70
Subtly or Blatantly
As soon as I entered the company, everyone’s gaze poured onto me. I thought it might be my imagination, but it wasn’t. When I turned around, they pretended not to look, but through the shiny glass walls, I could see everyone whispering while looking at me. I couldn’t tell what they were whispering about. Whether they were whispering about how handsome I was, as Sebastian wished, or if they were talking about how I ruined Section 1.
“Hey, look at that shameless face.”
When I turned my head, the Team 1 leader was smiling at me. Well, if you can call baring teeth a smile.
When I pointed at myself with a finger as if to ask “Me?”, the Team 1 leader answered, “Of course it’s you, you fucking bastard.” The anger was tremendous. Well, I understand the part where he’s angry. That’s understandable. He was Layer’s direct subordinate. If Layer falls? He falls too. But he can’t get angry at the people in the company. How dare a nobody get angry at anyone?
But the fact that he’s angry at me… It seems the rumor that I’m going to submit my resignation is already widespread. Ah, seeing this reaction makes me not want to resign anymore.
“You bastard who ate your superior and survived, you dare to walk in here with your head held high?”
“Hey.”
I laughed because it was so absurd. When I casually called out to him, the Team 1 leader responded with a sarcastic “Hey?”. After saying all sorts of things like I ate my superior, that my face is shameless, calling me a fucking bastard, and then getting upset over a single “hey”. What happened to your conscience?
“Why are you acting tough? It’s not like others will be fooled by it.”
The Team 1 leader of Section 2 is really tough. Alfred Baral is truly a bastard who can tear people apart. But our section’s Team 1 leader is a bit subtle. Of course, he’s capable and smart, but he’s slightly lacking in terms of physicality. Everyone in the company knows that Layer gave him this position forcefully to keep a subordinate to his liking, does he not know this himself?
“I’m still the Team 1 leader, where do you get off saying ‘hey’ to me?”
“I’m the Team 9 leader. We’re the same rank, what nonsense are you spouting? You called me a fucking bastard.”
“That’s because you are a fucking bastard.”
“You’re talking nonsense. You being the Team 1 leader of Section 1 is the most fucking thing in our company.”
“You son of a bitch—”
He wasn’t originally like this, but it seems he was under considerable stress. I was a bit surprised to see him suddenly grab a chair leg in the lobby and lunge at me. Not that he wasn’t violent.
Whoosh— The chair brushed past me. Since it wasn’t a heavy object with a well-balanced center of gravity, he staggered. At that moment, I went behind him and choked him. I choked him moderately because it would be trouble if I choked him properly, but he dropped the chair and coughed.
Looking around, everyone was filming us with their phones.
“Ah, what are you all doing? Please call security.”
Even though they’re Security Bureau employees, they all just scream and watch without thinking to call security. Well, people in office jobs don’t often experience these things, and people in field jobs don’t need to call security. Soon, a security guard appeared and looked back and forth between me and the Team 1 leader with a surprised face.
“It’s dangerous, so I’ll take him. Where should I take him?”
It wasn’t particularly dangerous, but I asked intending to torment him a bit more out of spite, and the Team 1 leader flailed his hands. Seeing the gesture asking to be saved quickly, the security guard looked back and forth between us and finally smiled brightly at me.
“This, this way, please.”
The law is far, and fists are close. This applies even within the Security Bureau. Well, if the director hears about this, she’ll be angry saying, “This is why people call us a backward country!” but it doesn’t matter. I’m a person who came to submit my resignation today.
Thinking about submitting my resignation, I realized my direct superior had been cut and the position was vacant. Inevitably, I had to go to the next one up, the deputy director. There are only two deputy directors in the Security Bureau. Domestic Affairs and Foreign Affairs. But we’re in the Domestic Counterintelligence Department, and I’ve been abroad more often, so this classification is actually a bit ambiguous. Unlike other agencies, we only distinguish whether an issue is domestic or foreign, but we operate both domestically and internationally regardless of the case.
Mesmer, Deputy Director of Domestic Affairs.
I took a deep breath in front of these words.
Commonly known as the 5th Avenue Deputy Director. It’s a nickname given to the Deputy Director of Domestic Affairs because the State Department is on 5th Avenue, not specifically to Mesmer. When you rise to Deputy Director of Domestic Affairs, the next position is not Director but a promotion to the State Department. Or retirement. The Deputy Director of Foreign Affairs is called the 12th Avenue Deputy Director. The Foreign Ministry is on 12th Avenue.
Knock, knock. When I knocked, a polite voice said, “Come in.”
“I’m coming in.”
As I greeted politely and opened the door, I saw a man with a gentle and benevolent appearance, as if he had been a school teacher all his life.
This man is Mesmer, the legendary spy who reportedly terrified spies worldwide during the Rotman, no, Blaiberg era. Known as a terrible workaholic, I’ve barely seen his face. Unlike the director, I heard he just buries himself in piles of documents and works.
“Team Leader Schnieke. A team leader who should be in operation at this time coming here means you’re submitting your resignation?”
Of course, it’s natural for the deputy director to know my business… but it feels a bit creepy when he asks like a fortune teller. Just as I was about to answer “Yes” and take out my resignation letter from my chest, he smiled broadly.
“Are you joking?”
It was a kind face with an unkind tone.
“…Pardon?”
“Whatever your reasons, Team Leader Schnieke, this is a company, a public place. You are a member of this company until you resign. Then you should write it according to the format the company requires.”
We had a resignation letter format in our company?
I just found out… Generally, the characteristic of people who do our job is that they leave the company due to death, injury, arrest, or other disgraceful reasons. Or they get transferred somewhere else like typical civil servants. Anyway, I had never heard of or seen anyone who wrote a resignation letter, and in dramas, they always pull it out from their chest and throw it, so I thought that’s how it was done.
Seeing my bewildered face, the deputy director shook his head. He didn’t say it out loud, but I could easily find the words he omitted on his face.
‘These days, youngsters, really.’
You’re more old-fashioned than I thought…
But if there’s a resignation letter format, it’s clearly the fault of the youngster, so I stood up awkwardly.
“Then, I’ll write it according to the format and bring it—”
“Of course, you’ll submit it as an electronic document, right? Having worked as a team leader, you should know that all approvals are done through the electronic document system.”
Well, that’s true, but they also ask us to bring printed copies. That’s what Layer did.
Section 1 used both electronic and paper documents. I thought that was normal, but was it not? I always complained about why they made us do the work twice, but was it just our section? Is that how it was, Layer?
I suddenly harbored another grudge against him. Regardless of my reaction, Mesmer gestured as if telling me to leave. It was like the gesture of a seasoned merchant chasing away a difficult customer.
As I was about to leave without a word, Mesmer called out, “Team Leader Schnieke.”
“Yes?”
“You should take your resignation letter with you. Do I have to throw it away for you?”
“Ah, yes! I’ll take it and dispose of it right away!”
Feeling like a medieval tenant farmer flattering a landlord, I bowed repeatedly and left with the resignation letter. Only then did I realize that the scene I had imagined in the morning, confidently throwing down my resignation letter, had unfolded completely differently.
What should I do?
I left home so confidently. I even dressed up. It seems a bit embarrassing to say I was scolded for bringing a paper document when I should have written an electronic one.
I wanted to scratch my head, but my fingertips were sticky with wax. I remembered Efroy earnestly telling me that hair is a man’s life and to never mess it up. Ah, somehow I feel really uncomfortable, unable to do this or that. What should I do?
As I went down to the floor where Section 1’s office was, people’s gazes continued to pour in. I thought they were probably thinking I came to submit my resignation and talking about how I backstabbed my superior. But then I overheard some louder whispers.
“Wow, was he always this handsome?”
“I wondered how it was possible when they said he was dating a chaebol, but it was his face.”
“Such a face, such talent, how did we not know?”
“That’s not right. If there was a face like this in our company, I, from the HR department, would have known. It feels like seeing a ghost in broad daylight…”
There was a group marveling at how much my appearance could be improved to this extent.
“As expected, it’s money…”
“That which can turn even a human butcher into an idol.”
“Look at how his face shines. As expected, when humans live well and distance themselves from the company, everything gets better. There’s not even a speck of dark circles!”
There was a group marveling at money, the fundamental ability that could make me like this.
Somehow, I felt proud. See, my boyfriend is this capable. He has the ability to turn even a human butcher or whatever into an idol! I admired myself in the mirror too, so in this worn-out company, my face must be dazzling itself right now. Look, you poor creatures. This is the greatness of money, no, of affection!
As I was walking, subtly showing off while pretending not to hear and acting like it was nothing, someone said,
“…But the team leader himself somehow feels annoyingly cocky today, or is it just my imagination…?”
I thought I was showing off subtly, but it seems I showed off with all my might. I need to control myself. I quickened my pace from the slow walk and entered Section 1’s office, escaping from people’s gazes.
