Hyo Jun’s taunting grew worse day by day, but Se Hee was no pushover in responding.

Thanks to that, Se Hee gained another new nickname.

Joan of Arc of SY Hotel’s business division.

Also known as Se-darc.

Se Hee didn’t like that nickname.

Why?

As everyone knows, Joan of Arc’s end wasn’t particularly beautiful.

At least Cinderella married the prince.

She, unfortunately, was burned at the stake.

The world is truly a cruel place.

Then, as it is now.

Today, as Se-darc was about to leave work peacefully with Hyo Jun not showing up, an unexpected visitor blocked her way.

“Let’s have a talk, shall we?”

It was Yoon Ye Ri, who hadn’t been seen since her transfer to the secretarial office.

“I’m busy right now?”

Dealing with Hyo Jun was tiring enough, and now Yoon Ye Ri too?

Se Hee answered irritably.

“Don’t you know who I am?”

Yoon Ye Ri snorted, as if Se Hee’s attitude was ridiculous.

“Yoon Ye Ri, employee. Am I wrong?”

“Ha. Are you playing word games with me right now?”

Ye Ri provocatively slammed Se Hee’s desk in frustration.

This was an action Se Hee simply couldn’t tolerate.

Se Hee stood up from her seat immediately.

“Ms. Yoon Ye Ri. What exactly are you doing right now?”

“Ha, did you pick fights with my elder brother like this too?”

The pot calling the kettle black, Yoon Ye Ri raised her voice while even pointing her finger.

“Who’s picking fights? Did Cha Hyo Jun say that? That I’m picking fights? Ha… you two, are you both on some kind of drug?”

Se Hee’s pent-up emotions finally exploded.

“What? You’re flirting with a married man and you have the audacity to raise your voice?”

Yoon Ye Ri raised her voice an octave higher, not wanting to be outdone by Se Hee.

A married man? Flirting?

Who seduced whom and even got married?

In the end, Se Hee’s reason was paralyzed.

They say when a person is truly angry, they become calm?

“Ms. Yoon Ye Ri. I have someone I’m seeing.”

Se Hee said in a coldly composed voice, then selected a photo on her mobile phone with a haughty expression.

“Here, open your eyes wide and look carefully. This is my boyfriend. With someone like this by my side, do you think Cha Hyo Jun would even catch my eye? Look closely.”

Se Hee thrust her mobile phone right in front of Yoon Ye Ri’s nose provocatively.

For a moment, Yoon Ye Ri’s expression twisted strangely.

“…You expect me to believe this? Ha… such a lie?”

Yoon Ye Ri’s eyelids trembled finely.

“Yes. You don’t want to believe it, right? Because the difference in visuals alone is too great. You absolutely don’t want to acknowledge it. But what can you do? It’s the truth.”

Se Hee closed her mobile phone leisurely.

“Cha Hyo Jun? Ha, I don’t even see him as a squid. Please, I’m begging you. Control your husband better. Even if he’s been transferred to the secretarial office. Shouldn’t you control your own husband yourself? I’m really struggling here.”

Se Hee looked at Ye Ri with pitying eyes, patted her shoulder, and picked up her bag.

“Then I’ll leave first. Make sure to tell him. To stop being so annoying.”

Yoon Ye Ri, frozen in place, couldn’t close her gaping mouth in disbelief.

Se Hee walked towards the office door with elegant steps.

And quickly moved inside the emergency stairwell.

Click, she hastily closed the door.

Oh my God.

I must be crazy.

I lost my mind for a moment.

No matter how angry I was, this wasn’t right.

This really wasn’t right.

How could I show Kyle’s photo?

I must be really crazy.

Oh. I can’t live like this.

I managed to get through Cha Hyo Jun’s provocations somewhat, but I exploded and couldn’t hold back against Yoon Ye Ri.

But to use Kyle as a shield like that.

Ah… really. This is driving me crazy. Really.

Se Hee sat on the emergency stairs, cooling down her excited emotions.

After a while, she stood up and slowly headed towards the company’s main entrance with heavy steps.

“Lee Se Hee!”

Manager Kim’s excited voice caught the back of Se Hee’s head.

“M-Manager Kim?”

She wanted to avoid everyone right now.

The entire department must have seen her altercation with Yoon Ye Ri.

“Where have you been? Huh? Do you know how long I’ve been waiting? Se Hee. You’re really… amazing. Not Se-darc, but like the goddess Athena.”

Manager Kim’s eyes sparkled like a fan meeting their idol star.

“I feel so refreshed. From now on, you’re my idol. Let’s go. On such a good day like this, we should have a drink, right? It’s on me.”

The excited Manager Kim grabbed Se Hee’s hand and pulled.

“You know, Manager. With that person…”

Se Hee said awkwardly.

“Shh, it’s okay. It’s fine. It’s not a lie, right? You did date, right? You did well. Really well done.”

As Sun Ah said it was okay, Se Hee’s uncomfortable feelings were gradually subsiding.

But the two of them had no idea how today’s events would come back to haunt them.

After that incident, even Cha Hyo Jun just passed by Se Hee coldly in the department without picking any more fights.

Several days passed like that.

But, on Monday morning as they started a new week.

Se Hee’s name was listed on a new post on the employee electronic bulletin board.

[Temporary Assignment.] [Yangyang Hotel => Lee Se Hee, Assistant Manager.]

What kind of bolt from the blue is this?

To Yangyang Hotel, infamous for having the worst conditions among SY Hotel branches, and as a temporary assignment at that.

Se Hee, dumbfounded, froze right in front of it.

“What the hell is this? Really?”

Sun Ah, who came running after hearing the news, blurted out in disbelief.

“Oh my, Ms. Lee Se Hee. Did you see your assignment?”

At this moment, a voice that was anything but welcome was heard.

As if she had been waiting for this moment, Yoon Ye Ri came to make small talk, even speaking nasally.

“Well. If you had known who I was, you should have been more careful, right?”

Seeing Se Hee’s hardened expression, Yoon Ye Ri smiled arrogantly, seeming even more excited.

“Daddy’s influence? How nice. To be able to use such influence so freely.”

But Se Hee’s sharp retort, not backing down, immediately darkened Yoon Ye Ri’s expression.

“Of course. It feels great. By the way, Ms. Lee Se Hee wouldn’t know since you’ve never had a father. You can’t find a non-existent father anywhere.”

Yoon Ye Ri’s attack flew without hesitation.

“What do you mean non-existent? I told you. I have a boyfriend. That person is such a perfect man that he sometimes takes care of me so well, like a caring father.”

Se Hee didn’t back down either.

“Yangyang? That’s great. I should learn swimming and surfing while I’m there this time. My boyfriend is really good at swimming. Cha Hyo Jun probably couldn’t even swim, right?”

Se Hee said triumphantly as she passed in front of Yoon Ye Ri.

“Your mental strength is really something. Harping on about a non-existent man.”

Yoon Ye Ri spat at the back of Se Hee’s head, as if annoyed.

“You’ll meet him soon. Try not to faint when you see him in person.”

Se Hee stopped for a moment to respond one last time, then turned her head haughtily and entered the office.

Reality was thus not on her side.

“Assistant Manager Lee. You saw the assignment, right?”

Manager Yang approached Se Hee with an uncomfortable expression.

“Yes, sir.”

“The date is…”

“But sir. Since when has our hotel’s personnel management been so haphazard?”

“Huh?”

“Shouldn’t you have given at least a day’s notice about the assignment? This isn’t some hole-in-the-wall shop, but a hotel ranked in the top 3 in the industry. Where else do people find out about their own personnel assignments through a bulletin post?”

Se Hee spoke as if deeply disappointed.

“Why are you making a fuss at me? I only found out this morning too.”

Manager Yang retorted irritably.

“I thought employee assignments go to HR after department head approval. If you had just given me a heads up so I could prepare…”

Se Hee complained, feeling upset.

“I told you I only found out this morning too, didn’t I? Huh? Is it because you weren’t raised properly? How dare you raise your voice to an elder like this?”

Manager Yang shouted, seemingly displeased with Se Hee’s direct words.

“Excuse me? Sir, what did you just say?”

Is he bringing up parents now?

Se Hee stared at Manager Yang with a distorted expression, taken aback.

“That’s right. Did I say anything wrong?”

“I’m not asking you to stop it. If you had just given me a heads up first, does that warrant insulting my absent parents?”

Se Hee’s voice trembled, choked up.

Finally, Sun Ah stood up from her seat and spoke up for Se Hee.

“Sir! You shouldn’t do that. Really. You have two daughters yourself, don’t you? Would you stay quiet if your daughter was treated like this? It’s bad enough that you can’t protect her.”

“Kim Sun Ah. You be careful too. Do you want to go to Geoje Island? Who can protect whom when it’s hard enough to take care of oneself in this situation? Assistant Manager Lee! You keep a low profile and stay quiet in Yangyang too.”

Manager Yang stormed out of the office, losing his temper.

“Are you okay? Don’t take it to heart too much. I’ll help you pack up. Let’s go.”

Sun Ah patted Se Hee’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry. Because of me.”

“What do you have to be sorry for? That guy probably had no choice either. But I stepped in because I thought his words were uncalled for. But really, a sudden assignment to Yangyang? Geez.”

Sun Ah let out a heavy sigh.

Only Sun Ah was by Se Hee’s side as she packed her things with difficulty and left as if being chased out.

No one even properly said goodbye to Se Hee, all watching Manager Yang’s mood as he returned to the office.

What a filthy world this is.

* * *

Se Hee boarded the express bus to Yangyang alone.

The sunshine in Yangyang, Gangwon-do was bright, but Se Hee’s mood inside the bus was gloomy beyond measure.

After getting off the bus and taking a taxi for quite a while, a hotel towering with an ocean view came into sight.

Se Hee entered the hotel lobby right away.

The well-organized, neat impression of the hotel interior and the conveniently well-structured flow.

The first impression of the hotel wasn’t bad.

Se Hee headed to the front desk, slowly scanning her surroundings.

But. Was this the problem?

Even though a customer had arrived, they were just chatting with each other while looking at the monitors.

The service was a mess.

Se Hee approached the front desk.

“Did you take a number?”

A female employee asked casually.

“Do I really need to take a number when there’s no one else here?”

Se Hee replied prickly on purpose.

“Of course. You need to take a number. Go over there and take one.”

“It seems you could have processed this in the time we’ve been arguing.”

“Excuse me?”

The female employee’s face crumpled in annoyance as she looked at Se Hee.

Se Hee told the employee her identity precisely.

“I’m Lee Se Hee, assistant manager assigned from headquarters. I just arrived. Which floor is the business division office on?”

“Oh, hello. We weren’t told you were coming, take that elevator over there to the 4th floor.”

Only then did the employee’s expression change reluctantly, and she gave a soulless smile.

“Please greet customers with that excessive smile too.”

Se Hee shot back coldly and moved on.

Even when she was at headquarters, she had often been in charge of CS training, but she had never seen employees like that.

Her chest felt tight, not knowing where to start.

Se Hee arrived at the office, straightened her clothes in front of the door, and knocked politely.

“Come in.”

A languid voice was heard from inside.

Se Hee opened the door, entered, and immediately greeted.

“Hello. I’m Lee Se Hee, assistant manager assigned from headquarters. I look forward to working with you.”

Se Hee bowed politely at the waist and raised her head, but was momentarily taken aback.

The person sitting in the innermost seat must be the department head, and next to him a male employee, and one empty seat remaining.

Is this the business division?

“Oh my, you’ve had a hard journey. Come in, come in. You seem surprised at how sparse it is. Did they say it was tough here for no reason? It’s because we’re short-staffed. Everyone just quits as soon as they get assigned here. I’m Jung Man Woo.”

Department Head Jung stood up and offered a handshake.

“Hello. I’m Lee Se Hee.”

“Over there is Manager Hong Jin Guk.”

“Hello. I’m Hong Jin Guk.”

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Lee Se Hee.”

Se Hee also greeted Jin Guk politely.

“I’ve heard a lot about you. Se-darc, right? I heard you had a showdown with Yoon Ye Ri on your way here?”

Department Head Jung swung his fist in the air as if boxing.

“Ah… right. So I heard your nickname changed to Antenna. The goddess of war Antenna, that is.”

Department Head Jung laughed slyly.

Se Hee, bewildered, could only blink her eyes.

“I hear everything even sitting here. You can sit in that empty seat, and Yangyang is a better place than you might think. Don’t just think about leaving. Let’s get along well together. Antenna. Fighting.”

Department Head Jung clenched both fists.

“Um… sir. It’s Athena. Athena.”

Manager Hong quickly approached and whispered.

“What? Oh, Athena? Antenna, Athena, what’s the difference? Right?”

Department Head Jung joked, looking at Se Hee as if it wasn’t a big deal.

This is how Se Hee’s first day in Yangyang began.