Chapter 200: Counseling Center (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 200: Counseling Center (1)
Kang Gi-yeon finally agreed to undergo counseling.
I heard the news through Jeong Seong-bin, mainly because Gi-yeon was still strictly refusing to speak to me.
Forget having a conversation; the kid wouldn't even come out of his bed, staying buried under his blankets. It seemed he was determined not to exchange a single word with me.
Thanks to that, I didn't catch a glimpse of his face before leaving for work today. Even though I wasn't heading to Hanpyeong Industry, my footsteps felt heavy.
"Gi-yeon said that? That he’d get counseling?"
Only the manager, who was blissfully unaware of the deep rift between Gi-yeon and me, looked bright and happy at the news.
I forced a smile and played along before quietly calling out to Choi Je-ho, who was sitting next to me.
"Hey."
"What."
"Give me some advice on how to make up with Gi-yeon."
"How should I know?"
Choi Je-ho replied without even bothering to open his closed eyes.
But what choice did I have? As the one at a disadvantage, I had to endure it.
I explained why he was the right person to give me advice, providing a reason he couldn't easily refute.
"You have plenty of experience fighting with him."
"Are you trying to pick a fight with me now?"
...His response sounded quite displeased, but well.
At his sudden outburst, the heads of the guys sitting in front of us all turned toward the back seat simultaneously.
Good grief, you idiot. How many times do I have to tell you to control your volume?
"Keep it down. You're making the kids worry."
"The guy worrying about that is the same one who did that sh— yesterday..."
Choi Je-ho started to say something but stopped. Instead, he let out a deep sigh.
It seemed like a curse was about to fly out, but he couldn't find a way to sanitize it to his satisfaction. That’s probably why he just shut his mouth.
With this, the number of people in Spark who didn't want to talk to me had increased to two. I felt like my entire career in HR had become useless.
I couldn't exactly keep provoking someone who was already pissed off because of me. In the end, even though the back was roomier than usual due to the missing member, I pressed myself as close to the door as possible.
Seeing that, Choi Je-ho shook his head in disbelief. His face practically screamed, 'You're a total lost cause.'
Despite his annoyed expression, Je-ho actually shifted his seat slightly toward me. Then, he gestured for me to come closer.
"From what I can see, this is your problem."
"What is?"
"You're putting on a one-man show."
We lowered our heads and whispered so no one else could hear.
"Who told you to get lost? Why are you making yourself scarce on your own?"
"What does that have to do with Gi-yeon?"
"I'm saying stop jumping to conclusions about what others think. Are you sure you didn't lie about getting into S University?"
This guy, seriously. Does he have to poke where it hurts?
But I had a feeling I knew what he meant. Especially after Kang Gi-yeon’s desperate, heated outburst yesterday.
'Does he mean I should stop keeping my mouth shut and making mistakes by overthinking things in my own head?'
I certainly did have a tendency to make assumptions about these guys. Just because I had years of experience observing Spark and knowledge of future events.
But it wasn't as if that data was absolutely infallible.
Lee Cheong-hyeon, whom I thought was just the team's mood maker, was constantly walking on eggshells around others. Jeong Seong-bin, whom I thought was rock solid, actually had rock-bottom self-esteem. There were always variables.
"Kang Gi-yeon said it once before. My problem is that I say things I don't need to, and your problem is that you don't say the things you should."
"I wish you'd told me that sooner, Je-ho."
"So what if I did? Do you think you would've actually listened?"
Choi Je-ho hit the nail on the head for once.
"Think about it yourself. If this hadn't happened, would you have listened to me or Kang Gi-yeon?"
Je-ho was right. I couldn't argue with his logic.
"And while you're at it with the apologies, do something about your self-esteem too."
"What's wrong with my self-esteem?"
"It's trashed. You've got no spine."
Just as Kang Gi-yeon said, Choi Je-ho didn't hold back. I wanted to snap back, but I held it in for now. Grabbing onto any lifeline was far more important than venting my immediate irritation.
"It's not just a matter of 'don't bow your head too much because people will look down on you.' For you, it's different."
"Then what?"
"Self-deprecation has become a habit for you."
Choi Je-ho spoke plainly, but for some reason, his words felt like a sharp needle.
But what was I supposed to do?
'Assistant Manager Kim, are you acting like this just because you went to S University? Are people who didn't go to S University supposed to just bow their heads and say "yes, sir" to everything you say?'
'Even if it's not S University, Team Leader Jo and I both went to SKY schools. If you go to our school, people from your year wouldn't even be able to look us in the eye.'
When I offered an opinion because I was told to, I’d get tripped up by the most unexpected things.
Society is a place where if you try to say anything, people will beat you down until you break—and if you don't break, they'll bend you until your head is forced down.
To survive there, you need at least one defense mechanism. I needed to be able to breathe, too.
My mind was a mess. Seeing me like that, Choi Je-ho added one more thing.
"Haven't you ever heard that overdoing it is also unpleasant to watch?"
"Huh?"
"My older sister used to get scolded by my mom for the same thing all the time. On the flip side, I always got flak for not knowing how to be humble, so I never understood it at all."
"..."
"But looking at you, I get it now."
With the backrest between us, my eyes met Choi Je-ho's. My reflection was clear in his dark pupils.
"You take it to the extreme."
"That's..."
"Think about it. Imagine if Jeong Seong-bin or Park Ju-woo suddenly came to the dorm and said, 'Hyung, I don't think I'm cut out to be a singer.'"
"I'd have to fix their mindset immediately."
"Yeah. Now, I hope you'll take a look at yourself."
Just as I was about to argue that you couldn't compare me to Jeong Seong-bin and Park Ju-woo, Choi Je-ho returned to his original position. He closed his eyes again and leaned his head against the window.
The only silver lining was that Choi Je-ho didn't feel as uncomfortable to be around as before.
Aside from my mind being preoccupied, the schedule went smoothly.
If there was one thing that bothered me... it was Lee Cheong-hyeon using a spare phone every time we were in a Wi-Fi zone to search if dark circles were a side effect of headache medication.
Since he kept looking down while getting his makeup done for the fans, I confiscated the phone. The rest of the guys had to work twice as hard to maintain the group's visual average to make up for Kang Gi-yeon's absence.
The fan sign event also went off without a hitch. We shared the news that Kang Gi-yeon was resting well, and the five of us kept our energy high so his absence wouldn't be felt. Even by my standards—having seen hundreds of "dead fish eyes" reviews and "waste of money" fan sign accounts—it was a passing grade.
What was remarkable was that they worked harder than usual on their own, without me having to say anything.
I'll admit it. I was quite proud of them for that.
After the fan sign, the members and I headed in different directions.
"We're dropping I-wol Hyung off first and then heading to the company, right?"
"Yeah. We have to if we want to make the timing work."
The manager operated the navigation system while answering Jeong Seong-bin's question.
Today was the filming date for the promotional variety show for In My Office. I felt bad about the timing, but I also felt relieved, thinking the atmosphere at the dorm would be better without me there.
Ah, Choi Je-ho told me to stop jumping to conclusions like that.
"Did you hear what you'll be doing there?"
Lee Cheong-hyeon asked. Seeing as he was asking even though he knew it was confidential, it seemed he was trying to lighten the heavy mood from yesterday.
"Not sure. I just hope it's not a 'company worker experience' thing."
The show I was appearing on was famous for its concept of visiting unique spaces tailored to the guests. Considering the genre of In My Office, it wouldn't be strange if they rented out a corporate office... but that would be too predictable.
Perhaps because he hadn't become a monster of the popularity index yet, Lee Cheong-hyeon asked with an innocent face.
"Why? Isn't that the most expected concept? You went viral because of that, Hyung."
In an era overflowing with content, In My Office hadn't achieved legendary results.
However, it did leave something behind.
『In.My.Office Viral 5 Minutes』
『Gu-an: Ah... I want to quit this job.』
『Yeong-hwan: Assistant Manager, our salaries have been deposited.』
『Gu-an: I guess I'll work hard just for today.』
『A brand name that's actually impressive to pronounce』
『Yeong-hwan: Assistant Manager, have you seen the upward trend of MyNewVisionDynamicSecuritiesInvestmentTrust? It's unusual.』
『Gu-an: I saw it. If this goes well, it'll be huge.』
『Su-na: What are you guys talking about? ...Wait, is this the MyNewVisionDynamicSecuritiesInvestmentTrust graph?』
『Gu-an: That's right. Team Leader Ji is really going to pull something off this time!』
Short clips were being uploaded.
This was an area that Ha Seo-myeong and the PDs had invested in, seeing its potential.
Among them, the one with the best reaction was...
『Gu-an: Yeong-hwan, your desk is really empty. Are you not interested in growing a cactus or something?』
『Yeong-hwan: It feels like a bad spot feng shui-wise to keep a living thing. Just sitting here is exhausting enough.』
『Gu-an: ...Don't tell me there's a resignation letter in your drawer or something?』
『Yeong-hwan: Of course not. We have to submit our resignations as electronic documents.』
『Gu-an: ...』
『Seong-in: As the youngest, Yeong-hwan, what do you think? Am I really a difficult team leader?』
『Yeong-hwan: Not at all. We all know that you work the way you do to achieve the best results, Team Leader.』
『Seong-in: That doesn't sound like a direct answer to whether I'm difficult.』
『Yeong-hwan: (A look that says, "If you know, why are you asking?")』
『Gu-an: Yeong-hwan, what would you do if you won the lottery?』
『Yeong-hwan: I'm thinking of throwing a party with the team members.』
『Gu-an: What, a lottery winning party?』
『Yeong-hwan: My self-hosted farewell party.』
...Surprisingly, it was a compilation of our very own office worker Do Yeong-hwan's realistic salaryman moments.
≫ Yeong-hwan's eyes have lost all their light.
└ His acting is superb. It's like they plucked a real Yeouido office worker and put him there.
└ Plucked? Yeouido office workers are people too!!!!!!!
≫ I've seen someone like that on the subway.
Holding the handle with one hand and looking at a stapled stack of papers with the other.
And sighing once every 30 seconds.
└ Don't lie. I've been commuting on Line 2 for 4 years and I've never seen a handsome guy like that.
└ That's why you should've taken Line 5 or Line 9.
≫ Is In-My-Office Do Yeong-hwan an idol????
He's crazy handsome.
└ Yup.
└ His acting isn't bad either.
└ His screen time was too short to call it acting.
└ There are so many kids who ruin the mood because they can't even do that much... Kim I-wol is top-tier.
└ Is Kim I-wol his real name?
└ Yup. He's a member of a group called Spark.
≫ Regarding the fact that my one-pick, who looked so jaded by the world, was actually a twenty-one-year-old baby.
└ Whoa, the actor for Do Yeong-hwan is twenty-one??
└ I would've bet he was in his late twenties for sure lol.
└ Not saying he looks old, but seriously... that sigh and attitude are those of a member of society. That vibe could never come from a freshman.
≫ Give my team a Do Yeong-hwan too.
I'll tuck our team's old Manager Heon under a pillow, so please swap him for a new Do Yeong-hwan.
└ Yeong-hwan must have lived a good life.
└ I lived a good life too, f*ck!!!!!!!!!!!!
≫ Let's talk about In-My-Office Episode 5.
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.
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And Yeong-hwan... he's seriously a charming character lol.
He's totally upright and only does his work, but when Gu-an sends him something, he's the fastest to reply lol.
He uses such cute emojis too.
From what I've seen so far, Yeong-hwan is the scene-stealer, but I'm sad there's so little mention of him... Is there no one else who picked Yeong-hwan???
└ I'm the one who caught the Do Yeong-hwan bug lol. He only says what needs to be said, but it's so funny. He's like a chatbot coded by a high-energy developer.
└ That analogy lol. I was wondering what you meant, but it's perfect lol.
└ If you picked Yeong-hwan, it's only going to get more fun. I'm happy because his screen time increases as it goes on.
└ [Whistleblower] Oh, really??? I'm staying up all night to binge until the final episode today.
That was the reason I was now heading to a promotional variety show with the two leads.
Thanks to that, the casting was finalized in a hurry just a day before the filming. Even the haphazard way things were progressing felt like a real company, which gave me a dizzying sense of déjà vu.
Arriving at the set, I greeted the staff members until the signal to prepare was given. Pleasantries about the drama being good were exchanged. As someone who didn't have a huge stake in the final product, I could only politely express my gratitude.
Next, Ha Seo-myeong arrived. After a brief greeting with the staff, she strode over to me.
"I-wol, it's been a while!"
"How have you been? It's good to see you again like this."
"I know, right? Your clips are totally hot right now! They keep popping up on my feed."
Ha Seo-myeong was as energetic as ever. As if her praise wasn't enough, she even gave me a thumbs-up.
Then, her voice dropped to a whisper.
"Things must be hectic lately, right?"
It was an indirect question. It seemed she had seen the news about Kang Gi-yeon.
Since she was someone who had been supporting Spark's activities on her personal social media even before In My Office was released, it wasn't surprising that she’d come across the articles.
"Yes, a little."
"It must be bittersweet to be filming a variety show at a time like this."
Ha Seo-myeong smiled with a hint of sympathy. It was true that I wasn't entirely at ease, so my best response was just a modest smile.
"I might not be much help, but let me know if you need anything. If push comes to shove, I'll even share the stories of my fights with Gu Ja-han in the spirit of self-sacrifice."
Ha Seo-myeong looked determined. If I didn't stop her, it seemed she really would report everything that had happened with Gu Ja-han on set from A to Z.
Still, I couldn't let someone else's set become a battlefield. I thanked her, telling her that the thought alone was enough.