A New Beginning
"Hey, you fucking bastard. Do you even consider yourself human after that?"
"Huh?"
Lee Hyuncheol, the CEO, looked flustered—he clearly hadn't expected me to explode like that. But I'd already decided not to give a damn about the consequences, so I unleashed everything I'd been bottling up about him in one go.
"You short-ass prick who probably got your ass kicked all through school, you grab a scrap of power and suddenly think you're hot shit? Get your head straight, asshole. You're surrounded by all these yes-men kissing your ass, so you can't see straight, but keep this up and you're gonna fuck yourself for real. And fake evidence? You think the courts will just let that slide if they find out it was fabricated? What the hell kind of dramas have you been watching? Even a CEO like you thinks money fixes everything? You think big corp chairmen end up in jail because they ran out of cash? The shit you pull makes you sound like some billionaire."
"You, you... you!!"
For a guy who'd climbed the elite ladder his whole life, this was probably the vilest tongue-lashing he'd ever heard. His face twisted red and purple as he jabbed a finger at me.
But I had nothing left to fear. And a man with nothing to lose is invincible.
"What're you gonna do, point and yell? What can you even do to me right now? Sue me? Like you said, that shit takes time. Guess your legal team can't fix this one?"
"Kim Taemin, you little shit! You wanna die?!"
I kept poking the bear, and he finally snapped, grabbing a water bottle off the conference table and hurling it at me.
Thwack! But thanks to my middle school baseball days, I caught it effortlessly and set it back on the table.
"And watch your mouth. I'm a big deal back home. No reason to take that crap from trash like you."
Lee Hyuncheol ignored me, though. His blood was probably boiling over too.
"You think you can pull this shit and get hired anywhere else? I'll make calls—you'll never set foot in this industry again!"
Flinch. Honestly, that hadn't crossed my mind. Well, if I'd thought about fallout at all, I wouldn't have done it.
But showing weakness now would just let him regain the upper hand, so I shot back sarcastically.
"On what authority? Is the game industry your personal backyard? How the hell are you gonna stop me from getting a job?"
"I'll spread rumors! Every dirty thing you've done—and haven't done—I'll blast it across the whole industry!"
"......"
The more he talked, the madder I got. Even in this mess, this bastard showed zero remorse. He was just biding his time like a rat, plotting how to crush me.
So I played my ace in the hole.
"You sure you can handle the consequences of that?"
"What?"
"Can you handle it?"
As I said it, I pulled a slim digital recorder from the pocket on my suit jacket. I'd bought it to record meetings, never dreamed it'd come to this.
"Everything you've said up to now is on here. Felt good blabbing away, thinking you'd won, huh?"
"!"
Finally realizing his fuck-up, Lee Hyuncheol barked at the audit team leader beside him.
"Choi! Snatch that! Now!"
The audit team leader charged at me like it was do-or-die.
But his grab was thwarted by a third party—Saori, who'd been silently witnessing every word exchanged in this room.
"Stop."
Her low murmur froze him solid, like he'd turned to stone.
Lee Hyuncheol, oblivious, threw a hissy fit.
"What the hell are you doing?! Choi! You messing with me?!"
"No, sir! I can't move all of a sudden!"
I brushed past the babbling audit leader and approached Lee Hyuncheol in the head seat, cracking my knuckles.
Crack. Pop.
"S-stay back!"
Thinking I was gonna deck him, he recoiled in terror.
But I kept advancing.
"I was wrong! I'll apologize for everything I've done to Deputy Kim—just forgive me this once!"
His bullying swagger vanished in a blink; now he was wringing his hands like a fly, pathetic as hell.
Senior team members got screwed over because of scum like this.
I could still see them clutching boxes, swept up in office politics, forced out the door.
Stopping right in his trembling face, I pulled a paper envelope from my jacket—the resignation letter I'd written last night.
"If a sorry was gonna cut it, I never would've started."
Crumple! I balled it up in my fist and swung straight at the shivering Lee Hyuncheol.
About ten minutes later, after wrapping up some "negotiations" in the conference room, I stepped out. The department folks had gathered around, gossiping instead of working, their eyes on me.
I ignored them and headed to my desk for my stuff, but spotted the sub-dev standing there among them.
"......"
I marched right up to him. Normally he'd grin and chat me up, but today he slyly avoided my gaze.
"Hey, Lee Seokjin."
"...Yeah."
"How could you do that to me? I treated you like a little brother."
Truth be told, I wasn't even that pissed. Sure, he was Lee Hyuncheol's lackey, but I knew his family was dirt poor, and he'd only gone full-time from intern recently—plenty of pressures he couldn't voice.
That didn't erase the betrayal, but compared to the unforgivable prick Lee Hyuncheol, it was at least somewhat understandable.
Thud!
"Guhk!"
I slammed my fist into his unguarded gut. As he doubled over in pain, I pulled two 50,000-won bills from my wallet and tossed them over his head.
"That's for the hospital bill. Buy your little siblings something nice. And don't do shitty stuff again. Advice from a bro before a senior."
Eh, not like I'd see him anymore anyway.
Muttering that, I ignored the stares and headed to pack my desk.
It was a desk I'd used for five years, but I never kept personal stuff at work, so all my things fit in one box.
With the cardboard box under my arm, I left the office and hit the elevator. Saori, who'd watched the whole drama like I was invisible, followed me in and spoke up.
"In the end, you never asked for my help, Sensei—not once from start to finish."
She was right. I scratched my cheek awkwardly. I'd begged her yesterday like a simp, but somehow I'd handled it solo.
"Honestly, no time for that."
After learning Seokjin was a traitor, I'd gone full throttle on the cursing—total runaway train. My eyes were already bloodshot, and Lee Hyuncheol was spewing shit in rage. Without the recorder I'd prepped just in case, it might've flipped against me at the end.
"Still, having you come to the office gave me the guts."
Alone, I never would've dared snap. But with my solid ally Saori there, desperation turned to fight, and paths opened up I hadn't seen.
You could even call her my goddess of victory.
"Hehe, empty words."
Saori said that, but she didn't look displeased.
Ding!
The elevator hit the first floor mid-chat. I unclipped my employee badge from my neck and asked,
"Anything you wanna eat? My treat—quitting celebration."
"Anything's fine as long as it's with you, Sensei."
"C'mon, pick something. I've got this."
I flashed the adult card from my wallet. Saori gave an exasperated look, then giggled.
"Then something sweet."
Brain fry always needs sugar after.
"Sweet. I know a great cafe—SNS-famous cake spot."
With afternoon plans set, I left the company building with Saori, feeling strangely unburdened.