August 8th, 2026
Yoon Se-ra returns to the 21st-floor desk with a new lanyard — slate blue, 'floor liaison, HR support' — and sits beside Seo-yeon at 11 a.m.
What happened
Yoon Se-ra returns to the 21st-floor desk with a new lanyard — slate blue, 'floor liaison, HR support' — and sits beside Seo-yeon at 11 a.m. 'You should take the September 11 booking off your rotation. For your own good.' The betrayal lands because Se-ra was the ally who walked Cha's sealed envelope back in July; Seo-yeon's face breaks for a half-second, the smile dropping like a plate she has to pick up with shaking hands under the desk, the emotional spike unmistakable on her own cheeks. When Se-ra leaves, the calendar shows her added as 'co-cover' on the September 11-13 booking — a watching role, not a cover. Im passes and Se-ra straightens toward him in a posture Seo-yeon has never seen her use with anyone, a rivalry registered in the body before the mind. Decision: she does not reply to Se-ra; she calls Hye-jin and says, 'Pick a day. Whatever day you meant. Pick a day.'