Sungyoon looked at the stack of paper in front of him with great emotion in his eyes . The numbers on these papers were written with black ink, akin to a brand seared into a criminal . They were Sungyoon’s promissory notes, his shackles . Each promissory note held a different figure, but if he added it all, the amount went up to six million dollars . This figure looked like the blade of an executioner .

  Jimin pushed the papers closer to Sungyoon . However, he just glared at them . Jimin didn’t say anything either as she waited for him to do something .

  Finally, Sungyoon started to move . He placed each paper into his hands, careful and precise in handling them . It was as if he thought the world would come to an end if he dropped one of them .

  However, it all lasted for only a moment .

  After he had gathered all the papers, Sungyoon acted in a violent manner .

  Chwahhhk!

  He ripped them apart . There were a lot of papers, so the stack was very thick . However, he used his superhuman strength, a characteristic of a Connector . He ripped them all, yet he wasn’t satisfied with doing it once .

  Chwahk! Chwahk! Chwahk!

  As if he didn’t want to leave behind any evidence, Sungyoon ripped the paper several more times . The papers had been well stored, so they were crisp, and it only took a moment to make a mess of the papers . He was ripping them so violently that little pieces of paper flew into the air .

  Puhl-luhk!

  After ripping all the papers into pieces smaller than his palm, he tossed them into the air .

  Some of them settled down on Jimin’s desk .

  “Are you satisfied?”


  Jimin flicked the piece of paper in front of her as she asked the question . Sungyoon took a deep breath as he nodded .

  “Yes . It feels as if I lost 10 years worth of weight . ”


  Jimin glanced at him and then looked at the pieces of papers spread across the room .

  Normally, Sungyoon didn’t express his feeling, and when he did, it would be regarding Shinhae . That kind of person was showing such intense emotions .

  ‘As expected, he had a lot of pent up emotions due to this debt . ’


  The promissory notes had become useless paper trash . Jimin once again glanced at Sungyoon . In some ways, this scene made it seem like she had used the promissory notes to threaten him . However, Sungyoon didn’t care if Jimin was looking or not . He looked refreshed as he sat down in front of her, but he didn’t show any resentment toward her .

  Jimin’s gaze once again turned to the remains of the promissory notes . An odd expression appeared on her face .

  ‘I don’t feel it anymore . ’


  In the beginning, the promissory notes had been a mechanism she used to control Sungyoon . She had put the shackle on him . However, it was also true that they were each other’s last hope . That was why she was afraid of the day when Sungyoon fully paid off his debt, because that day, his shackles would come off . He wouldn’t need to keep his promise to Jimin . Her last hope would fly out the window .

  However, that fear had disappeared from her eyes .

  “The chains binding you are gone now . ”


  “I guess so . ”


  Sungyoon spoke in a matter of fact tone . Just this answer was enough to melt away her worries . Still, she decided to feel out his feelings one more time .

  “At the rate Mr . Sungyoon makes money, you just need a bit more time before you can break the contract with my company . ”


  “Is that so?”


  Sungyoon sounded apathetic . It seemed he knew what Jimin was trying to do, but he didn’t look interested in the topic at all .

  Jimin pushed down the laughing fit surging up from within .

  It was to be expected of him . She knew it ever since Sungyoon had turned down the contract offered by the scout from Fabion . It didn’t matter what situation he found himself in . Sungyoon would keep his promises .

  “Anyway, I think the interviewees will be here soon . ”


  Sungyoon spoke as he looked at his watch . As he said, the first round of interviews was scheduled to start in 20 minutes .

  Both of them looked around the office after realizing it . Due to him being free from his debt, Sungyoon had committed atrocities against the stack of papers, and the evidence of his actions was in this office .

  “.…… I should clean this place . ”


  “I am partially at fault . I failed to stop you, so I’ll help too . ”


  The two of them bustled through the office as they picked up the ripped pieces of the promissory notes . Sungyoon had so many pent up emotions that he had ripped the paper into very small pieces . Therefore, the cleanup took longer than expected . Fortunately, they were able to do it before the promised time .

  Zeeeeng!

  Jimin pushed all the pieces of paper into the shredder, completely destroying them .

  She dusted her hands off to signal the end of her work . That was when they heard the doorbell .

  “He’s here . ”


  It seemed an interviewee had arrived . Sungyoon slowly followed Jimin, who went out to bring in the interviewee to the office . He once again had to take on the role of an interviewer .

  * * *

  The interview process lasted three days . Most of the interviewees didn’t distinguish themselves from each other . However, the two of them did find some who had graduated from universities in Seoul with good grades . These people had mainly applied because they didn’t want to be worked to death, and Jimin had promised to keep strict office hours . With the reassurance of a strict schedule from the company president itself, the interviewees looked satisfied .

  They had finished the interviews for the day, and it happened when he was organizing the resumes .

  “We have one more person left, Mr . Sungyoon . ”


  “We have another person to interview?”


  Sungyoon looked through the resumes . However, they had interviewed everyone that had submitted their resumes . To be precise, two interviewees hadn’t shown up . However, Jimin wasn’t interested in them . If they couldn’t even be bothered to call her while breaking their appointments, she didn’t want them . Jungbum wasn’t that desperate enough to hire such people .

  “It isn’t for a full-time employee position . Didn’t I tell you I wanted to hire a temp worker for handling miscellaneous work? Someone contacted me yesterday, so I told her to come in today . She is a university student, and she is working towards a major within the Department of the Moon’s Labyrinths . ”


  Sungyoon suddenly thought about Jiyoon . She had the same details . However, that was it, and he soon pushed her out of his thoughts .

  A bit of time passed as he made small talks with Jimin, and the doorbell to the company rang once again .

  “She’s here . ”


  Jimin stood up to bring in the last interviewee for the day . Sungyoon also got up, wondering why he had to stay for this interview . He could understand Jimin wanting his presence when hiring permanent employees, but he questioned why he had to be present for the interview of a temp worker . However, he had already agreed to go along with her request, so he followed her .

  He saw Jimin greet the applicant . But when he looked over Jimin’s back to see the person, Sungyoon became surprised .

  “.…… Ms . Jiyoon?”


  Sungyoon mumbled to himself . Jiyoon, who had come to the interview for the temp position, laughed . She stuck out her tongue a little bit, acting like a child successful in pulling off a prank .

  “Oh my! You guys know each other?”


  Jimin looked at the two of them .

  “Yes . I believe I told you before . There is a college student that sometimes comes and plays with Shinhae . ”


  “Ah ah!”


  Jimin remembered hearing about it . She remembered being a little bit jealous because it felt as if she was being robbed of her time with the cute Shinhae .

  “My name is Jung Jiyoon, and I’m here for the temp job interview . Thank you in advance . ”


  Jiyoon bowed, and Jimin responded by also bowing .

  “It is nice to meet you . I am Hahn Jimin, the president of Jungbum . ”


  “You live up to your reputation as a beautiful woman . ”


  Jiyoon decided to start it off with a compliment . However, Jimin remained faithful to her personality, and her expression remained cold .

  “Thank you . Did you bring your resume and a copy of the resident registration?”


  “Please wait a moment . ”


  Jiyoon took out the papers from her handbag and handed them over to Jimin . Jimin turned around after she took possession of the papers .

  “Please follow me . ”


  The ladies went into the office, and Sungyoon quietly followed them .

  Jimin sat behind her desk as she looked over the resume . Jiyoon was sitting across from her, her back straight . It seemed she wanted to maintain proper posture, but she also looked nervous and stiff .

  Sungyoon sat back in his original seat, and his eyes remained planted on Jiyoon .

  ‘Why would she…… . ’


  No, he knew the reason why . They were currently in an interview for the temp position, and Jiyoon had said she came to apply for the position . He just never would have expected her to apply to the company that he was contracted to . However, he soon thought about what had happened two days before .

  ‘I did tell her that my company was looking to hire temp workers . ’


  It seemed his words had caught her interest . As his thought reached that point, he decided it wasn’t a big deal .

  ‘I guess she really came here to work as a temp . ’


  Sungyoon treated this the same as all the other interviews up until now . He crossed his arms and went into his observation mode .

  As expected, temp workers were not interviewed as strictly as regular employees . It might be because they were less important to the normal operation of a company . In the interviews for prospective employees, Jimin had been very meticulous . She had asked wide-ranging questions, and at times, she also threw in some provocative questions to throw off the interviewees . However, all the questions for Jiyoon had fewer teeth behind them . The questions were innocuous .

  “Hmm . You are currently a university student . Are you in your second year?”


  “Yes . ”


  “So, we will have to schedule around your classes . We can be flexible on when and how long you will stay at work . Scheduling won’t be a problem . But wouldn’t it be too hard for you to work while going to school?”


  “I’ll be fine . Above all else, I want to work at a Connector office so that I can move toward my dream . ”


  “Dream?”


  “Yes . I would like to work on the moon as a public official . ”


  Jimin nodded . Her eyes headed towards Jiyoon, and then she took a brief glance at Sungyoon . However, it all had happened in an instant .

  “Shinhae is cute, right?”


  “What?”


  Jiyoon became surprised at Jimin’s random question . Sungyoon, who had been listening in silence, also looked towards Jimin .

  “.…… yes . She is really cute . ”


  It didn’t matter what her intention was in asking the question . Jiyoon let out a bright laugh as she answered Jimin .

  “When can you start working?”


  “I can start working right now . ”


  Jiyoon gave a small fist pump . However, Jimin cooled Jiyoon, who was overflowing with energy .

  “We don’t need you right now . But I would like you to come to work starting next week . Ah . I have to be mindful of managing your time . Please send me a schedule of your classes . ”


  “Yes!”


  Jimin had a cold attitude that was distinct to her, and one had to worry if her coldness might hurt Jiyoon . But in contrast, Jiyoon had a soft and warm personality unique to her, and she was able to accept Jimin’s attitude .

  In some ways, it was like watching the cold winds of Siberia clash against the warm spring airs blowing over the Okhotsk sea .

  “I will send you an employment contract after I receive your class schedule . We can come up with your working hours afterward . Do you agree to the hourly wage posted on the site?”


  “Yes . That’ll be enough . ”


  Then they went over the details of her contract . However, it wasn’t anything special . It was a cookie-cutter contract given to temp workers in most companies .

  “I look forward to working with you . ”


  “Yes, I look forward to working with you too . ”


  After they exchanged handshakes, Jiyoon exited from the room . However, she gave Sungyoon a mischievous smile before leaving .

  Jimin put away the girl’s resume .

  “Is it ok to go so easy on her?”


  This interview was completely different from the others . It had been very lax and easy . That was why Sungyoon asked this question .

  “I’m not going to make a temp do anything amazing . She’ll do miscellaneous work for other employees, and she might have to keep the office tidy . It is something anyone can do, so I don’t feel the need to go through a meticulous interview process . ”


  She had a point .

  “Moreover, she’s studying a major related to our industry . This is unlikely, but we might be able to use her as a reserve if we get overwhelmed with work . How’s her personality?”


  “Shouldn’t you have asked that question first?”


  “I couldn’t openly ask such a question in an interview . Moreover, she’s a temp worker . It isn’t as if I expect much from her . ”


  Since his president was speaking in such a way, he had nothing further to say in protest . He went through his memories and picked out information relevant to Jimin’s question .

  “Her personality is great . I met Ms . Jiyoon when she was volunteering at the orphanage . It is the place that I had entrusted Shinhae to . She became close to Shinhae there, and she still occasionally visits to play with her . She is kind, and has never left a bad impression on me . ”


  He gave high praise . It meant Jiyoon’s image in Sungyoon’s eyes was very high .