The room was dimly lit by low-intensity lighting, creating a private atmosphere. In the center of the black-colored room stood a heavy marble table, on which hundreds of thousands of won worth of premium liquors were sprawled.

Flamboyantly dressed women sat around the table, drinking and conversing in broad daylight.

“Mi Jin, I heard all the apartments you bought have gone up in value?” a woman who had undergone multiple cosmetic surgeries to artificially enhance her appearance asked cheerfully. In response, the most extravagantly dressed woman among them reacted.

“It’s just pocket change.”

Despite her nonchalant remark, Mi Jin’s lips curved upward, indicating her good mood. The other women showed interest in Mi Jin’s story upon hearing her boastful response.

“How much did you make? Share the good stuff with us.”

“I heard that area is completely overheated.”

“Ha, I should have bought some too. My husband regrets it now, you know. He didn’t listen to me.”

Surrounded by envy and complaints, Mi Jin felt pleased. She concealed her inner thoughts and turned her gaze away. Her eyes caught sight of one person who remained aloof amidst the commotion, sitting elegantly.

While everyone else was wrapped in limited edition luxury items, this woman’s somewhat modest and neat attire and demeanor accentuated her grace.

Moreover, she didn’t engage in the conversation and only sipped liquor from an on-the-rocks glass, creating a detachment from the other women while maintaining a bored expression. Mi Jin didn’t like that. Slightly raising her eyebrows, Mi Jin finally spoke to the woman.

“Yoon Seo, don’t you have anything to say?”

The woman, who lifted her head upon being called, was Han Yoon Seo. Making eye contact with Mi Jin, Yoon Seo didn’t particularly respond. She was simply annoyed by meeting friends of such low caliber.

This gathering was a college alumni meeting that Yoon Seo had graduated from, and it had been going on for nearly 10 years. Of course, there was another commonality besides being alumni of the same university. They were all from well-off families.

Yoon Seo had a way of assessing people when she met them. It was all related to ‘benefit,’ and this gathering was also a meeting that could help with business relationships or connections.

“Oh my, Mi Jin, don’t you know? Yoon Seo’s building deal made a big hit,” one friend remarked, causing Mi Jin to frown. She then attempted to shift the attention she had been receiving by changing the topic.

“How’s the TH stock price these days?”

“Why? You invested a lot, didn’t you?”

“Of course.”

Yoon Seo was fed up with Mi Jin, who ultimately didn’t bring up her own building story. No, with all of them. However, she had no choice but to endure it since it was a gathering she couldn’t miss, and there was a specific reason she had to attend today.

“Ah, right. Han Yoon Seo. I went to the Gilmyung Pharmaceutical event a few weeks ago and saw your younger brother-in-law and his wife doing well.”

Mi Jin brought up Cha Do Ha and Min Hae Yeon, having some scheme in mind. Although she tried to conceal it by casually broaching the subject, Yoon Seo saw right through her intentions.

When Cha Do Ha, the heir apparent to Gilmyung Pharmaceutical, was on the brink of death due to a traffic accident, Mi Jin had abandoned her disrespectful attitude towards Yoon Seo and Do Hoon, resorting to flattery. However, as soon as Cha Do Ha returned to society in good health, she switched her stance as if she had never behaved that way.

Therefore, what Mi Jin had just said was full of intent. Mentioning that Cha Do Ha and his wife were doing well implied that since he was fine, Do Hoon’s position as the chairman was far-fetched.

“Of course, it’s been a year since the accident.”

When Yoon Seo answered indifferently, Mi Jin’s face contorted, indicating her displeasure. Yoon Seo found Mi Jin pathetic. She couldn’t even control her own emotions, yet she managed to survive in this upper-class society.

Well, it wasn’t something to be concerned about. Tired of entertaining them any longer, Yoon Seo slyly revealed the purpose of attending this gathering today.

“Since you mentioned my sister-in-law…”

When Yoon Seo, who was usually remarkably quiet at the gatherings, initiated a conversation about her own family, everyone showed interest, seemingly intrigued. Naturally drawing their attention, Yoon Seo continued.

“You know, she’s working.”

What’s that? The women in the room, unable to fully understand Yoon Seo’s words, looked puzzled for a moment before comprehending and creating a commotion among themselves.

“Don’t tell me working means having a job?”

“A mere office worker? Hae Yeon is really doing that?”

“What could she possibly be lacking to do that?”

Anyhow, they couldn’t help but gossip when it came to rumors. Yoon Seo cursed inwardly and gulped down the brown liquid. Still, she thought those gossipy mouths would be helpful this time.

* * *

It had been two days since Hae Yeon heard about the nepotism from Team Leader Lee. She was transferring English content into an Excel file. As she continuously tapped on the keyboard, Team Leader Kim Hyun Woo called her.

“Min Hae Yeon.”

“Yes, Team Leader.”

“These are zero-rated invoices. Take them to Sales Team 2 and come back.”

Receiving the documents passed over the partition, Hae Yeon replied calmly.

“Understood.”

Hae Yeon’s expression was not composed as she stepped into the hallway. There must be a clear purpose for Team Leader Kim Hyun Woo sending her to Sales Team 2, where Team Leader Shin was. Hae Yeon let out a short sigh.

“Just a moment.”

As she handed the documents to the person in charge of Sales Team 2, he responded to Hae Yeon. As expected, Team Leader Shin Kyu Sik’s disgruntled voice was heard shortly after.

“Tell that girl to come over here.”

“…Yes, Team Leader.”

After a while, an employee approached Hae Yeon with a sympathetic look. Even without being told, Hae Yeon had heard Team Leader Shin’s voice, so she walked towards Team 2 with determination.

As Hae Yeon made her way to Team Leader Shin, the employees of Sales Team 2 watched her with various expressions. Most of them showed a pitiful demeanor, but some whispered, having heard the rumors.

“The delivered quantity doesn’t match the purchase confirmation.”

“I apologize. I only came to deliver the documents, Team Leader.”

When Hae Yeon spoke politely, Team Leader Shin raised his eyebrows.

“Don’t you know about joint responsibility? And when you come to someone else’s department, you should naturally check the materials!”

It was another absurd accusation. As he pushed aggressively with an intense reaction, Hae Yeon simply lowered her head and listened to Team Leader Shin’s words without saying much.

“If you continue like this, you’ll be disgracing Team Leader Sul, don’t you know?”

The one who was spitting on his own face was none other than Team Leader Shin himself.

Hae Yeon returned to the Management Support Team only after fulfilling the quota assigned by the other department head. On the way back, she sensed the atmosphere gradually turning subtle.

“Did you deliver the documents properly?”

When Team Leader Kim Hyun Woo asked with a friendly smile, Hae Yeon responded with a smile as well.

“Yes, I delivered them well.”

Upon seeing that smile, Team Leader Kim momentarily faltered but maintained the smile on his face.

“Good work.”

“Yes, Team Leader.”

Hae Yeon, who inwardly responded as if chewing each letter, returned to her seat and resumed the Excel work. As she lifted her gaze to pull out a file folder, she noticed Kim Hyun Woo still staring at her.

Having completed her afternoon tasks, Hae Yeon was heading somewhere other than home.

Descending to the basement of the building she arrived at, a bar came into view. Passing by a poster on one side of the dimly lit wall that read “Gambas Taste is the Best,” Hae Yeon searched for the table where a man was seated. Due to the early hour, there weren’t many customers inside.

“Oh, oh? You!”

The man exclaimed excitedly, unable to hide his agitation, but then coughed softly upon noticing his surroundings. Ignoring his antics, Hae Yeon calmly sat across from him.

“Min Hae Yeon, what are you trying to do now?”

Unlike his arrogant demeanor at the company a few hours ago, the man sitting at the table with a somewhat anxious appearance was Team Leader Shin Kyu Sik. Loosening the tie around his neck as if frustrated, he urged her, no longer in a superior position.

“What the hell is this text? What do you mean by sending this?!”

Contrary to the anger he displayed at the company, the emotion Team Leader Shin was now unleashing seemed to contain a hint of unease. On the screen of the phone Team Leader Shin shoved forward was the text Hae Yeon had sent just before leaving work.

When Kyu Sik first received the text, he intended to ignore it, thinking it was spam. However, the file name was too eye-catching to dismiss. His name, followed by the word “corruption,” eventually compelled him to check it.

And the contents inside were enough to make Kyu Sik’s heart sink. Just as the title suggested, it contained a summary of the illegal activities he had committed.

“You’ve been diligently engaging in industrial espionage. Usually, it would be a one-time thing, right?”

Min Hae Yeon slightly raised the corners of her lips. Kyu Sik couldn’t utter a word in response. The acts he had committed indeed involved leaking confidential information about Dali Coffee to external parties. How on earth did Min Hae Yeon find out about it?

Gulping down cold water, Kyu Sik’s mind raced.

‘Why did she call me out here? Does she know everything? How did she find out?’

Unfortunately, there was no one here to answer the questions in his head. In his confusion, Kyu Sik remained silent, and instead, it was Min Hae Yeon who broke the silence.

“With this level of evidence, even the people you’ve been trying to please won’t be able to help you, right?”

As Min Hae Yeon said, the file she sent made it impossible to deny the crimes he had committed and the evidence against him. However, he couldn’t just sit back and take it.

“That’s because I−.”

“Lee Su Rin.”

Hae Yeon interrupted Team Leader Shin’s words.

Shin Kyu Sik’s mouth automatically shut. The existence of Lee Su Rin, the Planning Director of Mibon Foods, was well-known, but there was no way the Min Hae Yeon in front of him would mention her to provide an explanation. Moreover, Kyu Sik could never be confident in front of those three syllables.

The reason Kyu Sik had been disparaging Hae Yeon so much was due to his deal with Lee Su Rin. It was also a type of industrial espionage, a demanded behavior that he could never bring up.

“Do you know who I am?”

Min Hae Yeon elegantly parted her lips. An abrupt question that didn’t align with the timing. Shin Kyu Sik didn’t actually know precisely who Min Hae Yeon was. His involvement in this matter was because Lee Su Rin had offered a compensation he couldn’t refuse, and he had simply taken it.

However, when Lee Su Rin, the eldest daughter of a chaebol, put that much money on the line to harass Min Hae Yeon, who was presumed to be an ordinary person, he had lightly speculated that there must be something about her. Anyway, it wouldn’t concern him.

“I’m the daughter-in-law of Gilmyung Pharmaceutical. The second one, to be precise.”

But the moment he heard Hae Yeon’s words, Shin Kyu Sik wanted to erase his past self. Gilmyung Pharmaceutical was a company that competed with his client Lee Su Rin’s Mibon Foods for the top spot in the industry. It was that famous food group that every citizen in South Korea knew about.

Above all, the second daughter-in-law.

If she was the second daughter-in-law of Gilmyung Pharmaceutical, wasn’t she the wife of the next chairman?

‘I messed with the wrong person.’

Shin Kyu Sik lamented inwardly, falling into deep despair. Yet, he felt resentful, wanting to complain about why someone of her status was working at Dali Coffee, and as a low-level employee at that.

“You know your own future, right? Even if this fact is revealed, Lee Su Rin or others will cut off their tails, and you’ll be discarded in an instant.”

With a pale face, Team Leader Shin bit his lips hard.

“The reason I called you here today was to tell you to reveal your own crimes.”

“How can I…!”

At Hae Yeon’s words, Team Leader Shin tried to shout that it was absurd, but Hae Yeon’s eyes, which were looking at him, were so cold and emotionless that it felt as if someone had blocked his mouth with a stone.

“It would be somewhat better to turn yourself in while you still can.”

Having clearly finished her words, Min Hae Yeon stood up from her seat.

“M-Min Hae Yeon!”

Even at the belated call, she walked away resolutely without looking back.

It meant she wouldn’t allow a single excuse.

Team Leader Shin keenly felt that his luck had run out.