“Why did you insist on going to Dongdaemun yesterday? And with the warehouse organization too. Why did you stupidly work until dawn and cause problems for the work?”

“Because you told me to finish it by today, Team Leader.”

Ji Soo, who never said to finish everything by today, felt unfairly accused and almost jumped.

“When did I say to do all of that by today?”

“You told me to help Ju Hee with her work before leaving, then organize the fabric warehouse, and go to Dongdaemun to buy supplies. Since you said before leaving, I thought it meant finishing within a day… If not, I apologize.”

‘Before leaving’ was a phrase that Seo Ha had subtly inserted. However, Seo Ha’s attitude was so calm that even Ji Soo began to doubt whether she had really said those words.

“Never mind Dongdaemun, go and sit down. Don’t be late next time.”

“Yes, Team Leader! I’m sorry!”

Seo Ha shouted an insincere apology once again and went to her seat.

“Ah, ow, ow…”

As Seo Ha groaned and barely sat down on the chair, she looked pitiful enough that Ju Hee quickly got up to support her.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. I put a lot of painrelieving patches, so I should be better by tomorrow.”

“Oh dear.”

Ju Hee lowered her head and attached the lumbar support she had on her own chair to Seo Ha’s chair.

“Leaning on this might make you feel better.”

Ju Hee’s kindness was just the beginning.

“Intern, do you have medicine?”

Someone asked a bit bluntly and left painkillers.

“I’m going to Dongdaemun to buy supplies now, so if anyone needs anything, please write it down separately!”

Someone else went to Dongdaemun instead of Seo Ha.

“Two deliveries came in. Intern, you have one.”

Another person handed over freshly extracted green juice with a straw already inserted.

Receiving sympathy from someone was this easy. Just like Ji Soo, who begged on the kitchen floor, or the child who had dirtied Seo Ha’s clothes when they were very young.

Seo Ha knew that on the other side of those receiving sympathy, the social strong could become villains.

“The intern couldn’t handle it.”

The restroom was a perfect place for private conversations to take place without the ‘sir’ or ‘ma’am.’ In other words, it was also a great place to eavesdrop on private conversations.

“Right. It must have been really tough to organize everything alone. If it were me, I wouldn’t have been able to get up today.”

“Actually, the Team Leader dislikes the intern too obviously.”

“Because of the shoe incident?”

“Even before that. Disregarding her because she’s a high school graduate, and their names are the same too. It’s upsetting.”

“I see.”

The conversation was short, but Seo Ha had heard everything. She cautiously opened the door with her eyes narrowed.

“Um… Seniors.”

Designer Jung Se Hee and Yoo Seo Yeon, who were about to leave, were startled and turned around.

“Were you inside?”

“Yes. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but…”

Seo Ha looked around hesitantly.

“I was fine with organizing the warehouse. I couldn’t have been of any help otherwise. But, does the Team Leader really hate me? Because I’m a high school graduate?”

Se Hee and Seo Yeon exchanged panicked glances and hastily responded.

“No, don’t worry too much about it. Seo Ha is just an intern and not someone we’ll see for long…”

“Seo Yeon.”

Se Hee frowned slightly at Seo Yeon and continued the conversation.

“That’s right. Intern Jo Seo Ha, be careful with everything you do since the Team Leader has her eyes on you. Don’t make us suffer the consequences.”

Jung Se Hee. She was a designer who was quite trusted by Ji Soo and the person who had left painkillers on Seo Ha’s desk earlier.

“Yes. I’ll work hard so that the Team Leader won’t hate me!”

“Don’t work too hard either. It won’t do any good.”

“Yes… Yes.”

Seo Ha hadn’t even thought that Ji Soo would receive genuine respect. No matter how you looked at it, it was unbelievable how low her reputation was that it could be torn apart with this level of cracks.

It was amazing that Kang Yoon hadn’t failed yet.

Seo Ha shook her head as she washed her hands.

“I brought them. Ten designs.”

It wasn’t even a month since she promised. Seo Ha confidently placed ten sketches on Kyung Joon’s desk.

“Already?”

“Yes. I drew them diligently while holding my injured back.”

If she hadn’t injured her back, she would have been swamped with odd jobs and wouldn’t have been able to open her design book. Unbeknownst to Kyung Joon, he had helped Seo Ha again.

Kyung Joon took out the three designs Seo Ha had brought last time from the depths of his drawer. When he placed them next to the new ones, they looked similar enough to tell they were made by the same person. Yet, each one had different, lively details.

“How is it? It seems like I won, right?”

Seo Ha asked a little hastily and proudly. Kyung Joon took a moment to examine the sketches further before nodding.

“It seems so. You did well.”

Today’s designs were different from those in the vault. However, the identity was still alive, and it wouldn’t be strange to create a brand with this series immediately.

These were the works of Jo Seo Ha, who had never formally learned design.

“Jo Seo Ha. You mentioned that your parents had passed away?”

“Yes. Why are you asking about that all of a sudden?”

Her parents died in an accident when she was young. Her only family, her grandmother, had passed away four years ago after repeatedly being in and out of the hospital. Seo Ha had been working as an accountant at a small factory and was laid off.

From an emotional perspective, it was an unfortunate life. However, when looking at it without emotions and in detail, one could see that something was incredibly strange.

“No awards or extracurricular activities related to art or design, and you graduated from a vocational high school’s accounting department.”

“That’s correct.”

Seo Ha readily agreed.

There was no connection to design whatsoever. If one were to really force a connection, maybe the fabric factory she worked at before being laid off had a business relationship with Kang Yoon?

However, as soon as Seo Ha joined the company, she produced designs that anyone could acknowledge. Even Ji Soo felt threatened enough to tear out the design book.

Fine. Let’s say she was a gem with tremendous talent but couldn’t shine due to her unfortunate circumstances. Then how could the remaining oddities be explained?

“Let’s assume, hypothetically.”

Kyung Joon tapped his finger on the first sketch Seo Ha had brought.

“The two of you could have been friends.”

Seo Ha furrowed her eyebrows and stared at Kyung Joon as if he had been talking nonsense. Even her expression resembled Yoon Seo Ha’s.

“You’re friends with Yoon Seo Ha, right?”

Kyung Joon asked with a tone of certainty. Seo Ha’s eyes shook with surprise within her furrowed expression.

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