Seungun recalled the photos of Gi Siyoung’s face he’d taken here and there, but he had absolutely no intention of laying them out here and now. He shook his head as if he hadn’t thought that far.
“You didn’t tell me to take any.”
“Stupid bastard. Look at him. He knows one thing but not two. What kind of reporter work can you do with a bastard like that?”
“Seungun-ssi, will you give me your home address?”
“Why my home address?”
Seungun asked sharply.
“I ordered something by direct purchase from overseas, and I’ll have it delivered to Seungun-ssi’s house.”
“What is it?”
President Gu asked curiously. Min Jihyeon said it was a small camera and made clicking sounds.
“Why to my house? Have it sent to your house, reporter-nim.”
“Hey, do you guys have gold bars at your house or something? There’s nothing worth seeing.”
President Gu knew Seungun’s home address. He was someone who could write Seungun’s home address with his eyes closed. President Gu, who handed over Seungun’s home address to Min Jihyeon without Seungun’s permission, grinned nastily. Min Jihyeon folded that paper twice, put it in her pants pocket, and stood up from her seat. When Seungun followed Min Jihyeon and stood up, President Gu wrapped around his wrist like a snake.
“You stay a bit longer.”
“I have to go to work tomorrow.”
“It won’t take long.”
Min Jihyeon swept over Seungun’s wrist that President Gu had grabbed and the standoff between the two with a subtle look. Whatever was between the two, Min Jihyeon wasn’t curious up to that point. Who doesn’t have a story?
Min Jihyeon turned her back without hesitation. Seungun thought for a moment, then rushed out after Min Jihyeon. Eokkae blocked Seungun’s steps. At that sound, Min Jihyeon, who had already been going down the stairs, stuck her head out between the railings.
“Why. Do you have something to say to me?”
“I have one question. Min Jihyeon-ssi, why Gi Siyoung of all people?”
“You heard what I said earlier. There’s no grand reason. It’s simple. To make a living.”
“……”
“And Gi Siyoung is the best right now.”
Min Jihyeon stepped up one stair. Their gazes met much more comfortably.
“How long do you think Gi Siyoung will be in that position? Do I seem like someone who deliberately drags down successful people to destroy them? But I’m not. It’s not me who wants that, it’s all the public. People hate it when the guy sitting at the very top hogs that position for a thousand years.”
“……”
“I’m just playing a mediator role between those people, just that much. There’s no moment when dopamine flows more than when the most beautiful thing is destroyed. Like a fox waiting endlessly for grapes to fall. But those grapes really were sour grapes as expected? It’s no fun if fantasy only ends as fantasy.”
“Do you call that talk?”
“I must be talking since it’s talk, right? Hurry and go back in. President Gu with his impatient temper will have his neck stretched out waiting for Seungun-ssi.”
“……”
“Ah, and don’t forget to contact me when the delivery arrives. That thing is quite expensive.”
Min Jihyeon waves her hand with a bright smile and disappears. However, Seungun firmly resolved that even if the camera arrived at his house, he would absolutely not contact her, he would deny it to the end. For now, that was the only way to spite Min Jihyeon.
“Seungun-ah!”
When he came to work at the office after two days, Myeongwoo ran out in his socks. At Myeongwoo’s shout, the office staff’s gazes all focused on Seungun at once.
“Are you okay, Seungun-ssi?”
“You should rest more, why did you come to work!”
“Let me see. Your hand.”
“We’ll have to inspect more strictly from now on. What kind of thing is this.”
“Can they catch them? That thing?”
“Seungun-ssi, you’ll have a scar on your hand. What should we do.”
Coming to work at the company, he heard all the worries he’d hear in a lifetime. Everyone offered a word of consolation and encouragement as if it had happened to them, and he felt embarrassed being at the center of it all, so he hurried to find his seat.
“It’s so minor that I just need to get the stitches out in a week.”
“How is this minor when you scream even when you cut your finger on paper.”
A colleague looked at him with pity.
“But did you really sleep at actor Gi Siyoung’s house? Did he do this and that for you saying he’s sorry?”
“I’m telling you he did. Seeing Seungun injured the day before yesterday, he said he felt guilty too and took him home to sleep, people. You don’t believe my words. Do you know how warm-hearted Siyoung is?”
Myeongwoo answered instead and defended Siyoung.
“He’s doing that because someone got hurt because of him. That’s not even being warm-hearted.”
“This person. Why are you like this today?”
Seungun hurriedly intervened.
“Yes. Sunbae is right. Gi Siyoung-ssi even washed my hair saying he’s sorry.”
“Huh? Really? Siyoung washed your hair?”
Myeongwoo’s mouth fell wide open.
“Wow. That’s unexpected. But isn’t this the best compensation.”
One of the colleagues made a circle sign with their fingers. Who wouldn’t know they’re talking about money. The team member who brought up what no one could readily say was poked in the elbow by their superior.
“Compensation or whatever, not getting hurt is important. Anyway, the world is ending. Crazy people are running rampant. These days, I’m too scared to even ride public transportation. There are many with their eyes rolled back. Do you avoid poop because it’s scary? You avoid it because it’s dirty. You guys too, if you meet strange people on the street, don’t face them for no reason, just avoid them. That’s the best policy. You all know about the stabbing news recently, right? Random assaults are increasing.”
“That’s right. There are too many attention seekers too.”
The employees’ conversation topic changed swiftly. It was overwhelming to follow along.
“Oh right, there’s a company dinner today, this worked out well. Seungun-ssi will attend too, right?”
“There was a company dinner today?”
“Ah, it’s nothing much… People are celebrating that I got promoted to team leader recently…”
Myeongwoo scratched the back of his head while explaining further.
“I was going to tell you, but you got hurt and I didn’t want to make you worry for no reason. It’s okay not to come. I really didn’t know you’d actually come to work today. Company dinners these days aren’t mandatory attendance anyway.”
“No. I want to go too.”
When Seungun came out actively, Myeongwoo’s complexion brightened.
“Really? You’ll really come? Alright! Seungun, you don’t do anything, just eat the meat they grill for you. The staff there grill the meat really fantastically.”
“Congratulations, team leader-nim.”
“Hey, what. So embarrassing.”
“You worked hard, Myeongwoo-ssi. You ran around with your feet on fire cleaning up the shit scattered everywhere every time employees ran away.”
“That’s all in the past, well… Now Seungun is doing my share well too, so thanks to that I got promoted and all.”
“You’ll start a company later, right, team leader-nim?”
“What company! By the way, I still can’t get used to being called team leader-nim. Really embarrassing!”
Now the topic moved from Seungun’s hand to the company dinner celebrating Myeongwoo. Myeongwoo waved his hands. Colleagues laughed heartily. Seungun also smiled faintly.
On Seungun’s desk, miscellaneous things had increased at some point. Centered on the board where memo papers are stuck, on the left was a tumbler issued by the company for a disposable product prevention campaign. A small cactus. In the vertically long oval pen holder were colorful ballpoint pens and mechanical pencils, and cute animal stickers that the employee sitting next to him gave him to use were stuck there.
On the right was a small humidifier that Myeongwoo had brought saying he found it in the warehouse and a file box storing document folders that had accumulated one by one, and in the drawer attached to the desk were various chocolates, candies, and individual snacks that employees had given him coming and going, piled up in a jumble.
He took out one green grape-flavored candy from inside. Putting it in his mouth and rolling it around gently while looking outside, there was a park full of lush greenery.
Cool air conditioner breeze above his head.
A person walking a dog.
People chattering with friends, each holding a cup of coffee.
A yogurt company person pulling a yellow cart.
Nearby kindergarten children out on a field trip.
These scenes were so ordinary that sometimes they felt unreal. When the candy became as small as a grain of rice, he bit it with his molars with a crunch. The office sliding door opened and Director Kang came in. The chatting employees scattered in all directions and pretended to be faithful to their respective tasks.
Director Kang deliberately came to Seungun’s seat and didn’t spare formulaic words of consolation and encouragement. Even though Seungun did nothing wrong, he somehow put his hands together and nodded like a student called to the principal’s office to hear a sermon.
The company dinner location was near the company. It was a beef restaurant frequently visited by nearby company people, and this company was no exception. There was a separate reason why this beef restaurant was famous for group reservations. It was because there were several rooms that could accommodate many people. Long restaurant tables, three lengthwise for a total of three rows. On the tables, side dishes and fresh vegetables suited to the number of people were already prepared.
As soon as the company employees gathered, the restaurant staff started serving by pushing trays. Soon when the iron plate was heated just right, the employees sitting side by side started taking tongs with skilled hands and putting beef on. People rub their palms together and smack their lips. Sizzle, sizzle, the delicious sound stimulates salivation. Seungun also secretly swallowed his saliva.
The beef cooked quickly. The employees started distributing one piece each amicably to the bowls placed on each table.
“Seungun-ssi. Eat a lot. This is really delicious.”
“There’s salt and pepper too, so eat according to your taste. There’s wasabi too.”
Seungun ate as the employee recommended, putting salt on one piece, pepper on one piece, and wasabi on one piece. As soon as he put it in his mouth, it stuck to his tongue and melted. The meat disappeared as soon as it was served. People were devouring it combatively. As much meat as disappeared was filled with new meat.
“This is really delicious, right, crazy good!”
A colleague asked in admiration. Seungun also nodded while eating hard. When he touched the lettuce to eat meat wrapped in leaves, the colleague across from him shook their head.
“Seungun-ssi. Don’t eat vegetables, eat meat first. If you start wrapping and eating, you get full and can’t eat much. I knew this would happen, ugh! Amateur, amateur.”
“Ah, yes.”
Seungun got swept up in the pace of people eating combatively and soon naturally started eating combatively himself. The moist meat went down his throat as soon as he chewed. He ate to the point where he wondered if it was okay to eat this much delicious food, to the point where his conscience bothered him.
Before he knew it, the employees were mixing yukhoe bibimbap topped with finely chopped white pear. Yukhoe bibimbap sprinkled with perilla oil also appeared in front of Seungun. Drinks were exchanged back and forth, and the company dinner atmosphere sizzled like a heated grill.
