The A-team office was quieter than it had ever been—almost as if everyone was holding their breath.

Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Hana were walking around the office, radiating dark and intimidating auras. Every member of the A-team was carefully watching their every move, trying their best to avoid drawing any attention.

Sigh…

As soon as they passed, quiet sighs of relief could be heard from various corners of the room. It seemed that everyone felt like they could finally breathe again.

“What is this mess…”
“We have no choice. If we don’t want to end up dead, we have to behave like this.”
“Remember that one person who acted without thinking? They got dragged off by Lee Soo-ah, and no one’s seen them since.”
“Right, ever since then, they’ve been MIA.”

The A-team members were on high alert, constantly monitoring Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Hana. Things had turned very tense after Lee Soo-ah got rejected by Baek Ji-hoon. No one wanted to be caught in the crossfire and say the wrong thing, fearing it could cost them their job—or worse.

“Everyone… let’s just be careful.”
Cha Manager, ever the perceptive one, gave the team some cautious advice. Not only Lee Soo-ah but also Yoo Hana seemed to be on edge, so everyone was treading lightly.

“Do we have to keep living like this…?”

Each time Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Hana passed through the office, everyone instinctively ducked their heads, trying to make themselves as small as possible.

“Manager, can’t you talk to Ji-hoon? Don’t you think he needs to step in?” one of the team members whispered, casting a glance at the still-fuming Lee Soo-ah, who looked ready to explode at anyone who crossed her path.

“What am I supposed to say? It’s not like I can tell him to break up with Cha Isul and date Lee Soo-ah!” Cha Manager replied in frustration.

“But what are we supposed to do? The atmosphere in the A-team is so bad that it’s hard to focus on work. It’s scary!” the team insisted, pushing the responsibility onto Cha Manager.

“Fine, fine. I’ll try talking to him…”

Cha Manager finally relented, though it was clear he wasn’t thrilled about it.

Knock, knock.

“Yes?”
“Hey, Ji-hoon.”
“Yes?”
“You’ve noticed the atmosphere in the A-team has been pretty bad lately, right?”
“Really? I hadn’t noticed…”

This was news to Ji-hoon.

“Yeah, and it’s because of you.”

“What? Why me?”

He was even more confused now.

“Well, it’s because you’re dating Isul.”
“Uh… yeah…”

Ji-hoon felt a bit embarrassed talking about it so openly, but since Hyung-seok had probably spread the word all over, it seemed like everyone already knew.

“Ever since you and Isul started dating, the atmosphere has been really off.”
“And why is that…?”
“It’s because you rejected Soo-ah.”

“Well… I wouldn’t exactly call it rejection…”

Ji-hoon wasn’t sure if that’s how it should be phrased. It was an unfortunate situation, but unavoidable.

“Anyway, Soo-ah has been acting out ever since. And Hana is getting dragged into it too.”

“Why?”

“Why? Because both of them want to date you, obviously.”

“Ah…”

‘It must be because of the Incubus trait,’ Ji-hoon thought to himself.

“Now Soo-ah and Hana are making everyone uncomfortable because they’re upset, and we’re all dealing with the fallout!”

“So… what do you want me to do?”
“Could you talk to them? You know, tell them to chill out a bit?”

“What exactly should I say to them…?”

Ji-hoon felt stuck. What could he possibly say to fix this? He hadn’t asked for any of this drama, and now both Soo-ah and Hana were causing problems because of him.

“Alright, I’ll give it a try.”

“Hey, Soo-ah.”

Ji-hoon stepped into Lee Soo-ah’s office.

“Oh, Ji-hoon! What brings you here?”

Her face brightened up immediately, even though she’d been fuming just moments before.

“I wanted to ask if something’s been bothering you lately.”

“Why? Are you going to make it better?”

Her expression was full of anticipation.

“No, that’s not it…”

Her face instantly fell.

“Then why did you come?”

“Well, everyone’s saying that you’ve been walking around looking upset, and it’s making the other staff uncomfortable.”

“Who said that? Who exactly?”
“Well, pretty much everyone except you.”

“Hah, that’s ridiculous. What does that have to do with me?”

She was clearly irritated now.

“Soo-ah, listen.”

“Yes?”
“I don’t like the way you’ve been acting. You’re too intense, and everything revolves around you. How can anyone like you when it doesn’t feel like you care about anyone but yourself?”

Ji-hoon realized the only way to get through to her was to be blunt. So he hit her with some harsh but necessary truths.

“Wha…?”

Soo-ah stared at him, completely shell-shocked.

“Look, I don’t like people like that. So please, just forget about me. We’re not going to happen.”

Soo-ah was left speechless as Ji-hoon left the room.

‘Did I just… get rejected twice? Was that confirmation?’

Soo-ah stood frozen in place, unable to process what had just happened. The words Ji-hoon had said hit her harder than she had expected.

‘I’m being tested, right? He’s just trying to make me stronger, isn’t he?’

Her thoughts were spinning, unable to accept the reality of what had just happened.

By now, Lee Soo-ah was practically a zombie, wandering around the office with a dark cloud hanging over her. It was as if she was carrying a heavy, invisible burden on her shoulders.

“What’s up with Soo-ah now?”
“I don’t know. I saw Ji-hoon go into her office earlier. Did he say something?”
“Could he have rejected her again?”
“No way, he wouldn’t have hit her with a double rejection.”

The team whispered among themselves, feeling a mix of relief and pity. As bad as angry Soo-ah had been, this broken version of her was almost sad.

“Man, poor Soo-ah. I feel a little bad for her now…”
“What’s there to feel bad about? She brought this on herself, didn’t she?”
“Maybe…”

They kept their voices low, not wanting to accidentally trigger another outburst.

“I’m sure Ji-hoon will handle this.”

“Handle what?”

Cha Isul had suddenly appeared, catching the end of their conversation. She had overheard while passing by and stepped in.

“Ah, Cha Isul…”

“What were you all talking about? Was it about my Ji-hoon?”
“Well… yeah… kind of…”

The team nervously glanced between Soo-ah and Isul.

“What was it? What did Ji-hoon do?”

The team explained what had been happening.

“So… after Ji-hoon and I started dating, Soo-ah kind of broke down…?”
“Yeah, that’s pretty much it. Actually, it feels like she started to lose it after Ji-hoon joined the guild. She used to be so composed and sharp, but after Ji-hoon came, it’s like something changed in her…”
“That’s right. Ever since Ji-hoon showed up, things have been weird with her.”

They whispered amongst themselves again, clearly uncomfortable with the whole situation.

“Wait… so Soo-ah had feelings for Ji-hoon?”

Isul’s expression grew complicated as she processed the situation.

For years, she had dreamt of dating Baek Ji-hoon. That dream had finally come true, but now she realized it wasn’t as secure as she thought. Soo-ah wasn’t the only one; Yoo Hana was after him too.

‘This isn’t going to be easy… I managed to get him, but this is dangerous…’

She couldn’t help but feel on edge, sensing that she might need to step up and take action.

‘I need to make things clear. I have to set boundaries.’

“Ji-hoon.”

Cha Isul entered Ji-hoon’s office, her face beaming with a bright smile.

“Hey, Isul. What’s up?”

“So… I was thinking. How about we go on a trip this weekend?”

“Sure, sounds good. I don’t have anything pressing to do.”

“I’ve already planned out a schedule~”

She handed him a calendar, which was filled to the brim with a tightly packed itinerary of dates and activities.

‘What…? This is intense.’

It looked less like a romantic getaway and more like a detailed work schedule.

“You want to do all of this? This weekend?”
“Yup! There’s so much I’ve always wanted to do with you.”

“Oh…”

Looking at her cheerful smile, Ji-hoon couldn’t bring himself to say no.

“Well… alright. Let’s give it a try.”

Though he wasn’t sure why the schedule was so packed, he decided to go along with it for now.

“Thanks!”