The return to the office after the company retreat was a quiet cataclysm. The established social order had been shattered and rebuilt into something far more complicated.
Sung Jin-woo's ('Jonas') life as an unnoticeable mob character was officially over. His heroic, single-handed rescue of Jina had cemented his reputation. He was no longer the "Phantom" who was good with numbers; he was now the "Guardian," the quiet, dependable, and terrifyingly capable man you wanted on your side in a crisis. The female employees now looked at him with a mixture of awe and admiration. The male employees treated him with a deep, wary respect. He was, to his immense dismay, one of the most popular people in the office. This made blending in... difficult.
Cid Kagenou's ('Claire') situation was even more complex. His theatrical "fear of a snake" and subsequent leap into Kim Min-Joon's arms had become the single most talked-about event of the retreat. The office rumor mill, fanned by Jina (who was now Jonas's number one fan), was in overdrive. The consensus was clear: the beautiful, mysterious, and clumsy-but-brilliant intern, Claire, had a secret, undeniable crush on the average, unassuming Kim Min-Joon.
This had several immediate consequences.
First, every hopeful bachelor in the office now looked at Kim Min-Joon with a burning, unholy envy. He was suddenly the protagonist of a real-life romance drama, and they were the jealous side characters.
Second, Kim Min-Joon himself was in a state of perpetual, blushing panic. He couldn't even make eye contact with 'Claire' without turning beet red and stammering. His life had gone from a boring slice-of-life to a high-stakes romantic comedy, and he had no idea what the script was.
The story, however, was about to introduce a plot twist that not even Cid had planned.
One morning, a new figure entered the office. He was a tall, handsome man in a designer suit that was worth more than the entire office's monthly payroll. He exuded an aura of immense wealth and arrogant confidence. This was Lee Jin-Hwan, the son of the CEO of Daeyoung Corp, and a high-ranking executive from the main branch.
"I am here to oversee the new 'Vertex Project'," he announced to the office, his voice oozing condescension. He then scanned the room, and his eyes landed on Claire. A predatory smile spread across his face. He had found a beautiful new toy to play with.
[New Character Introduced: 'The Antagonistic Love Rival'.] Cid felt the notification from his meta-awareness with a jolt of pure delight. [Plot Thread: A classic love triangle has been formed! Will the humble protagonist win the girl, or will the rich, arrogant executive steal her away?]
Jin-woo, with his Narrator's Eye, saw a darker side to it.
[Name: Lee Jin-Hwan.
[Backstory: Spoiled, arrogant heir. Has a history of using his power and influence to harass and discard female employees.
[Primary Motivation: To acquire what he wants, and to crush anyone who gets in his way. He now wants 'Claire.'
This had just gone from a lighthearted rom-com to a workplace harassment drama.
Lee Jin-Hwan immediately began his campaign. He tried to woo 'Claire' with expensive gifts, which she politely but firmly refused ("Oh, I couldn't possibly accept! My family has a rule about accepting gifts that are... so modestly priced."). He would 'coincidentally' show up at the coffee machine when she was there, trying to impress her with stories of his wealth, to which she would 'innocently' counter with tales of her family's 'summer cottage,' which was apparently a private island with its own active volcano.
His every attempt at displaying superiority was subtly and masterfully shot down by Cid, who was playing the part of a rich girl so convincingly that the actual rich guy was starting to look like a pauper. This, of course, only served to infuriate Lee Jin-Hwan.
If he couldn't win her over, he would eliminate the competition. He turned his attention to Kim Min-Joon.
He began to sabotage Min-Joon's work. He would subtly delete key files from his reports. He would change deadlines without telling him. He would publicly humiliate him in meetings. He was trying to get Min-Joon fired, to remove the "obstacle" from his path.
Kim Min-Joon, a genuinely decent if average man, was plunged into a professional hell. His dream job was becoming a nightmare.
This was the new crisis.
The solution came, as always, from a moment of inspired, chaotic brilliance.
One evening, as Lee Jin-Hwan was working late, gloating over his latest act of sabotage against Min-Joon, he was the last one in the office.
Jin-woo, hidden in the shadows of the ceiling, used a flicker of his Monarch's will. He subtly influenced the building's central heating and ventilation system. He didn't break it. He just... made the 9th floor's main office a few degrees warmer than it should be. And a little... stuffier.
Lee Jin-Hwan, feeling a bit drowsy and uncomfortable, decided to get some "fresh" air. He walked to the massive window at the end of the office, the one that overlooked the entire city.
It was then that Cid, also hidden, used his Author's Pen. He didn't write a grand revision. He wrote a tiny, insignificant 'stage direction' into the narrative of the office building.
'[The latch on the main office's large, outward-swinging window, which has been slightly faulty for years, finally gives way under a minor gust of wind.]'
As Lee Jin-Hwan stood before the window, it suddenly swung open with a bang, a gust of cool night air washing over him. Grateful for the breeze, he leaned out slightly, looking down at the city he felt he owned.
At that exact moment, from a block away, Jin-woo used his 'Silence' authority. He created a perfect, absolute 'cone of silence' that started from Lee Jin-Hwan's mouth and extended out into the city.
Cid then played his final card. He had planted a single, tiny slime-node, the size of a dust mote, on the back of Lee Jin-Hwan's suit jacket earlier that day. Now, he activated it.
The slime-node didn't attack. It simply began to vibrate, producing a perfect, high-fidelity audio recording. It was a recording of Lee Jin-Hwan, from earlier that week, talking on the phone with one of his cronies, laughing as he detailed exactly how he was going to ruin Kim Min-Joon's career and "claim his prize," Claire.
Lee Jin-Hwan's own, damning confession, played out loud from his own back.
But thanks to Jin-woo's cone of silence, no one in the city could hear it. Only one person could.
Lee Jin-Hwan heard his own voice, seemingly coming from behind him in the empty office, confessing to all of his crimes. He spun around, his face white with terror. The office was empty. He was alone. But the voice was still there, a perfect echo of his own villainy.
He thought he was going mad. He thought the office was haunted by a ghost that knew all his secrets.
He stumbled back in a panic... right into the open window.
He didn't fall. But his panicked flailing and the unfortunate gust of wind caused the very expensive, very top-heavy, solid gold pen from his breast pocket to fall out, tumbling 9 stories to the street below.
It landed, with a soft tink, directly on the roof of his father's—the CEO of Daeyoung Corp—car, as the CEO was coincidentally leaving the building for the night. The CEO looked up, saw his own son panicking in an open window next to an empty office, and an entirely new, very worrying, narrative began to form in his mind about his son's mental stability.
The next day, Lee Jin-Hwan was quietly and indefinitely "reassigned" to a remote, resort-like "management training facility" to deal with his "stress-induced auditory hallucinations."
Kim Min-Joon came to work to find that his tormentor was gone. The doctored files on his computer had been mysteriously restored to their original state. His project was saved.
He had no idea how or why. He just knew that his life, since the arrival of Jonas and Claire, had become a rollercoaster of terrifying lows followed by miraculous, inexplicable highs.
He was, Cid concluded, a very well-written protagonist.