Chapter 57: A person who found something to protect (8)
TL: emptycube
Sponsor: Beefcake
“…!”
Without being able to scream, Son Chaeyoung stiffened like a mannequin. Looking at how only her pupils slid downwards in her widened eyes, it seemed she couldn’t grasp the situation and what had hit her face.
The tiramisu cake, still a black mess stuck onto her face, slowly slid down.
While taking in the once in a lifetime scene in front of me, I thought for a moment.
Although the cake I spent a lot of money on became like that, I didn’t feel like the money was wasted.
The cake choice was great. If it was simply a cream cake, then I thought it would feel slightly lacking.
“Wh-what, th-this, Chae-Chaeyoung…”
Chief Jo’s stutter broke the silence. He stared at me then at Lee Songha with the pale face of someone who had watched a terrifying horror movie before rummaging through his pockets and hurriedly disappearing, saying that he would bring tissues.
“… Are you crazy?”
Son Chaeyoung said as she wiped her cheek with the back of her hand and furiously brushed off the cakey mess. I thought she would rampage like a beast like before, but perhaps it was similar to the quiet before the storm as her voice was unexpectedly calm.
However, there was a vicious look in her eyes.
I raised my arm and shielded Lee Songha just in case.
“No,”
Replied Lee Songha.
When I turned around, I became surprised. Her voice was as calm as usual, but her eyes seemed to be burning. Her attitude seemed as though, if Son Chaeyoung raised her hand again, she’d throw the cake box at her too.
Well, she was like that. I had forgotten for a while.
I had forgotten that Lee Songha, who would become dejected whenever she troubled her team because of her mistakes, was the type who would say what she wanted and fight when necessary.
“You’re the one who started it.”
“You?”{1}
Son Chaeyoung laughed as if taken aback. Lee Songha didn’t care and continued,
“You tried to hit him.”
“So? Did he get hit? He dodged it like a slippery eel. Also, because I vented my anger on your manager, you throw a cake at your company senior? Have you lost your mind because people praise you for being a genius? Do you think that you can still-!”
“Don’t vent.”
Lee Songha cut her off.
“What?”
“Don’t vent your anger on someone else’s-“
Someone else’s?
“Someone else’s oppa.”
It felt like she had hurriedly changed her words.
However, I didn’t have the chance to be curious. Behind Son Chaeyoung, the door opened again. Then the still pale-faced Chief Jo glanced outside before entering then closing the door.
He had a bunch of tissues in one hand.
“Chaeyoung, before anyone sees you, you sho-“
“Oppa, is someone seeing me the problem? When I was hit with a cake?”
She spat after snatching the tissues. Chief Jo did a double take before looking at Lee Songha with a frown.
“What were you thi-!”
However, Chief Jo’s expression soon became bitter. It was clear he was also aware that Son Chaeyoung requested Teacher Shim Kyungtaek to block Lee Songha’s path. That was why he couldn’t scold her. When thinking of what Son Chaeyoung did, she deserved a rock thrown at her, let alone a cake.
Instead of Lee Songha, Chief Jo picked on me.
“Hey, you! How could you just watch instead of stopping her?!”
“I didn’t see it as I was thinking about Teacher Shim Kyungtaek.”
Chief Jo flinched like someone who had been suddenly attacked at my words. As if this sight irritated her, Son Chaeyoung angrily threw the tissues she was wiping her face with on the floor.
“Ah, I’m pissed. Don’t think about picking on Teacher Shim with this incident. I heard that you now know everything. I did it. I asked the teacher to stop Lee Songha from acting.”
“Chaeyoung!”
Frightened, Chief Jo checked outside.
I momentarily halted. Although Teacher Shim Kyungtaek told me everything, I never thought that Son Chaeyoung would admit it with her own mouth as if it was nothing.
I suddenly became worried and looked at Lee Songha. However, Lee Songha was less agitated than before. She simply stared at Son Chaeyoung with eyes that seemed calm and deep like a bottomless pool of water.
I couldn’t tell what she was thinking with those eyes.
“But what are you going to do about it now that you know?”
Son Chaeyoung asked me.
“Who are you going to whine to? The director? The CEO? Try it. What do you think the CEO is going to say to me?”
“Chaeyoung, really, what if someone hears you?!”
When Chief Jo grabbed her arm and tried to stop her, Son Chaeyoung raised her voice.
“There’s no one besides these two anyways! And what did I do wrong?! I only hid it because it was embarrassing, do you think I hid it because I was scared?!”
“You. Haa, you clearly told the team leader you wouldn’t do it aga-!”
“I did it because I didn’t like her. When I thought that she might join my project, I became so irritated that I couldn’t read the script or sleep! I made so much money for the company, they can just gloss it over with that!”