That was a comfort. An unwarranted comfort — and at that, Yeon Haejeong let out a sporadic, baffled laugh. What could someone like that possibly know.
But the bitter smile kept coming. The head that had burned so hot with fury and contempt cooled rapidly. That single unwarranted remark had restored his composure, and Yeon Haejeong exhaled a long stream of cigarette smoke. Truly presumptuous, truly audacious — and yet… it had quieted this tangled, raging storm inside him. It felt like ash being thrown onto a roaring fire.
Ding.
Lost briefly in old memories, he heard the mechanical chime signaling that the elevator had arrived at its destination. Snapping back to himself as though waking from sleep, Yeon Haejeong watched the silver doors slowly part. He had been thinking of that offhand comfort — Im Munyeong’s words, presumptuous as they were, yet never once crossing a line — when the sight that unfolded before him made Yeon Haejeong’s expression go cold and rigid.
Executive Director Hwang returned to his office and flung the door open with a face plastered in spite. Yeon Haejeong. That goddamn bastard. Impossibly young and arrogant beyond reason, insufferable to his core. The kind who wouldn’t greet him first even after running into each other on the same floor multiple times. And that wasn’t all — the way he spoke was so juvenile and nasty, who would ever see that man as a third-generation chaebol heir. Who would ever see him as an executive of Baekil Group. Executive Director Hwang ground his teeth, seething through his nose.
He had indeed resorted to roundabout words to humiliate Yeon Haejeong, but he hadn’t expected the retaliation to be that blunt. And on top of that, the man had dragged in the weakness of the Senior Managing Director he served. Thanks to that, Executive Director Hwang had been left so ashamed to face the Senior Managing Director that when the meeting ended and the Senior Managing Director turned away from him with cold indifference, he couldn’t hide the look of defeat on his face.
Executive Director Hwang’s already sourly twisted expression darkened further. Some cleaning employee was still loitering around in his office.
“What is it?”
Startled by the abrupt intrusion, Munyeong — who had been up a ladder checking the ceiling air conditioning unit — hurriedly climbed down.
“Why are you still hanging around?”
Executive Director Hwang snapped at the first available target. Munyeong stood with both hands clasped together and answered politely.
“There’s an air conditioning inspection scheduled for today. The air conditioning cleaning—”
“Then why are you doing it now?! Don’t you know this is business hours?”
Executive Director Hwang cut him off and exploded as though he’d caught him red-handed.
“…I’m sorry. We received the notice late as well.”
“So what do you want me to do about it. That’s your problem. Do we have to accommodate your problems?”
“……No. I’m sorry. I’ll get out of your way.”
Instinctively sensing that this person was not in his usual state, Munyeong responded with quick efficiency. Executive Director Hwang’s reputation was already well-known, so Munyeong had always been doubly, triply careful around him. Perhaps because of Yeon Haejeong, who had been a far worse ordeal, all that anxious worry had come to relatively little. On the occasions they did cross paths, there would be an irritated glare or an unnecessary outburst once or twice, but compared to the man’s infamy, that was nothing.
“Hurry up and get out. I don’t want to smell trash first thing in the morning.”
Executive Director Hwang dropped into his desk chair and tossed the words out without even looking up. Munyeong gave a brief bow without a word in return and folded the ladder. He was trying to clear out quickly and inconspicuously, but something about Executive Director Hwang’s manner was off.
“Where did it go.”
Something must have gone missing — his hand moved urgently, sweeping across the desk. Rummaging frantically through the pen holder and the piled-up stacks of documents, Executive Director Hwang ultimately couldn’t find it and erupted.
“Son of a—!”
He had even been checking under the desk legs when he suddenly stopped short. The frantic movement ceased all at once, and he lifted his gaze toward Munyeong, who had been about to organize his cart and leave.
“You.”
Munyeong turned around with a composed expression at the word directed at him.
“…Yes?”
“You little bastard, lucky I caught you.”
Executive Director Hwang’s vicious eyes flashed. An expression of malice took over his face — as though he had genuinely caught someone exactly when he needed to. As Munyeong looked back with a confused and bewildered expression, Executive Director Hwang strode up abruptly and thrust his hand out.
“Hand it over. Now.”
“……Yes…?”
“Hand it over, I said. I was wondering why you were still loitering around at this hour.”
“…I genuinely don’t know what you’re referring to……”
“Do you think you’re the first of your kind I’ve seen?”
“……”
“Skulking around looking for anything you can pick up — did you think I wouldn’t notice you stealing things one by one like this?”
“Yes…?”
Munyeong could only stare back blankly with an increasingly uncomprehending expression. He couldn’t make head or tail of what Executive Director Hwang was saying.
“…W-what is it that you think I’ve stolen…?”
“Look at him playing dumb.”
At the face that said he knew absolutely nothing, Executive Director Hwang scoffed and kicked at Munyeong’s calf with petty, contemptuous little taps as though he found him outrageous.
“Hand it over. I’m still being nice about it.”
“……I haven’t……I haven’t stolen anything.”
Being branded a thief was not new to him, but a situation this baseless was a first, and he couldn’t hide the fluster on his face. Munyeong was caught off guard, but held his ground and stated his position steadily. Of course he hadn’t touched anything. He was always doubly, triply careful around Executive Director Hwang, so he never laid a finger on any personal belongings.
“This is why young people these days are just hopeless.”
“…Pardon?”
“Don’t you dare look me straight in the eye.”
“……”
“Do you think someone like you is allowed to do that?”
Executive Director Hwang ground his teeth and dug his fingers into Munyeong’s shoulder, pressing down hard. It was plain as day — beaten somewhere else, he’d come here to take it out on the wrong person. The proof was in his reddened face and the extra edge of venom sharper than usual. Munyeong answered with the calm steadiness of someone long accustomed to violent contempt. ‘Someone like you.’ The phrase he’d heard most often this year. Someone like you. Someone like me. Know your place. My place. He felt like he’d always lived knowing his place….
“…I’m sorry.”
Munyeong lowered his head, avoiding his gaze. The unspoken rules other employees had drilled into him surfaced in his mind. Don’t even look him in the eye. Don’t talk back. Apologize even when you’ve done nothing wrong — those words came out of him with quiet, steady calm.
He hadn’t been able to shake a nagging, unsettling premonition all day. Even receiving a reward gift first thing in the morning hadn’t lifted his mood, and the unease clung to Munyeong throughout the entire workday. It wasn’t only because Yeon Haejeong’s words and actions kept giving him room to misread things, filling his head with confused thoughts. Equipment that had been perfectly fine suddenly snapped, then he made an uncharacteristic mistake and cut his hand. One after another, only things with bad omens kept happening.
Was it because he’d let his guard down after having a day off for the first time in a while? Or was it meant to remind him, in a tangible way, that his attention had been elsewhere — caught up in Yeon Haejeong — for some time now? Whatever the reason, something finally gave. The premonition had been right.
“Didn’t I tell you never to touch my desk, or didn’t I!”
No matter how many times he said sorry, no matter how many times he explained it wasn’t him, Executive Director Hwang would not let Munyeong go. He even dragged Munyeong all the way out to the lobby and demanded of the front desk staff whether this bastard had been doing anything suspicious up until now.
For over twenty minutes, there was one and only one reason he would not let him go. A fountain pen had gone missing. A fountain pen Executive Director Hwang treasured dearly — and on no other grounds than that it was not where it was supposed to be, he was branding Munyeong a thief and subjecting him to humiliation and disgrace in front of the employees.
“Did you think I wouldn’t notice one thing disappearing here and there?!”
Whatever fountain pen it was, it clearly was not a simple object. But truly, Munyeong had never so much as laid eyes on any fountain pen.
“There are only three of them in this entire country! You hear me? It’s a fountain pen with diamonds set into it!”
“…It really wasn’t me.”
“Then who was it! Was it you people?!”
Executive Director Hwang’s fury suddenly spilled over onto the front desk staff.
“Or was it you—!”
He was about to jab his finger at Secretary Ju, who was standing right beside him, when Secretary Ju met his gaze head-on and held it — and Executive Director Hwang quietly closed his mouth. He was aware that as Yeon Haejeong’s direct subordinate, pushing her around on impulse could blow back on him. The pointing finger swung back to Munyeong.
