—I'm sorry…… Dahui-ya. I was blinded by jealousy for a while…… hic…….

Gu Miryeo, the manager who had acted like a devil, was crying.

Sobs kept coming over the line, but she didn't believe those tears anymore.

Time apart had made it clear.

Gu Miryeo was not a normal human being.

She was someone who felt no guilt or hesitation about working on people's emotions and loading them with guilt to control them for her own ends.

She could see clearly now how much she had suffered, how much she had been shaken, because of Gu Miryeo.

"I get what you're saying, but……."

—Right? You know how I feel, don't you? We used to be good together~

The tearful voice brightened in an instant.

Seo Dahui's face, on the other hand, went cold and hard. People's true nature didn't change, just as she'd thought.

—So put in a good word for me with Chief Go Mihyeon. I'll be really good to you from now on~

Seo Dahui had heard the news that DMC had a new chief too.

But what was she talking about, being good to her…….

The longer the call went on, the more gooseflesh crawled over Seo Dahui's body.

She had switched gears so fast you had to wonder if this was the same person who'd been sobbing that she was sorry.

Gu Miryeo hadn't called to apologize.

She was scheming to survive. Scheming to hang on at DMC. The call was about keeping her current job.

The only purpose was to use her again.

Seo Dahui bit her lip hard, phone in hand. She remembered what Ha Tae-ung had said not long ago.

That she should go home for a while and rest.

At first, she had wondered if it was really necessary to go that far. Of course, she knew what he'd meant now.

She had come to her hometown, as Ha Tae-ung had advised. It had been the right thing to do.

She had left before the holiday started.

Seeing their daughter home earlier than planned, her parents had naturally worried first.

She'd made…