Silent anger is scarier than burning rage

"I… I'm sorry." Su-Jin breathed out feebly.

Her voice was very low, barely a whisper. Hearing it caused Ji-Won's already knitted eyebrows to draw slightly closer.

"Are you alright? Did you hit yourself when you fell?"

Ji-Won didn't even realize that, by now, he was already starting to sound slightly less angry. His voice slowly turned from hostility to worry, and even his expression softened to a certain degree. It all happened so naturally that it completely escaped his attention.

He glanced at Su-Jin, looking over her body and face, trying to see if she was hurt anywhere. From what he could see at first glance, there were some small cuts on her arms and cheeks, probably from the falling papers, but other than that she seemed to be uninjured.

Su-Jin continued to remain silent, staring at him absentmindedly.

"Miss Park, are you alright?"

Despite beginning to feel a bit annoyed at Su-Jin's lack of response, Ji-Won still endeavored to keep his tone from sounding too sharp. It was too bad that Su-Jin was too out of it to take notice of his tone. As such, this small consideration on his part went unobserved, causing another wave of vexation to rise inside Ji-Won's chest.

A short moment later, Su-Jin's mind finally jerked awake and she realized that he was talking to her. She cleared her throat, trying to keep her voice from trembling.

"N-No. I mean yes. I… I'm alright. Just a few bruises here and there, but otherwise… I'm alright."

Just as she finished her words, her mind suffered yet another terrible shock.

Director Kang had one arm wrapped around her waist, holding her body in a half-embrace. His arm gave off a strong feeling of warmth and security, his touch causing small tingles to go up her spine.

Meanwhile, his pale face was hovering above her eyes, enlarged due to their body's proximity. A strange expression flickered on his features, one that she couldn't understand. There was something deeply hidden in those black eyes, something that could both intimidate and entice.

Suddenly aware of there being less than a few centimeters between them, Su-Jin's mind jolted. She was so shocked that she almost yelped in fright. With her heart skipping a beat, she quickly willed her legs to sustain her weight. Then, she slowly leaned away from him, disentangling herself from his grasp.

Feeling her movement, Ji-Won quickly withdrew his arm. Next, her waist slipped out of his hold and he felt an odd sense of discomfort. Thinking that it was surely because of something she did, Ji-Won instantly forgot all about his worry. His previous mild attitude reverted back to coldness as he glowered at her.

"Miss Park, your ineptitude really amazes me. Just when I believe nothing worse can happen, you prove me wrong."

Ji-Won paused, glancing around the room with a fowl expression on his face. There was a dark aura surrounding his handsome persona, making him appear fiercer than Su-Jin had ever seen him before.

After his eyes circled the mess on the floor, his dark pupils finally settled on Su-Jin. Ji-Won's sharp gaze made her flinch and she instinctively retreated a step.

Just then, Ji-Won's next words fell heavily like a sentence.

"Regardless of what you have to do, I expect to see this place back to how it was by tomorrow evening." He said in a low, dangerous voice.

No sooner had he spoken, that the entire atmosphere in the room turned stifle and cold.

Su-Jin felt the air leave her lungs as if something was pressing her from all sides. As she watched him glare at her, she felt like a small kitten in front of a feral wolf. Yet, in her head she couldn't help but fall in a daze from wonder.

'This Director Kang sure has a fierce aura. He really reminds me of those Grim Reapers I've read about in stories. Cold, menacing and heartless… he really ticks every single one of these requirements.'

On the outside, though, in response to his words, Su-Jin simply nodded and uttered a feeble 'Yes'.

After watching him turn on his heels and leave, she finally let out a drawn-out sigh of respite. For the first time in a few moments she could finally breathe properly. Also, she had expected him to explode, curse and yell at her. But for some reason, his silent reaction made things feel even more ominous.

'Somehow, he seems even more dangerous when he isn't yelling.' Su-Jin thought, feeling a slight shiver going down her spine.

Thinking about taking a short break before beginning to clean up the mess she had caused, Su-Jin went back to her desk first. Yeon-Ah was waiting for her there, a small lunch box in one of her hands and a bottle of water in the other.

"I saw you skipping lunch, so I got you this from the supermarket." Yeon-Ah said, smiling warmly at her friend.

"Oh, you're a lifesaver!" Su-Jin exclaimed gratefully.

Her eyes almost shot out little hearts at the sight of food.

After the earlier adventure, Su-Jin's stomach had begun to grumble. She was both hungry and upset. Now that the initial shock was starting to wear off, she remembered with irritation Director Kang's cold attitude. Granted, he had saved her and she was grateful for that.

However, she could not overlook his harsh tone and mean expression while telling her to clean up the archive room. After all, it wasn't like she did it on purpose. It was just an accident. She even got hurt in the process.

"Thank you for the lunch box, Yeon-Ah. I will be sure to pay you back." Su-Jin added quickly, shooting another grateful glance at her friend.

"It's alright. I went out to get something for myself and I saw they had yummy looking lunch boxes." Yeon-Ah replied with an airy wave of her hand.

After eating, Su-Jin felt a sudden boost of energy. This was the power of a well-fed stomach. Like a car that had suddenly been given enough fuel, Su-Jin hurried back into the Archive room. She hoped to do as much cleaning up as she could before work time was over.