Chapter 59
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Choi Hyun-min's Persistence
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After Hye-ri hurriedly left her phone behind at the hotel and vanished, the two ran into each other again at the office the next day.
"Is... your father okay?"
Choi Hyun-min's face was stiff as he barely suppressed his emotions to ask Hye-ri.
"Yes! They said it was just simple overwork. Phew... What a relief. Hehe."
Following Hyun-woo's instructions, Hye-ri had gone to the hotel with Hyun-min and deliberately left her smartphone behind. She now brazenly spun her lie. Of course, both her parents were perfectly healthy and fine.
"Oh, and... Hye-ri, you left your phone. Here you go."
"That's right!! You have no idea how frustrated I was without it. Thanks for looking after it, Assistant Manager Choi~."
Hye-ri, who had been so pent up without it, unlocked the phone the moment she got it and checked her new messages.
"But... Assistant Manager Choi, you didn't happen to look at my phone, did you?"
- Caught red-handed
Hyun-min flinched at Hye-ri's sharp question, like a thief caught in the act. But he tried to force a calm expression.
"Wh-what? What are you talking about? It's locked."
"I could've sworn I left it on the call log screen after making a call... Or maybe not? Hmm..."
"You... you're just imagining things."
"Yeah, probably. Well, it's work hours, so I'll head back first."
Hye-ri walked back to the office without taking her eyes off her phone.
"Haa..."
Left alone, Choi Hyun-min's face was clouded with worry.
"What do you think?"
"I saw it. Definitely! His expression looked off too. And I left the phone on the call log screen when I locked it, but when I turned it back on, it was on the home screen. I'm sure of it... Hng..."
The thought that Hyun-min had seen her nude photos and the video of her masturbating with an anonymous man made Hye-ri's face flush with sudden shame. But at the same time, an inexplicable tingling sensation swept through her body.
'Haa... This is weird... Why is my body...'
"Good job. Now let's see how Assistant Manager Choi reacts."
"He'll probably say we should break up, right? After seeing all that..."
"Yeah, probably. We'll talk details later."
After parting with Hyun-min and returning to the office, Hye-ri whispered back and forth with Hyun-woo. But not wanting the team to see them too close, he soon returned to his own desk.
'He didn't immediately say break up?'
Hyun-woo had expected that if Choi Hyun-min met Hye-ri again, he'd dump her right away. He'd reset her amplified [Favorability] and [Guilt] toward Hye-ri back to normal using the work system.
Psychological Messages
[Irritation] toward managing the assigned system
[Guilt] toward Kim Hye-ri
[Obsession] toward Kim Hye-ri
[Love-Hate] toward Kim Hye-ri - new!
"Ah..."
But when Hyun-woo checked Choi Hyun-min's status on the work system, he was stunned. It completely deviated from his expectations.
His [Mental] was utterly shattered, and his [Libido] was maxed out, likely from not being able to have Hye-ri.
On top of that, [Favorability] toward Hye-ri was gone, replaced by new [Love-Hate]. Love-hate—the paradoxical emotion blending love and hate perfectly.
'Did I break him too much?'
Looking at Choi Hyun-min's status window, Hyun-woo felt a twinge of guilt.
The manipulation of Hye-ri's first time at the Busan hotel, getting back together only for her to refuse skinship, and finally the masturbation video with an unknown man.
Thinking about what he'd done, it was perhaps inevitable that Hyun-min's mental state had crumbled.
'Hmm...'
But Hyun-woo quickly set aside the guilt and began pondering how to use Hyun-min, who still couldn't let go of Hye-ri despite developing [Love-Hate] and [Obsession].
'Keep amplifying [Guilt] for now. He needs to always feel sorry so Hye-ri can hold the reins in their relationship.'
'And [Love-Hate]... that's the problem. Should I amplify it? It's risky... maybe instead...'
Psychological Messages
[Irritation] toward managing the assigned system
[Guilt] toward Kim Hye-ri - Amplification activated
[Obsession] toward Kim Hye-ri - Reduction activated (new!)
[Love-Hate] toward Kim Hye-ri
'This seems better.'
In the end, Hyun-woo decided to amplify [Guilt] while reducing [Obsession]. With [Love-Hate] already there, leaving [Obsession] alone was too dangerous. He couldn't let Hyun-min turn into a total creep.
He'd observe the tricky [Love-Hate] emotion for now.
'Choi Hyun-min, I gave you a choice. This is your decision.'
For a brief moment, he'd released all emotional manipulations via the work system, and Hyun-min's choice had defied expectations: he couldn't give up on Kim Hye-ri.
Of course, after all the tampering, what meaning did his choice hold now? Still, even after seeing Hye-ri's perverse masturbation video, Hyun-min seemed determined to keep dating her.
'He was such a playboy before.'
Now he looked like the ultimate pure-love type.
Whether it was [Obsession] from not having her, or if he was fated to love her even before the system's manipulations—Hyun-woo had no way to know Hyun-min's original feelings now. Nor did he care to.
'Anyway, Hye-ri, you'll have to suffer a bit longer. Heh heh heh.'
To break up with Choi Hyun-min, Hye-ri had done all sorts of shameful things at Hyun-woo's command, but failed to shake him off. Maybe her fate was to keep toying with him forever?
Even as he manipulated their emotions like puppets with the work system, Hyun-woo idly entertained baseless ideas of fate in his head.
"Hng..."
Hye-ri was the frustrated one. Despite him seeing her filthy, lewd video and photos, Hyun-min wasn't suggesting a breakup as expected.
'I want to officially date Deputy Manager Lee so badly...'
"Tch..."
Hye-ri had been treating Choi Hyun-min quite coldly to push for a breakup. But his attitude remained unchanged. He still took her out to dinner after work and drove her home.
He still slyly suggested going to a hotel like before or tried for some skinship. And Hye-ri coldly rebuffed him, citing the Busan incident as before.
Thus, their relationship held steady without breaking. Hye-ri was the one going mad with frustration.
"Deputy Manager Lee... what do we do? He won't say break up..."
"Even after all those... weird things..."
As usual after work, Choi Hyun-min had driven Hye-ri home. But instead of going straight inside, she met Hyun-woo at a nearby bar for drinks.
She'd begged him out of her pent-up frustration.
"You've only had two shots of soju, so why act drunk?"
Hyun-woo understood her feelings, but found her whining while pretending to be drunk—without even drinking much—ridiculous.
"Hmph! Do you know how frustrated I am, Deputy Manager Lee? You don't even care about my feelings..."
In fact, from Hyun-woo's perspective, this was working out better. If word spread that he was dating Hye-ri right after her breakup with Choi Hyun-min, he'd be office gossip fodder for ages.
One lesson from his short career: avoid the rumor mill. In a public institution, blending in like you don't exist and just doing your assigned work was the best survival strategy.
Standing out meant no raises or fast promotions. Public offices ran on strict seniority—time served meant promotions and pay bumps.
"What can we do? Choi Hyun-min insists on keeping it going. Hang in there a bit longer."
"Hng..."
Hye-ri wanted to have a sweet romance with Hyun-woo ASAP, but his words—making her keep dating Choi Hyun-min without understanding—only hurt her feelings.
"Alright! We have work tomorrow, so let's call it."
He'd only come because she begged, but Hyun-woo cut the drinks short, unwilling to listen to more whining. Hye-ri, who wanted to vent longer, pouted furiously, expressing her displeasure with her whole body. But Hyun-woo was already
"I'm calling a deputy manager. Get home now."
turning his back and heading to his car.
"Hmph... Jeez... I hate you, Deputy Manager Lee."
The session ended so quickly she couldn't even drink her fill. Hye-ri kept looking back regretfully, but Hyun-woo was already gone.
Even after getting home, the lingering disappointment and hurt wouldn't fade. fiddling with her phone, Hye-ri recalled masturbating with that nameless, faceless man.
It had been Hyun-woo's semi-forced order, but maybe because of the mask hiding her face? It was like a seal had broken—she'd climaxed multiple times showing herself to a total stranger.
'Just once... one more time?'
Remembering that thrilling sensation, Hye-ri cautiously launched the random chat app, Lane.
Her inbox was flooded with chat requests from countless men.
"Ugh... why are there so many?"
Grumbling as she scrolled down, Hye-ri found the chat room with the man she'd video-called and masturbated with last time. After a moment's hesitation, she typed a message.
"Oh?"
Sitting in the passenger seat of his car about to call a deputy manager ride, Hyun-woo saw an unexpected notification on his phone and immediately opened the random chat app, Lane.
Hye-ri boldly messaged first.
Hyun-woo's order had been precise: 'Log into random chat once, follow the man's instructions exactly, and leave the record.'
He hadn't given further instructions via Lane since, and assumed she wouldn't log back in without orders. Yet
for some reason, Hye-ri had messaged the anonymous man again.
"Hahaha..."
Chatting up another guy without even reporting to him. Of course, that anonymous man was Hyun-woo himself, but Hye-ri had no clue. Her actions were clear infidelity—a cheat.
'But... we're not even dating.'
Could this even count as cheating? Hyun-woo was the one forcing her with Choi Hyun-min for his own amusement.
Startled by her actions, Hyun-woo replied quickly anyway—what if he didn't, and she chatted with someone else?
"Ha... I knew she wasn't normal, but..."
After drugging Hyun-min at the hotel and having her first time right beside him, calling her out constantly during dates to fuck, making her send nudes and masturbate on random chat—did he really expect Hye-ri to stay normal?
Hyun-woo shelved his absurd expectations and decided to play along with her rhythm.
He rummaged in his car bag for his mask, put it on, and immediately video-called Hye-ri.
On the screen, Hye-ri's masked face appeared, just like his. They'd been drinking together at the bar moments ago, but seeing each other masked again felt oddly surreal.
"Yeah. So, you're ready, right?"
What was she expecting? A slight tremble of anticipation laced her reply.
And Hyun-woo decided to fully satisfy that expectation.