Chapter – 54
Seola got up from her desk during work, carrying a few files to make copies.
Ruby, who had been watching Seola’s back closely, saw an opportunity and quickly got up to follow her into the copy room.
“Oh? Seola? Are you making copies?”
Seola tensed immediately at Ruby’s sharp question. Just seeing Ruby seemed to make her body stiffen.
“Y-Yes.”
“In that case, can you make copies for me too?”
Ruby handed over the materials for the morning meeting requested by Deputy Yoon the next day, along with other documents she had been putting off.
“All of this…?”
“What’s the matter? You can’t do it? Not gonna do it? You’re arguing with me?”
“N-No.”
“You’re supposed to do what the deputy asks, so why are you talking back? Right?”
Ruby hadn’t outgrown the nasty habit of picking on friends back in school and continued to impose it on Seola even as an adult.
“Kim Seola, I’m going to make you quit… You’ll write your resignation yourself because you won’t be able to stand it. I’ll make sure it reaches the team leader where he won’t notice. That way, you won’t be able to charm him anymore, you useless woman.”
Seola said nothing and quietly organized and started copying Ruby’s documents, following her boss’s instructions.
Seeing Seola like that, Ruby wore a satisfied smile and lifted her chin as she moved away.
“Alright, please do it. Ouch!”
At that moment, Jungwook walked into the copy room and accidentally bumped into Ruby.
“Oh? Deputy, I’m sorry.”
“Please watch where you’re going. I almost got hurt.”
“No, I was walking straight to the copier, but you bumped into me while looking back at Seola.”
Ruby, at a loss for words, swallowed hard, gave Jungwook a glare, and quickly left the copy room.
Jungwook had followed in, thinking that leaving Ruby alone with Seola might lead to some trouble—and it seemed he had made the right choice.
He approached Seola, who was standing alone, making copies of the large pile of documents.
“Ugh. Hey, give it here. I’ll do it; you go do something else.”
“…Yes?”
“I’ll handle it. You should go to the accounting team to pick up the materials Kim requested earlier.”
“Jungwook…”
“Go quickly.”
With a sigh, Jungwook silently helped Seola.
“Thank you, Jungwook.”
“Then treat me to lunch today.”
Seola gave a faint smile and bowed her head. She was quietly grateful to him for helping her without anyone noticing.
Watching Jungwook continue the rest of the copying, Seola quietly left the copy room.
Meanwhile, Ruby returned to her desk and stared at her mouse, deep in thought.
“If I push a little more, Kim Seola might just hand in her resignation herself. She looks exhausted and lifeless; that’s proof enough.”
Determined to intensify her harassment, Ruby picked up her phone to open a chat with Taeuk.
Taeuk had told her to text him only when urgent matters arose—but could she really limit herself like that?
“I’ve been sending him messages every day, telling him to stay strong and that I’m worried… even though he never replies. But still, he’ll notice me and realize how important I am to him, even from afar in New York.”
Ruby typed and sent:
“Team leader, how are you doing? I miss you so much. Are you eating properly in New York? Without you here, the management support team feels emptyㅠㅠ We’re eagerly waiting for your return!”
Her heart pounded as she hit send. She glanced toward the copy room.
“Seola must still be copying, right? I’ll make her do a few more chores today. Then she’ll stay late, and when the team leader returns from his business trip, she’ll have no choice but to hand in her resignation as a gift. How perfect would that be?”
Ruby giggled quietly to herself.
After lunch, in the middle of the afternoon work hours, the only sounds were keyboards clacking and mice clicking. Suddenly, Jungwook peeked out from between the partitions.
He approached Ran-jung, who was sitting next to Ruby, asking for help with work.
“Deputy Choi, could you send me the project sample survey and feedback compilation you showed me earlier? I need to check it now.”
Ran-jung exchanged a glance with Ruby and boldly replied,
“I can’t give it to you right now.”
“What? Didn’t you have it a few days ago?”
“Unfortunately, my computer has too many files now, so finding it would take a long time. Can you wait?”
“How long?”
“Well, I’d have to look. I’m really sorry.”
Ran-jung furrowed her brows, gave an apologetic expression, and returned her gaze to the monitor.
“I need it by the end of today. Can you manage that?”
“If it’s urgent, maybe you could request it from another department? I have too much work, and wasting time looking for it would be hard for me. I’m sorry.”
Though her words were apologetic, Ran-jung was clearly being uncooperative.
Ruby quietly lowered her head, trying not to laugh at Ran-jung’s expression.
Jungwook pursed his lips and exhaled softly.
“So Deputy Choi usually organizes data really poorly, huh?”
“Huh?”
“Never mind—forget I said anything.”
With a playful gesture, he moved on. Ran-jung was left confused, wondering what Jungwook had meant. Ruby didn’t catch it either.
Ignoring their whispers, Jungwook exhaled and sat back down. Tilting his head slightly, he smirked, seemingly intrigued.
‘Huh. I feel like I’m getting excluded along with Seola.’
Having always been the center of female attention, this was the first time Jungwook had experienced being ignored by women.
‘Interesting… fun, actually.’
By nature, he would have liked to twist the ringleader around and publicly expose the workplace bullying—but since Seola didn’t want that, he had to restrain himself.
He also didn’t want to isolate her to the point where she would rely only on him.
So, Jungwook remained in a state of confusion, both over the situation and his own feelings. Living as an outcast with her didn’t seem so bad after all.
Shrugging, he began working on other tasks, leaving Ran-jung’s deliberate obstruction behind.
Seola decided to try.
She didn’t know why the other female employees were keeping their distance, but maybe if she made an effort, they would warm up to her.
She decided to bring snacks from home like Ruby did, sharing them with the team.
Since many teammates skipped breakfast, she made sandwiches for them to eat in the morning when they were hungry.
She carefully prepared grilled bread with ham, egg, cheese, and lettuce, wrapping them individually to hand out.
“I’m not very skilled, but please enjoy.”
“Oh—did you make this, Seola? Looks delicious! Thanks!”
The male colleagues, including Jungwook, were pleased—they could snack while working in the morning.
However, the female employees couldn’t hide their expressions.
Especially Ruby, who initially looked incredulous, then sneered.
‘So funny. She’s making this to win me over? How fake…’
Unaware of this, Seola felt proud seeing the male employees enjoy the sandwiches she had gotten up early to make. She hoped the female employees would enjoy them too, and her heart swelled with anticipation.
