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Episode 45: This Is How You Greet Someone
The next day, I woke up late and sat at the table eating the breakfast Rizeta had prepared.
Moving my hands sluggishly, I recounted the commotion from last night and what had happened at work.
[Tsk tsk. I knew it from the moment I saw you grinning at that innocent-looking junior.]
Child's voice echoed in my head, as annoying as ever.
"If you knew, you could have warned me in advance."
[Where's the fun in that? If you can't overcome a little crisis like that, you shouldn't be a possessor at all.]
He always has something to say.
As usual, Child was busy teasing me, and Rizeta-
"There really are people in this world who harm others for their own gain. Fascinating,"
she said in an emotionless voice, spinning a kitchen knife on the table in an unfamiliar outfit.
What's with that dangerous behavior?
"Rizeta, why are you spinning that knife? It's dangerous."
"Oh, apologies. I was just trying to get used to a new skill I started learning yesterday."
"So why are you practicing something like knife handling…?"
"From my research online, it seems combat skills are also an important quality for a maid."
So that's what she was researching on the computer.
I don't know why she always gravitates toward subculture stuff.
At this rate, she'll be trying to learn time-stopping techniques next.
"And after what happened, I felt the need to train my strength to protect you, Hyunseong."
Strength, huh.
It sounded reassuring, but I wondered if that would ever actually come in handy.
What I want is a steamy, sweet sex life-not a bloody knife fight.
Well, let's set the knife aside for now.
"So, what about those clothes?"
I pointed at Rizeta's outfit.
It was a completely different style from her usual revealing, form-fitting maid uniform.
A white blouse with delicate lace at the collar, a calm navy long skirt down to her ankles, and a simple, neat apron emphasizing her waist.
"Oh, this?"
She looked down at her clothes, hesitating a moment.
"As you ordered before, I picked one of the outfits you bought me last time."
Ah, right, I had given that order.
When we shopped, I mostly just bought what the clerk recommended, so I didn't recognize it at first glance.
"How is it? Does it look awkward?"
She fidgeted with her clothes, looking a bit uneasy.
"No, it suits you really well. Honestly."
I wasn't just being polite.
Why else would I have bought her those clothes?
As I'd hoped, she pulled off a non-maid style just as perfectly as a model.
It was almost frustrating that my poor vocabulary couldn't do her beauty justice.
"I'm glad you like it, Hyunseong."
"How about you, Rizeta? Is it uncomfortable to wear?"
"It's fine. Just… it's a bit unsettling, I suppose?"
She wasn't used to anything but maid uniforms, so she fiddled with her sleeves awkwardly, which only made her look more charming.
[So?]
I was momentarily mesmerized by Rizeta's new look when Child spoke up again.
[So, what's your plan? A satisfying revenge?]
A plan…
I glanced at my phone on the table while picking at my salad with a fork.
On the screen were packed data on the stolen project's Japanese market and competitor analysis.
"First, I need to take back the project manager position that was originally mine."
It wouldn't be easy to get involved in the project from my current position, but using Park Mina should make it possible.
"So unfortunately for you, my next possession will have to wait until all this is sorted out."
The hypnosis app alone is powerful, but I do want to experience another world.
It shouldn't take too long.
I already had a rough outline of how to set things up.
[Oh, you're finally getting proactive? I like it.]
I really do feel more motivated about life these days. My thinking is bolder.
"If I got this kind of power and just let myself get pushed around, I'd be the biggest pushover of all."
[That's what I want to see from someone I chose as a possessor.]
Child sounded genuinely satisfied.
[And if you use that power to your heart's content, all the better.]
For a moment, something unsettling crept into Child's last words.
At that moment, I thought I saw Rizeta's shoulder twitch slightly across from me.
She was still expressionless, but her grip on the knife seemed tighter.
…Maybe I was imagining things.
[Anyway, like I said before, as long as I'm not bored, I'm happy. Just keep that in mind.]
Child smoothly changed the subject.
For now, I set aside the odd feeling I got from Rizeta and asked something I'd been wondering.
"By the way, the hypnosis app's function suddenly got upgraded. Is that normal? Now suggestions don't cost points."
[Of course. Think of it as the game system optimizing itself for reality. It wouldn't be fun if you were limited by points in real life.]
"So are points useless now? I'm still getting them."
[Of course not. Just keep saving them up. There will be a very useful place to spend them later. It's just not time yet.]
Child didn't explain any further. I guess the use for points will be unlocked eventually.
Anyway, that's for later. What matters now is the reality in front of me.
Today, I needed to test if the suggestion I planted in Team Leader Kang Jooyoung yesterday was working properly.
Just before the alarm rang, an oppressive feeling woke her up first.
Forcing her heavy eyelids open, she saw a familiar but now stifling bedroom ceiling.
This officetel on the outskirts of Ilsan, once a symbol of success, now felt like a suffocating shackle.
"Haa…"
She sat up with a shallow sigh. The spot next to her was still empty.
Her husband, Park Mincheol, had taken to sleeping on the living room sofa until midday.
After his business failed, it was as if time had stopped for him.
Standing before the bathroom mirror, Kang Jooyoung faced her face, worn from a night of stress and fatigue.
Dark circles under her eyes, faint wrinkles between her brows.
Thirty-five.
She prided herself on still being young, but the weight she felt wasn't just from age.
She skillfully, mechanically began her makeup.
Foundation to cover flaws, eyeliner to sharpen her gaze.
Red lipstick to color her lips.
Like putting on a mask, she completed the cold, flawless face of Team Leader Kang Jooyoung.
As she neatly brushed her black hair over her shoulders, there was no hesitation.
After finishing her makeup, she went back to her room and opened the closet.
A perfectly tailored office suit and H-line skirt that showed off her figure and authority.
And, as always, she reached for pantyhose.
The moment she put on those clothes, she could momentarily forget the weight of home and become Team Leader Kang Jooyoung of Travel Wiz MD Team.
It was truly her armor.
"…Are you up?"
In the living room, her husband's weak voice called from the sofa.
His hollow eyes seemed unfocused.
He used to shine more than anyone.
She'd fallen for his confidence and drive.
But now his shoulders sagged like the wreckage of his failed business.
"…Breakfast?"
She asked coldly.
"No, I'm not hungry."
"…"
Again. That lifeless answer.
Annoyance bubbled up, but she bit her lip and endured.
Getting angry wouldn't change anything.
It would only deepen the wounds between them.
'How long is this going to go on?'
She tried to ignore it, but she couldn't help but notice him.
The crushing debt from his failed business.
They were going through personal bankruptcy, but things weren't improving.
Under the suffocating pressure of loan repayments, she could only throw herself into work.
'Still, I love him.'
Even as disappointment and resentment grew, her love stubbornly remained.
She clung to the hope that once the debt was paid, things would return to normal.
That hope was all she had left.
But as time passed, even that hope was fading.
Their relationship had grown distant, and they no longer reached for each other at night.
Her mounting frustration only sharpened her hysteria.
She wasn't sure how long she could keep running on such a thin thread.
'Get it together, Kang Jooyoung.'
She repeated to herself as she grabbed her handbag.
"I'm leaving."
Just before she stepped out, she couldn't bring herself to look back.
Entering the company lobby, she felt the familiar morning bustle.
Employees arriving, the smell of coffee, expressionless faces waiting for the elevator.
As she headed to the elevator hall, she instinctively put on her business face.
That's when it happened.
"Team Leader, good morning."
A voice that had been especially grating lately.
Turning, as expected, Assistant Manager Lee Hyunseong was a little distance away, bowing to her.
Honestly, when his proposal got good feedback from upper management, she had started to see him differently.
But soon after, the scandal had made her opinion of him plummet.
That incident was supposedly just a misunderstanding by Park Mina, but…
She couldn't feel good about someone who had caused such confusion in the team.
"…Yes. Good morning…"
Normally, she would have responded lightly and moved on.
But something felt off.
As soon as she received his greeting, a strong sense of discomfort and incongruity welled up inside.
As if something that should be there was missing.
Was that all? Just a perfunctory bow?
For a moment, her husband's lifeless figure on the sofa overlapped with his face.
No passion, no emotion, just a lifeless, obligatory attitude.
Even before, she'd found that attitude grating.
Jooyoung unconsciously furrowed her brow.
'He's a deputy manager and can't even manage a proper greeting?'
She couldn't let it go.
A subordinate's attitude reflects directly on the supervisor's evaluation.
She was about to speak but checked her surroundings.
She couldn't bring this up in the busy lobby or elevator.
"Assistant Manager Lee."
She called out to Hyunseong, who was about to press the elevator button, in a low voice.
"Yes?"
"Come with me for a moment. I have something to say."
She gestured toward the emergency stairs with her chin, and a look of puzzlement flashed across his face.
"Understood."
But it quickly passed, and he nodded obediently.
With a stiff face, Jooyoung led the way, pushing through the heavy emergency stairwell door.
With a grating screech, the door closed, cutting off the outside noise and leaving them in a cool, quiet space surrounded by concrete walls.
Their footsteps echoed loudly in the empty stairwell.
Jooyoung stopped halfway down to the next floor and turned to face Hyunseong.
"About your greeting earlier."
She crossed her arms and shot him a sharp look.
Under the dim light, his face looked a little different.
Now that she thought about it, she vaguely remembered talking to him in the meeting room yesterday…
Her memory was oddly hazy.
"What kind of greeting was that? You can't greet your superior with such a soulless gesture."
"Huh? I just did it like usual…"
"If that's how you usually do it, that's an even bigger problem. A greeting is basic courtesy; you should show sincerity."
She didn't even know why she was getting so worked up over something so minor.
But once she started, she couldn't stop the reprimand.
'Do I have to teach him even this?'
A mysterious urge kept pushing her actions.
"Look properly. Show respect and sincerity to your superior."
Without realizing it, Jooyoung took a step closer to him.
Then she grabbed his collar roughly.
Hyunseong's eyes widened in surprise at her sudden move.
"Like this-you look them in the eye and deliver it directly."
The next moment, as if possessed, Jooyoung pressed her lips firmly against his.
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