Elara’s lips pressed into a thin line as she watched the video on the screen. Her eyes still stayed fixed on it even after it ended, her mind slowly putting the pieces together.
So this was what everyone had seen. The angle, the distance of the recorder, everything had worked together to twist the scene into sothing else entirely.
From that view, it truly looked like she and Mr Kain were doing sothing inappropriate. Anyone who watched it would surely misunderstand.
Her fingers curled into a ball on the table.
Who could have recorded it?
Mr Kain couldn’t have told soone to do so. No matter how shaless he was, he would not risk exposing himself like this. This kind of thing could destroy him too.
Apart from Perri and her group, she could not think of anyone else in Voice who disliked her enough to do this.
Even thinking of that, though Perri might hate her, she was closely tied to Mr Kain. So she would not be foolish enough to release sothing that could damage his reputation as well.
Elara slowly lifted her gaze from the screen and looked back at Mrs Han. "I see," she said calmly.
Mrs Han’s brows furrowed imdiately, clearly displeased with her reaction. "You see?" she repeated. "That is what you have to say about this?"
Elara did not reply but she returned her gaze to her. Mrs Han took in a deep breath before turning her attention to Mr Kain. "For matters like this, we cannot just ignore them. What do you have to say?" she said, all eyes then shifting to him.
Mr Kain cleared his throat and shook his head, his expression turning serious, like he was troubled. He stayed silent at first, as if choosing his words carefully, before speaking.
"Director, this clip... while it may look troubling, it actually shows sothing I have been handling privately for several weeks now." he said in a calm tone, like soone who was being forced to reveal sothing he had tried to keep hidden for a long ti.
"I will be straightforward with all I have to say. To be honest, trainee Elara has been making advances toward lately."
Elara’s lips lifted upward as she turned to look at him, disbelief flashing across her face.
Advances?
He continued without pausing. "At first... all these started with her bringing small gifts... finding unnecessary reasons to co to my office."
Elara’s brows rose in amazent. Inside, she almost laughed.
Gifts? Visits?
He was speaking as if he truly believed his own words.
"I chose to handle all these quietly because I did not want to ruin her career over what I hoped was a misunderstanding." he said, sighing dramatically, as if he regretted everything.
"But that night... she tru ca to the corridor specifically to find ." he said turning to look at Elara who has a stiff smile on her lips. "I would be failing my duty if I did not admit that this was not the first uncomfortable situation I have had with her. The conversation shown in the clip was telling her that her behavior was inappropriate and needed to stop."
The room suddenly grew more quiet after his words. Not until a soft cough sounded.
It was Adrian that cleared his throat. Though it was not loud at all, it drew everyone’s attention imdiately.
He had been silent the entire ti, leaning back in his chair, casually playing with the key in his fingers as if none of this concerned him. His gaze shifted to Elara who was sitting down quietly, then to Mr Kain. His expression remained calm and unreadable.
"You said this has been happening for weeks," he asked while Mr Kain nodded politely. "Yes."
"And in those weeks, you said nothing about it." Adrian continued.
Mr Kain opened his mouth to speak. "I was handling it privately. I did not want to—"
"You filed complaints against her weeks ago without hesitation," Adrian cut in before he could finish his words.
Mr Kain’s expression stiffened and he opened his mouth again, but Adrian did not stop.
"You have made another complaint after her promotion, you have used every opportunity to act against her." he added with a snort. "So why did you hesitate to report this?"
Mr Kain suddenly beco mute.
Elara’s hand stiffened on the table as she turned to look at Adrian, her eyes widening a bit. It was as if she was dreaming. The man speaking now did not feel like the Adrian she knew.
Had he just... spoken up for her.
Mr Kain quickly recovered and cleared his throat, forcing a small smile on his lips. "Thank you, Mr Vale, for raising those points, I understand how this may look, but i—"
"I might be smaller compared to everyone here," a voice suddenly cut in and all attention shifted imdiately to the owner.
Elara opened her mouth again. "But I still have the right for my side to be heard too."
Mr Kain turned to her sharply. His eyes darkened with a hint of anger flashing through them.
Mrs Han said nothing for a mont. Her gaze slowly moved from Mr Kain back to Elara. Then she gave a small nod.
"I’m listening," she said.
Elara took in a slow breath before she spoke. And when she began, she did not start from that night. She started from the beginning.
She spoke about the first training session with Mr Kain, she ntioned the day she helped him carry books to his office, then she talked about the complaint he filed against her participation in the Rising Voice challenge. How it ca shortly after she refused a suggestion he made about spending ti with him outside of training hours.
Mrs Han did not move. Nor did Adrian. He only sat there, the small key device still turning slowly between his fingers as he stared quietly at Elara.
Elara continued saying she’s very sure that she was not the only one. That Mr Kain’s behavior was not directed at her alone, but at so other singers as well.
After Elara said that, she noticed that Mr Kain had shifted in his seat. The movent was small, but it did not escape her sight.
Elara ntioned the night she returned from work and saw him in the corridor with Perri together.
"I did not report it, because I had no proof. And if things don’t go in my favor, it would only bring trouble to ."
Elara said and turned to look at Mr Kain, a faint, almost cold smile touching her lips before it disappeared again.
He suddenly turned to her, his eyes sparkling red. It was obvious that his patience is finally breaking.
"I don’t know why you would try to fra like this. After everything I’ve done for your career. Do you know how many years I’ve spent in this field? Decades. In all those years, nothing like this has ever happened."
He said, but Elara did not even look at him. Her eyes remained on Mrs Han, as if he had not said anything at all.
His mouth closed, then opened again. "She’s lying, she’s just making up a story to protect herself. She—"
"Mr. Kain." Mrs Han said calmly and he stopped speaking instantly. She then turned to Elara with a serious expression. "What you have said carries serious implications. You understand that if any part of what you’ve described is found to be untrue, the consequences for you will be severe."
"I understand," Elara replied.
"And you stand by everything you’ve said?"
"Yes," Elara said again.
Mrs. Han nodded, then she slowly shifted her gaze to Mr. Kain.
Mr Kain finally snapped. He pushed his chair to the back and stood up abruptly. The calm image he had been trying to maintain had shattered completely.
He pointed at Elara with shaky hands. "How? How can you sit there and say things like this? How can you just open your mouth and—"
"Mr. Kain—" Mrs. Han said again but he didn’t answer.
"She is lying! She ca to . She has been coming to . I have done nothing, nothing that wasn’t professional, and she’s sitting there with that face—" his outburst suddenly changed to quietness. Not because anyone interrupted him. But because Elara was looking at him now calmly with raised brows as if saying, ’Realy?’
Then she opened her mouth.
"I also have another thing," she said.
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