Chapter 9: The White Ferrari
Chapter 9: The White Ferrari
Engine Start
“I’m sorry, Team Leader.”
“No, no. If you’re not feeling well, you should rest at home. It’s not like Assistant Manager Kim asks for this often. Get some good rest.”
When I woke up this morning, my whole body was aching.
It wasn't a cold, but the aftereffects of working out hard lately.
“I'll throw this out. This one too... It's covered in mold.”
I rested in the morning, and in the afternoon, I started packing to move out of the semi-basement apartment.
Clothes over a year old.
There were so many clothes that had faded.
The semi-basement was crawling with all sorts of bugs, but now that it was time to leave, I felt a certain attachment to it.
It was a precious home where I stayed when I was really struggling to get by.
In the summer, it was nice and cool when I came home from my part-time jobs and manual labor.
It was cold in the winter, but I managed by cutting up bubble wrap and cardboard boxes and taping several layers to the windows.
“Whew... Now that I'm packing, I don't have much stuff.”
I didn't hire movers.
I had no usable furniture, and besides a few clothes and the computer I used on the dining table, there was really nothing else.
I'd lived with just a single gas burner, no washing machine or refrigerator, so I lived very lightly.
“Sir. We've brought the vehicle to the location you specified.”
“Yes.”
After getting a call from the car salesman, I went out to the main road nearby.
A car I couldn't have delivered in front of my house on the narrow alley.
Being a car worth over 400 million won, it was naturally on a car carrier.
How beautiful the pristine white car looked.
“Wow. That car is sick.”
“What is that? How much is it?”
“It's a Ferrari. That's got to be over 400 million.”
Even passersby were staring at my car.
Ferrari 458 Italia.
A price of 490 million won, including options.
I learned everything new from the salesman, from how to start the engine to shifting gears and reading the dashboard.
It wasn't a regular car but a sports car, and a Ferrari at that, so there were differences.
I had lived pinching every last 10,000 won, and now I'd made a truly absurd expenditure.
It was like waiting for the price of Bitcoin to rise; this was a car that required the heart of a beast to purchase.
‘Might as well drive it as much as I can while I'm young. That's what counts.’
Was it thanks to the divorce?
I think I've realized the value of life.
* * *
Returning to work after three months, Han Chae-won steeled her resolve.
‘To survive at this company, I have to crush him first.’
Even married couples working at the same company had their difficulties, but the thought of a divorced couple working together was horrifying.
‘I should have been more vicious.’
Around the time their marriage deteriorated, she had spread rumors at the company that he was violent towards his wife, had another woman, was pathologically jealous, and had a personality disorder.
“Sigh. I don't want to go home. You know my husband, right?”
“Assistant Manager Kim from the Sales Team?”
“I thought he was kind and quiet at first. You have no idea how terrible he is.”
“What?”
“If something doesn't go his way, he throws and breaks things. He can't control his anger. He even hit my younger brother before we got married. The next day, he got on his knees and begged for forgiveness.”
“I thought he was a calm person. Something like that happened?”
“I knew he had a bad temper. But I thought he would change. Now he's doing it to me... *sob*.”
“Chae-won, please don't cry.”
From her colleagues to her superiors.
She had diligently spread nasty rumors, focusing on the Support Team, but it seemed that wasn't enough.
With about a hundred employees, she thought he wouldn't be able to endure it.
‘So he's stubbornly sticking with the company. I guess since he's from the poorest of the poor, he has nowhere else to go if he leaves.’
Han Chae-won admitted she had underestimated her ex-husband. And since returning to work, she had been continuously looking for an opportunity.
The annual ophthalmology conference.
An important event where ophthalmologists from all over the country gathered, including professors from university hospitals.
“What about hotel reservations near KINTEX?”
“We've booked 60 deluxe rooms and 50 suites.”
“Double-check the restaurant's operating hours. Check the buses. Make sure there are plenty of extra seats so close acquaintances aren't separated. Director Choi from Seoul Ophthalmology. You know he only likes the finest omakase, right?”
“Yes. We've also made a special request for the types of fish he prefers.”
The Support, Technical, and Sales teams were all putting their heads together to prepare for the conference.
From academic materials for the conference to promoting the company's own medical devices.
They prepared everything for the doctors—what they ate, drank, and where they slept.
For some provincial areas, sales employees were to rent vehicles that could use bus lanes to go and escort the doctors.
The company's expenses were significant, but it was a chance to make a definite impression on professors and regional hospital directors at the conference.
“It's not like the company is always this busy. A German executive will be attending this event, so please make sure everything proceeds without a hitch.”
“Yes, Director.”
By the time the meeting ended, it was almost time to go home.
“Good work, everyone. Let's wrap up quickly and leave early today.”
“Yes, Director. Thank you for your hard work.”
After the long meeting.
Han Chae-won confirmed her ex-husband wasn't there and asked the Sales Team.
“Why wasn't Assistant Manager Kim Shin here? We're divorced. We agreed to separate our professional and personal feelings.”
Just as she was trying to set the mood to screw Kim Shin over, even if just a little.
Team Leader Seo from the Technical Team, who was gathering materials left on his desk, spoke up.
“I asked during a break on the rooftop. It seems he didn't come in because he's not feeling well.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. He said he was taking a day off. Said it wasn't serious enough for sick leave. Assistant Manager Kim is so diligent, you know. He might be feeling really unwell, but he's just someone who works so hard.”
Team Leader Seo from the Technical Team and Team Leader An from the Sales Team both defended him.
“I see.”
Han Chae-won hid her disappointed expression and backed down.
* * *
‘There's nothing more miserable than being sick when you're alone.’
Jo Soo-ah was restless after hearing that Kim Shin was sick.
She heard from the team leader that it probably wasn't a big deal, but she had watched him for the past four years.
He was the kind of person who would ride his bike to work even if he had a 39-degree fever from a bad cold.
She recalled a time when she was a new employee and had made a big mistake; he had stayed up all night working overtime with her, despite being sick himself.
“Jong-yeop.”
“Yes?”
“What do you think about buying some abalone porridge and taking it to Assistant Manager Kim?”
“...?”
Lee Jong-yeop was a competent member of the Sales Team, but his intuition was even sharper.
‘Is she into him?’
The Assistant Manager is a divorced man.
And it's Soo-ah, of all people.
In any case, he decided it wasn't his place to interfere and said.
“Soo-ah, do you know where he lives?”
“It's in Guro. I picked him up once when we went to Busan. But I don't know his exact address.”
“Really? Okay, I'll text him first.”
Lee Jong-yeop took out his phone and sent a text to Kim Shin, saying he and Jo Soo-ah were coming to visit.
- Kim Shin: Oh?
There was no reply for over a minute after he read the text.
Then a text arrived.
- Kim Shin: Alright. Good timing. I'll send you the address.
After work, they put the address Kim Shin sent into the navigation system and arrived at an area packed with old multi-family houses.
“I think it's around here.”
All the multi-family houses had similar old brick exteriors.
Even with a map app open, they got lost a few times before finally arriving.
“Assistant Manager!”
Just then, they saw Kim Shin emerging, ducking his head to avoid hitting it on the stairs leading up from the semi-basement.
“You guys really came all this way?”
“Are you feeling okay?”
“Yeah. To be honest, I wasn't sick. Sorry for making you come here like this.”
Lee Jong-yeop saw Jo Soo-ah's face visibly relax with relief.
‘Yep, she's definitely into him.’
According to his own dating history, which had been non-stop since elementary school, it was certain.
“Since you came all this way, want to come inside? There's not much to see, and it might be a little messy.”
“Yes, that's fine.”
“Can we really take a look around?”
Kim Shin led the two of them into the semi-basement unit.
Past a narrow staircase that required them to duck their heads was an ambiguous space that served as a kitchen, bathroom, and living room all mixed together.
There was an old, small sink and a faucet area for washing up.
“This used to be a storage area for coal briquettes, so it's just concrete.”
Kim Shin briefly explained the layout of the place.
The place was far more dilapidated than they had imagined, and their faces stiffened.
It was the first time in their lives they had ever seen a semi-basement apartment.
‘Assistant Manager lived in a place like this? A semi-basement. I'd only heard about them. This place is the absolute worst.’
‘So he lived here alone after the divorce.’
Aside from everything else, there was a persistent foul smell.
Kim Shin explained the reason.
“The smell isn't from the apartment itself, it's from the sewer nearby. I think a pipe is leaking somewhere. Nothing to be done about it.”
Kim Shin showed them the room.
There were traces of mold and dead bugs on the walls, in the corners of the floor, and even on the ceiling.
In the center was a box filled with old belongings.
“...”
Tears welled up in Jo Soo-ah's eyes as she looked around the semi-basement.
She had been to the nearby subway station when they went down to Busan, but she had no idea what kind of place Kim Shin lived in.
Compared to the life she had lived, this was a truly terrible environment.
“Did you buy this porridge for me?”
“Yes.”
“I see. Jong-yeop, I was in the middle of moving. Could you help me out? Just need you to carry a few boxes.”
“Yes, Assistant Manager.”
“I'll help too.”
Lee Jong-yeop and Jo Soo-ah carried the boxes outside.
They put things he no longer used into large trash bags and took them out.
“Young man. Thank you for living in my house. I hope only good things happen to you from now on.”
“Thank you for taking care of me. Thanks to you, Grandmother, I was able to live well until now.”
They watched the landlady and Kim Shin exchange a tearful farewell in trembling voices.
Jo Soo-ah had been crying quietly for a while, and even Lee Jong-yeop felt his nose tingle for some reason.
“Assistant Manager, I brought my car. I can take your things to your new place.”
“Thanks, but it's okay. I have a car too.”
“Did you rent a car for the move? You should have told me.”
“No. I bought one recently. This way.”
The two of them followed, each carrying a box taken from the semi-basement.
In the parking lot they arrived at, a Ferrari that seemed to glow with a pristine white light was parked.
“Wow. That car is insane.”
Lee Jong-yeop said without thinking, then quickly shut his mouth.
He had just seen where Kim Shin lived. He felt it would be rude to marvel at a car worth hundreds of millions of won.
Kim Shin walked straight to the white Ferrari and opened the trunk.
“...?”
“???”
The two of them stared blankly at the surreal scene.
“Jong-yeop. Soo-ah. Put the boxes here.”
“Huh?”
“Y-yes.”
They loaded the belongings into the Ferrari's trunk.
Lee Jong-yeop couldn't hold back and asked.
“Assistant Manager. Is this the car you said you bought?”
“Yeah. What do you think?”
Asking if a Ferrari is okay?
Isn't this the dream car that office workers say they couldn't even afford to maintain if it were given to them for free?
“Thanks for helping me move. Since you're here, want to see my new place?”
“Of course.”
“But only one person can ride with me.”
Lee Jong-yeop desperately wanted to ride in the Ferrari. For a man, isn't a sports car the ultimate toy? But he judged that now was the time to step aside.
“I'll follow behind in my car.”
He truly made the sacrifice with tears in his eyes.
Kim Shin got into the white Ferrari and started the engine.
*VROOOOM!*
A high-revving exhaust note erupted, announcing its presence with sound alone.