MS Ch 9 part 1

Her workplace was turned upside-down.

It was all due to the hidden camera incident that occurred in the female employees’ locker room. In fact, an investigation discovered that two or three tiny cameras were installed in every female employees’ locker room in the hotel, and the spark spread into an uncontrollable fire.

If the hidden cameras had been found first, people would have been desperate to find the culprit behind it. However, the culprit was clearly revealed from the very beginning.

The short video that was posted on the company bulletin board.

Because the video was posted anonymously, it was impossible to find out who was behind it. However, due to the employees’ fury and shock, no one found that aspect important.

‘I mean, who knew someone with such a kind face could do something like that?’

‘How could we have known? When he worked in the F/O department, he always received high scores on his performance reviews.’

‘Isn’t that even more creepy? How could he do such a thing with a straight face…’

There was no need for further internal investigations.

This was because Lim Kyujin admitted his crime as soon as the video was leaked. He was fired immediately without much fuss. However, due to the criminal nature of the hidden camera incident, the staff members who remained could not shake off the awkward discomfort.

But more than anyone, Euncho was the most disturbed.

The silence at the cafe still lingered in her nightmares. The way Lim Kyujin’s face hardened as soon as he saw the video with his own eyes. The way he desperately held onto Euncho’s arm and clung on as he begged her to listen to what he had to say.

Euncho shook him off and immediately ran out of the cafe. She frantically got into a taxi and sped off.

Just in case, she called Ahjussi on her way home and asked him to come out and wait for her. Even though she was in a taxi, she was afraid Lim Kyujin might have followed her home.

Lim Kyujin did not follow Euncho after all. As she got into the taxi, she heard his shrill voice shouting out her name, and it made her feel especially anxious and flustered. Thankfully, nothing came of it.

The video that was posted on the company bulletin board was deleted within a day.

However, people had already saved it onto their devices, and it was spreading like wildfire in the group messenger chat rooms. The hospitality management world was quite small. It wouldn’t be long before the news spread to other hotel workers through these networks.

Nobody knew who posted the video on the bulletin board. Nobody except Euncho. She had a feeling she might be the only one who could figure out the poster’s identity.

‘You’ll find out soon enough.’

Is this what he meant?

Then how long has Ki Taeju known about this?

As of now, Ki Taeju was only a source of confusion in her life.

Her thoughts were scattered. She felt ashamed of herself for maintaining a brief, superficial relationship with such a dark person like Lim Kyujin. In the midst of all this, she was worried that she might have been recorded on one of the hidden cameras that he had installed.

Her heart could not find any peace.

Suddenly, a red light flashed.

It was a call from the executive room.

Euncho got up from her chair and looked around before heading to the room.

“Is there a problem, ma’am?”

The reason why she was able to enter the room directly was because she knew that Ki Taeju had left early in the morning.

As expected, Kang Seora was alone in the room.

Ki Taeju had never sent out a call to Euncho. It was always the woman who called her over.

Kang Seora was draped across a cozy wing chair and waved her hand to Euncho, telling her to come closer.

“You aren’t busy, right?”

Kang Seora’s question was more like a statement than an actual question. She stretched out her hand.

“Paint some nail polish for me.”

Do you think a desk clerk is your slave…

Even though Euncho didn’t think it would be the case, she found it laughable that she had been briefly worried that something urgent had come up. She stood still for a moment before shrugging off the absurdity that bubbled up from deep inside.

Yeah, it’s better to keep busy anyway.

With the way she felt right now, it might be better to force herself to move around than to sit still. Sitting down would only cause her head to grow heavy with more thoughts.

Thankfully, Euncho already had experience painting nails thanks to her time with Heejin. After excusing herself, Euncho cautiously sat down across from Kang Seora.

“Paint this and this red and this and this white.”

Kang Seora designated the colors for each of her fingers and handed Euncho the nail polish. It was a bold red that seemed to suit her. Euncho opened the cap of the nail polish and began to apply it carefully and meticulously.

The scent of polish made her feel nostalgic.

Heejin-unnie, who didn’t really care for makeup, enjoyed painting her nails as her only hobby. She often painted Euncho’s nails as well because Euncho once had a habit of biting her nails.

‘My Euncho’s cute fingernails are all ruined. If I apply this every now and then, maybe they’ll be fixed.’

She claimed that it would correct Euncho’s habit, so whenever she returned from work, she’d apply the nail polish without fail, even when she was very tired. Thanks to her efforts, Euncho’s nails were now smooth and round without any jagged edges.

It had always been like this.

Every single part of Euncho’s daily life held traces of Heejin. Her heart would ache whenever another memory came to mind.

“It seems that your boyfriend is very busy these days.”

Euncho didn’t want to think about Heejin in front of this person and become gloomy, so she blurted out whatever else came to mind.

Euncho immediately regretted it as soon as it left her mouth. Why did she have to bring up Ki Taeju? Did she subconsciously want to delve deeper into the details of their relationship?

Are they really dating? If so, how long have they been together? How deep were their affections for each other?

“Boyfriend?”

Kang Seora furrowed her brows as she struggled to pull a cigarette out of the pack with one hand. After a while, she let out a listless ‘ah’ as she bit down on her cigarette.

“You mean Taeju-oppa?”

Her answering question was followed by a muffled laugh.

“Do we look like we’re dating to you?”

The question held a lot of meaning.

Euncho didn’t know what she meant by this, so she merely gave her a pleasant smile and carefully added more.

“Am I mistaken?”

Kang Seora looked closely at Euncho before bursting out laughing. Euncho felt a bit upset because it felt like she was laughing at her.

“Well, it doesn’t sound bad, but it’s not a good fit.”

Even the words that followed her strange laugh felt out of place.

What was she talking about?

Personality? Was she talking about their personalities? Euncho was surprised by her candid reply. She wondered if she was really talking about their personality differences, but she didn’t really feel like asking more.

“Taeju-oppa is too meticulous.”

Kang Seora picked up her lighter and turned the wheel. Euncho thought about stopping her because smoking was prohibited in the rooms, but she felt that if she stopped her now, she’d cease talking about Ki Taeju. Therefore, she kept quiet and let her continue.

“People do need to be a little more careful from time to time, but he’s too, mm, cautious… Sometimes, he’s so cautious that he doesn’t seem like he’s someone from this world. It makes it even more scary. That’s why more than a few guys have become useless.”

“……”

“In this respect, Ki Cheonju was a lot more comfortable.”

“Ki Cheonju?”

“Yeah. Taeju-oppa’s oppa.”

This was the first time Euncho had heard this. Ki Taeju had an older brother. But what did she mean when she said she preferred Ki Taeju’s hyung? What… was this woman? Was she in the middle of these two brothers?

“I’ve been curious about this for a while, but do you wear contact lenses?”

As Euncho quietly thought to herself, Kang Seora suddenly asked a question.

“Contacts? I don’t wear any.”

“Really?”

Kang Seora seemed surprised as she stared directly into Euncho’s eyes.

“Your eyes are quite unique.”

“Really?”

“You’re not crying, are you?”

Euncho chuckled and answered, ‘No’. Whenever people saw her eyes, they’d ask her this question from time to time. She was already used to hearing it.

When was the first time she’d noticed it?

‘Again, those eyes.’

‘It kinda looks like you’re going to cry.’

‘Yeah. As if you’re close to tears.’

Ah, that’s right.

It was the first time she had sex with Ki Taeju. 

“Why are you working here?”

Euncho wanted to turn the topic of this conversation back to Ki Taeju, but Kang Seora didn’t seem to have any intention of doing so. Instead, she seemed completely focused on Euncho, who was right in front of her. This time, she began to provoke her in an unexpectedly different way.

“Pardon?”

“With a pretty face like yours, you’d be perfect as a celebrity.”

Kang Seora looked down at her other hand that was not under Euncho’s care. Euncho wasn’t sure if she was giving her a compliment or otherwise. For now, Euncho couldn’t deny that she was complimenting her appearance, so she reflexively opened her mouth to respond.

“Ah, thank you.”

“Are you interested? There are quite a few old folks who are desperate to sponsor pretty little things like you.”

Euncho was genuinely curious about who Kang Seora was. Everything she said sounded strange and obscene.

As Euncho blinked quietly, a memory suddenly came to mind. The powder she had discovered while cleaning the table in the living room. Ki Taeju washing her fingers after they touched it. As soon as she recalled this, her mouth parted. She had no control over her reaction.

“No, I like the work I’m doing now.”

“Since you were born with a pretty face, you should make use of it. It’s a shame to waste it.”

Euncho merely laughed at her chatter.

Kang Seora continued to talk as she kept her hand in Euncho’s care. Suddenly, she froze.

“Hey, what the hell?”

“Pardon?”

“I told you I wanted this one to be red!”

Before Euncho could say anything, her face snapped back as a smack rang in the air. It was only after her vision blurred that Euncho realized she had been slapped.

Did she just… slap me?

Euncho was dumbfounded. After a few moments, her face flushed as she barely managed to compose herself.

“F*ck, I don’t like this.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am.”

“Whatever. Just go away. It’s my fault for thinking I didn’t have time to go to a nail salon and leaving it to someone else.”

When she saw how Kang Seora’s mood seemed to change at the drop of a hat, Euncho quickly got out of her seat and exited the room. As she closed the door behind her, her mood instantly sank.

A feeble laugh escaped her lips.

Do I deserve to be treated like this?

There were many times when her pride and self-esteem were mercilessly trampled while working in the service industry. She had managed to endure it all until now, so why did her resolve suddenly collapse?

It was because Kang Seora was Ki Taeju’s girlfriend.

It was an unbearable humiliation to be treated so poorly by the girlfriend of a man she once had feelings for.

Why me?

Why do I have to be hit by Kang Seora?

She tried to soothe her feelings with a sigh as she reached the desk, but it didn’t work. She pulled out the mirror from the desk drawer and examined her cheek. There was a thin, long scratch that looked like it was about to bleed. It must have been left by one of Kang Seora’s sharp nails.

It didn’t seem like a big deal to Euncho, but the problem was how it would be perceived by others.

This job cared a lot about appearances, so there were strict rules surrounding it. Even though Euncho only worked at the EFL, if one of her superiors saw her, they would reprimand her.

With that in mind, Euncho rummaged through the desk. However, a first aid kit was nowhere to be seen. She hesitated for a moment before walking to the elevator and pressing the button. She needed to get some medicine and bandages.

“…D*mn it.”

She tried to hold it in, but a soft curse left her mouth due to the injustice she felt.

It really pisses me off. You could have just cursed me out instead. Why did you have to hit me? Who do you think you are?

The sting on her cheek did not go away, and her mood grew even more gloomy.

Suddenly, the elevator let out a ding to announce its arrival.

Euncho thought it would be empty, but someone was inside.

Who else could it be?

It was Ki Taeju.

Euncho immediately looked away. She didn’t want to see him right now. She was about to give him a formal bow and pass by him when her wrist was suddenly snatched.

“Why are you crying?”

Tears had welled up in her eyes, but she thought she’d hidden it well.

But that wasn’t the case. Her vision glimmered as if her eyes were immersed in water. Ki Taeju turned Euncho around. His brow furrowed.

His other hand came up and grabbed Euncho’s chin.

“And why does your face look like this?”

“It’s none of your business.”

Euncho snatched her arm back and got inside the elevator.

Before pressing the button to close the doors, she wiped her eyes with her arm. She glared at him through her tears.

If you really think about it, this is all your fault. Why did you show up in front of me again? Why did you bring that woman here? Why did you put me in charge of the VIP? Why are you making me suffer like this?

“…I hate you the most.”

She was disappointed that all she could do was pack all the sorrow she felt into a single sentence.

The elevator doors finally closed.

The first aid kit was at the front desk in the lobby.

“Oh my god. In the end, she got physically violent?”

“I heard she had a nasty temper. I knew she’d do something like this in the end.”

“I’m so sorry, Euncho-ssi. It must have hurt.”

Euncho applied the medicine to her cheek and put a bandage on it as she was comforted by the staff who were stationed at the front desk.

She knew she should go back up to the EFL right away, but she didn’t want to, so she stayed at the front desk and murmured with the staff.

It was almost time for a shift change, so she planned on going back up once that time came. She didn’t feel like she could force a smile on her face when she was in such a poor mood.

She might have felt the need to go back if Kang Seora was alone, but now that Ki Taeju was back, she felt that it would be okay to slack off for a bit. This was because Euncho never received a call whenever Ki Taeju was in residence.

She began to worry about the argument she had with Ki Taeju in the elevator. She felt uneasy as if she’d taken out her anger on someone that didn’t even know what was going on. But this wouldn’t have even happened if she hadn’t been charged with taking care of Kang Seora in the first place. If she had to overlook this out of consideration for Ki Taeju, who would take care of her feelings?

“Aigoo, Euncho-ssi. Don’t cry.”

“I’ve never seen Euncho-ssi cry before. It must have been very difficult for you lately.”

Euncho was in the middle of being consoled by the staff when…

“Huh? Euncho-ssi. What are you doing here?”

The staff from the next shift had arrived.

They seemed more surprised than happy to see her, so Euncho grew confused.

“Why do you ask?”

“No, it’s just that the back lot is in complete chaos right now. An ambulance just arrived… I think it was for the EFL guest.”

“What?”

The news hit her like a bolt of lightning.

Euncho haphazardly bid them farewell before rushing to the back parking lot. There really was an ambulance there. Thankfully, a crowd hadn’t gathered because the security team was controlling the situation.

Her feet automatically approached the ambulance.

‘I think it was the EFL guest.’

Her colleague’s words clouded her mind. Euncho grabbed the ambulance handle to check inside.

A hand popped out and grabbed Euncho’s arm.

“Who are you?”

The face seemed familiar.

A moment later, Euncho realized who he was. He was the secretary that had been by Ki Taeju’s side.

“I am the employee in charge of the EFL.”

“Ah, really? An accident occurred a little while ago. We’ve taken care of it, so there is no need for you to intervene.”

Something felt strange. It was as if he were drawing a line and telling her not to go any further. She felt this even more because his hand was still on her arm.

Euncho let go of the ambulance handle and looked back at the secretary.

“Is it Kang Seora-ssi?”

“Pardon?”

“The person inside. Is it Miss Kang Seora?”

The secretary looked uncomfortable.

His expression reminded Euncho of an old memory.

Seven years ago at the villa. The police siren that made her eyes ache. The commotion as people gathered. The bright red ice cream dripping down at her feet.

‘Are you this person’s family?’

‘I cannot tell you.’

His attitude was very similar to the policeman who had taken Heejin-unnie’s body away. All of Euncho’s thoughts came to a screeching halt.

The secretary gave a shoddy excuse and quickly left. Feeling like she didn’t belong here, Euncho had no choice but to return to the EFL.

Considering the fact that an ambulance had been called due to something that had occurred here, the lounge was incredibly quiet and calm. Euncho was walking to the desk when she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

There was something on the dark, shadowy floor.

It was a drop of blood.

Euncho flinched. She pounded her chest with her clenched fist. She suddenly felt as if she couldn’t breathe. This uncomfortable feeling began when she had seen the secretary make that strange face.

Even though she didn’t want to, even though it was difficult, she recalled Heejin-unnie’s death.

Thinking about Heejin-unnie’s death led to other thoughts. She recalled the cowardly figures who were busy leaving the villa, trampling on others’ despair.

Euncho was one of them.

The unusual place that became a sauna in the summer and a freezer in the winter. She felt like she was leaving Heejin-unnie behind and escaping on her own, so she couldn’t bear to move her feet. Even though Euncho knew her mother was worried, she stubbornly begged her to postpone the move…

The feelings remained even after they moved away.

No one claimed Heejin-unnie’s body and her funeral arrangements were left to the government. Euncho wanted to arrange a proper funeral and set up a small funeral parlor for Heejin, but just like what she was told during the investigation, the authorities told her that the body could only be released to family members who were on her family registry.

Ultimately, Heejn-unnie didn’t even have a wake, and she returned to the earth in the most lonely way without anyone knowing about her death.

Even after she moved away, Euncho would return to the villa on the anniversary of Heejin’s death. However, one by one, the residents of the villa left due to Heejin’s eerie death, and the villa became abandoned. Soon, it was designated as a redevelopment area, and the building itself was torn down.

The land was completely empty now. It held nothing but unforgettable memories.

Beep, beep, beep.

Eunch flinched when she heard the phone ring. When she realized it was the desk phone, she walked over to it.

“Yes?”

— Euncho-ssi, someone from Daewoon Enterprise is here to see you. He said he has some business regarding the EFL, so I think you need to give him access to the elevator.

Daewoon Enterprise?

She grew lost in thought for a moment and quickly came back to her senses. It was the same company where Ki Taeju was the executive director. Euncho answered back and told them she understood before connecting the master key to the elevator.

The man appeared a moment later and approached the desk. He was wearing silver-rimmed glasses and looked intelligent.

“Nice to meet you. I’m an in-house lawyer from Daewoo’s legal team.”

The man took a business card out of his pocket and handed it to Euncho.

“As you may have heard, there was an accident here today.”

Euncho, who was examining the business card in her hand, slowly looked up at the man.

“Was the accident serious enough to require an ambulance?”

The man gave her a faint smile and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“Not at all. Kang Seora-ssi needlessly called emergency services and made the incident bigger than it needed to be. As you know, protocol requires us to declare any report that is filed.”

The man spoke as if it wasn’t a big deal, but Euncho knew this wasn’t the case.

Do in-house lawyers usually move this quickly when the situation isn’t very serious?

“I came here because of the CCTV.”

“CCTV?”

“I checked with the desk clerks, and they said there’s a separate CCTV installed on this floor.”

“Ah, yes. I believe there’s one in the lounge.”

“I would like a copy of that footage.”

The man held up a rectangular USB drive.

“Could you do me this favor?”

After a brief farewell, the man disappeared like the wind. Now alone, Euncho dazedly crumpled the edges of the business card in her hand and sat down in her chair.

It was obvious why the lawyer had intervened. He probably wanted to take preemptive action now before things got out of hand.

But wasn’t this even more proof?

Who would Daewoon protect to this extent?

It was Ki Taeju.

Then what did Ki Taeju do to Kang Seora?

Euncho shook her head. Thinking about this wouldn’t lead her to any conclusions, so she went back to work.

Because the floor had been closed for a while before reopening, she had completely forgotten about the existence of the CCTV.

Although the desk on this floor was not operational, the entire floor was connected, so as long as the computer room was operational, everything else would also automatically operate as well. This meant that today’s events would also have been captured on the surveillance camera.

Euncho transferred the specific video files to the USB by searching the timestamp.

The footage stored on the CCTV was encrypted as soon as it was recorded, so it required a password to view its contents. Judging from what that man said about speaking with the desk clerks, he didn’t seem too worried about this.

‘What should I do with the original files after copying them over?’

‘Please destroy them.’

Euncho recalled what the lawyer told her before he left.

After dragging the files into the USB folder, she clicked on the files. The word [Delete] appeared on the screen.

Euncho hesitated. Her finger gently tapped on the mouse as she pondered what to do. A few moments later, she took her hand off the mouse and picked up her cell phone that was sitting on the desk by her side.

“Yes, Hyunji-ssi. It’s me. Remember that time when we were told by the supervisor to urgently check the CCTV footage? The IT department gave us the password back then… Do you remember it?”

There were many factors at play. Hyunji could have forgotten the password or the IT department could have changed the password by now.

For now, Euncho passed the first hurdle. One by one, the letters were delivered through the phone’s receiver. Euncho carefully pressed each key on the keyboard. After she pressed ‘Enter’, a screen showing the lounge appeared on the monitor. It seemed that the second hurdle was nonexistent.

Euncho thanked Hyunji and ended the call as she gazed at the monitor with a troubled expression.

She gulped and clicked the mouse.

The incident that occurred during the forty minutes Euncho was gone began to play out before her eyes.