"Team Leader Park, You're Off Planning Duties Starting Today"
"Team Leader Park, you're relieved of all Planning Coordination Office duties effective immediately."
That single line plunged the entire 15th-floor Strategy Planning Division into an ice age chill. We'd just witnessed with our own eyes the tiger of a team leader—who'd been hounding me like a rat—sent flying out like a fly in a mere minute. Dozens of eyes in the office locked onto me in stunned horror. Whispers like 'What the hell is this intern's deal that the new director's personally chopping the team leader's head off?' echoed in my ears like hallucinations.
My fellow interns, who'd been shredding paper next to me at the machine just yesterday, gaped up at me in awe, jaws on the floor.
"Let's go, Intern Jinwoo."
Seol-ah gave my back a light push and took the lead. Following her cool, aloof silhouette, I swallowed tears inside. 'I'm screwed. Totally, completely screwed.'
It was obvious my name would plaster the company's anonymous board today. Sensational headlines danced in my head: [Shocking Identity of the Parachute Intern in Planning], [The Director's Secret Affair with an Intern].
But my opinion didn't matter. The one holding my life in her hands was that petite, fragile-looking figure striding ahead—the absolute power who shook the Taesung Group.
We arrived at the VVIP waiting room right next to the director's office, where a top-grade leather sofa had sat until yesterday. Seol-ah turned the handle herself and opened the door.
"Come on in, Jinwoo."
The sight before me hit me with another brain freeze.
"...Seol-ah, this is my spot?"
"Yeah. Like it? I had the interior team pull an all-nighter last night to customize it to your tastes."
This wasn't an office. Nor a waiting room. In the center stood an ergonomic chair worth tens of millions of won, gleaming elegantly. On the desk, instead of a work PC, sat the latest high-spec gaming desktop and a 32-inch 4K dual monitor setup, sparkling away. Heck, one wall even had a massive OLED TV. Not a single office supply in sight—no folders, nothing. The shelves that should've held files were piled high with limited-edition imported snacks I'd casually mentioned tasting good in the car yesterday, plus premium macarons in mountains.
"This is... an intern spot? Not a PC bang VVIP room?"
"Intern spot, yep. My exclusive special intern."
Seol-ah pulled out the chair and forced me to sit. The cushion enveloped my butt like sitting on a cloud, and a gasp slipped out before I knew it. My spine, aching from convenience store plastic chairs until last night, seemed to weep tears of gratitude.
"But Seol-ah, I don't even have Excel on this computer. What am I supposed to do? Photocopy stuff? Research planning materials...?"
"Work? Why would you work?"
Seol-ah plunked a premium tablet PC on my desk. The screen showed Moflix, Nutube Premium, and an unlimited-limit department store online shopping VIP account logged in.
"Your first task today: binge all the backed-up Moflix dramas."
"Second task: munch those macarons while shopping."
"Just hit purchase, and the secretary team will deliver everything to your penthouse this afternoon."
"Third task..."
Seol-ah leaned down, her face inches from mine. A wave of Dianthus scent hit, and my heart plummeted.
"Whenever I call, come over to my office and smile at my face."
"If you don't hit 20 times, I'll make kisses-up your overtime pay instead, so do it right."
Insane. Utterly deranged. If salary Lupin had an ultimate evolution, this was it—me, right now. I gripped the tablet with trembling hands, capitalism's sweetness melting my brain.
"Oh, and the most important thing."
Seol-ah pinched my cheek lightly, then walked to the wall. It was the thick partition separating the director's office from my spot. She pressed the remote, and the top half of the wall shhh'd from frosted glass to crystal clear.
Suddenly, the massive desk and approval documents in the director's office were visible at a glance. Meaning, once Seol-ah sat at her desk, she could surveil me with a mere head turn—perfect viewing seats, one second flat.
"I feel like I'll suffocate and collapse if I can't see your face while I work."
"So never hide in a blind spot. Sit pretty in my sightline. Got it?"
Seol-ah blew me a kiss and slipped into her office. Through the clear glass, I watched her settle into the director's chair, signing off on approvals. The ruthless, professional director greenlighting billion-won projects turned her head every minute to peek at me, grinning ear to ear. Finger hearts flew whenever our eyes met—bonus.
I sank deep into the premium leather chair, enlightened. Two hours passed like that. Even resolved to be capitalism's slave, a weird guilt crept up as my peers sweated hauling files outside while I lounged in luxury watching Moflix.
'Still, I'm an intern. Least I could do is brew some coffee. Common decency.'
Through the glass, Seol-ah was in a serious video call with execs, brow furrowed slightly as she issued fluent English directives. Honestly? Kinda cool. No, really cool.
I quietly stood, heading to the pantry. Hallway empty, luckily. At the premium espresso machine, I carefully ground beans, mixed hot water for perfect Americano ratios—two cups. Pride swelled; I'd nailed the secretary role.
Balancing the tray back carefully...
"Kang Jinwoo!!!"
The director's door nearly shattered as Seol-ah burst out mid-meeting, face ashen, charging at me. Heels clacking like they might snap.
"Huh? Seol-ah, weren't you in a meeting? I brewed you some coffee..."
Clang!—Before I finished, she swatted the tray from my hands. Hot coffee splashed across the marble floor. I startled back a step.
"Are you insane?! Why are you carrying something that dangerous?!"
Seol-ah seized both my hands, flipping them over, inspecting frantically. Her eyes shook with extreme terror.
"Let me see—burned anywhere?!"
"Not red?!"
"The pantry has a hot-water purifier!"
"Why touch a cup there alone?!"
"Want coffee? Call the secretary!"
"H-hey, calm down."
"I'm not burned at all."
"You looked tired in the meeting, so I just thought..."
"Tired or not, why you touching water?!"
"I told you—if even your fingertip turns red, I might burn this whole company down!"
Tears welled in Seol-ah's eyes as she punched my chest lightly, huffing. Her arson threat over a coffee brew short-circuited my brain. Her trembling hands gripping mine burned hotter than the spilled coffee.
The commotion drew secretary office staff in a panic.
"D-Director! What happened?!"
"Chief Secretary."
Seol-ah whipped around from my arms, voice back to absolute zero ice.
"Clean the floor immediately."
"Smash and trash the pantry purifier and coffee machine today."
"Y-Yes?!"
"B-But the staff's drinks..."
"Letting Intern Jinwoo touch such hazardous machines is the secretary office's first dereliction of duty."
"From now on, all water and drinks for Intern Jinwoo—hire a dedicated barista for hand-drip service."
"Cups: no glass or ceramic—only unbreakable premium silicone or tumblers."
"Didn't I make myself clear?"
The chief secretary paled, bowing frantically as he bolted for the mop. I gazed at the spilled coffee, clasping hands in silent prayer. My petty guilt had massacred an innocent pantry machine and robbed Taesung employees of welfare.
"Jinwoo, you scared?"
"Sorry."
"Sorry I yelled. Okay?"
Staff gone, Seol-ah switched to tail-wagging puppy mode, stroking my cheek. Her extreme temperature swings no longer fazed me; I just nodded.
"Nah. My bad for jumping the gun."
"No more coffee brewing."
"No drinking water."
"I'll only eat what you spoon-feed me."
My total surrender drew a world-conquering smile from Seol-ah as she hugged my neck tight.
Yeah. This was salary Lupin's ultimate evolution—the path of chaebol heiress's perfect attachment doll. No half-assed work efforts. Breathe, eat, smile pretty in Han Seol-ah's sightline. That was my sole survival strategy in this brutal, sweet capitalist ecosystem.