Chapter 106
*The car slowly came to a stop in front of Nara Group headquarters*
"We've arrived."
"Oh…"
I snapped out of my daze.
"Thank you, ahjussi."
I looked through the window at the familiar glass building ahead. A small sense of relief washed over me when I saw that there were no reporters around today.
The driver also glanced at the tall building through the windshield.
"This is Nara Group's headquarters, isn't it? Do you work here, young man?"
I nodded as I unbuckled my seatbelt.
"Yes."
He looked a little surprised.
"Really? To be working for a company this big already…I thought you were still a student, judging by how young you look."
I just smiled politely.
Well, I wish I was still a student too…
"It's nothing special," I replied.
Since the fare had already been paid through the app, I took out some cash and held it out to him.
"This is for you."
"Eh? No, no."
He waved his hands quickly.
"It's already paid. You don't have to give me this. It's too much."
"It's fine. Just take it as a small tip. Thank you for driving carefully."
The driver hesitated, but after a bit of back and forth, he finally gave me a slightly embarrassed smile.
"Well… thank you very much."
I smiled and reached for the door.
"Have a safe drive, ahjussi."
"You too, young man. Good luck with your work."
I stepped out of the car and closed the door behind me.
As soon as I was on my feet, I stretched my shoulders a little.
"Ugh… my shoulder."
Honestly… couldn't she be a bit gentler? She pressed down my shoulder so hard last night while we were doing it. I gave in because I just couldn't bear to see her like that. But since she knows I'm willing, can't she treat me a little more softly? It's not like I'm trying to run away.
"I wonder if she's awake yet."
*Sigh*
"Whatever."
I rubbed my shoulder once before making my way toward the entrance.
Employees and visitors were constantly coming and going, yet despite the crowd, everything still seemed calm and under control. It was nothing like the day before.
"Good morning, Mr. Kim."
The voice made me stop. As I glanced over, I saw a familiar figure approaching.
It was the security officer from yesterday?
I immediately returned his greeting.
"Good morning."
I glanced at the entrance area.
"There are no reporters today?"
He gave me a small smile.
"Yeah. Thanks to Secretary Yoo, who gave their company a formal warning yesterday, we don't have to deal with them anymore."
"I see… I didn't know they would actually listen."
"Well… let's just say they don't want to see the bad side of Secretary Yoo."
I let out a quiet chuckle.
"That makes sense."
"Then I'll excuse myself first."
"Of course, Mr. Kim. Have a good day."
I gave him a small nod and continued walking toward the elevator.
_____
*Ding*
*The elevator doors slowly slid open*
I stood there for a moment, hesitating before stepping out.
This is it. Here we go again.
Get ready for the stares.
I took a small breath and stepped forward.
But…
Hm?
It's…
It wasn't what I expected at all.
The entire floor felt unusually quiet.
Every staff were sitting at their desks with gloomy expressions, and even those who were talking were keeping their voices low.
"What happened here?"
Why does everyone look so down?
I wasn't sure what was going on, but honestly, I wasn't complaining. It worked in my favor. Since no one seemed to notice me, I quietly made my way toward my desk without attracting any unwanted attention.
As I got closer, I noticed Daejin-sunbae standing beside his desk, staring intently toward Harin's office. He looked unusually serious.
What is he looking at?
Without making a sound, I walked up behind him and lightly tapped his shoulder.
"Sunbae-nim—"
"AH!"
Daejin jumped so hard that he nearly stumbled forward.
"Haemin! You little—!"
I quickly raised both hands in apology, holding back my laughter.
"Sorry, sorry. My bad."
I glanced toward Harin's office as well before looking back at him.
"What are you looking at so seriously, Sunbae? And why does everyone look so gloomy today? Did something happen?"
"Hm? Who looks gloomy?"
Daejin sunbae looked around the floor before pointing toward the other employees.
"Oh, them? Of course they look like that. How could they not, when they've all been getting scolded?"
"Getting scolded? Why? By whom?"
"Who else could it be."
He gave me an obvious look before tilting his head toward Harin's office.
"Your superior, of course."
"My superior?"
I followed his gaze.
"Secretary Yoo?"
"Yeah."
Daejin lowered his voice.
"I don't know what's wrong with her today. As soon as she arrived, she immediately started looking for everyone's mistakes and scolding them one by one."
Harin already came?
That's strange.
"But I'm more worried about Jiyoo."
"Noona?"
Daejin sunbae's expression became more serious.
"Secretary Yoo looked especially angry with her earlier. She told Jiyoo to come into her office. They've been inside for almost twenty minutes now. That's why I'm a little worried."
Really?
I looked toward Harin's office again.
Somehow, I had an uneasy feeling.
Could this be because of what happened yesterday?
But surely it's not that serious, right?
Should I go inside and find out?
I took a step forward.
"Hey, Haemin!"
Daejin sunbae suddenly grabbed my shoulder and stopped me.
"Hm?"
"Where do you want to go?"
I looked at him.
"Inside?"
"Are you looking for death? How can you just walk in there like that?"
Oh crap.
"Y-Yeah, you're right."
I smiled awkwardly.
I almost forgot they didn't know about our secret. I needed to be careful not to act too familiar with Harin or simply walk into her office whenever I felt like it.
So, in the end, I stayed beside Daejin sunbae.
We both stood there quietly, occasionally glancing toward the closed office door.
A few minutes passed.
Neither of us said much.
Then—
*BANG!*
The office door suddenly opened.
Both Daejin sunbae and I immediately looked over.
Jiyoo noona stepped out.
The moment she came out, she pushed the door shut with enough force to make several people nearby turn their heads.
Her face looked furious.
But beneath that anger, she looked hurt.
Really hurt.
Her eyes were slightly red, and her expression was tense as she quickly walked away without looking at anyone.
"Jiyoo!"
Daejin sunbae immediately called after her.
But she didn't even turn around.
"Jiyoo, wait!"
Still nothing.
She simply continued walking.
Daejin sunbae looked at me in confusion.
"What happened to her?"
I could only shrug my shoulders.
Daejin frowned before quickly following after her.
"Come on, Haemin."
I hesitated for a second before following him.
We kept our distance as we followed Jiyoo noona down the corridor.
She didn't stop until she reached her own office.
After unlocking the door, she walked inside.
Because the front of the office was made of clear glass, we could see almost everything happening inside without having to go in.
Daejin sunbae and I stopped a few steps away from the entrance.
Neither of us said anything.
Through the glass, we watched as Jiyoo noona walked toward her desk.
*Rustle*
She suddenly took off her blazer in frustration and threw it over the back of her chair.
For several seconds afterward, she remained completely still, as though trying to gather herself.
Even from here, we could see the tears she was holding back.
After a few seconds, Jiyoo noona straightened her posture and composed herself.
She wiped the corner of her eye once before quickly looking away.
Daejin sunbae and I exchanged a confused look.
Whatever had happened inside Harin's office clearly wasn't a simple matter.
Then Jiyoo noona suddenly crouched down.
She reached underneath her desk and pulled out a box.
I looked at Daejin sunbae.
He looked even more confused.
Jiyoo noona placed the box on her desk and immediately started putting her belongings inside.
We just stared at her through the glass.
After watching her for a few more seconds, Daejin sunbae suddenly turned toward me.
"Haemin."
"Hm?"
"You go in."
"W—What?"
I immediately looked at him.
"Why me?"
"Go calm her down and ask what happened."
I pointed at myself.
"Why do I have to do it?"
Daejin sunbae gave me a completely serious expression.
"Because you're the only person here who can do it."
"What?"
I looked at Jiyoo noona again.
She was still packing her things.
"Sunbae, she's obviously upset about something. I'm scared to go in there."
Daejin sunbae nodded.
"Exactly. That's why you have to do it."
"What?"
He suddenly lowered his voice and leaned slightly closer to me.
"If I'm the one who goes in, don't you think she'll get even more annoyed? Look at her. She already looks like she wants to punch someone."
"And you think she won't punch me, sunbae?"
"Don't worry. I'm sure she won't get mad at you."
"How can you be so sure?"
"I bet on my life. Aren't you her favourite junior here?"
"What are you talking about, sunbae?"
"Enough talking."
He gave me a little push toward the office.
"H–Hey, wait…"
"Go, go… We don't have much time."
This guy…
I sighed and gave him a deeply disappointed look.
Daejin sunbae just grinned at me, pretending to be innocent.
"Good luck, Haemin."
I could only shake my head before walking toward Jiyoo noona's office.
When I reached the door, I knocked lightly before slowly opening it.
Jiyoo noona clearly noticed that I had entered, but she didn't even bother to look up at me. She simply continued taking her belongings from the drawers and placing them inside the box, as if my presence made no difference to her at all.
I quietly closed the door behind me.
"Noona?"
There was no response.
She picked up another item from her desk and placed it inside the box.
I took a few more steps toward her.
"Are you… okay?"
Nothing.
She continued packing.
I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly.
How am I supposed to do this?
I glanced toward the glass door.
Daejin sunbae was still standing outside, watching me.
He immediately made a small hand gesture, silently telling me to keep going.
I could only sigh helplessly.
Easy for you to say.
I turned my attention back to Jiyoo noona.
"Noona?"
Still nothing.
I slowly approached her.
The closer I got, the more obvious it became that she wasn't really paying attention to anything around her anymore. She was simply focused on finishing whatever she had decided to do, even though every movement looked forced.
But I could see her eyes, even though they were partly hidden behind her hair.
They were red.
Every few seconds, she took a quiet, shaky breath, almost as though she was trying to keep herself from crying again.
I slowly walked even closer until I was standing right beside her.
"Jiyoo noona?"
I called her name softly and reached out, gently stopping her hand.
Jiyoo noona finally stopped.
She let out a shaky breath before slowly looking down at me.
I tilt my head up slightly to meet her eyes.
Jiyoo noona…
She looked completely broken.
I was lost for words. Just what had happened to make her look like this?
Neither of us spoke for a moment.
Then,
"Haemin…"
She quietly called my name.
"Yes?"
Her eyes stayed on me.
"Can you lend me your shoulder?"
I blinked.
My shoulder?
Well… that was sudden.
I hesitated, worried that Harin or Yuna might see it.
But seeing Jiyoo noona like this…
"…"
I glanced around to make sure no one else was watching us.
Then I gave her a faint smile.
"Okay…"
As soon as I said it, Jiyoo noona stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me.
"Whoa…"
I was startled by how suddenly she hugged me. I thought she just wanted to rest her head on my shoulder.
But I didn't push her away.
I simply stood there, letting her hold onto me as I tried to understand what was going on with her.
Jiyoo noona remained completely silent.
For several seconds, she didn't move at all.
Then… I felt her body tremble slightly against me.
"…Hic."
A shaky breath escaped her.
Little by little, the composure she had been forcing herself to maintain began to disappear. Her arms tightened around me as another shaky breath escaped her, and this time, she couldn't hide the tears anymore.
Then, she finally started to sob.
Quietly.
She buried her face against my shoulder and cried without making much noise.
I didn't know what to say.
Seeing her cry like this made me feel completely helpless.
I slowly lowered my arms and gently placed one hand on her back before rubbing it lightly, trying to comfort her.
"It's okay, noona…" I said softly. "…Let it all out."
She simply continued crying quietly against my shoulder, her breathing uneven as she tried to calm herself down.
I kept patting her back gently, giving her as much time as she needed.
At this point, I decided not to ask what had happened.
Whatever Harin had said to her inside that office…
She probably needed a moment to calm down first.
I simply stayed there and continued comforting her quietly, hoping that she would feel a little better once she had finally let everything out.
A few moments later, the office door slowly opened.
Daejin sunbae peeked inside.
His eyes immediately went toward me.
Then he looked at Jiyoo noona.
Then back at me.
His eyebrows slowly rose as he silently asked what had happened.
I quietly shook my head.
Then I pointed toward the empty chair nearby, silently telling him to come inside and sit down.
Daejin sunbae understood.
He slowly entered the office and pulled out a chair before sitting down quietly.
He didn't say anything.
He simply watched Jiyoo noona with a worried expression, his earlier joking attitude completely gone now that he could see how badly she was affected.
I continued gently rubbing Jiyoo noona's back while she remained against my shoulder, quietly crying.
For the moment, none of us said anything.
We simply stayed there in silence, giving Jiyoo noona the time she needed.
_____
We simply let her cry.
Little by little, her breathing began to settle down. The trembling in her shoulders became less frequent, and the tight grip she had around me slowly loosened. She took several deep breaths, trying to regain her composure, before finally pulling back slightly.
But even after she stopped crying, she still didn't let go of me.
She remained there for another few seconds, resting her cheek against my shoulder as she took one last shaky breath.
"Thank you…" Jiyoo noona quietly said. Her voice was soft and slightly hoarse from crying.
I gave her a small smile.
"It's okay, noona," I replied gently. "Just take your time."
She finally pulled away from me and wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. Her eyes were still red and slightly swollen, but at least she looked calmer than before.
She gave me a small smile.
"Be careful, Haemin. My mind is in a mess right now. If you comfort me like this…"
She suddenly leaned closer, slowly bringing her face near my ear. Her voice dropped to a soft whisper.
"I might fall for you…"
"N–Noona…"
W-Wait…
My cheeks instantly burned.
Why did she suddenly say something like that?!
"Ahem, ahem."
Daejin sunbae, who had been sitting quietly in the corner, deliberately cleared his throat. He sat there with his arms crossed, watching us in amusement.
"I'm here too, you know."
"Daejin?"
Jiyoo noona looked slightly surprised as she finally lowered her hands from me.
"You're here too?"
Daejin sunbae raised an eyebrow.
He stared at her for a few seconds as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard before pointing at himself with an exaggerated expression.
"Of course I'm here! Haemin and I were worried about you after seeing you like that earlier!"
He paused and looked between the two of us before letting out a small sigh.
"But judging by what I just saw, maybe I was worried for nothing. Seems like Haemin is all you needed to calm down."
"Sunbae, what are you talking about?!"
I immediately became flustered.
Daejin sunbae raised both hands innocently.
"What? I'm just saying what I saw."
"Sunbae, you're the one who pushed me inside!"
"…Did I?"
"Yes!"
"I don't remember that."
"You're unbelievable."
"…Pfft"
Jiyoo noona suddenly let out a small laugh.
Daejin sunbae and I both looked at her at the same time. Neither of us said anything. Seeing that small smile on her face made both of us feel relieved.
She quickly wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks before looking between the two of us.
"Thank you… both of you."
Her voice was still slightly shaky.
"I'm sorry for worrying you."
She took another breath and glanced down at the box sitting on her desk.
"But I'm okay now. At least a little better."
Daejin sunbae's expression softened for a moment before becoming serious again.
"Jiyoo, just what the hell actually happened?"
Jiyoo noona remained quiet.
For a few seconds, she simply looked down at the things scattered across her desk.
Then she gave a small, almost empty smile.
She picked up another item and carefully placed it inside the box.
"I got fired."
"WHAT?!"
Daejin sunbae and I both reacted at the same time.
"You got fired?!"
He immediately walked a little closer to us.
Jiyoo noona simply nodded quietly.
"Yeah. Well… that's what Harin told me."
I stared at her in disbelief.
"But why, noona?"
Daejin looked just as shocked.
"Why would they fire you?!"
Jiyoo noona gave a quiet laugh, but there was no amusement in it. Her eyes became slightly wet again, although she quickly blinked the tears away before they could fall.
"Harin said it was the Chairwoman's order."
My expression changed immediately.
Yuna ordered this?
I looked at Daejin sunbae.
He looked completely stunned.
"Wait… Chairwoman? But why? You've never had any problems before. Why would she suddenly fire you?"
Jiyoo noona gave another empty laugh as she continued putting her belongings.
"You remembered my cousin I mentioned to you yesterday?"
What?
"Yeah… what about him?"
She paused briefly, her fingers resting on the edge of the box.
"He and I met yesterday because there's something he wants to asked regarding the murder case that happened yesterday."
Her voice remained calm, but the slight tremble in it made it obvious that she was still struggling to keep her emotions under control.
"Somehow the Chairwoman found out about it, and she didn't take it well. She considered it as me leaking company information to an outsider… even though the two of us were only talking about something that had nothing to do with the company at all."
A heavy sense of guilt settled in my chest.
Daejin sunbae looked even more disbelieve.
"Just because of that? This is basically unfair dismissal. Jiyoo, you didn't fight back when Harin told you that?"
"What would you want me to do, Daejin? If this was just Harin acting on her own, I would have already explode inside her office earlier. But no, this is the Chairwoman's decision. How am I supposed to fight against her?"
I remained silent.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
So it was exactly what I thought earlier. This really was because of what happened yesterday.
And it looks like Harin didn't tell her the whole truth.
I looked at Jiyoo noona as she continued packing her belongings, as though she had already accepted what happened even though the pain was still clearly there.
"To think after everything I gave to this company for years…"
She paused as she picked up another item from her desk.
"Just to end up getting thrown away like this…"
A faint, bitter smile appeared on her lips.
Daejin sunbae still looked like he couldn't accept what he was hearing. He shook his head slightly, his expression filled with confusion and frustration.
"Just why… I don't understand. Why is the Chairwoman acting for such a petty reason? It just doesn't make any sense. Jiyoo, you need to fight back. You can't let her treat you like this. This isn't like you."
Jiyoo noona remained quiet for a moment.
Instead of answering, she slowly exhaled, using the breath to calm herself before reaching for the edge of the box on her desk. She adjusted one of the files inside, making sure everything was arranged properly before carefully closing the lid.
The tears on her face had already dried.
But then, all of sudden, she turned her gaze toward me.
"What do you think, Haemin? Should I fight back?"
"Huh?"
I froze.
Why is she asking me?
For a brief moment, an uneasy thought crossed my mind.
Does she suspect something?
"Y-Yes?"
I answered, but even I could hear how unconvincing I sounded.
Jiyoo noona noticed my hesitation and gave me a faint smile, as if she found my reaction slightly amusing. Then, she turned her gaze back toward Daejin sunbae.
"I will."
Her voice was calm now.
"But right now, I need to accept her decision first and figure out the reason behind it later."
Her fingers rested lightly on top of the box as she continued.
"Because if I fight back now, I don't think it would be to my advantage. From the way the Chairwoman handled this, it feels like she's been wanting to get rid of me for quite some time now. She just needed a reason to justify it."
Daejin sunbae's expression became more serious.
"No way. She already planned this?"
I remained silent.
Yuna… you… just why are you acting like this?
For some reason, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was partly responsible for what had happened.
Jiyoo noona leaned back slightly against her desk, her eyes narrowing just a little as she went over everything in her mind.
"Even I know that those reasons aren't enough to justify firing me. It just doesn't make sense for the Chairwoman to suddenly turn hostile toward me when we've barely even spoken to each other all this time."
She paused.
Her fingers slowly tapped once against the top of the box before becoming still again. The faint softness that remained in her eyes had disappeared, replaced by a cold, distant look.
"Whatever the reason is, I'll find out sooner or later."
Then she turned her gaze back toward me.
I found myself holding my breath.
"So rest assured, Haemin."
She gave me a small smile.
"This won't be the last time you see me."