* * *

The mention of his name grabbed Junhee like a snare, dragging him into the conversation.

‘…Who would’ve thought the fresh fish they’ve been dissecting was me all along.’

“There’s no way they didn’t know. Especially Jiyeon—she’s closest to Yoon Junhee in that team, isn’t she? Claiming she didn’t know would be ridiculous.”

“Exactly! That girl’s so sly. She sucks up all our info but keeps the important stuff to herself. She probably knew he had a partner and kept it quiet on purpose.”

“But why would she do that? If he has one, she could’ve just said so.”

“Remember when Manager Park confronted Jiyeon about something? She probably held a grudge and let this blow up as revenge. Obvious, isn’t it?”

Junhee’s brow furrowed tightly.

“Manager Park… That short-haired omega from the couple on Team 5.”

He recalled their introduction a year ago when she had transferred from a branch office to headquarters.

The way she had stared at him unnervingly had made his heart sink—he briefly worried she might’ve recognized him from a bar where he had worked part-time.

Since then, she’d occasionally handed him coffee or asked intrusive questions during team dinners about his alma mater or past jobs, prompting him to keep his distance.

But now, he realized those gestures had been signs of interest.

‘And… what? Someone’s been posing as my partner?’

The thought of someone playing the role of his lover without his knowledge made his pulse race.

This misunderstanding needed to be cleared up immediately.

Not only was Jiyeon being vilified, but even his teammates were being dragged into the mess.

He had to stop this before it spread further.

Junhee stepped closer to the break room, only to halt like a spring recoiling.

“But did anyone see who it was?”

“No. The car’s tinted windows were too dark to tell. But come on, who else would drop someone off right at the office entrance unless they spent the night together? Obviously, they had a good time and drove over in the morning.”

Their snickering laughter made his head spin.

“Morning… office drop-off…”

A memory surfaced instantly.

“Director, you can let me off nearby.”

Ki Taeryu had ignored him and insisted on dropping him off directly at the company’s entrance—that day.

“And his clothes were different too, right? They looked incredible. People were murmuring about how much they must’ve cost.”

“Of course! But one idiot from Consulting Team 2 tried to claim they were knockoffs. Jealous much?”

“The outfit’s obviously a gift from the partner, isn’t it?”

“What else? Clearance sale leftovers? It’s so obvious. Even his tie’s legit. Before, he dressed so plainly—just neat and simple. Now, anyone can tell he’s got someone well-off pampering him.”

Like they were filleting a fish, they dissected Junhee’s every move and detail, speaking as if they knew him better than he knew himself.

Junhee bit his trembling lips, red creeping to his eyes as humiliation coursed through him.

“So who’s the partner? Yoo Junhee’s a beta, so it must be an older woman, right?”

“Older, rich, showering him with gifts… Sounds like a classic sugar mama situation.”

“He does have the kind of face that’d attract older women. Is that why even the Director’s so protective of him? Wait, don’t tell me… the Director too…?”

Just as their baseless accusations reached their peak, something streaked past Junhee like lightning.

With a resounding BANG, the break room door, left ajar, slammed open as if it would break off its hinges.

A fiery voice roared like thunder.

“What did you just say? Honestly, I’ve had enough of this nonsense!”

“J-Jiyeon?”

“Wow, were you eavesdropping on us? How rude—”

“Excuse me? The rude ones here are you two! Do you even know how diligent and upright Assistant Manager Yoo is? And yet, you dare slander him with such baseless accusations?”

Jiyeon had stormed into the break room, her indignation sharp as a blade.

Thanks to the door that had swung open forcefully only to rebound halfway shut, Junhee inadvertently found himself hidden again.

With Jiyeon also having shown up, he debated whether he should step in to intervene.

But then he hesitated—if Junhee, the subject of the discussion, were to appear, wouldn’t that only escalate things further?

He couldn’t act recklessly.

“Jiyeon, seriously, it’s not like we’re making stuff up out of thin air, is it?”

“Oh, come on. Twisting nonexistent details into fabricated rumors is practically your only hobby—and your specialty, isn’t it?”

“That’s a bit much, don’t you think? If you want to talk about facts, how about this one: you lied to us first. You said Assistant Manager Yoo didn’t have a boyfriend. We trusted you, so our team’s Manager Park made a move on him, but then Mia saw Assistant Manager Yoo’s boyfriend dropping him off right outside the office. What more do you need? Your whole team has been playing us for fools!”

“Ha…”

A dry laugh—or perhaps something unidentifiable—escaped from Jiyeon’s lips.

While she momentarily lost her words, the two women wasted no time pressing her further.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t know, Jiyeon? Did Assistant Manager Yoo lie to you too, pretending he didn’t have a boyfriend?”

“Wow, if that’s true, that’s so messed up. You’re practically family, working together day in and day out. Isn’t that a bit much?”

“And since we’re on the topic, let’s address something else—why is it that everyone else at your level in other teams gets promoted, except for you? You know the reason, right?”

“What? What does that have to do with anything…?”

Jiyeon’s voice trembled with evident confusion.

“It’s because your team’s entire performance hinges on Assistant Manager Yoo alone. If someone gets preferential treatment, it’s only natural that someone else pays the price, and in your case, that ‘someone’ is you. Don’t tell me you don’t see it? Or are you just pretending to be oblivious as a form of coping?”

Junhee pressed his icy fingertips against his temples, overwhelmed by the weight of his emotions.

The earlier comments about him were nothing but baseless gossip, but the remarks about Jiyeon struck closer to the truth.

Outside, the sound of people gathering hinted that the lunch hour was drawing to a close.

Whatever the outcome, this had to end here.

Just as Junhee resolved to step in and retrieve Jiyeon—

“So what?”

“What? What do you mean, ‘so what’? No matter what you do, as long as Yoo Junhee is on your team, you’re never getting promoted. If you’re content to just pick at the scraps while someone else gets the big rewards…”

“Are you the CEO of this company? Or perhaps a shareholder?”

“What? Wow, I’ve been holding back, but this—”

“Do you even realize how lucky I feel not to be in the same department as you? Even with my low performance in our team, I’d still probably rank higher than your team’s average. Don’t you agree?”

“Lee Jiyeon!”

The woman’s shrill yell startled Junhee, making his shoulders jerk.

The shock cleared his mind, and his body finally began to move.

Driven by a singular determination to get Jiyeon out of there, he pushed open the break room door.

Three pairs of eyes turned toward Junhee.

Some gazed at him in shock, others in bewilderment.

“A-Assistant Manager Yoo…?”

For a moment, Junhee met their gazes with an unflinching calm.

The faint sound of footsteps outside the break room made it clear that life beyond this door carried on.

Yet within the small space, the silence was oppressive, as though it belonged to an entirely separate realm.

“Let’s go, Jiyeon,” Junhee said, his voice slicing through the quiet.

“No, Assistant Manager Yoo! Are you just going to let them continue misunderstanding you? They’re saying all these things about you—!”

“Clearing up a misunderstanding,” Junhee interrupted, his dry gaze sweeping coldly over the two women before him, “requires a willingness to understand in the first place. I don’t expect that from people like them. Let them think whatever they want.”

The icy atmosphere mirrored the frost in Junhee’s eyes.

Each step he took seemed poised to shatter the fragile tension like thin ice beneath his feet.

Jiyeon’s voice came out tight, as if she were restraining her fury.

“…But, Assistant Manager Yoo, isn’t it going too far for them to bring up the CEO and use him to insult you?”

Junhee exhaled slowly.

Humiliation was nothing new to him.

Nor was being looked down upon.

But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.

For 25 years, Junhee had lived his life running away from others, avoiding conflict, and striving not to get involved in their lives.

…But people like his estranged mother, Baek Seunggyo, and countless others had never left him alone.

They dragged him out of his quiet existence, clawing at him, leaving wounds, and destroying the small world he had built.

For a fleeting moment, he wondered if it was his fault.

In the past, he would’ve believed so.

But suddenly, a voice rang out in his mind like tinnitus, echoing without warning.

“That jerk’s just a bastard.”

…That jerk was a bastard, who acted like scum, because he was scum.

At the very least, this wasn’t entirely Junhee’s fault.

For a brief instant, Junhee closed his eyes, and when he opened them, there was a subtle shift in their intensity.

“Well, then,” he said coolly. “If that’s what they’re so curious about, they should just ask the CEO directly. I’m sure that’ll clear everything up.”

If they had the right to misunderstand, then Junhee had the right to expose them.

* * *