CHAPTER-20: DILEMMA

Biting her lip nervously, Evelyn opened the tab to her game. She scrolled through the reviews which were filled with mixed reactions, with satisfaction level ranging from 'good' to even 'The game sucks' type.

In comparison to a game's typical first-day download rate, the download percentage was too low. Falling out of hope, she abruptly closed the laptop. She sighed deeply and told herself, "It's gonna be a long day," before getting up to get the files from Maxwell's desk. 

As she walked past Alan's desk, she felt his gaze on her, but she ignored him and walked on. She moved the papers to her desk and opened the file to analyse it. After flipping through the pages, she came to realise that some of them were missing. 

She double-checked the documents to make sure she was not mistaken, but the pages were nowhere to be found. That exacerbated her anxiety. After a few minutes of searching, she noticed that not only the pages were gone but they were biasly missing from her report only while the files, prepared by Maxwell were left untouched. 

On seeing Evelyn flustered, Harin approached her

HA-RIN: ~Good mornin' Sunbae (Senior)

Ha-rin greeted her warmly, but Evelyn was so preoccupied with her search that she responded only by nodding her head. She was aware of the gossips going on in the office regarding Evelyn being the double dealer but she strongly believed that the information was completely fabricated. 

Initially, Ha-rin used to be the part of Innah's notorions gang but soon enough she realised that Evelyn had the most welcoming personality than anyone else in the company . She had known her for two years and was well aware that she was incapable of such an indecency

She could still recall the first day she stepped inside the Neon Corps. Evelyn was the first person to greet her with warmth. At that time, Evelyn frequently had heated arguments with Alan about him using her credit cards and paychecks to buy worthless stocks and spend them with his freeloader friends. 

Initially, she felt sorry for her. However, after befriending Innah, her empathy turned to pity and, eventually, dislike for her. 

She began to find pleasure in her feiry disputes. Being in Innah's company had altered her so much that she began to impose her work on others. She was enjoying bullying others until one day, the game turned upside down. 

2 years ago, Innah and Harin being friends, started to work on a new gaming project together. Innah was a cunning and deceptive lady. With her soft words, she frequently attempted to shift all of the work load onto Harin. 

Harin did not want to ruin their friendship, so she continued to do as Innah instructed, smiling. 

After the completion of the project, they launched the game together but they didn't realised that the game had some loopholes in its later levels. 

That occurred because Ha-rin was alone in managing the game's coding and programming, so she delegated the review work to Innah, which she did... but superficially.

The ratings were initially positive, but as time passed, they began to decline. The director chastised them and ordered them to work long hours at the office to fix the game. 

Innah blamed Ha-rin for the failure of that game. She stepped back from supporting her and specifying that it's none of her business that she made a mistake. 

Harin knew that she was at fault. But she didn't expect Innah to leave her side in such a hard time rather than consoling her. 

HARIN: I can't believe you just abandoned me like that! The project was our joint effort, and now that it's failing, you're just walking away and leaving me to deal with the mess alone.

INNAH: Look, it's not my fault that the project failed. You're the one who messed up with the coding, not me.

HARIN: That's not true! I had to do both my work and your work because you were slacking off!

INNAH: Oh please, I did my fair share of work. It's not my fault if you can't handle the pressure.

HARIN: You know very well that you didn't contribute anything meaningful to the project! You just sat back and watched me struggle while you gossiped with your friends.

INNAH: Hey, don't act like you're some kind of martyr. You agreed to do the work and you didn't have to do mine as well.

HARIN: I did it because I trusted you! I thought you were my friend!

INNAH: Well, I thought you were competent enough to handle the work on your own, but I guess I was wrong.

HARIN: Do you even realize why the director is so mad? It's because of your carelessness and lack of contribution! If you had done your part, I wouldn't have had to take on so much work on my own.

INNAH: Shut up! It's not my fault that you couldn't handle the pressure. You're just trying to blame me because you're weak and incompetent.

HARIN: Are you serious?! You think I'm weak and incompetent? I worked my ass off to make up for your slackness, and now I have to listen to the director's screams because of YOUR mistakes. And you're just standing there, shifting the blame onto me?!

INNAH: Oh, here we go again, poor little Harin playing the victim card. You didn't have to do my work, you know. It's not my fault that you're so eager to please everyone.

HARIN: Eager to please? You really think I enjoyed doing all that extra work because you couldn't be bothered to contribute? I did it because I thought we were supposed to be teammates, but I was so wrong. You just used me for your convenience and then left me alone in the mess.

INNAH: Used you? Please! You're the one who was always so eager to be my friend. I never asked you to do my work, you just did it on your own accord. You always had a thing for me, didn't you?

HARIN: What? Are you kidding me? You think I was doing all that work just because I had a thing for you? That's ridiculous. I did it because I thought you were my friend. But now I see that you're just a selfish, manipulative, and lazy person.

INNAH: Just cut the crap! You're the one who always seeks attention and validation from others. 

HARIN: Speaking of attention, don't even get me started on how you've been flirting with half the guys in the office while I was working my butt off.

INNAH: Oh, now you're jealous, huh? Can't stand the fact that guys actually find me attractive and not you?

HARIN: Jealous? Ha! That's rich coming from someone who spends all their time gossiping and using their looks to get what they want. If you spent half as much time on your work as you do on your makeup, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place.

INNAH: You know what, I've had enough of your whining. You're just a pathetic, lonely girl who's always seeking validation from others. 

HARIN: Pathetic?! (Her eyes becoming teary)

INNAH: Whatever. I've had enough of your bullshit. Have fun wallowing in your own misery. (Innah takes her purse and storms out)

As Innah exited the scene, Evelyn entered the office and approached Harin, who was still visibly upset and tear-stricken. Evelyn noticed her distress and quickly walked up to her. 

EVELYN: Hey, what happened? Why are you crying?

HARIN: Mind your own business. It's none of your concern.

EVELYN: I can tell you're upset. I just want to help.

HARIN: I don't need your help. I can handle myself just fine.

EVELYN: Harin, I can see that something is really bothering you. Please, just tell me what happened.

Harin looked up at Evelyn, trying to maintain her stern expression, but her eyes betray her vulnerability. She was torn between her dislike for Evelyn and her overwhelming emotions.

HARIN: Fine. Since you won't leave me alone, I'll tell you. Innah and I had a huge argument, and she said some horrible things to me...

Evelyn listens intently, her expression softened. Despite Harin's rudeness, she can tell that she's going through a rough time.

EVELYN: I see. What exactly did Innah say?

Harin hesitated for a moment, but then reluctantly told her everything with tears streaming down her face. Evelyn gently patted and rubbed her shoulder. 

Evelyn's face shows a hint of surprise, but she keeps her tone empathetic.

EVELYN: That's a lot to handle. It must have been tough to hear those hurtful words, but I'm sure they're not true. You're not incompetent. You must focus on your project. There's still a chance to fix it. 

HARIN: Do you thing this is a one night thing? And.. there's no way I could do it alone. 

EVELYN: I can help... if you don't mind

HARIN: (looks at her with surprised eyes) yo...you are willing me? 

EVELYN: Of course...you are my junior. So, I must pull you out of this trouble. Don't worry... you can rely on me. (She gently places a hand on Harin's shoulder.) And don't take Innah's words to your heart. Some people may not notice, or they may take your hard work for granted. But there are people who do see and appreciate what you do. You have that work ethic, intelligence, and drive, and those qualities are valuable, even when they're not immediately recognized.

Harin's eyes got wet with tears as she hugged Evelyn tightly and persistently thanked her. She regretted upon her previous actions how she used to treat her. From that day on, she decided to keep her distance from Innah and made Evelyn her role model

Drifting to present day....After getting such a dry response from her favourite senior's side, Harin couldn't resist to ask Evelyn about her issues. 

"What happened Sunbae...? You seem tensed... Is everything alright?"... Harin asked in a concerned tone

"It's just... I couldn't find some of my important papers... oh god! Where could they go? It seems like... someone messed with them"- Evelyn replied in a flustered voice

"But... who could possibly do that? I mean.. we've got CCTV everywhere.."- Harin tried to give her justification

while searching, her eyes moved to Alan's desk which made him to look back at her with an unreadable expression. Evelyn gave a doubtful look to him "I think... I know who did it.."- she mumbled to herself.

"S... Sunbae... Wait...!"- Harin tried to stop Evelyn but she was so sure about her assumption that didn't listen to her and stormed to Alan's desk.

She banged the files on his desk before starting the argument with him. He flinched at her sudden action and said in an irritated tone....

ALAN: Man... what's your deal? Can't you digest that I'm sitting peacefully here. Please leave me alone for a single day

EVELYN: That's exactly the same thing I want from you... PEACE in my life.

Alan: (tries to ignore her by fixing his eyes on laptop screen) I don't have time to hear to your babble? I'm busy.

Evelyn: I'll ask you just once...Why did you take pages from Max's documents on the project we launched yesterday?

ALAN: (in an oblivion voice) What are you talking about? I didn't take anything.

EVELYN: (her pitch increases a bit due to frustration) Don't play dumb with me. I found some pages missing from his documents on his desk.

ALAN: Why would you assume it was me? I have my own work to do.

EYELYN: Stop lying to me. Who else would take them? No one else would have any reason to take them, other than you.

ALAN : (Scoffs) You're just being paranoid, as usual.

EVELYN: Don't try to gaslight me. I'm not being paranoid.

Innah was standing beside Alan, wearing a frown on her face as if looking for a chance to intervene. On seeing Evelyn blaming Alan, She couldn't stop herself to come forward for his defense.

INNAH: Why are you making such a big deal out of this? It was probably just a mistake.

EVELYN: Mistake? Someone intentionally took those pages and you think it was a mistake?

INNAH: Maybe you misplaced them. you just like to make fuss out of everything.

EVELYN: I didn't misplace anything. I know exactly where Max left those documents. And I'm not throwing any tantrum. Do you think I like to get bullied by you people everyday?

INNAH: (saw her with a mix of rage and surprise) Bullied?... By us?...are you serious? (Scoffs) How can you say something like this with a straight face? You think we are some kind of tyrants who just go on showcasing their domination on others...

"Jesus...here she goes again... she just needs a chance to blame others..yeah.. she is making Alan's life hell..awe.. poor soul.."- Evelyn could hear the people giggling and cursing her.

The situation was boiling up and the people around them just gathered there to see the spicy argument going on between them. Before Evelyn could say anything further, Harin grabbed her wrist and gestured to her to not say anything more. 

She whispered in her ears with an anxious voice- ''Sunbae... please.. For god's sake.. let's go from here. There's no gain dealing with these crackheads. We'll find another way to get the papers..''

Her concerned voice had some soothing effect on Evelyn's mind that she decided to go back to her desk... But with a strict warning- ''okay... You wanna play dumb.. that's fine but.. don't think I'm gonna let it slide that easily. I have other means to reach the truth and once I find them.. be ready for the consequences''

After saying those words, she walked back to her desk but deep down, she knew it wouldn't be too easy to find the papers. Harin looked at her worried frown and gave her a suggestion- 

HARIN: can't we check the CCTV footage of last night? We would eventually find the truth. (Her eyes gleaming with hope)

EVELYN: (Sighs in dejection)... Do you think all the cameras of this department are in working condition? That's not gonna work

HARIN: But... there's nothing wrong in at least checking them once.. we might find some clue.. if not the truth (tries to persuade her)

EVELYN: fine.. we can go through them just once.. but I don't have too much hope though.. ( speaks in a reluctant tone)

Harin accompanied Evelyn as they both walked to the camera Surveillance department of the office. After requesting the operater, they searched through the footage of same day morning but couldn't find any valid evidence. The files seemed to be untouched since we had clocked out last night. 

Her mind was still not at ease, So she requested to show them the footage of last night. On hearing her words, operator's reaction changed abruptly & he refused for any further help. They had to retrieve empty handed.

"What's wrong with this dude? Why did he went pale in a tick?"- Harin scoffed and looked at Evelyn. "So, what's next..?"- she asked her in a doubtful tone.

Evelyn sighed and began to arrange the docs. She replied to her with a disheartened look on her face- "I don't think it's a good idea to spend my time on lost pages when I already have a lot on my plate.." 

Harin looked a bit unsatisfied with her words but then she realised that Evelyn wasn't wrong. Looking at her & the kind of treatment she was getting from her co-workers, thanks to the rumors spread by Innah & her gang, it was not unusual if someone messed with her. 

She could't keep wasting her time, blaming everyone. That line was perfect for this situation- 

"IGNORANCE IS THE REAL VIRTUE..."

AUTHOR's NOTE-

🤍🤍 Hey readers~ I hope you are enjoying my story.. It's a great day as I surpassed 3K views because of you people..Thank you so much guys for your love and support. 

And sorry for being late in updating this chapter. I'm writing this novel as a hobby alongside my full-time studies in university..although I will try to update it by every weekend. Please continue to shower your love on my characters..have a wonderful weekend 🤍🤍