Episode 5
As soon as she arrived at work, the office was already buzzing with noise.
“Putting something like that on the company board was way too much.”
From the moment she stepped into the lobby, Jae-yi met countless glances whispering behind her back.
She paused, puzzled by the sudden shift in atmosphere.
*What’s going on?*
Before she could even sit down, Deputy Manager Han Su-bin pulled her chair over and looked at her.
“Jae-yi.”
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Did you… by any chance… post something on the company’s anonymous board?”
“A post? What kind of post?”
Jae-yi stared back, genuinely clueless. Su-bin grabbed her wrist gently and urged her to sit down.
Her face said it all — she really didn’t know anything.
Su-bin quickly opened the \ and brought up a post from the night before.
“Look at this, Jae-yi.”
Title: I Accuse ‘Her’.
“This one right here.”
She clicked into the post with the mouse.
「 Hello. It took me a long time and a lot of courage to write this.
Ever since I joined the company, someone on my team has constantly belittled and mocked me.
At the team-building retreat, I even overheard them talking behind my back.
Because of it, I’ve suffered insomnia every night — I’ve even had to seek psychiatric help.
Honestly, I just want that person to resign. To disappear from my sight. 」
Jae-yi’s heart pounded so hard, it felt like it might burst from her chest.
“How does it feel reading it? Honestly, the moment I saw it, I wondered if you wrote it.”
“…It really does sound like I did.”
“Right? That’s why everyone’s going nuts over it, even though it’s anonymous. They all think it’s you.”
To anyone reading, the writer *had* to be Han Jae-yi.
*Why would someone post this?*
*Who would do something like this…?*
Jae-yi’s fingertips began to tremble.
Lately, she had grown closer with Deputy Han Su-bin — and now Su-bin looked at her with deep concern.
“This blew up the office this morning. And really, it’s been a whole month already. Why is this popping up now… Oh god, Deputy Park.”
Su-bin’s gaze shot forward, and Jae-yi followed it.
Park Min-ju stood there, her eyes bloodshot. Her shoulders were shaking.
“My apology… really meant nothing to you? I said I was sorry! I promised I wouldn’t do it again!”
Su-bin jumped up to stop her, but Min-ju’s voice, full of rage, shook the entire office.
“Why bring it up now, after a month! I said I’d keep quiet and stay out of the way — how could you target me like this!”
Startled by her outburst, several employees who had just arrived turned their heads to watch.
Jae-yi stood up and spoke.
“You’re misunderstanding, Deputy.”
“Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding? You wrote that anonymous post, didn’t you? You called me out directly, didn’t you!”
“I… didn’t. Why would I write something like that?”
No matter how many times she denied it, Min-ju’s face flushed red as she kept going.
“Because of that post, I lost my promotion! Why bring up the past? How am I supposed to show my face around here now? Because of you, Han Jae-yi—!”
*Thud.*
“Deputy Park!”
“Ma’am!”
Unable to contain her fury, Park Min-ju collapsed on the spot. Su-bin and Jae-yi rushed to catch her.
Rumors spread fast across the company.
The story twisted, grew worse, and spun completely out of control — until it became something Jae-yi could no longer manage.
The worst part? Even other employees now whispered about her in the halls.
She had eaten in such a rush, conscious of every glance, that indigestion started to creep in.
Jae-yi pressed a hand to her chest and took a deep, strained breath.
“Haah…”
It had already been two weeks. And still, people were talking about her like she was gossip fodder.
Standing by the vending machine, she tapped her card and pushed a button.
*Clunk* — with a heavy sound, the bottle of water dropped down. She bent down to retrieve it.
“There she is. The one by the vending machine.”
“Seriously, this is insane. If someone apologizes, just accept it. Did she really have to go that far and bleed the girl dry?”
“Right? I heard Park Min-ju hasn’t been able to come to work for days. There’s even talk she’s gone mute from the stress.”
The same story trickled again from nearby voices.
Jae-yi pressed her small hand to her chest, her brows furrowing.
“Looks like Han Jae-yi’s not doing well.”
From the upper floor balcony, Cha Geon-hak leaned against the railing and stared at her.
Behind him, Kim Do-yoon updated him on the situation — ever since the retreat, it was clear Geon-hak had taken an unusual interest in her.
Do-yoon made a habit of reporting her daily happenings. Just in case it was needed.
He had worried he might be overstepping, but Geon-hak never seemed to mind.
“She’s really having a hard time with those rumors about Deputy Park.”
“Yeah. Her face says it all. Poor thing.”
With his chin in hand, Geon-hak continued to silently watch her.
Sitting on the emergency stairwell, Jae-yi stared down at the resignation letter in her hands.
“Haah…”
She still had debt and loans piled high.
Her chest throbbed again. She clutched it with one hand and opened her water bottle with the other.
*Crack.* The lid came off. She pulled out a pack of medication from her pocket, ripped it open, and downed the pills with a gulp of water.
The doctor had diagnosed her with stress-induced gastritis. On some days, she couldn’t even breathe.
“Feels worse today than usual.”
She checked her wristwatch.
12:50 PM. Lunchtime.
The emergency stairs were the one place she could breathe, away from prying eyes.
She had tried hiding in the women’s restroom, on the rooftop, even the break room — but nowhere was as safe as here.
*Don’t fall apart now, Han Jae-yi.*
*You’ve come too far.*
*Just three more months. If I hang in there, this will pass.*
Just like always.
Her eyes burned as she comforted herself, and she clenched her fist tightly to fight off the tears.
*This is nothing. Compared to what happened six years ago… I can handle this.*
She pulled out her phone and checked her messages. There were several exchanges with the security team.
Still, there were no leads on who had written the post.
She had even posted a correction herself, and pleaded with security to trace the author — but it had all been in vain.
Jae-yi stood up from the stairs.
As she walked out, she folded the resignation letter in half.
Eyes fixed on the ground, her steps suddenly halted.
A pair of black straight-tip shoes blocked her path.
Her gaze slowly lifted.
“….”
“You don’t look well. Are you okay?”
It was Cha Geon-hak. And that kind voice—she bit her lip hard to hold back the tears.
She bowed her head.
“Thank you for your concern… Director. I’m fine.”
She looked anything but fine. Geon-hak hesitated before replying.
“…I see.”
“Then, I’ll be going now.”
She bowed again and turned to leave—tucking the envelope into her pocket.
*Thud.*
The resignation letter slipped from her hand and fell to the floor.
Geon-hak’s eyes landed on the white envelope.
She bent down quickly, but his hand was faster.
Ah…
He picked it up before she could reach it.
Three large characters were neatly written across the front:
Resignation Letter.
The crisp handwriting somehow reflected her personality. Geon-hak’s brow furrowed deeply.
*How is it that just seeing this word pisses me off so much?*
When other executives handed him resignation letters, he accepted them gladly. But this—this was completely different.
*Why… is she resigning?*
*Was it really that hard? Was she really in that much pain?*
“What’s this? Your resignation?”
“No, sir. Please, give it back…”
She moved quickly to take it, but he held it just out of reach.
“If I give this back… you really plan to resign?”
He looked strangely angry. For some reason, that scared her.
*Did I do something wrong again?*
*But I don’t even know why he’s mad this time…*
“I’ll take care of this.”
*Take care?* Did he mean… accept it?
*No—I can’t. I need this job. I can’t leave like this.*
“I think you’ve misunderstood… Director.”
His brow twitched.
“Misunderstood? Isn’t this your handwriting?”
“It is. But I didn’t mean to actually—”
He stepped closer. She went quiet.
Being that close to him, her eyes trembled slightly.
“You shouldn’t even think about quitting. I won’t allow it.”
“…Pardon?”
“Don’t quit, Han Jae-yi.”
Her eyes widened—as if she’d never planned to resign in the first place.
Ah, damn it. I overreacted.
“I… I feel the same. I don’t want to quit either.”
He looked straight at her. Her shoulders trembled faintly.
“People say I’ve ruined the company’s image…”
“Who says that? I don’t. I don’t think that at all.”
“….”
“We need people like you—who work quietly and do their best. That’s more than enough.”
Her heart swelled with emotion. As always, he gave her strength.
She bowed deeply.
“Thank you, Director…”
As she walked away, Geon-hak watched her retreating back.
“Haah. There I go again.”
He couldn’t bear to watch her leave. He didn’t want to.
Still staring at where she disappeared, he tucked the resignation letter into the inside pocket of his suit.
Then pulled out his phone.
A few short beeps, and Do-yoon answered.
— Yes, Director?
“Secretary Kim. Find out *right now* who posted that message on the company board.”
Episode End..
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