A seemingly ordinary morning. Jae Ho urgently knocked on the executive office door and entered simultaneously. Judging by his flushed face, it was clear that a big problem had arisen.

“Executive Director, I have an urgent report for you.”

“What matter is causing such a fuss?”

“If you read the article first, it will be easier to understand.”

Jae Ho held the tablet PC with both hands and brought it to Joo Hyuk. Joo Hyuk’s gaze was sharp as he quickly read the text on the screen. His expressionless face suddenly turned cold.

“So where is Director Shim? Tell him to come here immediately.”

“Yes, Executive Director.”

Jae Ho answered concisely and left the executive office.

Secretarial staff gathered around Sang Hee’s desk. They focused their attention on the computer screen, each adding a comment.

“This is going to cause quite a commotion.”

“Don’t you know how much damage it can do to a company’s image if it spreads on social media these days? No matter how much the PR department tries, an incident of this scale will be impossible to manage.”

“This is crazy. Look at the number of comments here.”

Sang Hee checked the comments on the related internet article and was shocked. It was surprising that thousands of comments had been posted in less than half a day since the article was published.

“Come on, let’s not get swept up in the atmosphere and focus on our own tasks,” Joo Won said, gesturing.

Eventually, everyone returned to their seats, but they still couldn’t take their eyes off their phone screens.

“Geez, they’re calling us back and forth when we’re already busy. Is Executive Director Min very angry?”

“I’m not sure about that either.”

From a distance, Yeon Seok and Jae Ho’s voices could be heard. The employees stood up from their seats to greet Yeon Seok. Only when the executive office door closed with a thud did Sang Hee pretend to shudder.

“Whew, I wonder how tense the atmosphere is in there. The Executive Director has been in a bad mood lately, and now this has added fuel to the fire.”

What could be going on? Ji Soo quietly opened an internet search window. Before she could press the search button, Sang Hee approached and gently pressed Ji Soo’s shoulder.

“Ji Soo, you haven’t had a chance to do any real work since joining the secretarial office, right? I’ll give you plenty to do before you move to the External Cooperation Team.”

“Thank you!”

Ji Soo was happy because being given real work felt like she was truly being recognized. Although, as Sang Hee said, she was destined to be transferred to the External Cooperation Team next month.

“Prepare drinks and snacks and take them into the executive office.”

“N…now?”

So you mean right now, in this atmosphere that’s about to explode into war?

“Would you prefer to start working a month from now?”

“No, I’ll go in right away.”

“Good luck, fighting!”

“Yes!”

Although the atmosphere was very tense, she still had to do her job as a secretary. Ji Soo headed straight for the pantry. She neatly arranged a few non-crumbling crackers and bite-sized cookies on a plate.

Coffee, tea, or soft drinks? The menu was a dilemma, but she settled on green tea as a safe choice. It seemed more inappropriate to ask the two executives what drinks they would prefer at this point.

The tense atmosphere in the executive office made her neck feel stiff. Why did she feel so intimidated when she hadn’t done anything wrong? Ji Soo couldn’t understand the reason as she carefully approached the table.

Joo Hyuk’s gaze was fixed solely on Yeon Seok.

“Director Shim, flight attendants are also proper employees of ACS Airlines. Just because they work in a different field or have a lower rank doesn’t mean they can be disrespected.”

“If that person had done their job properly, I wouldn’t have gone this far. When someone providing service under the company name can’t even cook instant noodles properly and serves bloated noodles, isn’t that disrespecting me?”

Yeon Seok was someone who had worked at ACS Airlines for 30 years, starting as a new employee and rising to an executive position. While trying to impress Joo Hyuk, who was young enough to be his son, he also had a strong tendency to subtly flaunt his own career. He had his reasons for confidence. Executive Director Go Gang Jin, rumored to be the current power player in ACS Airlines, was Yeon Seok’s strong supporter.

“So, do you think the reason you just mentioned justifies flipping over a bowl of noodles on the plane?”

“If that flight attendant had done their job properly from the start, I wouldn’t have had a reason to go that far.”

I need to deal with someone who can understand reason. The person in front of me is not someone who can understand common sense. Joo Hyuk’s mind grew increasingly cold.

“I heard you were on a personal trip using an employee discount ticket, is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

To engage in such power-tripping behavior while traveling on a 90 percent discounted airline ticket given to ACS Airlines employees. Power-tripping itself was unacceptable to begin with, but doing this while on vacation with an employee ticket was even more absurd.

However, Yeon Seok, failing to grasp Joo Hyuk’s intentions, was only eager to make his own excuses.

“The employee discount ticket is not the important issue here, Executive Director. Isn’t it their job to serve food and drinks? It’s their fault for not being able to perform even basic duties skillfully. Don’t you agree, Miss Secretary?”

Even after seeing Joo Hyuk’s serious face, Yeon Seok only smirked. He didn’t seem to have any sense of crisis that a major incident had occurred entirely due to his own fault.

Ji Soo, who had placed all the snacks on the table, smiled slightly.

“I am Han Ji Soo.”

“What do you think, Miss Secretary? Do you think I acted like an old fogey? The witch hunt on social media is quite something. I mean, did I hit that girl? Did I swear at her? I just got angry after holding back for so long because she wouldn’t listen. I don’t think this deserves nationwide criticism.”

“……”

“Why are you silent? Speak freely, Miss Secretary. I’m really curious about what young people these days think. I already know well that kids these days lack common sense. I’m wondering if it’s really like that.”

Yeon Seok gestured with his chin as if urging her to speak. Facing Yeon Seok, who was consistently rude from start to finish, Ji Soo maintained her smile. Strangely, she didn’t even feel angry.

Rather, she became even calmer.

“The most important duty of a flight attendant is to keep passengers safe until they reach their destination. When you face an emergency situation, sir, flight attendants are the ones who will risk their lives to help you.”

“Who doesn’t know that? Why are you suddenly changing the subject?”

Yeon Seok’s wrinkled eyes contorted, wondering what she was suddenly talking about.

“Sir, you’ve practically harmed such flight attendants.”

Red and blue. Yeon Seok’s face turned various colors. Jae Ho’s pupils, standing far from the sofa, trembled endlessly. He pleaded with his eyes for Ji Soo not to cross that line any further, but Ji Soo, not receiving that signal, continued to speak her mind with an impossibly calm face.

“Hey, what… what did you just say? Who harmed whom?”

“You asked me a question, so I simply stated the facts I know. Oh, I forgot one thing.”

“……”

“When I joined the company, I memorized the company welfare manual to the point where I could recite it. There was an item like this: Employee discount airline tickets are strictly provided by the company for employee welfare, and employees must adhere to attire and behavior befitting the airline’s image…”

“What nonsense are you suddenly spouting!”

Yeon Seok shouted, seemingly forgetting that Joo Hyuk was present and that this was the executive office.

“I saw your photo, sir. You were wearing shorts and slippers. You should dress at least in business casual for business class. And then you expressed your dissatisfaction with the service provided by an employee in that manner. We should address this point as well.”

“How dare you run your mouth like that!”

Yeon Seok’s eyes, which had been darting around, caught sight of the green tea cup. Without a moment’s hesitation, he tilted the teacup towards Ji Soo.

Ji Soo’s face flushed hot. Too shocked, Ji Soo froze in place. Green tea dripped down her face.

“Hey, Director Shim Yeon Seok! What do you think you’re doing in front of me?”

Joo Hyuk shouted, rising from his seat. Yeon Seok flinched at Joo Hyuk’s shout, but he didn’t show any sign of remorse towards Ji Soo.

“Get out of here right now. There will be a disciplinary committee meeting. Until then, reflect on your actions.”

Yeon Seok bit his lower lip and bowed to Joo Hyuk. His clenched fist trembled slightly.

Joo Hyuk looked at Ji Soo, who looked like a drenched mouse. It had happened too quickly to prevent. Joo Hyuk knew that Yeon Seok had been finding him annoying since he took the position of Executive Director. Even so, causing such harm to his subordinate in his own office was absolutely unacceptable.

“Director Hwang, don’t just stand there dumbfounded, go out and get a towel.”

“Yes! Executive Director.”

Jae Ho, who seemed quite shocked as well, finally came to his senses and hurriedly left the office. Only Joo Hyuk and Ji Soo remained in the office.

“I’m sorry, Executive Director. I think I went too far.”

Even so, Yeon Seok was in a much higher position than her. She reflected that her comments might have been somewhat aggressive and disrespectful.

There was one thing that Ji Soo, who always smiled brightly and sacrificed for others, couldn’t stand. It was people disrespecting others just because they had money or power. It was something that even Ji Soo’s usually gentle personality couldn’t overlook.

Ji Soo’s late father had always been socially disadvantaged. Even though he was older, he had to bow his head to people much younger than him. The more he did so, the more people were quick to disrespect him. They thought it was okay to treat him that way.

Ji Soo once overheard a conversation between her father, who was a day laborer, and someone called the site manager. The voice that addressed her much older father as “Hey, Han” in a condescending manner.

Ji Soo went into her room, covered herself with a blanket, and cried silently for a long time.

Ji Soo often thought about it. At least, don’t endure it silently. If she could voice her opinion, she should definitely do so. Even if she didn’t fight back directly, she decided not to foolishly let them push her around as they pleased.

So the green tea shower today wasn’t entirely bad. It felt like she had properly conveyed her thoughts to someone like Yeon Seok. The fact that Yeon Seok got angry meant that she had spoken the truth.

“Han Ji Soo.”

“Yes, Executive Director.”

“By any chance……”

Joo Hyuk’s brow twitched.

“Yes?”

“Are you a lawyer?”