The stairwell echoed with the sound of his footsteps.
Floor three… floor four… floor five.
Raizen placed the heavy box down in front of Seo Yoori's office door. His breath steady. His uniform barely wrinkled.
Not a drop of sweat.
He pressed the key sensor.
Shhhk.
The door slid open.
Yoori looked up from her sleek glass desk, expression unreadable. She saw the box in his hands — and the lack of struggle in his eyes.
"Took your time," she said.
"I walked," he replied. "Not bad for someone who got here five minutes ago."
She said nothing, and just rolled her eyes.
⸻
The rest of the day wasn't much different.
"Take this to the 3rd floor."
"Scan these documents. Bind them. Bring them to the marketing team."
"Restock the display cases."
"Fix the jammed printer in accounting."
Each task was menial. Insignificant. A hundred paper cuts designed to bleed his time dry.
If this had been the old Raizen — the real Raizen — he would've reduced the entire building to ashes for even daring to treat him like this.
But Raizen didn't resist. As irritating as it was, he endured it — not because his boss told him to, and definitely not because he was powerless. He endured it because he had a goal.
He did the work.
Quietly.
Efficiently.
Dangerously well.
And people noticed.
⸻
"Wait, you fixed the printer?"
"Who replaced all the faulty hangers on the showroom rack?"
"Those reports were organized better than the manager's."
"Did someone clean the coffee machine?"
By mid-afternoon, whispers followed wherever he walked.
A girl from HR leaned close to another, lips barely moving.
"Isn't he the part-timer Miss Seo brought in herself?"
"He's not bad looking either."
"Bad looking? Girl, if he breathes next to me, I might resign and join the bar downstairs."
⸻
Upstairs, in her office, Seo Yoori stared at her monitor.
Multiple windows were open. Security footage. Camera feeds from every floor.
Her fingers tapped against the desk, rhythm tight, calculated.
"…Why isn't he tired yet?"
She wasn't used to this.
Most guys either felt degraded, gave up, or started complaining after just two hours. The last one even tried faking a leg injury.
Raizen?
He was thriving.
She clicked on the second-floor feed again.
He was lifting another crate like it weighed nothing.
Worse — he looked bored doing it.
"…He's actually strong for his size," she muttered under her breath.
Then she smirked.
"Alright. Let's see how far you can go."
————
Five hours had passed, and Raizen was already becoming a favorite among the second-floor employees. Some had already started giving him nicknames. A few girls were openly trying to get his attention, throwing compliments and subtle smiles his way whenever he passed.
During those hours, Raizen had skillfully shown his potential — not through words, but through action. People were genuinely impressed with how hardworking and reliable he was. Tasks that would've taken others days were finished within hours. He moved smoothly between departments, solved problems without fuss, and offered small suggestions that somehow made everything run better.
Of course, this wasn't pure effort. Behind it was calculation. Raizen had been burning through lust energy to push his body beyond human limits — increasing his stamina, force-feeding knowledge directly into his brain, and subtly leaking temptation across the floor — a pheromone-like aura that made passing glances linger, conversations slow, and women instinctively lean just a little closer. He wants to heighten the women's interest in him. He didn't just want to survive in this job. He wanted to stand out. He wanted to draw their eyes.
This was his real goal: to perform, to shine, and most of all — to take advantage of all the beautiful women now drawn into his orbit.
But while Raizen flourished, Seo Yoori grew more and more irritated.
This wasn't how it was supposed to go.
She'd carefully crafted every task to annoy, degrade, or frustrate him. But instead of breaking, he was thriving — and worse, becoming popular. Inside her company. Among her staff.
The worst part? She couldn't do anything about it.
If she pushed any harder, she'd start to look like a tyrant. Several of her employees had already begun warming up to him, and thanks to the work he'd completed in just five hours — work that should've taken three days — the entire floor's operations were running smoother than usual. She was stuck. Too much pressure would make her look insecure. Too little, and he'd keep gaining ground.
And then… a soft buzz came from her desk. The sensor indicating someone was outside.
She tapped the screen, unlocking the door. Two women entered — her close friends and senior staff members, both working under her in high-ranking roles.
They barely sat down before their eyes flicked to the screen behind her desk.
"Oh, that's Hanazawa, right?" one of them said, grinning. "I heard he's actually doing great. The girls on the second floor won't shut up about him in the cafeteria."
The other leaned forward, curious. "Yeah, he looks reliable. I actually asked him for some fashion advice earlier — turns out, he's got decent taste."
Yoori's eyes widened. "What?! Why did you talk to that creep?"
The first woman raised an eyebrow. "Relax. He's the only guy here. I just wanted a male perspective."
Then the second one chimed in again, tone softer this time. "Yoori… maybe you're wrong about him. A bunch of girls have tried flirting with him already, but he doesn't seem interested in anyone. He hasn't made a single weird move."
The first nodded. "Yeah. We're still not even sure if he's the guy who assaulted you. Maybe it's time to stop piling work on him. Innocent until proven guilty, remember?"
Yoori's confident front cracked. Her lips tightened as she looked back at the monitors. Raizen was in the showroom now, calmly dressing a mannequin — sleeves rolled up, focused, completely at ease.
Her fingers twitched. Her chest felt tight.
They're right, she thought. But even as she admitted it in her mind, something inside her refused to let go. She couldn't fully accept it. Something about him still felt off. She didn't trust him. She didn't believe the innocent act. But… she couldn't deny how competent he was. Or how smoothly he'd slipped into everyone's good graces.
Still, she had to be fair.
"I'll do it…" Yoori said quietly.
Her two friends turned at once. "Do what?"
"I-I'll try to get close to him. Figure him out. Maybe see for myself if he's actually the guy."
Both women gasped.
"Whaaat?! You? Get close to a guy? Seo Yoori's going to get close to a man?!" One of them squealed, half-joking, half-thrilled.
"This is huge," the other grinned. "The ice queen herself, going undercover?"
Yoori looked away, cheeks pink, clearly annoyed at their excitement.
"It's not like that. I'm just investigating. If I have to talk to him to confirm the truth, then I will."
"Sure," one of them said with a knowing smirk. "And the workload?"
Yoori sighed. "Fine… I'll lower it. He deserves it."
But her eyes didn't leave the monitor.
Raizen had just finished adjusting the mannequin, stepped back, and smiled faintly to himself — as if he already knew she was watching.