Gong Pyeonghwa regretted as he made the bed.
Why did I act like that yesterday? Why did I do that! Do I have anger management issues or something? *sob sob*.
***
Everyone’s doing well? A competitive desire to not lose burned fiercely in Saebyeok’s heart.
People who didn’t know him well thought Saebyeok was just calm and gentle, but in reality, Saebyeok wasn’t such a simple person.
He had a strong competitive streak and wanted to show off his abilities. He hated losing to anyone.
Even during his first year of high school, which was both a dark history and the beginning of his romance.
Back then, not realizing how embarrassing it was, he had clung to Gong Pyeonghwa begging him to lose. If it hadn’t been for the suppressant side effects, he wouldn’t have done such a thing.
He might not have played fair, but he would have won somehow. Now it wasn’t as overwhelming as it was in high school. But to lose to complete strangers? That’s unacceptable in my book!
I need to supplement the insufficient data… No. I’ll just start over from the beginning.
We probably won’t be able to meet for a while.
I’ll contact you after my presentation. I love you.
***
Time passed quickly.
Go to work five times, don’t go to work twice, and the week is over.
In between, Gong Pyeonghwa whined about meeting up, but Saebyeok boldly cut him off. Of course, the process felt like cutting through bone…
It wasn’t like they wouldn’t see each other for a month, just until the end of this week.
“Daddy. Daddy. Father.”
Besides, he needed to see Iseul now too.
He reworked the table of contents and direction from scratch. The presentation was the day after tomorrow, so he needed to keep practicing, but whenever he tried to concentrate, Iseul would look at him as if begging for attention.
Trying to prepare for the presentation while leaving Iseul alone felt wrong. His conscience pricked at him, so eventually he tossed aside his script and hugged Iseul.
“Where did Appa go! Daddy!”
“Pyeonghwa daddy is very far away…”
Gong Pyeonghwa went hiking with his in-laws today, taking advantage of the weekend. By now, he would have reached the peak, so he must be close to the sky.
Surely on the way down, Gong Pyeonghwa would whine about eating out, and the family would be dragged along by him to share a meal. Just as he himself had been.
***
Gong Pyeonghwa’s hunger strike began.
Since suddenly refusing to eat would make his dark intentions obvious to anyone, he gradually reduced his food intake. He went from eating four bowls to three bowls, and from three bowls to two.
It was a bit mean, but as a result, his mother-in-law lost confidence in her cooking and began to doubt her skills. She checked the seasoning multiple times and paid more attention to plating.
Since this was unusual behavior for him, not only Noeul but also Chairman Shin became worried about Gong Pyeonghwa.
Of course, most people would say, “What’s the big deal about eating two bowls? That’s still a lot.” But the Shin family, already accustomed to Gong Pyeonghwa’s appetite, was confused and concerned. It seemed like the person was falling apart.
Despite everyone’s concern, Gong Pyeonghwa’s appetite showed no signs of returning.
Thus, the Shin family took drastic measures and forced him to go hiking.
Cycling, hiking, swimming. If you want someone to get hungry, the best way is to make them move their body.
In reality, hiking was effective.
“Since we’ve gone hiking, let’s eat baeksuk! Baeksuk! I saw they were selling five-layered pork on the way here! Let’s eat out! Eat out! Huh? Huh? Huh? They also serve spring vegetable side dishes! Only a fool would refuse to go!”
It felt like his stomach was sticking to his back. He was already struggling with his restricted diet lately, and now hiking?
He’d been feeling sensitive lately since he hadn’t even seen the tips of Saebyeok’s hair, but moving his body a bit seemed to relieve his stress.
The Shin family felt the satisfaction of watching a depressed puppy wagging its tail and bouncing around enthusiastically for once.
“It must have been parenting stress.”
“I guess so.”
Relieved, Noeul and Mrs. Lee tore off chicken legs for Gong Pyeonghwa to eat. The head of the Shin household suddenly found himself eating dry chicken breast instead of the chewy legs.
Fortunately, Chairman Shin preferred breast meat.
“This is a native Korean chicken. I know many places just put up ‘native chicken’ signs and sell whatever, but this seems to be the real thing. None of the imported chicken’s distinctive smell or toughness, and the meat is delightfully chewy.”
Gong Pyeonghwa was so happy to finally have his mouth full of food. This is happiness.
…But, what if Shin Saebyeok was here beside me in this happiness? That would have made me even happier. Our Saebyeok likes chicken porridge too. He likes it when I peel off the skin and give him just the meat.
He suddenly became gloomy.
When he put down his chopsticks, Mrs. Lee worried again.
“Eat more.”
“…No, the chicken is delicious, but…”
Gong Pyeonghwa glanced around nervously and whispered quietly.
“The side dishes are kind of… compared to mother-in-law’s skills, they’re a bit…”
Mrs. Lee’s cheekbones slightly rose.
Though he made an excuse about the side dishes, in reality, his appetite had suddenly vanished. The chicken meat even seemed to have a peculiar smell now.
As Gong Pyeonghwa picked at his food, Noeul and Mrs. Lee also found their food less tasty than before. It seemed a bit… tougher?
***
“New employee presentation preparation? Well, that’s something you can just do casually, right? How’s it going?”
Chairman Gong, who in reality was a cold-hearted capitalist who wouldn’t extend contracts for those who prepared casually, randomly struck up a conversation with Saebyeok.
Even at a glance, Saebyeok’s passion for his work was considerable.
Chairman Gong peeked at the papers Saebyeok had used for his research and was secretly delighted.
His eye for products was quite sharp, and his persona for repositioning was perceptive. Plus, as a test, he had called Saebyeok’s extension during work hours, and his phone manner was very polite.
Curious about his reputation, he had asked around indirectly, and everyone gave favorable reviews. Of course, they might have just said nice things to stay on his good side, but even considering that, the evaluations were decent. Well, it would be silly to have high expectations for a new employee anyway.
“I still have many deficiencies. However, I plan not to let those deficiencies show.”
This guy is really something. Humble yet not servile. To Chairman Gong, who had spent his life only seeing sluggards 1, 2, and 3, Saebyeok was like an ideal existence.
“Why work so hard on something that won’t even affect your personnel evaluation? You should rest on your days off.”
“Just because it doesn’t affect the personnel evaluation doesn’t mean I shouldn’t work hard.”
Such natural passion! Should I just keep him by my side and teach him? Chairman Gong found everything Saebyeok said or did adorable. No, that wasn’t enough. He wanted to pass the company on to him!
Should he modify his will? If he lost his reason just a little, it seemed like he would shower Saebyeok with extreme displays of affection.
“Does the work suit your aptitude?”
“I haven’t grasped it deeply enough to say for certain, but I think it’s really good and a necessary department. The atmosphere is also harmonious. However, since I still have many shortcomings…”
My, how can everything he does be so endearing?
‘Did I do something wrong? Why is he glaring at me like that?’
Unable to understand Chairman Gong’s inner thoughts, Saebyeok couldn’t help but be cautious under his piercing gaze.
“Ah, and thank you for the hamburger, it was delicious. I appreciate it.”
Saebyeok conveyed his thanks and also slightly shook the toy that Team Manager Dok had been eyeing, smiling awkwardly.
“That bread scrap is nothing. I’ll look after Iseul, so you do what you need to do and rest.”
As expected. I was right about what kids these days like! Chairman Gong took Iseul away with a satisfied feeling.
Before the door closed, a small voice was heard saying, “Don’t disturb this fellow’s father while he’s working-!”
Saebyeok, who had wondered if he was being glared at for not expressing gratitude, finally relaxed and caught his breath.
‘He must value manners.’
***
“…Therefore, I determine that repositioning is needed to match the distinct age-related changes in existing preferences for this product.”
For presentations that were hastily prepared in whatever time they could squeeze in, everyone had prepared quite a lot. The only regrettable thing was that, perhaps due to unexpected circumstances, there was a slight stumble compared to practice.
Inside the large conference room where the new employee presentations were taking place, there was a tension reminiscent of the final interview of the public recruitment exam.
“Does that mean it’s become too old-fashioned now?”
This was understandable, since contrary to the story that a few working-level staff would observe, the chairman was sitting squarely in the middle.
“Ah, well… that is…”
“Next.”
People who hadn’t prepared well were anxiously fidgeting their legs, and even those who had prepared diligently were nervously chewing their lips.
Of course, Saebyeok wasn’t nervous. If anything, unexpectedly running into him at home was more nerve-wracking.
Like when he suddenly appeared from somewhere asking what Iseul liked best, dropping that comment and leaving, or giving him dinosaur toys claiming he just picked them up somewhere—those moments were far more tense.
It was actually more comfortable seeing him in a formal setting like this.
Saebyeok did exactly as much as he had prepared, exactly as much as he had practiced.
For the first time, applause erupted from Chairman Gong. When the chairman clapped, the working-level staff belatedly joined in with claps, and the new employees who didn’t receive applause had sour expressions.
Saebyeok concluded his presentation with an embarrassed face and returned to his seat.
The unknown employee who presented after Saebyeok hadn’t prepared much, it seemed, making the comparison quite severe.
After that, either because they quickly got used to the chairman’s presence, or because they had learned from others’ mistakes, the presentations went smoothly.
After all the prepared presentations were finished, and while the staff was scoring separately, the new employees each chatted with their close colleagues.
Why did the chairman suddenly appear, did I stumble over my words, I was so surprised, I messed up, everyone was busy saying something.
Saebyeok had no close friends, so he stood alone awkwardly. Fortunately, Saetbyeol from the same Overseas Sales Team 1 approached him and struck up a conversation.
Saetbyeol seemed to be friendly with many colleagues, as several unfamiliar faces were visible behind her.
“Saebyeok-nim, you’re a presentation genius. I don’t understand why only the overseas teams had to present in English… If I could have done it in Korean, I would have been pretty good too, right?”
“You did well.”
It wasn’t just empty words; Saetbyeol had done quite well. Both her language use and content were good. From a new employee’s perspective without practical experience, Saebyeok thought she was perfect.
As time passes, her business perspective would broaden, and her proficiency would build up, so she should have confidence.
As he was about to speak, focusing on her strengths, the other colleagues behind Saetbyeol spoke first.
They were faces he hadn’t seen before, and their gazes were somewhat unpleasant.
“Hey, but Saebyeok-nim? Is that right? Compared to Saebyeok-nim, she wasn’t quite as… fluent, was she? A bit Konglish style.”
“Saebyeok-nim wasn’t recruited through the public channel but through special recruitment, right? Must have been foreign language special recruitment. Haha.”
If I’m not mistaken, it somehow sounds like they’re mocking?
“Which country did you study abroad in?”
“By the way, which school did you graduate from?”
An unexpected round of personal questions erupted. Don’t they avoid asking such things even in interviews these days? The subtle informal speech was also irritating.
Saetbyeol was embarrassed, being crowded by people, and strangers kept asking personal questions pretending to be friendly.
It lacked courtesy, even before business manners, just as basic human respect. They probably thought they could get away with it by coming as a group.
When Saebyeok silently stared only at Saetbyeol, they finally quieted down.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
