SURE 5

“What did you say?”

As far as I knew, ‘that day’ was nothing more than the day I received a business card while eating tteokbokki at the main branch. I momentarily retraced my steps through the past, wondering if we had been disgustingly entangled somehow, but there was no Shin Taeyoon anywhere in my memories.

Or, could it be that I got drunk and had a one-night stand? Since I have no memory of it, I have to keep the possibility open either way. Judging by Shin Taeyoon’s looks alone, it’s possible I could have slept with him once while drunk. I have a weakness for good looks, and Shin Taeyoon’s appearance was very handsome.

What the hell is it?

“It was too spicy, that tteokbokki.”

“…Pardon?”

“Ah, I really didn’t like it. I don’t get why people pay money to eat something that spicy. But for that small snack shop to have grown this big, the CEO must have some special know-how, right?”

“Are you talking about tteokbokki right now?”

Shin Taeyoon let out a short laugh. Was he really talking about tteokbokki? God damn it, if it had been Yeonsu or Jinwoo, I would have punched one of them. Relief and anger surged up at the same time. Shin Taeyoon took it a step further, even shaking his head as if his stomach churned just thinking about the taste of the main branch’s tteokbokki. What an ass.

“If you were to say that our proposal came back as a reward for such efforts, will you restore the points you docked back to zero?”

“Well, I suppose the working-level staff will decide.”

I didn’t care if he noticed that I’d answered with my teeth clenched. Shin Taeyoon whistled.

“You’re cold. In that case, so I can earn back the points I lost with the working-level staff, please pretend you’ve reviewed it and pass it on indirectly. I looked into it, and you’re just trickling away pennies on useless viral marketing costs. Getting top blog exposure is a method that only worked 10 years ago. Your social media ad management costs aren’t being handled efficiently either, so it’s in a state of near neglect. There’s a lot that needs fixing.”

“……”

“If you work with us, the response will probably be stronger than you think, so you can decide whether to keep wasting those pennies while observing the trend. Well, just take it as a reference.”

I thought his market research was late, but it turned out he had finished it all and was now evaluating the company, going so far as to kindly lecture me that the way I was doing business was wrong. He was arrogant and a jerk, but he wasn’t wrong. The recent marketing team meetings had always been about the topic of needing to change the existing marketing methods.

Even if it was a problem I was aware of, no response was the best defense in a situation like this. If I were to readily accept it, I’d be easily led astray, and I had already been led astray enough as it was.

It didn’t seem like Shin Taeyoon had brought it up expecting a particular reaction from me anyway, as he threw the crumpled water bottle into the conference room’s trash can.

“I guess you won’t be needing this business card.”

What was returned to me was Team Leader Lim’s card. Shin Taeyoon, who had put his wallet inside his jacket, picked up his bag and stood up.

“Take your time reviewing it. Oh, and it would be great if you could pretend you don’t know what I babbled on about, since it’s confidential. It’s pretty embarrassing stuff to be spouting off to a potential client, isn’t it?”

“And yet, a person who knows that went out of his way to say it, docking points in the process.”

“If you won’t believe me even when I tell you the truth, I can’t help it, can I? I don’t make things up, and I certainly don’t lie.”

The impression Shin Taeyoon gave off when sitting was vastly different from when he was standing. His suit, stylishly wrapped around a frame tall enough to reach the top of the glass door, was reminiscent of a suit pictorial rather than a marketing team leader from a large corporation.

There’s a characteristic of people with such a sleek appearance. They know how handsome they are and know how to use it in the right place at the right time.

“Are you leaving?”

“I have a lot of work. In that case, please contact me when you want to return the tablet. I’ll trust that you haven’t thrown away my business card yet?”

I looked down at his outstretched hand before taking it. His hand was as hot and dry as the eyes that met mine. Seen up close, his intellectual impression and his eyes, which seemed to see right through a person, had a peculiar quality. For instance, the man himself seemed so frank, yet as if he were hiding a secret, creating a confusion because something didn’t quite fit together.

“I will contact you after the review. Our Team Leader Lim will contact Shinyoon’s Assistant Manager Park Joosung.”

As our handshake broke, Shin Taeyoon’s fingers brushed against my palm as if to draw a line across it, and then pulled away. Just as a refreshing smile seemed to overlay his face.

“Yes. Tell those two to contact each other like that.”

He then gave a slight nod and left. Left alone in the conference room, the breath I had been holding burst out of me. The palm that Shin Taeyoon had drawn a line across tingled.

As a company grows, the top priority becomes recruiting personnel. Workloads can only be increased when there are employees who can handle the work, and it’s a rule that you don’t grind people down. During the peak growth period, everyone, without exception, worked overtime without hesitation to build the garden that was a stable job. But as franchise inquiries poured in, the thirty-three cheerful comrades-in-arms began to fall, one by one.

Consequently, all teams posted job openings, and the team leaders of each team consistently conducted interviews in addition to their assigned duties. Seven new employees would start next month, bringing the current total to forty. For now, the recruitment target was to fill fifty positions. The company was small, but work was exploding, so the accounting team, which had taken on HR duties, hated overtime to death. Under Team Leader Cho’s direction, they packed their bags in a flurry as soon as the clock struck six. Since a new team would be formed by selecting personnel suited for HR once the new employees had adapted to the company, the only comfort I could offer was to hand Yeonsu my personal card and ask him to hang in there a little longer.

“Ahem, Mr. CEO. This is what I say when I make my rounds to clients at the beginning of the year, but paying what you owe is the best way to avoid headaches. Among our clients, those who haven’t incorporated yet and are conscientious taxpayers let out sighs of resignation so deep the ground could sink.”

Discussing tax-saving methods during meetings with the tax accountant makes me wonder what money really is. When sales go up, so do taxes. There were people who looked at me like a fool for reporting and paying my taxes after saving through legal means. A few acquaintances even offered to recommend the tax accountant they used, saying there were plenty of ways to fleece the system if I just strayed slightly from the legal path, and asking why I was foolishly paying it all.

However, being stubbornly straight-laced, I detested shortcuts. It wasn’t just me; as they say, birds of a feather flock together. Kim Jinwoo, who ran three convenience stores, would drink liquor by the crate whenever it was time for comprehensive income tax, saying the world was shit. With taxes, paying too much created household problems, and paying too little created problems of its own, so it was necessary to maintain a proper balance, but that wasn’t easy either.

There are so many things to worry about. It feels like there are more and more as time goes on. Employee salaries, company welfare, sales, taxes… The future I had imagined in my past, when all I did was cook, was simpler than this. Just talking about money makes my head spin, but so many of my relationships were formed because of money that I’ve ended up talking about nothing but money. My head is throbbing.

“I’ll make a note of the major personnel recruitment for next month and the month after. Please be sure to forward the documents to the labor attorney. It’s absolute chaos these days.”

“Why is that?”

“Well, when it comes to paying day laborers, there are often parts that weren’t financially agreed upon in advance between the company and the worker. It’s all sorts of things.”

I wanted to listen attentively, but the meeting with Shin Taeyoon must have pushed my fatigue to the extreme. Now, even the sound of the tax accountant slurping his coffee was grating on my brain. This man was also working outside the office well past quitting time, so he must have been tired too, but his chatter showed no signs of stopping.

I want to rest. Without realizing it, I leaned my tilted head back against the plush sofa. The tax accountant looked at me and chuckled.

“You’re very tired, aren’t you?”

“…Ah. No, I’m not.”

As I immediately sat up straight, the tax accountant pushed up his glasses.

“Running a company is no ordinary task. I have several employees myself, so I completely understand how you feel, Mr. CEO.”

“Thank you. It does get more difficult the more I run it.”

“Still, a CEO’s hard work is always returned through the trust of his employees. Oh my, look at the time… You have every reason to be tired. You should be heading home soon too, Mr. CEO. But tomorrow is the weekend, so hang in there. I won’t drag this out; I’ll just mention a few more things about corporate tax.”

Another thirty minutes passed by much too quickly as I forced my ears to listen to the tax accountant, who droned on about tax rate calculations versus sales with a pile of documents spread out. Eight-twenty… After seeing off the tax accountant with polite words of ‘please take good care of it,’ I turned off the office lights.

An empty space, devoid of even the faint hum of a computer fan. I stood there like a ghost, looking around the darkened office before being the last one to leave for the day.

Still, once the typical office worker’s rush hour passes, the roads clear up to some extent. It was the so-called ‘you-can’t-have-it-all’ effect. Hating the ache in my ears, I enjoyed the silent drive without even turning on the radio.

To my left, the night view of the Han River was sparkling. It felt like only yesterday that I used to trudge along the Han River bank, running to loosen up my body that had been tense all day after closing the shop’s shutters. What was on my mind as I ran back then? Was it half a tired heart like now, and half a feeling of ‘I finished another day’? Probably not. It was most likely just the thought of wanting to hurry home, wash up, and sleep.

And yet, I’m hungry. I was wondering what to eat for dinner tonight when I remembered a new skewered food place that opened near my house. A glass of draft beer with chicken gizzard skewers would be a fitting feast to relieve my fatigue. The moment the menu was decided, I became ravenously hungry and sped up.

I circled the apartment’s underground parking lot a few times before finally finding a spot, squeezing the car in and getting out. Since I heard the sound of tires screeching several times as I headed up to the ground level, the parking struggle would likely continue until midnight. It was even more so because today was a Friday night.

When I came home late from company dinners and such, it was a frequent occurrence to have to double-park and then come out at dawn to move the car. But at least I had my own spot today, so I could sleep in comfortably tomorrow. A small happiness melted away my fatigue.

“Welcome.”

The smell of grilled food was so strong from the entrance that my mouth watered. Since I was alone, I sat at the bar and looked over the simple menu.

“One draft beer and the assorted set, please.”

“You got it! I’ll bring your beer first.”

There was a time when, every time I went to a restaurant, I would analyze the menu’s prices and the profit margins of the raw ingredients and scrutinize the types of customers, a sort of occupational hazard. It’s one of the traces of a life lived quite intensely. It’s funny that even now, I can’t break the habit and am comparing the composition and price of the assorted set. What’s the point of calculating all that? As long as it’s delicious, that’s all that matters.

“It’s slushy beer, so it’s cold.”

The part-timer is quite friendly. He doesn’t really need to point things like that out. I took the mug and smiled.

“Thank you.”

“Gasp… Yes! Enjoy your meal, I’ll bring the skewers out soon, too.”

The moment our eyes met, the part-timer scurried away. Cute. Looking at the spot he’d left, I took a swig of the cold beer. Ah, I can finally live. It felt like my brain was clearing up first. The 500ml was gone in four gulps, so I’d have to order another one when the skewers came out. I idly chewed on the puffed corn that came as a free snack. The skewers grilling on the fire looked delicious. I have a habit of documenting delicious things when I see them. This is also a kind of occupational hazard.

“Excuse me… is it okay if I take a picture?”

“Of course!”

The man who appeared to be the owner answered readily and turned the skewers to a better angle for a photo. I held my phone up high and took a few pictures. Then, the part-timer appeared with the assorted set and took my empty mug.

“Another beer, please.”

“You got it!”

I saw my past self in the part-timer who cheerfully took the mug. Me, who used to shuttle ceaselessly between the kitchen and the dining hall at an indoor pub. Eventually, I became such an expert at pouring draft beer that I could fill four 500ml mugs at once with my eyes closed.

“Are you an office worker?” the owner asked casually. I picked up a skewer with alternating green onions and chicken thigh meat and answered.

“Yes.”

When asked about my job outside, it was a habit to just say I was an office worker. It’s a hassle to drag out the conversation.

“Wow. You must be really popular at your company.”

The owner skillfully flipped the skewers. It wasn’t hard to grasp the intention behind his words, but I had no intention of continuing the small talk. My plan was to down beer until these skewers were gone, go home, wash up, and pass out immediately.

“Not particularly.”

“No way. You’re incredibly handsome. Look at our part-timer, her eyes are sparkling over in that corner.”

“Hey, I am not!”

Even from a distance, she somehow heard and shrieked. When her eyes met mine again, her face flushed a pleasant shade. So fresh. Is she a college student?

“She’s cute.”

There’s a refreshing energy that can only be exuded at that age. I had my fresh and green days too. After offering a simple comment, I focused on my meal, and the owner didn’t try to talk to me anymore.

After eating my fill, I stood at the counter, and the part-timer came scurrying over to ring me up.

“That’ll be forty-one thousand won.”

I handed her my card and was looking for my cigarette pack in my pocket when the part-timer mumbled something as she held out the card and receipt. Her cheeks were flushed red under the lights. The inside of the place was bustling, so I couldn’t hear her properly and leaned my ear closer.

“Pardon?”

Startled, she flinched, then whispered so only I could hear.

“Um, by any chance… do you have a girlfriend?”

This didn’t happen often, but it would occur just when I’d forgotten about it. My response was always the same.

“I am seeing someone with the intention of marriage.”