A Chill Wind Sweeps Through

He had barged in full of bravado, but the atmosphere was anything but welcoming.

Team Leader Oh Joo-han, who had worn the grim resolve of a man prepared to resign on the spot, now wore the wide, disoriented eyes of a man who had no idea where to look.

You little punk.

His face flushed red, as if he might grab Siyoon by the collar at any second. Fortunately, with the senior executives all gathered in one room, he stopped short of actually doing it.

It wasn't a full company-wide meeting—the CEO was absent—but the key figures from every division were there, seated around a long oval table as they received Team Leader Oh's report.

Squeeeak.

Without a word, Siyoon pushed his cart toward the corner. He'd loaded it in a frantic rush, and the stack of A4 paper was enormous. He began piling bundles onto the floor, one after another.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

When the last item was down, he turned around.

Silence.

No one said a word.

Siyoon could guess what the executives must be thinking.

They think I'm insane.

When Siyoon showed no sign of leaving even after emptying the cart, someone leaned into the desk microphone.

"If you've finished moving your things, get out."

The voice echoed through the speakers. It belonged to a mild-looking man in his fifties, black hair neatly slicked back with pomade, the very picture of an easygoing executive.

Cha Seung-jin, Senior Managing Director.

He headed the S&T (Sales & Trading) division, with risk management and internal controls also falling under his authority. In a word, he was the core of Hansan Securities.

Siyoon recognized his face instantly.

Memorizing the executives' faces had been part of his rookie training, after all.

"We're in the middle of an important meeting. I'd appreciate it if you'd leave."

Cha Seung-jin's voice rang out again. Siyoon knew exactly what would happen if he didn't go now. Security would be called in to drag him out by force.

Siyoon took a step forward, then stopped beside Team Leader Oh and looked straight at the Senior Managing Director.

"No. I can't leave."

A murmur rippled through the conference room.

Director Cha furrowed his brow deeply, studying Siyoon.

"Until recently, I was a rookie employee in the trading department. Then, because of a certain incident, I was reassigned to inventory management in a warehouse. Pushing a delivery cart is my job now."

Team Leader Oh was glaring at him like he wanted to tear him apart, but Siyoon didn't stop.

"Team Leader Oh Joo-han, standing beside me, was my direct supervisor. But without my supervisor's permission, I reported one employee's misconduct to the audit team."

"What the hell do you think you're—"

The moment Team Leader Oh opened his mouth, Director Cha leaned back into the microphone.

"I've heard roughly what happened. So what is it you want?"

"I want the injustice set right."

Siyoon pulled a document envelope from inside his jacket—the evidence of Manager Kim's misconduct.

"In here is a day-by-day record of Manager Kim Sang-hoon's accounts. It contains hard proof that he used Hansan Securities' confidential information for personal gain. It also includes the messenger logs between Manager Kim and Director Park Hyun-wook. I intend to report these two men's crimes to the Financial Supervisory Service."

Every gaze in the room swung to one side. All of them fixed on Director Park Hyun-wook.

They had already been briefed on Manager Kim's misconduct, but this was the first they were hearing of the director's involvement.

"Th-that's absurd. How could I possibly have done such a—"

Director Park fidgeted, visibly rattled.

Even amid the commotion, Director Cha's face betrayed nothing. It was as cold as Siyoon's own.

"You'd report it to the FSS? And what would that get you?"

"Nothing. All I want is for Manager Kim Sang-hoon and Director Park Hyun-wook to face proper punishment and leave the company. That would satisfy me."

A chill settled over the conference room.

After a long silence, Director Cha let out a small laugh.

"Haha... You're an interesting one."

He seemed to deliberate for a moment before reaching his conclusion.

"As it happens, we've already been in contact with the FSS. The trading team employee who committed the fraud will be referred to the prosecutors soon enough. Though... I hadn't expected Director Park to be involved."

Director Cha glanced sideways at Director Park, then added, almost casually:

"Director, I think you should meet with the CEO today."

"D-Director Cha, I..."

Fear crept into Director Park's eyes.

Director Cha turned back to Siyoon.

"You said you're doing inventory management? What's your name?"

"Kang Siyoon, sir."

"Kang Siyoon... I see. I'd say your grievance has been addressed."

Siyoon bowed his head to him.

Back at the warehouse, Siyoon sat down in his little booth to catch his breath.

Ugh... I feel like I'm going to throw up.

His stomach was still churning. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠He'd worn a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠perfectly composed face in that conference room and said everything that needed saying and then some, but inside, he'd been anything but calm.

He'd never seen that many executives gathered in one place before. And this had been his first time facing Senior Managing Director Cha Seung-jin head-on. Now ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that the queasiness was finally settling, what had just happened came flooding back.

"...Did I just make things worse for myself?"

It sounded like they'd been planning to expose Manager Kim anyway. Had storming into that conference room really been the right call?

Truthfully, he'd done it for Team Leader Oh.

He'd meant to take the bullet in his place. Siyoon could quit his job anytime without a second thought, but he couldn't bear the thought of a man with a wife and kids being thrown out onto the street.

But why is Team Leader Oh so quiet?

Siyoon had left the conference room first, and two hours had already passed. Surely things would have been sorted out by now. With no news coming, he couldn't help feeling anxious.

Before he knew it, it was 7:30 in the evening.

Long after quitting time, the doorbell at the warehouse entrance finally rang.

There it is.

He opened the door, and sure enough, Team Leader Oh was standing there. Siyoon braced himself for a punch, but instead, the man asked in an oddly deflated voice:

"What the hell was that all about?"

"What do you mean?"

"Director Park. You never even found the messenger logs, so why'd you make that stuff up?"

The documents Min So-hee had given him contained no evidence against Director Park. But Siyoon hadn't thrown the accusation out on a pure hunch, either.

"While I was making my deliveries, I kept track of Manager Kim's movements. Most trading desk employees order in for lunch, but Manager Kim always ate out. And then one day, I saw them—him and Director Park walking into a restaurant together. There's no reason for a rank-and-file employee to be meeting an executive in private, is there?"

Team Leader Oh snorted and answered.

"The man came clean in there himself. Director Park was the one who pressured Manager Kim into it. The audit and compliance staff tangled up in the whole mess are getting replaced, too. From here on out, the knives come out."

Half a day's worth of upheaval had left Team Leader Oh completely drained.

The matter had resolved itself well enough, thankfully. But one thing still bothered Siyoon.

Director Cha's expression—the one he couldn't quite read.

The look in the man's eyes as he'd studied Siyoon had been colder than anyone's.

"What's... going to happen to me?"

He'd have no argument if they fired him on the spot. A bottom-rung warehouse grunt had barged into the executive suite and caused a scene.

And yet, somehow, he felt a pang of reluctance.

The warehouse had started to feel like home.

"Good news is coming soon."

"Excuse me?"

"I promised, didn't I? That I'd get you reinstated."

"No, sir. I really—"

Team Leader Oh walked out without hearing another word.

I keep telling you, I have no intention of coming back.

The purge at Hansan Securities took exactly one week.

Seven people in total were implicated in the fraud, Manager Kim and Director Park included. All of them faced questioning by the prosecutors, and Hansan Securities itself couldn't escape disciplinary action from the Financial Supervisory Service—a fine would follow in due course.

Siyoon went on working at the warehouse as if nothing had happened. He came in each morning, checked shortfalls in the inventory, placed purchase orders, and delivered supplies to whichever departments had requested them.

But something had changed.

The employees' attitude, specifically.

"Thank you so much. You work hard, don't you?"

"Next time you need to drop anything off, just call us. We'll come pick it up ourselves, haha."

"Have a drink before you go, at least."

Somehow, every ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠department he visited was falling over itself to be nice to him.

It was the first time since joining the company that he'd been treated this way.

He was pushing his cart through the corridors mid-delivery when he ran into Assistant Manager Min So-hee.

"Oh? Siyoon. You had a delivery for the trading desk?"

she asked, her face bright.

"Yes. I'm on my way back from the bond team."

"I see. Are you busy? Could we talk for a minute?"

The deliveries were nearly finished, so stealing a moment wasn't hard. He followed her, and once again she produced two iced coffees.

"Thank you. I'll enjoy it."

"Well, I'm just glad everything worked out."

"So am I."

"Why? Aren't you happy? The misunderstanding's cleared up completely, and everyone's rooting for you now."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh—you didn't know? It's all over the grapevine. They're saying you called out Director Park in front of the entire executive meeting."

"That... got around?"

"Of course it did. You know how much grief Director Park has given people over the years. Famous for tormenting his own staff. And then you, of all people, stood up and drove him out. How could everyone not love it?"

"......"

So that's why everyone's been acting so strange lately.

By Assistant Manager Min's reckoning, this was wonderful news. But for Siyoon, the man at the center of it, it only deepened his unease.

This is uncomfortable...

People's kindness was a good thing, of course. But for someone incapable of returning that kindness in kind, the days ahead looked exhausting. A forced smile would only come across as terrifying.

"Oh, and I heard from Team Leader Oh—you're getting good news soon."

"Don't tell me... it's not about coming back to the trading desk?"

"Huh? How'd you know? Did HR already call you?"

"No, it's not that..."

"That's such a relief. No more of this hard labor for you."

Why does everyone assume this job is so awful?

After a brief stretch of work, his freedom was guaranteed. That was the whole appeal.

"I'll keep it in mind. Thanks for the heads-up."

Back at the warehouse that afternoon, he finished up his work and opened his laptop.

His stock returns filled the screen.

At some point, his profits on Brain Systems had crossed the 400-million-won mark.

The stock, which had dipped slightly a few days earlier, had rebounded sharply and blown straight through its previous high. The price was climbing with terrifying momentum.

"Four hundred million in profit already..."

If this was how things were going, maybe he should have found a nicer apartment. A flicker of regret crossed his mind, but it was still too early to judge. Stocks never moved the way you wanted them to.

For now, it was rising exactly as he'd predicted. Forty percent was a handsome gain by any measure, but he was still a long way from his target price.

He was deep in chart analysis, eyes on the screen, when his phone rang. The name Hansan Securities glowed on the display.

His call with the compliance team last time had left him jittery, and a flash of dread hit first. But when he answered, a cheerful woman's voice came through.

The Head of Division? Why?

What business could he possibly have with me?