#071
The biggest reason a company becomes shitty is because of people.
From Hwi-kyung’s experience, the work itself was similar in any company. The intensity might differ, but miscellaneous tasks were similar everywhere. And when work is tough, it usually gets better over time. Humans are animals capable of learning, and if there’s a will to learn, one can develop tricks even for the most difficult tasks.
But people, that is, colleagues or superiors, didn’t improve just because time passed. Usually, if you endured them, they got worse. Something good could turn to crap, but something bad could never turn good. That was the truth of workplace relationships.
“I know you don’t care about academic background, Hwi-kyung. I’m not saying you must go to graduate school.”
“…”
“It’s just… I want to work with you for a long time. You know what I mean, right?”
As Hwi-kyung listened to Moon-chul talking about graduate school, he felt a sense of futility. After taking annual leave and then being absent without notice for two days, he finally came to work on Friday, so he couldn’t avoid a personal meeting with Moon-chul.
But he never expected to hear about graduate school during this personal meeting. As Hwi-kyung listened to Moon-chul suddenly telling him to go to graduate school instead of asking if something was wrong, he became certain.
Kang Moon-chul was anxious that Jung Hwi-kyung might run away. Moon-chul didn’t want to point out Hwi-kyung’s academic background, but rather use the graduate school card to keep Hwi-kyung tied to the HR team.
If he entered a special graduate school or evening graduate school program, he could not only balance it with work but also receive partial tuition support from the company. If Hwi-kyung were to enter graduate school, it would likely be in economics or business administration, which would be welcomed by the company.
Once you start receiving such support from the company, quitting becomes impossible. It would be nice if you could just take advantage of the benefits and move to another company, but usually when you receive graduate school tuition support, there are restrictions on changing jobs or resigning.
So Kang Moon-chul was trying to push Jung Hwi-kyung into graduate school to prevent him from escaping BK International under the guise of self-development. It was clear he was trying to use the same tactic that Park Bong-joon had used on him.
Hwi-kyung knew Moon-chul didn’t have any particular ill intentions. Over the past few months, Moon-chul had always been favorable towards Hwi-kyung. Everyone in the HR department knew that Moon-chul and Hwi-kyung were quite close.
However, Hwi-kyung wasn’t happy about Moon-chul’s favoritism. Since Kang Moon-chul’s only experience as a superior was with Park Bong-joon, he was gradually developing into a semi-Park Bong-joon as time passed.
It was obvious that given a little more time, Kang Moon-chul would also transform into a boss who fires off passive-aggressive comments like Park Bong-joon. Unlike Moon-chul, Jung Hwi-kyung, who had completed his collection of terrible bosses, could be sure of this. He’d become just as timid and weak, unable to refuse and taking on more work.
People invariably change when their position changes. Even Buddha would change his attitude if given a job title. The idea of a “good person” is an illusion! Even Jung Hwi-kyung, who had changed companies more than ten times as a new employee, had suggested going hiking when he became a team leader.
“You’re the only one I can trust in our team.”
Hwi-kyung felt with his whole body that it was time to change jobs.
If only Kang Moon-chul had changed, it might have been bearable, but the vice president of BK International was still Lee Sung-ha. Thanks to Sung-ha, who didn’t return the vice president position to Jung-hye even after causing trouble, the company was constantly in turmoil.
On the positive side, there was an incident almost every week, making company life dynamic. There was never a dull moment. The incident where Sung-ha called in team leaders from each department to reprimand them for not meeting expected performance became a rumor within a day. The scolded superiors returned to their teams and proceeded to scold their team members.
An anonymous online post telling people not to come to BK International was taken down within an hour of being uploaded, and a company-wide notice was issued prohibiting reckless posting on anonymous employee boards.
Even under such oppression, people gathered in small groups to criticize Lee Sung-ha. The restrooms, pantry, company cafe, and smoking areas were the main sanctuaries for gossip.
People will criticize even the king behind his back, so what’s wrong with criticizing Lee Sung-ha? It’s a virtue of a superior to pretend not to know and be the scapegoat even if they’re being severely criticized.
But Lee Sung-ha lacked such virtue. One couldn’t expect virtue from him, not even the slightest bit. Hwi-kyung clicked his tongue as he watched Sung-ha go berserk and eventually purge the employees who had gossiped about him.
At this point, he was more of a tyrant than a vice president. While it was wrong to talk about the vice president on anonymous online sites or in a company with many listening ears, the punishment was too severe.
As a result, employee morale plummeted day by day. Even though it wasn’t the typical job-changing season, one or two people started quitting the company. The only reason there weren’t more deserters was because BK International was a large corporation that paid good salaries.
Kang Moon-chul, for his part, tried not to align himself with Lee Sung-ha’s faction. If he had learned anything from observing Park Bong-joon, that was fortunate. Hwi-kyung highly appreciated that Moon-chul didn’t become Sung-ha’s sycophant.
But Lee Sung-ha showed no interest in Kang Moon-chul. After driving out Park Bong-joon, who had been fawning over him, Sung-ha’s only interest in the HR department was Hwi-kyung.
“Hey.”
“…”
“What are you doing after work today?”
Whenever they happened to meet in the elevator like this, Sung-ha would throw such flirtatious comments at Hwi-kyung.
“Should I give you a ride home?”
“…”
“Why are you so quiet?”
Inadequate condition: Your superior shows personal interest in you.
The system window flickered at Sung-ha’s flirtation. Seeing the healthy system window, Hwi-kyung found it increasingly difficult to smile.
With the system window in front and Lee Sung-ha beside him, a true first-class employee might be able to smile in this situation, but Hwi-kyung was only a second-class employee, so he just bit his lips tightly. Don’t hit the vice president. Whether it leads to regression or not, hitting someone should be the last resort.
Whether or not he knew that Hwi-kyung was reciting the Heart Sutra in his mind, Sung-ha started talking to himself until the elevator reached the first floor, while Hwi-kyung remained silent.
A mad dog doesn’t easily pass by a person just because they ignore it. If it just passes by, then it’s not a mad dog. As soon as they reached the first floor, Hwi-kyung tried to hurriedly escape the elevator but was grabbed by Sung-ha.
“I asked what you’re doing after work.”
Don’t hit people! Jung Hwi-kyung drew upon the power of the universe to practice patience.
“I’m going home.”
“I said I’d give you a ride.”
“I’ll go by myself.”
“Hey.”
“…”
“It’s not fun if you keep playing hard to get.”
“Excuse me?”
“You. You like me, don’t you?”
“What?”
What on earth was he talking about?
Inadequate condition: Your superior shows personal interest in you.
Inadequate condition: Your superior shows personal interest in you.
Inadequate condition: Your superior shows personal interest in you.
It wasn’t even “Do you like me?” but “You like me, don’t you?” Upon hearing this, the system window popped up like an unrestrained runaway train, covering Lee Sung-ha’s face.
Hwi-kyung liked how the system window, which abhorred office romance, behaved. Although the system window had degenerated into some kind of dubious entity, whether ghost or god, it was at least positive in that it covered Lee Sung-ha’s face.
“Call me after work. Stop playing hard to get.”
The one Jung Hwi-kyung liked was Lee Gyo-ha, not Lee Sung-ha. It wasn’t “you, but your brother.” Hwi-kyung was so shocked that he couldn’t even retort with “Are you crazy?” to Sung-ha.
However, Sung-ha said what he wanted to say and then coolly and stylishly exited the elevator, pretending to be cool. Hwi-kyung was left alone in the elevator, suddenly transformed into an employee of unparalleled beauty who had effortlessly caught the attention of both BK Group brothers.
“What the hell?”
It’s very common for superiors to make advances on their subordinates. There are countless cases of sexual harassment and sexual violence based on hierarchy in the world.
But this was the first time Hwi-kyung had been misunderstood in this way. He had never once been friendly towards Lee Sung-ha. If Sung-ha had interpreted his pretense of being pitiful during Park Bong-joon’s ousting as a sign of affection, then Lee Sung-ha was truly out of his mind.
I just breathed, and my superior asks if I like him. What should I do? If you posted such a question online, it would easily become a best post, attracting attention.
Jung Hwi-kyung, not even six months into his job, found himself dreaming of changing jobs. He had made the resolution that office workers make more often than quitting smoking – the decision to change jobs.
