With the departure of the antagonistic love rival, Lee Jin-Hwan, a strange peace settled over Daeyoung Marketing. Kim Min-Joon's professional life was back on track, and the office was buzzing with the mysterious story of the "haunted executive" who had been sent away for hearing incriminating voices.
But the romance plot, the primary narrative Cid had so carefully constructed, was now front and center.
The office had collectively decided: the quiet, average Kim Min-Joon and the beautiful, enigmatic Claire were destined to be together. They were the office's official 'ship.' Jina, the gossip-queen, became their self-appointed matchmaker, constantly trying to orchestrate "accidental" meetings and "coincidental" coffee breaks for them.
For Kim Min-Joon, this was a waking dream that was rapidly turning into a nightmare of social anxiety. For Cid, it was the hilarious and satisfying result of his narrative meddling.
Cid's meta-awareness gave him the perfect opportunity. He could 'feel' the story's climax approaching. The annual 'Daeyoung Corporate Gala,' a fancy, black-tie event, was scheduled for the end of the week.
He spent the rest of the week masterfully building the romantic tension. 'Claire' would 'accidentally' drop a pen, and her hand would brush against Min-Joon's as they both reached for it. She would ask him for 'help' with a simple computer problem, leaning just close enough for him to get flustered. He was a maestro of romantic comedy tropes.
Kim Min-Joon, for his part, was a wreck. He was convinced this beautiful, incredible woman was somehow interested in him, and the thought was both exhilarating and terrifying.
The night of the Corporate Gala arrived. The venue was a grand hotel ballroom, filled with the company's elite. Kim Min-Joon, awkward in a rented tuxedo, felt completely out of place.
Then, 'Claire' entered. Cid had, of course, used his slime suit to create a breathtaking, shimmering black evening gown that looked more beautiful and expensive than anything anyone else was wearing. She was the star of the show.
She walked, with a graceful, calculated 'hesitation,' directly up to Kim Min-Joon. "I'm... not much for these big parties," she said, her voice a soft, nervous whisper (a master acting choice). "Would you... mind getting some air with me?"
They walked out onto the ballroom's secluded balcony, which overlooked the sparkling lights of Seoul. It was the perfect romantic setting.
"Min-Joon," Claire began, looking at him with eyes that held a universe of feigned emotion. "My internship here... it's ending. I'll be leaving, to go back... home."
Min-Joon's heart sank. It was the classic departure scene.
"But before I go," Claire continued, her voice filled with a perfect, trembling sincerity, "I wanted to tell you something. In this entire, crazy office... you were the only one who felt... real. You're kind, and honest, and you work hard. You're... a good person."
She leaned in, and on a wave of pure, theatrical impulse, Cid decided to give the story the climax it deserved. She gently, chastely, kissed him on the cheek.
Kim Min-Joon's entire world exploded in a shower of fireworks and orchestral music that only he could hear.
"Don't ever change, Kim Min-Joon," she whispered. Then, with one last, beautiful, melancholic smile, she turned and walked away, disappearing back into the crowd of the gala, leaving him standing on the balcony, completely and utterly thunderstruck.
It was the perfect, bittersweet ending. He had 'won' the girl's affection, but he could not have her. It was a memory that would give him the confidence to grow, to become the protagonist of his own life. Cid's work was done.
Or so he thought.
Back in the ballroom, Jin-woo was standing by the refreshment table, trying to be invisible. But his new reputation made him a magnet. Even the CEO, Lee Jin-Hwan's father, came over to personally thank "Jonas" for his incredible contributions to the company, offering him a promotion and a massive raise.
Jin-woo politely refused. "My work here is... temporary."
Suddenly, a commotion near the entrance. The lights in the ballroom flickered and died, plunging everyone into darkness. A collective gasp went through the crowd.
A single spotlight flared to life, illuminating the main stage. And standing there was... Director Cygnus from the Void Syndicate, flanked by a squad of corporate commandos armed with advanced plasma rifles. Their armor was not from this world.
Jin-woo used his Narrator's Eye. [Event: Hostile Takeover. Cygnus, disgraced and obsessed, has tracked 'Shadow's' energy trail (from the 'convenience' of Cid's favorite onigiri brand, which is an intergalactic franchise owned by Mitsugoshi/Gamma) to its source: Earth.]
Cygnus, disgraced but not defeated, had used his remaining resources to follow the one clue he had. He had come to the homeworld of the being who had humiliated him.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen of Daeyoung Corp," Cygnus's voice boomed, amplified by his helmet. "My apologies for interrupting your little party. Let's call this an... aggressive acquisition. We are looking for an entity known as 'Shadow.' Hand him over, and we will allow your insignificant company to continue existing."
Panic erupted. The guests began to scream.
Kim Min-Joon, who had just walked in from the balcony, stared in horror. His perfect romantic-comedy moment had just been hijacked by a sci-fi villain invasion.
This was a disaster. If they fought here, they would reveal themselves. Their entire, peaceful vacation would be ruined. They needed a way to end this, quickly and quietly.
They had been presented with an unsolvable problem. So they did what they did best.
They rewrote it.
Cid pulled out his Author's Pen. Jin-woo placed a hand on his shoulder, ready to fuel the edit with his own Monarch's will. This was going to be a big one.
Cid wrote: 'As Cygnus made his dramatic, villainous speech, he failed to notice that his primary target, 'Shadow,' was not the only mysterious, powerful entity in the room. In fact, standing quietly by the buffet, was an even older, more obscure, and far more powerful being: the legendary gourmet and secret dimension-hopping food critic, 'The Glutton,' who had come to this world for one reason: to sample the gala's famously mediocre shrimp cocktails.'
He wrote the final, glorious line of the revision. 'And The Glutton... HATES being interrupted during cocktail hour.'
The moment the revision was accepted by reality, a new figure, who hadn't been there a second ago, had been there all along. It was a short, chubby old man in an immaculate tuxedo, with a monocle and a fluffy white mustache. He was holding a small plate with two shrimp cocktails. He had been quietly observing the shrimp with the intensity of a jeweler inspecting a diamond.
Cygnus and his commandos didn't even notice him. But then, the old man cleared his throat. It was not a loud sound, but it cut through the panicked screams like a guillotine.
"Do you have any idea," the old man said, his voice a calm, cultured, yet terrifyingly powerful baritone, "how difficult it is to find a properly chilled shrimp cocktail in this sector of the multiverse?"
Cygnus turned. "Who are you, old man? Stand aside."
The old man, 'The Glutton,' took a slow bite of a shrimp. He chewed thoughtfully. Then, he sighed. "Sub-par. The sauce lacks zest. And your noisy, dramatic entrance has completely ruined the ambiance."
He flicked his wrist. It was a tiny, simple gesture.
The space around Cygnus and his entire squad of high-tech commandos simply... folded in on itself. Like a piece of paper being crumpled up. With a quiet pop, they were gone. Not killed. Not teleported. Just... removed. Sent to some far-flung, food-themed pocket dimension to contemplate their rudeness.
The old man took another bite of his shrimp. "Hmph. Barely passable." He then looked directly into the shadows where Jin-woo and Cid were hiding, gave a tiny, conspiratorial wink, and vanished.
The lights in the ballroom came back on. Cygnus and his soldiers were gone. The guests were confused, with a strange, fragmented memory of some rude party-crashers and an even ruder old man. The incident was quickly dismissed as a strange hallucination, maybe a gas leak.
Kim Min-Joon stood in the middle of it all, his mind a complete blank. The romantic kiss, the sci-fi invasion, the food-critic god... it was too much.
His story was no longer a slice-of-life or a rom-com. It was now a surrealist art film.
In the shadows, Cid and Jin-woo looked at each other. Their "vacation" had officially spiraled out of control.
Their brief, disastrous, and utterly unforgettable sojourn into the world of the ordinary was over.