Chapter 18. Trapped On All Sides (2)

Translator: Lili

Had she ever felt the phrase trapped on all sides so vividly before?

Just as Madam Song had once said, everyone was eager to tear Shin Sera apart. True, Sera had brought a lot of this on herself, but the level of hostility she faced in return was excessive—almost like a reflexive backlash.

At first, Sera had wanted to distance herself from the original Shin Sera as much as possible. Whenever she felt even a hint of sympathy for her, she reminded herself not to identify with the villain, not to fall into Stockholm syndrome.

But after everything she had experienced, she was starting to understand why Shin Sera had acted the way she did.

Hot-tempered but fragile, Shin Sera had lashed out the more she was isolated. And the more she lashed out, the more she became isolated—a vicious cycle.

She had never handled things well, but when everything she did was met with nothing but scorn, how could anyone stay sane?

Even after realizing how brutal this world was, nothing had changed.

All she could do was endure. But for how long? Would things really get better if she just kept holding on?

“You think the Vice President’s been acting different lately?”

After forcing her way into a company meeting—wanting to understand the situation at work—Sera had headed to the break room for a cup of instant coffee.

She hadn’t expected to stumble upon an overheard conversation.

“Yeah, I don’t know what she’s thinking. She’s been so quiet lately.”

“I almost died when she showed up to the meeting today. She usually doesn’t even care about work—what kind of wind suddenly blew through?”

“Maybe she’s finally panicking? She’s been screwing around her whole life, but that can’t last forever.”

“Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Chairman cut ties with her soon.”

Sera stopped in front of the break room entrance, blocking the way. Other employees approaching from the hallway hesitated upon seeing her, but with a flick of her hand, she dismissed them.

The conversation inside continued.

“To be fair, she is pathetic. Born with a golden spoon in her mouth, and this is the best she can do? Maybe that level of incompetence is a talent in itself.”

“You saw her in the meeting earlier, didn’t you, Manager? She was silent the whole time like she was taking some kind of vow. The chairman must have been thinking there’s no hope for her.”

“The chairman is an admirable man, but he really failed when it came to raising his children…”

Sera hid inside a conference room as they exited the break room, waiting until the gossiping employees were gone before stepping in.

She pressed the button for a cup of instant coffee.

“…Hah.”

For a moment, she had tried to maintain a facade of indifference.

But as she ran a hand roughly through her hair, her brows furrowed deeply. Her cheeks had flushed red—not from embarrassment, but from anger.

It was strange. She knew they were talking about the original Shin Sera. And yet, separating herself from that identity wasn’t as easy as she thought.

‘Hold it in. Hold it in.’

They say if you endure three times, even murder can be avoided. In Sera’s case, it wasn’t murder—she needed to endure to avoid being killed. Either way, patience was still the only answer.

“…Can I really…”

Can I really keep enduring?

She was becoming less and less sure.