Chapter 2
At lunchtime, in a corner of the company cafeteria.
Three female employees sat across from one another, eating.
"Hey, did you hear?"
Lee Ju-hee from Marketing lowered her voice.
Lee Ju-hee loved rumors and gossip, and often brought around the latest office rumors.
"Hear what?"
Choi Yu-ri from Business Support looked up and asked.
"You know, the CEO."
At that, Park So-young's hand, still until then, twitched involuntarily.
Kang Tae-seong.
Just hearing his name was enough to sour her mood.
Her friends, who'd joined the company at the same time as her, probably didn't know.
What kind of man Kang Tae-seong was. Fortunately, his clutches didn't seem to have reached them.
Only Park So-young at this table.
Hiding her true feelings, she forced herself to ask as if nothing was wrong.
"What is it this time?"
"Apparently, he's been working out lately."
"...What?"
"I'm serious!"
Lee Ju-hee waved her chopsticks as if she had an interesting story to share.
"Someone from Security saw him. They say he works out at the gym every day."
"The gym?"
"Yeah."
"I heard that too!"
Choi Yu-ri, sitting beside her, chimed in as if she already knew the story.
"Apparently, he goes down to the gym every single day without fail."
"What?"
"They say he spends two hours on the treadmill, exercising until he's drenched in sweat."
Park So-young furrowed her brow.
She couldn't believe it.
From what she'd seen, Kang Tae-seong wouldn't move without an elevator.
That kind of man exercised? Every day, no less?
It made no sense.
"And apparently, he's changed his diet, too."
"His diet?"
"Salad and chicken breast."
"..."
Park So-young almost let out a disbelieving laugh.
"That man?"
The man who used to eat several servings of meat all by himself at company dinners couldn't possibly do that.
"Did he come down with some illness?"
"Right? Maybe he got a warning at his physical?"
"Or maybe something suddenly changed his outlook..."
"Changed your outlook?”
"Maybe he fell for someone-"
"Eek! What are you saying?"
Choi Yu-ri rubbed her shoulders as if creeped out, while Lee Ju-hee chuckled, amused.
Amid their banter, Park So-young quietly took a spoonful of rice.
Even so, her mind was full of other thoughts.
‘No way.’
People didn't change that easily.
She knew that better than anyone.
A few months ago, that man had shown interest in her.
It had happened as she was walking down the hall after a meeting.
-Assistant Manager Park.
Her body had stiffened at the voice from behind.
-Ah, yes. Mr. Kang...
Park So-young had greeted him awkwardly, and...
Kang Tae-seong had patted her back twice with an inscrutable, leering smile.
To be precise, a little lower.
More like the top of her butt. She'd never imagined he'd touch her there, and was so flustered she couldn't say a word.
Kang Tae-seong had groped So-young as if it were perfectly natural, then walked away.
Even after she got home that day, she couldn't shake the awful feeling.
‘Ugh...’
Remembering that moment made goosebumps break out all over So-young.
Fortunately, nothing else had happened since then.
But that didn't mean she could let her guard down.
The rumors going around the company were well known.
Kang Tae-seong liked pretty women who were already spoken for.
Whether they had husbands or boyfriends.
For some unknown reason, the rumor was that he especially targeted women like that.
So-young fit that description perfectly. She had a boyfriend, and was known around the company as a beauty.
That's why she'd been anxious for a while.
What if she was a target, too?
She'd been tormented by anxiety every day on her way to work, but couldn't tell her boyfriend, who worked in Materials.
She couldn't tell her friends either. She thought it might make things worse for no reason.
Several months passed like that, and fortunately, nothing happened.
Even so, she still couldn't let her guard down.
‘He's changed?’
No way.
If they'd faced that creepy smile like she had, they wouldn't believe such an absurd rumor either.
Park So-young shook her head inwardly.
"What's wrong?"
Lee Ju-hee asked.
"It's nothing."
"You don't look happy."
"Just thinking."
Park So-young gave a vague answer.
"People don't change that easily."
"..."
"..."
Choi Yu-ri and Lee Ju-hee looked at her at the same time.
Park So-young set down her chopsticks for a moment.
Then she said quietly,
"Especially not him."
There was a strange weight to her words.
The other two didn't know why.
Park So-young had no intention of explaining, either.
At least, not yet.
She didn't believe Kang Tae-seong had changed.
No, she didn't want to believe it.
Because if he really hadn't changed...
The day she became his target again might come.
*
When I got home, I threw myself onto the bed.
Then I stared at the translucent window that had appeared before my eyes.
[NTR Point System unlocked.]
[NTR Shop unlocked.]
[NTR Points: 0]
"..."
Had the original game had a feature like this?
I didn't know.
It wasn't as if I'd played the game that thoroughly in the first place.
I'd skimmed through the prologue video, read a few lines of character introductions, then focused on playing.
Maybe I'd put in around twenty hours? Something like that.
So I couldn't know whether the original game had a system like this.
Still, there was one thing I was certain of.
"There was nothing like this."
It was a gut feeling.
A status window.
Points.
A shop.
If something like this had existed, people would definitely have talked about it on the forums.
But I'd never seen anyone mention it.
If so, then this was probably...
"A possession perk?"
At that moment, the corners of my mouth lifted before I realized it.
Grin.
Kang Tae-seong's signature leering smile took over my face.
"...Ah."
Coming to my senses, I immediately wiped the expression off my face.
It was the thing I was working hardest to fix these days.
Why did my smile make me look like I was planning a crime?
I headed for the bathroom.
I stopped in front of the mirror.
"Smile."
Grin.
"...No. No. Softer."
Again.
A little sweeter.
After repeating it several times, I finally managed a satisfactory expression.
The corners of my mouth lifted, and I made my eyes as gentle as possible. I tried to look as friendly as I could.
It was awkward and stiff, but at least it was much better than before.
"Good."
I nodded to myself and returned to my room.
Now it was time to get to the really important stuff.
Time to investigate the shop.
"Shop."
Ding.
[NTR Shop]
Points Owned: 0
A moment later, a list of items unfolded.
=====
[Villain's Charisma]
Price: 1,000 NTR Points
Effect: Instills a sense of pressure in the target.
=====
[Threat Tactics]
Price: 1,500 NTR Points
Effect: Improves verbal skills.
=====
[Serpent's Tongue]
Price: 2,000 NTR Points
Effect: Improves persuasion and deception.
=====
[Lie Detection]
Price: 2,000 NTR Points
Effect: Increases the chance of seeing through another person's lies.
=====
"...."
I fell silent for a moment.
The skills themselves honestly looked pretty good.
Lie detection?
It seemed like it'd be pretty useful for running a company.
Threat Tactics had a suspicious name, but if the effect was something like negotiation skills, it might be useful. Same with Serpent's Tongue, which improved verbal skills.
The problem was...
"So how do I buy these?"
I had no points.
Of course I didn't. It had just unlocked.
But then there was the next problem.
NTR Points.
How on earth was I supposed to get these points?
I rested my chin on my hand and thought hard.
"...No way."
I did have an idea.
NTR Points.
The name itself was NTR Points.
There had to be a reason they'd given them that name.
Could it be that, like in the original, I had to steal someone else's lover or ruin a relationship?
Did I have to do villainous things like that to earn points?
"That's not good."
No matter how I thought about it, that seemed likely.
Otherwise, why give them such a sinister name as NTR Points?
My excitement at thinking this might be a bonus for possessing the character faded quickly.
"These will be hard to use."
I sighed.
Why was I going through all this trouble right now?
To survive.
To lose weight. To get healthy.
Even my attempts to get the company back on track were all for that reason.
And now I was supposed to commit evil deeds like in the original?
Ruin other people's families.
Threaten employees.
Make enemies of people?
Kang Tae-seong in the original had eventually met his ruin that way.
I had not the slightest intention of following that path.
"Should I give up?"
It was a shame.
The skills looked pretty good.
Lie Detection in particular was tempting.
It seemed like it'd be a huge help in catching scammers and embezzlers, the sorts of people you ran into while running a company.
But there was no way.
If I couldn't earn points, the shop and its items were meaningless.
"Is there another way?"
I searched through the item list this way and that.
I tapped on the descriptions, tried the points section, and fiddled with the system window.
But...
[This feature is not supported.]
[This feature is not supported.]
[This feature is not supported.]
"How unhelpful."
Would it kill them to include an instruction manual? Something telling me what I had to do to earn points.
I clicked my tongue.
In the end, I learned almost nothing.
The shop existed.
It sold skills.
I needed points to buy skills.
Those three things pretty much summed it up.
"Well."
In the end, the system was just a system.
It wasn't important right now.
The company came first.
From what I remembered of the original, KJ Group looked fine on the surface, but was already rotten inside.
Embezzlement.
Nepotistic appointments.
Falsified performance reports, and so on.
There wasn't a single part of it that wasn't a mess.
I got up from the bed.
Come to think of it, I'd neglected the company too much until now.
My health was more or less on track, so it was time to take action.
I picked up my phone.
The recipient was Kim Seo-yeon, the chief secretary.
A moment later, the call connected.
-Yes, Mr. Kang.
"Secretary Kim."
-Yes, sir?
"Tomorrow morning."
I looked out at the night view beyond the window and said,
"Set up a meeting with everyone at the director level and above."
-...Pardon?
A startled voice came through.
It was understandable.
Kang Tae-seong usually hated meetings.
He was the kind of man who dumped all the bothersome stuff on his subordinates.
He hadn't held a proper meeting even once since I'd come here, so she must have been surprised when I formally scheduled one.
"I'll say it again: get every department together."
-Understood.
"And..."
I thought for a moment, then added,
"Prepare all the financial records from the last three years, too."
I heard a breath catch on the other end of the phone.
-...Yes, Mr. Kang.
The call ended.
I slowly lowered my phone.
Now it begins.
To survive.
And to save the company.
Tomorrow, for the first time, I planned to take KJ Group apart and examine it.