Lead with Her Heart [ Sahyo ]

26 - Confrontation

—Peaches Inc. Basement— Friday, September 6th, XX35, 12:00 PM
[Jihyo's POV]

As she descends the staircase, Jihyo comes face to face with what appears to be a dark office room. Her heart was pounding, practically beating out of her chest at this point.

The basement was divided into two areas: a large, empty office room at the back, and an open space, littered with boxes filled with files and other generic office supplies near the stairs. The disorganized atmosphere made it clear that the basement was not somewhere that was regularly occupied.

A single lightbulb hung from the ceiling, dimly illuminating her surroundings. That, on top of the fact she was inside her competitor's company building—the basement more specifically, made Jihyo feel even tenser and uneasy.

(Should I really be here? It's so eerie... and cold.)

Despite the numerous red flags triggering in her mind, Jihyo moved toward the dark office room. She needed to confront Momo and find out what motive she had for having spies and blackmailing Jihyo.

This was the only way.

Jihyo treads into the dark room with caution, placing a hand on the inner wall and searching for—

(Ah, I found the light switch.)

Jihyo flicks on the light and quickly makes eye contact with Momo, who is sitting ominously in the darkness.

"What the fuck—...!" Jihyo inhales sharply and puts her hand on her chest, frightened by Momo's sudden appearance.

"You're here. Sit." Momo points to the seat across from where she's seated.

"Haah, did you have to sit in the dark all ominous like that...?"

"It was entertaining to see how frightened you'd be." A smirk finds its way onto Momo's face.

"Entertaining? I see." Jihyo grabs a different seat across from Momo and sits down, crossing her arms impatiently.

Momo clears her throat. "Let's get to business then, Park Jihyo." She interlaces her hands together, placing them on the table with her straight posture. "The spies. Do you know who they are?"

"Perhaps. If I do, what are you going to do with those photos you took last time?"

"It's as I said last time. If you find them all, then I won't release the photos of you and that employee of yours."

"I have no reason to believe you wouldn't just go back on your words and post those pictures anyway."

"View it however you want, but you have a chance to keep this whole ordeal a secret between just you and me. Isn't that what you want?"

It would have been ideal, but no. Keeping this ordeal a small secret was no longer the plan. Despite this, Jihyo plays along with Momo.

"So, how are we gonna do this?" Jihyo asks.