Chapter 16
Chapter 16
“Ugh, this hangover.”
The alcohol hadn’t fully worn off.
Well, that was inevitable, considering we drank until dawn yesterday—no, this morning.
I couldn’t even remember how many bottles of soju we went through. My stomach was still churning.
“She doesn’t look much better.”
When I turned my head, I saw Yeonhee over at the counter.
Her makeup barely covered it.
But the exhaustion in her hollow eyes was obvious.
She was smiling while working, but it was clear she hadn’t escaped the aftermath of last night’s drinking.
“……”
At that moment, our eyes met by chance.
We didn’t say anything.
We just spoke with our eyes.
‘I’m dying.’
‘I’m dying too.’
It was that kind of look—enough to understand everything.
Beyond the tired expressions, there was something oddly funny about it too.
Anyway.
The drinking session had been pretty enjoyable.
Talking about what we’d each been through since graduating.
How hard job hunting had been.
It wasn’t perfect, but it was honest, and we could relate to each other.
‘Lunch break soon.’
Before customers crowded the ATM area, I cleaned up the receipts, crumpled envelopes, and trash around it.
Then I headed back inside and was about to sit at my desk when—
“Inha.”
At the familiar voice, I turned my head.
Assistant Manager Ha stood there with his arms crossed.
“When you have time, can you help customers install the app in advance?”
“Do I look like I’m doing nothing?”
I shot back, dumbfounded.
I had just come in from working outside, and this was the first thing he said?
“I know. But you’re not the only one busy. We’re all busy.”
Assistant Manager Ha snapped back, as if he’d made up his mind.
There was clear hostility in his tone, probably because of what happened yesterday.
“Customers these days are sensitive about wait times. Wouldn’t it be nice if you helped with things like app installations proactively? As someone working together with us, you should help when you can. Don’t you think?”
He said it like a request, but his expression said otherwise.
It was clearly an order.
Casually pressing down from above.
I kept my mouth shut.
Words were forming in my head, ready to spill out if he pushed me one more time.
Then—
“App?”
A low, heavy voice.
At that single word from behind me, Assistant Manager Ha’s expression froze.
It was the branch manager.
“B-branch manager?”
Assistant Manager Ha straightened up immediately.
The branch manager just stood there, expressionless, watching.
“Ah, I was just asking Inha to help with app installations. It’s related to branch performance too.”
“Asking?”
The branch manager’s eyebrow lifted slightly.
“That didn’t sound like a request.”
“Pardon?”
Assistant Manager Ha’s voice shrank.
“Did I hear wrong? It sounded like a lecture.”
“N-no, that’s a misunderstanding.”
“Then why are you telling Kim Joo-im to do that?”
Silence fell.
Assistant Manager Ha stammered.
“I-I just meant, as someone working together—”
“Who gave you the authority to decide that?”
His tone cut him off cleanly.
Assistant Manager Ha’s mouth shut.
He seemed to realize something had gone very wrong.
The branch manager raised his voice deliberately, as if for everyone to hear.
“From now on, do not dump your work on Kim Joo-im. If there are any unreasonable instructions outside of his security duties, I won’t let it slide. Understood?”
“…Yes.”
Assistant Manager Ha answered quietly, reading the room.
He looked half out of it, as if he’d just been struck out of nowhere.
“And what do you mean, Inha? You should call him Kim Joo-im. He’s been working at this branch for years. Do you understand?”
Assistant Manager Ha couldn’t even respond properly, just nodding blankly.
I was just as stunned.
No one in the branch had ever called me Kim Joo-im.
It was always “Inha.”
It sounded casual, but carried a tone of looking down on me.
The difference between a full employee and a contract worker.
And yet, the branch manager had just corrected that order of respect.
Leaving Assistant Manager Ha speechless, the branch manager turned to me.
“Kim Joo-im, you haven’t had lunch yet, right?”
“Yes? Yes.”
“Let’s go. I made a reservation at that eel rice bowl place nearby.”
“…Understood.”
I nodded quietly.
The moment he said “reservation,” I could feel the atmosphere shift.
I glanced up slightly.
As expected, people were staring.
Confusion, disbelief, suspicion, shock…
A mix of emotions painted awkwardly across their faces.
I looked away.
Avoided their gaze.
‘I don’t have an explanation either.’
Honestly, this kind of treatment still felt unfamiliar and awkward to me too.
I just silently followed the branch manager.
Bzzz.
My phone vibrated.
A text message.
I didn’t even need to check who it was from.
[Yeonhee: Sunbae, what is going on!?]
Yeah.
I’d like to ask that too.
What exactly is happening here…?
And yet.
Strangely, I didn’t feel bad about it.
Weekend morning.
Before sunrise, the air was slightly chilly.
“Sunbae!”
A car on the main road blinked its headlights.
Through the passenger window of a midsize sedan, Yeonhee waved, wearing sunglasses.
“Get in.”
She was dressed neatly in a pressed shirt and a windbreaker.
Simple, but put-together.
After getting in and fastening my seatbelt, I glanced at her.
“You look kinda pretty.”
“Me? I put in some effort today.”
At my casual remark, Yeonhee lifted her chin and smiled brightly.
Her hair was tied in a light ponytail.
An ivory blouse, a fitted jacket hugging her waist, and a beige skirt that fell just above her knees.
Unlike her usual bank uniform, her outfit today was stylish and pretty.
“I meant the car, not you.”
“Tch.”
She pouted.
“It’s a used car that looks like new.”
“So what if it’s used? Even a Benz becomes used after one ride.”
“What are you even saying?”
She chuckled and entered the destination into the navigation.
It would take about three hours to get to the venue.
“I’ll take good care of you today, sunbae.”
“Sure.”
With the sound of the engine, the car smoothly started moving.
Once we passed the toll gate and hit the highway, the road was clear thanks to the early hour.
“So basically, you got close to the branch manager because of baduk?”
“Something like that.”
“…Does that even make sense? Being treated like an adopted son over a hobby?”
“Yeah. It shouldn’t make sense, but it does.”
I laughed awkwardly.
Even to me, the relationship with the branch manager was hard to explain.
“I still find him intimidating.”
“You think I don’t?”
“But Assistant Manager Ha’s been more careful around you lately.”
“That’s probably because of the branch manager.”
After that day, the way people at the branch treated me had clearly changed.
No more “Inha.”
They all called me “Kim Joo-im” properly.
And no more unreasonable requests.
Well, aside from the routine stuff that still lingered.
“How about you? Is he still the same?”
“Don’t even get me started. He’s been so persistent lately… sigh.”
Yeonhee let out a deep sigh.
She looked genuinely stressed.
“It’s fine. That’s why we prepared for today!”
She turned the wheel and pulled into a rest stop.
To take a break and grab a simple breakfast.
Just as I got out of the car and headed toward the food court, she grabbed me.
“Where are you going? We need to take pictures.”
“Now?”
“Yeah. That observation deck over there is perfect.”
She put a hat on me, made me wear a jacket, and turned me around.
“Taking it!”
Click.
A silhouette shot with backlighting.
It looked surprisingly good.
“You’re good at taking pictures.”
“This is nothing. I’m even better at editing.”
She made a V sign and linked arms with me.
“Why are you standing so awkwardly? Get closer.”
Under her lead, we got closer.
On the way to Namwon, we took several more “fake couple photos.”
After the long drive, we finally arrived.
The clock read 9:30 a.m.
The venue for the Chunhyang Cup was right next to Chunhyang Theme Park.
“Thanks for driving. Let’s have lunch together later.”
“Okay, sunbae. Don’t worry about me and just do your best.”
I got out and headed into the venue.
After parking, Yeonhee wandered around the theme park alone.
There was plenty to see.
She even scoped out spots to take more fake couple photos later.
“I wonder how he’s doing.”
Baduk.
It still felt unfamiliar to her.
Just sitting and placing stones on a board, right?
But seeing the event in Namwon, it felt like a huge festival.
“…I’ve got nothing else to do. Should I go watch?”
She turned and headed toward the gymnasium where the tournament was held.
The moment she stepped inside—
“Wow.”
The atmosphere was completely different.
The sound of stones clicking.
The ticking of clocks.
Absolute silence.
The weight of the tournament felt unfamiliar and heavy.
Among it all, she spotted Inha, leaning forward over the board.
Not a word.
No unnecessary movement.
He simply looked at the board and quietly placed a stone.
“……”
For some reason, she couldn’t look away.
A side of him she’d never seen before.
The man called Kim Inha, playing baduk, felt like a completely different person.
Not long after, she got a call from him after his morning match.
“Did you win?”
“Yeah. After lunch, it’s the round of 16.”
They went to a nearby bibimbap restaurant.
Yeonhee checked the sign and took a photo of the food.
“This all has a purpose.”
“I’m sure it does.”
I mixed the rice with the sauce.
Yeonhee quietly watched.
Normally, she’d be chatting and laughing.
But today, for some reason, she held back.
Seeing that, I pulled her bowl closer.
“What, you’re just going to let it get cold? Give it here. I’ll mix it.”
“Huh? No, it’s fine—”
I mixed it and placed it back in front of her.
A natural gesture, not something I thought about.
She took a bite.
Her eyes widened.
“It’s good.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. The seasoning is perfect.”
“Good. Let’s eat.”
I smiled.
After lunch, they took a few photos at the theme park and returned to the gymnasium.
“You’re going to watch? It might be boring.”
“If it is, I’ll just do something else.”
“Do whatever you want.”
I chuckled and headed back to the match area.
From a distance, Yeonhee watched his round of 16 opponent.
Sharp eyes, intimidating presence.
‘He looks strong.’
But—
Within fifteen minutes, the man’s expression turned grim.
Soon after, he resigned.
“Sunbae, you won?”
“Yeah.”
I answered calmly.
Quarterfinals.
Semifinals.
Yeonhee was stunned.
She didn’t understand baduk, but all his opponents looked strong.
Yet he crushed them effortlessly and reached the finals.
“One more game.”
She never expected him to go this far.
One loss meant elimination, yet he looked so relaxed.
‘A side of him I’ve never seen.’
They’d known each other since college.
But she’d never realized he could focus like this.
And because of that, she became more curious.
“I’ll be back.”
I headed toward the final match.
His opponent was a man in his forties with glasses.
A calm, heavy presence.
Someone who clearly looked strong.
‘He’s not going to lose… right?’
Anxious, Yeonhee stood and moved closer.
She stood quietly beside him.
She looked at the board, but couldn’t understand anything.
Instead—
She could clearly see the opponent’s face.
Leaning forward.
Leg shaking.
Fingers running through his hair.
Unlike Inha, whose expression never changed, the opponent looked cornered.
After a while, the man spoke quietly.
“I… I resign.”
“Good game.”
Inha’s voice remained calm.
Even though he had just secured victory.
No excitement.
No joy.
As if it were only natural.
‘Ah.’
Watching him, Yeonhee felt a strange flutter in her chest.