Workplace Administrator Rights

The next day at lunch, Hyun-woo and Eun-seol met at a pasta restaurant near the office.

"Hello."
"Yes, hello."
After exchanging brief greetings, they ordered their meals. Eun-seol chose aglio e olio, while Hyun-woo opted for tomato meat spaghetti. As soon as the food arrived, they ate in silence.

Hyun-woo suddenly remembered the meals he used to have with his ex-girlfriends or crushes. If he had been more handsome, the women might have laughed more or led the conversation. Unfortunately, he was just an average guy.
"I should keep the conversation light and avoid awkward silence," he thought.
Reflecting on the past brought a wry smile to Hyun-woo's face. In truth, he wasn't one to enjoy talking while eating. But today, he was relieved that he didn’t have to worry about keeping the conversation going. Despite being alone with an attractive woman like Eun-seol, he felt no regret. The one who should feel regret was Eun-seol.

Clatter clatter
The sound of forks and spoons was the only thing filling the air between them until Eun-seol could no longer bear the silence.
"How's your meal?"

"Yes, it’s good."
"Thank you for your help the other day. I always end up owing a debt to the administrative support team."
"Oh, it’s nothing."

Silence fell again.
"Really? I made an effort to start a conversation..."
Eun-seol was also experiencing an awkward atmosphere for the first time. Usually, men led the mood when she was on a date. Here she was alone, dining with Hyun-woo who seemed to have no interest in her.

"He doesn’t know his place…"
Hyun-woo was far from her ideal type. His dining manners were lacking, and it was one of the worst meals she had. She felt like storming out, but a strange sensation made her want to stay with Hyun-woo.
"But why do I feel this way?"

"..."
"..."
"Do you... have someone you’re seeing?"
"Excuse me? Isn't that a bit too personal?"

Taken aback by Hyun-woo’s prickly response, Eun-seol realized she had overstepped. She blushed with embarrassment.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it."
"Well, I don’t have anyone right now. What about you?"

"I don’t either. Um... just out of curiosity, what's your type?"
Hyun-woo’s terse reply made Eun-seol feel like she was clinging on to the conversation. She never thought she would be the one asking such questions, often heard from men.
"Type? Well... these days, I find Seo Jin-ah from accounting quite attractive."

"Seo Jin-ah, the one married to Lee Byung-joo from accounting?"
"Yes."
Recently, talk of Seo Jin-ah was common in the office due to her sudden change in dressing style post-marriage, which was quite provocative.

"That... seems a bit too revealing lately."
"Oh, really? I think her confidence looks good. And she has a great figure."
"Tacky... Not even a prostitute dresses like that."

While Eun-seol often wore high-waisted skirts that showed off her figure, Seo Jin-ah's recent attire was, in her opinion, cheap and incomparable. It was not the standard for a married woman. Eun-seol was disappointed beyond measure by Hyun-woo's comment and thought it was vulgar.
"Maybe I should go all out."
"Eun-seol, you seem... lacking in volume compared to Jin-ah."

"What...what did you say?!"
Hyun-woo blatantly scrutinized her, comparing her openly, which made Eun-seol shriek. She was about to report him for harassment but stopped as her pride was wounded by his comment about her lacking compared to Seo Jin-ah.
"That’s all padding, you know! Hmph! Men really don’t get it."

"Really? Still, compared to you... she seems to have a better figure."
Annoyed and offended by Hyun-woo continuing to taunt her, Eun-seol said:
"Really? Let’s see this weekend. I'll wear casual clothes, and you’ll see I'm no comparison to Seo Jin-ah."

"Are you asking me out on a date?"
"What? No, no. I'm just correcting your misunderstanding. What date?"
"Okay, okay. I get it. Lunchtime is almost over, let’s head back."

"Ah..."
As Hyun-woo nonchalantly agreed, Eun-seol felt a rush of regret for what she had said. It wasn’t in her nature to take back her words, and it wounded her pride to think she had just asked him out.
"Heh, got a big one here."

Eun-seol had completely fallen into Hyun-woo’s pace.
 
****

On Saturday afternoon, Eun-seol was sitting in a downtown café near the office, sipping coffee while waiting for Hyun-woo.
"What? Could he really be late to the appointment?"
It was past 2:20 PM, and there was no sign of Hyun-woo. Had she ever waited this long for anyone? Dragged along by Hyun-woo’s indifferent attitude, Eun-seol was furious.

Yet, her desire to see him only grew stronger, suppressing her pride and irritation, keeping her seated in the café.
Crunch crunch
Frustrated, Eun-seol kept biting her straw.

Ding
 
At exactly 2:30 PM, thirty minutes past the scheduled time, Lee Hyun-woo finally shows up at the cafe.

"Guess she's a bit mad, huh?"
Confident because he could monitor her psychological state through the work system, Hyun-woo appeared in front of Eun-seol dressed casually in sweatpants and slippers.
"Hello?"

"Hello...? You came in quite a casual outfit, Deputy Lee?"
Wearing sweatpants, slippers, and a cap pushed down over his eyes, Hyun-woo's appearance was shockingly casual, something Eun-seol had never seen on a date.
"Did he... even wash his hair?"

Looking like he just rolled out of bed, Hyun-woo contrasted sharply with Eun-seol, who had been getting ready since 8 AM, meticulously doing her makeup and hair.
"Ah!"
The effort she put in since the morning seemed worth it, as she exuded a different charm than usual at the office. Her long eyelashes were beautifully accentuated, her eye makeup slightly heavier, giving her a cat-like gaze, and her brown hair styled meticulously with a curling iron into natural waves that framed her sophisticated face elegantly.

Noticing that she dressed more revealingly, perhaps in response to his comparisons with Seo Jin-ah, she wore a high-waisted wedge heel that accentuated her long legs, and a sky-blue tennis skirt that was short enough to potentially reveal her underwear. Her top was a tight white crop top that showed off her thin waist, toned abs, and subtly visible navel.
"Definitely better leg and waist-hip line than Seo Jin-ah."
The tennis skirt clinched at the waist and flared at the hips, highlighting her slender waist and ample hips. Her tall frame at 168 cm accentuated her long, pilates-toned legs and slender ankles.

"Her bust might be smaller than Seo Jin-ah's, but does the company have anyone else this slender?"
"Hmm...hmm."
As soon as they sat down, Hyun-woo couldn't help but openly scan Eun-seol's body, causing her face to flush slightly.

"This should show you I'm not even comparable to Ms. Seo Jin-ah, right?"
Eun-seol stammered, feeling embarrassed by her own words.
"Um... well, certainly... you do have a nice figure."

Angry at his judgmental tone yet slightly pleased by the compliment on her figure, Eun-seol responded.
"But still..."
"Yes? What now?"

"You said you can't tell whether I wear padded underwear or not, right?"
"I don’t wear those things!!"
Eun-seol shouted back, irritated by Hyun-woo implying she wore enhancing undergarments, which were often used by women less confident in their natural physique. She was proud of the figure she maintained through diet and exercise, and the thought that Hyun-woo considered it artificial wounded her pride.

"Fine...fine. Then let’s check, shall we?"
"Ha!"
Unable to suppress a laugh, Hyun-woo was amused by Eun-seol’s reaction, enhanced by the [Desire] he had amplified in the work system to make her want to impress him.

He had never expected that invoking Seo Jin-ah's physique as a catalyst for jealousy would lead to such a ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) conversation with Eun-seol.
"Probably because of her high pride."
By emphasizing a preference for Seo Jin-ah’s style and critiquing appearances, he gently nudged Eun-seol’s pride. She usually took pride in her meticulous self-care and, amplified by the work system’s [Desire], wanted to prove herself as an incomparably superior woman to anyone like Seo Jin-ah.

"Using Eun-seol's pride seems to be the right strategy."
"How about... over there?"
Hyun-woo pointed to an old motel where he had spent a wild night with Seo Jin-ah.

"Deputy Lee, are you... talking about that place?"
Eun-seol, who had been to motels a few times with past boyfriends, didn’t prefer them. They weren’t clean enough, and motels generally had a negative connotation. Plus, she wouldn’t normally meet men who couldn’t afford to stay in a four or five-star hotel.
"Why? You were so confident before, but now that it’s time to check, are you scared? I thought Deputy Eun didn’t lie."

Hyun-woo teased, poking at her pride.
"When did I say I wouldn’t go? Lead the way."
With a flicker of irritation, Eun-seol followed Hyun-woo to the old motel.

"Welcome... oh."
The motel owner, sitting at the counter, paused his greeting to blatantly ogle Eun-seol. Her outfit today, particularly the short tennis skirt and the tight crop top revealing her navel, drew especially lurid stares from men. But this motel owner was shamelessly ogling her, and Eun-seol glared back unflinchingly.
"How much for a short stay?"

"25,000 won. Ahem."
Despite pretending to be tough, Eun-seol clenched the hem of her skirt tightly under the table due to the sleazy stares. Ironically, pulling down her skirt to cover her thighs but wearing a crop top made her smooth abdomen even more prominent.
"Shall we have some fun then?"

"Wait a moment."
Pretending to search his pockets for cash as time passed, Hyun-woo could clearly see Eun-seol’s face turning red and her body trembling under the lecherous gaze of the motel owner.
"Deputy Eun, I don’t have any cash on me; could you cover for us?"

"What?"
"Seriously, I have none. Hurry, people are waiting."
"Ah... really, right here..."

Without even pulling out her wallet, Eun-seol awkwardly approached the counter and handed over the cash, all the while enduring the motel owner’s unyielding gaze, which felt like bugs crawling over her.
"Here... Ah!"
"Why are you so startled?"

Eun-seol jumped when the motel owner abruptly grabbed her hand as she handed over the money.
"What's this... It feels like something dirty got on me."
Rubbing her hand on a handkerchief, Eun-seol couldn’t hide her disgust as she glared at the motel owner, but this time with a hint of fear. The two then proceeded into the motel room.

"Phew... she’s really something."
The only sounds at the counter were the coarse breaths of the middle-aged man and the noise of him rubbing something vigorously.