Chapter 22
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Gaslit Seo Na-yeon
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Through the half-open door, the male employees' backtalk kept spilling out.
"That Na-yeon chick's always strutting around in those tight skirts. Fuck, I was dying to bend her over. Even today, when she bent down to pour coffee, I caught a glimpse of her panties. Man, I wanted to just ram it in from behind right then."
"Fuck, my dick throbs every time I see that slut... Boss has it good. With all that money, he can fuck a face like that whenever. If the boss tosses her aside after eating her up, maybe I can pick up the scraps?"
"But has the boss really eaten her up? I'd keep her around and fuck her over and over."
"You didn't hear? The boss and his wife had a huge fight. She was whining over KakaoTalk last time. Bet it was because of Seo Na-yeon. That's why he's keeping his distance now."
Crude, thug-like talk that you could never imagine in a normal workplace.
Then again, considering the boss Kwak Young-cheol was a former gangster himself, what could you expect from his employees?
But these guys, who seemed so gentlemanly and nice at company dinners—perfectly normal—were trash-talking Na-yeon like this behind her back.
Of course, Na-yeon, who'd already lived that delinquent life, wasn't delicate enough to be fazed by such gossip. What really grated on her was less "I want to fuck Seo Na-yeon" and more "She's about to get eaten up by the boss soon."
=====
Several days passed, but Kwak Young-cheol's attitude hadn't changed.
Before fucking her, he'd acted like he'd give her the world—liver and gallbladder included. But afterward? Not a word about it.
The little perks he'd showered on her in the office ended with a curt order to follow procedure.
Under his protection, her job had been a sweet deal: brew some coffee, shake her ass a bit for clients, and call it a day. Now she had to split Oh Da-hye's old workload, strictly by the rules.
"Jesus, you can't even do this right? Unbelievable."
"What did you hear?"
"Give it here!"
"...Sorry."
Before, shielded by Young-cheol, she'd strutted around like hot shit, ignoring Da-hye and giving her subtle jabs. Now? Da-hye was tearing her apart, shredding Na-yeon's confidence and self-esteem in the process.
But approaching Kwak Young-cheol first? Her fragile pride held her back.
What would she even say? "Why'd you fuck me and then ghost?"
Truth was, he hadn't promised her anything for sleeping with him. She'd spread her legs first after slurping down that kimchi soup.
With a husband at home, could she blackmail him over an affair? Especially a guy with yakuza ties?
Watching Na-yeon wither in real time, Kwak Young-cheol smirked to himself in secret satisfaction.
=====
"Seo Na-yeon. Coffee."
"Ah... yes."
His usual businesslike tone. At his call, Na-yeon hurried to brew coffee and entered the boss's office.
"Here..."
Before, she'd treated him like a neighborhood oppa, not the boss. But after days of Da-hye's scolding, all her delusions deflated, and now she addressed him with crisp respect.
In other words, the first round of establishing the pecking order was finally complete.
Kwak Young-cheol moved to the second step in taming Seo Na-yeon.
"Na-yeon-ah. Sit here."
"Yes...?"
Suddenly dropping into a grave, husky voice with a serious demeanor. As Na-yeon blinked in confusion and sat on the opposite sofa, he confronted her.
"Da-hye keeps reporting to me... your work's not improving at all. I gave you a week's grace period to develop yourself. But..."
"..."
"This puts me in a tough spot. I pulled strings to get you in as a favor, but you gotta pull at least half a person's weight."
Na-yeon was dumbfounded.
Wasn't it him who coaxed her, when she first started, that she could just sit around for a week doing nothing?
Since when was that a "grace period for self-improvement"?
Sure, he'd say any adult should know better—who'd keep feeding a freeloader forever?
But she hadn't worked!
Not the company, not even school properly!
Na-yeon didn't even grasp the basics of professional behavior.
So, in the worst possible employee move, she let her personal feelings bleed through.
"...Oppa. Isn't this too much?"
"What? You think I'm the one being too much?"
It was a reaction so absurd even Kwak Young-cheol, who'd scrapped with WWE wrestlers, was stunned.
"Oppa, honestly, I'm grateful you got me the job... but you did it 'cause you wanted to fuck me, right? Admit it."
"What are you talking about? I..."
"Just say it straight. Did your wife flip out after you fucked me? Be honest. Is that why you're gonna eat me up?"
"...Eat you up? What the hell happened between us?"
As Kwak Young-cheol's face hardened in real time, Na-yeon—finally venting her pent-up frustration—sensed the mood shift and faltered.
"Seo Na-yeon. You can't mix personal feelings with work."
"......"
"How about... you leave by the end of the month? I'll pay you two months' salary."
"...What?"
At the boss's stone-cold denial, Na-yeon was floored. He glanced outside, then lowered his voice to a whisper.
"Sorry. Truth is... my wife sniffed it out. Oh Da-hye's tight with her—she's the snitch. Rumors spread, and even when I deny it... sorry, sorry..."
It clicked for Na-yeon like puzzle pieces falling into place. Her resentment toward Young-cheol redirected straight at Da-hye.
"...So. Fuck me once and kick me out?"
"...Still thinking on that. Wait it out. I'm soothing the wife... I said that stuff loud for Da-hye to hear outside. So..."
Beating around the bush, but it boiled down to suggesting she quit. Blaming his wife? She couldn't even get mad at him.
'I haven't even gotten a full month's pay yet... What do I do?'
As Na-yeon shuffled out of the office dejectedly, she caught Da-hye smirking triumphantly.
'That fucking bitch...'
She ground her teeth, but there was nothing she could do. And just like that, it was quitting time.
"Alright, let's call it. See you tomorrow, Da-hye, Na-yeon."
No after-work drinks invite like usual—just straight clock-out.
Should've been a relief, but Na-yeon's steps home felt heavy.
=====
'Fuck, should I just sell my body?'
Truth be told, since her husband went to prison, the thought had crossed her mind often. Compared to normal women, Na-yeon had a lower bar for prostitution—no strong aversion.
But with grown high school twins? As a mom, she knew it was risky, so she'd hesitated.
Still, having a legit daylight job made her look respectable to the kids, right?
Back home, her delinquent daughter Kang Mi-hyun was still out with her gang, nowhere in sight. Only her reliable son Kang Hyun-seong remained, holding down the fort.
"Mom's home."
"Yeah. Eaten?"
"Yup."
"What'd you eat?"
"Leftover side dishes and ramen..."
"..."
No savings, barely scraping by on basics—tightening her belt till payday. And now her job was toast?
"Studies going well?"
"Yeah. But math's got a few sticking points..."
"What? Sticking points? Want me to send you to cram school?"
"Cram school? Nah. We're not made of money."
"..."
No matter how irresponsible, Na-yeon had some maternal instinct. In this mess, Hyun-seong—who grew up right and studied on his own—was her one family pride.
Now tasting office life, she was learning the hard way from a mere high school grad accountant like Da-hye just how crucial studying and credentials were.
"Mom's paycheck comes soon. We can afford one or two cram schools."
"You know how much they cost now? High school math's at least a million won."
"What? A million?"
"Yeah. Don't waste it. EBS is fine for me."
"EBS? What's that?"
"......"
Taking on the family finances solo—pushed aside by Tae-gu—had sparked a tiny sense of responsibility in Na-yeon. But she was still miles short of a proper mom.
=====
Na-yeon was desperate. She didn't want to get fired.
'If I lose this... guess it's the sex trade.'
She thought it, but full-on prostitution terrified her. Especially her grown son's piercing gaze.
So next day at work, she planned to beg Kwak Young-cheol—kneel, suck him off, whatever—to keep her on.
But...
"Pardon?"
"Hey. Wife's outta Korea for a bit. Heh... fuck, I'm free!"
"Why?"
"Our daughter's due soon. Father-in-law set up a spot in New York for birth tourism—US citizenship. Heh... free for months thanks to that."
"...Oh."
Perfect timing—his wife was gone.
Back to his old lecherous grin, the one itching to devour Na-yeon. He sidled up, hand on her thigh, stroking up her skirt.
Nibbling her earlobe, he whispered.
"Now I can spoil you without sneaking around. Nice, right? Huh?"
"Uh-huh..."
All her worries evaporated; Na-yeon nodded blankly. Grinning ear-to-ear, Young-cheol stood before her and unbuckled his belt.
"Wha...? H-here?"
"Fuck, I've been holding back so long. You want it too."
"...Wh-what if Da-hye hears?"
"Your job to stay quiet. No moaning."
Soon, his thick, goblin-club cock filled her view.
Gulp.
Na-yeon swallowed, for multiple reasons.