Chapter 17
- Inauguration Ceremony
2023.05.17.
Tae-joon requested and retrieved a stack of documents from the archives.
So-eun's jaw dropped, like someone whose jaw had dislocated. Stacks of paper documents, more than half her height, were piled in two rows on the table. After the archive staff left, Tae-joon approached.
Tae-joon handed over a USB drive. It contained Excel data of cell phone AS parts records for the past three years.
"You need to check if this ledger matches the Excel records. One by one."
Could they be different? Isn't this ledger just a printout of the Excel file?
"Director, this looks like a direct printout of the Excel file."
"So?"
"......"
"Do you think I'm just creating unnecessary work for Ms. Han to do, so she can collect overtime pay while screwing around?"
Yes.
So-eun didn't doubt that fact for a second, and silently protested without batting an eye.
"Check May 27th of last year."
At Tae-joon's instruction, So-eun opened the Excel file from a year ago with a lukewarm expression. It took quite a while to compare them one by one.
"Huh...?"
And she confirmed with her own eyes that there were discrepancies between the computer records and the documents. She couldn't understand why this was happening.
"Now, July 15th of last year."
Again, discrepancies were found between the computer records and the documents.
"That's what you need to find. Understand?"
Having confirmed the facts, So-eun felt a sense of despair.
It was my fault for jumping to conclusions so easily, but this is still too much work.
If that's the case, why did you name it the Future Service Team? This just seems like the Past Excel Team.
As So-eun grumbled inwardly without answering, Tae-joon urged her again.
"I asked if you understand."
"...I understand."
What else can I do? I have to do it if I don't want to get fired.
So-eun answered sullenly.
I wish he would just leave now that he's given me the task.
"Let's stop here for today and go get some food."
Her cheek muscles twitched slightly at his thunderbolt-like suggestion.
"...Huh? Just the two of us?"
"Don't you want to?"
I don't want to.
She wanted to say that honestly, but So-eun tried to put it as gently as possible.
"Can't I just work now and eat at home later?"
"Why? Do you have plans?"
"No. I just want to finish work quickly..."
"It'll take two weeks to do all this. Are you going to live at the office for two weeks without eating?"
"......"
"Let's go even if you don't want to. We need to have an inauguration ceremony since the team is newly formed."
What inauguration ceremony for a one-person team!
Kim Tae-joon seemed to be subtly pleased. He seemed to enjoy it even more as her bewildered eyes became more apparent. This guy had a nasty habit of tormenting people.
What kind of vicious things is he going to say to me today to make me cry? Just imagining it makes my knees weak.
"Are you uncomfortable eating with me?"
That's right! That's right! You can tell just by looking!
"If that's not the case, let's go. Let's talk about the company while we go."
"......"
"I haven't been here long, so there's a lot I don't know. And I don't have anyone to eat with."
Just because you act pitiful doesn't make me feel sorry for you!
If you don't have anyone to eat with, eat alone! Life is originally a solo journey!
While So-eun's face turned red as she screamed silently, he walked ahead. With each step he took, a subtle classical melody seemed to flow. The person following behind had a pounding heart. She wanted to run away, but that crazy guy was serenely subtle.
The two quickly reached the parking lot. There was no driver. Tae-joon was driving again today. So-eun had to sit next to him on the thorny seat.
"Do you drive?"
"...I'll learn."
"Good attitude."
As if he had asked as a joke, Tae-joon casually opened the passenger door.
As if worried that So-eun might run away, he carefully put So-eun in the passenger seat, closed the door tightly, walked around the hood, and got into the driver's seat.
"Do you like beef?"
He asked as he started the engine.
Hearing the word "beef," So-eun thought of the barbecue restaurant they went to for company dinners. It was the most famous and delicious place in the area, and So-eun liked it too.
But they grill the meat over a brazier there.
My mouth is watering, but no meat. It takes too long.
So-eun bravely voiced her opinion.
"No. I don't really like it."
"You were talking about meat a lot when you were drunk."
"...I wasn't in my right mind because I was drunk."
"Then what kind do you like?"
Am I allowed to choose?
"I like fast food..."
"Besides that."
"Kimbap..."
"Besides kimbap."
"......(Why did you ask if you were going to do that)."
"Do you like Japanese food?"
He asked as she glared at him with the whites of her eyes in frustration. She remembered the Eel rice bowl lunch box he had given her a few days ago. It seemed much better than grilling meat over a brazier, so she answered immediately.
"Yes."
The subtly serene director Kim looked at So-eun and smiled subtly. So-eun's heart pounded at the sight of that scary smile.
*
The car was quiet.
So-eun didn't dislike this silence. No, she rather liked it. It would be much better than getting into an argument.
'But he didn't say much when he was driving yesterday either.'
So-eun remained tense, fearing that this silence would be broken and his harsh words would begin at any moment.
Come to think of it, this was the third time she had gotten a ride in Director Kim Tae-joon's car. The first time, she reluctantly got in because he offered to take her to meet Hee-wook, but she was abandoned halfway. The second time, she reluctantly got in because he offered to take her home, and she arrived home safely, but she was verbally attacked in front of her house. And now, the third time.
She reluctantly got in the third time too, but what was going to happen this time? Was she going to be verbally attacked and abandoned while eating?
'Let's think of the worst-case scenario. If I think of the worst, anything will be better than that.'
So-eun imagined the worst, wondering when Tae-joon would take off his mask and become a real madman. The Kim Tae-joon in her imagination had funny expressions that lacked the weight of the real one, so So-eun secretly smiled a little.
Tae-joon glanced at So-eun a couple of times.
In the quiet, the car reached its destination. So-eun thought it would be the same place where she had received the packaged Eel rice bowl, but it was a place she had never been to before.
After confirming the restaurant's fancy exterior, So-eun recalled what Tae-joon had said at the company.
'Did he really bring me to a place like this because he doesn't have anyone to eat with?'
Still, if he's hungry, he should just eat alone. Don't torment your subordinates.
She felt a little sorry for him, but she was also hesitant because she knew how uncomfortable the situation would be.
"Let's go in."
Tae-joon led the way. So-eun followed Tae-joon's lead.
Tonkatsu 28,0 Cold Buckwheat Noodles 18,0 Udon 17,0 Tamago Sushi 2pc 6,0...
It wasn't that hard to add two more zeros, but the numbers that hid a few zeros as if to deceive the expensive prices dampened So-eun's appetite.
The cheapest egg sushi was 6,000 won for two pieces. A set of ten pieces was 25,000 won.
This guy probably wouldn't ask his subordinate to buy it for him, so she thought about ordering an egg sushi set with her eyes closed, but So-eun, who had imagined the worst, chose the safe path.
"I'll have the udon."
"This place is famous for its sushi."
I want to eat it, but. I haven't eaten raw food since the surgery.
"I don't like sushi."
"Then I came to the wrong place."
"It's okay. I like udon."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Tae-joon nodded.
As her teammate Park Bo-bae said, Kim Tae-joon's tone was quite kind. But it was a shallow kindness. It felt like he was reacting in accordance with etiquette because it was polite to give such feedback when the other person did something like this. It was like an AI chatbot.
Therefore, depending on the situation and the position, the other person could easily take it as sarcasm.
She wanted to give him that advice, but So-eun only had one life, so she couldn't do anything.
A moment later, Tae-joon ordered from the staff.
"Two udon, please."
Cold sweat formed on So-eun's forehead. It was an unimaginable order.
"No, Director, please order what you want to eat."
"I'm craving that too."
How few friends does he have that he's trying to match everything just because someone is eating with him?
He was an unknowable person.
He drove me so hard yesterday, and today he's acting like he's never done anything like that before, with such a gentle demeanor.
But then again, it seemed like she could know him too.
'He probably doesn't have any friends because he's so erratic?'
As she felt sorry for him, So-eun also became a little gentler. She felt like she could match him as much as he was matching her. So-eun was a naturally kind person.
A moment later, while waiting for the 17,000 won udon, a question-and-answer session like an interview began.
"If you work in the service industry, you must meet some difficult customers. What's the ratio?"
"There are no difficult customers. I think all customers are precious."
"Don't say things that aren't true."
"...If there are people I can't handle on my own, I meet about one person a week."
"What are they usually like?"
"I often hear people say that they left their device at the center, and a hairline crack appeared that wasn't there before, so they want us to pay for it. There are also people who complain about why we don't fix their defective cell phones for free when their contracts haven't ended. There are also people who just ask for a new one for free. There are also customers who threaten to report us to the news or file a complaint with the Consumer Protection Agency if we don't give it to them for free."
"Who was the scariest customer among them? The most memorable customer."
This was the most normal and constructive topic they had discussed so far. A director who cares about the difficulties of his employees, today's Kim Tae-joon was quite cool.
So-eun thought for a moment and answered.
"It wasn't a difficult customer, but there was a scary customer. They came to get their cell phone fixed, and when I turned on the screen to check it... they had their own naked body as the main screen, and I dropped it as soon as I saw it."
"Didn't you report it?"
"Well... they had covered up the private parts..."
Pfft.
So-eun was talking seriously, but he burst out laughing.
"I had to pay for the phone."
"You must have felt wronged."
"......"
"We should compensate you for this."
He added another word as if he felt sorry for laughing when the person speaking was serious. Anyway, he seemed like a normal person when he laughed. No, he's still not normal. He just has an incredibly handsome face. So-eun quickly realized that if you added a smile to that beauty, even feelings that didn't exist would arise.
With a pounding heart, So-eun's love for humanity cautiously sprouted.
Is he regretting saying those harsh things to me yesterday?
Is he being nice to me because he feels sorry for calling me a person without pride? Buying me food, talking to me, and listening to my story?
I hope that's the case.
So-eun was a person who never gave up hope for people.
