Fired from the Company, Han Dae-jin
As soon as Han Dae-jin arrived at work, he was hit with an unexpected greeting from a new hire. Right in the general affairs section of the management support team where he worked. His new boss started chatting with the newbie, grilling her on her specs. She was an elite from a provincial national university, loaded with certifications and even overseas experience. Meanwhile, Han Dae-jin was little more than a problem child employee stirring up affairs and now glued to the HR department head. In that context, the arrival of someone like her... it clearly spelled deep trouble for his fate.
The management support team kicked off their weekly meeting right at the start of the week, introducing the new hire and then dropping a task on Han Dae-jin: 'Hand over all duties except video editing to the new employee.' He sensed what was coming in that instant and just said, "Got it."
After the meeting wrapped up, Han Dae-jin found himself alone with the team leader.
"Han Dae-jin. How's company life treating you?"
the team leader asked.
"Couldn't say."
Han Dae-jin replied.
"Why? Ji-ho's not around to buddy-fuck with anymore, so you can't slack off and it's pissing you off?"
"That's not it."
"Anyway, the company's all for recognizing your external talents and shit like that, but when it comes to core job skills, they've got issues. So here's my proposal: We'll pay half your remaining annual salary—wrap it up this week?"
Han Dae-jin fell silent at the team leader's words. Half his remaining pay came out to about 16 to 18 million won. After some heavy thought, he nodded. "Understood." He bowed his head to the team leader.
Heading out after the meeting, Han Dae-jin caught Min Hee-yeon's gaze—calm, like she'd known all along. He sat at his desk, walking the new hire through everything for the handover. But even that quality didn't satisfy his new boss, who made him repeat it several times. For Han Dae-jin, it was utter humiliation.
At lunch, catching Min Hee-yeon's eye signal, the two slipped out alone. They headed to the one-room village behind the office and settled into a Chinese place, ordering gan jjajang.
"Couldn't stop it."
Min Hee-yeon said.
"You should've told me sooner."
Han Dae-jin shot back.
"Your section chief was too hardline. No matter how much I pushed, he flat-out said he couldn't work with someone like you. Company had no choice—the guy's got every cert the general affairs department needs."
Han Dae-jin sighed at her words.
"What do I do now?"
"Just lay low for the week and bounce."
Min Hee-yeon said.
"What about us?"
"We just... keep going as is. Might even be better—no boss-subordinate dynamic, no watching our backs. Nobody hates you except that new section chief of yours. Remember that."
Min Hee-yeon dug into her gan jjajang the moment it arrived, but Han Dae-jin couldn't even pick up his chopsticks.
And exactly that Friday. Han Dae-jin packed his shit and walked out of the company. He had almost no lingering attachment left. Sure, he'd met Kim Ji-ho here, and Min Hee-yeon too, but the world was cold.
He clocked out earlier than expected that Friday, sighing all the way home. The company had deposited his remaining annual salary plus that month's pay in one go on his last day. Han Dae-jin pulled up job sites with a bitter look, tweaking his resume and firing off applications in his infamous Gatling gun strategy.
That evening, he drove to Kim Ji-hyun's place. She came out the gate and hopped into his car. Her house was always imposing—sleek modern hanok with celadon tiles that screamed wealth. As he pulled out, Han Dae-jin filled her in on everything.
"You got fired?"
Kim Ji-hyun said.
"Yeah."
"Fucking idiot shitshow. You're screwed."
Han Dae-jin had no comeback.
"Would it be rude to ask for advice?"
"Of course it's rude, you moron. You think I'd hire you? You're a great little bro, maybe even boyfriend material, but I don't wanna work with you. Same standard I'd hold for my own blood sister—never let her touch internal team ops."
Han Dae-jin awkwardly pulled up at the light, face burning.
"Fucking idiot... sigh..."
Kim Ji-hyun ruffled his hair and told him to go. He finally hit the gas, escaping Pyeongchang-dong toward Gimpo.
Word of Han Dae-jin's firing spread like wildfire at Gimpo Coffee Special the moment he arrived. Cafe buddies offered production jobs at their rental car companies or their dads' firms, but he just said he'd think about it.
Kim Ji-hyun, overhearing, dragged him out to the smoking area.
She lit a cigarette and eyed him.
"Take a break first."
"You think?"
"Yeah. Jumping into some other gig with your headspace? You'll just burn another bridge. Chill, rethink shit. That's what I really wanna say."
She fiddled with her phone.
"Sent you some pocket money."
Han Dae-jin checked his banking app alert. 20 million won from Kim Ji-hyun. He gawked.
"No... this is too much..."
"You'll burn through it quick."
"Ah..."
"No pressure—take it."
He bowed repeatedly, mumbling thanks.
Han Dae-jin dropped Kim Ji-hyun off at Gimpo Coffee Special and headed to Pada Parking. Cruising the section speed trap, he kept it steady on cruise control.
"Why go this far?"
"Dunno. Felt like it today. Count your lucky stars—any other day, you'd get a couple slaps before taking the cash."
Han Dae-jin chuckled awkwardly.
"Min Hee-yeon always said don't do whatever if I felt like it."
"Wasn't it just fun?"
"She dragged me into it. I mean, I was into her too, but it felt like walking into a honey trap."
Kim Ji-hyun burst out laughing.
"Fucking idiot... that's why I said don't fuck just anyone. How many times I gotta tell you?"
Han Dae-jin clicked his tongue.
"Wanna hear a prophecy? That new hire—tall, stacked specs. Soon Min Hee-yeon'll fuck him and ditch you."
Han Dae-jin panicked.
"What?"
"Wanna bet?"
"No, not betting... but how do you know?"
"Obvious. Had a junior lawyer client obsessed with some guy, got paranoid, accidentally killed him, begged me to save her ass. Same vibe."
Han Dae-jin shuddered inwardly. Min Hee-yeon with a knife? Hard to picture.
"What should I do?"
"Cut contact. She'll come chasing with a knife for a settlement. Buy a Hyundai with it."
Han Dae-jin let out a disbelieving laugh. The speed trap ended; he floored it.
At Pada, they grabbed chicken skewers and convenience store cola. Kim Ji-hyun loved it, and so did he.
"My sis hunts C-cola too. Says P has a weird aftertaste."
"You like it too, huh?"
"Family curse maybe. Old man's been slamming ramune since Japanese times, switched to C-cola."
Han Dae-jin laughed. A family chugging ramune like water since colonial days.
They chatted watching cars roll through Pada till dawn, then he dropped her home, ending the night.
Back at his place, Han Dae-jin pondered next moves. Thanks to Kim Ji-hyun, he had nearly 40 million won. What to do?
First, clear card installments—a few million. Suspension, engine oil. Wheels and gas ate almost a million a month. He paid them off, sighing. Tempted to wipe the car loan too, but it'd leave him short on living expenses, so he held off.
Next, unemployment benefits. Company coded it 08—eligible. At least six months.
After crunching numbers, he finally crashed. Dawn broke; Line 1 train rumbled past.
Oh right. This insane officetel deposit. A hefty chunk for him. Dozing off, he started hunting extreme value spots in Suwon or Osan.