The Office is a Battlefield, But Outside It's Yandere Hell!
Choi Seori casually picked up her laptop. She glanced at the screen saver that had kicked in, then set it back on her lap.
"Guess I need to keep working. Still got some things to handle."
"Yeah. I'll keep looking through this too." I pointed at my tablet screen as I replied.
Seori sunbae sat down right next to me. Same spot as before, same distance. Close enough to feel her body heat. The sound of her typing on the laptop keyboard filled the air—a perfectly ordinary, everyday noise.
I stole a sideways glance at her. She stared intently at the screen with that serious expression. Just like always.
But now I knew. What lay hidden behind her mask. Her obsession with me, her pathological love, the endless anxiety it all spawned.
"Minseo."
Her sudden call made my heart drop.
"Y-Yeah...?"
"What should we have for dinner tonight?"
"Uh... whatever you want, Seori sunbae."
"How about pasta? I'll make it for you."
She smiled faintly. A warm, gentle smile.
"Sounds good."
I smiled back. Pretending I knew nothing, pretending nothing had happened. I was wearing a mask too. Just like her.
A few days had passed since I discovered her laptop journal. On the surface, nothing had changed. Every morning when I arrived at work, there'd be coffee she'd brewed herself waiting on my desk. Lunch was always in her office together. After work, without fail, we'd eat the dinner she'd prepared at my one-room.
A perfect routine. The kind of relationship anyone would envy.
But ever since that day, I couldn't ignore the dark underbelly of that ideal setup anymore. I'd caught on. To Seori sunbae's true feelings.
It's too heavy. Too heavy.
If you asked what was so heavy, obviously it was Seori sunbae's love. She wanted to manage every single part of my life. From my daily habits to the people I met.
She probably thinks this is love...
Yeah, she definitely did. Protecting me so no one else could take me away.
But to me—and objectively speaking too—this went way beyond love. It was closer to the obsession of someone trying to lock another person in a gilded cage.
I can't keep going like this.
Seori sunbae's emotions were already out of control. And getting worse by the day. After the naked dogeza incident, we'd only done dinners together for a while, but now she was handling breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And lately, she'd upped the ante. Weekends meant we were practically glued together all day.
Her obsession was already at dangerous levels. I didn't even want to imagine what came next.
I thought back to that movie we'd watched over the weekend. The one where the wife isolated her husband completely, forcing him to see only her. If things kept going like this, I might end up just like that husband.
I can't just let this slide. Someday I won't be able to take it anymore, and we'll just end up hurting each other. Better to put some distance between us, let things cool off a bit.
I knew her actions and thoughts were seriously messed up. But honestly, I didn't want to break up. Not yet, at least.
Her obsession had only grown worse the more time we spent together. So maybe going back to how it was in college, or right after I started working here—keeping a healthy distance—would be better.
Yeah. At the very least, I should quit the company. For both our sakes.
First, I needed to create physical distance. If I switched companies, we'd at least be apart for eight hours a day. Or even move to a farther region and only meet once a week. Not a bad idea.
Of course, it wouldn't be easy. There was that non-compete clause in my contract banning jobs in the same industry. But I had to find a way. For our future together.
Monday morning, I requested half a day off.
"Seori sunbae, I'm taking the afternoon off today."
She looked up at me mid-sip of her coffee. "Suddenly? Something come up?"
"Dentist appointment. Getting a scaling too."
A lie. But I'd rehearsed it in my head a dozen times for this exact moment. It came out nice and natural. I'd even prepared an excuse for when she asked about the results later.
I ate lunch early and left the office. As the elevator descended, I felt the corporate phone in my pocket.
I absolutely cannot take this with me.
No hard proof it was being used to track me. But after reading her journal, playing it safe was the smart move.
I stopped by home first. Set the corporate phone on the kitchen table. Battery still on, though. Turning it off completely might raise suspicions.
Hopped on the subway to downtown. Destination: a PC bang near campus. Far enough from both work and home. Worst case, no chance of running into anyone I knew.
The PC bang was quiet on a weekday afternoon. I grabbed a corner seat and booted up the monitor.
As far away as possible.
Opened a job site. Targeting companies in places distant from Seoul: Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, Daejeon, you name it.
My hands trembled slightly on the keyboard as I filled out resumes.
Is this really okay? Feels... insanely ominous.
Even if I got hired, how would I quit? Would Seori sunbae really let me go that easily?
But I'd made up my mind. To make our relationship healthy, physical distance was non-negotiable.
Mid-sized firm in Busan, startup in Daegu, resort IT team on Jeju Island. Over two hours, I fired off applications to more than ten places. Most paid way less than my current gig, but I'd worry about that later.
Checked my watch as I left the PC bang. 3 p.m. Still time before Seori sunbae would come over.
On the way home, I stopped at a pharmacy. Bought a bottle of painkillers. For my alibi.
4 p.m. I got home. The moment I opened the front door, I froze. A presence in the dark living room, lights off.
"Seori sunbae?"
No answer. I cautiously headed to the kitchen. There she was, sitting at the table—where she should have been at the office. Head bowed so low I couldn't see her face.
"You're back."
Her voice was chilling, sending shivers down my spine. A tone I hadn't heard in months... not since before the naked dogeza incident. The cold voice she'd used when tormenting me.
"Y-Yeah. What about dinner?"
No reply. Instead, she slowly lifted her head. Her face was blank. Her eyes utterly empty, unreadable.
A terrifying, dreadful silence stretched out. At this point, even I could tell something was wrong.
"Sit."
A command. Another tone she hadn't used once since the dogeza incident.
I carefully sat across from her.
"Something interesting happened today."
Seori sunbae finally spoke. "What—"
"Got a call from a headhunter at a mid-sized firm in Busan."
My heart plummeted. Already?
It hadn't even been a full day since I applied, and she already knew?
"They said our company's chief researcher, Han Minseo, applied. Wanted my opinion on what kind of talent he is."
The corner of her mouth twisted at an odd angle.
"Isn't that weird, Minseo?"
She leaned forward. "You never once mentioned to me that you wanted to switch jobs."
I was speechless. My throat went dry.
"And you applied to a place paying 30% less than what you're making now?"
Seori sunbae stood. She approached me slowly.
"Explain."
She stopped just a step away, placed both hands on my shoulders, and leaned down.
"Trying to run away? Why? Why?"
Damn... didn't expect the headhunter to loop her in.
I never realized the IT world was this small, with job-hopping so routine. Or that Seori sunbae's network was this vast.
"Answer me."
She pressed. Her eyes sharpened.
What excuse could I make? What could I even say? That I suddenly decided to move to Busan mid-dentist visit? Ridiculous. Career growth? New challenges? Or just come clean—that we needed distance?
I had to find something. Fast.
But my panicked brain refused to cooperate. All I could feel was the cold touch of her hands.
Her grip tightened on my shoulders. Cold and trembling, but shockingly strong.
Her eyes burned with betrayal and rage. The overwhelming emotion in that gaze choked the air from my lungs.
"Answer."
W-What do I do?
I racked my brain desperately. Silence was the worst option. I had to say something.
"Well... you see, uh... haha."
I forced my mouth open. A jumble of meaningless words started spilling out.