Seungju sat blankly on the rooftop.
The rooftop garden at the top of this building and the view of downtown Seoul from here had always provided Seungju with a bit of comfort. But today it wasn’t very effective. The view was blurred with fine dust. Thanks to that, there were few people on the rooftop.
The luxury of being able to catch his breath on the rooftop was because the director had gone out on external business. If he hadn’t gone out, Seungju would have obediently stayed stuck in the office. Seungju had been insanely busy all week, and he wanted to savor the feeling of liberation, even for the brief moment while the director was away. Really.
In many ways, this was all because of Seungju’s position. When it comes to position, first there was a problem with Seungju’s physical location. Seungju’s desk was in a spot where he could see what the director was doing just by sitting and rolling his eyes. Conversely, that meant when the director sat at his desk and lifted his head, he could see Team Leader Heo Seungju’s profile very closely.
The director’s old-fashioned authoritarian power didn’t tolerate Team Leader Heo, who sat right in front of him, being away from his seat for more than a certain amount of time. Because Team Leader Heo had a lot to do sitting there. Work-wise, there was: keeping track of schedules the director forgot, immediately presenting copies without complaint when the director asked for documents that had already been printed and submitted five more times, and playing twenty questions about all sorts of topics that were impossible to grasp, starting with “you know, that thing over there…”
Of course, Seungju’s work also included non-work-related things. Taking the brunt of the director’s temper and scoldings when he was in a bad mood all by himself, running errands for coffee, running errands for cigarettes, and when the president occasionally came by and talked nonsense, brightening the mood by taking the director’s side, and so on.
But the second problem, which was also the reason for the first problem, was more serious. Why Heo Seungju’s physical position had to be placed right under the director’s nose, and why Seungju had to unjustly put up with all sorts of orders—the reason for that.
It was because of Heo Seungju’s social position. The position of being the youngest team leader in the Vision Factory Planning Headquarters and the only team leader of a one-person team. It was also another name for absurdity itself.
A team leader without team members—does this even make sense? Seungju still doubted it. And it seemed he would never be convinced. Because this was a position created solely for the director’s needs.
From the day the president’s son dropped into the company like a parachute and started a new business, the director did everything to avoid being pushed aside by him. Making Heo Seungju a team leader was the best move among them.
Three months ago, when Assistant Manager Baek Muyeon joined the company, all the departments in the company were reorganized. It was entirely a reorganization to establish the Sales Team that Assistant Manager Baek Muyeon would take charge of. Several people were even transferred from the Planning Headquarters to the Sales Team. So logically, the Planning Headquarters should have had fewer teams. However, the director instead created a new team called Planning Team 6.
Seungju still remembered what the director had blabbered to the president at that time. Something about his open mind and insight in unhesitatingly promoting young talent who understands current trends. Something about a new organizational management method that can respond more flexibly to new tasks. The truth was he needed to show the president he was doing something, and at this point, it was too bothersome to put together a substantial team.
Seungju could see the petty scheme hidden behind it all. The title of youngest team leader was enough; he didn’t want to give him a substantial team and empower him beyond that. You’re in that position to be my lackey. The unspoken message was even violent.
Anyway, he has absolutely no ability but his brain works well for useless politicking. Thanks to that, Seungju ended up sitting in the seat closest to the director, doing errands like his secretary.
Only the president didn’t know that all of this was a ridiculous ploy. It was absurd no matter how he thought about it that the president took at face value the explanation that this radical personnel move was innovation to prepare for the new business.
On the other hand, Seungju thought that perhaps the president knew and let it slide. Anyway, thanks to years of flattery, the director had earned the president’s trust. Even though his efforts to preserve his position were obvious, he might have been given an opportunity because he was satisfied with the attitude of working hard for a new business from which he wouldn’t get a single crumb.
Seungju sighed again. Even if he knew and understood all of that, it was just their circumstances. Right now, Seungju’s circumstances were miserable.
No matter how fundamentally fucked up Seungju’s position was, it didn’t mean everything he did had to follow the director’s mood. At least Seungju believed so. Of course, the fact that the director was someone who worked according to his own mood was something he’d known from his first day at the company. If it was a mistake to expect that bastard to do his job properly this time, it could be a mistake.
Even knowing everything, even having experienced it several times, on a day when all his approvals were rejected just because the director was in a shitty mood, he couldn’t get his head straight. The reason the director was in a shitty mood today was obvious. Because the president was in a shitty mood today. This shitty downward scolding was unfair.
What was even more unfair was the fact that Seungju never half-assed his work. If the director’s mood had been even halfway decent, everything would have gotten an okay.
The shittiness cut to the bone.
Seungju was newly amazed by the fact that he could receive stress and pain about the company in such a new way, as if experiencing it for the first time. During the five years he’d been working at the company, he thought he had slowly become accustomed to the absurdity of the office and the tyranny of capitalism.
In return, he gained many changes. His hobby became binge drinking, his special skill became gritting his teeth, and his personality was on the verge of ruin. Seungju also hoped that he would be given a mentality that no longer suffered.
But it was all useless. The company is newly shitty every single day. Seungju thought that thought again, the one that had been occupying his mind more frequently these days.
Fuck… I want to quit.
Just then, his pocket vibrated. Seungju hurriedly took out his phone. The owner of the name on the screen was an unexpected person. Seungju opened his eyes wide and answered the call.
“Yes, sunbae. It’s been a while.”
– Yeah, it has been a while.
“Yes, yes, hello. What’s up?”
Yoon Hyeondo was Seungju’s senior and mentor. The period the two worked together was short. About half a year, maybe. After Seungju joined the company, Hyeondo soon quit. Though it was a brief connection, Seungju liked Hyeondo.
He was kind and handsome. Moreover, he was a rare person of common sense. He was also a very good person. At his farewell party, he took Heo Seungju, who had become dead drunk, all the way home, and when the newcomer, drunk out of his mind, spouted all kinds of nonsense and came out, he understood it all.
Well, he was someone who was leaving the company anyway, so what did it matter whether his junior was gay or not? However, when Hyeondo came to visit the company a month later saying he’d been on a trip, purposely brought gifts he’d gotten for them, and they made plans to drink together again after that, Seungju repented for having made such a cynical assessment. And he became a fan of Hyeondo, a rare person of virtue in this era.
– I came out on external business near there today, want to meet? Let’s have dinner after work.
“Ah, of course that sounds good. How did you know I was in the mood to drink today?”
Hyeondo laughed quietly.
– Why did you want to drink today, what happened this time?
“What else could it be besides the director and president’s bullshit? And I mean really that kind of bullshit…. Ah, I shouldn’t curse. I’m sorry.”
– It’s okay, go ahead. You’re going to do it plenty while drinking later anyway.
And then Hyeondo laughed again. Seungju laughed quietly along with him.
– Gather some people. I’ll send a KakaoTalk when I get to the company.
“Yes, understood. See you later, sunbae.”
Hyeondo said he was working incredibly busy at the company he’d transferred to. Seeing his face once every three to six months was about all they managed. So it was a pleasant thing to have an appointment set up unexpectedly like this.
A shadow fell over Seungju’s head as he lowered it to put his phone in his pocket.
“Hello.”
Seungju was startled by the voice he heard from above his head. Could this be, I mean….
Seungju jerked his head up. The owner of a voice as magnificent as his face was standing there.
I mean, that person. Sales Team Director, the president’s youngest son, Assistant Manager Mu. In other words, his one-sided love.
Seungju’s brain spun faster than the speed of light. He didn’t hear the phone call just now, right? I said the president was talking bullshit. No, to show this handsome man me cursing from the start? And when we ran into each other before, I made that tsk-tsk sound for no reason? He didn’t just hear what I said, right?
In the midst of all that, one part of his brain thought as he looked up at him standing beside the bench. Wow, he’s perfect even from this angle.
Whether Seungju’s pupils were shaking mercilessly or not, Assistant Manager Mu opened his mouth.
“May I sit?”
“Of course, please sit comfortably.”
Seungju hurriedly stood up. He was flustered and was planning to just run away like this. However, Assistant Manager Mu, who was about to sit on the bench, opened his eyes wide.
“Where are you going?”
“No, I thought you were sitting here. I was thinking of going down….”
“I had no intention of disturbing you. Please sit comfortably.”
“Yes… thank you.”
No, but I’m not comfortable. He felt like he was going to cry. But seeing Assistant Manager Mu’s friendly attitude, it seemed he hadn’t heard the phone call from earlier. Please, please let that be the case—next to Seungju who was hoping, Assistant Manager Mu sat down. The refreshing scent he’d smelled in the elevator briefly passed by. Even in this situation, again perfect, perfect. One way or another, he felt like he was going to cry again.
The tense Seungju took out his phone again for no reason. The only new messages were ads, but he unlocked the screen and opened the messenger app.
To Seungju, who opened any chat window and pretended to read messages intently, Assistant Manager Mu spoke to him again.
“You’re resting on the rooftop even though the air quality is bad?”
