“Chae Caster, I truly regret having to terminate our contract like this, considering how fond I was of you. But what can we do? This is the company’s stance.”

Seo Rin stood there despondently even as the director’s pleasantries continued.

Suddenly, as if she had come to her senses, she glared at me with sharp eyes and left.

After all the committee members had left, the director approached me.

“Anchor Yoon, you should take some time to cool your head as well. Technically speaking, you’re also a victim. I wanted to prevent your pay cut, but there’s the company’s standpoint to consider.”

“Yes, I understand. Thank you, Director.”

The director must have felt awkward being caught between our personal relationship and his duty to represent the company.

Without him saying anything, I could feel his efforts, so I gave him a small smile.

“No, there’s nothing to thank me for. What have I done? You should take a good rest and come back.”

Feeling embarrassed at my greeting, he waved his hand and left the conference room with his documents.

I found myself in front of the programming department, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

The once bustling office cooled down as if doused with cold water at my arrival.

I could feel the silent stares following me as I walked to my desk.

Since I had to leave my seat for a week, I was packing up my stuff briefly when Senior Young Joon approached me.

“What happened? They say Chae Seo Rin was expelled.”

“I got a pay cut and a oneweek suspension.”

“Phew, that’s a relief. Yeo Jin, I was so worried that something might happen to you too.”

The senior let out a deep sigh of relief.

And I could feel the heated stares of my colleagues who had been quietly observing, probably having overheard my conversation with him.

If they had checked the article that Jae Ha had leaked, their misunderstanding would have been cleared, but they just stood at a distance.

As I turned my gaze away from my colleagues, I saw Seo Rin’s seat diagonally across from me.

Seeing where my gaze had landed, the senior quietly said,

“Chae Caster didn’t even come back to the office. It seems she just left.”

“……”

“Well, if she had any shame left, she couldn’t come. How could she brazenly show up?”

As he said, Seo Rin’s belongings were left untouched as if she didn’t have the courage to pack them up.

Senior Young Joon, too, didn’t show his usual considerate demeanor, perhaps shocked that Seo Rin had been his lover.

“Exactly. If she had any decency, that’s what she should have done.”

When I smiled at the senior, his expression hardened as if he was upset.

Then, the cell phone I had placed on the desk to pack my things began to ring again.

‘It’s an unsaved number.’

Just as I was staring at the unfamiliar number in confusion, the door to the programming department office opened.

I locked eyes with a news team staff member who seemed to be looking for someone.

“Anchor Yoon.”

The staff called out to me and came straight to where I was.

“I came looking for you because you didn’t answer your phone.”

“Me? Is there something going on?”

It was strange that a news team staff member would come looking for an anchor who had just been suspended for a week.

The staff, seeing my confused expression, gave a slight smile and replied.

“Ah, there’s someone waiting for you in the lobby right now.”

“What? Someone’s waiting for me?”

‘Who would come all the way to the broadcasting station?’

After greeting Senior Young Joon, who seemed as surprised as I was, I packed up my things.

While I was leaving the office, the announcer team’s staff were looking at me from a distance.

‘It would take some time to clear up the misunderstanding perfectly.’

The looks of the people watching me were still full of suspicion.

Sighing, I was at a loss as to where to start clearing up the misunderstandings with my colleagues.

Upon arriving at the lobby floor, I looked around for the person who was waiting for me.

‘Was it Mr. Jae Ha who came?’

At first, I thought the only person who would come to the broadcasting station to find me would be Jae Ha. However, there was no sign of Jae Ha, not even a shadow that resembled him.

I let out a sigh of relief without realizing it. In fact, I didn’t have the confidence to face him even if Jae Ha had come.

I was afraid that the thoughts I had barely put off by using the disciplinary committee as an excuse would all come rushing back at once.

If I could, I wanted to go somewhere quiet and sort out my thoughts.

‘Then who came to find me?’

With a slight chance, I called Jae Ha.

Before the call was connected, someone approached me, making a sound with their steps.

“Are you Yoon Yeo Jin?”

When I turned around at the soft voice calling me, my view was blocked by a giant man.

Even though I didn’t confirm that I was Yoon Yeo Jin, he bowed his head as if he already knew who I was.

“I must ask you to come with me.”

The mysterious man led me to a penthouse in Hannamdong owned by Ji Han.

He only added a brief explanation that Ms. Oh had invited me to dinner, to my confusion.