This world seriously has zero chill.
I was just about to take a long breath, leaning back against the pantry's plastic chair—which was as hard as a brick—while enjoying the free office coffee. It tasted more like car-wash runoff than actual caffeine. I took one sip, and just as my tongue was trying to make peace with the weird bitterness, a semi-transparent hologram appeared right in front of my nose.
Cough!
I choked. Coffee grounds flew into my windpipe, making me cough like a chain-smoking grandpa. I swear, this System has a hobby of appearing at the worst possible times, as if it has a special sensor designed to ruin every second of my five-minute break.
[DING! Emergency Mission Notification!][Target: Vivian, National Actress and Beauty Brand Heiress.][Context: Vivian is arriving at Valerius Group for a brand-new ad shoot. As Alaric's childhood friend, she expects a warm welcome.][Primary Task: Ensure Alaric gives a rose to Vivian as a form of professional appreciation.][Secondary Target: Do not let Vivian feel ignored by Alaric (Risk: Public Scandal).][Reward: 100 Points and Passive Skill: 'Quick Thinking'.]
"Good grief. I just finished dealing with Isabella's heart-stopping stunt this morning, and now the Drama Queen shows up," I grumbled, massaging my throbbing temples.
I knew Vivian's character well from the original novel. She was the definition of a high-maintenance girl with major daddy issues and a constant thirst for attention. To the public, she was a shining star, a Diva whose silk gowns shimmered as bright as her reputation.
But behind the scenes, she was fragile—forced to be a money-making machine by her mother since childhood. If she felt even slightly neglected by Alaric—the only person she viewed as a "pillar"—she'd cry a river in front of the press. If that happened, Valerius Group's stocks would plummet, and I'd be the one stuck working overtime to draft the damage-control press release.
[System: "Stop whining, Arlan. Alaric thinks roses are just 'organic table waste.' Without your intervention, he'll just greet Vivian with a nod that's worth more than your dignity."]
"I know, System! I know!" I slammed my coffee cup into the bin. "But the problem is, my Boss is a robot! How am I supposed to force him to hold a flower without him thinking I'm hitting on him?!"
I immediately opened the System Mall. I needed something instant. Something to keep the lobby from turning into a three-day-old cracker.
[Item: 'Eternal Love' Red Rose (Attention-Grabbing Aroma)][Description: A rose extracted from loyalty pheromones. Anyone holding it will appear 100% more sincere to the target. Side effect: The scent may drift toward unexpected sources if the user isn't focused.][Price: 150 Mall Points (MP).]
"150 POINTS?! System, I only have 20 left after the Chapter 1 incident! You want me to sell my organs on the black market?!"
[System: "Relax, corporate slave. Because I'm a benevolent system, I've activated the 'Emergency Debt' feature. This flower is an investment, Arlan. Do you want the rose, or do you want to see Vivian throw a tantrum and get fired for failing to manage the talent?"]
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Fine, I'll take it! Put it on my tab! Happy now?!"
[DING! Purchase Successful. Point Balance: -130 Points. Item stored in Virtual Inventory.]
An hour later, the Valerius Group main lobby had turned into a battlefield. Reporters were standing by with long-lens cameras. Staff members were stealing glances from behind their cubicles.
A red sports car, worth more than a whole neighborhood, pulled up at the doors. Vivian stepped out with full Diva energy—oversized sunglasses and an aura that suggested the earth revolved solely for her.
I stood beside Alaric. My Boss just stood there, hands in his pockets, his face completely unreadable. I could feel the temperature around him drop a few degrees. Cold as ice, man.
"Alaric! Did you actually come down to the lobby to greet me?" Vivian took off her glasses, her eyes sparkling. She did a little run, intending to hug him, but Alaric took a step back.
"The shoot starts in exactly ten minutes. Don't waste my time, Vivian. Time is an asset that cannot be reclaimed," Alaric said, his voice arctic.
I saw Vivian's expression crumble. Her lips began to tremble—the tell-tale sign that a "drama storm" was about to hit. I couldn't let that happen. With lightning speed, I pulled the 'Eternal Love' rose from the virtual inventory behind my back and forced the stem into Alaric's hand.
"Sir, give it to her now! It's part of the new 'Talent Appreciation' protocol. It'll boost your image as a humanist CEO!" I whispered urgently, giving his ribs a subtle nudge.
Alaric stared at the rose as if it were a dangerous foreign object. He was about to reject it, but knowing I'd give him a lecture in front of the cameras, he finally handed it over to Vivian with the stiffness of an un-oiled robot.
"Here. For you. Thank you for coming," Alaric said.
At that moment, the 'Sincerity Aura' exploded. The aroma made the lobby feel magical. Vivian, who was on the verge of tears, suddenly flushed bright red. She stared at the rose, then at Alaric... but something was wrong.
Because Alaric handed it over while looking away, the rose's effect went searching for a more sincere source nearby. And guess who was the most sincere person there? Me. Arlan, the assistant who genuinely wanted this mission to succeed just to stay alive.
[Warning: 'Sincerity Aura' has deviated! Target is detecting the source of care from the Assistant!]
"Alaric... you couldn't have picked this flower yourself," Vivian murmured. She took a step forward, but instead of hugging Alaric, she grabbed the edge of my suit sleeve.
"Arlan, you're the one who prepared this, aren't you?" Vivian's eyes welled up with emotion. "This scent… it's my favorite flower from when I was a kid. The one I told you about at the office cafe last month. You... you actually remembered?"
HUH?! When did I meet you at a cafe?! That was the memory of the original Arlan from the book!
I panicked. Alaric looked at me with a gaze that could melt steel. Vivian moved closer, smelling the rose while staring at me with deep meaning.
"Thank you, Arlan. It turns out in this cold Valerius building, you're the only one with a heart to notice the small details about me," she whispered softly.
[DING! Vivian's Progress toward Arlan: 'Smitten' (Status: Highly Unstable)!][DING! Alaric & Elara Progress: Failed to Rise! Alaric Status: 'Disturbed'.][Notification: Mission Technically Complete, but Emotional Target Missed.]
"Hic!"
The system penalty arrived right on time. I let out a loud hiccup in the middle of the touching moment.
"Hic! Ms. Vivian... hic... that was all Mr. Alaric's idea! I'm just... hic... the delivery guy!" I shouted.
Vivian just gave a thin smile, as if she didn't believe a word. She walked toward the elevator with grace, but not before giving me a wink that made my heart drop into my stomach. Alaric turned slowly. He approached me until we were barely an inch apart.
"Arlan Vane. Since when did you become so... 'close' with my childhood friend?"
"Hic! No, Sir... hic... it was just a random choice from the shop across the street... hic!"
"Finish the shoot. And after that, report to my office immediately. Do not be a single second late," Alaric said coldly.
That evening, I walked toward Alaric's office with a sense of dread. When I opened the door, Alaric wasn't at his desk. But my eyes were immediately drawn to a private tablet lying open on his mahogany desk.
[DING! Plot Anomaly Detected!][Use 'Eye of Empathy' skill on digital data? Cost: 10 Points.]
"I'm already at minus 130, another 10 won't kill me!" I thought recklessly. I activated the skill, and suddenly, I could see Alaric's search history:
"How to stop a personal assistant from playing the hero."
"What does it mean when an assistant is too kind to other women?"
"Symptoms of jealousy toward one's own subordinate and how to eliminate them."
"Hic!"
My Robot Boss was having an identity crisis because of me!
"What are you doing with my tablet, Arlan?"
Alaric's voice sounded right in my ear. I froze. He was so close I could smell his sandalwood cologne. Alaric didn't back away. Instead, he slammed his hands on the desk, pinning me between his body and the workstation.
"Do you want to know what I was reading, or do you want to know why I was looking for it?"
I'm dead. I'm officially dead.