No Longer a Bystander

As I stepped into the first-floor lobby and held my employee ID to the scanner to pass through security, someone suddenly shoved me aside and rushed inside.

"Out of the way! Move!"

The person who dashed past in a panic was Manager Heo Seongtae from Marketing Team 2.

He was the classic type who bullied the weak and sucked up to the strong, constantly making crude jokes to the female employees, ranking him number one on the list of people subordinates should avoid at all costs.

For reference, the department I worked in was Marketing Team 3 under Sales and Marketing Support.

So I ran into Manager Heo Seongtae fairly often, and even though we were on different teams, the way he ignored and harassed me made it clear he was not a normal person.

He claimed he was giving me advice for my own good, but listening to him, it seemed more like he was using me as a stress-relief outlet.

I was not some emotional trash can.

The managers in our team knew about it, but not a single one stepped up to help.

Or rather, was it more accurate to say they simply did not care?

A fair number of people had already gathered in front of the elevators, and Manager Heo Seongtae, still hurrying, had glued himself right next to the newly hired female employee.

His behavior continued even after boarding the elevator.

With quite a few people packed in, close contact was inevitable, and Heo Seongtae slyly pressed his body right up against her from behind. His lower body brushed against her subtly.

The new female employee seemed to sense something off as well; her expression turned slightly displeased.

Did he rush in just for that…?

I hesitated for a moment.

Naturally, before the bomb appeared in my head, these were things I would have just pretended not to see.

But now, something was different.

The thought of how that female employee must be feeling crossed my mind, and before I knew it, anger began to well up inside me.

It was not mere discomfort. She had probably swallowed countless days of enduring such things without being able to say a single word.

Looking away makes you an accomplice.

On top of that, recalling everything he had done to me until now, staying silent now would only leave me more stressed.

I was thinking something the old me would never have done.

Just as I turned sideways to confront him—

"What do you think you're doing right now?"

A sharp voice rang out from behind me, and someone thrust herself forward.

Standing right next to me was none other than our team's new hire, Kang Bitna.

"Huh? Uh…"

"Hey. I asked what you're doing right now!"

When Heo Seongtae subtly pulled away and played dumb, Kang Bitna shouted even louder.

Just then the elevator stopped and people got off, but Kang Bitna grabbed Heo Seongtae as he tried to hurry away and kept yelling.

"Are you running away now?"

At that, the gazes of the surrounding employees naturally focused on the two of them.

"What? What did I even do? Huh? This is ridiculous."

"I saw you sexually harassing her in the elevator with my own eyes!"

"What? You crazy bitch, I've had enough of this! Got any proof? Do you have proof? Accusing an innocent person! Huh? What team are you from? Call your superior!"

Heo Seongtae pointed at her and raised his voice instead. But far from being intimidated, she glared back and shouted.

"What? Crazy bitch? Oh, this is just unbelievable. Really? You're that confident? Why don't we check the CCTV then?"

"You little—!"

Heo Seongtae's face twisted viciously as he raised one hand. And the moment he swung it toward Kang Bitna's face—

"Kyaa!"

Kang Bitna squeezed her eyes shut.

Thwack!

I grabbed Heo Seongtae's wrist.

"Huh? Who the hell are you?"

"That's enough, Manager Heo Seongtae. I saw you sexually harassing her in the elevator with my own two eyes. Stop this disgraceful behavior and admit what you've done."

I pressed him, tightening my grip on his arm.

"Wh-what? Let go of me!"

He grimaced in pain and shouted. But I only gripped his wrist harder.

"And I know all about how you usually harass your subordinates and make uncomfortable jokes to female employees while sneakily making physical contact."

"Ugh… Let go of this!"

"I'll let go once you apologize to these two women first."

I said it while looking at the female employee standing beside us at a complete loss and Kang Bitna, who wore a slightly surprised expression.

"Fine, I get it, so let go."

When he yelled desperately, I relaxed my hand and released him.

In that instant.

Slap!

Heo Seongtae struck my cheek with his other hand, whipping my head to the side.

But something was strange. It felt more like a tickle? I felt no pain at all.

"How dare you act so insolent! You think you'll get away with this? This is assaulting a superior!"

"Assault, you say…"

As Heo Seongtae shouted with veins bulging in his neck, I slowly looked at him and muttered.

In an instant I calculated the angle of my hand, the position, the point of impact.

Right below the cheekbone—a spot that causes intense pain but leaves fewer marks.

"This is what assault looks like."

My mind rapidly calculated the situation, and I moved according to that judgment.

Whoosh—

Slap!

I delivered a fierce open-handed slap to his right cheek.

"Gah!"

Thud!

Heo Seongtae tumbled to the floor in an unsightly heap, and Kang Bitna stared at me with a dumbfounded expression.

Huh? I didn't mean to hit that hard.

Now even I don't know. Come what may.

But what was this confidence surging up for no reason?

When Kang Bitna slowly opened her eyes, he was standing in front of her, blocking the way and gripping Heo Seongtae's wrist.

His back was pressed close to her face.

Kang Bitna felt her heart pound for a moment.

Had his back always been this broad? There seemed to be a nice scent coming from him somehow.

And when he took the slap and immediately returned it with another, it was like watching a scene from a drama.

Look at those toned muscles on his forearm.

He seemed like a crazy bastard, yet what was this exhilarating feeling?

Apparently that man had no future here.

Or did he want to quit the company?

"Whew, why is it so hot."

She stepped outside the company to gather her thoughts for a moment and took off her coat despite the chilly autumn weather.

"Noh Hoojin… just what kind of person is he?"

Lost in thought for a while, she suddenly seemed to remember something and made a call somewhere.

She hung up and headed straight for a coffee shop.

Going into the company now would only make the atmosphere more hostile. By lunchtime, everything would probably be sorted out.

Wait a second. Surely they wouldn't fire that guy too?

Should I have given the chief a heads-up? No—if that reaches Grandfather's ears, it'll be a disaster. Then what?

Tsk, well, no need to worry unnecessarily. If he assessed the situation properly, he should be rewarded instead.

She trusted the chief's work ability.

After all, he was the chief secretary to the chairman of the LK Group.

Having slapped a superior, this was a 100 percent firing.

Back at my desk, I slowly began packing up.

No one had told me to, but I started packing my things as if it were only natural.

Not a single person around came over to offer comfort or encouragement. They were afraid the mess might splash onto them.

I knew it would end up like this, but it still stings a bit.

Manager Heo Seongtae had already been summoned to the Marketing Team directors' office with the department head.

Once the talk was over, they would probably call me in and grill me thoroughly.

But by then, Manager Heo Seongtae and the department head would have already gotten their stories straight.

In the end, I would be the only one getting kicked out.

Ah, maybe Employee Kang Bitna would get fired too.

If I had stepped in a little sooner, she might have been fine.

But what good was regretting it now?

"Um…"

Huh?

Looking up, I saw the new female employee who had been harassed in the elevator holding something out with her head bowed. Soy milk?

"Thank you so much."

Then she hurried away.

As I blankly stared down at the soy milk she had given me, as if by some agreement, female employees began approaching one by one and handing me things.

"That was so cool."

"I feel so relieved."

"Thinking about what I went through… I'll be rooting for you!"

"If you need any help, just say the word!"

The female employees placed something on my desk one by one, shouted "Fighting!", and quickly disappeared. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠atmosphere was flowing strangely.

"Ah, no. I'm fine, really…"

I really was fine.

Even getting fired like this did not bother me at all.

I was going to die in less than a year anyway, so I had no attachment to the company.

But looking at the pile of gifts stacked high on my desk, I somehow felt a sense of pride.

Had I ever received this much attention from anyone before?

Still, I could leave in a good mood.

As I finished packing while thinking this and that, the entrance suddenly grew noisy.

Clack. Clack. Clack. Clack.

The regular sound of dress shoes echoing across the office floor.

Peeking my head out, I saw three men in black suits leading the way, followed by a middle-aged man in a gray suit appearing with a blank expression.

He was someone I had never seen once in all my time at the company.

"We're from the Audit Team."

A short but firm and weighty voice.

No sooner had the words fallen than the office atmosphere turned frigid ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in an instant.

Employees looked at each other with flustered expressions, and some slowly rose from their seats to distance themselves.

Before some of the deputy managers could even respond, the man in the gray suit at the head of the Audit Team headed straight for Manager Heo Seongtae's desk.

"This is Manager Heo Seongtae's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠desk, correct?"

"Ah, yes… Yes! That's right."

The female employee sitting next to it stood up quickly, her face pale, and answered. Then she hastily left her seat.

"Check it."

The audit team leader gave a light chin gesture.

The three audit team members approached Heo Seongtae's desk without hesitation and began rummaging through the computer and drawers.

Then, from a locked drawer, a large quantity of external memory cards came out. One of them looked at the team leader and asked.

"Should we confiscate them right away?"

"Check them simply here first, then confiscate."

"Understood."

Two continued searching the area while the remaining one connected a memory card to the computer and examined the contents. Then he frowned and looked at the team leader.

"Team Leader. You need to see this."

The team leader, who had been examining the materials from the drawer, looked at the computer monitor.

On the screen was what appeared to be a hidden-camera video of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a women's restroom.

"Huh!? That's… our restroom… Gasp!"

A female employee watching from behind covered her mouth in shock.

The audit team leader's expression grew even colder.

"Confiscate them."

"Understood."

The three employees packed the computer tower, the materials from the drawers, and the USBs into a box they had brought with practiced hands and loaded them onto a cart.

"Thank you for your cooperation. Then."

And just like that, they vanished in an instant.

The remaining employees could only look at each other in bewilderment.

Having heard the news, Manager Heo Seongtae rushed back to his desk, but only the empty desk remained.

"Hah…"

His face turned deathly pale in an instant, and he collapsed on the spot.

"What the hell is going on…"

I too just stared blankly at Manager Heo Seongtae as he walked away, trying to guess what lay ahead.

If this goes well, I might not get fired?

And so time passed.

That same afternoon.

Police officers came to headquarters.

Manager Heo Seongtae was immediately arrested as a current offender, and after the whole commotion ended, things returned to normal as if nothing had happened.

But there was one thing that had changed.