Tae Hong’s words clearly divided the expressions of the team members.

Into employees who liked his words and those who felt disappointed. If the former were male employees, the latter were the female employees, no longer the only woman. Exactly two types of reactions.

“Please hand over my schedule to Jung Hae Jin right away.”

Tae Hong’s gaze touched the questioner, then fixed back on Hae Jin.

“Jung Hae Jin, review the schedule and share the upcoming schedule later.”

Hae Jin’s gaze finally turned to Tae Hong. When their eyes met, Tae Hong was smiling broadly.

Only then did Hae Jin understand.

The true meaning of his bright smile.

It seemed to say: Those who can’t endure should leave on their own. So try to endure well. I’ll shake you until your roots are pulled out.

She knew that everyone had a social smile. Reading Tae Hong’s expression wasn’t difficult. It was an invisible battle between one trying to pull down and one having to endure until the end.

Just, slightly unsettling was the heart hidden in that smile. She steadied herself, thinking nothing would happen given his social position.

Leaving the words that the meeting was over, Tae Hong left the conference room first. Only the Strategic Planning Team 1 employees and Hae Jin were left behind.

It felt like being left alone in the middle of a battlefield. On the other hand, it felt like watching animals in a zoo.

Those who seemed like colleagues, but weren’t quite colleagues.

The first to greet Hae Jin was a middle-aged man. He walked over steadily and stood in front of her, who was still standing.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Byung Soo.”

His relaxed smiling face exuded composure. And there was a strong intuition that crossed Hae Jin’s mind – this person must be second-in-command.

Hae Jin could instantly recognize the aura of a second-in-command emanating from his face. Everywhere, even among the same rank, isn’t there a hierarchy? He was the only one who maintained a poker face throughout the meeting.

In her heyday, Hae Jin had learned to read the room in social gatherings.

Since they weren’t a top chaebol family, Hae Jin was always at the bottom in social gatherings where people were ranked by their father’s wealth. So, the instinct to read the room for survival was close to a survival instinct.

“I look forward to working with you.”

To Hae Jin’s greeting, Byung Soo simply nodded slightly in response. Leaving words that he also looked forward to working together, he left the conference room.

And now, only two men and one woman remained in the conference room. Hae Jin quickly scanned the four people. Unlike Byung Soo, the remaining four looked about the same age as her.

Unlike the earlier greeting with Byung Soo, a strange and chilly feeling followed. The curiosity disappeared, replaced by overt wariness, as the no-longer-unique woman stood up.

“Jung Hae Jin? I’m Kim Yeon Jung.”

Then Yeon Jung introduced the seated people one by one. Park Cheol Hong, Choi Yoon Gi, Kim Woo Jin. After finishing the introductions, Yeon Jung finally walked over to Hae Jin.

“You can hand over the takeover to me.”

It was clear that the other person was wary of Hae Jin, trying hard to suppress the sharp edge in her voice. And Hae Jin realized. That she had no intention of hiding her disapproving gaze.

“Yes, I look forward to working with you.”

Yeon Jung showed no reaction to Hae Jin’s cheerful smile. Rather, Yeon Jung’s face said, “What is this?”

Ignoring Hae Jin’s bright smile, Yeon Jung left the conference room, her long hair swaying.

At Yeon Jung’s cold reaction, the remaining three people stood up awkwardly with unnatural smiles. One by one, they greeted Hae Jin with welcoming words and perfunctory handshakes before leaving.

Only Hae Jin remained in the now empty conference room.

In the quiet room where she was left alone, she carefully examined the seats where people had been sitting.

Though she wondered what she was doing, what else could she do? She had to do it. Didn’t she need to make a living?

If she backed down here, she would fall to the bottom once again. That feeling was enough when she received an unfamiliar address and entered that house.

She didn’t want it ever again. She didn’t want to fall into the abyss anymore. This was the real reality, the real battle.

Jung Hae Jin with a hundred levels of perceptiveness and overflowing presence was the only one in Yeonchang Group.

**

She opened the conference room door and walked down the hallway. In the distance, several people in black suits were bustling about. Hae Jin’s footsteps quickly moved towards them.

“Is this okay here?”

Two people put down a desk in front of the team leader’s office. Then they asked Yeon Jung, who was standing close by.

Just from the answer, it was clear that Yeon Jung was very on edge. To the point where she didn’t even notice Hae Jin standing next to her.

“Senior?”

The team introductions had ended with just names. Hae Jin called Yeon Jung naturally.

Yeon Jung’s delicate face crumpled and smoothed out when she saw Hae Jin. Hae Jin tilted her head at the quickly hidden expression.

What’s with this chilly feeling?

“Are you calling me now?”

Yeon Jung asked Hae Jin, pointing her index finger at herself. Hae Jin nodded with a bright face, saying “Yes.”

“Where is Jung Hae Jin’s senior here?”

From Yeon Jung’s sharp voice, it was instantly clear that the chilly feeling wasn’t just imagination.

“I’ve never had a junior like Jung Hae Jin.”

The law of conservation of mass exists everywhere.

So you’re the first one.

Thinking that the inevitable had come, Hae Jin hid her true feelings and calmly said,

“You haven’t told me your position or title yet.”

It’s not my fault, but that you didn’t tell me.

“I used the most common title I could think of.”

Hae Jin intentionally put on a perplexed expression and admitted her mistake. Yeon Jung seemed unable to find words in response to the straightforward reaction.

With a thoroughly crooked posture, arms folded, she gave the proper title.

“It’s manager. You can call me Manager Kim.”

It seemed to say, what would you know, so Hae Jin smiled even more brightly and took a step closer.

“Manager, Manager Kim Yeon Jung. I understand.”

You can’t spit on a smiling face, as they say.

Hae Jin nodded, smiling as brightly as possible. It wasn’t the reaction she wanted, as Yeon Jung’s expression was still unfavorable.

Hae Jin took a step back and looked at her desk, which was gradually being set up.

Just as she was about to think that this desk would now be her livelihood,

The office door opened, and Tae Hong appeared. As soon as he opened the door and saw Hae Jin and Yeon Jung, Tae Hong didn’t seem surprised. As if he had known all along that the two of them were in front of the door.

“Team leader.”

Yeon Jung approached Tae Hong, wagging an invisible tail as if nothing had happened. Tae Hong’s gaze lingered on Yeon Jung for a moment, then turned to Hae Jin.

“Is Jung Hae Jin’s desk okay here?”

Whether she wanted praise or not, her face was a mass of affectation, but Hae Jin pretended not to know anything and observed Tae Hong’s expression.

Tae Hong’s gaze moved to the desk once, then to Yeon Jung’s face once, and finally back to Hae Jin.

Hae Jin averted her eyes diagonally.

“Manager Kim Yeon Jung would have taken care of it properly.”

At those words, Yeon Jung’s face brightened more than anyone else in the world. Her hoho laughter seemed to show a visible tail.

That’s not the expression you showed me earlier.

Hae Jin added one more thing about Kim Yeon Jung to her character dictionary.

You’re Gumiho Kim.

At the same time, she thought. He’s kind to employees, so why did they call him a rugby ball?

Hae Jin’s thoughts didn’t go on long. Tae Hong walked a few steps ahead and turned around. Unlike his kind and gentle expression, his eyes didn’t smile at all. His straight gaze created an oppressive atmosphere.

“Ah, Manager Kim Yeon Jung.”

Though Tae Hong’s words ended with ‘nim’, his tone was not friendly. But Yeon Jung grinned and answered “Yes?”

“Not Ms. Jung Hae Jin.”

Tae Hong’s bowstring was tightly drawn,

“Assistant Manager Jung Hae Jin.”

Whoosh, it was shot at its target, Yeon Jung. He was correcting Yeon Jung on Tae Hong’s principle of maintaining what should be maintained within the bounds of freedom. Yeon Jung’s expression rapidly hardened. The wagging tail seemed to droop.

“I’m, I’m sorry. I made a mistake for a moment.”

Yeon Jung could no longer smile. But Tae Hong merely passed by with an indifferent gaze.

The rugby ball isn’t completely arbitrary.

Hae Jin shrugged imperceptibly as she looked at Yeon Jung with her head bowed.

**

It took half a day after starting work to somewhat adjust to the company atmosphere.

Hae Jin examined her desk. The quickly prepared desk was perfectly ready for work. Sitting at a desk to work after a long time made her heart flutter somewhere inside.

Given the situation, shouldn’t she do her best with the given tasks for now?

There was a list of supplies on the desk. She just needed to check the small supplies needed by the team and pass it on.

While checking various items, a black shadow was cast on the white list paper. Hae Jin slowly raised her head.

“Te-Team leader?”

Though Tae Hong had only lowered his head slightly, at 189cm tall, he cast a huge shadow mountain. Hae Jin stood up in surprise.

The sound of the chair being pushed back and hitting the wall was heard. The discomfort felt from his emotionless eyes, tightly closed lips, and expressionless face made her unable to move.

He was someone who could drive others to the edge just by looking down at them.

Could she really be a good executive secretary to such a person?

“Assistant Manager Jung Hae Jin.”

Red sun, a voice that brought Hae Jin’s wandering focus back to reality was heard.

When she snapped back to attention, Tae Hong was standing next to her. Tae Hong’s finger tapped the desk a couple of times. While she was focused on his finger, Tae Hong’s voice came from above her head.

“To my office.”

Having finished his main point, Tae Hong disappeared before hearing Hae Jin’s answer.

Hae Jin’s legs gave out and she grabbed the desk. Strength gathered in her fingertips gripping the desk.

If she crumbled now, forget close marking, she couldn’t even do dedicated marking.

The amount Jun Tae had proposed was rapidly counting down before her eyes.

Even if she withdrew, she should at least receive her first paycheck before withdrawing. Hae Jin approached the desk where Tae Hong was sitting.

“You called for me.”

Hae Jin stood maintaining an ambiguous distance, neither close nor far.

Just enough distance to never yield to Tae Hong’s gaze.

He was still looking at documents and waited for her words without asking further. Only after turning the last page did Tae Hong’s gaze finally turn to Hae Jin.

Though she stood tensely wondering what the first instruction would be, something in his hand drew an arc as it was tossed to her. She reflexively reached out and caught it.

“Do you know how to drive?”

The first test was driving.