The Truth About Monsters

Chapter 3: Playing with Fire

Never, in Rosie's life, did the passage of a mere twenty-one days take what seemed like decades. She was practically seconds away from getting on her knees and calling Jungkook, just to tell him that his grand scheme was a bust.

Jennie wouldn't let up. It was hazing, torture, whatever cruel name there was for it. It started out with the coffee runs. Jennie would send Rosie, a god damned surgeon in waiting, to fetch coffee for her. Sometimes twice a day. Rosie knew there was a perfectly good machine in the lounge. Then it was the paperwork. Mountains upon mountains of what was essentially busy work, stacked high upon her desk every morning.

Rosie worked diligently at first, hoping there was something in the files she was reading- anything to help Jungkook get an advantage. And then she realized she was going through old clinical trials, billing reports, and overall trash.

And that's when Rosie realized that Jennie didn't just hate her. She didn't trust her either.

Jennie was playing her, and there wasn't a damned thing she could do about it.

There were no patients, no injured mercenaries like she'd thought up in her head. Maybe she was watching a few too many thrillers. God, real sabotage- financial, strategic- was so boring. Rosie felt as if her head was emptied and its remnants were nothing but negative thoughts and profanities that she bit back.

She hadn't reported to Jungkook or Somi yet, because she had nothing to report. Every day was a new, lifeless void. Rosie used to save lives. Now she watched her own tick away with every passing second the great clock on her office wall would emit.

Rosie would, ashamedly, doze off every now and then. Sometimes she was able to snoop around, but Mino was always hanging around during the day, vigilant eyes outside Jennie's office door. Sometimes Rosie had to wonder if they were screwing. Not dating of course, because that would require a soul, and Jennie was strongly lacking in that department. But looks? Sure.

Rosie passed her little moments of inactivity with the strangest, vaguest dreams she'd ever had in her life. All of them involved a certain brunette C.E.O by the name of Kim Jisoo.

Rosie couldn't shake the thoughts of her that now plagued her mind. Everywhere she looked, she saw the name Kim, or Inferna Corp. And those files. She closed her eyes every now and then and imagined Jisoo wielding a knife like she'd handled that letter opener during their first interview.

Sometimes, she imagined Jisoo driving it into Mark's chest.

She usually woke up from those with a jolt, sending papers flying. It was risky business, having night terrors in the middle of the work day.

But Rosie's night terrors were the one constant in her life. She wasn't willing to let them go.

Rosie nearly jumped out of her own skin when she heard a knocking at the door. She rose, quickly, to see Mino leaning nonchalantly against the whitewashed wall.

"Dr. Park." He nodded respectfully, eyes immediately searching her. Rosie guessed that he was trained to look for threats.

"Hei." Rosie tried to put a little spin on her accent, trying to mimic the way she'd heard Mino speak to Jennie outside in the hall.

"Very good, Rosie." Mino gaze softened a bit. He leaned forward, handing Rosie a stack of what had to be at least two-hundred paper packets, put together. "Your Trigedasleng is coming along... for someone who spies on others talking instead of just learning." He added the last part with a bit of humor.

"This must be my punishment." Rosie grunted as she took the papers with a flick of her wrist, tossing them on the already encompassing pile that ate nearly three quarters of her desk. "How could I possibly learn it when no one is here to teach me?"