II - 49

Her rationality had shut down, leaving her unable to think clearly.

I-ryeong parted her lips slightly and exhaled a soft “whoosh” of air. But the suffocating feeling refused to fade.

It was all because of those deliberately loud voices, seemingly meant for someone nearby to overhear.

“Before word spreads to the customers, shouldn’t they kick out the mistress? How does it make sense for a company that caters to female clients to have a mistress on their payroll?”

She wanted to look up and identify the source of the noise.

But I-ryeong lacked the courage. If she made eye contact with them, she feared she’d become the subject of their gossip.

“I-ryeong? Are you okay? Or did you choke on something? You seemed so flustered after our teasing earlier.”

Baek Hyun-wook, who had been quiet until now, quietly checked on her as she kept her head bowed.

I-ryeong squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again, exhaling sharply as if trying to vomit the tension away.

“I’m not okay, Manager Baek. I think some food got stuck in my chest.”

Pretending to choke, she pressed hard on her sternum while staring at Hyun-wook.

The only way out of this uncomfortable situation was to use illness as an excuse—again.

“Should I take you to the infirmary on the fifth floor? Or should I help you there?”

“I can go by myself. I’ll get up first. Please finish your meal.”

Her face, which had turned red from the team’s jokes, was now deathly pale. To anyone looking, she appeared genuinely unwell.

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

Hyun-wook’s worried gaze made her heart ache.

Lying so casually to someone who showed no ill intentions felt utterly despicable.

She should have resolved everything cleanly before leaving her previous job instead of fleeing like a coward. Her past mistakes continued to haunt her relentlessly.

It all felt like her fault, and the throbbing in her temples grew worse.

“Yes, I’ll be fine.”

Forcing a smile, she stood up from her seat.

Ignoring the team’s concerned looks, she picked up her barely half-eaten tray and walked toward the return counter with her back straight and head held high.

Even though she hadn’t done anything wrong, she needed to stay composed. She didn’t even know who the subject of their whispers was.

I-ryeong focused on walking steadily, keeping her eyes forward and putting strength into her legs.

But the more confident she tried to appear, the more she felt piercing gazes following her. Though the tray wasn’t heavy, her limbs trembled.

Her vision blurred white, and she felt dizzy, as though she might collapse.

She wanted to shake her head to clear her thoughts, but her head remained weighed down by the overwhelming swirl of emotions.

“Are you alright? Let me take that from you.”

A cafeteria worker who had noticed her swaying near the return counter rushed over and took the tray from her hands.

“Ah, thank you.”

She wanted to smile as she always did at work, but it wouldn’t come naturally.

Pressing her now-free hand to her forehead, she felt the heat radiating from it.

After thanking the worker once more, she summoned every ounce of strength to flee back to the office like a hunted animal.

“Hah, haa…”

She released several labored breaths into the empty office, but the tension refused to ease.

Rubbing her palms against her thighs, she stared at the distant, darkened monitor. Her heart raced even faster than before.

“Just check. Just check.”

Muttering a mantra to herself, she sat down at her desk.

Placing her trembling hands neatly together in front of her heaving chest, she prayed silently to whatever higher power might exist.

“Please, let nothing happen. Please.”

Though she had never believed in any god, she prayed desperately before clicking on the company bulletin board.

Running her tongue over her dry lips, she scanned the posts. Then, her eyes landed on the most upvoted anonymous thread.

[Shhh! It’s a secret.]

The title alone set off alarm bells.

The post, uploaded just before lunch, hid its author thanks to the anonymity of the forum. The deliberate secrecy heightened her unease, but after much deliberation, she clicked on it.

The body of the post was short and to the point:

[There’s a mistress at headquarters. Recently went from single to married.]

I-ryeong lost count of how many times she reread the brief sentence.

Then, recalling recent company announcements about personal events, she remembered her own wedding notice being the latest one.

It seemed God truly didn’t exist.

“Haa…”

A deep sigh escaped her, heavy with resignation.

With just a few words, the post allowed anyone to easily deduce who it referred to. Even she could guess who the “mistress” in question was.

Her hand trembled as she scrolled through the dozens of comments below the post.

[No conscience at all. Used her face to climb the ranks and became a full-time employee.]

[Heard the guards at the wedding were hired because the mistress’s lover might cause trouble.]

[Crazy bitch! This is insane.]

[Didn’t she use her body instead of her face? Such a slut.]

Most of the comments were similar, mocking one person and hurling vile insults that couldn’t be repeated aloud.

Guards had indeed been hired for her wedding—but she hadn’t committed adultery, and there was no lover to begin with.

“Could this really be about me…?”

She muttered under her breath, biting down hard on her lower lip, but the suffocation lingered.

The post felt both like it was about her and not about her, leaving her unable to confirm. Desperate for clarity, she quickly scrolled down to read the remaining comments when one caught her eye.

[Actually, it wasn’t ㅅㅁ who hired the guards—it was the woman. She was scared of getting caught for adultery.]

Her gaze froze on that single comment. She knew exactly who “ㅅㅁ” referred to.

Seo I-jun, her husband, had been dragged into this mess.

Her hair seemed to stand on end as she struggled to breathe.

The shock left I-ryeong speechless. Seeing I-jun’s name mentioned in the comments brought back the voices of the employees gossiping in the cafeteria.

“People don’t commit adultery unless they’re shameless.”

Not even a sigh could escape her lips.

Glancing at the clock on the monitor, she realized it was almost time to start work. Meanwhile, the number of views on the post continued to climb.

Whoever the author was, anyone at AE Cosmetics could read it—her husband, the Vice President; her brother-in-law, the Manager; and even her mother-in-law, the CEO.

She clenched her fists so tightly that her palms dug into her skin, yet the trembling wouldn’t stop.

Closing her eyes, she tried to calm her wildly racing heart.

“…Hah.”

Even if the post were deleted, she doubted this crushing feeling would fade.

She had never committed adultery, let alone engaged in any act of infidelity. But no one had listened to her back then, and in the end, she had fled to another company.

And now, without her realizing it, she had once again become the subject of malicious gossip. She hadn’t even noticed the scathing mockery in the cafeteria. How foolish of her.

“…”

The text on the monitor began to blur as tears welled up in her eyes, hot and unrelenting.

Tilting her head back, she fought to keep the tears from spilling over, enduring with every ounce of willpower she had left.

“Haa…”

Still, waves of regret and sighs escaped uncontrollably.

She should have lived quietly, invisibly, like a shadow. If only she hadn’t married I-jun, no one would have paid her any attention, and perhaps these ugly rumors would never have surfaced.

“…How much did your utility bill go up?”

“Mine? Even though I turned on the dehumidifier before leaving for work, it only went up by about ten thousand won.”

“A dehumidifier? Ah, why didn’t I think of that? I just left the air conditioner on.”

“Get ready for an electricity bill bomb next month.”

The voices of her teammates grew closer.

Thump, thump. Thump, thump. Thump, thump. It felt like her heart might explode at any moment. The thought of her teammates soon discovering the rumors overwhelmed her with anxiety.

The office door opened, and the team walked in. I-ryeong quickly turned off her monitor and lowered her head.

Please pretend you don’t know, just pass by quietly, she pleaded silently, swallowing hard.

“I-ryeong, did you take your medicine?”

It was Baek Hyun-wook. His tone was polite, his jokes fewer than before.

His changed behavior felt like he was deliberately drawing a line between them now that she was the Vice President’s wife. It made her feel both lonely and uncomfortable.

But today, the distance between them felt preferable. At least he wouldn’t joke about the rumors spreading through the company.

I-ryeong wet her dry lips with her tongue and raised her head to meet his gaze.

“I happened to have some digestive medicine with me. I took it as soon as I got to the office.”

“You really must’ve choked on something—or maybe not. Should we go to the hospital just in case?”

Baek Hyun-wook kept his eyes on her as he sat down, carefully observing her complexion.

“It’s not that serious.”

“Not serious? Your face is pale. Have you even looked in a mirror?”

He was genuinely worried. His sincerity made her feel guilty for lying to him.

“There’s no thermometer in the office, but I washed my hands just now.”

“Huh?”

For a moment, she was baffled by his words until he waved his hand to clarify.

“My hands are clean.”

Before she could react or pull away, his cool palm pressed against her feverish forehead.

Caught off guard by the sudden gesture, she froze, unable to resist. With no partitions separating their desks, such proximity was inevitable.

“You have a high fever. Take the afternoon off and go to the hospital.”

Hyun-wook’s expression turned serious. His concern was palpable, filled with both pity and worry.

“…”

If only this worry came from I-jun instead.

Feeling conflicted about tainting someone else’s pure kindness with her selfish thoughts, I-ryeong’s emotions grew even more tangled.