**One Kick Girl — Chapter 181:
"Let's Take This Offline"**
Meeting hell • Passive aggression • Raon & Shion POV
1. The Sentence That Ends Lives
Shion read the message slowly.
Let's take this offline.
Raon stopped breathing.
"That's not… outdoors, right?"
"No," Shion said. "That's a meeting."
Raon screamed internally.
2. The Meeting Spawn
A calendar invite appeared.
Then another.
Then a rescheduled version of the first one.
Raon watched in horror.
"Why is it thirty minutes."
Shion leaned closer. "Because they intend it to become an hour."
3. The Agenda (Or Lack Thereof)
Raon opened the invite.
Agenda:
• Touch base
• Align
• Next steps
"That's three ways of saying nothing," Raon said.
"Yes," Shion replied. "But spoken confidently."
4. Joining Early Was a Mistake
Raon clicked Join.
They were early.
The call room was silent.
Raon whispered, "Why is it worse before people arrive."
"Because you have time to reflect," Shion said. "And regret."
5. The First Arrival
A camera popped on.
A man stared directly into the lens.
Too close.
"Hi everyone," he said, despite no one else being there.
Raon whispered, "Why is his face filling the screen."
"He's asserting dominance," Shion said.
6. The Second Arrival
Another box appeared.
Muted.
Camera off.
Name only.
Finance_Liaison_02
Raon pointed. "Is that a person or a concept."
"Both," Shion answered.
7. Small Talk: Phase One
"So… how's everyone doing?" Face Man asked.
Raon froze.
Shion replied instantly. "Doing well, thanks! Hope you're well too."
Raon whispered, "That was fast."
"I've trained for this," Shion said grimly.
8. Waiting for the Real Reason
More boxes appeared.
No one spoke.
Everyone nodded.
Raon nodded too.
She had no idea why.
9. The Screen Share Incident
Face Man cleared his throat.
"Let me just share my screen."
The wrong screen appeared.
Emails.
So many emails.
Someone coughed.
Face Man panicked.
"Oh—sorry—one second—"
Shion looked away politely.
Raon saw everything.
10. The Deck Appears
At last.
A slide.
Title:
Alignment Discussion v7 FINAL FINAL (USE THIS ONE)
Raon whispered, "There's a version eight coming."
Shion nodded. "Already born."
11. Reading the Slide Aloud
Face Man read the title word for word.
Raon's soul exited her body.
"Why is he reading it," Raon whispered.
"Because silence scares them," Shion said.
12. The Question That Wasn't
"So… thoughts?" Face Man asked.
No one spoke.
Ten seconds passed.
Thirty.
Raon felt sweat form.
Shion unmuted.
"We think it's a solid foundation," Shion said, smiling with her voice, "and we're aligned conceptually."
Raon mouthed: What does that mean.
Shion mouthed back: Nothing.
13. The Follow-Up Question
"Any concerns?" Face Man asked.
Raon panicked.
If she spoke, reality would fracture.
Shion shook her head subtly.
Finance_Liaison_02 typed in chat:
Looks good 👍
Raon gasped. "They used the thumbs up."
"The nuclear option," Shion whispered.
14. The Decision That Isn't One
"Great," Face Man said. "So next steps."
Raon braced.
"Let's set up another meeting."
Raon's soul came back just to scream.
15. The Escape Attempt
Shion checked the time.
"We're at the top of the hour," she said gently. "We'll need to drop."
Face Man panicked.
"Oh—uh—just one last thing—"
Shion smiled harder. "Feel free to send it over email!"
Raon watched the master at work.
16. The Disconnect
They left the call.
Silence.
Raon collapsed onto the floor.
"I fought gods. Monsters. Algorithms."
Shion nodded. "Meetings are worse."
17. The Aftermath Email
Raon's phone buzzed.
Subject:
Great Sync Today!
Raon screamed into a pillow.
18. Cliffhanger
Another invite appeared.
Title:
Quick Follow-Up (15 mins)
Shion stared at it.
Then smiled calmly.
"Oh," she said. "Now I'm angry."
Raon looked up.
"Is that bad?"
"Yes," Shion said. "For them."
END OF CHAPTER 181