"I've been stepped on by the children of executives to reach higher positions more times than I can count..." Tum spoke with a slight, shattered tremor in his voice, as if a defeated man were finally baring a wound from his soul. "No matter how hard I work... in the end, my life is just that of a secretary in the front office, taking orders day in and day out..."
The moment Rong Ru heard of the injustice and the class walls within the corporation, the aura around her shifted. The looming black dissipated, replaced by a soft ivory and pastel blue—blooming like flowers in the dark—signifying a profound, surging empathy.
"I gave it my all..." Tum crushed her spirit further with a gaze of piercing pain. "But in the end, I hit a ceiling that people like us simply cannot cross... It's like there's a wall separating our world from theirs."
"I am no different from you," the woman's voice wavered. Her once-hardened eyes reflected the dim light with a weary softness. "Here... they always give opportunities to men and overlook us. For a woman? There is almost no place for us at the top."
Her blue aura expanded, projecting years of suppressed frustration. "I have to prove myself over and over... and sometimes... I'm forced to follow 'dirty' orders... just to keep myself alive in this insane political cycle."
Seeing the sky open and the prey unknowingly spilling secrets, Tum wasted no time in striking at the root. "I understand... you've had to sacrifice so much just to stand where you are now."
"I'm tired, Mr. Tum... tired of proving myself repeatedly, even when he tells me he's giving me a chance to reach the summit..." She had let it slip—the 'he' behind the curtain. "But I don't even know if what he says is the truth, or if he's just using me day by day."
"It's the same for me. I'm lucky Mr. Gawin is a good boss and has always supported me... but even so, because I'm poor, the board always looks over my head. They see me as just a lowly subordinate by Gawin's side, with no way to rise higher," Tum added with a sorrowful face.
"Mr. Tum... why is your life so much like mine?" Rong Ru whispered, tears finally welling in her eyes.
Tum reached out and gently took her hand. The tender contact bridged the gap between them. "The life of a fighter... is often a lonely one." He looked deep into her eyes with resolve. "But I believe... you could go much further than this if you were on our team." He offered a faint smile that left her breathless with emotion.
"On your team...?" Rong Ru paused, her heart fluttering.
"Yes. Mr. Gawin is the Director now. If I tell him you're a top-tier talent, I'm sure he'd want you on our side."
"But... my boss would never allow it." Her gaze dropped, her eyes flickering with intense internal conflict.
"Why is that? Does he not want to see you succeed?" Tum pressured her with a grave tone. The woman clenched her trembling hands and looked up at him as if pleading for rescue.
"You'd have to talk to Director Chen first..." Rong Ru blurted out, her guard finally crumbling. "He is my direct superior... if I go over his head, I'll have no place left in this company."
Director Chen! Tum smiled inwardly—a victor's smile—while his face remained calm.
"I understand," he offered a warm, sun-like smile. Rong Ru locked eyes with him, a white-and-pink aura enveloping her before the crimson sparks of desire erupted once more. But this time, it wasn't for secrets... it was pure, unadulterated lust aimed solely at the man before her.
"Mr. Tum..." She stared at his lips hungrily, her breath hitching with infatuation. "Tonight... will you... stay with me?"
Tum's eyes widened, his heart skipping a beat at her lightning-strike bluntness. But before he could even part his lips to answer...
GRAB!
A massive force jerked Tum's shoulder from behind. He nearly lost his footing, only to be caught and steadied by a pair of slender arms. Rosé appeared in a dark dress, radiating an aura so lethal that the sultry atmosphere turned ice-cold in an instant.
"Sorry to disappoint... but this man is already taken," Rosé declared, her voice ringing sharply through the pub.
"What! Mr. Secretary, what is the meaning of this?" Rong Ru shrieked, her lust-clouded eyes snapping wide with shock.
"You heard me correctly." Rosé tightened her grip on Tum's arm, pressing close enough for him to feel her soft curves. She tilted her chin up at her rival with the gaze of a conqueror. "He's been mine since last night. Therefore... he is my property. You have no right to touch him. Understood?"
"Hey! How dare you snatch him away right in front of me! I'm the one who invited him!" Rong Ru ranted, pointing a finger, though her pale red aura was now shivering with humiliation.
"So? Right now, he'd much rather return to his owner," Rosé glanced at Tum, who was currently gasping for air. "Isn't that right... darling?"
Tum's face flushed a deep crimson from sheer embarrassment, while Rosé shot Rong Ru a provocative wink. She then dragged him out of the pub right before everyone's eyes, leaving the accountant frozen amidst the whispers of the crowd.
The moment they cleared the pub, Rosé snatched her hand away as if she had touched a hot iron. The "heat" from moments ago vanished as if it had never existed.
"Mr. Tum, don't ever do something this reckless alone again," she scolded in a low, sharp tone, her eyes as keen as an eagle's.
"Ah... I understand... Thank you for helping me," Tum replied meekly, straightening his collar.
"Couldn't you see what she wanted? Were you really going to trade your body for information? Isn't that a bit too dangerous?"
"But I got the key info," Tum argued quickly. "Director Chen... he's the one behind all of this."
Rosé paused for a beat upon hearing the name, but she didn't back down. "Getting the info is fine, but it's not worth it if you get drugged or blackmailed and ruin our entire plan." She let out a long sigh, her hardened gaze softening just a fraction as she grumbled under her breath, "Next time you plan on 'sacrificing' yourself like this... please notify me first. We need a backup plan that doesn't involve you actually losing anything. Understood?"
Tum nodded like a scolded child, but a small smile played on his lips as he watched the beautiful spy stomp away in a huff. This woman... when she's scary, she's terrifying. But when she protects me... she's actually pretty cool.