#19

“Wow, our president is really serious about this! Secretary Sung! Secretaary Suuung—!! Please, help me stop the president!!”

With Manager Ahn Siwon clinging to my waist, I strode forward. Struggling to stop me, Manager Ahn Siwon soon realized he couldn’t handle it alone and desperately called out for Secretary Sung Yoojun. That made my forehead crease deeply. I could probably shake off Manager Ahn Siwon and make my way through, but if Secretary Sung Yoojun joined in, even I would have a hard time.

I halted my steps towards the sedan and turned my gaze to Secretary Sung Yoojun, who was leisurely observing the situation with an unreadable expression. Manager Ahn Siwon was still clinging to my waist. The moment I stopped and looked at Secretary Sung Yoojun, Manager Ahn Siwon followed suit, shifting his desperate gaze toward him.

“Secretary Suuung~! Please help! Stop the president, please!”

Manager Ahn Siwon pleaded as if Secretary Sung Yoojun was the only one who could resolve this situation. At his desperate request, Secretary Sung finally spoke in a soft tone.

“Is that really necessary? Personally, I think it’d be fine to just get rid of President Lee Yongjun as is.”

His voice was gentle, but his words were chilling. Manager Ahn Siwon stared at him in disbelief.

“Am I the only one here with any sense left? Seriously?!”

“I’m perfectly rational.”

“I feel the same way as the president.”

“In what world are you two being rational?! Can you at least explain it to me in a way that makes sense?”

Manager Ahn Siwon tightened his grip around my waist as if declaring he wouldn’t let go unless I convinced him. Seeing his determination, I pondered briefly before speaking.

“If I were truly being irrational, I wouldn’t have thought of thirteen different ways to get rid of President Lee Yongjun without any consequences. I would have just stormed in right away.”

“Sir. Just to check…… You don’t actually think that explanation will convince me, right? Right? Please tell me you don’t. You weren’t always like this.”

“I’ve always been like this. You just misjudged me, Manager Ahn.”

“Oh, come on!! You’re so pissed off you’re even willing to ruin your own reputation just to get back at him! Please, sir! Just this once, let it go! Okay? No, actually—don’t let it go because that bastard totally deserves it, but handle it quietly! Not now! Not so openly—do it secretly!!”

Manager Ahn Siwon was practically screaming, his expression almost tearful. He clung to my coat as if it were a lifeline and continued pleading.

“Sir, think about it. Getting rid of President Lee Yongjun? Of course, I’m all for it. I hate that bastard, and I’d love nothing more than to see him disappear. After everything our kids went through, even throwing him into a pool of sewage wouldn’t be enough. But if you go charging in like this, do you know what kind of rumors will spread in the industry? That bastard may be human garbage, but his connections are rock solid. If we make the wrong move, bad rumors will spread in an instant. And when that happens, the ones who’ll suffer aren’t you or me—it’s the Tartarus members.”

“Why fear such things? Those kinds of rumors can be handled easily.”

“If you’re not going to take my side, Secretary Sung, I’d really appreciate it if you just stayed quiet.”

Manager Ahn Siwon shot a sharp glare at Secretary Sung Yoojun. His usually mild expression was now laced with anger, prompting Secretary Sung Yoojun to make a zipping motion across his lips.

“Sure, President, you can probably suppress the rumors up front. But you can’t control the ones that spread in the shadows. There will always be people who pretend to be nice in front of you but gossip behind your back. And in the end, the ones who suffer won’t be you—it’ll be Tartarus, who are much weaker in this industry.”

I took a deep breath, trying to suppress the rage clouding my judgment.

As much as it infuriated me, he was right. No matter what I did, I couldn’t control what people whispered behind closed doors, and the ones who would suffer the most were the members of Tartarus. He was absolutely right.

But even so, accepting that reality was unbearable.

“……Haah.”

I let out a deep sigh and shut my eyes tightly before reopening them. A dull ache spread around my eyes. Even without a mirror, I knew they must be red by now. Manager Ahn Siwon, still clinging to me, caught sight of my reddened eyes and immediately stood up straight.

“President……!”

With a concerned expression, he hesitated before gently brushing his fingers over my heated eyes.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking about how upset you must be. I said too much, didn’t I?”

“No. Not at all. You only spoke the truth. This is…… This is my fault. I’m not good enough yet. It’s not your fault.”

I ran a hand over my face a couple of times—both to calm my burning eyes and to steady my thoughts. Thankfully, it worked. Once I had regained my composure, I slowly lowered my hand.

“I’m okay now. I’ve calmed down. You’re right, Manager Ahn. Acting like this isn’t the right way to handle things.”

“President……”

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m not giving up on getting rid of him. As you said, I’ll find a way to handle it quietly—without causing any trouble for the kids.”

“Of course! We’re going to destroy that bastard! Absolutely wreck him!”

I glanced at Manager Ahn Siwon’s clenched fists and slowly nodded. He was right. Lee Yongjun had to be dealt with. Completely crushed—so thoroughly that he’d never recover. But to do that, I needed time and a solid plan.

“Sir! We’re done~.”

As I was internally strategizing how to deal with Lee Yongjun, Nam Yisol’s voice rang out. I turned my head to see him stepping out of the villa with a backpack slung over one shoulder.

“Good work. The moving company staff will handle the rest.”

I scanned the Tartarus members as they filed out one by one. Finally, Lee Gaon emerged, looking hesitant. Sensing he had something to say, I tilted my head in question.

“Is something wrong, Gaon-ssi?”

“Well…… Actually, President, I don’t think we need to take anything from inside. We barely used those things, and Siwon hyung said there are new pieces of furniture at the new place. So I don’t think we really need them……”

He trailed off, watching me carefully. I gently patted his head and turned to the rest of the Tartarus members.

“Do the rest of you feel the same way?”

“Yep. I think Gaon’s right. The stuff inside is really old anyway.”

“I don’t need anything from there either.”

Nam Yisol and Yoo Euiseo answered immediately. Meanwhile, Jung Hosu and Lee Daon remained silent—one with his usual blank expression, the other looking irritated.

“As I mentioned before, those expressions mean they agree too.” 

Nam Yisol quickly added before I could question them. I had no intention of pressing them, so I nodded and accepted his explanation.

“Understood. If that’s everyone’s decision, we’ll proceed accordingly. Secretary Sung.”

“Yes, sir?”

“Contact the moving company and let them know they don’t need to come. Of course, we’ll still pay them the full amount. Also, please apologize on our behalf for the sudden change.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

Satisfied with Secretary Sung Yoojun’s response, I turned back to Tartarus.

“Since we don’t need to wait for the movers, let’s head straight to the new dorm.”