47.
Bang—!
“Are you crazy!”
A thunderous shout struck Hongdan’s ears. However, Hongdan himself was just staring at the Editor-in-Chief’s fist with a dumbfounded expression. The fist, which looked as brutish as his temper, was swollen red.
As if a desk would break from being hit like that. It was utterly foolish.
Hongdan didn’t even let out a small laugh. Rather, it was Team Leader Shim, who had been called in with him, who couldn’t stay still.
“Are you really crazy, Reporter Choi! Do you think this company is a joke?”
“Editor-in-Chief!”
“Are you protesting now because the interviewee Reporter Choi brought bailed? Can’t you, as an editor-in-chief, control something like that? If you think it’s unfair, you be the editor-in-chief, you bastard! You try working as hard as me, Choi Hongdan, while sucking up to those higher-ups!”
Is my face the next target?
Hongdan looked at the upper body that seemed ready to lunge at any moment. He was actually curious. Without Team Leader Shim’s desperate intervention as he was doing now, would the Editor-in-Chief be magnanimous enough to actually throw a punch at him? But the meaningless thought didn’t continue for long.
“Please stop it! Reporter Choi, why aren’t you apologizing quickly!”
Team Leader Shim was sweating profusely even in this cold weather, trying to protect his team member. It seemed he should respond to that effort at least. Only then did Hongdan bow his head.
“I’m sorry.”
“That, that…! Ugh, shit.”
As expected, he didn’t have enough guts to damage his own character.
The Editor-in-Chief sat down immediately as soon as Hongdan, who had been standing stiffly the whole time, bent his posture. Then, as if he didn’t even want to see him, he turned his chair halfway and just waved his hand.
“This matter can’t just be overlooked. I’ll refer it to the disciplinary committee right away, so until then, Reporter Choi, keep your hands off all work. Get out.”
Hongdan bowed deeply. Even if it wouldn’t be visible from the angle the other person was sitting at, he kept his head lowered for a long time with a sense of guilt. Team Leader Shim forcibly lifted Hongdan up. Led by his superior’s hand, he was finally able to escape the stuffy Editor-in-Chief’s office.
“……Why did you do that, Reporter Choi?”
Team Leader Shim, who had been walking silently down the hallway, called out to Hongdan. The question that flowed out like a murmur was heavily tinged with a sigh as much as fatigue.
Hongdan didn’t want to explain one way or another. Honestly, his pride was also hurt because it felt like he was petty, unable to solve his own problem and tattling. Even to the team leader’s worried gaze, he only gave a bland answer of “I’m sorry.” He also only stopped walking for a moment, not bothering to ask further.
Only when they reached the office entrance did his mouth open again.
“Just go home like this for today.”
Hongdan, who had been about to open the glass door, only turned his head slightly. Team Leader Shim patted Hongdan’s shoulder as if he’d been waiting for that gaze.
“It looked like you skipped lunch earlier, so go get some fresh air and clear your head a bit, okay?”
It also seemed like subtle pressure. Not to create any more troublesome incidents in this already agitated state of mind. Hongdan nodded without difficulty.
“Yes.”
“Good. Resting is as important as working.”
At the obedient response, a thin smile spread across Team Leader Shim’s lips. Hongdan also responded with the same smile.
Nausea welled up inside him again.
***
He ended up leaving work while seeing the midday sun. However, Hongdan stopped before even taking ten steps. It was early dismissal that all working people in the world wished for, but once he actually left the company, he had nowhere to go.
No, actually, as soon as he heard the words to go home, a place he wanted to rush to immediately came to mind, but that bastard was there.
“……Son of a bitch.”
Yeon Seonha was at Hongdan’s house.
Since he was the kind of guy who would secretly pack a lunchbox even after being cursed at like that yesterday, there was no way he would have left on his own while Hongdan was away from home. Rather, he might be holed up in his room devising a plan to turn his insides upside down.
Of course, he’d thrown away the entire lunchbox. Along with the autumn leaf bookmark that would surely only disturb his mind if he kept it.
Once the cleaning lady emptied the trash this weekend, those things would probably disappear from his sight forever. He hoped his emotions would do the same. Yet why was it so…
“Annoying.”
Unsettling.
Hongdan just kicked at pebbles on the street for no reason. In truth, it was venting his anger at his own emotions that wouldn’t go as he wished. He didn’t want to admit the fact that Yeon Seonha occupied his mind. It was terrible that this was still the case even though he’d made a mess of today’s work because of it. Instead, he concluded it was because he was upset about his fate of suddenly becoming homeless.
While he was pacing in place like conveyor belt sushi for a while.
“Hey hey, what kind of old gun game is that— let’s just play Pug.”
“Pug, fuck, is that even a recent game? Even my hyung graduated from Pug over 3 years ago, 3 years. Both of you shut up and play Aore.”
“Ah, but Aore is boring.”
“Yeah, your face is more boring.”
The youthful voices of what seemed to be three or four male students could be heard.
It was a subject and topic completely unrelated to him. But Hongdan was drawn to their conversation more than anything else he’d heard today.
“Games, huh……”
He scratched his cheek, which had lost a bit of weight in the past few days. His busy footsteps had also become calm before he knew it.
Hongdan definitely couldn’t say he enjoyed playing games.
Naturally, he didn’t have the means to have a computer at home, and he certainly couldn’t afford to throw a few thousand won at a PC cafe every day. First of all, since he couldn’t receive even the common private tutoring, just keeping up with the school curriculum in high school was overwhelming enough. In other words, he didn’t have time itself to spend on entertainment like his peers.
Even so, the reason he was tempted by these nostalgic names at this odd time was.
‘Ooh……’
‘Why, do you want to try?’
‘Yeah. Teach me.’
‘Sit down.’
Right, again.
Again, it was Yeon Seonha.
‘This is crouch, and this is run. Got it?’
‘Mm-hmm. Control is crouch… Shift is run….’
‘Right. And see this cross shape in the center of the screen? Aim it at the enemy’s head and…… just left-click.’
Bang!
[Head Shot]
‘Ooh! Hey, I want to kill that guy too, that one too!’
‘Why is Choi Hongdan so excited? Who did you want to kill so badly usually?’
‘Ah, hurry up— he’s running away.’
‘I got it. Now, first press Shift and run.’
Was it just a slightly long holiday, or winter vacation? Anyway, it was the day Hongdan first went to play at Seonha’s house. At the time, he had lured Hongdan out with the words that he was bored so they should study.
But study, my ass—Seonha didn’t even open a single workbook. He was too busy playing with textures, fondling Hongdan’s face and hands the whole time, and when Hongdan caught on, he immediately screamed and chased him out.
Seonha, who would feel wronged if he wasn’t second-best at being sulky, also got sulky and went into his room. He really didn’t come out even one step until Hongdan personally came to cheer him up. The back view he encountered then looked nothing short of stubborn.
Hongdan unconsciously let out a chuckle and slowly followed the group of male students.
‘Wow…… I think I know why people do this. My stress is melting away.’
‘What stress have you accumulated so much?’
‘Well, for one, I accumulated more today because someone was acting like a little brat.’
‘Really now. Who was it that acted like the owner of someone else’s house first?’
‘I said I was sorry, honey. Why do you keep whining, really makes me want to smack you one.’
‘I told you to fix that habit of yours.’
‘Ah ah— that’s not the important thing, Seonha. Can’t you let me use this ID too? Thanks to your grace, I started with a Bentley, so it’s annoying to drive from a Tico. Not often, just whenever I want to relieve stress.’
‘……Do as you like. But eat dinner before you go.’
‘Aw, I’ll at least eat a late-night snack.’
After that, Hongdan really played that game whenever he couldn’t control his stress. The last time he logged in was about two years ago. After marrying Seonha, he hardly played except when he was being text-bombed. It wasn’t because he had nothing to be stressed about. It was closer to the fact that when his mental pain exceeded its limit, he couldn’t even think of the letter ‘g’ in ‘game.’ Back then, just enduring without going crazy was the best he could do.
While reminiscing, a couple of promotional panels caught his eye that read [All seats equipped with i7 14th gen + RTX 4080 SUPER! Perfect support for high-spec games!]. The male students walking ahead seemed to have already gone in, as it was quiet. Hongdan also climbed the stairs without hesitation.
After all, they say the basics of running away from home are PC cafes and jjimjilbangs. Moreover, it was also a place that would be hard for someone who had never even stepped foot in such places to find easily.
A vivid smile hung on Hongdan’s lips. This time, even Hongdan himself was aware that he was smiling.
His legs looked much lighter than when he’d just left the company—no, perhaps the lightest they’d been in these two days.
