I Did It at the Coworkers' Dinner Party
I enjoyed a passionate fuck with Lee Yuna and fell straight to sleep afterward.
In the morning we woke up to the alarm together and went at it two more times before even washing up. The way Lee Yuna awkwardly rocked her body on top of me was so fucking cute that I blew my load almost immediately.
The moment I got home I headed straight to work.
The company I work for is Star M.I. (Mana Industry).
It’s a mid-sized firm that takes subcontracts from guilds, processing and distributing the magic stones they pull out of towers and gates.
My role is eighty percent desk work and twenty percent field supervision. I was hired for an office position, but you do whatever the hell they tell you.
…Fuck. At least pay me decently.
Anyway, this shit ends soon.
Once I fuck Ahn Juyeon and my Awakened registration comes through, I’m quitting this damn company on the spot. Fuckers.
I’m the one and only EX-grade on the entire planet, so the moment I register and the news breaks, every guild will come crawling with insane offers. Heh heh.
Oh, right—from the phone call I eavesdropped on between Lee Suyeon and her husband, it sounds like he works at a magic stone mining company. Might even be one of the firms tied to ours.
Well, even if we bump into each other by pure coincidence, we don’t know each other, so we’ll just pass like strangers.
“Hey, Sunghyuk, why didn’t you come in yesterday?”
While waiting for the elevator, Lee Juhyun—my entry cohort—slaps my shoulder.
Female employees stand beside him. I carefully avoid meeting their eyes and answer him.
“Uh, stomach issues.”
“Again? That irritable bowel thing? Must be pretty bad.”
“Yeah. Hurt all day.”
Of course it hurt all day—hell, I spent two straight days fucking. After going hard with Lee Yuna again this morning, my lower belly does feel a little sore.
“Still, good you made it today. The cohorts decided to have a dinner tonight.”
“Tonight? Out of nowhere?”
“It’s Friday night, man. Party tonight~.”
He suddenly shakes his shoulders and dances. The women next to him giggle.
“Heh, anyway, you’re coming, right?”
“Who’s showing up?”
“Check the group chat, dude. The group chat.”
“Ah.”
I’d turned off notifications because the damn thing never stopped pinging.
Ding—
Lee Juhyun gets off first and taps my shoulder again.
“If you’re coming, text me before lunch.”
“Sure.”
He really does have a good personality. Handsome, too. I used to be jealous. No—scratch that. I was jealous.
I’m not jealous of anyone anymore.
Because the Ahn Juyeon that even this popular pretty-boy couldn’t touch is going to be mine.
Fuhuhu. Fuhuhut!
“……Tsk.”
“……Ah.”
I’d been snickering to myself when I realized a woman was still standing behind me.
Shit, how embarrassing.
Ding—
The doors open. I step out first and she follows.
Click, clack—
High heels echo behind me.
…Wait. On this floor, in our department, there’s only one woman who wears high heels.
My gut feelings are always right.
I whip around and, sure enough, it’s Ahn Juyeon.
“……What the hell are you staring at?”
I snapped my head forward in a single second. I didn’t answer in case No Questions Asked! triggered.
Luckily the skill didn’t activate. No pink window floated above her head as she walked away, heels clicking.
Whew.
Rude bitch.
The scent of her perfume lingered where she had passed. Other guys would die for it, but it just pissed me off.
Did I ever do anything wrong to her?
No chance.
She had those eyes and that tone from the very first day. She simply looks down on people.
Surrounded by men who fawn and worship her, she despises loners like me who don’t show interest.
The queen bee herself.
Fucking bitch. Just wait a little longer.
I sat at my desk, exchanged a few light words with the team leader, then finally checked the group chat.
[Lee Juhyun] … [Ahn Juyeon] …
Ahn Juyeon is coming to the dinner.
Fucking bitch. Perfect.
***
Lunchtime.
I slipped out during lunch and headed for the Awakened Association.
Twenty minutes from the company.
If I finished registration quickly I could make it back in time.
…Fuck, what is this?
Why are there so many people?
It’s not even a bank at lunchtime.
I pulled a number ticket—thirty people ahead of me.
How long am I supposed to wait?
I picked the counter with the female employee. The moment the person in front stood up, I darted into the seat.
“When your number is called please—”
Five seconds after our eyes met, she shut her mouth.
The notification No Questions Asked! Applied appeared above her head.
“I want to register as an Awakened right now.”
“Yes. There is a thirty-five-minute wait ahead of you. Please wait for the next—”
“No. Right now. Immediately. I want it done.”
“……Yes. One moment, please.”
She typed rapidly, printed something, then stood.
“Follow me.”
The female employee led me down a hallway into the depths of the building. She scanned her ID on the innermost door and opened it.
After another long corridor she opened a door marked VIP ONLY.
A large office held two rows of sofas. Behind them sat a massive machine and an office desk.
The employee sat down, turned on the computer, and the huge machine beside her hummed to life with a bright glow.
“Please step onto the platform.”
“Yes.”
“Please remain still while the scan runs. It takes anywhere from one to five minutes.”
“Yes.”
I stepped up and leaned against the machine. It began to vibrate with a low hum.
Is this thing broken?
Contrary to my worry, it operated normally. It simply finished scanning while I stood there leaning back.
“You may step down. The rank result will be ready shortly.”
“Yes.”
“Type is Mage… Rank is… E-.”
“What?”
Did I mishear?
I asked again.
“Excuse me?”
“E minus.”
“Th-that can’t be right?”
“Everyone says that. Shall we run it again? But this machine has one hundred percent accuracy. It has never produced a single error. It was crafted from tower items.”
“Huh……”
I hurriedly opened my status window.
Occupation: Mage
Rank:EX
It says EX??
“Um, may I see the screen?”
“Yes.”
I moved behind her and checked the monitor.
Rank:E-
What the hell is the minus?
Maybe EX is so far beyond the scale that the machine errored and defaulted to E-?
I asked for another measurement…
…and the result was identical.
Ha.
This is ridiculous.
“Please wait over there and I’ll issue your registration card shortly.”
“……Yes.”
And so I received an E-grade Awakened registration card.
A rank treated the same as non-Awakened—actually, even looked down on by non-Awakened.
Fuck!
What about my brilliant future?
Living large in Korea’s top guild?
Fuck! Fuck!
Fuuuuuck!!!
***
I trudged back to the office and sat at my desk.
I have no memory of whether I worked with my hands or my nose.
The E-grade printed on the card in my wallet was simply too shocking.
When I came back to my senses, I was already seated at the dinner table.
“Yo, Jung Sunghyuk. You actually showed up to a dinner? You hate this stuff.”
The cohort guy next to me greeted me like we were close.
We might have joined at the same time, but we’re basically strangers.
They book pensions and go on trips together, living that insider life, but I’m a born loner so I could never fit in.
I joined a few times early on, but every time I spoke the mood died, so I stopped going myself.
“Uh, heard everyone was coming.”
“Juhyun invited you?”
“Yeah.”
“Alright, here—let me pour you one.”
He smirked and filled my glass with soju. The smile was clearly condescending.
Whatever. No point getting angry at someone like him. He’s not worth the emotional energy.
I downed the shot he gave me. He snickered.
The others chimed in while watching me.
“Jung Sunghyuk must be in a good mood today.”
“Excited all the cohorts are here, huh?”
“Why’d he even come?”
“Dunno. Maybe because Juyeon’s here?”
“Isn’t that guy on the same floor as Juyeon?”
“Same floor doesn’t mean they see each other often.”
“Heh heh. True.”
Men and women alike toyed with me and laughed.
Fucking insects.
They aren’t even trying to hide it. They’re openly mocking me to my face.
I don’t care about the men, but you women are all dead. How should I cook you? What would be the most humiliating way?
While those thoughts ran through my head, sudden applause exploded.
Clap clap clap clap—
“Congratulations!”
“Wow~ Congrats!”
Clap clap clap clap—
The abrupt applause snapped me out of my thoughts.
What? What’s going on?
I’d been lost in my head and missed the flow; I had no idea what they were congratulating.
“Dude, he’s the first among our cohort to go.”
“I need to get married too…”
“They say even if you book now, it’s a year wait.”
Oh, it’s about marriage.
Only then did I notice the pure white wedding invitation placed in front of me too.
Please come and bless our future.
Groom
Jung Jinwoo
Bride
Ahn Juyeon
It was Ahn Juyeon’s wedding invitation.
I finally raised my head and looked toward Ahn Juyeon. She sat far away from me, facing the opposite direction and chatting.
“Juyeon, what’s your husband like?”
“A raid member of the Soul Guild. An A-grade Tanker.”
“Whoa. A Soul Guild raid member??”
“Do you have a picture of your fiancé? Show us!”
“Kyaa—he’s so handsome.”
“I’m jealous~.”
Her future husband is an A-grade from Soul, Korea’s number one guild.
The exact place I dreamed of entering.
How does trash like Ahn Juyeon get everything… simply because she was born with that face?
It’s unfair.
Scraaape—!
The moment I shot to my feet, every eye in the room locked onto me.
I ignored them completely and walked straight toward Ahn Juyeon.
“What?”
“What’s going on?”
“Jung Sunghyuk?”
“What the…?”
“Juyeon.”
“What?”
Ahn Juyeon, who hadn’t even glanced at me despite my standing right in front of her, finally looked up with a creeped-out expression when I called her name.
“Why didn’t you tell me first about the marriage?”
“……What???”
At that instant, a pink window appeared above Ahn Juyeon’s head.
“Weren’t we in love?”
“…….”
“!!!!!!!”
The noisy bar fell deathly silent in an instant.
Everyone held their breath and stared at me and Ahn Juyeon.
“You asked me to keep our office relationship secret, so I did. I told you I hated office romances and wouldn’t meet you, but you begged me, clinging and saying please, so I dated you.
And now you stab me in the back like this?”
“!!!!!!!”
I poured every ounce of acting ability I had into the performance. I acted like I was furious to the marrow of my bones.
Maybe because I really was angry, the lines flowed perfectly.
“O-oppa, that’s not—”
Ahn Juyeon fidgeted, completely flustered, looking as if she had genuinely wronged me.
“I’m truly disappointed in you, Ahn Juyeon.”
“Oppa, wait a second……”
“If you have something to say, say it outside. Don’t ruin the night for our cohorts. Follow me.”
“Ah, okay… Oppa, w-wait, let’s go together!”
When I spun on my heel and left, Ahn Juyeon hurriedly chased after me.
In the now-silent bar, only the sharp click of her high heels echoed.