Delivery's Here

The stock he was holding was still climbing.

The chart had swung hard, and in just thirty minutes he'd made sixty million won. A billion-won investment, and the gains were already nearing three hundred million — an extraordinary return by any measure. Anyone else would be watching for the sell signal right about now.

Everyone knows the market rises and falls in cycles. A stock that's climbed this far is bound to hit resistance, stall, or start sliding back down.

But he had no intention of selling yet.

Brian Systems trading in the six-thousand-won range meant it still hadn't received a proper valuation. He'd been keeping an eye on the company even before its KOSDAQ listing. It had developed a micro AI accelerator that could boost smartphone performance by two to four times, but compatibility and stability issues kept it from landing partnerships with the conglomerates — and the stock price bottomed out as a result.

Then, as luck would have it, he'd inherited the Bitcoin and used it to buy up a huge volume at rock-bottom prices. Now he intended to wait and see how high it would climb.

"Two hundred ninety million..."

Siyun murmured as he scanned the profit breakdown. It was a return he couldn't have dreamed of if he were still in the trading department. Securities firm employees had to tiptoe around the financial regulators, so they imposed their own trading restrictions — and the traders working on the front lines went without saying.

Limits on trading frequency, minimum holding periods, and so on. Ordinary employees had no freedom to buy and sell stocks or derivatives at will.

General Affairs staff, on the other hand...

"Compared to that, this place is the Wild West."

Siyun muttered to himself as he took a slow look around the spacious warehouse.

A few days later.

He'd taken a half day off for the move and headed over to Yeouido in the afternoon. A crane truck was parked in front of a building bearing the name Hangang Pine Land, and the boxes from his one-room apartment were being hoisted up to the fifteenth floor.

"You don't have much stuff, do you?" the moving company owner asked.

"No, guess I don't."

"But that toy there — must be something pretty important, huh? You carried it separately the whole way."

Jjeombagi dangled from Siyun's hand. With the batteries removed, the robot lay motionless, so the man had apparently taken it for an ordinary toy.

And to be fair, it was important to Siyun. Jjeombagi was the only one who greeted him when he came home from work. When he was at home, it kept him company as a conversation partner too — and somewhere along the way, he'd started to think of it as an actual dog.

The man flinched at the sight of Siyun's blank, expressionless face.

"Ah, ahaha! I was just curious, that's all. My son's been collecting figurines like crazy lately, so I just..."

Sweat beaded on the man's forehead. Watching him squirm, Siyun decided to smile warmly.

Smirk.

"Now I'm curious too. What kind of figurines does your son collect?"

"W-well, why... why would you want to know...!"

For some reason, the man hurriedly began packing up the crane truck. Then he vanished without a trace.

"What was that about? I was genuinely curious."

That aside — hadn't he left before Siyun had even paid the moving fee? Siyun tilted his head as he watched the truck drive away.

All that remained was unpacking. He was just about to enter the officetel lobby when a familiar face came toward him.

"Siyun, sir."

Of all people — Assistant Manager Min So-hee. Shouldn't she be at the office right now?

When Siyun gave her a questioning look, she waved a hand.

"Oh, Team Leader sent me on an errand. Just a quick trip out of the office."

"An errand?"

It made no sense. What kind of errand could a trading department possibly run?

"It happens, believe it or not. Thanks to that, once I hand over this document today, I'm done for the day. Wait — do you have the day off, Siyun? What are you doing here...?"

"I took a half day. I'm moving today."

"Moving?"

"Yep. Into this officetel."

"Whoa... look at you, Siyun! You've made it big!"

Min So-hee tilted her head back to take in the building, marveling openly. Then she asked, "Did the movers finish up?"

"They brought everything in. Just need to unpack now."

"Really? I've got some time to kill — want me to give you a hand?"

And somehow, the two of them ended up heading into the officetel together.

The moment the officetel door swung open, Min So-hee grabbed a broom and set to sweeping the living room.

It was a kind gesture, by any measure — but for Siyun, it couldn't help but feel awkward. This was the first time a woman had ever visited his home.

He didn't understand women.

No — at some point, he'd realized, he'd stopped understanding people altogether.

While Min So-hee cleaned, Siyun set up his computer tower and monitor on the desk. With the desk positioned by the floor-to-ceiling windows, the place actually looked rather respectable.

Then the cleaning was done. By the time everything was sorted away, the jajangmyeon delivery arrived — and today, unusually, he'd ordered sweet and sour pork to go with it.

"Thanks for your hard work. Dig in."

"It's barely even lunchtime, but don't mind if I do!"

Assistant Manager Min hurriedly picked up her chopsticks. She must have been hungry after all — glancing at the clock, lunch hour was long past.

"Wow... this is so good. Jajangmyeon on moving day really is the best — I'm telling you."

Min So-hee flashed a thumbs-up. From his earliest days at the company, she had always been kind to him. Siyun's odd expressions and clipped manner of speaking should have put people off, yet she'd never once let it show, treating him the same as anyone else.

It had puzzled him the whole time. So now, he decided, he would ask her why.

"There was an accident. Back in high school."

Siyun opened his mouth as if making a confession. Startled, Min So-hee looked up, her chopsticks frozen halfway to her mouth.

"I can't go into detail, but from then on life wasn't easy. Same when I joined Hansan Securities. I know the rumors going around — that I'm a psychopath, a social misfit, all of it."

"......"

She stared at him, eyes wide. She'd assumed Siyun had no idea the rumors existed. Most people would have been crushed under them — yet Siyun had kept showing up to work, head held high.

"Passing that interview was a miracle, honestly. If it hadn't been for Team Leader Oh, it probably never would've happened."

"True. When you get to know him, Team Leader really is a good man..."

"Which is exactly what I want to ask. Did he tell you to be nice to me?"

At the sudden question, Assistant Manager Min's eyes wavered. But her expression soon softened, and she answered.

"Do you think being nice to someone works because someone told you to? Honestly, I just felt bad ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for you. You worked harder than anyone, and not a single person gave you credit. All that went around were ugly rumors behind your back. So..."

Siyun gave a quiet nod. Whatever her reasons, he was grateful. Having someone care about him was an unfamiliar thing.

"Thank you."

At his thanks, Min So-hee laughed awkwardly.

"It's not like I did it to hear that. But if you're grateful, how about working on smiling a little more? Like this."

And she beamed, wide and bright.

Once again, apparently, his gratitude hadn't quite come across. Siyun raised his voice a little.

"Thank you... very much."

"Ah... yes. Sure."

With that, Min So-hee got to her feet. As he walked her out to the officetel entrance, Siyun asked about the envelope.

"What's in that document, anyway? Something important?"

"Oh, this? I was going to tell you regardless... You're being reinstated to our department, Siyun."

"What?"

"Actually, I'm just coming back from a law firm. We compiled everything on Manager Kim. Records of him violating company regulations and trading stocks using insider information. That's all of it, gathered and organized."

"Why would you..."

"Team ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Leader Oh can't take on the whole company alone. So we decided to get a lawyer involved. Besides, there's an executive meeting today, and the timing was..."

"That's idiotic."

"I'm... sorry?"

Min So-hee looked taken aback at his reaction.

"You really think showing them evidence at the executive meeting means they'll just accept it quietly? Is Hansan Securities the kind of place that rolls over that easily?"

Only when he saw her face did Siyun realize.

He'd put his foot in it.

"That wasn't meant for your ears, Assistant Manager. And I'll deliver this document myself."

When Siyun held out his hand, she hesitated for a moment — then handed over the envelope.

He rushed to Hansan Securities.

Once inside the basement warehouse, Siyun loaded whatever stacks of A4 paper were within reach onto a cart, then left the warehouse without delay.

Riding the freight elevator down, he headed for the executive suites — where several employees were milling about outside a conference room. It looked like the executive meeting was being held there.

Sure enough, the female secretary stopped him.

"Excuse me... is there something you need?"

"A delivery. Delivery's here."

"I'm sorry?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"There was a request for A4 paper."

"Oh, really? Well, just leave it here and..."

"Is that the executive conference room? Then I've found the right place after all."

He pushed the cart toward the room, and the flustered secretary raised her voice.

"Excuse me! Hey! You can't go in there!"

Siyun was already standing at the door. As he eased it open, a heavy voice rolled out — Team Leader Oh Ju-han's voice.

"Even if it costs me this job, I will not let this slide. Not this time."

Team Leader Oh bowed his head low as he finished. Then Siyun flung the door wide and shouted:

"Delivery's here!"