I have meetings to attend. I won't disclose to Mr Min what unprofessional methods have been used, to spare you the scolding, Miss Kang. But I hope such negligible matters aren't brought to me again. Thank you."

He said and walked out of the meeting room with his nose in the air as if he had just won a match. And he had.

He had the last word.

My hands were trembling and I wanted to kick his ass so bad I was seeing stars already.

Mirae touched my shoulder, rubbing it gently, "Miss Kang, he's a very bad person."

"It's my fault!" My face fell into my hands, spoofing heat all over. "I couldn't even protect you right, Mirae. I'm so sorry."

"Oh no, you don't have to be. You did everything, Haerin." She hugged me softly. "He's the one at fault. Not you. And I'm so grateful you stood up for me like that. I hadn't expected it at all."

I had failed.

I had fucking failed Mirae and myself.

I couldn't even deal with such a small thing.

And that man, after doing everything wrong, still had the audacity to question my character. I wanted to kill him. Kill him for real.

And I was going to. Either inside this premise or outside. He was going to have the worst time of his life for crossing paths with Kang Haerin. And I knew that I'd probably do it right then. But right now, I felt cheap and disgusting.

"A—Are you alright, Haerin? Are you crying?" Mirae worriedly patted my back and leaned closer.

I let out a quick breath and sat up straight. I was about to cry. Keywords: about to. I didn't. My eyes stung but that was okay because I couldn't waste my tears like that.

Not from someone like Mr Han.