I exhaustedly groaned as I carried a heavy stack of folders, arriving outside the lobby. If you guys forgot, it was the place I unhesitatingly walked out from after another uncomfortable experience of being the center of scrutiny.

I abruptly placed the folders on one seat in the hallway and tiredly sat on another, panting silently. Ugh, that was heavy. 

“Um…” A feeble-sounding voice of a woman called out, gaining my attention. My eyes narrowed as I turned my head to look at her, the feeling of anger starting to climb up my heart. I suppressed an exasperated sigh. “Hello, Miss Trisha. To what do I owe the pleasure of you asking for me?” I started with an almost biting and sarcastic remark.

I felt slightly satisfied when I witnessed her flinching at my fierce response. Oh, please excuse me. That was rude of me. However, I’m not sorry. Isn’t it simply tiring to accommodate people with mindsets that the world owes them, being so entitled to be respected when it’s earned? 

She bit her lower lip as an ashamed expression made its way onto her face. She bowed deeply, exclaiming her apologies. “I’m really sorry about before, Miss Clarice!” 

I looked at her in astonishment. That was something I wasn’t expecting. I genuinely thought that she would show some kind of distaste or smugness from what happened before since it looked like she was trying to start some friction or something. Besides, not many would think that the other was simply welcoming them if the interlocutor looked hostile. 

“Why are you even sorry, miss?” I answered back, a graceful smile curling on my lips. “With your reception, I noticed that I’m simply unwelcomed. Should I thank you?” I calmly spoke with spite as I tilted my head and my smile widened, a dark expression on my face.

Miss Trisha looked at me in obvious horror, her whole figure quivering in fear. “No, please! Let me explain!” She hastily countered, looking to and fro. “D-Do you remember Sir Lucas?” 

I looked at her in obvious distaste. “If you are saying someone else’s name for them to take the blame, you are simply revolting, Miss Trisha.”

She furiously shook her head. “No! You’ve misunderstood! I was from Sir Lucas’s branch and since we were close, he told me about you.” Then she became embarrassed. “Since he praised you so much when we talked, I became a fan…” She slowly continued and by the end, I could barely hear what she said. I watched as she slowly fidgeted and held the hem of her uniform, averting her eyes from me.

Something’s suspicious. “You know Sir Lucas from the Accounting department yet you’re in the reception department?” I probed.

“H-He’s my relative. I was initially in Accounting, but when I transferred here, I was sent to the help desk. And I never thought of doing something else—I love my work!” She continued on endlessly.

“I-I!” She stuttered and bit her lip, and she took a shaky breath. “After hearing about you from Uncle, I was fascinated and you sounded like a very amazing person! And—and when I was sent to guide you, I was excited! I couldn’t suppress my emotions and cause you trouble. I’m genuinely regretting it!”

Uncle? That explains how she knew me then. 

Well, what do we have here…? So she was a fan? So her ugly expression when she met me was my imagination, or mayhaps she could not control her expressions properly? Nonetheless, I’m not unfamiliar with being the center of hate, and it had become a part of me to think that it was only a matter of time before people came to hate me, so I simply had to make do with everything the world had slapped me with; but, meeting a person like this was something I never encounter every day.

I didn’t expect that it would be like this, however. Apart from that, the reason why and how I suddenly had a fanbase eluded me, but this was honestly surprising and a little bit… adorable? 

Be that as it may, honestly, in my perspective, she still sounded suspicious since I have no proof whatsoever to prove that her words were true and devoid of lies. However, I will forgive her this once. Don’t be mistaken, it’s purely because I don’t want to prolong this small problem. Besides, she’s even here personally apologizing, exerting effort on this matter is already something I would commend. I seriously looked at her expression, her eyes were clear, albeit tumultuous from anxiety. I saw no signs of deceit. I was still unsure, but if I dare say that she was lying, she sure could damn act well. If I didn’t know better, I would certainly be unknowing and deceived. 

For now, this little cutie appeared to be terribly guilty. Look, she’s tearing up, ah. If she was someone related to Sir Lucas, then I needed to take care of her. He greatly helped me when I was working there, so I guess this would be something I could do in return. I let out a sigh and patted her shoulder. “Okay, I understand.” 

I might look too forgiving, and you could just interpret it that way. Remembering grudges and hating people is too cumbersome. I prefer to use my energy somewhere else, thank you very much.

Her eyes widened in shock, sighing in obvious relief as she realized that everything would be okay. 

“Though, there is something I’m still unsure about,” I remarked, making her tense and look at me in apprehension, waiting. 

"Is there something wrong?" she asked nervously.

I laughed softly as I shook my head. "It's nothing much, though, I'm still clueless regarding the reason why those other people reacted that way when they heard my name."

Trisha's lips trembled and bowed her head once more to hide her agitation. But with her fidgeting, everything was exposed. She spoke, her voice was barely audible. "Our branch has a very infamous reputation and all the people that came there were rumored to have used dirty means to be sent here." She took a deep breath. "With our branch having that kind of reputation, some people were very keen on watching our movements, so we were looked into to prevent hiring a potential incompetent or valueless worker."

That got me astonished, and I thought deeply. Unknowingly, my hands tightened their grip on the sling of my bag where my flash drive was and gave the files I brought with me a sidelong glance.

These would be helpful then. I guess by bringing these along, I would be able to do some good deeds before I get kicked out due to impertinent behavior. However, I hope this good intention of mine would be received gratefully. But then again,  thinking about what I would do, it sounded far-fetched.

I could only hope for it. It wouldn't be too bad to be hopeful. It's what I always do, and unfortunately, most of it was in vain, and the times when they were granted were few and far between. I suppressed a sigh.

In the few months I worked there, I never knew that it had such a reputation since the people in the company were affable and very competent. This was slight negligence on my part. I should have looked into the company’s reputation as well. The only significant people I met were Sir Lucas (since he was purported to be the most senior person in the company and only a few were with the same rank) and the head of HR.

I have dug deeper to know the company’s operations behind the clean reputation they built. Surprisingly, the outside wasn’t that ignorant of the branch’s dirty despite these matters were always swept under the rug. If what Miss Trisha said was true, then what I would be doing should be enough. There were a few misconducts I’ve witnessed in the company, however, the gravity of them was very serious and nothing to laugh at. Adding to the fact that no one was doing anything to fix these problems repulsed me. 

If in the likelihood that I would be ignored and my warnings put aside, there was nothing I could do but to shut up and accept the fact. I already tried my best. If he continued to turn a blind eye to this, it would be his loss and incompetence. 

I nodded grimly. “I understand. It’s quite a miracle that Sir Lucas would continue staying there.” The reason how and why he remained there despite the company’s infamous reputation was simply a mystery, I slowly commented and Miss Trisha nodded sardonically. “I’m clueless as you are, Miss Clarice.

Eyeing Miss Trisha, I kept myself from probing any further. She avoided answering truthfully and diverted my attention to the company’s reputation. The company’s reputation and my name do not correlate at all since the list of applicants is confidential and wasn’t divulged to any people. I’m sure of this fact because I asked Sir Lucas regarding the interview details. 

How would the other applicants know that I came from that branch, then? Or maybe the branch had nothing to do with it at all? Thinking about it, the latter seems more probable, if we’re talking about how petty he is. 

Miss Trisha was definitely hiding something from me, and that was something directly connected to me as well. 

I narrowed my gaze towards the receptionist. Her face became taut and her smile looked strained. Moments later, she avoided my gaze. I wouldn’t probe further then, as the person before me already finished her piece. Besides, it’s too tiring to look into this, when the information I have is minuscule and cannot form any solid context. 

It’s almost my turn for the interviews. If there could be an opportunity to leave this place faster, I would take it. I could still apologize since I was guilty of wrongdoing, however, with how the events were turning out, the apology might be done a lot later than expected. Yet at the same time, honestly speaking, this chaos I would bring could be enough apology since I would slap him a little bit of ugliness regarding this company he’s managing.  

“By the way, are the interviews starting?”

“Ah, since it was lunch, the applicants were only oriented a bit and the actual interviews would start at noon. You are last to interview.”

Tut, a pity. I thought the interviews were underway. I nodded. “I’ll just stay here outside. I’m too ill at ease to go inside after what happened earlier.” I laughed softly, waving my hands when I saw Miss Trisha looking remorseful. “I have no intention to make you sorry, this time anyway.” 

“B-But…”

“Oh, shush.” I reached out my hand. “Let’s re-do our introductions. I’m Clarice. It’s nice to meet you.”

Trisha looked at me in shock, her eyes still glistening with unshed tears. She wiped her face with her sleeves and hastily shook her hands with mine, a mix of relieved and delighted expression on her face. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Clarice!”

Well, despite her still hiding something from me, having an acquaintance might be useful. 

Besides, it’s not too bad to have another friend!