Episode 39 – Workplace Manager Authority

,Sigh…

Hye-ri spent the entire day sending KakaoTalk messages and messenger pings to Choi Hyun-min, but he read them all and ignored her. She didn’t do any of her assigned work, just glared at the monitor.

‘He’s the one who hit on me first.’

A few meals, one movie. It was a crucial time to move from the ‘some’ stage to a real relationship. Hye-ri was even thinking of allowing some light skinship, but Hyun-min’s unilateral indifference made her hands and feet tremble.

Was it because she’d always just received attention from men? Hye-ri had never imagined her messages being ignored like this.

‘So, that’s how you’re gonna play it, huh?’

Hyun-min’s indifference only made Hye-ri more stubborn. It would have been a passing event she’d have coolly brushed off in the past, but the [Affection] for Hyun-min, amplified by the work system, made her clingy. She was different from her usual self, but Hye-ri didn’t realize it.

“Oh? Hye-ri-ssi, aren’t you leaving work?”

Usually, she’d be turning off her PC and getting ready to leave from 5:50 PM, so her teammates were puzzled to see her still there after 6 PM and threw her a question each.

“Ah… I’m going to leave with a friend from another department today.”

“Oh, really? I’ll head out first.”

One by one, the department members left, but Hye-ri remained rooted to her spot. Hyun-woo, seeing her like that from the next desk, roughly understood what was going on.

‘Choi Hyun-min must be working late.’

Searching the messenger, Hyun-min was indeed still logged in. It was perhaps natural that Kim Hye-ri, the one who was feeling the need, was waiting for him.

‘Keu keu, well, good luck with that.’

“Hye-ri-ssi, I’ll head out first too. See you tomorrow.”

“Okay, Lee Assistant Manager-nim, go ahead.”

Kim Hye-ri stared intently at the monitor, then smiled and greeted Hyun-woo. The eye-smile she habitually made might flutter the hearts of many men, but it was a useless flirtation to Hyun-woo, who knew her true nature.

Had it been an hour or two since all the department members had left?

‘Oh? Looks like he’s leaving now.’

It was almost 9 PM when Choi Hyun-min’s messenger logged out. Hye-ri left the office as if she had been waiting for it. And finally, she encountered Choi Hyun-min in the first-floor lobby as he was leaving work.

“Choi Chief-nim!”

“…Ah, Hye-ri-ssi.”

Normally, Hyun-min would have tried to seduce Hye-ri, whom he’d coincidentally met, and take her out for drinks, but he didn’t have the energy now. His head was filled only with leaving work after being tormented by work all day, even working overtime.

“Why are you leaving work so late?”

“I’ve been having a lot of work lately… What about you, Hye-ri-ssi?”

“I just ended up that way too, hehe.”

“Ah, Choi Chief-nim, have you had dinner? You must be hungry, right? Me too!! You treated me to a movie and dinner last time, so I’ll treat you to dinner today!”

Hye-ri said it as if she was doing him a favor. But even though she said she’d buy dinner first, Hyun-min’s expression didn’t change much.

“Ah, I’m so sorry, what should I do? I ate something simple while working earlier. Let’s have dinner next time. Us.”

Hyun-min’s rejection was unexpected. But Kim Hye-ri didn’t give up.

“You ate already… Then, can you give me a ride home? You said you’d show me your car last time.”

Hyun-min had subtly bragged about his foreign car to look good to Hye-ri.

‘Surely he’ll give me a ride since it’s so late.’

‘Haa… this is such a pain in the ass. If I take her, it’ll be another 30 minutes to go back.’

Hyun-min’s condition was at its worst, having been tormented by the newly received system for days.

Kim Hye-ri’s [Affection] – Decrease Activated

The [Affection] that Hyun-woo had decreased also played a part, and eventually.

“Hoo… Hye-ri-ssi, I’m really tired. I’ll go first today.”

Hyun-min coldly rejected Hye-ri. Hye-ri’s expression, who had been looking at Hyun-min with charming eyes like Puss in Boots, instantly turned cold. Regardless, Hyun-min turned around and strode away from her.

“O-oh… Lee… Lee Assistant Manager-nim. Lee Assistant Manager-nim!!!”

Kim Hye-ri’s plaintive voice echoed inside the building where all the employees had left.

* * *

There’s no tree that won’t fall after ten chops. That’s what Kim Hye-ri thought. Since she was young, she had always made anyone she wanted her own.

At first, it was bewilderment. He was a pretty decent guy, and at first, he approached her as actively as other men. But the moment she thought, ‘Shall I try to advance the relationship a little?’ Hyun-min suddenly changed 180 degrees.

She even abandoned her pride and desperately clung to him, but the more she did, the more indifferent Hyun-min’s attitude became.

“Ha… please stop contacting me. And I’ve blocked you.”

Choi Hyun-min’s annoyance, which he had been holding back, finally exploded. The gift she had painstakingly prepared lay scattered on the floor. Hye-ri glared at Hyun-min, who was walking away, with sadness, anger, and shame.

She already knew. The exciting movie theater date and the messages they exchanged. She couldn’t feel the [Affection] she had felt then. Yes. This is [Obsession]. She knew it, but she couldn’t control her feelings.

* * *

“Hey, Lee Hyun-woo.”

“What?”

“There’s a damn pretty intern in your team.”

“Kim Hye-ri? But why?”

“Does she have a problem with her personality or something?”

“Um… there’s no problem with her personality, but she’s a useless piece of trash who doesn’t do her job.”

Jae-hoon, whom he met in the smoking room, suddenly asked about Kim Hye-ri.

“You know, right? That Hye-ri-ssi likes that trashy bastard in our team?”

“Hey, I told you that before. And is there anyone in the company who doesn’t know that these days? Even elementary schoolers would know.”

“Seriously, is Choi Hyun-min a eunuch or something? If it were me, I would have nom nom nom eaten her deliciously. Better than ginseng, better than wild ginseng, twenty years old~ twenty years old!”

“You crazy bastard… leave him alone. He says he doesn’t like her.”

“Haa… there are so many guys who are too good for their own good. Hey. Let’s have a meal with Hye-ri-ssi. I can treat her better than that idiot Choi Hyun-min.”

“Keu keu keu, hey, don’t even mention it. She’s totally depressed these days because of Choi Hyun-min.”

Without any conscience, Hyun-woo replied nonchalantly to Jae-hoon. As Jae-hoon said, Hye-ri’s advances were so aggressive that it was a hot issue that no employee in the company didn’t know about these days.

“You’re no help at all.”

“I’m up to my neck in it. I’m going in.”

Returning to his seat, Hyun-woo activated the work system on his smartphone.

[User: Kim Hye-ri]

[Age: 20] [Height: 161cm] [Weight: 46kg]

[Stamina: 9/10] [Charm: 8(+1)/10] [Lust: 3/10] [Mental: 1(-7)/10]

[Satisfaction: Locked] [Affection: Locked]

[Psychological Message]

[Annoyance] about the internship – Decrease Activated

[Obsession] with Choi Hyun-min – Amplification Activated

[User: Choi Hyun-min] Chief

[Age: 28] [Height: 185cm] [Weight: 73kg]

[Stamina: 7/10] [Charm: 8/10] [Lust: 4(-3)/10] [Mental: 2(-6)/10]

[Psychological Message]

[Annoyance] about managing the assigned system – Amplification Activated

[Dislike] for Kim Hye-ri – Amplification Activated

Appropriate stress and the misdirected emotions of two people. A great dish was completed with just a few ingredients.

The flapping of a small butterfly’s wings, or rather, a few touches, became a typhoon and tore apart Hye-ri and Hyun-min’s relationship. Hyun-woo realized once again the greatness of the work system’s [Emotion Manipulation] with the faster-than-expected development.

In Kim Hye-ri’s case, the [Affection] for Choi Hyun-min rapidly escalated into [Obsession]. As her relationship with him grew distant, the [Excitement] about her internship also transformed into [Annoyance].

Hyun-woo decreased the [Annoyance] emotion about the internship in case Hye-ri might quit. Nevertheless, judging from Hye-ri’s expression, the lively and vibrant appearance she had at the beginning was nowhere to be found.

In Choi Hyun-min’s case, the [Affection] for Hye-ri was flipped to [Dislike]. In a situation where he was already overwhelmed with work, Kim Hye-ri’s frequent contacts, whom he had no interest in, created this result. Thanks to this, Hyun-min had reached the point where he frowned and avoided Kim Hye-ri even when he just met her in the hallway.

Hyun-min’s reaction completely shattered Kim Hye-ri’s confident mentality. The self-esteem she had built up until now with her appearance as a weapon was collapsing in an instant.

And now, Hyun-woo had obtained what he wanted.

When the mental state reaches the lowest level, the object of emotion can be transferred to oneself in the work system. And with a few simple touches, Hyun-woo changes the object of Kim Hye-ri’s emotion to himself.

[Obsession] with Choi Hyun-min → [Obsession] with Lee Hyun-woo

‘Still, [Obsession] is a bit scary.’

Thinking of a scene from the movie Misery, Hyun-woo quickly

[Obsession] with Lee Hyun-woo – Decrease Activated (new!)

Decreases Kim Hye-ri’s [Obsession].

‘Alright… now, the nibble is slowly…’

“Lee Assistant Manager-nim!”

‘Ah, shit, you scared me.’

As soon as he put down his smartphone, Kim Hye-ri turned her head sharply from the next seat and called out to him. Hyun-woo, startled like a thief caught in the act, tried to reply calmly.

“Wh-why? Hye-ri-ssi.”

“Let’s go eat lunch together today.”

She whispered in Hyun-woo’s ear so that other department members wouldn’t hear. Thanks to this, he could smell the subtle lavender-scented shampoo. Perhaps because she was young, the pleasant scent of her skin made him feel good even without wearing strong perfume.

‘As expected, youth is a weapon for women.’

“Sure, why not.”

Hyun-woo answered bluntly, trying to hide the corners of his mouth that were rising with a sense of victory. Hye-ri had asked him to buy her lunch several times, but she had never approached Hyun-woo so friendly like this.

Due to the manipulation of the work system, Hye-ri’s [Obsession] towards Hyun-min had now been transferred to Hyun-woo.

“Hehehe.”

Hye-ri smiled happily, even making eye smiles. He knew that smile was fake, but still

‘Well, she is kind of cute.’

Hyun-woo was melting away at her eye smile because of her beauty.

He was a little worried because of Hye-ri’s [Obsession], but the atmosphere of their lunch was better than he thought.

“Lee Assistant Manager-nim, I’ve only been getting treated all the time, so I’ll treat you next time.”

“Ah, it’s okay. I’m not going to suck the liver out of a flea, asking an intern to buy me food.”

“Hey… still, you’ve bought me a lot, and I get paid too! Don’t ignore me?”

“If you really feel sorry, buy me next time.”

“Okay~”

Had Kim Hye-ri, who was used to men’s favors, ever opened her wallet? Hyun-woo had bought her food a few times when she first joined the company, but she had never offered to buy him food first.

But Hye-ri was offering to buy him food first.

‘This must be the influence of the work system.’

Anyway, she wanted to buy him food first, so there was no reason to refuse. Hyun-woo started to focus on the spicy pork stir-fry in front of him without any other thoughts.

The problem was what happened after that.

– Woo woo woong

– Assistant Manager-nim, what are you doing?

– Lunch was so delicious today~

– When should we eat next time?

– Do you have Instagram? Let’s follow each other.

Hyun-woo’s phone was constantly vibrating like a vibrator inserted into a vagina. He had never received messages other than those from the department group chat room, so he was overwhelmed by Hye-ri’s message bombardment, which was beyond aggressive.

Hye-ri kept sending messages even after he replied simply.

‘I did decrease [Obsession], right?’

This was after decreasing [Obsession], so he shuddered just imagining what she would have done to Choi Hyun-min.

‘Still, let’s just accept it appropriately for now.’

Unilateral [Obsession] can turn into madness at any time. Hyun-woo’s own response was important to resolve Hye-ri’s [Obsession].

“Haa…”

Hyun-woo, who knew the effects of psychological manipulation through the work system, had to exchange KakaoTalk messages all day to resolve Hye-ri’s [Obsession].

As a result of exchanging several meals and endless KakaoTalk messages all night long

[User: Kim Hye-ri]

[Age: 20] [Height: 161cm] [Weight: 46kg]

[Stamina: 9/10] [Charm: 8(+1)/10] [Lust: 3/10] [Mental: 4(-4)/10]

[Satisfaction: Locked] [Affection: Locked]

[Psychological Message]

[Excitement] about the internship – new!

[Expectation] for a drama-like romance – new!

[Affection] for Lee Hyun-woo – new!

Perhaps because Hyun-woo had appropriately salvaged her mentality that had been broken by Choi Hyun-min? Fortunately, Hye-ri’s Misery-like [Obsession] had disappeared.

And the emotional void was transformed into [Affection] for Lee Hyun-woo. If Choi Hyun-min had appropriately accepted Hye-ri’s advances, he would have become the object of [Affection].

Hyun-woo had finally managed to get Kim Hye-ri into his grasp through the work system’s [Psychological Message] manipulation.