69
The Proper Attitude for Submitting a Resignation Letter
If Sebastian aimed for revenge and numerous people depended on him to parasitically seek their own revenge, I would help him achieve his revenge. I’m not good at strategizing. I’m not perceptive either. I’m aware of my limitations. But Layer, we’ve known each other for too long. How could I not understand why you, cornered as you are, can’t give up this yacht?
I roughly packed all the items I needed to take into a sheet, bundling it like a wrapping cloth. Shouldering it like Santa Claus, I drained the yacht’s oil and sprinkled it generously around, using the torn sheets. The smell of oil was overwhelming.
Lighting a cigarette, I felt like a third-rate villain or a construction worker. My shoulders were heavy. What had I packed so heavily, damn it?
With the cigarette in my mouth, I left the yacht. Then I threw the lit cigarette into the oil-soaked yacht. After waiting a bit, I saw a bright fire ignite inside the window.
I don’t know what Layer has, but he’ll soon cough it up. And I guarantee, he’ll have to go retrieve that ‘item’ he has. Because he can’t trust anyone in this situation, and he’s a terrible technophobe.
Are you enjoying your meal?
I sent a message to Sebastian. This was the new phone he had bought for me. According to Nakaban, my fiancé, with his keen aesthetic sense, had personally and carefully chosen the phone to put in my hand. Small and cute in shape with a fresh color. I liked it all. I’ll throw away the phone in the apartment. The contacts there, except for family, are all useless people anyway.
Where are you? Have you eaten?
About to.
About to? What have you been doing until now that you haven’t eaten? Efroy was worried.
I was busy burning Layer’s yacht
Sometimes you can clearly feel the other person’s emotions even though it’s just text being exchanged. This was one of those times. Sebastian was so perplexed and dumbfounded that he momentarily stopped sending messages. In the meantime, I left the yacht dock. Finally, his message arrived.
Why?
Why? There are many reasons. That bastard tried to kill me. He tried to ruin me socially. He almost killed all my team members too. There are many more reasons, but the important thing is.
Because you wanted it
Me? When?
When you said to hand over Layer, it was to see a reaction, right? You judged that there would be a reaction, whether Layer, cornered, would bite Canaris, or offer up information he had been saving to save his life from Canaris. But Layer won’t move just because of that. He has his yacht, and he can solve things by running away. How much slush fund do you think he’s stashed overseas?
He has slush funds stashed overseas?
Of course
That’s surprising. He had so much money hidden domestically, and he still had more to hide overseas? Are our country’s public officials alchemists who create money?
Sebastian’s grumbling was cute. The information he had gathered about Canaris was truly impressive. But he only knows about Canaris, not about the security bureau. There was nothing about Otto Layer in the information he had gathered.
Department 1 is where political issues are cleaned up. Especially our team. That’s why when I heard our team was on the list to be dealt with, apart from feeling wronged, I thought it could happen. Because we know too much. Layer has pocketed an enormous amount of money in the process
Did Andrea Dill allow that?
Of course, Layer was very submissive to the director… but the slush funds Layer is pocketing are from even higher up. I don’t know who, but I think it’s someone even the director can’t touch casually. That’s why Layer took over Department 1 against the director’s wishes. Originally, Nina Volkari, the head of Department 2, should have become the head of Department 1. Since the head of Department 1 is the next in line to become director
So that’s why they cut him off as soon as this incident happened
The director was almost certain that Layer was a Canaris spy, so it was a natural conclusion. But even if he wasn’t a Canaris spy, Layer would have been cut off this time
As soon as the sex scandal with the prosecutor occurred, they would have immediately dismissed Layer, even if he had no problems until then. Not because of moral flaws, but to get rid of a subordinate they couldn’t control.
Sebastian started typing a message, then stopped, then started again, and canceled repeatedly. Finally, a message arrived.
It’s true that I probed Layer. But I had no intention of leaving him alone
Put someone on Layer. He distrusts both machines and people. He will definitely head to the place where he hid his card.
What should I do with that card?
Use it effectively. Use anything that can be even a feather’s worth of help for your revenge
Sebastian was silent for a long time. Finally, he asked.
How did you know I was trying to get revenge?
Of course I knew from looking at your report. I can’t even imagine the effort you must have gone through to gather that level of information. But for some reason, I felt I shouldn’t pretend to know this about him. More precisely, I felt he wouldn’t want that.
I saw it in your eyes
Don’t lie
It’s true. Once I decided to get engaged, I often found I could understand your thoughts by looking into your eyes
You knew from looking at the report, right?
How did you know? As I blinked, I heard the sound of the yacht exploding with a boom. Ah, my ears hurt. Come to think of it, I was told during last year’s health check-up that my hearing seemed to have worsened a bit. They said it’s common for people in our industry. Guns, explosives, and such. There are so many loud things. I had been worried about needing a hearing aid already in my 20s, but now that worry is over.
Tomorrow, I really should submit my resignation letter.
The next day, I said I would go submit my resignation letter with a light heart. I was planning to submit the resignation letter and then ask Sebastian to hire me. If he says no, I’ll look for another job, what else? Surely, I won’t be without a job to make ends meet? If worst comes to worst, I can do manual labor. I’m quite strong after all.
But for some reason, people seemed to fixate on the word ‘resignation letter’ and spent the entire morning dolling me up. Even Efroy, who had clearly been uncomfortable with me yesterday, was now looking me up and down and trying numerous ties on me as if nothing had happened. It’s your last day at work! Then we must dress you up! Everyone seemed to be asserting this with their eyes, which left me dumbfounded. No, why dress up for the last day at work…
However, Sebastian seemed to share this thought.
“Show your skills.”
It was ridiculous how everyone nodded seriously at Sebastian’s words. No, why? I’m just going to submit my resignation letter, I tell you? Even you must have expected that I would throw in my resignation letter. Of course. My team members were my supervisors from the beginning. I was played like a clown in all of this. If they expect me to stay in the security bureau after all this, they have no conscience!
So I just need to throw in the resignation letter and come back… No, to be honest, the process of quitting the security bureau isn’t resolved by just throwing in one resignation letter. There’s a process of canceling various security clearances and rewriting confidentiality agreements. Of course, I need to return all issued items and write handover documents. In reality, it’s not something that can be resolved in just one day. But if I just do it today, the rest can be finished by working from home and dropping by occasionally.
While I was thinking things like ‘Damn, if I had endured a few more years, I could have gotten a government pension,’ the eyes of others were filled with killing intent. They continued to change my clothes and dress me up again and again. And around lunchtime, I saw a man in the mirror who looked like an idol from some Asian country. It was a masterpiece created by Sebastian’s money and everyone’s dedication.
“Wow, this actually works.”
At my muttering, Efroy sighed deeply.
“Ah, now it’s like, how should I put it? It smells like someone who’s quitting their job without regret while getting engaged to a chaebol.”
What? What reason do I have to quit my job just because I’m getting engaged to a chaebol?
While I was not understanding what she meant, Sebastian was nodding his head vigorously at Efroy’s words.
“If you quit your job looking like you did earlier, what would happen to my face?”
“What’s wrong with how I look? I washed cleanly this morning!”
“I know, because I’m the one who washed you.”
Right. Sebastian washed me today too. Every nook and cranny. Literally, he washed me inside out, but apparently that wasn’t enough for him. Why on earth? As I blinked and looked at Sebastian, he gently wrapped his arm around my shoulder and made me look in the mirror again.
“Look closely, Armin. How did you look earlier?”
“Just… normal?”
“Right, you were normal. Fitting for a life of rolling around with a gun and taking short naps on the ground.”
“Isn’t that a bit harsh?”
“Is it really harsh? Are you saying it’s not true?”
I found myself closing my mouth without realizing it. It’s not wrong… It felt like a statement that made my life seem incredibly shabby, but it was more annoying that he used only the right words.
“But I earned a lot of money.”
“It was fitting for a life of earning just enough to cover my drinking expenses while rolling around with a gun, taking short naps on the ground, and risking your life. Happy now?”
Why do I feel bad when there’s not a single wrong word? Why do I feel like I’ve been slapped on both cheeks while being cursed at without a single curse word?! As I glared at Sebastian with sharp eyes, he suddenly burst into laughter in the mirror.
“No, actually it was fine earlier too. I just want you to look extremely happy while getting engaged to me. It’s a man’s show-off, you know.”
“…Hey, I’m a man too.”
“That’s why you showed off to me yesterday, by burning the yacht.”
You wanted me to be happy, didn’t you?
Sebastian asked with his eyes. Ultimately, that was right. Yes, I wanted you to be happy. I wanted you to achieve everything. For that, I was willing to use any means necessary. And it was also a bit of showing off. I completely cut out Layer’s entire mouth in case he might bare his teeth at you.
I looked closely at myself in the mirror. It wasn’t bad, just a bit embarrassing.
“Alright, a man’s heart is understood by another man. I’ll make sure to show that off fiercely at our company and come back.”
At my words, Sebastian’s smile grew wider.
