Aftershock - 1

Yoon Se Ah came to work two hours earlier than usual because she could not sleep at all. What happened at the YL Hotel with Lim Sang Hyuk had shaken her soul once again and from time to time, always rather unpredictably, she felt her hands tremble and she had to make an effort to make it stop.

'It feels like an aftershock. It was my heart that had been afflicted by an earthquake.'

She could not help but wonder what would happen next - will Sang Hyuk spread a rumor about her being an aggressive slut out of spite? Although they left the bar together, no one saw them get into the taxi and go to a hotel. Perhaps she could talk to Lee Min Hyun and ask him to cooperate with her and simply tell people that she left early because she did not feel well.

'I was really harsh with him back then, I don't think he will help me out.'

While she was contemplating all possible scenarios that might unfold once Lim Sang Hyuk comes to work, Se Ah did not notice the time and was brought back to reality by the loud chatter of her colleagues.

"Oh, Miss Yoon, thank God you're alright!"

Both Team Leader Shin and Mr. Woo rushed to her seat and looked her up and down with rather worried expressions on their faces.

"When we heard what happened to Lim Sang Hyuk last night, we were so worried about you!"

Se Ah widened her eyes in sincere bewilderment.

"Huh? What do you mean? Did something happen to Lim Sang Hyuk?"

"Isn't he the guy that was flirting with Miss Yoon at the party?"

Lee Min Hyun sat down in his chair and looked at Se Ah with a curious expression. Mr. Woo nodded his head and continued,

"That's right! His manager said that he was attacked in the parking lot right in front of his house! He was beaten black and blue, it was a miracle his bones are still intact. But from what I heard, his face... completely messed up."

He shivered as if having imagined something horrifying and looked back at Miss Yoon, whose eyes were still wide in perplexion. Mr. Shin noticed her distress, nudged Mr. Woo on the side, and sighed,

"Geez, Mr. Woo you're scaring Miss Yoon. Miss Yoon, I guess it's a relief that you were not with Mr. Lim at that time, who knows what might have happened? Gosh, the crime rate has grown so much recently, it's annoying."

"Yeah... It's aggravating."

Se Ah's hands started trembling again but not because she was worried or scared. She was weirdly excited. Min Hyun kept carefully observing her reactions and when he noticed the corners of her lips curl slightly up, he felt like he was going to explode. He did well. And he wanted to be praised by her.

"Come to think of it, Hwang Na Ra did not come to work too. She took a sick leave out of nowhere. Min Hyun, did not you two leave the party together?"

Miss Lee stood in front of the intern's desk and looked down at him with a suspicious glare. Min Hyun rested his chin on his left hand, while looking at his computer screen, and replied nonchalantly,

"That's right. She said she had too much to drink and was feeling sick so I gave her a ride home."

He slowly moved his eyes up and looked directly at Joo Yeong.

"That's it."

Miss Lee felt her body stiffen up under the guy's cold gaze but still did not mean to retreat.

"So you mean that you took her to her place on G Street?"

"Miss Lee, I thought Hwang Na Ra was your friend. How come you don't know where she lives? I took her to her place on K Street and even helped her get into her apartment. On the third floor. Apartment twenty-five."

"Miss Lee, did something happen to your friend too? Why a sudden interrogation?"

Team Leader Shin tilted his head to the right waiting for her reply but Joo Yeong only shook her head and went back to her desk.

Se Ah hoped for the matter to be settled at least for the rest of the day, however, the whole office was gossiping almost as if Lim Sang Hyuk was some kind of celebrity. Thankfully, no one seemed to pay any attention to the fact that she was the last person who saw him before the incident, and that made her heart a little bit lighter. But not for long.

"Miss Yoon, can I talk to you for a second?"

Miss Lee sat next to her at the cafeteria table and looked right into her face.

"Miss Yoon. Didn't you go to the hotel with Lim Sang Hyuk?"

Se Ah swallowed what was still left in her mouth when Joo Yeong sat down at her table and replied in a calm voice,

"How did you know that?"

Miss Lee widened her eyes as if she was not prepared to be hit with that question. She soon took a hold of herself and smiled,

"Well, isn't it obvious? Moreover, since I was the one who set you up with him, I kinda already knew about his intentions, so... Did anything happen there?"

"Wow, Miss Lee, I did not know you could be so tactless."

Se Ah put on a cunning grin and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Even if people were willing to ignore the fact that company mixers had a rather perverse hidden meaning, nobody dared to bring such sensitive matters afterwards, and the fact that Miss Lee, out of all people, was audacious enough to confront Se Ah like that, was rather sickening.

Lee Joo Yeong furrowed her eyebrows and almost scowled,

"Miss Yoon, don't get me wrong, I don't need the details, it's just... I'm worried about Sang Hyuk so if you know anything about what happened to him --"

"I don't think my spending time with Lim Sang Hyuk could have somehow influenced someone to attack him in the parking lot in front of his house. I don't even know where he lives."

"I see. Alright, I'm sorry to have bothered you during lunch."

Miss Lee threw one last glance at Se Ah's serious face and left the cafeteria.

'Shit, did she really not sleep with him? He was supposed to take pictures and spread rumors about her being a submissive whore, do I have to do it on my own now? God, how annoying!'

She was so immersed in her thoughts that she did not notice someone standing in her way and before she could realize it, she bumped her head on somebody's shoulder and almost fell.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Miss Lee, are you alright?"