It was finally Friday. Clara had barely managed to survive the week as she navigated her new workplace. The rumors about her had finally subsided, after she was invited into the ‘exclusive’ circle of secretaries, who all belonged to the offices of the Executive Directors and CFO of the company. Clara had been stunned to have been brought into such a group as she had been sure that everyone would continue to treat her as an outcast. With the group's help, Clara no longer felt like a loner; they helped to quell the whispers in the hallway, glaring at whoever tried to utter another word about the former lawyer. 

Clara yawned as she entered the building of SONGHWA Hotel; she was beyond exhausted. Although the rumors about her had stopped, one person continued to harass her. The deputy manager continued to make passing snide remarks to Clara—especially when she was seen talking or interacting with Woo-hyuk. Clara couldn’t understand why her supervisor was so adamant of making her life hell just because she occasionally talked to her co-worker. Was she that infatuated with him? Clara rolled her eyes. She didn’t know how long she would have to endure the ongoing mistreatment—the late nights of working overtime, coupled with her phone calls with her informants, were slowly taking a toll on her.

“If she makes me start over on that stupid pamphlet for tomorrow, I’m going to lose it!” grumbled Clara as she stumbled into the office, half-heartedly greeting her co-workers who continued to keep their distance from her.

Clara resisted the urge to yell at them to stop making it so obvious that they found her uncomfortable. She huffed, infuriated at their reaction, as she set her purse down on her desk and turned on the desktop computer. Clara was about to reach for one of the documents the Team Leader had asked her to review, when she felt hot coffee spill down the sleeve of her silk, light blue blouse. Clara quickly stood up from shock as she looked up to see who had spilled the coffee on her. She glared at the deputy manager who feigned ignorance.

“Oh my! I’m so sorry, I was preoccupied so I didn’t know I was holding my cup the wrong way… You should clean that off.” the deputy manager scoffed in a mocking tone, smirking at Clara before slipping away to her desk.

Clara stood there silently, seething with rage. She’s going to go this far, huh? You think I’m a fool just because I’ve let your behavior slide for the past few days…? We’ll see about that!, she thought as she glowered at the smiling manager. 

Woo-hyuk glanced over at her but did nothing. Although he was annoyed and appalled at the deputy manager, he knew he shouldn’t get involved—it was a problem only Clara could remedy. He remembered the last time he had stepped in to help; it had just made it harder for his co-worker to endure. Woo-hyuk sighed, as he minded his own business. 

Clara felt her body tremble with pent-up rage and frustration, as she calmly walked out of the office and to the restroom down the hall. She took a deep, shaky breath, as she wiped the coffee off of her shirt with a wet paper towel. This was just too much for her. It was already bad enough that she had to see her now elderly father and half-brother a few nights ago… She really did not want to deal with her supervisor.

Clara sighed as she looked at her reflection in the bathroom’s mirror. She remembered the expression on her brother’s face when she pushed him away. The look of pure offense and anger on his face enraged her. If anything, she was the one who should have felt insulted. After 20 years, the people she had been dying to face, were living happy lives after committing such atrocious crimes… The only one who had to deal with the aftermath of the tragedy was her—everyone else involved, lived their lives ignoring the misdeeds they had executed. 

Her eyes welled up with bitter tears of rage as she remembered her father’s expression when she had plunged into the cold waters. The slight, gleeful smirk on his face, as he watched his own biological daughter fall from the cliff into the raging waters below was horrifying. Was he really even her father to begin with? How could a father fail to protect his child from harm? Clara shook her head as she wiped her eyes with her hands. This was no time for crying. She did not wait 20 years to just cry about her situation in a bathroom.

Washing away the last traces of her salty tears, Clara wiped her face with a paper towel, before walking out of the company to the nearby coffee shop. She ordered an extra-hot cup of Americano and walked back to the Marketing Department on the 14th floor. Clara scanned the office and spotted the deputy manager staring at Woo-hyuk with hearts in her eyes. Clara scoffed as she sauntered her way over with the hot coffee in hand. The deputy manager casted a look of annoyance when Clara blocked her view of Woo-hyuk. Clara smiled sweetly as she slightly tipped her cup of coffee, letting a slow, steady stream of hot liquid land on her supervisor’s suit jacket. With a yelp of surprise, the deputy manager stood up from her seat, staring daggers at Clara, who feigned surprise and ignorance.

“Oh, oops! I’m so sorry, I was meaning to hand you this coffee. Are you hurt?” Clara gasped with an apologetic look on her face.

“… You did this on purpose! How dare—”

“I don’t know what you mean… It’s only fair that you reap what you sow…” Clara said in a hushed tone as she leaned in to talk to the deputy manager.

“What…??!”

“Hmm... You’re not understanding what I’m saying, huh? Then I’ll spell it out for you, since you’re obviously too daft. Mess with me one more time, then we’ll really start having a problem.” Clara assured her, with an intimidating look on her face as she stared her supervisor down. She was not going to let this woman bully her any longer. She had more important matters to take care of—a woman like her manager was nothing to her.

“Ha! You’re only a new employee—what makes you think that I’ll be scared by the likes of you?” the deputy manager replied as she crossed her arms, scoffing at Clara.

“I suppose… You wouldn’t mind if I sue you for violating the Labor Standards Act regarding working time for employees, right? I’d be happy to see you in court... Though, you’ll probably be fired before we even reach a settlement.” Clara threatened, staring at her supervisor with a straight face, the corners of her mouth upturned into a menacing smile.

The deputy manager stared at Clara— her mouth open in shock. She shakily sat back down on her seat, trembling in fear. Clara stared at her, her eyes unwavering and steady as she studied the deputy manager’s expression. The new employee slowly set down the hot cup of coffee next to the deputy’s right hand. The manager flinched as she looked up at Clara. Clara smiled as she straightened her back, smoothing her wet blouse.

“Enjoy your hot cup of coffee~” Clara chirped sweetly, before she briskly turned around and walked back to her seat.

Everyone looked over at the deputy manager in confusion as the woman just stared at Clara, shaking with anger and fear. They hadn’t heard what the rookie told her, but they could tell that whatever it was, the manager was unnerved by it. Clara sighed as she started working, ignoring her team members. She just knew that this probably wouldn’t be the last incident between the two of them. On the contrary, it was only the start of this unwarranted power play between them… She had been aware of the Korean hierarchy within the workplace but had no idea that it would be to the point where she would be ostracized by her own supervisor. All Clara hoped for was to go home on time after the workday...

Woo-hyuk glanced at Clara who busied herself with her daily tasks. He looked over at the deputy manager who threw away the coffee that Clara had brought over to her, looking vexed and worried, as she nibbled on her fingers. Woo-hyuk smirked, entertained at Clara’s fiery retaliation. He had pegged her to be calm-natured and reserved but seeing as how she managed to turn the tables, she wasn’t the fool he had thought her to be. Hmm, she’s interesting to say the least…, he thought as he smiled. She was as scorching as the hot coffee she spilled on the deputy manager.

**NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.**