The Subway Hero
The video was titled “Hero of the Subway [Seizure Patient Perfectly Treated by an Ordinary Citizen!]”. Viewers were so moved that they shared it with everyone around them, and the view count began to climb at a dizzying pace.
The post itself went roughly like this:
Woman collapses suddenly at Jongno 3-ga Station. Everyone just stands there watching. Then some guy jumps in and performs emergency care like a pro;; even does CPR and brings her back. Then he vanishes. It was a genuine miracle moment.
The footage captured the man rescuing the woman in perfect, vivid detail. Shot mostly from behind, it showed primarily his back, with only a brief glimpse of his side profile.
The comments were on fire.
As the comments exploded, the view count had already blown past 400,000 overnight.
At the same time, sharp-eyed reporters were already on the move. They scoured the comments hunting for eyewitnesses from that day, asking whether anyone had taken photos or videos. One way or another, they had to uncover the identity of the subway hero.
The next morning.
For the first time since joining the company, Kang Bitna arrived early, stepping into the office with a buoyant heart. The reason she had come in early was simple: today was Assistant Manager Noh Hoojin’s first day back after being discharged from the hospital.
Of course she refused to admit it, but anyone could see the excitement written all over her face.
Since she was early, she decided to take her time and grab a cup of coffee. The moment she stepped into the break room, a cluster of new hires was huddled together staring at something, letting out continuous gasps of amazement. Something big must have happened.
But she had zero interest.
“Insane.”
“No way.”
“Is this real?”
“I’m telling you it is. It’s definitely Assistant Manager Noh Hoojin. Look at the comments—his personal info’s already out. Right here. Name: Noh Hoojin. Currently employed at LK Telecom.”
“Whoa! It really is! Assistant Manager Noh is so freaking cool.”
At the sound of Noh Hoojin’s name, Kang Bitna, who had been about to leave with her coffee, whipped her head around. She strode over quickly and peeked over their shoulders.
“What are you looking at?”
“Ah! You scared me!”
“Bitna, you nearly gave me a heart attack.”
The new hires jumped and stared at her, then let out relieved sighs as they patted their chests.
But Kang Bitna’s attention was locked solely on Noh Hoojin.
“What about Assistant Manager Noh Hoojin?”
“Uh…… You haven’t heard? It’s insanely hot right now.”
“So what about him?”
When she pressed again, one of the new hires held out his phone.
“Look at this. They’re saying this is Assistant Manager Noh Hoojin. YouTube’s going crazy. Views and comments are exploding.”
Kang Bitna watched the video carefully. By the time it ended she was left with her mouth hanging open just like the new hires.
“Holy crap. No way.”
She covered her mouth with her hand without even realizing it.
He just saved someone having a seizure who went into cardiac arrest? Where did he even learn that? And what was he thinking jumping in? What if something went wrong? Does he have no backup plan? No strategy? Is this a one-shot life?
Her mind spun into chaos. Clutching her head, she walked out without looking where she was going and collided with someone coming in.
“Ah!”
Startled, she lost her grip on the coffee cup.
But astonishingly, the person she had bumped into snatched the cup from her hand in a flash and caught the coffee that had been about to spill, restoring it perfectly to the cup.
It was an incredible display of reflexes and lightning-fast movement.
Hah!
She looked up in surprise—and there stood Assistant Manager Noh Hoojin, watching her with a worried expression.
“Are you all right?”
His voice rang through her head.
I brushed a single drop of coffee off the back of my hand.
Didn’t quite catch it perfectly.
As time slowed, I had snatched the cup from her hand and poured the overflowing coffee right back in.
At first these things had thrown me off, but now I was starting to take them in stride.
“I’m so sor—— Wait! Assistant Manager Noh Hoojin! You’re—you’re already discharged?”
“Ah, yes. I was discharged yesterday.”
Kang Bitna, who had been bowing her head in apology, suddenly looked up in shock.
What was there to be so surprised about?
I found out soon enough.
“Assistant Manager Noh Hoojin?”
“Eek! It’s Assistant Manager Noh Hoojin!”
“This video! That’s you, right?”
“It is, right?”
“Insane! He’s not answering—so it really is him!!”
The new hires who had heard my name came pouring out and surrounded me. On the smartphones they were holding, the video of me performing emergency care on the subway was playing.
Already?
This was way too fast.
I had expected it to float around the internet, but I never thought it would spread far enough overnight for people at the company to know.
What a headache.
I figured some annoying things might come of it, but I hadn’t done anything wrong, so I had nothing to hide. And how big could the fallout really get?
Public attention always dies down quickly. The world produces far more sensational stories every day.
All the way back to my desk I was met with applause and praise from the staff. The new hires still trailed after me in a line, chattering nonstop. My ears were ringing.
“Assistant Manager Noh Hoojin!! What the hell is your real identity? Can you use superpowers too?”
Junior Associate Kim Seungho made a big show of it and gave me a thumbs-up.
I flinched for a second.
“……Ah, shut up.”
Assistant Manager Jo Cheoljeong, who had been grinding away since morning, simply picked up his documents and coffee and left his seat.
“Get the hell back to work already!! What’s all this racket first thing in the morning! Making a fuss over something like this!”
Manager Park Heegon jabbed a finger at the new hires who had followed me and chased them off. He looked thoroughly irritated.
Deputy General Manager Jeon Yonggi still hadn’t arrived.
An hour later.
The moment Deputy General Manager Jeon Yonggi walked in, a Marketing Team 3 meeting was called.
Once the whole team had gathered in the conference room, Assistant Manager Jo Cheoljeong began his report.
I had been out of the loop for a week, so I simply sat quietly and watched the meeting unfold.
The main topics covered regional marketing methods and efficiency, subscriber numbers, and sales targets.
Our team’s job was to identify weak spots in regions where new acquisitions and revenue were lagging, come up with solutions, and report them upstairs.
Every region had different perceptions of telecom and different consumption patterns, so we had to approach them from multiple angles.
The interesting part was that the entire time the meeting ran, fresh ideas kept pouring into my head like a dam bursting.
Concrete plans for growing the subscriber base and stopping churn appeared, along with clear methods for maximizing revenue through new consumption patterns.
But I didn’t speak up.
Jumping in now would only make the teammates who had worked hard while I was gone look bad.
My mouth itched, but I decided to save it for later.
“Huh? Deputy General Manager, over—over there……?”
Junior Associate Kim Seungho pointed through the glass wall, stumbling over his words.
Everyone’s eyes turned to the window. A group was entering the office.
It was President and CEO Choi Kangho and Vice President Song Jiseok. Behind them, General Manager Lee Geunseong and the secretaries hurried to keep up.
“Hah! Th-the president?”
Deputy General Manager Jeon Yonggi shot to his feet in shock, and the rest of us rose with him.
The president strode straight toward us without hesitation. Every employee stood and offered crisp, formal greetings.
What is this, the military?
“Deputy General Manager, he’s coming this way.”
“I can see that. Clean up the table, quick.”
We scrambled to gather the meeting materials and shove half-finished drinks to one side just as the president entered the conference room.
The vice president and General Manager Lee Geunseong quietly took positions behind him.
“Good morning, sir!”
“Good morning!”
Deputy General Manager Jeon Yonggi bowed at the waist, and we all lowered our heads with him.
President Choi Kangho returned the greeting lightly and surveyed the room.
“Looks like you were in the middle of a meeting.”
“Yes, sir! We were.”
“Do you know why I came here today?”
“Sir? Well…… I’m not……”
As Deputy General Manager Jeon Yonggi trailed off in confusion, President Choi Kangho suddenly looked at me and offered a kind smile.
“How’s the body feeling?”
“I’m completely recovered. Thank you for your concern.”
I dipped my head lightly.
Even with the president standing right in front of me, I felt no tension at all—if anything, I was completely at ease.
Maybe it was because I was ready to leave anytime.
Inside the company he was the president, but outside he was just some middle-aged guy, wasn’t he?
“Good to hear.”
A brief glint flashed through President Choi Kangho’s eyes and vanished. Then, as if remembering something, he continued.
“Ah, I didn’t come about that today. This morning I got calls from a total of five broadcasting stations. All of them asking about you, Mr. Noh Hoojin. Wanting to know if they could come to the company for coverage.”
“Pardon? About me?”
That did surprise me a little.
Broadcasting stations already? And calling the company, no less.
“That’s right. Thanks to them I ended up watching the video myself. You did something truly remarkable. As president, I’m genuinely proud to have an employee like you.”
Choi Kangho placed a hand on my shoulder as he spoke.
“It was nothing. I only did what anyone should——”
“No, no. That isn’t the kind of good deed just anyone can perform. And it looks like the broadcast interviews will be conducted here at the company. General Manager Lee Geunseong.”
“Yes, sir!”
General Manager Lee Geunseong stepped forward at once.
“When interviews or reporters show up, give them full support.”
“Understood! Leave it to me.”
“Good. Carry on, everyone.”
President Choi Kangho raised a hand lightly and walked straight out of the conference room.
“Haa……”
“Deputy General Manager, are you all right?”
The moment the president left, Deputy General Manager Jeon Yonggi sank into his chair. Manager Park Heegon quickly opened a vitamin drink and held it out to him.
Assistant Manager Jo Cheoljeong and Associate Kang Bitna kept straight faces, while Junior Associate Kim Seungho let out a short breath once the president was completely gone and looked around again.
“Whew~ That scared me. That’s already the second time I’ve seen the president up close. Is he usually this easy to run into?”
Not a chance.