Chapter 40
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: True Colors
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As soon as I closed the meeting room door and stepped out, instead of heading to the elevator, I made a beeline for the emergency stairs.
I wanted to shake off the unpleasant murmurs and suspicious stares trailing behind me, even if just for a little while.
The cold air stabbed at my lungs as I hurried down the stairs, but the heat raging in my head refused to cool down.
After crossing the crosswalk in front of the building and pushing open the cafe door, a clear bell chimed alongside the part-timer's uniformly cheerful greeting.
"Welcome~."
I let the voice slide in one ear and out the other as I scanned the cafe, my gaze suddenly locking onto one spot.
The most tucked-away seat by the window.
Someone sitting with their back to the table had spotted me and was waving awkwardly.
Her outfit was so utterly different from her usual look that for a split second, I didn't even recognize her as Mi-na.
An oversized hoodie that hung baggy on her frame and training pants.
To top it off, a white cap pulled low over her face and a mask.
Even with the company's casual dress code, the vibe wasn't so lax that someone could show up in that without drawing stares.
Forgetting to even order from the menu, I walked toward Mi-na's seat as if drawn by a spell.
Reaching the table, I swallowed awkwardly and forced my usual casual tone as I tossed out a light comment.
"So, what brings our junior summoning this senior first thing in the morning? And what's with the getup?"
Mi-na, who would've normally shot back with a playful smile, kept her head down without so much as a twitch.
Feeling awkward, I dropped the joking and slid into the seat across from her, my voice laced with concern.
"Are you really okay? I texted you all weekend and didn't get a single reply. You have no idea how worried I was."
Mi-na, who seemed silent at first, finally squeezed out a voice from behind her mask.
"I... took sick leave today."
A voice heavy and subdued, nothing like her usual self.
I couldn't see her face under the hat and mask, but her shoulders trembled faintly, and even her breathing sounded unsteady.
"Sick leave? What's wrong? Did you see a doctor?"
The moment I fired off the questions, her crimson eyes—hidden under the brim of her hat—turned toward me.
The sharp gaze I'd felt several times in the office and meeting room.
"You seem totally fine, Senior. But just thinking about that night still..."
Mi-na's voice quivered faintly as she trailed off.
"I can't sleep properly, and I keep reliving what happened..."
"That night?"
My mind instantly flashed back to last Friday night.
The jokes and laughter at the drinking party, followed by the hot, intimate hours at the motel.
"At first, I was so confused. I wondered if I'd done something wrong."
Soon, her voice grew choked with sobs.
"I even tried to understand it somehow. You've always been so good to me, after all."
"W-Wait! Mi-na. Hold on a sec."
I raised my voice without thinking, cutting her off.
A few gazes in the cafe flicked our way before quickly losing interest.
"Sorry, but my head's a mess right now with other stuff. Can you explain it more clearly?"
As I lowered my voice and asked again, Mi-na furrowed her brow like she was dredging up a nightmare.
Her eyes, visible above the mask, quivered.
"That night, I was so drunk I told you no, to stop... but you kept pushing so hard..."
"What?"
It hit me like a blunt weapon to the back of the head.
If I'd actually been struck, at least I could've escaped this brutal sense of reality.
I bit my dry lips and shot back.
"What are you talking about? We both wanted it..."
"Senior."
Mi-na cut me off, her eyes thick with contempt.
"I was blackout drunk. No way I could've made a rational choice in that state."
Blood rushed to the back of my head and down my neck.
Flashes of her seductively grinding above me, her sweet whispers burrowing into my ear.
Then was everything I saw that night just a drunken hallucination or dream?
"You've been good to me, and yeah, I had feelings for you too. But I never imagined taking it that far."
No words came from my mouth anymore.
Even the dullest person would grasp the situation by now.
I never thought I'd star in a scandal ripped from the news society pages instead of some game protagonist.
And with my own somewhat trusted junior, no less.
This was comedy gold on another level.
"But I don't want to blow this up either.
If word like this spreads around the company, it won't do either of us any favors. I'm already struggling with the rumors lately..."
Finally, the puzzle pieces clicked into place.
The sticky whispers aimed at me from the moment I clocked in.
Son Jun-hyuk's sly hints.
Team Leader Kang Joo-young's icy stare and uneasy ruling.
And the woman right in front of me, boldly cosplaying as the victim.
"So, what is it you really want?"
My voice sank cold as ice.
My gut, boiling with rage and betrayal, paradoxically grew calm.
"Five hundred."
Mi-na's tone flipped in an instant, like the two sides of a coin.
The anxiety and trembling from moments ago vanished; her voice behind the mask was dry and frigid.
"Hand over five million won clean and neat, and I'll bury this quietly."
She tossed out five million won like it was pocket change—a handful of five-hundred-won coins.
-I don't dislike it. A sucker guy like you, Senior.
Suddenly, her words from last Friday at the bar came back to me as she eyed me.
I'd been played like a total mark, just like she said.
Child's mocking laughter seemed to echo in my head.
"What if I say I can't pay?"
Mi-na crossed her arms arrogantly, like she'd never acted otherwise.
"Then I have no choice. I'll lawyer up and sue you formally. For sexual assault."
Her threat carried zero hesitation.
Whether it was real or bluff didn't matter anymore.
To me now, it was just petty noise.
"...Were you always like this?"
As I asked, I fiddled with my phone in my pocket.
"Who's the one who messed up here? You dragged your drunk subordinate to a motel by force."
Her brazen words left me with no desire to even respond.
I pitied my past self for buying into that vile act all this time.
"Anyway, that's all I have to say. Deposit by tomorrow morning or give me your answer."
With that one-sided declaration, Park Mi-na reached for her bag on the next chair.
"No word, and I'll file the complaint. Five million won't cut it for a settlement then."
"Haha."
Absurd as it was, a chuckle escaped my lips.
Mi-na, mid-grab for her bag, shot me a look of utter disbelief.
"...You're laughing right now?"
Laughter was the only sane response.
All the mysteries plaguing me since morning had unraveled so fast.
"Hey, one last thing."
"What?"
A frosty retort came right back.
She wasn't even bothering to hide her true colors anymore.
"You spread those rumors about me at the company, didn't you?"
"Rumors?"
Mi-na didn't blink as she fired back.
"It was all over the company already. Didn't you blab it yourself?"
"Ha! Why would I do that? Didn't peg you for such a petty, slimy type, Senior."
My hunch was solid: Park Mi-na was behind the rumors.
No, I was certain.
Why she'd spread them from her own mouth was a mystery, but...
I'd uncover that step by step from here on out.
"I'm heading out. Waiting on your call, Senior."
As Mi-na started to stand, I stopped her.
"Hold up."
Her puzzled gaze, half-risen from her seat, turned back to me.
In that moment, I pulled my smartphone from my pocket and tapped the screen a few times with practiced ease.
Who'd have thought I'd debut it on her instead of Team Leader Kang.
Clueless about why I'd whipped out my phone, Mi-na stared blankly at me.
I didn't miss the greed and relief flickering in her eyes.
She might even be hoping I'd wire the cash right then.
Thank you for activating the Hypnosis App.
The app's functions have been partially updated.
To register the target, have them recognize the suggestion screen for 5 seconds.
Time to have a real heart-to-heart.
A sinister smile crept across my face as I shoved the phone screen toward her.