"Care to explain what you're doing in my bedroom, Mr. Gong?"
Bae Sik Gong stood frozen, his mind scrambling for an escape.
"I was looking for the toilet," he blurted out, keeping his tone as neutral as possible.
Ingrid's sharp eyes didn't waver. "The toilet is just by the kitchen."
A tense silence hung between them.
Bae Sik Gong forced a small nod. "I see. Thank you." Without another word, he turned on his heel and swiftly exited the room.
Ingrid didn't stop him.
But as she stood alone in her dimly lit bedroom, her gaze fell on the black thong still lying on the floor.
Her brows furrowed.
How could a college student, who has been tutoring her daughter for over two weeks, not know where the bathroom was?
"...?"
A strange feeling settled in her chest.
Something wasn't right.
And she intended to find out exactly what.
"Oh! What were you doing in there, Mr. Gong?" Kim Yeon Mikage asked, narrowing her eyes.
"!! Uh… I went in by mistake. I thought it was the toilet," Bae Sik Gong stammered, scratching the back of his head.
Kim Yeon Mikage folded her arms, unconvinced.
"Maybe I'm just tired from a project I was working on in college," he added hastily, trying to sound casual.
But as he shifted nervously, he felt the unmistakable presence of something in his pocket, something he definitely shouldn't have.
A single thought ran through his mind: What the hell am I supposed to do with this thong?
The next day, Kim Yeon skipped school and made her way to a secluded hideout where her delinquent friends and her boyfriend were hanging out.
"Hey, give me one," she said, holding out her hand.
One of them lazily handed her a cigarette, but another scoffed. "Aigoo, just get your own, dammit!"
Kim Yeon smirked, lighting up as she let out a small chuckle. "Hehe."
"We're heading to the mall, then grabbing some soju," one of them said.
"No," Kim Yeon replied flatly.
Her boyfriend raised an eyebrow. "No? Aww, did something happen, princess?"
Kim Yeon scoffed. "Princess? Pfft. Don't even start with that. Besides, I made it so obvious, and he just doesn't get it."
"You mean that tutor of yours?" one of her friends asked, leaning in with a smirk.
"Who do you think I was referring to, girl?" Kim Yeon scoffed, taking a drag from her cigarette. "That loser can't even tell when a girl is giving him the green light. No wonder he's single."
"Really? Pfft, what's with him?" her boyfriend asked, amused and continues on.
"Just take his pants off and suck one out of him." Said her boyfriend.
"Look at this idiot, trying to win her back after he forgotten their one year anniversary as a couple, haha."
"Said one of Kim Yeon's friend."
"Bro, a girl's heart is never to be meddle with."
Said Kim Yeon's boyfriend's friend before getting a head punched hard by his girlfriend."
One of Kim Yeon's friend then said.
"Maybe it's your mom your tutor was interested in."
"?"
Questioned Kim Yeon.
"I mean, have you guys ever seen her mom? She so hot and sexy."
Kim Yeon friend claims.
"Shut up." Kim Yeon said.
But her friend continued on.
"Come on Kim Yeon, you know I'm right. I mean, with a sexy mature woman in the house. There's no reason for your tutor to go after you. Beside's I think he has a MILF fetish."
"You serious?" Kim Yeon said with an eybrow raised and thinks hard.
"....."
"Okay enough about look at the black guy over there." Said one of them as he gestures a black guy in corporate suit and a bag with him.
"He looks like an indian though." Said Kim Yeon's friend.
"Don't care, let's get some cash from him."
Said Kim Yeon's boyfriend as he make's his way and stops him.
"Oy, got cash?"
Said her boyfriend, revealing his pocket knife.
"Pfft, what are you? A sissy? Taking a pocket knife out like some big shot."
Said the Indian man to him.
Kim Yeon and her gang tried to hide their laughters to what the indian guy said.
"Big talk to someone who's about to get stab. What's your name." Kim Yeon boyfriend said as he see's the indian guy's ID tag on him.
"Shan Wolf, huh? What is that? Your some kind of wolf?"
He said.
Then, Shan replied. "Maybe? Or maybe because I'm taller and not some dumb delinpuent."
With furry, Kim Yeon's boyriend strike's him with his pocket knife. But by just a blink of an eye. He was down.
"Huh?"
Said Kim Yeon's boyfriend as he subdue him in a flash.
Shan tigthen his grip as Kim Yeon's boyfriend yelps in pain.
"Your Name, kid."
Shan asked.
"Jon Kin Kon."
"Pfft! Kin Kon? More like King Kong."
He sais as the others of Jo Kin Kon's tried to hold their laugh from Shan's joke.
Shan let go of him, sliding the pocket knife back into Jon Kin Kon's hand. His voice was calm but firm.
"Kid, listen up. Nothing comes without hard work. Anything gained without effort won't last."
Without another word, Shan turned and walked away, his steps steady, his presence lingering like an unsolved puzzle.
Jon Kin Kon stood frozen, gripping the knife. His mind raced.
"Guys… what does that even mean?" he muttered, glancing at his friends. But they were just as lost, staring after Shan in silence.
Meanwhile, at Headquarters…
The elevator doors slid open with a quiet chime. Rae Yoorin stepped out, her heels clicking against the polished floor. She barely took two steps before she saw them—Ingrid and the Executive Director.
The same director who had been there when Shan's transfer was discussed.
A strange tension hung in the air.
Something was happening.
And Rae Yoorin had a feeling she was about to find out what.
Rae Yoorin moved quietly, her footsteps barely making a sound as she followed them, careful to stay unnoticed. She watched as the Executive Director and Ingrid disappeared into the storage facility.
Curiosity gnawed at her. Something about their secrecy felt… off.
She crept closer, pressing herself against the wall, peeking through the slight opening in the door. Her breath hitched.
Inside, the Executive Director had Ingrid pinned against the shelves, his movements deliberate, his grip firm. Ingrid didn't resist. Instead, she leaned into him, her breath ragged.
Rae's pulse quickened. This wasn't just a casual meeting.
What exactly was going on between them? And more importantly, how did this connect to Shan's transfer but got cancelled?