“Did you call for me?”

Seol-ah mimicked, before correcting him sharply, “It’s ‘Did you call for me, Team Leader?”

“Sorry. Did you call for me, Team Leader?” he quickly corrected, but the tension between them was palpable.

Seol-ah slammed a stack of papers down on the desk between them.

“The order is a mess. You can’t even handle something as simple as copying documents?”

Jung-jae clenched his teeth in frustration, fighting the urge to snap back at her. He couldn’t afford to speak out against someone with much higher authority.

“What exactly is wrong?” he asked through gritted teeth.

“Take a look at this page,” Seol-ah pointed at the papers. “You’ve mixed up two different sets of documents. This one belongs over here, and that part should be over there.”

Jung-jae muttered under his breath, barely moving his lips, “Couldn’t you just switch them yourself?” His eyes glared with frustration as he avoided letting anyone else hear his remark.

“If it were just one or two pages, maybe. But this is a professional environment, Jung-jae. Please use the proper titles when addressing me,” Seol-ah said firmly. “Now, take these documents, reorganize them, and bring them back.”

Jung-jae’s eyes flickered with frustration as he muttered under his breath, “Jin Seol-ah.”

“Jin Seol-ah?” she repeated, raising an eyebrow, her tone sharp.

“S-Sorry. It’s just a habit.”

Jung-jae quickly apologized, though the lack of sincerity in his voice was clear. His jaw tightened as he forced out the words.

“Bad habits are best broken quickly, understood?”

Seol-ah said, her voice carrying an unmistakable authority.

“Y-Yes.”

“Good. Now go, and make sure those papers are back on my desk before lunch,” Seol-ah instructed, dismissing him with a firm nod.

Jung-jae gritted his teeth as he picked up the huge pile of documents that Seol-ah had practically thrown at him and made his way back to his desk. Chief Choi was waiting there with a stern expression on his face. Without saying a word, Chief Choi snatched the papers out of Jung-jae’s hands, leafed through them quickly, and let out a heavy sigh. He rubbed his forehead in obvious frustration and Jung-jae felt the tension grow in his legs, bracing himself for whatever came next.

“Jung-jae, follow me.”

Feeling like a lamb being led to the slaughter, Jung-jae reluctantly followed, dreading the conversation that awaited him.

***

After work, the familiar buzzing of her phone caught Seol-ah’s attention. She checked the screen.

[Come down, let’s have dinner together.]

[Okay, give me 5 minutes.] 

[All right.]

Seol-ah grabbed her purse and was about to leave when Inha, her team leader, grinned and asked,

“Your boyfriend is here?”

With a smile, Seol-ah nodded slightly, trying to hide her excitement.

“Yeah, we’re going to have dinner together,” Seol-ah responded smiling.

“Oh, I’m so jealous! I’ll be seeing this often now, and I’m not sure how I’ll handle it without getting frustrated.”

“Well, then maybe you should find yourself a boyfriend, too.”

“No thanks, I don’t need the hassle of having a boyfriend.”

Inha replied with a dismissive wave of her hand.

Seol-ah laughed at her response.

“Alright, see you tomorrow.”

“See you.”

Inha replied as Seol-ah said her goodbyes to the rest of her colleagues and left the office.

As Seol-ah waited for the elevator, someone suddenly grabbed her arm.

“Ouch! Let me go!”

Seol-ah yelped, startled.

It was Jung-jae, pulling her forcefully toward the emergency stairwell. After checking to make sure no one was around, he turned to face her, fury blazing in his eyes.

“I’m heading to a dinner date now. Let me go,” Seol-ah said firmly.

“I will just hear me out first. I need a favor.”

“A favor?”

Jung-jae’s desperation was clear as he pleaded with her.

“Yes, just talk to your boyfriend and ask him to transfer me to another department. If you do that, I’ll do whatever you want. Please, Seol-ah. I’m wasting away here! You’ve seen how much Chief Choi is after me. It’s gotten so bad that I have nightmares about it. You hate seeing me every day too, right? So please ask Kang Hwi-gang to transfer me to another department.”

Seol-ah let out a short, incredulous laugh.

“You’re actually asking me for help?”

“What?”

Jung-jae blinked, genuinely confused by her reaction.

“Why not ask your well-connected wife for a favor instead? You know, the one with the great credentials and background?”

Seol-ah said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Hey, Jin Seol-ah. You were never like this. The Seol-ah I knew would do anything I asked. Why have you changed so much? Don’t act like this – it’s not like you. Your kindness was your best quality, and without it…”

Jung-jae’s voice faded as he trailed off, realizing too late what his words had unintentionally implied.

“Without that, I’m worthless?”

Seol-ah cut in coldly.

“No, no, that’s not what I meant!”

Jung-jae stammered, scrambling to backtrack.

“Don’t bother,” Seol-ah cut him off, her voice icy. “I had no intention of helping you anyway. Do you know why? Because I actually enjoy watching you suffer through humiliation every day. It’s quite… satisfying. It gives me a nice boost of endorphins.”

“What the hell?”

Jung-jae’s frustration was unmistakable as Seol-ah’s words sank in, and his expression darkened. Despite the anger simmering just beneath the surface, he grudgingly stepped aside, swallowing his resentment.

“If you’re done talking, move along, my boyfriend is waiting in the lobby,” Seol-ah said coolly as she walked past him toward the elevator.

Leaning against the wall, Jung-jae wiped his face in frustration, his expression clouded with despair as he watched her walk away.

Downstairs, in the lobby, Hwi-gang was pacing slightly, occasionally glancing at his watch. When Seol-ah finally emerged, his tense expression softened, and a small, relieved smile appeared on his face.

“What took you so long? I was about to come up and look for you—it’s been over 10 minutes.”

“Ah, sorry about that. I had to stop by the bathroom.”

“I see. I was starting to worry.”

“Worried? About what?”

“Well, I thought maybe Jung-jae had cornered you again.”

Hwi-gang said, his guess eerily accurate.

Seol-ah’s heart skipped a beat. How could he know that? For a moment, she wondered if he had somehow witnessed what happened. But she quickly dismissed the idea. There was no way he could have known from down here in the lobby.

Little did Seol-ah know, that Hwi-gang had one of the TF team members keeping an eye on Jung-jae, just in case. He had been alerted earlier by a discreet message from the team member: ‘I overheard him begging Seol-ah to help him transferred to another department.’

Hwi-gang’s expression remained calm as he opened the car door for Seol-ah.

“Get in.”

Once Seol-ah had fastened her seatbelt, the car gently drove away from the building and glided effortlessly onto the road.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll find out when we get there.”

Hwi-gang replied in his usual cryptic tone. Seol-ah just nodded, accustomed to his vague responses by now. It was one of his habits she’d grown used to, even if it always left her guessing.

After a short drive, the car pulled up to a recently developed villa complex.

‘Hills Village?’ Seol-ah thought, recognizing the upscale neighborhood. ‘He said we were going to have dinner…’

Confused, she glanced at the villa they had stopped in front of It didn’t look like a restaurant, and her curiosity only deepened.

‘Is this a friend’s house or something?’ she wondered, still puzzled, as they pulled into the garage.

Hwi-gang tapped something on his phone, and the garage door smoothly rose, revealing a sleek, crimson LaFerrari parked to the side. Seol-ah’s eyes widened in disbelief. The famous multi-million-dollar sports car was breathtaking, its gleaming exterior and iconic design leaving her momentarily speechless.

She couldn’t help but stare, captivated by the unexpected sight.