What If?

Chapter 9 - My beautiful Mistake

In another corner of the 12th floor, specifically inside the stuffy archive room lined with rows of ceiling-high metal cabinets, Launa stood with her breath coming in short gasps. Her hands were busily sorting through thick folders coated in a thin layer of dust, her eyes darting quickly to read the year labels on each cabinet divider.

Launa clicked her tongue in sheer frustration for the umpteenth time. Her heart was hammering, racing against the clock, which felt like it was moving twice as fast as usual.

This is insane. It’s literally my first day interning, I’m not even a permanent employee yet, but they’ve already got me looking for a needle in a haystack!

Launa thought, utterly frustrated. She genuinely couldn't fathom how stressful her life would become if she had to face this kind of pressure every single day at the Ellsworth Group. And it was all because of that arrogant Mr. Glenn’s sudden audit.

In the middle of her panic, she caught the sound of hesitant footsteps approaching. Launa turned around and found a girl about her age standing at the threshold of the archive room. The girl's appearance was the textbook definition of a straight-laced nerd, her hair was neatly done up in twin braids, she wore thick, round-rimmed glasses, and her choice of outfit looked incredibly plain and formal.

For a moment, the air between them felt awkward. The two of them just stood in silence, trading stiff smiles the textbook definition of newbie energy, where neither knew how to act. The girl with the glasses twirled the hem of her shirt, trying to shake off her nerves, before finally forcing herself to step closer to Launa.

"Um... hey," the girl greeted softly, her voice barely cutting through the silence of the archive room. "Is it... is it cool if I look in here with you? I'm a new intern too, and my sub-team supervisor just told me to find the report drafts."

Hearing that, the massive knot of stress in Launa’s head suddenly melted a little. Instead of feeling competitive, Launa felt a wave of pure relief. A genuine smile finally broke across her face, warmly welcoming the girl.

"Oh, hey! Yeah, totally, come on in!" Launa replied, her tone instantly becoming warm and enthusiastic. "Honestly, I am so glad I’m not alone anymore. I swear, I was about to burst into tears by myself in here because I couldn't figure out the filing codes for the life of me."

The girl with the glasses let out a visible sigh of relief at Launa's warm welcome. "I'm Sofia, by the way."

"Launa," she interjected warmly, giving her new friend's hand a quick shake. "Come on, let’s try checking over there. My supervisor said the files are in dark blue folders."

However, the reality of the corporate world wasn't that kind. Even with the two of them working together, hunting down a physical document among thousands of past Ellsworth Group files was no easy feat. The overly complicated filing system forced them to pry open the heavy metal drawers one by one.

Time kept ticking away. Five minutes, ten minutes... before they knew it, they had spent what felt like an eternity inside that room, and sweat was starting to bead on Launa’s temples. There was still no sign of the files they were looking for, while the clock on the wall outside was gearing up to strike twelve.

In the depths of their growing despair, a booming baritone shout suddenly thundered from outside, shattering the silence of the hallway and piercing right through the archive room walls.

"Where the hell are those report files?! God, you're taking forever! What are you guys even doing?!"

Glenn’s voice resonated with pure rage. Launa’s heart leaped into her throat, causing the folder in her hands to nearly slip from her grip. Glenn wasn't even in the room with them, but the icy echo of his voice successfully sent a cold shiver running straight down her spine.

Before her fear could even subside, the archive room door was suddenly shoved open. Costa, the supervisor who had given Launa the assignment, appeared, panting heavily with a face flushed bright red from sheer panic. The moment she saw Launa still frozen in front of the metal cabinets, the young woman tore into her without holding back.

"Launa! What on earth is wrong with you?! Why is this taking so long?! Do you have any idea? Mr. Glenn is throwing a massive fit out there because the files haven't arrived yet! What the hell have you been doing this whole time?!" she demanded, her voice high-pitched and corners-cuttingly sharp.

Getting bombarded with a lecture like that on her very first day of work made Launa’s chest tighten completely. Her eyes stung with sudden heat, and a powerful urge to cry welled up behind her eyelids, but she fought desperately to keep herself from breaking down in front of her boss.

Launa bowed her head deeply, her fingers trembling as she squeezed the hem of her skirt. "I-I’m sorry, Ms. Costa... I’m so sorry. The filing codes are a bit complicated, but I promise I’ll look faster—"

"I don't want to hear your excuses! I don't care how, I just—"

"What is going on here?"

A deep, chilling voice cut Ms. Costa off instantly. Both women, along with the glass-wearing intern in the corner of the room, spontaneously snapped their heads toward the door.

Glenn Ellsworth was already standing there. With both hands buried deep inside the pockets of his oversized coat, he leaned his shoulder against the doorframe in an arrogant stance. His hawk-like eyes moved slowly, scanning them one by one. When his gaze landed on Launa, Glenn’s eyes openly swept over her appearance from head to toe, delivering a cold evaluation that made Launa feel even smaller.

Glenn then lifted his head slightly, staring at Costa with knitted brows. "Why is it so loud in here? I can hear your voice all the way from my cubicle."

Seeing the top boss himself, Costa’s attitude flipped completely. She forced a stiff smile, then quickly pointed a finger at Launa, trying to dump all the blame on her. "Ah, well, Mr. Glenn... this new intern is incredibly slow. I told her to look for the physical report drafts ages ago, but she still hasn't found them. I'm so sorry for making you wait because of her incompetence."

Launa bowed her head even deeper, not daring to meet the hawk-like eyes in front of her. Fear was now spreading wildly through her chest. I'm done for, Launa thought in resignation. On her very first day, she wasn't just going to get chewed out—she might actually get fired on the spot by the owner’s son.

Holding her breath, Launa whispered faintly, "I'm sorry, Mr. Glenn... I... I'm new here, so I'm not really familiar with where the files are kept yet."

The archive room instantly fell into a dead silence. Glenn stood completely still, his gaze locking intently onto the bowing Launa, before shifting over to Costa, who was waiting for his backing with an expectant look on her face.

However, Launa’s assumption couldn't have been more wrong.

Glenn didn't chew her out. Instead, the guy let out a dismissive scoff and stepped forward, closing the distance between himself and Costa. A cynical smirk was clearly etched across his handsome face.

"Is your brain actually wired to function, or is it just up there for decoration?" Glenn asked, delivering a sarcastic remark that cut incredibly deep.

Costa instantly went slack-jawed, her face turning pale. "Uh? I'm sorry, Mr. Glenn... sorry? what do you mean?"

"I asked you for that report, not her," Glenn shot back in a condescending tone that made Costa instantly wither. "Think about it with that brilliant brain of yours.

It’s an intern’s literal first day. She hasn't even been here for a few hours, and you immediately dump a heavy task on her to comb through thousands of files in a room this massive all by herself? And now you want to wash your hands of it and pass the buck to her?"

Glenn folded his arms across his chest, looking down at Costa with utter contempt. "If you’re this incompetent and can only pass the buck, maybe you should just swap positions with her. Don't even bother being a supervisor. It’s pathetic."

Glenn’s stinging words successfully struck Costa completely dumb, her body trembling from a mix of intense humiliation and fear. Meanwhile, Launa slowly lifted her head, staring at Glenn’s broad back with a whirlwind of mixed emotions—shock, disbelief, and a strange, slight sense of awe.

After the room fell into a sudden, heavy silence following his harsh reprimand, Glenn turned around once more. His hawk-like eyes locked onto Launa and the girl with the glasses in the corner of the room, slowly sweeping over their appearances from head to toe with that same cold, calculating gaze.

Glenn let out a soft scoff, then folded his arms across his chest in an arrogant stance.

"Both of you, get out of this room right now," Glenn ordered. His voice was a calm baritone, yet his aura was intensely intimidating.

Launa caught her breath for a split second, assuming they were about to be kicked out ruthlessly for being deemed incompetent. However, Glenn actually continued speaking, his tone meticulously measured and tactical.

"Listen up, interns. Structurally speaking, the Ellsworth Group doesn't pay you to do grunt work without even knowing the fundamentals. Your first day is scheduled for understanding operational workflows and memorizing basic divisional procedures until you know them inside out not immediately being ordered to sift through dusty archives like day laborers."

Glenn paused, flashing a faint smirk that felt both condescending and utterly spot-on. "Go on, get back to your cubicles. Actually learn from scratch and just take it easy for now. Don't make yourselves look stupid by feeding into the low-tier panic of people who don't even know how to do their own jobs."

Hearing those words, which were undeniably sharp yet incredibly logical and lifesaving the heavy knot in Launa’s chest that had almost brought her to tears instantly vanished without a trace. Beneath his somewhat jerky delivery and foul mouth, Glenn's words had indirectly cleared her of all charges of incompetence. A sudden warmth and calmness washed over her, replacing the overwhelming panic that had been gripping her heart since morning.

Sofia immediately nodded in obedience, her face glowing with relief. The two of them quickly walked side by side toward the archive room exit. Before fully stepping through the threshold, Launa paused for a brief moment, looking at Glenn’s broad back with a sparkle of genuine gratitude.

"Thank you so much for the direction, Mr. Glenn," Launa said softly, offering a polite bow before hurrying out.

"Don't bow. I'm not a respect-starved megalomaniac like my old man," Glenn said.

"Y-yes, sir," Launa stammered, making a swift exit.

Glenn didn't reply, nor did he even bother to look back to acknowledge his intern's politeness. To him, they were just passing through. Once he felt the room was cleared of the newbies, Glenn turned around slowly, locking his focus back onto Costa, who was now breaking out into a cold sweat where she stood.

Glenn took a step closer, deliberately cutting the distance to crank up the psychological pressure.

"Now, it's just you left," Glenn hissed, flashing a cynical smirk that looked downright terrifying to Costa. "I'm giving you exactly twenty minutes from now to find that report. By yourself. No help from anyone."

Costa swallowed hard, her fingers trembling. "B-but..."

"No buts," Glenn cut her off sharply.

"If my desk is still empty in twenty minutes," Glenn threatened, leaning his face in slightly with an intense, locking gaze, "don't even bother packing up your cubicle. Walk away, and I will personally ensure your termination papers are finalized before lunch. Understood?"

Without waiting for an answer, Glenn turned around in an arrogant stride, letting his grey wool coat flutter slightly as he stormed out of the archive room. He left Costa standing there, her fists clenching hard. Any hope that Glenn might soften up was completely shattered.

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