Training Team, Director's Office.
"Look at this, Hod."
X handed the report to Hod, watching her with sympathy.
"Do you really think what you're doing is helping that addict?"
"Instead of prescribing more psychoactive medication so he can keep attending your program, I think you should run an Enkephalin dependency test first."
To see kindness used so viciously would hurt anyone.
But precisely because of that, X had to tell Hod the truth—so her kindness wouldn't continue to be exploited.
"Why…? Why is it like this?"
Hod held the report and read it line by line.
When she saw the cold data—abnormal metabolism, neurotransmitter imbalance, and suspected drug dependence—disbelief filled her blue eyes.
"Why… why does nobody take my goodwill seriously?"
She murmured, voice trembling.
"I'm helping them. I'm helping them!"
"Are you saying Tiffany and the others were eager to attend counseling only for a little Enkephalin?"
"That can't be true…"
"Hod," X said carefully, seeing her unravel.
"Sometimes… not interfering too much is also a kind of help."
"I don't think you need to pull the entire Training Team into your program all at once."
"Maybe start small—invite only the employees who are genuinely interested in counseling and willing to accept professional help."
He kept his tone as gentle as he could.
"Once you get positive, satisfying results with them, let them—people with firsthand experience—help encourage others who might need it to join."
"Wouldn't that be better?"
"Because in the end, Hod, you don't actually know whether they truly need this—"
X's intent was only to offer a more realistic approach.
But Hod's emotions exploded as if he'd struck a raw nerve.
"So you mean I'm helping them just to satisfy myself?!"
The sudden outburst—loud, fierce, wounded like a cornered animal—left X briefly helpless.
He paused, then lowered his voice, trying to soothe her.
"No. That's not what I meant…"
"How could I be that selfish? I'm not that kind of bastard!"
"Calm down, Hod. I'm not accusing you, I'm just—"
"No! Shut up! Shut up!"
Hod shook her head and screamed.
"No! I'm not! I'm doing it for them! I—I—!"
Her words broke into fragments. As her shouting rose, her rationality seemed to crumble.
X finally understood—
This anger wasn't really aimed at him.
It was Hod's own problem.
She was trapped inside her own spiral.
"I'm not… I didn't… I just wanted to save you…!"
…
X said nothing more, quietly edging toward the door.
If the director's state was unstable, there was no reason to keep poking the wound.
When Hod finally returned from her storm of thoughts, he was already gone.
Outside the office, he practically fled back to his room.
"Ha… ha…"
After locking the door, breathing in the familiar scent of his room, X slid down the door and sat on the floor.
What rotten luck.
Today, aside from the work itself, everything was going wrong.
Sometimes the inner-company side was less exhausting…
-------
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