"Identity theft?"
Jongin was aghast.
"Would soone really go as far as hacking another employee’s ID just to post sothing on an anonymous bulletin board? That seems a bit..."
"It’s petty, isn’t it? Especially when it’s just a company scandal."
"Yeah."
Suin’s sarcasm was t with Jongin’s enthusiastic nodding.
She opened the ssage on her PC version and pulled up the two photos Jongin had sent.
"The target is . Your guess was right, Intern Kwon."
She moved the mouse cursor, pointing to the boundary within the picture. A barely visible fine line separated her and Baek Ihyeon.
"When zood in, there’s a faint smudge against the dark background. Especially here."
"Oh, you’re right. I missed that..."
Jongin squinted at the screen, then pointed precisely at the area.
"This blur is from blending after layering images. They cut out two separate pictures and rged them into one."
"They trimd the angles and positioned us to make it seem like we were looking at each other, right?"
"Exactly."
"Well, I must not have tid my interactions with Baek Ihyeon perfectly then."
The sheer effort put into this was ridiculous.
Whoever was behind it could have spent their ti doing sothing more productive instead of wasting it on nonsense.
"Chief."
Jongin suddenly called out.
Suin looked up, only to find that he had transford into a detective hot on the trail of a criminal.
"Have you identified the suspect?"
"Yeah."
She chuckled. Jongin, however, remained dead serious, furrowing his brows.
"Who is it?"
"Who do you think it is?"
She leaned back, testing his investigative instincts. Jongin’s eyes glead as he confidently answered,
"Deputy Manager Baek Ihyeon."
"And why is that?"
"He has a clear motive. He likes you, Chief. Maybe he wanted to fabricate a dating rumor to make it seem real."
"He likes ? No way..."
"You’re the only one who doesn’t know, Chief. Most of the employees are aware."
"That much?"
"Chief, you’re surprisingly oblivious. He’s been harboring feelings for you for quite so ti."
"I only ever saw him as a senior colleague who cared for . He never showed any ulterior motives."
"He probably didn’t want to jeopardize his relationship with you."
"Is that so..."
She let out a small sigh, contemplating Jongin’s reasoning. It did make sense.
"Quite so ti" was probably an accurate assessnt.
A twinge of guilt settled in her chest.
Though she had always treated him comfortably, she had never once considered him romantically. He must have maintained his position as a senior colleague, knowing she wouldn’t reciprocate.
"Chief, is the person you suspect really Deputy Manager Baek Ihyeon?"
"No."
"Then who is it?"
"This person provided the clue."
Suin tapped her finger on the notepad, specifically on the na "Developnt Team - Lee Gyunho."
"It has to be soone who has easy access to him. Soone in a position to act when he steps away from his desk."
"A fellow developnt team mber?"
"And also, considering this was an anonymous bulletin board, soone who had no choice but to use another person’s ID."
"A dispatched employee from the developnt team? They can’t access the intranet, so they’d need another login."
They were getting closer.
Suin, satisfied with Jongin’s sharp instincts, smiled encouragingly.
Jongin frowned in deep thought, murmuring, "Wait…" before his eyes widened in realization.
"Oh! Chief! Your friend. The one we saw in the cafeteria that ti!"
"Bingo."
Suin’s lips curled into a small smile—one filled with both amusent and bitterness.
Jongin, sensing the shift in her mood, tactfully took a step back. But then he suddenly gasped again.
"Chief, this is suspicious."
"What is?"
"When I went to the 30th floor smoking lounge earlier to et the intranet administrator, I saw that person with Deputy Manager Baek Ihyeon."
Her heart dropped.
Suin, who had been leaning back in her chair, straightened imdiately. Jongin hesitated for a second before adding,
"Do you think they’re working together?"
"...Not sure."
Suin chose her words carefully.
Back in high school, she had been close to Ihyeon due to her position in the student council. Naturally, that ant Ahjin had also ford an acquaintance with him.
If those two were now entangled with their own motivations...
"This information stays between us, Kwon. I’ll take care of it myself."
"Understood."
After securing Jongin’s silence, Suin stood up with the determination of a warrior heading into battle.
It was almost ti to clock out.
If she wasted even a second, she’d lose her chance.
***
Ring—
As if by telepathy, Suin’s phone rang just as she was about to head down to the 15th floor.
[I have sothing to say, do you have ti?]
There was an odd hesitance in Ihyeon’s voice, as if he was gauging her reaction. Suin suppressed her inner thoughts and t him in the garden lounge.
To be honest, she hadn’t expected much.
“I lied to you.”
But Ihyeon confessed first.
There was no excuse, no pathetic attempt at justification—just a willingness to accept whatever bla she threw at him.
“I led you into a situation where Ahjin could take that picture. I tried my best to make sure you didn’t notice.”
His eyes looked pained, as if he feared she would storm off in anger.
Instead, Suin just felt hollow.
Like drinking flat beer—bitter, dull, disappointing.
“Did you also help her upload the post?”
“I didn’t know she’d post it on the anonymous board.”
“But you agreed to let her use it maliciously.”
“I have no excuse for that.”
“Why? This isn’t like you.”
“I…”
Ihyeon squeezed his eyes shut.
Even though the rumor had already begun fading, his guilt over Suin hadn’t.
He couldn't get through the night without confessing.
And the mont he did, his heart ached.
The way she looked at him felt like being hit square in the chest.
“I did it because I like you.”
A confession, but one born from desperation.
“I’ve liked you since high school. You were my first love. My one-sided love.”
He had imagined confessing so many tis before.
In his daydreams, he had been confident, steady, with just the right amount of sincerity.
But now, he was a bird plumting from the sky—anxious, unsteady, and desperately trying to regain control.
“I buried my feelings, thinking ti would fade them. But then I t you again, and they all ca rushing back. Still, I was too afraid to confess.”
The emotions he had tried to smother had only flared back to life.
Now, they had burned everything to ash.
“I didn’t want to lose you. You’re too important to .”
“…”
“If Seo Jaehee hadn’t appeared, I wouldn’t have let my greed get the better of . I would’ve stayed as your senior, your colleague. Our relationship wasn’t bad, was it?”
“You should’ve just done that,” Suin murmured, sounding genuinely regretful.
Ihyeon bitterly nodded.
The cold winter air cut through him like a blade.
“But when I saw Seo Jaehee, I lost myself. I was jealous. I wanted you. And as a man, I didn’t want to just stand by and lose.”
“So you turned to soone like Ahjin…”
Suin didn’t even bother scolding him—she just sighed, exasperated.
She wasn’t upset about the rumors.
What hurt was Ihyeon’s poor judgnt.
And sohow, that made him feel even worse.
Like a fool…
Why did it take him this long…
“I’m sorry. I was wrong.”
Love isn’t the only thing that matters in a relationship.
Friendship, trust, shared monts—those things are just as precious.
And he had nearly lost them all.
Had he already lost them?
“…You can’t forgive , can you?”
Ihyeon’s expression was open, ready to accept whatever punishnt she deed fit.
This wasn’t manipulation.
He was genuinely seeking forgiveness.
“I’m angry. And confused. Right now isn’t the ti to talk about forgiveness.”
“…Yeah.”
Even though her voice was calm, he wilted under the weight of her words.
Why did he look like the victim here?
I’m the one who got hurt.
She hated him.
But not enough to cut him off completely.
Forgiveness could co—just not today.
But there was one condition.
“There’s sothing you need to do.”
***
The Next Day.
It was Saturday, and she could have taken her ti waking up.
But Suin was up early, making calls, handling matters.
By lunchti, she was already heading to Hyesung Group.
She stepped off the elevator on the 18th floor and made her way to the area where the dispatched employees from the developnt team worked.
There was no one else there—just Yoo Ahjin, fixing her makeup.
“Yoo Ahjin.”
Hearing Suin’s voice, Ahjin’s eyes went wide with shock.
Suin wasted no ti.
“Pack your things and leave.”
“…What?”
“You heard . Get out of this company.”
Ahjin’s face flushed red.
She shot up from her seat, voice sharp with anger.
“Who the hell do you think you are? You’re just a secretary!”
“That’s right. I’m just a secretary, which ans I have no authority over dispatched employees like you.”
Suin’s voice was icily calm.
“But I do have the authority to report soone who harms this company.”
Ahjin’s breath hitched.
“Yoo Ahjin.”
Suin’s voice was sharp, authoritative.
She wasn’t speaking as a colleague.
She was handing down a sentence.
“You’ve been charged with violating security regulations, identity theft, and breaching privacy rights. Your dispatch contract has been terminated as of today.”
Her gaze was piercing.
“Leave quietly.”
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