Episode 14: A Wise Answer 1.
In the early dawn, before the sun had even risen, Hyeonu left home.
The cold wind of early morning, with winter only just beginning, made his face sting.
Today was his fifth day at work.
In the four days he had worked, he had gone to three company dinners, and he had not once managed to take the ambitious one-on-one online English conversation lessons with a native speaker that he had signed up for.
They had said that if he requested a refund within five days, he could get up to seventy percent back, and Hyeonu found himself seriously considering it.
He turned on the lights in the empty office, got himself a cup of warm coffee, and sat down at his desk.
Then he immediately opened his TOEIC book.
As he studied in a frenzy, the once-quiet office gradually began to fill with noise.
It seemed it was already time to start work.
“Oh, Hyeonu, you came in early.”
Hyeonu closed his TOEIC book and greeted her.
“Good morning.”
“Yes, bad morning.”
Just as he was about to think that Song Gaeun’s face, smiling brightly as she greeted him with her eyes, was pretty, the horse-head face suddenly overlapped with it.
Fuck...
He was a little worried that the damned horse-head face would come to mind every time he saw her face.
He turned on his computer, logged into the intranet, checked whether any emails had come in...
As he was preparing for work like that, Yang Gyeonghun arrived.
“Good morning.”
“Yeah. Bad morning.”
Song Gaeun came over with coffee and greeted Yang Gyeonghun.
“Bad morning, Team Leader.”
“Yeah, bad morning.”
Hyeonu couldn’t understand why everyone was so stubbornly pushing this unfunny “bad morning” joke.
All morning, Hyeonu stayed by Song Gaeun’s side and intensively learned about trade work, such as how to read an L/C, how to fill out an offer sheet, and how to check invoices.
He was absorbing every single thing she taught him like a sponge and memorizing the terminology when he heard Song Gaeun let out a short exclamation. “Ah!”
When he turned his head, Song Gaeun spoke with her eyes still fixed on the monitor.
“Hyeonu, your training has been scheduled.”
Yang Gyeonghun, who had heard from behind, said a word.
“What? What kind of training is there for a new hire who’s only been here five days?”
“The training for first-year employees with excellent evaluations.”
“Hey, that makes even less sense. He’s still in his internship period, so we haven’t even submitted an evaluation report to HR.”
“That’s true. Hmm... Could it be because of the SHS matter? You reported it all the way up to the president yesterday.”
At Song Gaeun’s words, Yang Gyeonghun recalled the scene of his private meeting with President Noh Hyeoncheol yesterday.
“You have a new hire there, don’t you? Kim... what was it again?”
“Do you mean intern Kim Hyeonu?”
“Ah, right, Kim Hyeonu. Haha, he’s there, isn’t he? Sales Team 9.”
“Yes, sir.”
“How is he? Is he keeping up with the work?”
“It’s only his fourth day, so it’s not the stage to discuss his work ability yet, but it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he did all of this matter. My team members and I simply did as he suggested.”
At those words, President Noh Hyeoncheol had burst into a hearty laugh with a pleased expression.
Was it the president who gave the order after all?
Thinking that, the corners of Yang Gyeonghun’s mouth slowly rose.
“Rookie, you’d better be grateful to me.”
“Thank you, Team Leader.”
Seeing the rookie-like way he thanked him blindly without knowing anything, Yang Gyeonghun’s lips curved up once more.
But through his inner thoughts, Hyeonu already knew exactly what had happened.
He had gone to the president and, instead of taking credit for himself, had praised his subordinate.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to him.
‘Has there ever been anyone in my life who cared for me and looked out for me?’
Aside from his parents, there had been no one.
He had no intention of blaming anyone.
After all, much of it was his own fault for avoiding people and hiding away.
Still, he couldn’t help feeling a little regretful.
If someone like Yang Gyeonghun had been by his side, perhaps those years of wandering would never have happened.
That was why he had thanked him without hesitation.
Because a warm and honest person had taken his side.
That man gave him advice.
“This is a good opportunity for a rookie, but you’ll need to be very careful with your words and behavior. To your peers—no, to the kids who came in through open recruitment—you’ll be an unpleasant presence.”
“Yes, Team Leader. I’ll be careful.”
Song Gaeun also added a word.
“That really will be the case. When you’re a new hire, chatting with your peers over a drink can be a huge source of support. But Hyeonu, you don’t have anyone like that. If you have any worries, tell me. I can at least buy you a drink.”
“Why would the two of you drink together? If you two drink together, you’ll start getting feelings for each other, and that won’t do.”
Song Gaeun’s face turned red.
“What feelings? You’re such a total old man, Team Leader. Oh, Hyeonu, here. I used it well.”
It was the handkerchief she had borrowed last time.
Yang Gyeonghun glanced at it and asked.
“What’s that now? Is there already something going on?”
“No, it’s not like that...”
“What a bunch of nonsense. The company isn’t some meeting plaza.”
When Song Gaeun glared at him with dagger-like eyes, he smacked his lips with a sulky expression and quietly turned his gaze away.
Because if he went any further, he had a feeling she really would raise hell.
After glaring at Yang Gyeonghun for a little longer, Song Gaeun turned her head to Hyeonu and smiled brightly as if nothing had happened.
“Anyway, congratulations, Hyeonu. The training for first-year employees with excellent evaluations is more of a reward, so you can think of it as a vacation. Use this chance to get close to your peers and have fun.”
“Thank you, Senior Associate.”
Just as with Yang Gyeonghun, Hyeonu could feel a warm heart from Song Gaeun as well.
Kim Byeongjun, who was sitting over there with his head buried in his work, never said it out loud, but he also cherished and liked the team.
Hyeonu found himself liking Sales Team 9 more and more.
After finishing his conversation with Song Gaeun, he checked the company notice.
Three employees from the previous intake who had received excellent evaluations would participate in the new employee training, talk about what they had felt as one-year seniors, and give presentations on what kind of work they had done.
Over the course of two nights and three days, that was the entire schedule.
According to Song Gaeun, unlike the new employees, they were allowed to drink and freely go out.
A training session that was practically no different from a vacation.
And on the evening of the last day, all the events would end with a meal with company executives.
It seemed that was the opportunity Yang Gyeonghun had mentioned.
After all, a first-year rookie getting the chance to dine with company executives was not something that happened often.
* * *
After lunch, he went up to the rooftop with coffee in hand to get some air.
He took a sip of coffee and walked toward the railing, where he saw a man and a woman sitting on a bench smoking, and three men standing in front of them.
One of them saw him and whispered something, and then all of them looked his way.
Feeling an unpleasant, somehow unfriendly atmosphere, he was about to simply pass by when one of them opened his mouth.
“You’re Kim Hyeonu from Sales Team 9, right?”
[Annoying bastard.]
“Yes. What about it?”
“I heard you were selected as a first-year employee with an excellent evaluation this time. What’s that about? You haven’t even been with the company for a week.”
[Filthy parachute hire. If you’ve got a mouth, let’s hear you explain.]
“I don’t know. I’m not the one who evaluated me.”
Another guy opened his mouth.
“Kim Hyeonu, you’re a parachute hire, aren’t you?”
A level of insolence that crossed the line.
It was a situation he had endured many times before.
The characteristic of guys like this was that if you stayed still, they never knew when to stop and only kept raising the intensity.
“But who are all of you?”
One of them gave a snort of laughter and answered.
“We’re your peers who joined through open recruitment last year.”
Open recruitment, we...
The implication was that he and they were different.
Well, it was understandable.
I joined a year earlier, and I hadn't even come in under the same conditions as them.
I admit that.
But that didn't mean I intended to let them pick a fight and slide past it.
"So what is it you want to say to me?"
The woman sitting on the bench smoking a cigarette answered.
"I think it's unfair. You didn't even take the exam, and you haven't worked at the company for even a week, yet you're getting an excellent evaluation and going to training. Wouldn't the person who was pushed out because of you feel wronged? I'm not exactly thrilled about going to training with you either."
Did that mean she had received an excellent evaluation?
Using underdogma to paint others as the villain, she craftily propped herself up while subtly disparaging everyone.
She was exactly the type you'd find one of in any group.
With someone like her, you had to break their spirit from the very first move.
"Do you think you received an excellent evaluation fairly?"
"Excuse me?"
"No, I wonder if you really joined the company fairly from the start. After all, you're the daughter of National Assemblyman Lee Haeseong."
A surprised voice came from nearby.
"What, Lee Minju is Congressman Lee Haeseong's daughter?"
No one said anything more, but he could feel the commotion stirring among them.
He finished his words while looking into her eyes, wide and round with surprise.
"Am I wrong? Lee Minju."
Lee Minju's gaze turned icy, a sneer formed on her face, and she exhaled a stream of cigarette smoke.
"Whew... I don't know how you knew my father is a congressman, but isn't saying such things just because my father is a congressman defamation? Without even knowing the details."
"I'm sorry if I offended you."
Hyunwoo looked straight into Lee Minju's eyes and continued.
"But you, of all people, shouldn't say such things to me. You don't even know why I received an excellent evaluation."
It grew quiet.
Everyone was struck dumb.
Leaving logic aside, they had lost in momentum.
Then a welcome voice called out from nearby.
"Hyunwoo."
It was Song Ga-eun.
"Yes, Supervisor."
"Would you like a cup of coffee? I have something to tell you."
"Yes, I'll be right there."
He looked around the group, left a single remark, and turned to leave.
"If there's nothing else, I'll be going. The supervisor called for me."
He went to Song Ga-eun and asked.
"What is it?"
"I just wanted to talk."
["The atmosphere looked really bad, so I just called you over. I thought the new hires would be jealous of you, and that's exactly what's happening."]
Though there wouldn't have been a problem if he'd stayed, she seemed to be trying to get him out of the awkward situation in her own way.
That a woman like her would end up with that horse-faced bastard...
He forcibly banished the thought of that bastard that had surfaced again, and as he chatted with Song Ga-eun over coffee, they kept stealing glances at them.
He knew very well why they were glancing over like that.
It was because he had experienced this often whenever he was with Song Ga-eun.
The whispers he had caught from them were as follows:
["Is that the girl from Sales Team 9? She's crazy pretty. She should just become a celebrity. I think she'd be better off that way."]
["Damn... Should I just go for broke and confess? From what I've heard, she has low standards."]
["Who's that scrawny-looking bastard next to her? What a prick, that bastard."]
One thing he'd learned over four days of company life was that Song Ga-eun was the queen bee of Mancheon Trading Company, and everyone thought she was insanely pretty.
He couldn't help but worry that their jealousy would grow even worse because of Song Ga-eun.
Well, it didn't really matter.
* * *
Excluding the first day, after five days at the company, it was his first time leaving work on time on a day without a company dinner.
And his first weekend.
First, he reheated the kimchi stew that had been sitting in the refrigerator for several days, polished it off with a fried egg, then showered and came out.
After resting briefly, he started the washing machine and turned on his computer.
His first native 1:1 English conversation class in five days since he'd suspended it.
For some reason, his heart was pounding.
Should he just skip today and get a refund? Then he could recover seventy percent of it...
After agonizing for a moment, he clicked.
He had entered the video class window.
An old man with thick reading glasses and grizzled hair.
Moreover, an Asian man was furrowing his brows deeply as he stared at the screen.
There was no greeting from him, so Hyunwoo spoke first.
"Hello."
Startled by the voice, the man finally greeted him in English.
["Ah! Nice to meet you."]
"Hello."
["Hello, I'm James Wang. You're Kim Hyunwoo, right? Just a moment."]
He stared intently at the screen again.
He seemed frozen for too long.
"Mr. Wang?"
["Just a moment."]
After staring at the screen a while longer, he seemed to click something; a clicking sound was heard, and he opened his mouth.
["I was playing Go."]
"Excuse me?"
["I'm sorry. I thought you weren't coming today either... It's almost over, but could you come back in thirty minutes? It's an important match that determines my promotion."]
Having finished speaking, he furrowed his brow again.
He was looking at the Go board on the monitor.
It was absurd.
Hyunwoo seriously wondered again whether he really ought to get a refund.
As the man said, he waited thirty minutes and finally had the 1:1 English conversation.
He was a Chinese-American who had worked at a fairly large trading company in the United States before retiring and spending his time quietly.
He was quite old, but he had a decent sense of humor, and since he was from a trading company, it seemed good to be able to ask him various things that might be helpful for company life.
Anyway, that was how he had his first native 1:1 English conversation class in five days since he'd suspended it.