An Ordeal Is No Excuse to Miss Work
Just because you'd been through hell didn't mean you got to skip work. Even on three hours' sleep, you showed up. That was simply what it meant to be a company man.
The water ran hot over his face—shhhhh—and he turned his gaze to the mirror, fogged thick with steam. Then he raised a wet hand and held it before the glass.
Swish. Kang Hyeong-seok wiped it clean with a tense expression, and let out the breath he'd been holding. All the mirror showed was himself. No ghost smeared head to toe in blood stared back at him, no stray spirit with its left and right eyes gazing off in two different directions at once.
So a god really has come into me.
One who received a Momjusin—a body-governing patron deity—walked under that god's protection. And seeing how no lesser spirits came sniffing around him anymore, unlike before, he could be certain: yesterday had been real.
I honestly have no idea what to make of this.
Kang Hyeong-seok rubbed the three dots still vivid on his palm and shook his head.
"First things first—work."
He had to go earn money. Utilities, insurance premiums, savings installments, rent, credit card bills, phone charges, and on and on. There were far too many reasons a man needed his paycheck. Dragging his exhausted body behind him, he headed for the office.
"Good morning."
The greeting came out in a voice that was anything but good, and he fetched a strong coffee from the pantry.
"Assistant Manager Kang, you look tired."
Namgoong Min-ah, the intern at the next desk over, piped up out of nowhere. She had the fresh face of someone barely out of college, eyes not yet stained by the grime of working life. Head to toe, she was the kind of person who made you think, so that's what youth looks like.
"I got home a little late last night."
After dropping Noh Soo-chul off, it had been four in the morning by the time he reached his own door. Being chased through the dead of night by a Chang-gwi, sprinting all over a mountain—the fatigue was still lodged deep in his bones.
"Oh no, really?"
"Yes."
"You can't work like this, Assistant Manager. Should I run out and buy you a recovery tonic or something? I'd be back in a flash."
She was already fumbling her phone into her pocket. She looked fully prepared to march to the convenience store across from the office if he didn't stop her, so Kang Hyeong-seok shook his head as he waved her down.
"It's fine. Work's about to start—where would you even go?"
"You could sleep in your car at lunch. You don't even have to tell me."
"You should sleep somewhere comfortable, though..."
"My car's plenty comfortable. I'm fine, really."
Kang Hyeong-seok pressed each word down firmly, like driving in staples. Only this way would her enthusiasm wilt.
"Okay..."
She set her phone back down with a sulky face, and he added a short, "Thanks for worrying about me." Then he turned straight to his monitor—though out of the corner of his eye, he caught Namgoong Min-ah beaming beside him.
Must be nice, being that pure.
Click, click. Moving the mouse, he opened his inbox and began building his task list with practiced hands. Doing this made him feel like he made fewer mistakes and worked more efficiently, so it had become something of a pre-work ritual.
Which raised a question: why wasn't Noh Soo-chul showing up when the workday was about to begin?
He was checking the clock in the taskbar at the bottom of his monitor when it happened.
"Assistant Manager Kang!"
An irritated voice boomed from the direction of the door.
"Where's Assistant Manager Kang? Assistant Manager Kang!"
"Yes?"
Kang Hyeong-seok rose, brow furrowing, and the broad-shouldered man standing in the doorway beckoned with a flick of his hand.
"Over here! Now!"
With the whole office watching, Kang Hyeong-seok walked toward him. It was Jo Tae-sik, head of Personnel and General Affairs. This wasn't a man who came looking for you like that, and Kang Hyeong-seok wanted to ask why—but Department Head Kwak Young-ho asked it for him.
The door swung open with a bang.
"What's going on here?"
"Ah, there you are."
Jo Tae-sik met the gaze of Kwak Young-ho, just stepping out of the pantry, with a sheepish face and a smacking of lips.
"Well, you see—did you hear? About Deputy General Manager Noh?"
"Deputy General Manager Noh Soo-chul? No, I haven't."
"Aigoo, so you haven't heard."
"What's this about?"
Kwak Young-ho was at least three years Jo Tae-sik's senior, and had been with the company even longer than that. Jo Tae-sik smacked his lips again, glanced around, then pointed at the ceiling while looking at Kang Hyeong-seok.
"Assistant Manager Kang, bring some coffee up to the rooftop, would you? Hmm? And Department Head, you come along too."
Jo Tae-sik's manner was far milder than it had been moments ago, and Kwak Young-ho shot him a look that said please.
"Yes, sir. Right away."
Kang Hyeong-seok mixed two paper cups of instant coffee and headed for the emergency stairwell. Both men were waiting for him, so the three of them went up together to the rooftop smoking room.
The door banged open.
"Geez, you really haven't heard anything?"
"Heard what?"
Jo Tae-sik knit his brow and set a cigarette between his lips.
"Not ten minutes ago, out of nowhere, I got word. He's resigning. Wants me to send his personal belongings by courier."
"What? He's resigning?"
Even Kwak Young-ho, his direct supervisor, hadn't heard a word of it, and bewilderment spread across his face in a rush.
"Can you believe it? No notice, no goodbye—just sends a text like this, of all things."
"...A text?"
"If he'd had the decency to call, I wouldn't be standing here like an idiot."
Jo Tae-sik took drag after drag on the cigarette, then held out his phone. From where he stood, Kang Hyeong-seok could glimpse the screen.
"He's not the type to pull this. Deputy General Manager Noh, of all people..."
"I've tried calling. He won't pick up."
Even an intern wouldn't quit this way.
"Phew! Assistant Manager Kang, you were on that business trip with Noh Soo-chul yesterday, weren't you? Anything happen? Did he say anything?"
Jo Tae-sik and Kwak Young-ho. Both pairs of eyes fixed on Kang Hyeong-seok.
"Well, it's..."
"Hey! Quit stalling and tell me straight."
The moment Jo Tae-sik's voice cracked out like a whip, Kang Hyeong-seok let a silent breath escape through his nose and answered with care.
"On the way back... he saw something. Something that wasn't of this world."
"...What?"
He'd known it would come to this. This was why talking was never easy. How was anyone supposed to believe a man had been chased half the night by a Chang-gwi? Even so, Kang Hyeong-seok conveyed the truth, pared down to what Jo Tae-sik and Kwak Young-ho could reasonably swallow.
"Deputy General Manager Noh was badly frightened. I believe that's the reason."
Kwak Young-ho and Jo Tae-sik alike went slack-jawed. Then Jo Tae-sik's face flamed scarlet in an instant, the veins standing out along his neck.
"Don't mess with me!"
"Hold on, Department Head. Assistant Manager Kang doesn't deserve to be shouted at."
Kwak Young-ho hurriedly stepped in, and Jo Tae-sik, even as he muttered an apology, exhaled a long breath through his clenched teeth.
"You're serious? That's really the reason?"
"As far as I could tell, that was all there was to it."
"Can you stand behind that?"
"Yes."
Jo Tae-sik, who had been glaring at him like he wanted to burn a hole through his skull, suddenly burst into a hollow laugh. It was a reason that was hard to believe and harder to want to believe, yet Kang Hyeong-seok didn't look like a man who lied. Somehow that made it all the more maddening—like he might actually lose his mind over it.
"He's a grown man, for God's sake. Not a child. Crazy bastard."
Jo Tae-sik groaned the words under his breath, and this time Kwak Young-ho didn't stop him either. Partly because the curse wasn't aimed at Kang Hyeong-seok—and mostly because his own face said he agreed. A full-grown adult had resigned his post as though filing a report that he'd seen a ghost. Even good-natured Kwak Young-ho smoked with an expression that couldn't hold down its anger, while Jo Tae-sik kept muttering curses, lips barely moving.
Then, in the middle of it all—
"There might be something else behind it, so I'll look into it on my end as well."
"Yes, I'd appreciate that. And, Department Head."
Jo Tae-sik went on, the anger still smoldering on his face.
"Just in case. If it turns out the reason Assistant Manager Kang gave is the real one, you tell me. If Deputy General Manager Noh so much as breathes the word 'unemployment benefits,' the company will handle it at our level."
"...Yes, sir."
"Ha. Unbelievable. Ha!"
Jo Tae-sik and Kwak Young-ho stood in silence for a good while, then bit down on fresh cigarettes and picked the conversation back up.
"Understood for now. Just have his things packed up and set aside. I'll ship them off at lunch."
"Yes. And—could you approve a hire to fill the vacancy?"
"Of course. The moment the CEO signs off, I'll post the listing right away."
"Yes, yes—thank you."
"Aigoo. One strange man, and now all sorts of people are suffering for it."
Jo Tae-sik crushed out his barely-smoked cigarette. He was on his way to the stairwell door when—
Tap.
With a hand heavy with thought, he gave Kang Hyeong-seok a light touch, then cut his eyes toward Kwak Young-ho.
"Yes, sir. Go on in."
He'd been intending to look after Kwak Young-ho well regardless. As Jo Tae-sik pulled the door open and started down, Kwak Young-ho fished out a fresh cigarette and set it between his lips.
"Whew—! Good grief. You know, you could've said something."
He was plainly upset, and he let the smoke leave him like a sigh.
"Assistant Manager Kang."
"Yes."
"I'm sorry. For what it's worth."
At the apology that arrived without warning, Kang Hyeong-seok looked up at him, startled.
"Sorry about what, exactly?"
"You didn't do a single thing wrong, and Jo Tae-sik comes gunning for you first thing in the morning. Aigoo."
"It's nothing, Department Head."
Kang Hyeong-seok answered with a smile that said it was fine. Kwak Young-ho had always been like this, in his own way. Back when he'd first joined and Noh Soo-chul was putting him through the wringer, the older man would buy him a drink and tell him to hang in there—that even rough treatment was something to see and learn from. He'd apparently even pulled Noh Soo-chul aside afterward and scolded him for treating his people that way. And every single time, Noh Soo-chul had found some petty way to pay him back for it.
"By the way, you feeling all right? Your color's off."
"It's nothing. I slept badly last night."
"Oh, come off it. What time did you get in yesterday?"
"It was the small hours by the time I arrived."
"What? Ah... well, fair enough. That place does like to hold on to people late."
Kwak Young-ho flicked his ash into the tray, then went on, his eyes on Kang Hyeong-seok's face.
"Work the morning, then clock out. I'll file it as a half-day for you."
"What? No, sir. There are documents I need to send to a client, and I still have the materials they requested from yesterday's trip. There's quite a bit to get through."
"I'll take care of it. Just share everything with me."
"But, Department Head—"
Kwak Young-ho flapped a hand as if the whole thing were a bother.
"I'm telling you it's fine. We're already down one man—if you keel over too, that's an even bigger headache."
Flustered as he was, Kang Hyeong-seok let his eyes and expression carry the gratitude his words couldn't.
"Thank you, Department Head."
"And don't you worry about Noh Soo-chul. If he calls, you contact me right away. Got it?"
"Yes, sir. I will."
A firm hand closed on his shoulder and squeezed—then Kwak Young-ho was gone down the emergency stairwell.
Kang Hyeong-seok was the one who'd been asked to take care of others. Yet somehow he was the one being looked after. Sheepish, he watched the door for a moment before starting down the stairs.
Clack-clack, tap-tap. Back at his desk, his fingers flew across the keyboard. He'd meant to finish everything left over before noon, but the clock refused to cooperate. Even so, every urgent item was handled, and his mind was easy as he readied himself to leave.
"Assistant Manager Kang, did you hear the news?"
"Hm? What news?"
"Well—they're saying Deputy General Manager Noh resigned."
Companies, honestly—rumors really did travel at the speed of light. Kang Hyeong-seok regarded Namgoong Min-ah for a moment, then laughed in spite of himself.
"That's what I got hauled off for this morning."
"Oh my! Really?"
"You're loud."
She clamped her mouth shut and swept the room with wide rabbit eyes. Then she leaned in, voice lowered, and tried again.
"This is a good thing though, right, Assistant Manager Kang?"
"What is?"
"Deputy General Manager Noh leaving. He was always nasty to you—and only to you, if you think about it."
Aigoo, honestly. Perhaps there really was such a thing as an office worker being too pure for her own good. Kang Hyeong-seok shook his head and kept his voice low.
"Don't say things like that. If the wrong person hears, they'll think less of you for it, Min-ah."
"I-I'm sorry."
"It's fine. Oh, right—I'm out this afternoon on a half-day. The heavy lifting is all done, so there's nothing you need to worry about."
"A half-day?"
"Yes. So if anything comes up, you text me right away. None of this struggling alone in silence."
Namgoong Min-ah's face went openly, instantly moved.
"I wish everyone in the whole world were like you, Assistant Manager Kang."
"I did my time in the intern trenches myself, that's all."
Intern life was a bitter thing. Professor's recommendation or not, Kang Hyeong-seok had lived it too.
"It's lunchtime. I'll head down first—enjoy your meal."
"Yes, sir!"
Kang Hyeong-seok powered down his monitor, packed his personal things into his bag, and slotted his tumbler into its designated pocket beside it. Then, having let his coworkers know he was heading out, he stepped into the elevator.
"Going somewhere nice?"
Someone tossed the question his way, and he managed a sheepish smile.
"Nice place, hardly. I couldn't even tell you where I'm headed."
"Aw, go breathe some fresh air at least. It's a half-day off, after all."
"Enjoy your lunch."
Everyone piled out on the cafeteria floor. Kang Hyeong-seok, however, had farther to go—the underground parking garage—and the elevator emptied until he was the only one left.
He looked down at the three dots pressed into his palm. There was no mistaking it now: they were giving off a genuinely numinous energy. He set his jaw and let a slow breath out through his nose.
"I should stop by my teacher's place."
Lee Geum-kyeong—the mansin who had performed his Sin-nureum ritual, the rite that had pressed his god down all those years ago. She was the only person who could explain what he'd been through, the sacred shaman bells, and these three dots on his palm.
Ding. The doors slid open, and Kang Hyeong-seok made his way toward his car.