"Karma never loses an address."
— Anonymous

As expected, hushed whispers had travelled through all corners of The Lux by the crack of dawn the following morning. New rumors of the budding relationship between the charismatic General Manager Byun Baekhyun and the beautiful Director Seo Ara soon drowned out the other alleged romance that invaded the towering property just a month before. 

But unlike then, the horde of curious, confused, and dubious busybodies kept their gossips to a mere murmur, fearful that their justifiable chitchats would jeopardize their source of income.

Baekhyun had asked Ara to stay home for the next few days and recover, but when she declined without even giving it a thought, he pushed forward with the next best thing he could do for her.

Hours after his wife went to bed, the young executive made a late-night call to Secretary Kim, and instructed his slumbering assistant to create a controlled environment where tales of his romantic gesture could roam free. Though he wanted his employees to know of his personal ties to Ara, he couldn't let them waste valuable work hours exchanging snippets and concocting theories—but more importantly, he couldn't allow boisterous gossips to affect his wife's already exhausted physical, mental, and emotional state.

Quickly grasping her superior's intentions, Secretary Kim paused her dream date with the impassively charming Oh Sehun, dragged herself out bed, and sent out an urgent email to the heads of every department, ordering them to quiet down—but not silence—the oncoming wave of gossip that would take the hotel by storm in a few hours. Each department lead was to instruct their team to save conversations for their down time and keep dialogues to a minimum. In other words, no discussions were allowed during work hours, and wild speculations were prohibited from reaching either Baekhyun's or Ara's ears.

|| The Following Day: Office of the General Manager||

With a heavy breath, Baekhyun closed his eyes and rested his head back on the soft cushion of his office chair, swiveling the seat 180 degrees to face the noonday Seoul skyline.

Having spent most of yesterday sitting at a park talking and listening, and most of last night compiling all that he had learned, his Monday felt a little bit more dreary than usual. His mind—which he trained to overcome non-work related interests from the time he comes in to when he leaves—had no desire to take even just the quickest glance at the stack of proposals waiting for him since this morning.

Less than 24 hours had passed since he made his offer to Ara, but since then, the willpower to remain patient had been chipping away at his energy and ability to focus on other things. Though she didn't turn him down on the spot, waiting for a response was more disheartening. Each time the clock ticked, Baekhyun felt her doors closing once again. He felt the chances of discovering her story quickly fading—and their relationship regressing to how it was before.

His interest in his wife had reached a point of no return that an okay from her was the only answer he could and would accept.

With a tension headache slowly creeping up on him, Baekhyun raised a hand to the upper bridge of his nose, but as he pressed gently in between the eyes, a knock interrupted his method of relief—one that signaled what he asked Secretary Kim to gather earlier were finally here.

His young assistant surprisingly did exceptionally well keeping the "rumor" at bay. Though echoes of it could be heard throughout the halls of The Lux, it was quiet enough for him to ignore, and quiet enough for Ara to work in peace.

Overall, the 1000-room property and its employees functioned much like they would on a regular afternoon, but for three individuals—Senior Director Nam of the Catering Department, Secretary Ji from the Office of the General Manager, and Senior Director Seo of the Sales Department—judgment day had arrived at last.

|| …………… ||

Baekhyun sat up on his chair and placed his forearms on the cold desk, eyes glued to the ceramic top, fingers interlaced, and thumb slowly tapping on the other. He was trying to settle his emotions—more so, the anger—arising from the sight of the trio standing some distance away, but it was proving to be harder than expected.

In front of him stood the covetous and shortsighted Ji Sun Hee, the sweet-talking parasite Nam Beom Soo, and the manipulative parvenu Seo Da Ye—the masterminds behind last Saturday's unnecessary heartache. A mixture of fear and confusion were visible in their trembling lenses, but not a drop of empathy coursed through his veins.

All three had overstepped their boundaries, exercised executive powers neither lent nor granted to them, and used The Lux and its resources for their personal agendas—but worst of all, and perhaps their greatest mistake, was that they ganged up on the wrong individual.

And now, it was time to face the consequences.  

To Baekhyun, vengeance was a dish best served cold—and he was adamant on serving his, frigid, merciless, and inescapable.

Setting his intimidating lenses on the anxious three, he cleared his throat then summoned a vindictive smile. "I do apologize for pulling you out from your respective duties," he began, his tone cool and composed. "But I wanted to personally extend my gratitude and congratulate you three for the fruitful decisions you've collectedly made these past few weeks. More specifically, for sending such a qualified individual to Jeju without my consent, and for successfully leading last Saturday's promotional and unforgettable event," he continued as he stood up and walked around his executive desk with both hands clasped neatly behind his back.

There were no hints of sarcasm in his voice, but with every step—every slight movement he made—Secretary Ji and Director Nam felt their knees weaken, and their lives shorten by a few months. It was at this point they realized the mistake of joining forces with the seemingly well-connected Seo Da Ye.

A subtle smirk tugged on the corner of Baekhyun's lips as he leaned against the length of his desk and crossed a foot over the other. "You three know I'm not big on the rewards, but I'm too impressed by your actions to let your deeds go uncompensated," he began, taking a brief moment of silence before announcing his first o