Is There Something Going On?
Apparently, working in the warehouse had one more advantage.
Leaving on time.
When he'd been on the trading team, he'd been forced into overtime whether he wanted it or not. All he ever did was grunt work, but if his supervisor was still in the office, he was expected to stay too.
5:50 PM.
Ten minutes until clock-out.
He was checking the time when his phone vibrated.
Beep—!
……?
The screen read Hansan Securities. Wondering what it could be, he answered, and the tense voice of a female employee came through.
An unexpected call.
It seemed they had been monitoring his trades from the other end today.
But why?
Did she not know he was in the Inventory Management Department? Departments with no connection to market operations had no obligation of advance reporting. Reporting within thirty days was perfectly acceptable.
"Is there a problem with something?"
Perhaps it was Siyoon's flat tone, because her voice rose, agitated.
Compared to Deputy General Manager Jang, Siyoon was calm.
In truth, anger was boiling inside him.
"As I understand it, Hansan Securities imposes no investment limits. Am I wrong?"
"Hm..."
Siyoon scratched his neck.
It was becoming clear that this woman had little interest in her actual job.
"Am I obligated to disclose the source of my funds?"
She was growing more worked up by the moment.
"I have no intention of disclosing the source of my funds. And I have a question of my own, actually... about Manager Kim Sanghoon."
At the mention of Manager Kim, Jang Mi-young fell silent. Whether she answered or not, Siyoon continued.
"Why aren't you monitoring Manager Kim's account?"
As expected, no answer came.
Siyoon's voice was colder and sharper than it had ever been. He'd been demoted, after all — he wanted to know why. Why the Compliance Monitoring Team had shielded Manager Kim.
"If your team had handled things properly, I wouldn't have had to report him to the audit team. And right now, if you..."
Letting the sentence trail off, Siyoon glanced at the clock again.
6:03 PM.
He was already three minutes past quitting time.
"You don't have to answer. I'm not particularly interested anymore. It's time to go home. If there's nothing else, I'll hang up."
Click.
Even after ending the call, Siyoon couldn't bring himself to move for a while.
So there really is something going on here?
That evening.
He ate at a Korean restaurant nearby and headed home early. In truth, he spent most of his evenings at home even on a normal day.
He punched in the door code, and the moment it opened—
Bark bark bark—!
Tat-tat. Tat-tat. Tat-tat.
A dog came trotting toward him with an awkward gait.
Not a living dog — an AI robot built in Japan.
"Jeombak-i."
Bark—!
At the sound of its name, its tail spun furiously. As close to a greeting of joy as it could manage. Jeombak-i had an OLED panel embedded in its face, letting it express emotions freely.
Better at it than I am.
Even with its tongue lolling out as it panted, the eyes on Jeombak-i's screen were drawn into a smile. Siyoon picked the robot up and asked,
"Did you eat?"
Bark!
"Eat? Eat what? You're a robot."
Whether it understood him or not, Jeombak-i began to growl low in protest.
"Fine. Let's say you ate."
When he set it down on the floor, the dog flipped itself over and offered up its belly to be scratched. Siyoon crouched down and rubbed its stomach — and the eyes on its screen turned into hearts.
Bark!
"Okay, okay, let's go inside."
With that, Siyoon headed for the shower.
By the time he was done, it was eight in the evening.
He had just sat down on the sofa when Jeombak-i trotted over again, nuzzling up to him for affection.
The robot dog was a gift from a friend. Bang Yo-han, whom he'd met in undergrad, had gotten a job at Samyu Electronics after graduation and was currently working at its Japanese branch.
He was an unusual friend who had treated the far-from-ordinary Siyoon without a trace of prejudice. In a way, he was the only friend Siyoon could open up to.
Just then, the phone rang — it was him.
Bang Yo-han had been happy with his life in Japan. The salary was higher than in Korea, and above all, his otaku tendencies had done their part.
Even back in college, he'd talked nonstop about wanting to live in Japan someday.
He'd finally gotten the posting he'd wanted so badly, but when his department — the R&D team — was downsized, he was sent back to the Korean headquarters.
Bang Yo-han's voice rose.
It was Siyoon who'd been wronged, yet Yo-han was the one fuming.
To be honest, there was nothing stopping him from quitting right now. With tens of billions of won to his name, he had nothing to hold onto. But Team Leader Oh's words still lingered in his mind.
He couldn't know whether the injustice would ever be set right, but he'd judged that walking out on his own two feet right now was not the answer.
"I'll wait and see a little longer."
They were deep into a long stretch of pointless chatter when Min So-hee's name flashed across Siyoon's screen.
"Let's talk later — I've got another call coming in."
The moment he answered, Min So-hee's voice came through, edged with worry.
He knew the instant he heard it.
Something was stirring.
Just as he'd expected.
The call with Deputy General Manager Jang Mi-young had left him with the sense that something was rotten. The scent was in the air.
"There's nothing to worry about."
Assistant Manager Min's voice grew quiet.
Even when he wanted to express himself properly, he couldn't — and he wondered if he'd hurt her yet again.
She'd cared enough to call him, after all.
It seemed only right to thank her clearly.
"Thank you... a lot."
"Oh... yes. Of course."
And with that awkward exchange, the call ended.
Siyoon sat down in front of his laptop.
Brain Systems, the stock he'd bought that day, had closed out the session climbing even higher.
Current Price:5,580 KRW
Total Return:+7.10%
Total Profit:+71,010,400 KRW
A single day's profit of seventy million won.
The Compliance Monitoring Team would have seen it too, of course.
They monitored every employee's personal account.
"They asked about me?"
As he stared at the stock charts, Siyoon's eyes narrowed bit by bit.
The next day.
When he walked into the real estate office, a middle-aged woman greeted him warmly.
"Oh my, welcome! Kang Siyoon, correct?"
"Yes. That's me."
"Is everything all right, though? You don't... seem upset about something, do you?"
"No. I'm happier than I've ever been. Living in an officetel like Hangang Paninland has always been my dream, after all."
Another failed attempt at managing my expression?
Siyoon forced the corners of his mouth upward into what he hoped was a smile.
Squeeeak—!
The real estate agent flinched, her face tightening with unease.
"A-ahaha! Right, of course. Well then — shall we go take a look at the listing?"
Before long, he was following her toward the officetel.
After a walk of about five minutes, a twenty-story building came into view, its exterior looking somewhat worn.
Is this really the place?
There was a reason the price was below market value.
But the interior was a different story entirely.
When the door opened, Siyoon's heart began to pound.
"As you can see, the facilities are spotless and spacious. It was remodeled just last year. It'll suit you wonderfully for living alone."
Even as the agent's explanations washed over him, his heart refused to settle.
The floors were a light wood tone.
The solid oak flooring caught the sunlight and gleamed.
Directly across from the living room, floor-to-ceiling windows framed a sweeping view of the Han River in the distance.
"The bathroom was completely redone too, so it's practically brand new. And..."
The agent's voice faded into nothing.
Somehow, Siyoon was already standing in front of the living room's panoramic window.
Is this... heaven?