The Words Left Unsaid
With a soft sniffle, Buyong walked past Kang Hyeong-seok and sat down at the president's desk.
The president's gaze followed her, but Buyong never once glanced at Kang Hyeong-seok. She had known exactly who he was — even behind the mask, his build, his air, the look in his eyes had given him away. And she knew, too, that he kept his identity as a shaman hidden.
"Now then, back to what we were saying..."
The interrupted conversation picked up where it had left off. It was not an easy one. The line neither side could yield was drawn far too sharply, and the talks did little more than circle the same ground again and again.
That was when—
"Dad."
Buyong, silent all this while, leaned forward and spoke.
"Hm?"
"Can't you just go ahead and sign the contract?"
"Wh-what?"
The president jolted, and the office staff's gazes flicked briefly to Buyong before returning to their monitors.
"They seem like good people. And the terms look reasonable too."
"Ah— no, that's, I mean..."
"I never ask you for things like this. You know that."
Buyong held the president's gaze steady and sealed her lips. At that, the president rubbed the back of his neck, looking utterly cornered.
"She was never like this, and now out of nowhere..."
It was the very moment Kwak Young-ho watched him, heart whispering, Could it be?
"Dad."
"Aigoo."
The president fidgeted helplessly, plainly at a loss.
Kwak Young-ho bowed his head deep, as if determined not to let this moment slip away.
"Please, sir! I'm begging you!"
"Haaaah."
The president heaved a great sigh and turned his eyes to Kwak Young-ho and Kang Hyeong-seok. He stared at Kang Hyeong-seok for a long, long while, looked at Buyong once more, and then—
"...Fine. Fine, I'll do it."
"Thank you."
Buyong raised no fuss and made no scene. She simply offered her thanks, quiet and composed, deliberately keeping her eyes away from Kang Hyeong-seok. It was consideration, in her own way.
"Did you bring the contract?"
"O-of course!"
Dazed yet glowing, Kwak Young-ho drew out the contract and spread it across the desk. The president began reading it line by line, conferring with Kwak Young-ho as he went — and so he had no attention to spare for Kang Hyeong-seok.
"We'll take another look at the delivery pricing later, but as things stand, we can't meet the quantity you're asking for by that date."
"I'll do my best to coordinate that on our end."
"How long do you need?"
Completely cut out of the two men's rapid-fire exchange, Kang Hyeong-seok shifted his gaze to Buyong instead. Her eyes were fixed on the desk — perhaps out of a resolve never to betray his secret to another living soul.
"Now then, where's a pen..."
"Here you are!"
Kwak Young-ho quickly held out the fine pen he always carried, and the president twisted off the cap and set his signature to the contract.
"Thank you so much, sir!"
"Honestly, come a little earlier next time. Don't show up right when we're slammed."
"We certainly will! Thank you, truly."
Just as Kwak Young-ho, his pen returned, moved to shake the president's hand—
"Dad, I should head out."
"Huh? Huh? Already?"
"I have to go see Mom too. You know how busy things are."
"Yes, yes. Travel safe. Call me when you're done!"
Buyong passed the visitor seating and made for the door. And as she passed in front of Kang Hyeong-seok, she bowed her head — faintly, but unmistakably. She couldn't put her gratitude into words, so she had expressed it the only way she could.
Click.
The door closed. Even so, Kang Hyeong-seok couldn't tear his eyes from it for a long while.
Thank you.
And may you find happiness.
Just as Buyong had left it unsaid, so too did Kang Hyeong-seok carry something he could not say. Beside Buyong lingered the spirit of a young man — pressed close against her, watching over her like a guardian spirit, as if she were the most precious person in the world to him. Watching the two of them, one living and one dead, finally at peace after long suffering and long nightmares, Kang Hyeong-seok smiled a smile that held many things at once.
Slam! Kwak Young-ho climbed into the car, his eyes lit with unusual excitement.
"Wow. So this is how it works out, huh."
It was a contract they had truly needed. Not enough to restore Sales Team 1's standing, perhaps, but enough to hold their heads up among the sales teams.
"So it really did come through. Whew. What are the odds."
He must have been more rattled than he let on — the hand turning the wheel was still trembling, faint but unmistakable.
"It worked out beyond anything I could have imagined."
"Exactly! Man, thank goodness that president's putty in his daughter's hands. Truly."
Gratitude written all over his face, Kwak Young-ho drummed his fingers on the wheel as he pulled out of the factory grounds.
"But why do you suppose the daughter said that?"
"Because your pitch was just that good, Department Head."
"No, that can't be it."
Like a man whose tension had drained away all at once, Kwak Young-ho let out sigh after sigh and shifted his gaze to Kang Hyeong-seok.
"Manager Kang — just asking, mind — you really don't know the daughter? At all?"
"Sorry?"
"No, it's just... there was something about the way she looked at you."
The sharp eyes of a veteran sales department head truly were a fearsome thing. Kang Hyeong-seok let one corner of his mouth curl into a smile and shook his head.
"No, sir. I was half wondering the same thing, so I stole a glance myself — but she's no one I know."
"Then she must've taken a liking to you!"
"I'm afraid not. That's not it."
"Come on, then — just how handsome is our Manager Kang supposed to be, anyway?"
There was real force in Kwak Young-ho's voice, as if it were no idle flattery.
"Anyway — I'm truly glad you came along. Truly glad."
"You'd have landed it all the same without me."
"No. Without you, it wouldn't have happened."
Kwak Young-ho shook his head as if scandalized, then turned the wheel to the right as the navigation instructed.
"It wasn't for nothing that I suggested just the two of us come out here. When there's two of you, there's a synergy that simply isn't there otherwise."
When you go to apologize to a client, two people beat one. But three becomes a burden. Headcount, as it turned out, mattered enormously. And what Kwak Young-ho had truly hoped for, more than anything, was Kang Hyeong-seok's energy.
"You're no talisman or anything, but having you along — I don't know, I just get this feeling things will go our way."
"I didn't do a single thing."
"Just coming was more than enough. I'm that grateful."
Only now, it seemed, was he finally catching his breath; Kwak Young-ho let out a long, thin sigh. Nothing followed it. But Kang Hyeong-seok could guess how tightly the man had been wound, and so he simply nodded without a word.
"Hold on — now's not the time to be basking."
Not far from the office, Kwak Young-ho picked up his phone and dialed straight through to the head of Sales Team 2.
"Yes! How did it go?"
"Ours wrapped up nicely. You'll be treating us to something big later."
"Sorry?"
"It worked out! The deal's signed."
This was not normally Kwak Young-ho's way. But right now his voice brimmed with force, bold as a peacock showing its feathers.
"The delivery date will need some coordinating, but it'll wrap up clean!"
"Uh— uh, yes? It's done? Really?"
He must have been floored; even through the phone, the head of Sales Team 2 sounded flustered enough that you could practically see his face.
"Needless to say, this goes on record as our department's win."
"Ah... yes. Right, that's only fair. But— how on earth did you manage it? That stubborn old mule of a man."
"You know who's sitting next to me right now?"
Just then, Kwak Young-ho shot Kang Hyeong-seok a sidelong grin. Kang Hyeong-seok was already shaking his head, face pleading, please don't — but Kwak Young-ho announced in a booming, cheerful voice:
"Manager Kang. It's Manager Kang."
"Ah."
"So make sure Sales Team 2 takes good care of our Manager Kang from now on."
"Well..."
The head of Sales Team 2 was clearly about to say something.
"Whoops, I'm driving — I'll see you at the office."
Kwak Young-ho cut the call unilaterally and laughed, as if shoving the air out of his lungs. It was a strangely cheerful sound.
"You had some history with him?"
"What kind of grudge could people at the same company possibly have?"
He said that, but plenty had piled up. From having the job suddenly foisted on them, to the way Sales Team 2 had long eyed Kang Hyeong-seok with jealousy.
"Ahh, I feel great."
With the satisfaction of a man who had finally pressed down the upturned nose of an insufferable bastard, Kwak Young-ho drove back toward the office in high spirits.
"Ta-daah!"
They were back at the office. Kwak Young-ho had stepped out briefly, saying he had a report to deliver, and the moment he walked back in, he thrust a card high into the air. For one heartbeat, it looked for all the world like a corporate card, gleaming down to the very name printed on it.
"Huh? Sir, what's that?"
Namgoong Min-ah asked, eyes gone wide and round, and Kwak Young-ho answered with a smile that was, for some reason, distinctly sly.
"Got it off Sales Team 2."
"What?"
"They said they were sorry — really, really sorry — and lent us the card so the whole team could go out for dinner together."
Lent, was it? Or seized?
Shin Jeong-ah glanced at Kang Hyeong-seok for a beat, but he plainly knew nothing about it, so she looked away.
"So I'm thinking we do dinner tonight. Everyone in?"
"So suddenly?"
"What's the matter, Assistant Manager Lee? Got plans?"
"No, sir."
Nodding as if he'd expected exactly that, Kwak Young-ho turned his gaze to Namgoong Min-ah as well.
"Nope! Nothing!"
"Manager Shin? Manager Kang?"
"Nothing for me either."
"Me neither."
Kwak Young-ho rubbed his index finger hard against his thumb — snap.
"Let's burn through every last won of this today."
"Whoa! C-can we really?"
"We put out the fire on their toes for them, didn't we? Spending a little is fine. If they grumble later, I'll just bow my head a bit, that's all."
Kang Hyeong-seok and Shin Jeong-ah laughed, half in surrender, while a fierce light kindled in Namgoong Min-ah's eyes.
"I know a fancy place!"
"Oh? Where?"
"A while back it was my grandma's birthday, so we had a family dinner at a hotel..."
Judging that that crossed the line, Kwak Young-ho shook his head at once.
"Let's cap it at 100,000 won a head."
"Yes..."
As Namgoong Min-ah deflated on the spot and answered in a wilted voice, Kang Hyeong-seok spoke up.
"I'll chip in some money, Department Head."
"Hm?"
"I did say earlier that I wanted to buy everyone a meal."
"Ah, no, no. We've got the card — why would you strain yourself?"
"All the same. The long holiday's coming up, and this quarter's about to close out, too."
Meaning: the war-like season was nearly upon them, the stretch where teammates would have to pull one another through to fill their targets. For Kang Hyeong-seok there was Shin Yo-sep, so things would somehow manage — but that didn't mean the others could just sit around sucking their thumbs. They were a team. And a team always moves together.
"Ah, in that case..."
Kwak Young-ho mulled it over for a moment, then opened his mouth.
"It's a bit of a drive, but there's a buffet out there with seriously good food."
"Aw, a buffet?"
"That place runs about 100,000 won a head these days."
"...Whoa."
The moment Namgoong Min-ah's astonished mouth fell open, Kwak Young-ho waved the card and grinned.
"We'll order a proper dish on top of the buffet. The dish is on Manager Kang, the drinks are on me."
"Wow! I love it!"
Namgoong Min-ah cheered, clapping her hands, and just as Lee Jin-pyeong was thinking, Which buffet on earth is this? and punching it into a search bar, Shin Jeong-ah's gaze settled on Kang Hyeong-seok.
You're not overdoing it, are you?
To the question carried in her eyes, Kang Hyeong-seok drew a breath deep enough to swell his chest, and nodded. The holiday was nearly here anyway. He wanted, even just once more, to share a good hour with his teammates before it arrived. Because there was no telling what kind of trouble he might find himself swept into next.