The very next day, the President summoned the Director. The meeting between just the two of them was long. They must be discussing Section Chief Mu’s future and the resulting organizational restructuring. Thanks to that, Seungju was able to focus on his work all morning without being bothered by the Director.
On the other hand, he felt uneasy. A long private conversation between the President and the Director was like a forecast for an ominous storm. What kind of outlandish decision would drop on them this time?
In the midst of it all, Seungju made a trivial wish. If anything, let their talk go on even longer—so long that the two of them go out for a meal together. He didn’t want to eat lunch with the Director today either.
Having his lunch break—the only joy during an office worker’s working hours—robbed by the Director was an agonizing pain that brought tears of blood. The Director would randomly call Team Leaders to eat lunch together, and Seungju was the easiest target among them. Why? Because Seungju was the youngest Team Leader of a special one-person team created by the Director.
Even though only one person belonged to it, a team was still a team, so the projects assigned to his team were similar in volume to other teams. Until recently, he could have had the youngest employee review minor tasks, but now he had to do everything from start to finish by himself. Seungju was busy with just work alone. He had neither the time nor the mental space to eat meals with the Director.
As Seungju had hoped, the Director didn’t return even when lunchtime came. Delighted, Seungju savored a brief sense of liberation with a short meal and a long coffee break.
The meeting between the President and the Director continued even after lunch—it was so long and drawn out that it was almost frightening to think what results it might bring. When the Director returned, he was in a foul mood. And the news that Section Chief Mu would soon be moving up to the Planning Division with the entire Sales Team spread throughout the company in less than half a day.
In conclusion, the long meeting between the President and the Director was said to be the result of the Director putting forth his maximum effort. The Director used all his strength to convince the President that there was an order to everything and that Section Chief Mu had much to learn in the Planning Division according to that order.
Thanks to that, the Director’s head wasn’t immediately on the chopping block. However, the hot-tempered President exercised his specialty—hasty personnel changes. The Director couldn’t stop the President’s decision to move offices immediately next Friday and appoint Section Chief Mu as General Manager the following week.
So for the next week, Seungju’s wish to avoid eating meals with the Director became trivial. Because Seungju had to endure the Director’s tantrum-fueled knife dance on an entirely different level than before. Day after day passed with him holding his breath and reading the room from arrival to departure. Seungju was careful even taking a sip of water or clearing his throat once, doing his best to hide his very existence.
There was exactly one reason why Seungju quietly endured that madness. It was as if a blade had truly come to the Director’s throat. If he just held on a little longer, the Director wouldn’t be able to throw a fit openly in front of the President’s youngest son watching with wide-open eyes. Seungju endured with just that thought.
On the day when the office move was the day after tomorrow, a new office layout and seating chart was posted on the intranet. Seungju quickly checked the seating chart and let out a deep sigh. Unfortunately, the Director’s and Seungju’s seats remained unchanged.
However, there was one good thing. Planning Teams 1 through 3 had moved their seats en masse, and the Sales Team took over where they had been sitting. The seat for Section Chief Mu, who would become General Manager Baek Muyeon starting next week, was right where the Planning Team 1 Team Leader had sat. Just as the Director could see Seungju’s profile when he raised his head, Section Chief Mu could also see the Director’s profile when he raised his head from that seat.
In other words, aside from the fact that sparks could fly when the Director threw a tantrum, it was a heaven-sent location where one could immediately check what the Director was doing and when he left his seat. Until now, the Director hadn’t cared who sat there.
Now the situation would be a bit different. Seungju lifted one corner of his mouth in a smile. Director, you get to feel what it’s like to be monitored too.
Seungju lifted his head slightly. Beyond the partition, he could see the face of Planning Team 1’s Team Leader Shin Myeongjin, so focused on work that his face seemed to be sucked into the monitor. Let me correct that. There were two good things. Now Seungju could freely admire the face of Section Chief Mu who would be sitting in that seat.
Seungju once again waited for the department reorganization day with clasped hands. I want to hurry up and see the Director squirming on pins and needles and the handsome Section Chief Mu.
***
Today is the first day at work after the department transfer. Seungju woke up early. He also carefully selected his clothes. Of course, since sitting next to the Director, he’d never worn just anything. As Seungju put on a thin coat over his jacket, he recalled the days when he was still a team member.
It was the day he’d gone to a factory in Bucheon from dawn for sample inspection. He’d overslept a little and didn’t have time to pay attention to his outfit. That didn’t mean he wore shabby clothes. He’d just worn an ordinary shirt with an ordinary cardigan. After returning to the office, he received a summons from his former Team Leader, Planning Team 2’s Team Leader Kim Eunseong.
‘The Director says to pay attention to what you wear. Since you’re in a seat that catches the President’s eye, be careful.’
Even thinking about it now, it’s an infuriating thing to say. Both the Director who cowardly used the President as an excuse, and the Team Leader who delivered it to him straight. Moreover, people from the Production Department and design team dressed even more freely than his outfit at that time. He knew it was a collaboration between the Director’s insane old-fashioned mindset and desire for control, but by then he’d already lost the energy to resist the oppression. Yes, I’ll be careful from now on.
However, today’s outfit was by no means for the Director. He paid attention to his clothes because of General Manager Baek Muyeon, who would become General Manager Mu starting today. While looking around the office once after last week’s move, Seungju realized one thing. If he could steal glances at General Manager Mu while sitting at his seat, General Manager Mu could do the same.
So Seungju wore neat clothes and even styled his hair for the first time in a while. He knew it was like boiling kimchi broth in a pot meant for bone broth, but it was better than sitting there looking shabby.
Seungju arrived at the office much earlier than expected. He hadn’t known until now that leaving a little early meant traffic would be this much lighter. However, he didn’t want to go in early and start working early. Seungju hated doing favors for the President and Director even by a single minute or second.
So he bought coffee from the basement cafe. He ordered slowly, received his coffee slowly, and slowly went up to the 13th floor. Then it matched exactly with the time he usually arrived at work.
After taking off his coat and putting down his bag, Seungju slowly drank his coffee while waiting for his computer to turn on. He had opened his email inbox and was unfolding his diary to check what he needed to get done today when there was a commotion near the office door. This meant an elevator full of people had just arrived on the 13th floor. Soon after, the sounds of people clocking in rang out in succession, and people streamed into the office.
Rolling his eyes toward the door, Seungju spotted the Director and General Manager Mu at the same time. Normally, Seungju would be busy scanning the Director. To infer his mood for the day based on what the Director was wearing, what his expression was like, whether he was sighing, and so on. If he was dressed fairly well, it meant he was going to some gathering after work. On those days, the Director’s mood was generally good. If his expression was sour or if he sighed even once, that day was a disaster day. Absolutely not a day to get confirmation on anything.
But today Seungju only glanced roughly at the Director before stopping. It was because of General Manager Mu walking in front of him.
Your face is glowing again today, really. His heart fluttered so much that Seungju quickly withdrew his gaze. Feeling his throat burn again, he grabbed his coffee.
When Muyeon approached his desk, the Sales Team people who were already seated greeted him. Hello. Muyeon nodded once in response. Yes, good morning. Still a wonderful voice. Seungju envied the Sales Team people.
The Director’s footsteps drew closer. Seungju swallowed a sigh and raised his head.
“Good morning, Director.”
“Yeah, sure.”
The Director glanced sideways at Seungju.
“I see you came early, bringing coffee from the morning?”
The honorific attached to the ending gave him chills. Seungju had a gut feeling. The Director’s in a foul mood today. At times like this, the best strategy was to pretend not to know anything.
“Haha, yes… The traffic was unusually light today.”
“You must have had some leisure time. With all that leisure, you didn’t think of other people?”
“Yes, yes?”
“It’s General Manager Muyeon’s first day here, how nice would it have been to have coffee together? Don’t you think?”
Seungju reflexively looked at General Manager Mu. He slowly raised his head at his name being called out of nowhere.
Dragging someone else in to put the person in front of him in an awkward position was the Director’s specialty. Seungju still didn’t really know how to deal with the Director’s words like this.
In the end, what he wanted to say was, Is your mouth the only mouth? You disrespectful bastard who doesn’t even get coffee for your superior. Seungju’s quick wit worked hard again. Ah, since it’s the first day sitting in the same office as General Manager Mu, he wanted to show off his popular image of being warmly cared for by his close subordinate.
Ha… He must really be crazy.
Seungju hated the Director too much to prostrate himself and say, I was a selfish idiot, just as he wanted. The maximum action he could take was managing his expression. Seungju just laughed awkwardly. Haha, haha…
While doing so, Seungju tried to convert his hatred for the Director into self-deprecating positivity. Anyway, it’s fortunate that that incompetent bastard of a Director has expertise in throwing people’s moods into the gutter from Monday morning.
That’s when Muyeon opened his mouth.
“I’m fine without it.”
