SURE 15

I parked the car in front of the factory and got out. Straightening my jacket, I glanced at the sign that read [Haeseong Foods]. Has it been about three years since the factory was registered as a separate business? As the business grew, the factory also developed into a respectable company, and the elderly people who had been temporary workers were hired as full-time employees. It must have been quitting time, because a few grandmothers were coming out, so I bowed my head and greeted them.

“Oh my! Isn’t that Jungwoon!”

“Huh? Jungwoon? Why is the kid from Seoul here?”

“Oh, my goodness, Jungwoon!”

They were people I had known long before I started my company, so they treated me as comfortably as a grandson. In front of them, I just become the young man who sells tteokbokki. Their warm, wrinkled hands grasped mine in a friendly greeting. The grandmothers’ hair was all tightly permed with curls of the same thickness, as if they had all gotten them done together at the neighborhood beauty salon.

“Why are your hands so cold? Huh?”

“Are you eating properly? You’ve gotten so thin, child.”

“I’m eating well. Have you all been well?”

“Oh, we just wake up, work, go home, and eat. Then we sleep again, eat, and work.”

The problem was that the greetings went on and on without end. While talking with the grandmothers about how they’ve been, I carefully observed a forklift moving over there. The forklift operator carrying a pallet loaded with a mountain of rice sacks was a foreigner. On top of that, the people coming out of the open warehouse were all foreign workers too. I asked a grandmother who was still holding my hand.

“Ma’am, have a lot of the employees changed?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, the young fellas quit whenever they feel like it, saying it’s too hard, so what can we do but hire foreign workers. Those guys eat a lot, but they work well without complaining.”

“They’re not undocumented immigrants, are they?”

“That, we wouldn’t know. But Jungwoon, if you came to see that bum of a president, you’ve made a wasted trip. That guy’s eyes are spinning in his head for that damn golf these days, so he’s always flying off somewhere. His butt can’t stay in one place.”

In other words, the president was absent. Just as the grandmother said, it was a wasted trip. That damn golf… Still, I had to look around the warehouse and the inside of the factory, so I repeatedly declined their invitations to come eat and followed alongside the forklift.

“Can you speak Korean?”

The operator on the forklift looked at me while adjusting the stick.

“President not here.”

It was a blunt answer unrelated to the question. I followed the path the forklift took as it entered, beeping a warning. The inside of the cool warehouse was filled entirely with sacks of unhulled rice. The receiving date was written on the plastic wrap, and it was stamped with the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation’s seal. I walked around the large warehouse, checking the dates the rice was received and the name of the person in charge, then knocked on the body of the forklift as it reversed. This was because the door to the newly expanded warehouse next to the existing one was locked.

“Who has the key to the warehouse next door?”

“Inside. Accountant there.”

After hearing the short answer, I went into the office, and an accounting employee who was just about to leave for the day looked at me in surprise. I hadn’t seen this employee before.

“How can I help you?”

“I’m CEO Lee Jungwoon of JW Foods. Could you give me the warehouse key?”

“Excuse me?”

“There’s something I need to check. Give me the key and you can go home.”

“No, that’s… Just a moment.”

She hesitated, then sat down and called the president. I felt sorry for suddenly preventing her from leaving, but since I was here, I had to eliminate any sources of anxiety with my own eyes so that we could confidently handle any future VOC.

“Yes, yes, President. No? He came alone. He’s asking for the key… Yes, yes. Oh, really? Yes, I understand.”

While the accounting employee was on the phone, I looked around the small office. Seeing that there were only two desks, it seemed she was the only one managing the office. Does that mean she handles order management, employee attendance, and accounting all by herself? The order volume isn’t small, so is it possible for one person to manage it all? That doesn’t make sense. When I came last year, there were at least three office employees.

“Um, the president says he took the warehouse key with him. He said he went to Gangwon Province today and won’t be back, and asked if you could make an appointment and come back next time…”

I stared silently at the hesitating employee. Strange. Why does it feel like they’re being so evasive? I pushed down the gut feeling that was leaning toward a bad conclusion for now.

“Sorry, but could I see the transaction statements for the last month?”

“…I can’t show you that on my own. I need the president’s permission.”

“That’s why I started with ‘sorry, but.’ Do I need to be more polite to you?”

I don’t want to come on strong, but since I have a nagging suspicion, I have no choice. It’s still a situation based only on circumstantial evidence, with nothing yet revealed about whether I’m taking it out on an innocent accountant or if this person is also in on it. Therefore, for the time being, I had to check everything I could with the accountant.

“No, it’s just…”

“Since when have you been using undocumented immigrants?”

“Those people are not undocumented immigrants! They’ve submitted all their documents, what are you talking about?”

She jumped up and even took out a separate file where the documents were kept. It would have been fine if she had done the same with the transaction statements. She’s willing to show someone else’s personal information freely, but she won’t show a simple rice delivery record?

The accounting employee fidgeted and bit her nails. If she couldn’t show it to me on her own authority, then I had no choice but to speak to the president directly. As soon as I took out my phone, the president called first, as if he had been waiting. The accounting employee kept glancing at the clock. I put the call on speakerphone.

—Hey, CEO Lee~ What am I to do if you just show up suddenly without a word? I’m not even there.

“President. I’ll ask you directly. Did you mix imported rice into the rice cakes?”

Jungwoon’s Tteokbokki advertises everywhere that it’s made with 100% domestic rice. On the internet, of course, and on the packaging. Falsely labeling the origin of raw materials can become a huge headache. Especially in this situation where we’ve just signed a collaboration agreement with Shinyoon F&B.

—Huh? What are you talking about? There’s no way. CEO Lee, are you at the office right now? I’m in Gangwon Province, so I can’t get there quickly. And of all things, I have the warehouse key with me.

“May I see the transaction statements for the last month? The employee says I can’t.”

—Why can’t you? Show him~ Hyemi, show him, it’s fine.

At my nod, the employee brought out a thick file. Standing, I flipped through the file, mentally calculating the weight of the rice purchased weekly from the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation’s wholesale market and the average rice cake order volume. One mal of rice cake is 8kg, which is equivalent to about 20 servings.

Orders were only open three days a week—Monday, Wednesday, and Friday—and only in one-mal units. They were manufactured at the factory, then portioned, packaged, and delivered. Typically, for stores with high sales, the order volume for three days a week goes from twenty to as many as twenty-five mal. That means even one store orders at least 160kg every week.

Of course, the average is different for each store, but no matter how I calculated it, the amount recorded in the transaction statement was woefully insufficient. The rice cakes only contain milled rice, salt, and water, and nothing else. You can’t cheat the ingredient ratio, so if there was cheating, the only answer was the raw materials.

I took out my personal phone and took pictures of the transaction records. The accounting employee was fidgeting restlessly and busily exchanging messages with someone. I handed the file back.

“I’ve had a good look. President, the amount of rice you’ve purchased has decreased significantly. At this rate, you won’t be able to handle the order volume.”

—There’s no rice these days, no rice. What can I do when that’s the best I can do no matter how much I scrape together? We’re trying our best too.

A suppressed breath escaped through my teeth.

“I’ll ask one last time. If you mixed in imported rice, tell me now.”

—CEO Lee, really! How long have we known each other, and you suspect me like that? This really pisses me off! Why don’t you believe me when I say I didn’t!

“You have a spare key for the warehouse. Where did you put it?”

—CEO Lee! Gosh, I said I didn’t! Fine, there was so little rice that I couldn’t just scrape together the Dangjin rice, so I even pulled in rice from Anseong and Boryeong! Solely because of my trust in you, CEO Lee! I paid cash for that with a president I know, so there’s no record!

“President. Do you know what kind of complaints have been coming into the head office lately? We’re hearing about the rice cakes, which we never did before. And it’s continuous.”

—That can happen! I bought up all the old rice too. Isn’t it unavoidable that the rice cakes are of lower quality than with new rice? My goodness, how did you even find out and come all the way here?

Does he think consumer taste is a joke?

—I’ve pulled in all the rice I could, so things will get back to normal starting next week! If you suspect me like this, gosh, I, my neck is getting stiff! Is it a crime that I tried to stick to domestic rice? Did I commit a felony? Tell the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to come, then! What is it, call the public health center and the city hall guys too!

“Are you sure? Can you guarantee it?”

—Oh my god, I’m really going crazy. CEO Lee, I’ll say it again, how long have you and I known each other? I’m the person who’s known you since you were selling tteokbokki out of a place the size of a booger. I’ve been supplying you with rice cakes since then.

Am I being too sensitive? Or is my intuition wrong? The accounting employee brought over a bankbook and showed me the transfer records. The amount deposited to a few people with Korean names was less than the amount in the transaction records, but the difference between purchasing unhulled rice and milled rice wasn’t that big. I took a picture of the bankbook as well.

“I understand for now. I apologize for the disturbance, and I will also look into the rice situation through various channels.”

—CEO Lee, I’m really disappointed. I mean, we were fine when we talked on the phone about my son getting married, and now what is this sudden disaster? At this rate, trust will be broken, how can we do business with each other?

“I understand your disappointment. Let’s meet sometime next week.”

—…Are you going to buy expensive liquor?

“Yes.”

—Then I’ll skip golf for a day and meet you, CEO Lee. You’ll have to buy some really expensive liquor to soothe my hurt feelings.

No. This wasn’t a surprise visit like today; it was a warning. That sometime next week, I would inspect the locked warehouse and the documents in detail. The spark of suspicion hadn’t died out, so I had to resolve this lukewarm feeling one way or another. It’s natural for the texture of the rice cakes to change with old rice, but no, in the first place, keeping my promise to the customers is the priority. It was a stubbornness that hadn’t changed since my small shop days.

“I’ll trust that you’ll do things properly starting with the rice cakes delivered next week.”

—Oh, really. I told you not to worry. Anyway, is our Hyemi being held up by you, CEO Lee, unable to go home? If you feel bad, give Hyemi some pocket money, for her taxi fare.

The accounting employee, sweating profusely, vehemently expressed her refusal. I had no intention of taking out my wallet either. I finished the call, came out, and watched the back of the accounting employee as she walked away quickly to go home, then took out a cigarette and lit it. The dark factory and the locked warehouse door blurred hazily in the glow of the red-hot cigarette tip.

It left a bad taste in my mouth. A feeling of a hasty cover-up, a hasty blocking, a hasty excuse. Should I start keeping a pair of industrial pliers in my car? I took a deep drag on my cigarette, staring at the locked door. The employee who had been driving the forklift came out, walking leisurely, and glanced at me.

“That’s locked. Only the president opens it.”

Since the topic came up, I pointed to the warehouse with the hand holding the cigarette.

“Do you know what’s in here?”

“Rice. A lot.”

Then, as if there was nothing more to discuss, he walked past me. The half-hearted answer fanned the flames of my distrust, but I couldn’t carelessly mess with an innocent person just to make him a witness, so I just watched his retreating back.

I could only hope I was wrong. And even if the president had lied, I earnestly hoped that he would change, with today’s visit as a turning point. Please.

It was past 11 PM when I returned to Seoul. Of course, there were no spots in the underground parking lot, so after circling around, I ended up double-parking. I’ll have to come out early to move the car… I dragged my tired body up and was about to enter the passcode on the door lock when I casually glanced back.

Apartment 1503. The door to the apartment across was firmly shut. There’s no way he isn’t home yet… Has he already returned from work and is enjoying his time alone? Once recognized, the uncomfortable neighbor tormented me endlessly even when he wasn’t visible.

Don’t think about it, just don’t think at all. Worrying about it will only kill my brain cells. I punched in the passcode and entered my home, immediately loosening the tie that had felt suffocating all day.

As I get older, enduring time becomes harder. The position of being responsible for several employees through dealing with people sometimes brought immense pressure that would bury me in the ground one moment and then grab me by the scruff of the neck to pull me up the next. It was a flow that I couldn’t keep up with no matter how much I managed my physical stamina.

I collapsed into bed without even having time to shower and drink a can of beer. Manager Han’s face, hoping that nothing would happen, came to mind. Was it right to come back with this lingering uneasiness? A belated regret crept in, wondering if I should have gotten a room at a nearby motel and checked again early the next day, but that clashed fiercely with the human decency of whether I should go that far with a president I had known for a long time.

I grew this company by benefiting from people and getting hurt by people. Even though drawing a line between my personal and professional life is the best I can do, why do these thoughts fill my head?

Knowing full well I’d regret simply coming back hoping I was wrong. I thought about going back to Dangjin right now, but once I had washed up and lain down, it wasn’t easy to get up. My words and actions are at odds. It’s laughable. My body feels as heavy as a waterlogged cotton ball. And amidst all this, I wanted to believe the president.

“I don’t know…”

When will human relationships ever get easier? When will work that involves many intertwined people stop being so tiring? I didn’t have any particular moral观念, yet the standards by which I maintained my principles were strict. I browsed my SNS accounts, but even that didn’t register, so I tossed my phone onto the head of the bed. Ah, it’s my work phone. My personal phone should be in my clothes… Whatever, it’s not like I’ll get any urgent calls on my personal phone… My eyes closed.