Chapter 23: Useless Victory

Is he seriously asking for some homemade food? In this time and this situation? I stared at him in disbelief. He just gave me a cheeky expression and raised his eyebrows.

"Let's get back to work now, shall we?" He said in a lower tone of his voice. "It must be great to have a taste of your cheese kimbap. You have to know that if you try to give your team leader the partnership concerning this project exhibit, then I'm going to have you cook me homemade food every day! You're not incompetent, are you?"

I walked briskly and didn't even say a word to him. I couldn't believe all he wanted to ask was much homemade food when he could have ordered them. He never fails to amaze me. I went inside the editorial team's office, sat down on my chair, opened my desktop PC. I started editing the book 'More than Friends' like crazy. I am going to show him that I am certainly not incompetent!

"Miss Li," Rina-sunbae initiated and spoke to me formally. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I am okay." I paused my work and gave her a dry smile. "No worries,"

"Miss Li sure is scary when she's super focused," Mr. Lim butted in, he was wearing his cute Harry Potter glasses. "I'm sure she's going to prove her worth now that the Team Leader has tried to damage her reputation."

"Are you sure you should be saying that, though?" I leaned over to whisper to him as he was sitting right next to me. "You might become a blacklisted person next to me?"

"It's okay," he whispered back. "Manager Jeong and Team Leader Bae are not here."

"So, you only give support when they are not here?" Rina-sunbae squinted her eyes at Mr. Lim, "I didn't know you were that type of a person Mr. Lim."

Mr. Lim just pouted, "Sorry."

"Don't be," I said while laughing. "Rina-sunbae is just kidding."

+++

I spent the following days focusing on editing the work. I did some OT's for several days. I also tried to ask some male employees, even the property custodian and janitors, who belong to the company. I never found the owner with a mermaid's tail birthmark below his navel. My mom confirmed that it was me. No, I mean, that was my clairvoyance trying to help me find my prince. Once in a while, we experience those 'visions' to help us in our quest to find our reincarnated princes.

"Look around," Mom said in a stern voice. "The moment you have those visions, the closer you are connected with the person that you're looking for."

On a Thursday night, after I was the only one left inside the marketing team's office, I came across CEO Seo, who was coincidentally in the elevator with Secretary Pyo. He looked at his watch, then to the floor, and then looked at me. He greeted me with a warm smile as I entered the elevator. I gave both of them a nod to acknowledge them.

"Are you just getting off with work?" Secretary Pyo initiated the small talk and pushed the 'close' button.

"Ah, yes. I am busy editing CEO Seo's work---" I stopped midway, watching the doors of the elevator close. I glanced at the CEO as if it makes any sense for me to be asking permission when I spilled everything out. "I mean, the novel More than Friends is a great story, and I'm enjoying my work as the copywriter!" I laughed awkwardly, "I need to hurry and finish a deadline tomorrow, though!"

"It's okay! Secretary Pyo knows that I made that novel. Anyway, I'd like to ask about the deadline." CEO Seo inquired while his forehead furrowed, "Do you have any deadlines to meet for that novel?"

"Uh," I looked at the floor we were on, the 2nd floor. "Team Leader Bae wanted to take over the exhibition project if I won't finish editing the book by tomorrow."

"Really?" He asked to confirm, and I nodded. "That's the first time I hear it. I asked Manager Jeong to put you as the in-charge of the exhibition project since you were the one who edited the whole book." He let out a sigh, "Is your Team Leader planning to take someone else's efforts just to add something on her resume?"

I didn't respond. That was my assumption, but I didn't think it CERTAINLY was her goal. I guess, after all, she has always emphasized how she'd like to take the job since she wanted to get close with Seungwoo and add something to her resume. Trying to take two birds with one stone, eh?

"How dare she try to use her position to treat her members like that?" Secretary Pyo said, snapped. "What would you recommend me to do, CEO Seo?"

"Wait! No!"

Ting! The elevator opened. The three of us stepped outside the elevator as I tried to grab the sleeves of CEO Seo to make him listen to me. He turned around and gave me a heartwarming smile.

I immediately clasped my hands due to the second-hand embarrassment, "I mean. I can finish my work tomorrow. Trust me; I'll win over our Team Leader fair and square."

The corners of his mouth turned up as both of his eyes turned violet for the first time in a while. "Don't worry; I will always be at your back and by your side."

I rode a bus, and I stopped for dinner at the convenience store on my way home. It was a great night since I didn't bump into Kim Seungwoo. I enjoyed my night without having to worry about any colleague or anyone I know see me barefaced.

The next day. Before I declared to Team Leader Bae, I finished editing the work on Friday noon. She told me our challenge was already void, and I got the exhibition project as promised. What just happened? Team Leader Bae was so determined to take that project away from me--even willing to make up stories that I am slacking and busy seducing the men in the company, but she's just going to give up just like that?

I stared at my PC. The work I have been doing for several days--for almost two weeks, I am very proud of what I have done and achieved, but sadly, it felt like a useless victory. They did not acknowledge me. Team Leader Bae did not declare defeat because I did the almost impossible or proven her to be wrong; she declared defeat as the commander who forced her to. I didn't cheat, but it felt as if I cheated.

It was the worst feeling in the world.

I rode the elevator and pushed the 9th-floor button. I stormed my way to the CEO's office.

There's no way I am accepting this without any explanation.