Chapter 23 — Last Week (3)
We continued walking past the wide Gyeongpo Lake and finally arrived at the beach.
According to the HR manager, we arrived one hour later than everyone else.
Our colleagues couldn’t wait and had already gone to eat without us.
A perfect dropout.
Upon arriving at the beach, we headed to the restaurant where people were gathered.
It looked like they had eaten heartily even without us.
They were drinking coffee outside the restaurant.
I looked at Han Jia.
“Jia-ya.”
“Yes.”
“I told you not to obsess over first place earlier. I’m taking that back.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s obsess a little. These bastards are eating by themselves without any loyalty.”
When I got first place, I bought meat for all my colleagues. When I got first at the promotional event, I even treated everyone to a group dinner.
They forgot all of that and just ate among themselves? The more I thought about it, the more annoyed I got.
Han Jia, who had shared first place with me many times, looked at me. I looked at her hoping for sympathy, but she shook her head.
“I don’t think it’s that bad.”
“Why? That won’t do. You can’t lose your character and start understanding people.”
“Ahaha. Why are you talking like that?”
“Because I’m a Pushover. Anyway, why isn’t it bad?”
Han Jia limped forward.
The male colleagues who had been eating and drinking coffee saw her coming.
Yoon Jungwook took the lead and rushed over barefoot to greet her.
“Jia-ya! You finished?”
“Didn’t you go to the hospital?”
“Are you okay?”
They were making a huge fuss.
I understood what Han Jia meant.
‘Oppa, you were right. Even without getting first place, I’m still a shining person. Look at how they’re all clinging to me.’
That was the meaning.
“Don’t mind them.”
Wait, that wasn’t it?
Han Jia put on a cold, expressionless face. It felt like winter had suddenly hit Gyeongpo Beach.
Did she always have such a cold face?
I had never seen this expression in my previous life.
The guys’ legs were trembling. Even Kim Ain was shivering.
“Is she angry? Why is she like that?”
“Probably because we left her behind.”
“But she said she couldn’t walk because she was hurt.”
“How would you feel if someone said they were hurt but you didn’t even ask again and just left them?”
“I’d feel like shit.”
“Exactly. That’s how she feels. Korea didn’t become a three-time offender country for nothing. They probably left her right after she said she wasn’t going.”
“But if someone says they’re not going, isn’t it right to leave them? We can’t force them to come. We only brought her because the HR manager ordered us to.”
“You don’t know the movie title?”
“What?”
“Back then it was a hit, now it’s getting hit. The process changes depending on the result.”
While Kim Ain and I were chatting, the people who had originally been in Han Jia’s group turned pale and started making excuses.
But it didn’t work. She became a stone Buddha and received them coldly.
Then she came back to us.
“Let’s go eat too.”
Unlike the cold face she showed Yoon Jungwook and the others, she smiled brightly at us.
Is she trying to use me again?
Like, “Serve me like Juchan does, and I’ll smile at you.” Is that what she’s saying?
Hmm?
But?
Maybe not?
“Why, Oppa?”
“No, nothing. Yeah. Let’s eat.”
“Is there something on my face?”
“No, no. I was just thinking about what to eat.”
“You’re being weird.”
“No, no. Really. So what do you want to eat?”
Even though I denied it, Han Jia looked at me with suspicious eyes.
Above her head was a signal light that hadn’t appeared even once since I told her I was a non-dating, non-marriage person and had been getting along with Kim Ain.
It was yellow.
***
Gurgle.
While I was looking at the signal light, my stomach loudly demanded attention.
It made sense. We had walked all night and only eaten energy bars, so we were starving.
Especially Kim Ain. Maybe because she was just as hungry, she actively gave her opinion, which was unusual for her.
“Let’s eat something delicious. I’ll pay.”
Han Jia tried to stop her.
“No. Because of me, everyone arrived late. I’ll pay.”
“I’m going to eat expensive stuff though?”
“That’s fine.”
I stepped between the two.
“It’s not about money, we don’t have time. Everyone else has already eaten. The bus will leave soon.”
“So what? Just tell them to wait.”
“Kim Ain. I want to live like you.”
“Just tell them to wait.”
The last sentence didn’t come from Kim Ain.
The four of us — me, Park Sanghoon, Han Jia, and Kim Ain — turned our heads. Walking toward us was the HR assistant manager.
He stood between us and the other new employees. He looked at me.
“Min Juchan.”
“Yes.”
“Thank you for carrying out the task I gave you well.”
The HR manager continued.
“Thank you for not giving up and coming all the way. Thanks to you, everyone completed the march. I made one promise at the beginning, didn’t I?”
Han Jia clapped her hands.
“Ah! You said if everyone completed it, you’d treat us to a grand dinner!”
I think that’s what he said.
But those bastards already ate everything?
As if reading my mind, the HR manager smiled.
“Yes. I will keep that promise. To the four of you who haven’t eaten yet, I’ll give you the company card. Eat whatever you want. Even if it’s Korean beef, it’s fine. Enjoy as much as you like.”
At his words, some of the new employees openly showed dissatisfaction.
Hey. Don’t do that. This man is the butcher of performance evaluations. He’s a scary person who swings his knife wildly at complaints about evaluations.
The complaints of these rookie new employees meant nothing to him. Having seen their glares, the manager unleashed a torrent of words that could slaughter department heads and directors.
“I clearly said at the beginning that if everyone completed the march, there would be a grand dinner. But none of you called these four people. You spent an entire hour eating without even wondering where they were. Can you really call them your colleagues?”
No one could say anything.
“People say the company is an infinite competition, but that’s not entirely true. There are times when you have to carry someone lacking to complete a project, and times when you need help from others because you’re the one lacking. You are all supposed to become one under the name Sekyung Foods, yet from the new employee training stage, you’re already abandoning those who fall behind? I’m disappointed.”
They lowered their heads.
“Even after you enter the actual workplace, you will face the same situations. Some will get S-grade evaluations and get promoted quickly, while others will get D and get promoted slowly. Even so, you must not ignore or look down on those who received D. In the field, even if the other person is lacking, you must cooperate. If you don’t, work will never progress.”
There are so many bastards who don’t cooperate though?
“I hope you all realize something through this training. Sometimes, coming in last together is better than being first alone.”
What kind of nonsense is that?
The person who comes in first alone is the one who does best. The one who does even better is the one who’s good at sucking up.
These kids aren’t actual children — they’re university graduates who’ve been to the military. I didn’t think they’d reflect just from words like that…
But they did.
Everyone reflected on abandoning us. They looked sorry.
“We should have taken care of you guys. Sorry.”
“Juchan, you even bought us meat thinking of us…”
“And during the promotional event, you even treated us to a group dinner.”
Stop it! You crazy bastards. My hands and feet are cringing so hard I feel like I’m going to die.
It might be a touching moment for the new employees, but as someone who was already a section chief in my previous life, my hands and feet were curling up in embarrassment.
Why do I have to suffer the secondhand shame?
While I was feeling awkward, the HR assistant manager thankfully wrapped things up.
“Everyone, please make sure to always take care of the people around you in your company life. An organization cannot be run by one person alone. Don’t forget that the cost of maintaining the organization is already included in your salary.”
The brainwashing was complete.
Words that a section chief would just snort at were making the new employees burn with passion, as if they were ready to throw their entire bodies into serving the company.
Satisfied with their reaction, the HR manager nodded and looked at me.
“Then, Min Juchan.”
“Yes.”
“Here is the company card. I’ll give you one hour, so eat as much as you want and come back.”
This part I was thankful for.
I received the corporate card.
Kim Ain and Han Jia looked happy.
“Let’s go eat meat.”
“I’m fine with anything.”
“What about you, Sanghoon hyung?”
“Anything you guys like is fine with me.”
“Then let’s go to the closest place and eat something expensive.”
“Isn’t there a famous restaurant only around here? Let’s go there.”
“Yes, Oppa. Let’s go eat something delicious.”
I shook my head and pointed at my leg.
“Now my ankle hurts.”
I must have supported her for too long.
My ankle had given out.
***
The new employee training ended with the final night march.
We arrived back in Seoul at 2 PM and everyone was sent straight home.
When I opened the door to my one-room and stepped inside, a sharp pain shot through my ankle.
“Helping someone walk is exhausting too.”
Limping, I went into the bathroom, washed up, and collapsed onto the bed.
“So tired.”
I had slept about two hours on the bus, but sleep was still pouring over me.
The moment I lay down to sleep deeply, my phone rang.
It was Han Jia.
- Oppa, what are you doing?
“I’m about to die.”
- Are you okay? You went through a lot because of me, right?
“Yeah.”
- Huh?
“It’s true, so it’s true.”
- Ahaha. Anyway… can I come over to your place?
Normally that would have made someone’s heart race, but not today. I was too tired.
“I’m about to die from sleepiness, so no.”
- I’ll just go over, give you a hot pack, and leave.
“A hot pack?”
- Yes! You were limping because of your ankle. I feel bad about it.
“I can just go to the hospital tomorrow.”
- Still, can’t I at least give you a hot pack? I really want to do it for you. Please?
Her request was too earnest to refuse.
“Fine. Come over.”
***
She must have been nearby. Han Jia arrived in just ten minutes.
But her appearance was a mess.
Her hair was disheveled, and her whole body looked dirty.
She still looked exactly like she had right after finishing the march. Well, there was nowhere to wash up properly.
Han Jia came in and put her suitcase to the side. Then she took out the hot packs she had bought.
“I’ll give you a hot pack right now.”
“I refuse. Your current condition is worse than mine. I think I need to give you a hot pack more.”
***
She was limping just like me, so the hot pack was out of the question.
She seemed to know how bad she looked and smiled brightly.
“It’s a mess, right? Then… can I wash up first?”
Teacher, the lesson is progressing too fast.
But then again, I had already washed her once before, so there wasn’t much resistance left.
“Sure, that’s better.”
“Okay. I’ll go wash up.”
She took out a change of clothes from her suitcase — a white t-shirt and pajama pants — and went into the bathroom.
While Han Jia was showering, I just lay there blankly.
Literally blank. I was so sleepy I only wanted to sleep.
“I should just put on the hot pack and sleep.”
Sex or whatever, I was way too tired.
I was thinking about getting some sleep and then ordering chicken later when Han Jia finished showering and came out.
Her hair was wrapped in a towel. Below that was her exposed neckline and white skin.
Gulp.
That white skin really is cheating. Her already pretty face looked four times prettier.
“Oppa, just a moment.”
She moved around busily by herself. She stuck pain relief patches on my leg and placed hot packs on it too.
Ah. It felt so good. My body relaxed and I became even sleepier.
When I let out a big yawn, Han Jia smiled.
“Sleepy?”
“Yeah. The hot pack is making me really drowsy. What about you?”
“I’m sleepy too. Ah! That’s a problem.”
“Why?”
“People say that in Busan, you shouldn’t say you’re sleepy. You have to say ‘Sleep is coming!’”
No wonder Seoul girls lose their minds. Why does the standard dialect sound so soft and gentle? Above all, Han Jia didn’t feel that repulsive to me anymore.
Going through that hellish night march together had a big effect. My wariness toward Han Jia had loosened a lot.
When I thought about it, she was only twenty-four. There was no real reason for me to be so scared because of my previous life.
“It’s not ‘sleepy’, it’s ‘Sleep is coming!’ You have to say it like that.”
“Sleep is coming! Like this?”
“Yeah, yeah. That’s closer. But are you really not sleepy?”
“I’m sleepy too. So… can I sleep next to you?”
“Next to me? No. I’ll sleep on the floor.”
I waved my hands.
“No. How can I make you sleep on the floor when I came to your place to rest? I’ll sleep on the floor.”
“How can I make the person who gave me hot packs sleep on the floor? I’m not treating you like a nurse.”
“Then… I guess we have no choice. How about this?”
Hey. Aren’t you being too aggressive?
Han Jia plopped down right next to me.
“I’ll sleep next to you, Oppa.”
A yellow signal light was floating above her head.
Thump. Thump.
My heart was pounding.
Am I really going to have sex with Han Jia?
Then what about Kim Ain? Does it even matter? We’re not dating anyway. And I don’t plan on dating Han Jia either.
Many thoughts swirled in my head, but the strongest one in front was simple: ‘Let’s just sleep first.’
I was too tired.
“Yeah. Let’s get some sleep first.”
I had woken up at 7 AM yesterday and hadn’t slept properly until 2 PM today.
I really needed to sleep.