But Seungju was just a powerless subordinate employee. He vaguely mumbled his answer. Fortunately for him, if they just got the next signal, they could immediately arrive at the restaurant that was the company dinner location.
“I don’t know, whatever. It’s their company anyway.”
“That’s… right.”
Seungju felt dirty every time he heard the Director say things like this. Words like he’s also just an office worker earning a living so he can’t help it. It’s not even funny.
If he wants to claim he’s also a fellow wage earner in the same boat, shouldn’t he make his subordinates a little less miserable? Isn’t the one who’s truly pitiful to anyone’s eyes me, doing driving shuttle service here? Finishing parking, Seungju gritted his teeth again today.
Before entering the company dinner venue, the Director gestured to Seungju, saying he’d smoke a cigarette. There were several people who had arrived at the restaurant first. A few people from Planning Team 4 who had been out for a meeting and people from Sales Team 1. Seungju, who had entered through the back door connected to the parking lot, went back out of the restaurant through the front door.
He sighed while walking to find a nearby convenience store. He didn’t want to sit there alone spacing out among people he wasn’t even close with. Yeah, I need team members. I need them. Buying hangover prevention medicine from the convenience store and pouring it into his mouth, Seungju shed tears in his heart.
Returning to the restaurant, Seungju was relieved. Because Planning Team 1 and some from the design team had arrived. The Director, who should throw a fit at him for leaving his seat, was talking with them. Then someone tapped his forearm.
“Seungju, sit with us.”
“Team Leader.”
Team Leader Cha was looking up at him. Seungju unknowingly brought one hand to his chest. At Seungju’s gesture of being touched, Sojeong giggled.
Her team members had already taken seats at the table farthest from where the Director was sitting. At every company dinner, the youngest employees always run like crazy to secure seats where they won’t catch the Director’s eye as much as possible. Today, the design team’s performance seemed generally better.
“They’re here, they’re here.”
Sojeong muttered. Seungju, who had been watching Design Team 3’s youngest Kang Jihye setting up spoons, chopsticks, and water cups across from him, turned his head.
Beyond the restaurant door behind him, he could see General Manager Baek Muyeon and the rest of the Sales Team people streaming into the restaurant.
Seungju quickly scanned where the Director was sitting. The design General Manager was sitting across from him, having arrived at some point. And in the middle, there was an empty seat that was clearly General Manager Baek’s seat.
He was fortunate that there seemed to be no seat for Seungju, but he quickly turned his gaze in case he made eye contact with the Director. Seungju and Park Hyeonjin from Design Team 6, the youngest Team Leader in the design office, were the Director’s company dinner cheat keys. Because they were young and drank well, they always worked hard to liven up the atmosphere at the Director’s table.
However, today Seungju really wanted to decline drinking squeezed between General Manager Mu and the Director. He bowed his head deeply and pretended to be someone who wasn’t there.
Muyeon and the Sales Team people passed by the table where Seungju was sitting and settled inside. Jihye opened her mouth.
“He’s really handsome.”
“Who, General Manager Mu?”
Sojeong answered for her. Seungju just nodded beside her.
“Yes. He’s an idol, an idol. Why does he even work at a company? He should be a celebrity.”
“Why would he be a celebrity? His dad is the chairman of Baekseong Group.”
Design Team 3’s second Kim Seoyeong retorted.
“Then all the more reason he doesn’t need to work at a company, right?”
“Well, if he wants to work, he works.”
“I wish working at a company was a choice for me too.”
“Me too.”
Seungju agreed. The other three people who knew Seungju’s tale of hardship made pitying expressions. Jihye opened her mouth.
“Team Leader Seungju should have debuted when you were young. You would have made a lot of money.”
“Jihye, don’t say such nonsense.”
“What’s nonsense about it? These days all sorts of guys appear on TV, so someone of Team Leader Seungju’s level would be great.”
“You won’t get anything from buttering me up.”
When Seungju shrugged his shoulders, Sojeong giggled. Jihye narrowed her eyes and muttered. I’m serious though. She let out a deep sigh and then held out her glass.
“Then pour me a drink, Team Leader.”
When people had roughly taken their seats, Team Leader Shin from Planning Team 1, who was next to the Director, stood up. Everyone raised their glasses at the obvious toast, and soon meat started being set up on the grill.
Seungju, who had emptied his glass, smacked his lips shut. Come to think of it, it’s meat two days in a row. Of course, since it was free food both yesterday and today, there was no reason to decline.
As if reading Seungju’s thoughts, Jihye spoke up again.
“Come to think of it, Team Leader Seungju went off-site with General Manager Mu yesterday, right? How was it?”
“We went to the newly opened shopping mall in Bundang. There was a lot to see.”
“I went there recently too. Lots of delicious things, and it’s spacious.”
“There are lots of delicious things?”
“Yes. Didn’t you eat dinner before coming back?”
“I did eat though…”
“You must have eaten something not delicious. Poor thing.”
This time Seoyeong giggled. Seungju tilted his head as if puzzled. Wasn’t there nothing delicious there?
Seungju’s empty glass was filled with alcohol again. Come on, let’s toast. Jihye urged another toast. Seungju resisted weakly.
“Why are we drinking so fast?”
“Because I’m angry about having a company dinner on Friday. Let’s drink with company money and waste the company dinner budget.”
That was right. Seungju followed her and downed the alcohol.
When the meal ended, Seungju was half drunk. He’d briefly forgotten that Kang Jihye was an alcoholic who would be sad to be second place in the design team. To force alcohol on a senior Team Leader from another department, she’s really a formidable opponent. Seungju just liked alcohol but didn’t have an exceptional tolerance. He openly refused toward the end, but Jihye didn’t listen.
“Team Leader Seungju is cute when drunk.”
Seungju had developed a weak immunity to being called cute since yesterday. He eventually shuddered and ran away. While running away, Seungju was caught by his former Team Leader, Team Leader Kim.
“Seungju, it’s been a while. Now that you’ve tried being a solo team, do you understand my old struggles a bit?”
Team Leader Kim was a Team Leader with both strengths and weaknesses. The strength was that he was thoughtless, and the weakness was that his old-fashioned tendencies were high. Such people have high empathy abilities limited to the strong. It was indeed something Team Leader Kim would say. He seemed quite proud that the team member he raised became a Team Leader and seemed to want Seungju to empathize with him.
Seungju was never satisfied with Team Leader Kim as a superior, but compared to the Director, he was an angel. So Seungju continued to politely receive with both hands the drinks he offered.
At some point he seemed to have been at the design General Manager’s table, and seemed to have gone out for air after drinking a bottle of hangover relief drink someone brought him. He didn’t remember the details.
It was the next moment when Seungju came to his senses. He was sitting at yet another table.
“You seem to have had a lot to drink, Seungju.”
Seeing Baek Muyeon’s face, the alcohol effect suddenly wore off. Ah, jackpot.
***
“When did I come to the second round?”
“I thought you wouldn’t remember.”
Looking around, Seungju had no choice but to make a blank expression again. The place they were sitting was a luxurious bar. Looking out the window, the night view was wonderful.
Seungju narrowed his eyes and looked down below. He found a familiar restaurant near an intersection of roads tangled below the street. It was definitely near the company. He didn’t know which building this was, and he didn’t even know there was a bar like this near the company.
That wasn’t the problem. Seungju looked around the restaurant again. There was no one he recognized. No, at the table where they were sitting, there were only the two of them. Seungju asked in a dumbfounded voice.
“Where are the other people?”
“Who?”
“Team Leader Cha…”
Muyeon’s expression hardened slightly. Seungju blinked his eyes, hazy with alcohol, a few times. Muyeon had a sulky expression again. Did I see wrong?
“She went home.”
“No, leaving only me behind… I… I want to go home too…”
“Wasn’t it yesterday that you said you’d drink with me?”
That’s true, but it wasn’t about drinking right now today. And definitely not just the two of them.
“Was it just the two of us drinking?”
“Seungju also said it was good. You don’t remember that either?”
“No, I did…? No… I’m sorry…”
“This time it seems like you should be sorry.”
I talked bullshit and nonsense while drunk again. Seungju rubbed his eyes with his hand. He didn’t want to imagine how he got here with Muyeon. His meager attempts to look good to the man before him keep getting overturned into foolish acts. A lament came out.
“I’ve been too rude to you. I’m sorry… I can go home now.”
“You’re going to go? We already ordered drinks.”
Muyeon was right. Immediately, a waiter set up drinks and glasses at their table. Watching the Hennessy bottle being politely placed on the table, Seungju’s pupils shook. That’s expensive. Seungju looked alternately at Muyeon and the liquor bottle.
Only then did Muyeon smile slightly. Holding the straight glass the waiter had poured, he urged Seungju. Seungju raised his glass as if bewitched.
I feel like I’ll die if I drink more. But it’s expensive alcohol. The drunkard had no way to refuse. The two toasted. Seungju exercised the one grain of reason he had left to just taste the alcohol and put it back down.
“Is it okay to drink something this expensive at a company dinner?”
“It’s not coming out of the company dinner budget.”
“Then what? My wallet?”
Muyeon burst into laughter. Seeing him laugh at anything he said, Seungju felt unreasonably good again. The tension of causing a scene with his superior while drunk quickly flew away.
“I’m buying. Drink comfortably.”
“I’ve only been getting treated yesterday and today. It’s not easy to get comfortable.”
“It’s okay. The person I want to drink with is buying.”
