August 7th, 2026
Maa calls at 7:45 a.m., earlier than usual, with a printed photo of Appa's Busan cousin's son Ji-seok — KAIST grad program, polite jaw, family-approved — and announces Seo-yeon will be introduced to him at Chuseok.
What happened
Maa calls at 7:45 a.m., earlier than usual, with a printed photo of Appa's Busan cousin's son Ji-seok — KAIST grad program, polite jaw, family-approved — and announces Seo-yeon will be introduced to him at Chuseok. 'Mirae is married. You are thirty-one in October. Hwaiting means nothing if you are alone.' The line 'the hotel work is fine for now, but it is not a life' lands loudly enough that the colleague beside Seo-yeon at the kitchen counter goes quiet on her behalf, a small public humiliation in the staff pantry. At the 21st-floor desk that afternoon, GM Oh has circulated a printed memo — 'All inquiries regarding former duty manager Park Myung-hee should be directed to HR. Do not discuss with guests' — bearing Im's signature as drafting officer and a date stamp of July 30, before the investigation formally opened, a cover-up in plain stationery. Decision: she photographs the memo into '21F,' tells Maa she will think about Chuseok, and does not mention Ji-seok to anyone.