Chapter 36: Company People
Chapter 36: Company People
When I traveled through Western Europe, I mostly went alone.
They say there are many pickpockets and thieves, but London, Paris, and Amsterdam aren't dangerous enough to have muggings in broad daylight.
During my travels, I used hostels rather than luxury hotels.
"Hello."
"Oh. You're Korean."
I considered the people I met while traveling to be part of the journey itself.
In most major cities I visited while traveling around Europe, there were a great many Koreans.
I hung out with other Koreans, and we cooked and ate together.
The feeling I got when I first saw London...
'The city is magnificent. Though I've heard Britain is the world's bully nation.'
They say if there's a conflict anywhere in the world, you can usually blame Britain and be right.
I walked around and took in the cultural and historical heritage built over the past 400 years, like Big Ben, Tower Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral, and Buckingham Palace.
'So this is Britain, the empire on which the sun never set.'
The City of London.
I enjoyed a carefree trip, exploring the heart of European finance where financial and insurance companies from all over the world gathered.
'I do feel a little lonely, though.'
Traveling through Britain, France, and Italy for a month, I felt a deep sense of loneliness.
Since I was young, loneliness had been a source of strength that helped me survive.
When I had nothing, loneliness was freedom.
When I was alone, there was nothing to be ashamed of; I just had to get through each day.
I think the loneliness felt deeper during my days as an office worker, when I was just getting by.
Now, after the divorce, it was an emotion that sparked new passion and inspiration instead.
Because I was lonely, I could wander, see, and feel more.
'To venture into a wider world, I need to become a bigger ship.'
- Kim Shin: London. It's a truly amazing city. Let's come see it later.
- Kim Shin: I'll scope out all the good hotels and tourist spots in Paris beforehand.
- Ellie: Thank you!
While I still occasionally kept in touch with Ellie, as time passed, my feelings for her faded slightly compared to when we traveled together and met in Korea.
Two or three days would pass, and it was rare for her to contact me first.
Her life in New York, her job.
It felt like she was living a new life.
'Let's just let it be. Things will work themselves out one way or another.'
I let it go without clinging to it.
Then, while traveling through Eastern Europe, the tourist spots were fine, but there was a slightly dangerous atmosphere at night.
With 1.5 billion dollars to my name, I didn't want to get stabbed by some local thugs over 100 euros.
That's why I used Oh Myeong-woo's connections to hire a reliable security team, led by Jason, formerly of the SAS.
- Kim Shin: By the way, first the doctor from Johns Hopkins, and now this. How are you able to find everyone so quickly?
- Oh Myeong-woo: My foolish friend. The world of the internet is vaster than the Earth.
- Oh Myeong-woo: The internet is like an ever-expanding universe.
With my bodyguards, I traveled through Egypt, India, and even South America.
At times during my travels, I'd run out of things to see or find it all becoming mundane.
I thought about my past self and, while traveling through various countries, contemplated the future I would live.
* * *
The day after finding a new house, I went to a department store to buy furniture and other necessary household items.
Before, buying something at a department store was considered a great luxury, but now, I appreciate that it saves me time on shopping.
"Tania. Please buy the necessary household supplies."
"Yes, boss."
While some of the bodyguards went to buy the items, I sat in a chair at a coffee shop and looked through my phone's contact list.
I hadn't left the group chat I used back in my days on the Arcor sales team, so it was still there.
Now that I was back in Korea, I figured I should meet them at least once.
[ Jo Soo-ah ]
I hadn't been in touch with her much since I quit.
[ Team Leader An Myeong-guk ]
The man still holding down the fort at Arcor.
He was like a mentor who had taught me the ropes of professional life, yet I hadn't called him once in over a year and a half.
'I should meet up with my old coworkers.'
* * *
Arcor.
Team Leader An had six employees lined up in the hallway.
"Lee Cheol-ho. How long have you been with the company?"
"Almost a year, sir."
"A year. It's been a year. And you still haven't properly learned your duties?"
Since the structure depended on salespeople handling orders and requests from their assigned hospitals, employee competence was paramount.
Sales fluctuated, and complaints came in from hospitals.
"Sigh. Your senior wasn't like this. Do you have any idea how smoothly things ran when Assistant Manager Kim was here?"
Team Leader An thought of Kim Shin.
He was a bit clumsy when he first joined, but aside from being a little slow on the uptake, he was excellent at his job.
So much so that people had to hint at him to not work so hard.
He never had to be taught the same thing twice, and when he resigned, he handled all his important tasks cleanly before leaving.
"Seong-ryeol."
"Yes, Team Leader."
"How are the preparations for the academic conference coming along?"
"Huh? There are still two months left..."
"University hospitals! General hospitals! When you're making your rounds at the major hospitals, you should be checking which doctors are presenting on what topics at the conference!"
"Ah."
He wondered why the new hires from last year were all like this.
"It's Ms. Jo."
He didn't know who said it, but the moment the name was spoken, all the male employees' heads turned in unison.
Jo Soo-ah, who was up for promotion to Assistant Manager.
Her short, bobbed hair was enough to make any male colleague's heart flutter.
"Team Leader Seo. I've placed all the orders for the items requested by Balgeun-nun Hospital."
"Alright. Good work."
Team Leader Seo relied solely on Jo Soo-ah.
Any task, no matter what, was easily resolved if she was put on it.
The only problem was the icy aura she exuded when dealing with the other male employees.
"Everyone, get your act..."
*Ping!*
"Who is it?"
He had the notifications for most group chats and one-on-one conversations turned off. He checked the text message.
- Kim Shin: Team Leader. If you don't have plans tonight, how about we grab a drink after work?
It was Kim Shin, who had quit the company a year and ten months ago.
- An Myeong-guk: It's been a while. I was just thinking of having some soju and fish cake soup with the staff. I'm in the middle of chewing them out.
- Kim Shin: You can bring the staff with you. It would be great to see Team Leader Seo after all this time, too.
- An Myeong-guk: Really? Where should we go?
- Kim Shin: Is there anything you'd like to eat?
- An Myeong-guk: This might be shameless of me, but can we eat something expensive?
- Kim Shin: Of course. How about Japanese food?
- An Myeong-guk: I'd never turn that down.
- Kim Shin: I'll make a reservation at Herot's.
After finishing his text exchange, Team Leader An addressed the employees.
"Tonight, we're having a sales team dinner. Everyone is required to attend."
"Aww..."
The employees groaned.
According to Arcor tradition, attendance at company dinners was not mandatory.
"We're eating at Herot's."
"Herot's?"
The employees' heads shot up.
Herot's.
It was a top-tier Japanese restaurant where a meal for one cost 420,000 won.
* * *
"Is this really the place?"
"I told you it was."
Team Leader An and Team Leader Seo entered Herot's with twenty employees in tow.
"It's been a while, Team Leaders."
They could see Kim Shin, who had arrived early and was waiting at a table.
"Wow."
"Assistant Manager Kim. You're looking really sharp."
He was already good-looking back at Arcor, but his change in attire completely transformed his aura.
"These are the people you don't know, Assistant Manager Kim. The new employees who joined Arcor."
"A pleasure to meet you."
Kim Shin shared a light handshake with each of the employees.
Three, four.
As he went down the line, one person approached.
It was Jo Soo-ah, her hair cut short above her shoulders, looking at him.
Feeling sorry for not having contacted her often, Kim Shin spoke cautiously.
"Soo-ah. Have you been well?"
"Yes. How have you been, Assistant Manager Kim?"
"I've been traveling, seeing a lot of places."
Hearing Jo Soo-ah's warm voice, he felt his heart grow calm.
Of course, the new Arcor employees were feeling something entirely different.
'Who knew Ms. Jo could speak with such a gentle voice?'
'Soo-ah is so pretty.'
Having put on makeup before coming to dinner, Jo Soo-ah looked stunningly beautiful.
* * *
"Assistant Manager Kim. I don't think I can call you that anymore."
"Please, just call me whatever you're comfortable with."
"I'll call you Assistant Manager Kim just for today. How have you been?"
"I've been traveling around the United States and other countries."
Team Leader An, Team Leader Seo, and Jo Soo-ah were at my table.
At the table right next to us sat Kim Sang-gi, Na Sang-guk, and Lee Jong-yeop.
'It's so good to see them after all this time.'
People say that coworkers are just business relationships, but these were people I had been truly close to.
After all, my life at the company had once taken up most of my existence.
"Let's have a drink."
"Yes. Let's."
As Team Leader An and Team Leader Seo accepted the drinks, they subtly glanced at the bodyguards at the other table.
"Who are they?"
"They're my bodyguards."
"Bodyguards?"
"They're necessary for safety when I'm traveling abroad. And I don't know when I'll be leaving the country again."
"I see. It's like you're living in a completely different world from us now."
Team Leader An tilted his head.
It might be a little hard to understand why someone who'd earned tens of billions of won would need foreign bodyguards.
But they would understand soon enough, once the article in Forbes was published.
Since Forbes compiles a list of the wealthiest people every year, it's hard to avoid it without making your entire fortune anonymous.
While no one goes around memorizing the list of Korea's wealthiest, he imagined it would feel different when it was someone they knew.
"How's the company?"
"Same as always. Well, something did happen."
Team Leader An glanced over at Jo Soo-ah.
*Does he have something to say?*
"Anyway, tell us more about your travels. Did you sail around on a yacht?"
"I mostly stayed in hostels and traveled cheaply. I found that traveling can be fun even without spending money."
"True. If I had as much money as you, Assistant Manager Kim, I'd have fun just sitting still."
*Ping!*
*Ping!*
*Ping!*
While I was eating with my former colleagues, text messages kept coming in.
- Lee Ho-yeon: We've received news that the number of patients with pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan is steadily increasing.
- Lee Ho-yeon: The current number of patients is 59, with 11 reported to be in serious condition.
- Lee Ho-yeon: A case has also appeared in Korea. It's a Chinese woman who entered the country from Wuhan eight days ago. She is said to have a cough, a swollen throat, and symptoms of pneumonia.
- Lee Ho-yeon: The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently conducting tests to identify the pathogen.
- Lee Ho-yeon: Chinese health authorities say there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission yet. But based on our findings, we believe we should consider the possibility of infection.
- Lee Ho-yeon: Considering that someone who visited Wuhan has now been infected in Korea, the number of patients could be much higher.
As I was reading the texts, Jo Soo-ah spoke in a low voice.
"Is it serious?"
"Hm? Oh, you saw."
"Yes. Is that the company we signed the contract with back then? I'm sorry if I wasn't supposed to see."
"It's not a secret. There's an infectious disease outbreak in China, so they're contacting me about it."
"I see."
Biolife.
The company that researches influenza and coronaviruses.
'I was worried about an infectious disease spreading, but I never thought it would actually happen.'
I felt a little conflicted.