"The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory"
— Anonymous

The rumors that took The Lux by storm dissipated almost as quickly as it came, thanks to the leadership of General Manager Byun.

Within days, the whispers turned to silence, and the hotel's dynamic returned to normal. Dejected bachelors who once dreamed of courting the newest catering director set their eyes on new targets, while the aloof secretary's brokenhearted following threw away their sorrows, and joined the charismatic general manager's ever-growing fan base.

|| …………… ||

Ara hurriedly made her way down the hall to the offices of her direct superiors, glancing at her watch every other minute to check how much time she had left to spare. She was expecting an important client to arrive within the hour, but the most reviled of the four senior catering directors suddenly called her over for an impromptu meeting that "just couldn't wait".

She was already aware of what the discussion would be about, but she didn't understand the reasoning for his impatience—aside for wanting to showcase his dominance and chew her out for last night's minor slip up. One of her coordinators had failed to double check the illustrated layout in the BEO before distributing them to the banquet team, which resulted in the housemen setting up more stations than the event required. Though she handled the situation quickly, Director Nam still felt she needed to answer for her staff's negligence.

Upon arriving at the grouch's doorsteps, Ara took a long deep breath and prepared her ears for what was sure to be a dreary, pointless, and deafening lecture. She had no problem with constructive criticism and guiding sermons, but from what she had heard and seen since joining the team, his spiels were always without substance and leaned more towards demeaning insults.

"Come in," the stony voice from inside answered milliseconds after her initial knock.

Receiving permission to enter, Ara slowly pushed the door open. She was expecting to lay eyes on his 24/7 scowling face, but to her surprise, he welcomed her in with an ear-to-ear smile.

"Director Seo!" he exclaimed with excitement—a demeanor everyone knew was reserved for his allies, superiors, and high-flying clients. "It's so nice to see you, and thank you for taking time to stop by. I know how hectic your schedule is right now. Please, have a seat. This will just take a few minutes," he instructed as he directed her to the chair in front of him.

Ara cautiously took a seat. Whatever witchery happened to the grumpy senior director, she hoped the effects were permanent, but she was wise enough to know that would never be the case.

"Congratulations by the way. I wasn't aware you were seeing Secretary Oh," Director Nam commented with a rather negative connotation. He flashed an approving grin then continued to browse the stack of documents for whatever it was he wanted to show her.

And…there it is. Ara thought.

The Lux had amazing employees, but like any other establishment, it had its own share of rotten apples—the chameleons who like to intertwine themselves with workplace politics for their selfish goals, like her mother and the senior director.

"Ah, yes. Anyway, should we get started?" she replied, hoping to get the discussion over with, "About last night—"

"Last night?" the middle-aged man interrupted, followed by a short laugh. "Don't worry about that dear. I'll personally have a word with that inept coordinator later today," he stated with a more vengeful tone.

"I don't think that will be necessa—" Ara countered, fearing for the poor boy. Though her staff did make a rookie mistake, she still wanted to protect the young man from facing the senior director's unjustified wrath.

"Here it is," Director Nam interjected once more, preventing her from finishing her thought. He slid a slip of paper in her direction, and flashed a rather cringey grin. "I've approved your request, and even added an extra day. We all know the pain of being jet lagged, and the desire to stay in your man's arms for as long as you can," he explained, followed by an even cringier wink.

Ara stared at him questioningly while hiding her disgust. "My request…?" she replied as reached for the document.

It was a signed, formal request form excusing her from work for the next five days, starting tomorrow.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't—" she started, but Director Nam cut her off for the third and final time.

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