A Madman in Love-Chapter 62

Humans sometimes fall into deeper traps of their own making—not by mere mistakes, but by their refusal to acknowledge them.

Ahjin was one of those people.

“Why the hell should I?!”

Not a shred of guilt in her voice.

“This is your official termination notice and a copy of the report filed against you. You may review the details and handle any legal matters at your own discretion.”

“Shove it!”

Suin handed her the prepared termination notice, but Ahjin, enraged, smacked it away.

Thud!

The binder, struck with force, flew across the office like a boomerang, landing right at the feet of some dispatched employees who had just walked into the development team’s office.

“Whoa!”

Startled by the unexpected projectile, they jumped back.

Realizing it was just a regular binder, they exhaled in relief and reached down to pick it up.

But before they could, Ahjin’s voice exploded through the office, practically shaking the ceiling.

“Why the fuck are you reporting me?!”

“Ahjin…”

“What the hell’s going on? Why are you shouting?”

The newly arrived employees rushed over, trying to calm her down, but she violently shook off their hands.

“Who the hell do you think you are?! What gives you the right to terminate my contract?!”

“It would be wise not to make a scene. For your own dignity, if nothing else.”

“Dignity?! I just got fired! What the hell do I care about dignity?!”

Even Suin’s cold warning did nothing to deter her. Ahjin was still seething, her nails sharpening like claws as she lunged at Suin, fully intending to scratch her face.

“Whoa, whoa! Ahjin! Calm down!”

“Let go of me!”

“Get a hold of yourself, Ahjin!”

“This bitch got me fired!!!”

Even as the development team leader tried to restrain her, Ahjin thrashed wildly, making a spectacle of herself—fully exposing her own wrongdoing in the process.

“What’s going on here, Chief Secretary?”

The team leader had subtly signaled to the other employees, who quickly surrounded Ahjin, forcing some distance between her and Suin. Looking exhausted already, the team leader turned to Suin with a troubled expression.

“I’ll explain everything. But first, get that binder.”

Suin remained unfazed, calmly walking over to where the document had landed.

One of the employees, moving swiftly, picked it up and handed it to her.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

Suin accepted it with a composed smile, while the employee scratched the back of his head, looking slightly embarrassed.

Behind them, Ahjin was still cursing under her breath, but Suin paid no mind and turned back to the team leader.

She spoke clearly, making sure everyone could hear.

“The development team’s department head was planning to discuss this matter with you on Monday. However, given the current circumstances, I will summarize it now.”

“Alright.”

“Yoo Ahjin illegally accessed the company intranet using Development Team Deputy Manager Lee Gyunho’s ID and uploaded a post violating an employee’s portrait rights.”

“What…?”

“We have CCTV footage clearly showing Yoo Ahjin logging into the intranet from Lee Gyunho’s desk.”

The team leader paled as Suin flipped open the binder and presented the evidence.

“There’s also footage of her engaging in illegal photography at the garden lounge. All evidence has already been submitted to the security and legal teams.”

“Ahjin… is this true?”

At the mention of the legal team, Ahjin finally fell silent.

Her face drained of color.

The evidence was too overwhelming to deny. She bit her lip hard, but no words came.

“Details of the formal complaint are included in this document. Please review it.”

Suin handed the binder over to the team leader.

“And as of today, Yoo Ahjin’s dispatch contract has been terminated due to security violations.”

“…Understood.”

For a moment, it looked like the team leader’s hair had turned a shade whiter.

He sent a glare at Ahjin, a mixture of frustration and resentment clear on his face. Ahjin, however, avoided his gaze.

“Yoo Ahjin.”

Suin turned on her heel, issuing her final command.

“Pack your things immediately. Unless you’d rather be escorted out by security.”

***

Suin stepped out of the development team’s office and headed straight to the cafeteria to catch her breath.

A dull headache throbbed at her temples.

This was exactly why she hated conflicts. Especially ones involving venomous people—it felt like they sped up the breakdown of her brain cells.

—Can we meet for a bit?

—I’ll come to you. Where should we meet?

Sipping on an iced Americano to cool her frayed nerves, she sent a message to Ihyeon.

The response came within a second.

—Meet me at Café OO in front of the company. Text me ten minutes before you arrive.

This wasn’t a conversation to have at the office, so she agreed to meet him outside.

—Got it.

As soon as she received his reply, her gaze drifted beyond the large glass windows of the cafeteria.

There, she spotted Ahjin walking away with a box of her belongings.

She had put on such an arrogant front, but now her shoulders slumped, her steps dragging.

Ring—

She paused, lowering the box to the ground to flag down a taxi.

Suin watched for a moment before answering her phone.

[Lee Suin.]

Jaehee’s sharp voice filled her ear.

Ah—right.

Suin quickly spoke.

“I was just about to call you.”

[You expect me to believe that?]

His tone had the sulky edge of a pouting child.

Understandable—she had ignored two of his calls earlier in the morning, sending a quick ‘I’ll call you back soon’ text, only to forget entirely.

“I was busy.”

[Busy? On a Saturday?]

“I’m a very important and busy person.”

[That’s just your way of saying you don’t want to tell me.]

“It’s not that bad.”

Since an official notice regarding the security breach would be posted on the company intranet by Monday, Suin shifted the conversation away from the topic.

“Didn’t you attend the chairman and executives’ golf gathering?”

[I told them I had prior plans.]

Jaehee let out a short chuckle, relenting despite his obvious dissatisfaction.

Lately, after spending the night with her, his patience had grown noticeably generous.

“You had other plans?”

[Yeah. With you.]

“What kind of plans with me, ones I don’t even know about?”

[Plans that are about to exist.]

Suin could already tell he was plotting something.

Feigning disinterest, she countered,

“What is it? If it’s not tempting, I’m not biting.”

[How about a trip? One night, two days.]

A trip?

For a moment, she wavered.

Without realizing it, she even straightened from her seat.

[Let’s leave right now and come back late tomorrow night.]

His voice carried through the phone, deep and smooth, tinged with amusement.

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She could practically see his expectant expression. That low, inviting voice was enough to make her heartbeat stutter.

[I’ll come pick you up now.]

A trip…

Aside from school field trips, how many times had she actually traveled somewhere?

Not even enough to count on one hand.

And with a man? Never.

It didn’t really matter where they went.

As long as it was with Seo Jaehee.

—I’ll be there in ten minutes.

Unfortunately, Ihyeon’s message snapped her back to reality.

“Tsk. What a mood killer.”

She stood up, sighing.

Her tone was reprimanding, but she couldn’t hide her disappointment.

“I’m busy. I’ll call you later.”

Even as she ended the call, her fingers hesitated.

***

“I’m actually late, aren’t I?”

“I just got here myself. Were you at the office?”

“Yeah. Had something to take care of.”

Leaving behind her lingering regret, Suin arrived at the café, where Ihyeon was already waiting.

He looked dejected, his usual confidence absent.

Dark circles shadowed his eyes, as if he had spent the night wandering through a bottomless abyss.

“You didn’t sleep? Your face looks exhausted.”

“How could I sleep with all this guilt?”

“If you were at least a little more shameless, I could actually be mad at you.”

“Then hate me. As much as you want.”

It was a joke, but even that failed to lighten the mood.

If he had been outright evil, she could have just resented him. But he wasn’t.

That was what made it harder.

She had no choice but to save someone drowning in their own regret.

“I was at the office for Yoo Ahjin’s case. The development team’s dispatched employees were working today, and I wanted to handle it while there weren’t many people around.”

She got straight to the point.

She left out the details of their confrontation, summarizing only the charges and procedures.

Ihyeon listened quietly before asking,

“There’s also defamation for spreading false information. Why didn’t you include that in the charges?”

“Because you’re involved.”

She answered without hesitation.

“If I pursued that charge, you’d be facing disciplinary action. No matter the outcome, the fact that you conspired with Yoo Ahjin remains.”

His pupils trembled.

He looked like he was about to cry, so Suin quickly added,

“A dispatched employee can just be dismissed. But you? You’d be stuck with a permanent stain on your record. I didn’t want to ruin your future like that.”

“…Suin.”

“Don’t get sentimental. It’s not just for you. I didn’t want to damage the company’s reputation, either.”

“Hah. Lee Suin, always the loyal Hyesung employee.”

Ihyeon lowered his gaze, murmuring the words with a faint, bitter smile.

But his tone wasn’t sarcastic—if anything, it held a trace of admiration.

Suin smiled back.

Then, gently but firmly, she warned him,

“Never do something like this again.”

“…I won’t.”

Ihyeon clasped his hands tightly together on his lap, nodding earnestly.

And then, as if swearing an oath, he repeated it.

“I swear—I’ll never do it again.”