Actually, I had already discussed this topic with Cha Han Bin via messenger before leaving work.

Cha Han Bin had shared his concerns about Jiwu not being the same as before. It was a purely personal outpouring with no work-related content, so it wasn’t hard to listen, but I couldn’t offer any brilliant solutions either.

[Still, I feel much lighter after sharing this with you.] [No, I couldn’t be of much help. Stay strong, brother. Try talking more with Jiwu.] [Yeah. Once I’m done with this busy work, I’ll take a more proactive approach.]

I thought that was the end of it. But what more did he have to say?

I hastened to pack up my things, eager to leave the special situation room and return to my usual secretary desk.

Simultaneously, there was a knock on the situation room door.

“Deputy Kim Yeon Woo. Yeon Woo.”

He should know better than anyone that he shouldn’t come here.

I was concerned about being alone in the situation room, especially during the evening. I responded that I would be out soon and cautiously opened the door.

“Oh my, what happened to your clothes?”

Exiting the room, I faced Cha Han Bin, his hand and suit jacket covered in red liquid.

“Yeon Woo, could I use some tissues?”

His desperate tone came as he grappled with the spilled drink, looking quite troubled.

I went back inside to grab several wet wipes from the desk. In the meantime, Cha Han Bin had already approached.

“But brother, you’re not supposed to be in here, can you wait outside?”

“Oh, sorry. My mind’s all over the place.”

Cha Han Bin, flustered, took the wet wipes I offered but accidentally tipped the drink cup again.

Strawberry-scented liquid dripped onto the desk and floor.

I grabbed the entire tissue box and crouched down to clean the floor.

“I’m sorry, Yeon Woo. I bought it for you…”

“It’s okay! Did you manage to clean your clothes?”

“Yeah, I think it’s mostly cleaned up. I’ll wait outside.”

After swiftly tidying up the floor, I stood up and began to clean the desk.

Fortunately, I had put all the documents and the laptop in the cabinet earlier, so there were no damaged items. Only the empty desk needed cleaning.

But then…

“……”

I suddenly felt an intense sense of wrongness.

Something subtly different about the desk I was so familiar with.

What could it be? What’s changed?

‘The USB!’

My personal USB drive, which I had left on my desk, was gone. So was the small green diary beneath it.

Items unrelated to work, purely personal.

A chilling sensation ran down the back of my neck.

Acting on instinct, I blocked Cha Han Bin, who was about to leave the room.

Click. The door lock he was about to open closed again.

The cold chill of the wooden door behind me felt icy.

“Do we really have to go this far, brother?”

“Huh? What are you talking about, Yeon Woo?”

“Is this really, really the Han Bin brother I know?”

For a moment, a chill flashed in his usually gentle eyes.

Determination filled my startled eyes too. I glared at him, gripping the door handle to prevent his exit.

He let out a short laugh and irritably ruffled his hair.
“I’ll just pretend I don’t know. Give it back, my stuff.”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Move aside.”

“There’s nothing there! It’s just my personal data. Please, brother…!”

“……”

“Don’t do this… Huh?”

Through my tear-blurred vision, I caught a glimpse of a sinister smile on Cha Han Bin’s face, something I had never seen before.

I wished it was a misunderstanding. I had doubted him before, but I never dreamed I would be confirming my worst suspicions in this way.

“What made you change like this? Huh? Brother, you were always upright, a role model student who did everything right.”

Could it be? Had he always manipulated his way to the top like this in every aspect of his life?

Or is he resorting to such filthy methods now because he can’t bear to lose his top spot?

My mind, chaotic and confused, was in turmoil.

“Anyway, there’s nothing to gain by being so cowardly! This case isn’t about winning or losing! Just give back the USB and go, now.”

“Ha. Crawling up from nothing? Thinking I’ll just treat you nicely because you’re cute.”

Cha Han Bin, now showing his true colors, growled as if he would push me away any moment.

“Just because you got a bit close with Kwon Jun Hwi, you think you’re someone important to command me?”

“Cha Han Bin! What really are you? Were you always this kind of person?”

“And what about you! You know nothing about me, yet you stand in my way? Get lost!”

I couldn’t withstand the strength of a man. Pushed roughly aside, I staggered and was thrust away.

“Let go!”

Even as I was being pushed away, I clung more tightly to his arm. I glimpsed the edge of my green diary in the inner pocket of Cha Han Bin’s suit jacket.

Was it a lingering attachment to the kind and gentle Cha Han Bin I had known until now?

If he just returned my belongings and apologized for losing his senses, maybe, just maybe, I would let it pass, just this once.

Reaching for the diary, Cha Han Bin brutally shoved me away, cursing.

“This is the real thing!”