Chapter 109: The Accusation and the Forum

“What is going on?”

“Well, um….”

“……?”

The employee couldn’t answer right away.

Just as Hyunwoo frowned, confused—

“I told you I saw it with my own eyes!”

“……!”

A voice yelled from somewhere beyond the half-open door.

Hyunwoo turned toward the sound.

The employee inside the office was sweating nervously as he spoke.

“It’s just… Assistant Manager Kim and Intern Lee Sunghyuk got into an argument….”

“An argument?”

“Yes….”

“……?”

If it was Assistant Manager Kim from the Planning Team—
there was only one.

Kim Jinho.

He joined the company the same year as Oh Jooim,
a former programmer—
so in some ways, he resembled Sunghyuk’s background.

But he was having an argument with Sunghyuk?

Kim was a Beta—
he shouldn’t feel the strange competitive instinct Alphas sometimes provoke.

Hyunwoo quickly walked out.

Since the commotion was within the office,
it didn’t take long to find the spot.

“What is happening here?”

“Ah—D-Director!”

The employees who were trying to break up the fight jumped in shock.

Hyunwoo scanned the gathered group.

And the first person he saw was Sunghyuk—
tallest in the room and impossible to miss.

But unlike usual, he looked agitated.

He was glaring at someone with barely restrained anger,
and when he spotted Hyunwoo, his shoulders flinched.

“Assistant Manager Kim, explain this.”

“Ugh….”

Kim stood in front of Sunghyuk—
even more worked up than he was—
but he froze under Hyunwoo’s gaze.

Kim Jinho had always been a quiet, competent, reliable employee.

He’d never caused trouble.

So what had happened?

Hyunwoo stared silently at the man hesitating before him.

“D-Director, I apologize.
I’ll explain.”

“…Oh Jooim?”

Oh Jooim stepped forward between them.

Hyunwoo blinked at her.

With a tense expression, she began:

“Actually… I asked Intern Sunghyuk to help me with some of my tasks.
I know I shouldn’t have—but with the storm, everything piled up and I got overwhelmed….”

“So?
You asked him to help.
Why is that a problem?”

“Well, the thing is….”

Her expression darkened.

And behind her, Assistant Manager Kim suddenly burst out:

“I saw it!
The intern wasn’t just doing what he was told—
he was rummaging through her files!”

“Files?”

“Yes!
Going through them for a long time—and then copying them onto his own USB!”

“…….”

Hyunwoo slowly turned to Sunghyuk.

The moment their eyes met, Sunghyuk flinched.

“It’s not what—!”

“…That’s enough.”

He cut him off firmly.

Too many eyes were watching.

If this blew up,
it could reach Chairman Joo’s ears—
and that would be a disaster.

Hyunwoo frowned and turned away.

“I’ll hear the rest privately.
Intern Lee, come with me.”

“…Yes.”

Hyunwoo led Sunghyuk back into his office.

He shut the blinds fully, blocking all prying eyes.

“Ha…”

“…I’m sorry, hyung.”

“……”

As soon as they stepped inside, Sunghyuk bowed his head and apologized.

Hyunwoo looked at him quietly.

He could already guess what happened.

Oh Jooim, drowning in work, asked the smartest fastest intern for help.

While working, Sunghyuk must’ve noticed a problem in the data.

Fixing it on the spot would take time.

Someone might question why an intern was doing complex work.

So he copied it onto his USB to fix at home.

But Assistant Manager Kim happened to walk by and see—
and everything escalated.

Hyunwoo sighed deeply.

“This isn’t school.
You can’t treat work like homework you take home.”

“Yes… I’m really sorry.”

“……”

Even for an intern,
it sounded harsh that he wasn’t allowed to carry a single file.

But there was a reason.

Years ago, an intern had stolen data from Munseong
and used it to enter another corporation.

Geniuses like Sunghyuk had always existed,

and some had secretly acted as corporate spies—
selling information between companies like Munseong and L&S.

Because of that history,
interns were assigned only simple, meaningless tasks.

No sensitive work.
No access to confidential files.

It was the rule now.

“It’s not really your fault.
Technically, it’s Oh Jooim’s.”

“Hyung, no… she didn’t—”

“It’s fine.
I’m not going to blame her harshly.”

“……”

Oh Jooim knew the rules—
but she must’ve been truly desperate to ask him.

Instead of blaming, they needed to reduce her workload.

“And you…
I know you didn’t have any bad intentions.”

“Hyung…”

“But others don’t know that.
So don’t do anything that could make them suspicious.
Got it?”

“Yes.
Thank you for believing in me.”

“There’s nothing to thank.”

Despite everyone else’s paranoia,
Hyunwoo alone knew Sunghyuk wasn’t that kind of person.

And earlier…

No.
He shouldn’t think about the confession now.

He shook his head quickly.

“Just give me that USB.
I’ll hold onto it.”

“Yes.”

Sunghyuk handed it over.

A worn school-issued USB.

Hyunwoo chuckled faintly seeing the Korean University initials engraved on it.

“Tell Oh Jooim to come in.”

“Yes, hyu—
I mean, Director.”

“Use proper titles at the office.
Even if it’s just the two of us.”

“Yes, Director.”

Sunghyuk corrected himself, then winked.

Hyunwoo couldn’t help but smile—
and quickly hid it.

Why did it feel like Sunghyuk was getting bolder by the day?

He sighed and straightened his expression.

A few days passed.

The office incident faded quietly.

Work that had been paralyzed by the rain finally returned to normal.

Hyunwoo adjusted his suit and exhaled.

The tight tie and stiff jacket felt suffocating.

“…So the forum is happening after all.”

He hadn’t wanted to go.

He had secretly hoped the storm would cancel it entirely.

But no such luck.

“We should leave now, Director.”

“…Alright.
Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

He and Junghoon left the company.

A car was already waiting to take them to the venue.

“The attendee list isn’t long this year.”

“Yes.
It’s been shrinking every year.”

“Well, that’s expected.”

The forum had devolved into a hollow event where the wealthy flaunted themselves.

Anyone normal would prefer to skip such a boring, pointless gathering.

But Chairman Joo was extremely conservative—
he insisted Hyunwoo attend every year in full formal attire.

That’s why Hyunwoo was suffocating in a luxury suit now.

“He’s really stuck in the past…”

Hyunwoo muttered, looking out the window.

The event ran from afternoon into the night.

He would much rather be working at the company.

But networking with influential people mattered, too.

Even Hyunwoo agreed with the chairman on that point.

“We’ve arrived.”

“Thank you.”

Hyunwoo stepped out first.

A staff member hurried over.

“This way, Director.”

“Alright.”

He followed the staff inside.

The event hadn’t fully begun yet,
so the hall was still relatively empty.

He scanned the large venue
and began walking slowly.

He reached for a drink—
then turned to look for Junghoon.

And that was when—

“It’s been a while, Director Joo.”

“……!”

Hyunwoo turned sharply toward the familiar voice—
eyes widening.