Sawdust and Old Grudges
Knock, knock. Kang Hyeong-seok rapped on the door of the Department Head's office.
"Director, may I come in?"
"Get in here, hurry!"
Kang Hyeong-seok broke into a grin, twisted the handle, and pushed the door open. Across the desk, Kwak Young-ho waved him toward the chair opposite with a beaming face.
It was around two in the afternoon on a leisurely weekday. No one was swamped, and no business trips were on the schedule — the office itself seemed to carry a rare, unspoken permission to take things easy for once.
"I've put together what you asked about this morning."
"Aigoo, I told you it wasn't anything urgent."
Kwak Young-ho took the folder, clicked his tongue, and went through it page by page. Then he gave a satisfied nod and spoke.
"Not bad at all. I'll attach this to the performance report going up this quarter."
"Yes, sir."
"By the way, Section Chief Kang — nothing unusual going on lately, is there?"
"Lately, sir?"
"You know. Shinjin Construction."
Kwak Young-ho wriggled his hips in his chair as he said it, eyes bright with hope — half wondering whether that side might be looking for Kang Hyeong-seok again.
It hadn't even been that long since the contract signing. So this wasn't talk of a follow-up deal; he was hoping there might be something — anything — that could build a little personal rapport between Kang Hyeong-seok and Shin Yo-sep.
Shin Yo-sep — sly old snake under that mild exterior, that one.
The groundwork had been laid perfectly. Kwak Young-ho looked ready to order him out the door on the spot, were Kang Hyeong-seok to mention so much as a night-fishing trip with the man.
"Nothing so far, sir."
"I see."
Kwak Young-ho's face fell a little, and Kang Hyeong-seok went on with a smile.
"I could give him a call later, see how he's doing."
"Oh, now that's more like it! Ask whether Executive Director Shin is the fishing type, will you?"
"Yes, sir."
"What's with that look?"
"It's nothing. Really, nothing at all."
Kang Hyeong-seok answered with a sheepish grin, and Kwak Young-ho laughed, fine wrinkles gathering across his face.
"You know, you've been smiling a lot more lately. Good to see."
"You think so?"
"I do. Compared to how you used to be, your face has brightened right up. You've softened with people, too."
"I'm grateful you see it that way, sir."
"Just work on softening that way of speaking a little more. Hmm?"
Easier said than done.
"I'll do my best, sir."
He had the years behind him, and habits worn so deep into his mouth they didn't come loose.
With a fond "Aigoo," Kwak Young-ho laughed, leaned back in his chair, and let his eyes drift up to the ceiling.
"Ahh, I hope it stays like this. I really do."
"Still, having us busy works out well for you too, doesn't it, Director?"
"At my age, what more is there to want? Well — whether they'll pin a Managing Director's badge on me, or just a plain Director's."
Then again, there was no telling. This whole affair had left a striking impression of Sales Team 1 behind it. Word had it that Sales Teams 2 and 3 had turned into something out of a funeral hall, and that their department heads couldn't stand finding anyone at their desks.
There was even a sad little rumor going around that the café out front had seen its sales climb lately — since everyone was apparently doing their paperwork there. It was a small wish of Kang Hyeong-seok's.
"Section Chief Kang, if nothing's urgent, how about you and Assistant Manager Lee go make a call somewhere today?"
"Is there somewhere you'd like to visit, sir?"
"No, it's just — I figured it was high time we looked after Assistant Manager Lee here, too."
Lee Jin-pyeong had joined the company in the same intake as Kang Hyeong-seok. But while Kang Hyeong-seok had climbed to section chief on the back of eye-catching results, Lee Jin-pyeong still carried the assistant manager title.
"So I thought we'd go pay a visit somewhere. There's a stiff one on the list."
"A stiff one, sir?"
"There is. A place we used to trade with until they cut the contract off one day, no warning at all. You wouldn't know it, Chief Kang. Must be ten years back by now."
Kwak Young-ho's expression was not a good one — enough that one could guess how it had felt when that contract came to an end.
"Anyway, if you're free, let's go together today."
"You're coming along too, Director?"
"It was a contract I landed back in the day. And I should go along and look after Assistant Manager Lee while I'm at it. He's put in his years here — who knows how much care he gets at home."
On that count, Kwak Young-ho and Kang Hyeong-seok didn't think so differently about Lee Jin-pyeong.
"Understood. I'll prepare for the trip right away."
"Thank you. Truly, thank you."
"Although — Director?"
"Hm?"
Halfway out of his chair, Kang Hyeong-seok sat back down and asked, careful.
"If you're coming along yourself, Director, is there any reason I need to be there?"
At that, Kwak Young-ho stared at him dead-on for a moment, then pressed a hand to his forehead.
"Aigoo, Chief Kang, honestly. These days, just having you along is already a tremendous help to Assistant Manager Lee."
"Ah..."
"If things go well and I file the report, having your name on it changes everything. You see?"
At last the understanding dawned, and Kwak Young-ho gave the shoulder of a sheepishly smiling Kang Hyeong-seok a light tap.
Lee Jin-pyeong, for his part, understood none of it.
Vrrrmmm. In the car Kang Hyeong-seok was driving, Lee Jin-pyeong sat in the passenger seat exactly as he always did, while Kwak Young-ho sat in back, wearing the glasses he almost never bothered with, poring over documents.
"Mmm. Mm-hmm."
Listening to the deep concentration in Kwak Young-ho's voice, Kang Hyeong-seok kept sneaking glances at Lee Jin-pyeong's lap.
Yip-yip-yip-yip!
The Spitz's spirit clung to Lee Jin-pyeong like a shadow. Whether the fellow was thanking Kang Hyeong-seok for the favor or simply glad to see him, his bark rang out bright and clear.
"Now then — first, Assistant Manager Lee."
"Yes."
The Spitz knew that no matter how much he barked, neither Lee Jin-pyeong nor Kwak Young-ho could hear him. And still the fellow pressed his black lips shut, while the two men carried on their talk across the back of the passenger seat.
"The place we're stopping at today is a finicky one. Assistant Manager Lee, read the mood and back me up well."
"Understood."
"Don't go in thinking, 'Today we get the contract signed.' That's the wrong way to see it. This one will take some time. It's not a big account, but it's a meaningful one — so if we can land the deal, it'll do you good too, Assistant Manager Lee."
Lee Jin-pyeong nodded with a gravity to match Kwak Young-ho's earnest voice, his expression the same as ever.
"Aigoo! Honestly, you."
"What is it?"
"No, no. Nothing."
Kwak Young-ho shook his head and turned his eyes to Kang Hyeong-seok.
"Chief Kang, how much farther?"
"Not long now. About ten minutes left."
"Really? Then let's stop nearby and pick up some fruit to bring along."
Kang Hyeong-seok thumbed the navigation screen down a touch and answered.
"Understood."
"Phew. This had better go well."
Kwak Young-ho — more on edge than Lee Jin-pyeong — let out a sigh and smacked his lips.
In the end, the fruit never got bought. Instead, Kwak Young-ho purchased a paper carton of fruit-flavored drinks, added a jar of supplements from a pharmacy, and had Lee Jin-pyeong carry it all.
Clink, clink. So with every step Lee Jin-pyeong took, the bottles rattled — and Kwak Young-ho's face stiffened faster by the second.
Still, Kwak Young-ho was Kwak Young-ho.
"Hello there! It's been far too long, Boss Kim Yeong-chan!"
The moment the man laid eyes on someone he hoped to win over as a client, laughter bloomed across his face in full flower.
It was a factory that crafted furniture by hand. The smell of sawdust hung thick in the air, and carpenter's glue, varnish, and other finishing materials sat in drums, stacked high on wooden pallets. When Kwak Young-ho's greeting rolled across the floor, a few workers glanced his way, then went back to their tasks.
"What'd you come for?"
Kim Yeong-chan — who looked to be about Kwak Young-ho's age — showed his discomfort openly, but Kwak kept right on beaming.
"I did call ahead. Said I'd come by today to pay my respects."
"That was today? Time really does slip by."
"I'm glad to see work's still coming in for you, in a market like this. One moment. Assistant Manager Lee — here, hand that over, quick."
It came after Kwak Young-ho all but flapped his hands at Lee Jin-pyeong. The paper bag of drinks and supplements changed hands, and Kwak patted Lee Jin-pyeong's shoulder with his friendliest smile.
"Thought I'd come share how we've been doing — it's been a while. This one joined our team recently. You two haven't met, I take it?"
"Whewww."
Kim Yeong-chan had seen through the whole act and shot him a look of weary disdain, but Kwak Young-ho latched on at once, gesturing toward the container outside the factory.
"That must be getting heavy — why don't we take it into the office and set it down?"
Watching him steer the venue indoors as naturally as he could manage, Lee Jin-pyeong's eyes widened a touch more than usual. Kang Hyeong-seok, on the other hand, watched Kim Yeong-chan, stiffer than before.
There's something to this man.
It wasn't that a ghost or an evil spirit had attached itself to him. Rather, the way a foul stench soaks into your clothes after a trip through some filthy place — something unclean was seeping off Kim Yeong-chan. And that was what gnawed at him.
"And that one there?"
"Ah, that's Chief Kang — the ace of our team these days. The ace!"
Half-afraid the topic might drift onto Kang Hyeong-seok, Kwak Young-ho hurried the man along.
Clunk, clang! The moment the old container door rolled up, the scream of saws and drills from the factory floor fell away all at once.
In the comparatively quiet space, Sales Team 1 settled onto a sun-faded vinyl sofa.
Click — fwoosh. Kim Yeong-chan, seated across from them, lit a cigarette and tossed the lighter onto the table. Not a good sign. It was his way of showing, point-blank, how little he welcomed this situation.
Sure enough, the corners of Kwak Young-ho's mouth went taut. Kim Yeong-chan drew the smoke in deep, then opened his mouth.
"Turn around and go. I'm not interested."
The look Kim Yeong-chan trained on Kwak Young-ho was anything but kind. He had brought his underlings along, after all — and so, radiating an air of granting them the barest courtesy, the man moved the cigarette to his lips.
"I don't trade with Daejeong Mulsan anymore, and I've no plans to keep this racket up much longer, either."
"Boss—"
"Director Kwak. I'm telling you — I don't intend to run this business much longer."
Even blank-faced, the deep creases in Kim Yeong-chan's face stood out stark; add a scowl on top of that, and he looked outright ferocious.
"Didn't I tell you before? I'm only doing this through this year, and I've no intention of keeping the factory on, either. No one to hand it down to."
"Don't you have a son?"
Though Kwak Young-ho had said it gently, the words landed like a knife between the ribs — Kim Yeong-chan flinched, then bared his eyes all the harder.
"Son, my ass. Enough. I don't need any of this — take it back."
When Kim Yeong-chan set the paper bag he'd taken from Lee Jin-pyeong down on the table, a heavy thunk! rang through the office.
Kwak Young-ho had warned that this wouldn't be easy. But he hadn't imagined it would be this ruthless — and the corners of his eyes sank.
Yip-yip-yip! Perhaps sensing that Lee Jin-pyeong was flustered too, the Spitz's spirit barked up a racket.
And at that moment, Kang Hyeong-seok saw it, plain and unmistakable: Kim Yeong-chan's eyes sliding toward the Spitz.
What was that? Just now...
Even as the cigarette worked between his lips, Kim Yeong-chan was staring, fixed, at the Spitz lingering at Lee Jin-pyeong's feet. Too deliberate a gaze to write off as chance.
By Kang Hyeong-seok's read, the man was certainly no shaman. Yet neither did he have the look of someone gifted with the Yeongan, the spiritual eye, nor any trace of divine power. Then what in the world was he?
Kang Hyeong-seok cautiously shifted his gaze from the Spitz to the man — and in that instant, his eyes locked with Kim Yeong-chan's.