Chapter 69
- An Ordinary Monday (1)
2023.07.08.
The night that transitioned from Sunday to Monday.
Kim Tae-joon, who had been gazing silently at Han So-eun as she slept, got up and went into his study.
He read and reread the post So-eun had written during the day.
He had acted as if it was nothing in front of So-eun, but it could never be nothing.
In her writing, he saw a girl carrying a boulder bigger than herself, climbing uphill. She looked pitiful and overwhelmed, but in every line, he could see her will to overcome it herself, which made him proud.
She wrote cleverly without anyone teaching her, and many members were already responding.
Cleverly. Tae-joon, who moved with goals and schemes, calculated the gains and losses he would get from this post, but she would never have written it with such calculations. She must have been in pain and struggling to suppress her feelings while writing this. She must have worried about how her sincerity would reach people's hearts. That's what made it more valuable.
Of course, the traces of past love buried everywhere were very annoying. It was only natural that he was angry when he thought about what Yang Hee-wook had enjoyed as Han So-eun's first love, and he was so jealous that his stomach hurt. Tae-joon was jealous even of someone she had broken up with.
Tae-joon, who imprinted each sentence in his eyes, left the bulletin board and found a phone number to dial.
The other person answered quickly, as if they had been waiting from afar.
[Yes, Director. Can we start?]
Choi Hyun-ji had been fierce when exchanging opinions, but when the time came, she was quite cooperative.
"Let's do it."
Han So-eun. Do everything you want to do.
I'll make sure you can.
It was a refreshing morning when she opened her eyes. As soon as So-eun woke up, she checked the Blahblah bulletin board. The post she had registered yesterday afternoon had over 200 comments overnight.
Whether So-eun's sincerity had resonated well, most of the comments were warm encouragement.
It's refreshing to have the person involved come forward and reveal it. That's right. Donors themselves have done something precious. You must never speak carelessly.
My father-in-law had a liver transplant last year. We had an organ donation from a brain-dead person, and the process leading up to that was luck, and our family also had to prepare for organ donation. So I know how noble your decision was. You did something to be praised for. There's no need to hide it.
I'm proud that you're a colleague at the same workplace.
But among them, there were also voices of outrage.
I honestly think you can demand alimony from that ex-boyfriend.
How did you break up? You weren't dumped after just having your organ taken, were you? If so, that man deserves to be buried.
The person who posted the initial post was very malicious. Shouldn't we find this person?
And, very occasionally, comments were found questioning the authenticity of the post or blindly criticizing So-eun.
Are you really the person involved? If I were the person involved, I don't think I could ever write such a post.
Can you know just by listening to one person? Everyone pretends to be a victim.
Honestly, the person who got it taken was an idiot. They don't even know how to cherish their own body.
Tae-joon watched So-eun's expression change from moment to moment as she read the comments, and then advised her.
"There are people in the world who hate to hate someone. You don't have to be hurt by those people."
So-eun nodded.
Whether the members had all reported it together, or whether she had deleted it herself, the first post that had tormented her had disappeared from its place. So-eun prepared to go to work, hoping that things would be settled like this.
Tae-joon held her hand all the way to work, but the trembling did not stop. So-eun, who got out of Tae-joon's car near the company, deliberately walked briskly.
When she opened the entrance door and went inside, it felt like her colleagues were watching her.
"Hello."
"Yes."
When she gave a simple greeting to the reception team employee passing by, they also nodded briefly. Was it just her imagination? Their eyes seemed somehow awkward. She was even more nervous than on the day she succeeded in getting a job, completed new employee training, and went to work for the first time. Before she knew it, her body had stiffened.
When So-eun sat down and put down her bag, Bobae, who had confirmed that So-eun had come to work, ran straight from the pantry.
"Team Leader, are you okay?"
Bobae's eyebrows were drooping. But she seemed to be careful not to make too pitiful an expression. Bobae was that kind of friend. A friend who empathized well with other people's feelings. Reunited with her closest friend at work and being the first to speak, she felt relieved even before she could tell her story.
"Bobae, you saw the post too?"
"Yes. ......I didn't know that happened."
"Yeah. Because I didn't tell anyone."
When So-eun answered, Bobae suddenly matched her height with So-eun, who was sitting, and hugged her tightly.
"Uh? Bobae, what's wrong."
"Team Leader, you're a really wonderful person."
"......"
"If anyone shows up to say anything to Team Leader, I'll fight them all!"
It was a strange consolation, but it felt good. She thought she should have told Bobae at least some of it from the beginning. She had been afraid to tell anyone, thinking that life was originally lonely, and that even if this kind of thing became known, she would only be pointed at and not receive any comfort or support, but she didn't know it would be so reassuring.
Bobae, who quickly changed her expression, asked about Yang Hee-wook in a low voice.
"Is that the guy who came to see you back then? What kind of face does that guy have to come here? And who is the person who posted such an outrageous post?"
Uh uh uh... While she was hesitating to answer, Team Manager Lim Ji-hyung from the same team approached.
"Team Leader Han. I saw the post. You wrote it, right?"
"Yes."
"Yeah. You've been through a lot. Ugh. I wonder who wrote that initial post."
"......"
"Anyway, Team Leader Han, you did a really great job. You deserve applause. You did a really good job."
Team Manager Lim Ji-hyung was usually cynical in his actions, but he was surprisingly deep inside and secretly took care of his juniors. A senior who gave appropriate advice whenever So-eun was having a hard time. This time again, he was the first to come and comfort her.
"When that strange post came up, I suspected it. I didn't believe it from the beginning. I've been watching Team Leader Han for a while. Team Leader Han would never do that."
"Thank you, Manager."
The colleagues' attention was focused on the two people talking. Everyone's eyes were full of concern and encouragement for So-eun's situation. Still, she thought she had done well in her company life.
Before work started, So-eun sent an email to all the employees of the central headquarters, as planned with Tae-joon the day before.
「Hello. This is Han So-eun from the Mobile Service Team. I am sending this email with the permission of Director Kim Tae-joon. I am the person involved in the post I posted on Blahblah yesterday. I am sorry for causing concern due to my personal matter. I hope my matter does not cause any harm to my fellow employees. Thank you for your interest and encouragement. I will resolve the incident well.」
After pressing the send button, she felt a lot lighter on her shoulders. It was just a post she wrote to verify her identity, but as soon as she sent the email to everyone, reply emails started arriving one by one.
「Team Leader, I will do my best to protect you. I hope only good things happen to you from now on.」
What does it mean to protect her? She couldn't understand all the messages, but her heart was still touched.
She felt strange receiving reply emails from colleagues she had only exchanged eye contact with, and even from employees in the support team on the 7th floor far away. She thought that there were much more good people in the world after all.
Taking a brief moment, Team Leader Jang Eun-pyo approached. Eun-pyo seemed to have been looking for an opportunity to offer words of encouragement as well.
"Everything will be alright. Team Leader."
"Yes. I think it will be."
The world is really warmer than I thought. So-eun's lips curved into a crescent moon shape. So-eun did not notice that Eun-pyo's face, who was looking at her face, was slightly reddened.
Monday, 9 a.m.
It was the coin monitoring shift change time. After sending her son to school and her husband to work, Heejin finally had time to relax and close her eyes.
- Convertible Amount: 1,500,750,000 won
The number on the monitor made Heejin's heart swell. Heejin reported the overnight event to her mother, Mal-hee, and passed on the baton.
"Now it's 1.5 billion. It went up 50 million won overnight, Mom."
The goal was 3 billion won, so it was still a long way off, but it was reassuring that it was rising steadily without falling.
Now that she could make money sitting still at home, the money her husband earned seemed ridiculous. Why was he so greedy when he brought home such a small salary? She was getting more and more tired of her husband, who kept asking her to make him ramen and cook him meat dishes.
Heejin, who was exhausted from being harassed by her husband and son all weekend and monitoring coins at night, was once again bombarded with Mal-hee's complaints today.
[No, our Hee-wook is falling apart like this, but Hyun-ji doesn't even contact us. If I call her three times first, shouldn't she call me back at least once?]
"Yeah. I guess so......"
[If it weren't for the coin, if she weren't the daughter of a family with that kind of money, I would have nipped it in the bud. But what should I do with this Yang Hee-wook? What happened to you humiliating Han So-eun?]
"......Ah, that."
Heejin's reaction was delayed as she continued the conversation absentmindedly and dozed off.
"She went to work today, so she's probably being severely humiliated at work. She's dead now, Mom."
Heejin dragged her heavy body back to her desk and turned on the computer for her worried mother. She had posted a post on Blahblah and hadn't paid attention to it, so she was curious about how chaotic it would be.
"I'll call her tomorrow and tell her that if she bothers my brother any more, she'll suffer even more. Don't worry, Mom. Everything is going according to plan."
[Okay. I can trust you, right?]
"Of course. Of course."
Heejin answered coolly and hung up the phone. Then she logged in with the account she had purchased from an acquaintance.
"Huh? What is this."
But for some reason, the path that had allowed her to log in without any problems on Saturday was blocked. A message appeared on the gray background: "This account is prohibited from use."
Ah, I don't know. I've done enough.
Heejin lost the fighting power to find out more properly and lay down on the bed.
