My Boss is a CHICKEN?!

Me and In-Young strutted toward the cafeteria like we were long-lost besties finally reunited after ten years on different continents.

Except—we were not besties.

Not yet, at least.

We'd known each other for approximately… checks calendar... An hour? Okay, maybe half an hour.

But the way we were clutching each other like survivors of a zombie apocalypse, you'd think we'd fought battles together.

Hand-in-hand. Skipping through the battlefield of corporate despair.

Let's just pray my actual best friend never witnesses this betrayal—or I'm going to wake up in a ditch, 6 feet under, with a handmade tombstone that says "She chose cafeteria clout over loyalty."

Relax, Yuna. It's a survival alliance.

As we waltzed down the hallway, In-Young started telling me all about her illustrious life.

Apparently, she's been in this company for five years.

FIVE. YEARS.

Girl's practically a fossil.

And she's been in Team 1 for two years—so yeah, she's basically a senior citizen here.

But what really blew my mind?

She's older than me.

I had to do a double take.

Older? As in, she was born before me?

Because looking at her was like looking at a live-action version of a baby filter.

Excuse me? Ma'am, you're five feet tall with the skin that looks like it was blessed by K-beauty gods, and a literal voice that could pass for a cartoon character. You look like you still get ID'd for R-rated movies.

Just then, she suddenly waved and yelled, "Haewon-ah!!" like she was in a high school reunion.

Before I could escape, she dragged me— physically dragged me to a table with two other people.

I hadn't even mentally prepared for social interaction Level 2 yet.

"Hello, babygurls!" she chirped as she plopped down next to them, basically suction-cupping me onto the empty seat beside her.

Babygirls??

Babe. There is a man sitting right here.

But okay, equality. Anyone can be a babygurl in this economy.

"She's my new team member, Mi—"

"Miss Kim?" the guy interrupted, eyebrow raised.

I blinked.

Why does he say my name like I'm already a part of local gossip headlines?

"Yeah, you can just call her Mira" In-Young added, ever so cheerfully.

I gave them my awkward interview smile—the one where my lips curve up but my soul exits my body.

And to seal the awkward deal, I threw in a robotic hand wave like I was rebooting mid-self-introduction.

"Hello" I said, like a broken AI robot from 2008.

The guy chuckled while looking down, and I wondered if I'd just made it onto someone's group chat meme.

"No need to be so tense around us. Chill" he said.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding like I'd just defused a bomb. Social anxiety is real, people.

"I'm Jin-ho, by the way" he introduced himself with the kind of confidence that comes from knowing he's everyone's office crush.

"And that's Haewon" In-Young motioned to the girl next to him.

Now.

Let's talk about Haewon.

This woman looked at me like I was a cockroach who had just walked into her Chanel boutique.

Eye daggers? No ma'am. Those were laser-guided missiles. I swear I saw smoke rise.

"Don't mind her" Jin-Ho said while laughing. "She's like that."

Haewon slapped his arm. "Come on! I ain't that rude. I was just… analyzing her."

ANALYSING?!

What am I, a scientific specimen in a lab experiment?

Then, with the confidence of a person who clearly had no filter installed at birth, Haewon said, in one breath.

"Not sugarcoating, but I heard you're super rude because you were Mr. Jeon's secretary and got this position by sleeping with him and all."

…

I blinked.

What. The. Actual. Hell.

My brain went into a buffering state.

I think I saw the Windows XP error screen in my peripheral vision.

Excuse me?? Did I just get served a full roast with a side of scandal and betrayal fries???

"I—who—HUH???" I stuttered like a corrupted Siri.

"Who said that?!" I gasped.

Haewon just shrugged. "Just casual talk, y'know."

CASUAL?!

Miss girl out here casually accusing me of corporate bedroom Olympics like she's reading a weather report.

I laughed in disbelief, my mouth opening and closing like a fish struggling to breathe on land.

"Woah. Even my resume wasn't this creative," I muttered. "People out here writing fanfiction about my life."

They chuckled, as if I hadn't just been accused of nepotism via Netflix drama plot twist.

"I'm glad you don't seem like the ones in the rumours," Jin-Ho added.

"Well, Jesus Christ—I'm still a virgin!" I blurted.

And yep.

They burst into violent laughter.

Jin-Ho nearly choked on his iced coffee.

In-young smacked the table like she was on a game show.

Even Haewon cracked a smile. A small one, but it was there. I considered it a peace offering from the Eye-Dagger Queen.

Then, In-Young's laughter died down and her face turned dramatically serious, like she was about to announce a murder mystery twist. She even leaned in like she was telling them state secrets.

"But you know what's actually tragic?" she said, slapping her palm on the table. "This girl— this poor, innocent, virgin girl has been cursed."

"Cursed?" Haewon repeated, cocking a brow.

In-Young nodded solemnly, placing a dramatic hand over her chest like she was mourning my soul. "By Mr. Jeon himself."

Dramatic thunder sound effect. (In my head.)

"Oh no" Jin-ho whispered, eyes wide. "What'd he do?"

"She's been assigned the Hotel Daejeon Project."

Jin-ho gasped so hard I thought his soul left his body.

Haewon froze mid-sip.

"The what now?" she asked, carefully placing her cup down as if afraid the project might hear her.

In-Young leaned in and whispered like she was revealing ancient cursed knowledge. "THE Hotel Daejeon Project."

Jin-ho slowly turned to me, eyes wide. "You're joking."

Haewon squinted. "That's still a thing? I thought it was a myth. Like unicorns. Or good managers."

In-Young nodded, eyes wide. "It lives. And guess what?"

She paused, for maximum drama.

"He told her to handle it alone."

A beat of stunned silence.

Jin-ho banged the table. "ALONE?! That's a human rights violation!"

"Is that even legal?" Haewon said, gripping her coffee like it had the answers.

"You can't do that by yourself, Mira" jin-ho said. "That project is older than my skincare routine. People aged ten years just reading those files."

"That thing's been abandoned longer than my gym membership" Haewon muttered.

"Oh, it gets worse" In-Young continued with glee, like she was hosting a true crime podcast. "Mr. Jeon told her to submit the summary by 5 PM."

"TODAY?" Jin-ho screeched.

"She barely even knows what the project is" In-Young said. "He dumped a skyscraper of documents on her desk and just walked away like he was dropping off dry cleaning."

"I can't believe he gave you that alone," Haewon said, looking genuinely appalled. "People have transferred departments to avoid that mess."

"One guy faked dengue" In-Young whispered. "Another claimed he had to fly to Iceland for a family emergency. His grandma lives in Busan."

Meanwhile I'm here, silently dying with a ballpoint pen and a nervous twitch

"This is abuse" Jin-ho declared. "You should file a complaint."

Complaint? I'm too scared to even breathe near his door

"You have to talk to him, Mira" Haewon said seriously, which scared me more than when she wasn't on my side.

"Him?"

"Yeah him" Jin-ho shrugged. "Just go to his office and be honest. Tell him it's not possible to do it solo."

"I would rather fight a raccoon in a dark alley," muttered.

Haewon shrugged. "Raccoon might be more understanding."

"Seriously, Mira" Jin-ho said, tapping the table. "Just request an extension. Worst case, he says no. Best case, you don't die of exhaustion."

"Or worse, get fired and replaced by ChatGPT" In-Young added cheerfully.

"I'm scared of him, okay?" I hissed.

In-Young reached out to pat my hand.

"You've got this, babygurl."

...

I looked at the three of them in slow motion—In-Young, Jin-ho, and Haewon—each staring at me like they were trying to inject motivation directly into my bloodstream through sheer eye contact.

It felt like I was in some weird corporate Avengers reboot, and I was the underpaid intern they'd chosen to emotionally sponsor.

I blinked at them.

They blinked back.

Nobody said a word.

Their expressions screamed, "You got this!"

Meanwhile, mine screamed, "Do I though? Or am I marching straight into corporate execution?"

Jin-ho held up a fist. "Request that extension. Do it for all the fallen employees who tried and failed before you."

Will I get fired before that?

Now that's the real cliffhanger!