Provincial Transfer and the Sexual Harassment Case (1)

Kim Chirok found himself genuinely wanting to marry a Japanese woman. Not just any ordinary woman, though—someone as beautiful as Hirosue Yoshiko would be far better. A woman like that, he thought, he could spend a lifetime simply gazing at and still be happy.

Still, I'm not about to sign up for some Korea-Japan matching club. That would be too embarrassing.

The instructor asked the question carefully.

"Kim Chirok, aren't you going to get married?"

"Someday, of course. But not now. I want to build more of a foundation first."

Then Jang Min-soo, sitting beside them, opened his mouth and said something he had no business saying.

"Hyung-nim, you told us you had a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠girlfriend, didn't you? When we met Yumiko and Yoshie last time—didn't you say that?"

At that, the instructor's eyes went wide, and she stared at Kim Chirok. The look on her face said it all: the man she had been hoping to like already had a girlfriend?

"Ah, that. Yoshie asked, and I said it just to get her off my back. I don't have a girlfriend."

The instructor let out a quiet breath of relief.

"Then, hyung-nim! When I go to Japan this time, should I ask Yumiko and Yoshie to look for a nice Japanese woman for you? Someone stylish, from a good university—someone who'd be a match for you?"

"Forget it. I already told you I'm in no position to get married. I haven't even saved up any money yet."

"Japanese women said they're fine starting out in a one-room rental. You know what Yumiko and Yoshie said when I took them to my studio in Namyangju?"

"What did they say?"

"Kirei desu ne—'It's so clean.' It isn't a two-room place, but it is a 1.5-room, and it's a newly built building. The rent's cheaper than Seoul, too."

Kim Chirok and the instructor both laughed.

Jang Min-soo looked at the instructor's face.

"Oh, right—you said you live in Jamsil, didn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Which apartment? My boss lives in Jamsil too."

"I live at the Jamsil Els apartments, with my parents."

"That's a nice place to live."

Kim Chirok tensed, afraid Jang Min-soo might ask about his own home next. Fortunately, Jang Min-soo didn't press him on it.

Kim Chirok turned to him.

"So once you're married, Jang Min-soo, are you planning to keep living in that 1.5-room place?"

"No, sir. We'll have to move into an apartment. There are nice ones if you go out to Deokso. We'll start with a monthly rental, of course."

He smiled brightly as he said it. It was the face of a man who had assumed that graduating from a no-name regional university meant he would never get married in his life—and who was now over the moon at the prospect of marrying a Japanese woman he actually liked.

The instructor barely touched the snacks, taking only the occasional sip of beer. Kim Chirok slid the plate toward her.

"You're not eating anything at all. Please, have some."

"Thank you. By the way, Kim Chirok, are you living with your parents right now?"

"Yes, I am. My father's in the countryside recovering, so it's just my mother and me."

"You said you live in Bongcheon-dong, didn't you? Have you always lived there?"

"No. Originally we lived in Dogok-dong, in Gangnam."

"Oh my, is that so? Then you must have gone to high school in Gangnam."

"Yes. I graduated from D High School in Dogok-dong."

"I see. So you moved to Bongcheon-dong for convenience, because you were attending Seoul National University. You sold the Dogok-dong apartment and relocated, I imagine."

She said it as though a lingering question had finally been answered.

Sold a Dogok-dong apartment and moved? Think whatever you want.

It occurred to Kim Chirok that this Japanese instructor might be demure, but she had not escaped the way Korean women typically thought. She was clearly looking for a marriage partner who lived in Gangnam's three elite districts and had graduated from a SKY university. She would rather grow old unmarried, he suspected, than settle for anyone who fell short of that standard. If she didn't hold the line, she would become a point of comparison among her friends—and that, more than anything, was why she would not budge.

The instructor smiled brightly and asked again.

"I have an older brother. You have siblings too, don't you, Kim Chirok?"

"No. It's just me. My parents said raising children was hard, so they stopped at one early on."

Jang Min-soo cut in.

"Heh heh. It's just two brothers in our family. We fought constantly growing up. My older brother runs a little restaurant in Jeongeup. He says he's dying from the lack of customers these days."

Kim Chirok asked,

"Your brother got married, I take it?"

"He got married, but they divorced."

"Divorced? That's a shame."

"You know how hard it is to run your own business, right? So the wife walked out on him."

Kim Chirok gave a wry smile. Jang Min-soo laughed too. He seemed, at least, like an honest man.

Kim Chirok turned to the instructor this time.

"Is your older brother married?"

"Yes, he is. He runs a dental clinic in Garak-dong. My sister-in-law is a dentist as well."

Middle class, Kim Chirok thought. That was this Japanese instructor through and through. Her brother had received a proper education and made a proper marriage, and it showed. Jang Min-soo's older brother, by contrast, had nothing to his name, and his life looked grinding and hard. Seen that way, Jang Min-soo's choice of a Japanese woman struck him as an exceedingly wise one. He found himself silently hoping that the marriage with the woman Jang Min-soo liked would actually come through.

The instructor ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠asked,

"You'll keep attending the native-speaker conversation class, won't you, Kim Chirok?"

"Well, I'm still clumsy with longer stretches of Japanese, so I think I should keep going a while longer."

"I was talking with the native instructor, and she said you seem like a very bright person."

"Did she?"

"She asked what you did, so I told her you work at H Group."

"You did?"

"Um... there must be a lot of women at your company who like you, right? I have a feeling there are."

At that, Oh Ha-young from H Chemical and Bang Mihee from the Chairman's office flickered through Kim Chirok's mind. But neither Oh Ha-young nor Bang Mihee was marriage material. He thought of them as people who would brush past his life and be gone.

"There's no one among the women at the company that I like."

Jang Min-soo laughed.

"You mean there's no one you like, hyung-nim. I bet plenty of the women at your office have a crush on you, though. I bet plenty of them ask you out."

"No. There really aren't."

"It's because your standards are too high, hyung-nim."

My standards are too high?

He didn't think so. All he wanted was a woman who was womanly, and reasonably intelligent. He didn't want someone with a lot of money, either. Wealth, if anything, would be a burden. His parents, he suspected, would feel the same way.

The Japanese instructor looked as though she had a few more things she wanted to ask him. With Jang Min-soo sitting right there, though, she couldn't get the words out properly. She did not want Jang Min-soo to see that she liked Kim Chirok.

Another week went by.

A rumor was now circulating through the company that Bang Mihee from the Chairman's office and Jeong Chan-young from the Strategic Planning Office were getting married. Jeong Chan-young ate lunch with Bang Mihee openly, making no attempt to hide it, and they had been seen leaving together after work more than once.

People seemed to look at Kim Chirok with pity. The women in the office, in particular, snickered whenever he walked past. On those occasions even he found it hard to bear. The back of his neck would burn.

Then came the day Director Jang summoned him. He had not called Kim Chirok alone. The team leader had been summoned as well.

"You two have heard the rumors about our affiliate, H Heavy Industries in Changwon? That they're losing ground to the competition."

"We've heard, sir."

"They tried to export core power-industry equipment to Saudi Arabia this time, and it didn't go well. They lost the bidding war to a competitor."

"That's unfortunate."

"So the Chairman pointed out that the executives and staff at H Heavy Industries seem to have fallen into a rut of complacency. He told us to inject some sharp young blood."

"Is that so, sir?"

"In other words, send a young, capable employee down there ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to revitalize the place."

"So there was a directive."

"That's why we've decided to pull Kim Chirok out and send him down to Changwon."

Kim Chirok froze.

"Your performance reviews are excellent, and you've got the right attitude toward studying, haven't you? You've been working hard at a second foreign language, and you even earned the highest level of the JLPT. If someone like you goes down there, there's no doubt you'll make a real contribution to H Heavy Industries."

The team leader, sitting beside him, spoke up.

"That won't work, sir. Assistant Manager Song can't handle the workload alone as it is. There's far too much to do."

"The people in the Strategic Planning teams are H Group's finest. Each of you should be worth a hundred. You think we do this work by counting heads?"

"It's physically impossible, sir."

"That's why, when the new open-recruitment hires come in, I've decided to assign them to your team first."

"We can't get the work done with new hires. Kim Chirok is a second-year employee—he's a veteran on this team now."

"You think I don't know that? That's exactly why H Heavy Industries needs someone like him all the more."

"For heaven's sake."

"You ought to be thinking about developing the people under you. How long are you planning to just work them to the bone? You should be helping Kim Chirok build a broader career. Isn't that the attitude a senior team leader ought to have?"

At that, the team leader had no further reply.

Director Jang was a seasoned operator, no question. Even kicking someone out, he dressed it up in a pretext that sounded almost reasonable.

Kim Chirok sneered inwardly.

Help me grow? Bullshit. Help me grow, my ass. He's trying to get rid of me. This is a retaliatory transfer—payback for not showing any interest in Bang Mihee.

The thought left him a little wretched. He was a Seoul National University graduate, and it felt as though he had lost to a dance major from S Women's University and was now being driven out.

Bang Mihee had almost certainly gone to President Jeong-hee or Director Jang and spoken ill of him for refusing to see her. She might even have gone to the Chairman himself.

Only now was Kim Chirok beginning to truly grasp the power of a secretary who held the Chairman's ear.

Director Jang spoke again, his voice cold.

"Report for duty in Changwon next Monday. I've already told the President of H Heavy Industries that a capable talent from the Strategic Planning Office is coming down. I told him you were as good as a treasure, and that he should take good care of you."

The team leader and Kim Chirok had no choice but to withdraw from Director Jang's office.

On the way back to the team floor, the team leader spoke.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you."

"No, it's all right. Thank you."

"It'll be more comfortable down in Changwon, at least. And you can go to the coast and eat sashimi."

Assistant Manager Song hit the roof when he heard about the transfer. If Kim Chirok left, his own workload would explode overnight. There was no going against company policy, though.

Kim Chirok wondered if he would have to live in a studio apartment all over again down in Changwon. He also wondered whether he ought to use this as a chance to leave H Group altogether—to jump to a securities firm or some other financial company.

A place like a securities firm, though, would mean living under the stress of performance quotas. At a major conglomerate the organization moved as a whole, so the pressure of individual results was not as crushing. And if you made it to executive rank, the salary was high and the benefits were substantial. The question of changing jobs, he decided, was something he would have to think through a little more carefully.

It's not the right time yet. I'll go down to Changwon until a job worth jumping to actually comes along. It's not as if my salary is being cut. I'll go down and see what opportunities open up.

Kim Chirok made up his mind to go to Changwon.

He didn't even want to look at Bang Mihee's or Jeong Chan-young's faces while he was still at the company. And he was sick of the occasional KakaoTalk messages from Oh Ha-young at H Chemical.

Once the decision to go had settled, his mind grew calm again. He figured he would grab a coffee and get back to work.

He had made himself a coffee in the break room and was drinking it when the phone rang. It was a complete stranger.

With that, the detective hung up.

Was this some kind of voice-phishing scam?

It didn't seem to be. Voice-phishing always involved a demand for money, and there hadn't been one. Besides, it had been a call telling him to appear in person at an investigation team.

What on earth is going on?

Kim Chirok couldn't make sense of it at all.