#13

But then, someone suggests to him that they will read and summarize the documents for him? If it were me, who knows nothing about management, I would welcome such a proposal with open arms. However, if it were the real Goo Won, the one who should be in this position, he would never accept such an offer.

I slowly lifted my gaze from the stack of documents. Then, I saw Secretary Sung Yoojun standing upright, looking at me.

“I never expected Secretary Sung to make such a suggestion.”

After a brief silence, my voice came out low and subdued.

It had only been a week since we started working together, but I had already grasped a fair understanding of who Sung Yoojun was. He was competent and meticulous. He was always faithful to his role as a secretary and had a keen ability to assess the person he served, never doing anything that his superior would not want.

And yet, such a person was now making a proposal that the in-game Goo Won would never want? How was I supposed to take this?

“You must know that I wouldn’t like this.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Yet you’re still not backing down?”

“No, I have no intention of withdrawing.”

I had asked the question as a subtle way to test him, but the answer that came back was calm and unwavering. His response was so composed that I felt unfairly flustered just from hearing it. Filled with my own sense of frustration, I shot a sharp glare at Secretary Sung Yoojun. Even under my piercing gaze, he maintained his perfect posture without the slightest disturbance.

“I believe this is necessary for the current president. So, I will not take it back.”

The current president.

At those words from Secretary Sung Yoojun, I narrowed my eyes as I continued to glare at him. What exactly did he mean by that short phrase? I recalled the thoughts I had earlier while riding in the car.

I had been certain that, since my body remained the same, no one would even imagine that I was someone else unless they had an extraordinary imagination. At worst, they might assume I was suffering from amnesia, which had reassured me. But now, it seemed I had to take back all those assumptions.

I locked eyes with the calm, unwavering gaze still fixed on me.

That was not the gaze of someone who considered me an amnesiac, worried and trying to be considerate. No, Sung Yoojun’s eyes held a firm certainty about something. And I had a pretty good idea of what he was certain about. That understanding made me relax my tensed body, lean back against the chair, and tilt my head slightly to the side as I spoke.

“You’ve caught on, huh.”

Despite my abrupt statement, Secretary Sung Yoojun remained expressionless. Seeing that reaction, I became even more convinced—he had either figured out my true identity or was at least strongly suspicious of it.

A man as confident in himself as Secretary Sung Yoojun would never let go of his suspicions once they took root, not until he reached a conclusion he could fully accept. And I had no way to convince him otherwise, since I had no information about the in-game Goo Won.

Denying it in this situation would just be a waste of energy and time. It would be better to admit it quickly and figure out a way to persuade him or at least talk things through.

“When did you realize it? Or rather, how much do you know?”

“Since a week ago at Lee Yong Entertainment, and that the person sitting in front of me is the president but also not the president.”

What the hell? That basically means he knew from the start.

“Aren’t you accepting an unrealistic story a little too easily?”

“But what choice do I have? From my judgment, this is the truth.”

“Anyone else hearing this would call you crazy.”

“Yes, I’m sure they would. And isn’t that exactly why you so readily admitted it?”

At his words, I pulled up the corners of my lips into a slow, deliberate smile.

“You really did know. That’s right—I admitted it because of that.”

No matter how many times Secretary Sung Yoojun said, ‘This person is not Goo Won, the chairman of Haje Group’, who would ever believe him? This body was the in-game Goo Won’s, and the DNA would be an exact match, too. I had already calculated both the best and worst-case scenarios. I crossed my legs and looked leisurely up at Secretary Sung Yoojun.

“No matter what you do, it won’t really hurt me.”

“What if I had a recorder or a camera on me? Are you that confident?”

“Because genetic and fingerprint tests are far more reliable than some video footage.”

For the first time, a crack appeared in Secretary Sung Yoojun’s composed expression.

“That’s true, but the fact that you’re not shaken at all makes you quite infuriating.”

“Have you ever seen someone waver in a battle they are guaranteed to win? If we go head-to-head, I’ll come out on top easily, so there’s no need to worry.”

“I’ll have to correct myself. Not just a little, but very infuriating.”

Hearing his somewhat grumpy remark, I chuckled softly. After always being on the receiving end, it finally felt like I had landed a solid hit.

“How amusing. I never thought I’d hear something that cute coming from Secretary Sung.”

There was a faint trace of mischief in my teasing, and Sung Yoojun’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. I enjoyed watching his scrunched-up expression as I continued.

“But that’s not the important issue here. How did you know? That I’m someone else. Was I that different from the original Goo Won?”

“No. From my personal view, the two of you are quite similar. Almost identical, even.”

Almost identical to the original Goo Won……

I had never once tried to imitate the original Goo Won since arriving in this world. I had simply acted the way I wanted, the way I normally would. And yet, he was saying that I was nearly the same as the original Goo Won. That meant our personalities must have been quite similar.

“If that’s what you think, then why did you conclude that I wasn’t the original Goo Won? You just said we’re similar.”

“That’s right. You are indeed similar. But there is one particular aspect in which you are completely different—so different that I couldn’t possibly believe you were the same person.”

“And what aspect is that?”

My voice was calm, devoid of curiosity even to my own ears. Perhaps sensing this, Sung Yoojun raised an eyebrow slightly in dissatisfaction.

“For someone asking, you don’t seem curious at all. Or am I mistaken?”

At his sharp remark, I briefly lowered my gaze.

Truthfully, as he pointed out, I wasn’t curious about what had made him so sure I wasn’t the original Goo Won. Because I already had a pretty good idea.

Idol Misfortune Simulation.

The game’s title alone was enough to reveal its grim intentions. In that game, Goo Won had demanded Tartarus’ transfer to a different agency in exchange for clearing an enormous debt.

Until now, I had been uncertain, but after hearing Secretary Sung Yoojun say that my personality was almost identical to the in-game Goo Won’s, I was convinced. The reason the in-game Goo Won had taken Tartarus from President Lee Yongjun was definitely not a good one.

If he had truly wanted them for a good reason, he wouldn’t have demanded their transfer like they were objects, without even consulting them. The very act itself was proof that the in-game Goo Won harbored clear malice toward Tartarus.

“……Did he hate them a lot? Those kids.”

“Yes.”

“……”

“Honestly, ‘hate’ isn’t even enough to describe it. From what I observed…… I believe the feeling could be called ‘hatred.’”

Hatred.

I quietly rolled Secretary Sung Yoojun’s words around in my mind. Naturally, it didn’t leave a pleasant taste.

“Do you know why?”

“No. He never told me.”

Yeah, of course not…… I was never the kind of person to easily voice my hatred for someone—especially if I was actively working to take them down. The moment you verbalize and express such dark emotions, you put yourself at a disadvantage.

“……Sigh.”

Hating someone is exhausting. Hurting someone requires being prepared to be hurt in return. Hatred breeds more hatred, and revenge invites further revenge. I knew that all too well.

And if I was truly similar to the original Goo Won, then he must have known it too. Yet, despite knowing all of that, if he had still chosen to act on his malice toward someone, then it wasn’t a light-hearted decision.

If I had arrived in this body just a little later, what would have happened? It wasn’t hard to imagine. Our ways of thinking were too similar.

He would have used every means at his disposal, putting everything on the line, to completely destroy Tartarus. Because that’s the kind of person I am.