“…….”
Even before entering the office, the faint sound of ringing phones and the growing chatter of employees made Han Ba Ha’s heart race. As she reached the office, her face gradually contorted at the sight before her.
“We’re still confirming the facts…….”
Everyone was repeating the same words with furrowed brows while answering phones.
“Everyone, unplug your phone cords!”
At the sudden voice of Manager Park behind Ba Ha, the noisy office instantly fell silent as if it had been emptied. Ba Ha couldn’t lift her face. As the price of the silence, all eyes turned to Manager Park and herself, making Ba Ha bow her head.
“I deeply apologize for causing such a commotion!”
Ba Ha’s reddened face remained bowed, refusing to budge. The fact that all of this had happened because of her made her feel utterly embarrassed and guilty, keeping her head lowered.
“What kind of relationship is it anyway?”
“I heard there was chaos at the commercial filming site too.”
“Really? I didn’t think Han would be such a scary person.”
“But isn’t Cha Hi Ra worse than Han?”
It felt strange.
The people who had greeted her with bright smiles just yesterday were now busy glancing at Ba Ha as if she were a stranger and whispering among themselves. As Ba Ha flinched at the words reaching her ears, Doo Na pulled her from the side as if telling her to lift her head.
“Can’t you all be quiet? Why are you making such a fuss over unconfirmed facts! Don’t you have anything better to do?”
“…….”
“Han, follow me.”
Manager Park sternly addressed the whispering crowd with furrowed brows, then took Ba Ha into his office.
“Manager, I’m sorry…….”
As soon as Manager Park sat down, Ba Ha bowed her head again. She had nothing to say, and nothing she could say.
“Han Ba Ha, do you have anything you need to tell me?”
Manager Park asked Ba Ha while continuously rubbing his temples as if he had a headache.
Where should she begin?
Actually, it wasn’t her but Cha Hi Ra who had an affair.
She was just a victim, and if she was guilty of anything, it was only of loving Lee Han and being abandoned.
Would they even believe her? Even if they did, she couldn’t tell them everything. She couldn’t kill Lee Han just to kill Cha Hi Ra, so despite the surge of injustice, Ba Ha decided to keep quiet for the sake of Lee Han, who had been her world for so long.
“No, Manager. There’s nothing. I can’t tell you everything, but it’s not true. It’s not.”
“Then that’s fine. Well, the noise will die down in a day or two. If you didn’t do anything wrong, go out there, stand up straight, and don’t bow your head.”
At Manager Park’s words, Ba Ha deliberately straightened her back even more. Fighting back the tears that kept threatening to fall, she repeated to herself, ‘I did nothing wrong,’ while straining her eyes to hold them back.
“……Thank you, Manager.”
“Do you have anything to thank me for? I’m just believing what you’re saying because I’ve known you for a while. If you didn’t do anything wrong, you can go now.”
“Yes.”
As soon as she left the office, Ba Ha let out a deep sigh. As if they had been waiting, cruel gazes directed at Ba Ha stung sharply. This time, it wasn’t Manager Park but Ba Ha’s head that seemed to throb, and this relationship that refused to end even when it should have once again exhausted her.
“Han, is this true?”
“Pardon……?”
It was a question that no one had dared to ask outright while looking at Ba Ha standing in front of the office.
When Deputy Yoon from the Sales Department took the lead and asked, Ba Ha felt a surge of anger rising within her. Was it necessary to corner someone like this just to satisfy their curiosity?
“Is that so important to you all?”
She was angry.
She didn’t even expect understanding. But did they have to be this cruel? Everyone seemed to not care about Ba Ha’s feelings at all. They were merely interested in the fact that such a scandalous gossip had occurred so close to them.
I did nothing wrong.
Ba Ha repeated Manager Park’s words in her mind, straightened her back even more, and glared at Deputy Yoon.
“Everyone, stop it! Does this sound like the senior you’ve known all along? Why is everyone suddenly acting like this?”
Doo Na shouted at those surrounding Ba Ha. With a face flushed red, she vented her frustration at people about facts they didn’t even know well, as if it were her own issue.
“Why? Doo Na, you were curious too. Can you say you weren’t curious?”
“Even if I was curious, this isn’t the way to go about it. Don’t you all think you’re being too much right now?”
“Fine. We’re the bad ones. We’re bad. Does it make you feel a little better to make us out to be the only bad people here?”
As the office became noisy again, Doo Na spoke even more coldly while standing in front of Ba Ha, protecting her. People began to look at Doo Na as if she were an eyesore.
“Hah…….”
Ba Ha sighed as she looked at Doo Na’s back.
Unlike the people who were merely curious and finding this situation entertaining, Doo Na believed in her even before the facts were revealed. Ba Ha’s nose tingled with gratitude, and the sigh she let out was about to be tinged with moisture.
“What’s all this noise about?”
A low, resonating voice.
It was Tae Un. Thanks to Tae Un’s sudden appearance, Doo Na, who had been shouting, exhaled her uncontrolled breath with heavy pants, and Deputy Yoon, with a startled face, quickly withdrew his hand that had been pointing at Doo Na.
“It’s not true. In any case, I apologize once again for causing such a disturbance!”
Ba Ha bowed her head once more. Whether it was true or not, whether this situation was entertaining or not, the fact that she was the protagonist of this commotion was undeniable.
“What’s everyone gawking at?”
Tae Un felt anger rising as he looked at her bowing her head, and he wondered how to deal with Cha Hi Ra, who had crossed the line far too much.
The fact that all he could do was work carefully behind the scenes constricted Tae Un’s heart painfully.
If only there was a way to protect Ba Ha openly.
“I know you must be overwhelmed. But actually, Han Ba Ha is…….”
“I’ve known Lee Han since we were young!”
Ba Ha hastily interrupted Tae Un’s words, shaking her head. She understood his intentions, but she wanted to resolve this on her own. She knew that resolving it by herself might be unrealistic, but she still wanted to move forward on her own as much as possible.
She didn’t want to burden Tae Un any further.
“What? So that’s what it was? If that’s the case, why didn’t you say so earlier instead of making people look bad?”
“See! I told you it wasn’t true. Deputy Yoon, if you’re from the Sales Department, shouldn’t you be getting back to work? Why are you causing a scene in our department?”
“No…… Even if Doo Na says so…….”
Doo Na, annoyed by the tactless Deputy Yoon, scolded him further in front of the power that was Tae Un.
“Han, how long have you known each other? I mean, if you knew each other, why were such photos taken?”
Deputy Yoon wanted to find some flaw in Ba Ha’s statement that it wasn’t true. It seemed like the only way to avoid embarrassment in front of everyone, especially in front of Tae Un, who was among the upper echelons of power in this company.
“He was an older neighborhood friend I knew since childhood. There was a minor misunderstanding, and it seems we were photographed when we briefly ran into each other and talked while going to the restroom during the company dinner. I’m sorry.”
Ba Ha bowed her head, and when her eyes met Tae Un’s, she looked away, feeling sorry for seemingly disregarding his feelings.
“…….”
Tae Un quietly looked at Ba Ha without saying a word. He felt bitter and worried. Tae Un’s heart was stirred with all sorts of emotions as he looked at Ba Ha.
Ba Ha’s determination to bear everything alone pained Tae Un’s heart.
“Everyone, return to your positions.”
[This is the timeline separator]It was dark.
A house with not a single light on. The windows of the spacious house were all covered with blackout curtains, making it pitch black. The only light in this house as dark as the abyss was a single beam coming through a slight gap in the curtains.
It was a lonely and cold house.
There was no warmth, and it seemed that traces of people coming and going had long since disappeared. It was a house that resembled the current Lee Han. Bottles of alcohol were strewn across the floor, and next to the numerous bottles lay Lee Han, who had been drinking only alcohol, leaving his beard to grow coarse and unkempt.
‘Some insignificant child came and spouted nonsense.’
‘It’s not nonsense, is it? Ba Ha is… the Chairman’s daughter, isn’t she? Please help, Chairman.’
He shouldn’t have reached out. He shouldn’t have gone at his call. He shouldn’t have trusted Chairman Han’s promise.
He had been stupid.
He didn’t know that the consequences of the choice he made, trusting only Chairman Han’s words, would hurt so much. He felt pathetic and regretful for thinking it had been the best choice.
Ring ring−!
“He…llo.”
Despite trying to ignore it, Lee Han fumbled around the dark room to pick up the ringing phone next to him.
Squinting at the bright screen in contrast to the dark room, Lee Han answered the phone with a grimace.
The hoarse voice that came out as he answered the phone seemed to indicate that it had been a long time since he had conversed with anyone.
− Where are you and what are you doing right now?
__________
Bro, don’t be like this, I’m really about to throw up! (Female-dominant)
Short intro:
What she can’t stand the most is the streets full of effeminate men, especially that so-called top beauty whom she avoids at all costs.
Shen Yaoxing looks at Jiang Mingyue, who keeps approaching her with coy shyness.
Shen Yaoxing: Bro, don’t be like this, I’m really about to throw up!
She fears nothing in heaven or earth, except for him getting close to her.
*
At first he thought she was just using the trick of feigning indifference to attract his attention. Later, he learned that she truly despised him.
This dealt a heavy blow to Jiang Mingyue, and he vowed to make her, like everyone else, fall at his feet in worship!
***
Synopsis:
Before transmigrating, Shen Yaoxing only wanted to find a reliable man to spend her life with. Who knew that after transmigrating, she would become a reliable woman herself…
A forced misandrist, highly skilled, and reliable female lead
vs.
An initially aloof and arrogant, later morbid, obsessed male lead