After Resignation, I Refuse the Obsession from the Male Leads
weiss
퇴사 후 남주들의 집착은 사절이에요 Jun 01, 2026 37 views
Chapter 5
Allison, who had been smiling smugly, froze.
“Huh? What did you say?”
“I said I’ve finished all the work you assigned.”
I tapped the neatly organized report on her expensive desk and pushed it toward her.
The “work” she had assigned was basically just organizing trash-tier materials she had hastily gathered herself.
‘I’ve been doing this kind of work for years.’
I drove the final nail in.
“I checked for typos as well. I also reviewed the font, formatting, and spacing.”
“Hah. You really have no sense! Who would read something so dense and text-heavy?”
“Oh. Then would you prefer it in a visual format instead?”
“What?”
“I made another version just in case.”
I calmly pulled the second report from the desk and handed it to her.
‘People like this always complain about presentation instead of content.’
I prepared it just in case—and of course, she latched onto something anyway.
Allison scanned me up and down and sneered.
“You really act like someone who’s worked before, huh?”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
“Well, you’re from an orphanage, so you must’ve done a lot of menial work.”
Wow, this damn…
Allison smirked at me.
“What? Am I wrong? That’s what your file says. Your parents are dead, aren’t they?”
“Oh! You read it correctly. They’re probably dead.”
I replied with a bright smile.
“But honestly, whether you have parents or not, you still have to work.”
“…Huh?”
“Unless you’re born with a silver spoon.”
Her face twisted at my words.
The heroine watched our confrontation nervously.
Purple Head stood with his arms crossed, observing.
“Lowell. Are young people these days all as insolent as you?”
“Well, I don’t know. But I also didn’t ask about your parents, Team Leader Capress.”
A rookie talking back to a superior?
Impossible.
Being angry at unfair treatment at work? A boss abusing power?
Just endure it. The outside world is worse anyway.
But dragging someone’s family into it?
That deserves retaliation.
There are lines in life you don’t cross.
For me, that line was parents.
Even if Layla Lowell’s parents abandoned her in infancy, I had been happy thanks to my parents in my previous life.
‘I may be broke and low-ranking, but why should I tolerate this kind of insult?’
Allison looked shocked and stammered.
“You… you, what do you think you are?”
“I’m just a rookie from an orphanage.”
At the end of the day, whether noble or imperial or not, everyone is just the same kind of person.
Allison glared at me, then sharply turned away.
She had realized she couldn’t intimidate me.
Fine. Let’s just have a staring contest then.
I was a “career-experienced rookie” anyway—fine.
But did she really want to mess with a kid like the heroine?
However, Allison continued to scold Yuliana every morning at 9 a.m. and again at 3 p.m.
The next day.
And the next.
“I’m leaving early today. You can leave after finishing your work.”
She left at 4 p.m., leaving her unfinished paperwork piled on our expensive desks.
‘That damn woman.’
We silently continued working.
‘It’s only two more days anyway.’
Then, while the work was nearly finished…
“Hey…”
“Hm?”
Purple Head suddenly spoke to me quietly.
“Why doesn’t she say anything to me?”
“…Huh?”
“Because… you’re from the Mage Tower and your parents are alive.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Why wouldn’t it?”
This guy was from an elite family comparable to the male lead or even the hidden villain.
‘She’s picking targets she can push around.’
But Purple Head looked genuinely confused.
“That doesn’t seem logical.”
“People aren’t logical. Things aren’t always 0 or 1…”
Wait.
While I was explaining human irrationality to this innocent kid, I noticed—
Yuliana’s seat was empty.
“Hey, where’s Yuliana?”
“She ran outside. She looked like she was crying.”
“Hey, what the—why are you telling me this now?!”
I had been so buried in work I didn’t even notice!
And why wasn’t the sub-male lead following her?
Isn’t he supposed to go comfort her and start the romance route?
‘Purple Head, seriously! That’s why you’re the sub-lead!’
What if the plot changes and she decides she doesn’t want to be a palace official anymore?!
‘I swear, what if she quits the Black Underpaid Department?!’
I quickly rushed out.
Purple Head didn’t follow—whether due to logic or indifference, I didn’t care.
Thankfully, Yuliana wasn’t far.
She was crouched in a corner of the garden, hiding from passing people.
“Yuliana!”
“Le… Layla…”
“Are you okay?”
“Sniff…”
Ah—she was really crying!
She buried her face in her hands and sobbed harder after being discovered.
“Sob… hic… sniff…”
“Yuliana, don’t cry…”
Wait.
A chill ran down my spine.
Isn’t this the part where the male lead is supposed to comfort her?
The scene where she leaves after Allison’s bullying and accidentally meets Carlisle—
How could I forget that?
【“Didn’t you say you wanted to join the Black Underpaid Department, Crosswell?” “Y-yes…” “Then you shouldn’t cry over something like this.” “Y-yes…” Carlisle turned away, then added softly: “But if you come to our department, you won’t have to cry over unfair treatment.”】
Oh, damn…
I need to get out of here.
But just as I was about to pull away—
“Sniff… Layla…”
The tear-soaked heroine grabbed my hand.
“C-can you stay with me?”
“Don’t… don’t do that… I, I mean…”
“Sniff… sob…”
…She was crying so hard I couldn’t say, “The male lead will come comfort you, so I’ll leave.”
In the end, I was forced to sit down beside her and listen to her vent.
“Sniff… what should I do, Layla?”
“Hm? About what?”
“I really want to do well… but I think I don’t have any sense…”
Ah.
So she really got hurt by Allison’s nonsense.
“Listen, Yuliana. You’re not lacking sense. You just lack experience.”
“Experience…”
“Everyone struggles at the beginning.”
“But you, Layla…”
“Hmm?”
“Y-you were good from the start…”
“I just had experience from doing menial work in the orphanage like that woman said.”
“Th-that’s…”
“So don’t worry about what she said.”
The heroine had stopped crying, but still looked downcast.
‘Tch. She’s a top student, so her pride must be high.’
People break easily when they’re mentally shaken like this.
Time for a harsh reality check.
“Listen, Yuliana.”
“Yeah?”
“One day, we’re all going to end up self-employed anyway.”
“Huh?”
If you don’t become a high-ranking official, you’ll eventually end up running your own business.
Whether it’s a chicken shop, a café, or living off rent.
“We’re not all going to become high officials, so there’s no need to cling so tightly to this.”
Don’t bet your life on a company.
But Yuliana, not understanding my exhausted worldview, smiled brightly.
“Thank you, Layla. I’m glad you’re here.”
“Yeah, well…”
“I’ll go wash my face now!”
She jumped up and ran off.
Probably embarrassed after crying so much.
‘Right, I still have work too…’
But as I tried to stand—
I froze.
Carlisle was standing right around the corner.
Why are you here?!
And why are you just standing there staring at me with your hands behind your back?
