Chapter – 55
But disappointingly, the female employees barely touched the food, only picking at it without really eating.
“Ruby, you’re not eating?”
When the male employee beside her asked, Ruby frowned and replied,
“I took one bite, but it’s not to my taste… I’m sorry, Seola. You worked hard making it, but I don’t think I can eat it.”
Already intimidated by the other women, Seola was startled and waved her hands in panic.
“Huh? I–it’s okay. If it’s not to your taste, you don’t have to eat it.”
Then the male employee next to them held out his hand.
“Then give it to me. I’ll eat it.”
“Really?”
As if she’d been waiting for that, Ruby quickly handed him the sandwich.
“Oh? Lan-jeong, you’re not eating either?”
“I haven’t been feeling well since this morning… My stomach hurts, so I can’t eat anything.”
Watching the female employees come up with excuses one by one, Seola’s mood sank again.
Seeing the gloom clouding Seola’s face, Jungwook let out a short, frustrated sigh.
His bangs fluttered up briefly in the air before settling back down.
He was angry, but he had to manage his expression.
Forcing a gentle smile, Jungwook addressed Ruby directly.
“Even if it’s not exactly to your taste, you should still eat a bit. A team member made it sincerely herself. Sandwiches are all pretty similar anyway—how different can they really be?”
At Jungwook’s words, clearly taking Seola’s side, Lan-jeong and Ruby’s expressions stiffened.
The oblivious male employees, unable to read the room, thought Great, lucky us! and even reached for Lan-jeong’s sandwich.
“Oh! Then I’ll eat Lan-jeong’s too! It tastes really good—what luck, getting to eat two. Haha.”
Compared to the male employees stuffing their mouths, the other female employees also followed Ruby and Lan-jeong’s lead, only pretending to eat.
Seola had made the food hoping to get along with the women, but seeing them refuse to eat it made her shrink inward.
And just like that, lunchtime arrived.
As people stood up and left one by one to eat, Seola also gathered her wallet and phone to go have lunch with Jungwook.
“Jungwook, thank you for speaking up for me earlier.”
“Did I look like Superman? Feel reassuring?”
“I was grateful that you took my side.”
“Then lean on me even more. I’ll keep taking your side and stay isolated with you.”
“…What?”
“No, never mind. That was nonsense. Want to go eat sundae gukbap today?”
As if sharing a top-secret, Jungwook whispered with his hand raised to his lips.
Seeing her nod slightly, he smiled gently.
Keep being lonely at work. So you’ll rely only on me.
Let my brother never find out. Let me be the only one who notices your loneliness and pain, so I can comfort you.
Harboring such dark thoughts, Jungwook stood in front of the elevator.
Unaware of anything, Seola pointed toward the restroom before leaving with him.
“I like gukbap. I’ll just go to the restroom for a bit—please wait by the elevator.”
“Okay. Go ahead.”
Leaving those words behind, Seola hurried into the women’s restroom.
In the empty restroom, she finished her business and stood at the sink. As she washed her hands, she absentmindedly turned her gaze—
“…!”
She witnessed a shocking sight.
The large trash can next to the sink was overflowing with the sandwiches she had handed out that morning.
“Gasp!”
She covered her mouth with both hands in shock.
Unopened sandwiches still wrapped in plastic, along with sandwiches bitten once and discarded, were all mixed together in the women’s restroom trash can.
That meant… the female employees had deliberately done this together, as if to show her.
How could they do something like this?!
Seola’s face went blank with disbelief.
“They’re really… too much….”
She didn’t know what to do anymore. If even her efforts were ignored like this, what was she supposed to do now?
It was never this bad before… but since the team leader is away on a business trip, it’s gotten worse…
A deep, heavy sigh escaped her.
Now she was even thinking about quitting. She was losing confidence in her ability to work with people who hated her this much.
If we’re going to keep collaborating on work and projects, there’ll definitely be times we have to work late together and attend meetings. How am I supposed to do proper work in such an uncomfortable relationship?
Overwhelmed, Seola felt tears well up.
She covered her face with both hands and bit down on her lower lip until it nearly bled. Jungwook was waiting outside, so she had to hold back her tears.
Just then, she heard someone entering the restroom. Startled, Seola hurriedly wiped the moisture from her eyes.
It was female employees from another department. They seemed to have stopped by the restroom before heading out to lunch late.
“Oh my. Isn’t that Seola? Are you crying right now?”
Seeing Seola’s reddened eyes, they asked in surprise.
“N-no. I just yawned… I’ll head out first.”
Making up a random excuse, Seola quickly left the restroom.
The women from the other department exchanged glances and tilted their heads.
“Doesn’t that seem suspicious?”
“It does. There’s already a rumor going around the company that Seola’s being subtly ostracized in the Management Support Team.”
“She said she wasn’t crying, but you could tell from her eyes. And during lunch break, instead of eating with the other women, she was crying alone in the restroom—she must be getting bullied again.”
“Being ostracized… That’s awful. This isn’t middle school—what kind of childish nonsense are team members pulling?”
“Seriously. They’re grown adults. What kind of workplace bullying is this? How cruel.”
The employees from the other department were already aware of the rumors about the ostracism in the Management Support Team.
They’d heard whispers for a while and thought surely not, but now that they’d seen it with their own eyes, it was certain.
The women in the Management Support Team probably didn’t even realize these rumors were spreading.
The employees decided they should hurry back after lunch and tell their own team about this outrageous situation.
That evening, Seola lay listlessly on her bed with her eyes closed.
She felt drained. Her heart kept pounding anxiously, and she endlessly questioned why she was being ostracized, whether it was her fault, sinking into relentless self-reflection.
But no matter how much she thought about it, she hadn’t acted arrogant as a new employee, nor had she ever said anything hurtful.
In the end, the problem isn’t inside me—it’s in their hearts.
Strengthening her resolve, she suppressed the urge to write a resignation letter and disappear somewhere no one knew her.
“The team leader still hasn’t come back from the U.S.… Maybe when he returns, the bullying will ease up.”
Running that hopeful scenario in her mind, she pulled the blanket up over her head—
Rrrrr—Rrrrr—Rrrrr—
Her phone rang loudly.
Seola peeked out from under the blanket to check her phone, then gasped and sat bolt upright.
On the screen was the name: “Team Leader Choi Tae-uk.”
“T-team leader?!”
Startled, she even choked on her breath.
Coughing, she steadied her voice and calmed her racing heart, then hurriedly pressed the call button, afraid it might stop ringing.
“H-hello, Team Leader?”
On the other end came the low, familiar voice she’d been longing for.
—Seola.
That deep, resonant voice felt like it could melt her ears. Her chest swelled with emotion.
—It’s been a while. Have you been doing well?
“I’ve been…”
I haven’t been doing well. It’s been really hard.
“…I’ve been doing well.”
Hearing the slight delay and trailing tone in her reply, Tae-uk narrowed his eyes.
—Really? Nothing going on?
When he asked carefully, Seola flinched and quickly adjusted her voice, answering as if nothing were wrong.
“Yes! Team Leader. Everything’s fine.”
After a brief silence, as if thinking, Tae-uk spoke again.
—That’s a relief.
“Are you doing well, Team Leader?”
—Of course. I want to return to Korea as soon as possible.
“I wish you’d come back soon too.”
His low chuckle traveled through the phone.
—For someone who wants me back so badly, you sure don’t answer calls much, and your message replies are awfully slow.
“Huh?”
Now that she thought about it… between being ostracized at work and constantly watching her surroundings, she hadn’t been checking her phone much.
With the time difference with New York—Tae-uk often messaged when she was asleep—their schedules didn’t line up either.
“Ah… I’m sorry. I’ve been a bit out of it lately, so I didn’t check my phone often.”
—It’s fine. I can just keep calling until you pick up, like this. It’s evening in Korea now, right? I’m on my way to work. I was wondering what you were up to, and… I wanted to see your face, hear your voice, so I forced myself to call on my commute. I’m really glad you picked up—
Sniff.
Suddenly, Tae-uk’s voice stopped.
Sniff.
The sound of him inhaling through his nose broke the silence.
