Chapter 12

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Translator: True Detective

Chapter: 11

Chapter Title: Eun Seol's Nightmare

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Yi Hyunwoo managed to meet the schedule starting Monday only by pulling an all-nighter Friday and coming in over the weekend.

The most crucial factor in crafting a work plan is [Execution Power]. Goal achievement ultimately hinges on the practical executors' capabilities. If the planning and execution teams are the same, issues are rare. They know their own limits well enough to draft reasonable, feasible plans.

The trouble starts when planning and execution are separate. Planners churn out flashy reports for the bosses with zero regard for the doers. The odds of them screwing over the execution team skyrocket. In those cases, the execution team gets buried alive.

Worse, if the execution team busts their asses to hit the targets anyway, all the glory goes straight to planning. That's exactly why Deputy Manager Yi Hyunwoo was seething. He could burn the midnight oil forever, but Deputy Manager Eun Seol would still be the one smiling.

"Fuck..."

Yi Hyunwoo let out a deep sigh, having squandered Friday through Sunday on cleanup duty. He'd heard the rumors about Eun Seol, but living it himself made his head throb with rage.

The big shots whipped up shiny plans perfect for padding their resumes, then lobbed them over to other departments. Managers were already greased, so dumping the workload was a breeze. That's how Eun Seol kept kissing up to the brass, nice and steady.

Managers with zero interest in the trenches? They'd love Eun Seol, who delivered neat PR wins ready for press releases.

Yi Hyunwoo used to shrug it off as bad luck before. But things were different now. He had administrator authority in the work system.

"If I let that bitch slide, I'll die pissed off with cancer."

Hyunwoo fired up the work system on his smartphone and searched for Eun ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Seol under [Administrator] rights.

"Ha! Look at this bitch."

A single word popped into Hyunwoo's head as he eyed Eun Seol's status.

"Total attention whore."

Craving company recognition, opposite-sex appeal, and hogging everyone's spotlight. What else fits? The psychological messages laid her tendencies bare.

Her SNS was packed with steady posts. Tight Pilates gear poses on machines. Rooftop pool shots flaunting her figure against stunning night skylines. Mountain-top pics in clingy leggings and crop tops. Even "casual" friend shots were always selfie-centered.

Thousands of likes, followers, endless updates. Her attention hunger shone through online too.

What's hell for an attention whore? Indifference. No engagement hurts worse than hate. So Hyunwoo geared up to wield his admin powers.

"Can't touch SNS, but I'll bury her ass at work."

He hated her stomping on others for validation. Time to scheme her total takedown.

Eun Seol had bosses from team lead to division head eating out of her hand since day one. Sharp skills played a part, but her knack for tailor-made wins for the suits sealed it. Lately, double-eyelid surgery turned her face complex into a glow-up, drawing hungry stares from team leads.

Naturally, female colleagues hated her guts. Too flashy, probably. Didn't faze her. Slinging her killer bod at guys and racking boss brownie points mattered way more.

She even relished their jealous glares.

'Jealous without trying? Pfft!'

Diet and Pilates sculpted her slim, bouncy frame. 23-inch waist, 35-inch hips, endless legs—her pride and joy. High-waist skirts hugged every curve.

Lobby heel-clicks at rush hour? Every guy's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyes locked on. Perverted stares thrilled her most.

Looks weren't all. "Just a pretty face"? Her least favorite line. She slaved to prove otherwise, acing work too—a true all-rounder career queen. Eun Seol.

Or so she had to be. But lately, employee stares felt... off. Subtle disconnect.

'What's this vibe?'

Post-eye-fix, her confidence pierced the clouds.

'So what's the damn vibe?'

Men blanked her passing by. Eye contact? Frowns like she was the janitor. Days ago: whispers of "Eun Seol incoming," "Body goals." Gone.

"Something's wrong."

Bigger shock hit the office.

"Eun Deputy Manager, hold up."

PR team lead calls her out.

"Yesss~ Team Lead?"

She saunters over with cutesy nasal whine. He was one of her fans for the act. Quarterly feeds of perfect metrics built her rep.

"Eun, redo last quarter's performance report."

"Huh? But you said it was flawless last time..."

"That was pre-full review. See this page? Vague bullshit—make it punchy. Back charts? Visibility sucks, right?"

"No lip, rewrite!"

"Uh... y-yes, Team Lead."

She blanked at the ancient nitpick.

'What the hell? Team Lead snapping?'

She chalked it to his mood. Just the start.

- Ring ring ring -

Phone explodes as she sits.

"PR's cooperation request last week? Reviewed—nope, not our gig."

"Why dump this crap on us?"

"Planners execute their own shit. Separate plan and do teams?"

"Not cool, Eun. Dial back team requests."

Rejections flooded from every tossed task. Four-year vet, seen it all? Nothing like today.

"Sigh... why now? I greased everyone."

'Shit happened. Team Lead's off. Division Head time.'

- Click click -

Eun Seol stormed to her ride-or-die division head's office.

"Perfect as always."

Bathroom mirror check: skirt and heels popping her assets.

- Knock knock -

"Come in."

"Division Heaaad~"

Full coquettish mode—no peers got this. Half-bald middle-ager at desk.

"What's up, Eun?"

She unloaded: today's woes, team gripes exploding out.

"Whoa, hold—got it, but if they won't play ball, tough shit. They got workloads. PR owns it, you're lead."

He scowled, annoyed, cutting her.

"But... you told me to—"

"Said if you snag coop. You said you'd handle."

"Out. Swamped."

- Slam -

Lip-biting, she fled.

'Last year's wins for him worth zilch now?'

Even he iced her. World spun. Back at desk: paperwork avalanche. Boomerang tasks, all hers. Teammates dodged eyes. Guys who'd kill for her? Zilch.

'Sigh... for real.'

Defeated, she grinded her messes. Hyunwoo's weekend grind meant mountains. Post-quit, office dark—her light burned all night.

"Gonna hurt, heh heh heh."

Hyunwoo, mastermind of Eun Seol's hell-day, fizzed with glee like a soda chug.

Work system tweaks by Hyunwoo. Eun Seol's company "fame"(?) meant PR lead to grunts, other teams, even division head—all felt something for her.

"Rude bitch rep with peons, but bosses' pet?"

Execs' soft spot shocked him. She served custom wins on platters. Surgery-boosted looks and bod helped.

Burying her worked 'cause male emotion hacks skip Leadership stat—unlike women. Hyunwoo ignored dudes till Lee Byung-joo's tweak proved it.

Thus, every guy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with feels for her: dial down like, crank up hate.

Points pumped Leadership to unlock Eun Seol in [Female Employees]:

Junior Admin perks: dual emotion tweaks on [Female Employees]. Hyunwoo cranked her attention itch higher. Company spotlight hunger? Full boil.

Men's ice vs. her raging need for love and eyes. Peak comedy.

"Heh heh heh. Gonna be a show. You squirming, Eun Seol."