What's Wrong With Assistant Kang?

34. Caramel Candy

The first words that registered inside Echo Girl's mind were her manager's, snapping at her for messing everything up and ruining her own career.

"...Just wait until your father hears about this! This can't be salvaged anymore, nothing we say to the press can fix this... I'll certainly end up fired either way." he spat, angered and running a frustrated hand over his bald head.

She could feel her nails gripping so hard into her hands that they left nearly bloody marks behind.

"...What?" she murmured, slowly coming back to reality.

Her manager sighed deeply, laying a tired hand on her shoulder. "Your career, miss..." When she still looked at him in pure confusion, he continued. "It's over."

After a scary length of silence standing in the entrance of C&R, already having been kicked out by the security guards, she laughed. "...Over?" She laughed even more boisterously now. "What are you talking about?"

"Miss... With the statements you made... And said statements becoming a public, it won't be long before you become a complete pariah in this industry—"

Her laughter stopped, reality sinking in.

"Shut up! No— no, there's no way I'll let that happen!" she screamed, almost hysterically, before he quickly took a hold of her shoulders to try to calm her furious self.

Her sharp fingernails dug into his arms, forcing him away while he concernedly called after her. "Ms. Choi!"

"Shut up, no! There's no way!" She yelled out, pulling at her long locks of brown hair. "No way...!" Her expression completely darkened. She held herself tightly, barely preventing her body from falling to the ground in shock.

What had she done...? This really hadn't worked out her way. None of it had.

It only angered her more. How did he dare...

The uncomfortable manager saw the way she gritted her teeth, gripping her arms even tighter while her eyes became colder. Icier.

Suddenly, she opened her mouth slightly. She murmured something inaudible.

He wasn't able to hear what she said. "...Miss?"

"...No matter what, I won't go down alone. They will come with me."

He saw how her pink lips curled into a small smile.

-------

He was about to rush out of his office, running to go back to Jaehee.

She certainly deserved an explanation after all this, he decided.

But he got interrupted by his father's entrance into his office. He was surprised, to say the least.

"Weren't you on a trip with Mother?" Was all he could ask, before the Chairman closed the door behind him and stared at Jumin grimly.

"Yes... But..." He could see the strained expression on his father's face and he knew it had been nothing good. In fact, it had been enough to leave his normally unscathed father looking like a broken man.

"...Your mother and I broke it off, Jumin."

It took a minute to process the words. "...Broke it off?" Then he realized. "You broke off the engagement?"

The Chairman could barely manage a nod before he sat down in front of him in a slump.

Jumin sighed; he wasn't sure why he felt so relieved and why he felt so hurt at the same time.