A Delicious-Looking Man
A delicious-looking man. …………… The new manager for Kang Haneul, Moon Yujin. His……cute face floated into Baek Sehee's mind.
Cute, huh. Me too, apparently. But it was true. He was cute. Anyway, that wasn't the important thing right now.
When Baek Sehee had asked him to take out his smartphone from his pocket, Kang Haneul had shot back with a command: "Don't touch your phone." Moon Yujin's pitiful expression at that moment was still vividly etched in her memory. And commendably, Moon Yujin had pulled out his smartphone from his pocket anyway. Despite the threats from that rage-blind psycho bitch.
The problem was the relationship between Moon Yujin and Kang Haneul. Moon Yujin had spent the whole time watching Kang Haneul's every mood, while Kang Haneul bullied him relentlessly.
That's not a normal boss-subordinate dynamic.
Baek Sehee was certain. Of course, she had no concrete evidence to back up her conviction. But she didn't need evidence. Kang Haneul's past behavior, her innate rage issues, and Baek Sehee's own gut feeling—all of it pointed to one conclusion.
Moon Yujin, Kang Haneul's manager, was performing unwanted labor. Forced into it by that rage-blind psycho bitch Kang Haneul. Or maybe something even worse than mere labor.
I……
Baek Sehee felt a tightness in her chest. It was truly strange. She'd only seen Moon Yujin for the first time today. They'd barely exchanged a few words. They were practically strangers. So why did her heart feel so uneasy? Why couldn't she stop thinking about Moon Yujin? Why did it feel like Kang Haneul had stolen him away from her?
I have to protect him.
The thought bubbled up unbidden. Moon Yujin looked fragile. Like……yeah. A puppy, or a kitten, or a rabbit. Someone that vulnerable had no business being around a rage-blind psycho like Kang Haneul. Someone needed to rescue him. And that someone……had to be a person like Baek Sehee.
Why?
Why did she have to be the one to save Moon Yujin? The answer came immediately when she asked herself.
With great power comes great responsibility. Baek Sehee was an EX-rank Awakener. She had power. Therefore, she had a duty to protect the weak. Moon Yujin was weak. He was someone who needed protection. And he was being threatened by an EX-rank Awakener like Kang Haneul. That left only her—another EX-rank Awakener—to protect him. The other EX-rank Awakeners……they were probably busy with their own lives. No need to share Moon Yujin. It was logical. Reasonable. Right.
But……was that really all there was to it? What was this strange conviction about Moon Yujin? What was this odd feeling? Even Baek Sehee couldn't define it clearly.
For now, to help Moon Yujin, she needed to learn everything about him first. His personal details, his past, his relationship with Kang Haneul. Especially his relationship with Kang Haneul. How long had they known each other? How did they meet? Was the employment contract truly voluntary? Surely they weren't lovers or anything. If they were, then……
Really?
If Kang Haneul and Moon Yujin were dating, it would explain why someone as unassuming as Moon Yujin was her manager. But……that assumption didn't sit right with Baek Sehee. Not one bit.
"Those two aren't lovers. And even if by some wild chance they were……it couldn't be a normal relationship. Kang Haneul must have forced it through threats or blackmail."
Yeah. Someone as cute as Moon Yujin was too good for a rage-blind personality wreck like Kang Haneul. Wouldn't a calm, gentle woman be better? For example—
"No. Focus."
She reined in her thoughts. Emotions could wait. She'd set her course; now it was time to act. Baek Sehee swiveled her chair toward her desk. She powered on her terminal and accessed the Awakener Association database. EX-rank Awakeners had substantial access privileges. Even more so as the leader of the special response team.
She entered her ID and password, bypassed the login screen, and began typing.
[Moon Yujin]
…………… Information appeared on the screen.
……F-rank?
Baek Sehee's fingers paused. An F-rank Awakener as manager for the EX-rank Awakener Kang Haneul? It wasn't impossible. F-ranks often had abilities too impractical or weak to use effectively—practically no different from ordinary people. But taking on the role of Kang Haneul's personal manager was a whole other story. Kang Haneul was an EX-rank with a trash personality. You needed either highly specialized skills as a civilian or the fortitude to endure her temperament. And yet……an F-rank?
Worry for Moon Yujin flooded Baek Sehee's mind once more.
……Protective instincts?
The words jumped out at her. Had she fallen under the influence of his ability? Was that why she felt this urge to shield Moon Yujin from Kang Haneul?
Baek Sehee crossed her arms and sank into thought for a long while.
"No. That's not it."
Moon Yujin's ability was F-rank, and the database explicitly stated its intensity as "extremely weak"—a 1 out of 10. She hadn't been affected by it. Her decision to protect him was a sound judgment from a clear mind. As an EX-rank Awakener safeguarding the weak.
She scrolled down, and his past records appeared. School records, grades, attendance, notable incidents.
……Excessive physical contact?
As expected……
The puzzle pieces clicked into place in Baek Sehee's mind. Kang Haneul had been a problem child back in Awakener Training School. Anyone in the industry who mattered knew that. It explained why the victim, Moon Yujin, had been unemployed. The trauma from school violence must have made normal social life impossible. The poor guy must have been backed into a corner, forced to play games just to scrape by selling assets. No normal person would stoop to living off game item sales.
And now, the victim of that school violence, Moon Yujin, had become Kang Haneul's manager. An F-rank. After three years unemployed. A NEET surviving on game rice.
……No way this is a normal employment relationship. Absolutely not.
There was no reason for a fragile, needy F-rank like Moon Yujin to become the manager of an EX-rank rage-blind mental case like Kang Haneul. He probably didn't even have the skills for it. The fact that he'd signed a contract meant……he'd been coerced. Or blackmailed. Or something else.
Of course, there was still no hard evidence. It was just Baek Sehee's speculation. But……
I have to help Yujin.
As that thought crystallized, something boiled up inside her chest. This wasn't protective instinct from his ability. It was her sense of responsibility as an EX-rank Awakener.
She needed more info on Moon Yujin. Current residence, financial status, contract terms with Kang Haneul. Everything. Only then could she help him.
Baek Sehee picked up her terminal.
……………
Following Kang Haneul's lead, the two of us entered a pasta place. It was lunchtime, so the tables were mostly full, but there was no wait. The server guided us to a window seat. We got the menus……but the words wouldn't register.
What had just happened. The stare-down between Kang Haneul and Baek Sehee. Kang Haneul deleting Baek Sehee's contact from my phone on her own. The terrifying expression on her face when she said, "Treat that bitch like she doesn't exist."
"What're you gonna have, Yujin?"
"……Ah, yeah. I'll do the cream spaghetti."
"Me too!"
Kang Haneul closed her menu with a smile. The rage and hatred she'd spewed at Baek Sehee was long gone.
The server took our order, and bread came out as an appetizer. Kang Haneul picked one up and took a bite.
"Ah—I'm starving. Skipped breakfast today."
"……Yeah."
"You eat too, Yujin. It's good."
I grabbed one, popped it in my mouth, chewed, and swallowed. No idea if it tasted good.
Can I really control this woman?
My earlier plan resurfaced. First, get close to Kang Haneul and seize control of the relationship. Make her need me.
"It'd be so nice to have breakfast with you every day, Yujin."
"……."
But looking at her now, was that even possible? Could a rabbit tame a T-Rex? We weren't that different in intelligence.
"What're you thinking about?"
Kang Haneul's voice pulled me back. I looked up to find her staring right through me from across the table.
"Oh, nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Uh……just that the bread's good."
"Yeah? Good."
She smiled brightly again.
"That paranoid psycho bitch pissed you off earlier, right? Me too. But that's all over now. Let's forget it."
All over……
She'd unilaterally deleted the contact, invoked contract clauses, and even forced me to promise never to speak to her again.
"I saw the sky was super blue on the way over. Nice weather. Wanna go for a walk after?"
Kang Haneul chattered on like nothing had happened. Stories about that movie with the bomb-head girl she'd seen recently, next week's schedule.
"Oh, got an interview this afternoon too. But with you here, it'll be fine."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. Being with you keeps me from getting mad. Feels great."
Watching her smile as she spoke, I thought:
My ability is working, after all.
F-rank ability: Harmless Cuteness. It gave those around me comfort and calmed them. That had to be why Kang Haneul instinctively needed me.
……Maybe it'll be okay after all.
The thought crossed my mind. Kang Haneul's expression was bright now. Deleting Baek Sehee's contact and threatening me in the hallway……that was just a momentary flare-up of anger. And she'd held it together in the end. Her mood had cleared up now.
There was still hope. It'd work out somehow. My ability functioned well enough. I could soothe her rage, manage the relationship, and gradually take control.
That's what I'd believe.