Last night, Saori and I made a promise.
Even though I had decided to accept her help out of necessity, we agreed that she would simply watch from the sidelines until I said I truly needed it.
Of course, I know that Saori's mental manipulation ability is extremely powerful.
If she set her mind to it, she could probably resolve the crisis I'm currently facing in an instant.
But if I resolved this matter easily with her help, I would end up hoping for the same kind of lucky break every time something difficult happened in my life going forward.
Because that wasn't what I wanted, I wanted to try doing everything I could on my own for now.
After all, experience is important in everything.
Fortunately, Saori respected my thoughts, and the result of that was the current situation.
***
Ding!
As the elevator arrived at the 6th floor, Saori and I stepped off at the same time.
Saori, with her hands in the pockets of a jumper larger than her own body, looked around her surroundings as if fascinated.
"Is this where you work, Teacher?"
"Well, yeah."
Perhaps because it was commuting time, there were quite a lot of people coming and going in the hallway.
But none of them noticed Saori's presence, which didn't fit into this space called a company at all.
"But seriously, nobody can see you."
When I said that while bending down slightly, Saori shrugged her shoulders as if it were no big deal.
"Right now, I'm basically invisible to those people. Because all information about me is being automatically filtered by their brains."
Currently, Saori was in a state akin to having stealth mode activated.
It seemed to be an application of her mental manipulation ability, manipulating the five senses of those around her so that they couldn't recognize her existence at all.
'I thought only Aizen could do something like that.'
Indeed, it seemed there were limitless applications to hypnosis abilities.
"Then let's head inside."
As I said that while checking my wristwatch and grasped the office doorknob, Saori stopped looking around with a curious expression and came back to my side.
Click!
When I carefully opened the door, most of the employees had already arrived at the office.
Perhaps because it was almost exactly 9 o'clock, but it also seemed like everyone had come early today because an important event was being held at the company, and they wanted to see it.
However, if there was one problem, it was that the protagonist of that important event was none other than me.
"Mr. Gim Tae-min? The digital forensics results are out."
The audit team leader I had seen yesterday was waiting in front of my desk, holding documents that looked like a report and a phone in a ziplock bag.
"Let's talk inside."
The audit team leader said so, gesturing with his eyes toward the conference room.
Since this was something I had already steeled myself for since before coming to work, I followed his instructions without a word.
***
When I entered the conference room with the audit team leader, CEO I Hyeon-cheol, who usually came in late, was already seated at the head of the table waiting.
"This is regrettable, Assistant Manager Gim."
The moment we made eye contact, CEO I Hyeon-cheol began by setting a negative tone.
At this point, I already felt like the evidence had been fabricated, but since it wasn't certain yet, I decided to hear what he had to say first.
"Until the anonymous tip came in, I was half-doubting, but I never imagined you'd actually be doing something like that."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about everything you've done."
Having said that, CEO I Hyeon-cheol scanned the documents handed to him by the audit team leader and casually threw them in front of me.
Wondering what absurd charges they had written down, I read them, and the contents of the report were truly a sight to behold.
Messenger records I had never written, access records to anonymous sites I didn't even have an ID for, and even call recording records I had never made recently.
I had expected that the evidence might be fabricated, but I never imagined it would be to this extent.
"So you're saying all of this came from my phone?"
"Yes."
When I asked with a dumbfounded expression, the audit team leader lied through his teeth.
Honestly, at this point, I was almost impressed.
Yesterday when we parted, he had said it seemed like I didn't need to worry, but behind my back, he had been preparing to stab me.
"CEO, do you really want to take this all the way to a lawsuit with me?"
Since it was obvious that the audit team leader was merely doing what he was told from above, I directed the question at CEO I Hyeon-cheol, who had ordered all of this, and he shrugged his shoulders as he spoke.
"Feel free to file a lawsuit if you'd like. But do you know how long it takes until a lawsuit verdict, Assistant Manager Gim? It will take time, and lawyer fees will drain an enormous amount of money. Meanwhile, you'll be too busy running in and out of court to get a job, and you'll burn through your savings. If you still want to do it, go ahead. We have the company legal team to handle it for us anyway."
"…Are you threatening me right now?"
"How could I do such a thing in this day and age? I'm just saying this because I'm worried about your bright future, Assistant Manager Gim. Thirty-one is still a good age for a fresh start, isn't it?"
CEO I Hyeon-cheol said so, a snake-like smile spreading across his face.
But from my standpoint, it was obvious to anyone that there was already no way out.
Right now, he was saying this to me:
'So what if all that evidence is fake? If you sue the company, you'll be the one suffering, not me.'
In this situation, there were two choices available to me.
Admit to this fake evidence and get fired from the company obediently, or proceed with a lawsuit no matter how much time and money it took to resolve the current injustice.
Of course, as an ordinary office worker, it wouldn't be wrong to say the probability of me winning a lawsuit against the company was nearly zero percent, so from his perspective, it wouldn't matter which option I chose.
That is why I asked bluntly.
"What do you want?"
Perhaps thinking that I was finally making sense, CEO I Hyeon-cheol adjusted his posture and spoke.
"I don't particularly want anything. I just wish Assistant Manager Gim would disappear from in front of my eyes."
"Are you saying my very existence is an eyesore?"
"Yes. You know well."
CEO I Hyeon-cheol had finally revealed his true, unadorned feelings.
I had known for a while that he regarded me as a thorn in his side, but honestly, I hadn't known he hated me to this extent.
"…Even without resorting to such a complicated method, couldn't you have cut me off through a forced resignation or some other way?"
At that, CEO I Hyeon-cheol snickered and said,
"Then I wouldn't be able to torment you, would I?"
"......."
It was a reason I had never imagined.
Had I ever experienced such pure human malice this blatantly even once in my life?
When I was momentarily speechless and unable to say anything, perhaps thinking he had completely won, he spoke with an unpleasant, smug smile:
"Haven't you found it strange? How did I know about the phone calls you made to your former colleagues?"
Now that he mentioned it, that was true.
Unlike the fake evidence, my call records were information he couldn't have known unless he had gone through my phone.
But someone around me who could do that…
"…No way."
"Hahaha! Did you only just notice?"
CEO I Hyeon-cheol burst into laughter as if delighted, seeing my stiffened expression.
"The employee I Seok-jin, whom you trained for two years, was a mole I planted!"
The moment I heard those words, the conversations I had exchanged with that junior over the past few days flashed through my mind like a revolving lantern.
"But Assistant Manager, is that attack post on the company messenger real?"
"…Should I try saying some flattering words to the CEO? Ask him to let you go gracefully."
"I do it because I'm frustrated. Because I'm frustrated. You're my one and only senior, and it seems like you're taking the hard road because of unnecessary pride."
Is this what it feels like to have the axe you trusted strike your own foot?
Honestly, what I had just heard was more shocking than anything CEO I Hyeon-cheol had said to me so far.
The original development team had all resigned due to an unsavory incident, and the only person in the department I, who was left alone, had trusted was my junior, that bastard Seok-jin.
But that bastard was actually a spy that CEO I Hyeon-cheol had planted to keep tabs on me?
Knowing all the facts now, I trembled with the sense of betrayal.
'Just what the hell did I do wrong?'
It was just a company I joined because I liked games.
I had done my best to make them, and I had a certain pride in the games I had made myself.
But the person in the position of managing all of this had no real interest in the games' success.
He simply treated the company like his own playground, indulging in tormenting people simply because they weren't to his liking.
Normally, I would have suppressed these boiling, seething emotions.
If I wasn't going to quit the company tomorrow, reality dictated that I had no choice but to endure my superior's abuse of power, however dirty and cowardly it was.
But now, it was different.
Since I had already come in this morning prepared to be fired, there was nothing left to fear.
So, toward CEO I Hyeon-cheol, who was making an insufferable expression in front of me as if he had already won, I put into action what I had only imagined doing until now.
"Hey, you son of a bitch. Are you even human?"