Her World – 4

As I was looking at the training booklet placed in front of me, Lee Mina sat down at the desk next to me and started unpacking.

“Um… Ms. Lee Mina?”

“Yes, sir. Shall we start the training right away?”

“Uh… First, could you set up your PC? Please configure the printer and set up the messenger and email as well.”

What did I used to say when a new employee came? I rummaged through the memories of my hometown, which I couldn’t even remember now, to buy some time.

“Yes, I understand.”

Lee Mina moved like a robot. Her pupils, devoid of even a sliver of light, seemed to be looking into a deep abyss.

Tap, tap, tap.

Lee Mina’s fingers moved over the rhythmic sound of typing. Not too slow, not too fast, just the right speed.

She alternated her gaze between the handouts for new employees and the monitor.

I clicked my tongue at her posture, which seemed to be measured with a ruler, and flipped through the training booklet.

I didn’t know if the company’s training materials were all similar, or if her subconscious had adjusted the content for me, but there was nothing in the training that was difficult for me to handle.

It took Lee Mina less than 10 minutes to finish setting up the PC.

She stopped typing on the keyboard, placed her hands demurely on her lap, and turned to me. It was when I was reading the training booklet for the third time.

“Sir, I’m done with the setup.”

“You finished quickly. Then, let me explain the management program first. Could you run the Integrated Management System on the desktop?”

“Yes, I understand.”

Like a robot, performing the input she received.

“Yes, once you log in, you’ll be automatically logged in from then on.”

“Yes.”

“You can search for items by item name or ID.”

“Yes.”

“You can also check the order quantity and inventory using the filter, you know?”

“Yes.”

“Then, um… I’ll give you a list via messenger, could you organize the status of the lists into Excel?”

“I understand.”

Lee Mina turned her gaze to the screen without hesitation and began to move her fingers.

She seemed to be learning quite quickly.

Several days passed. The thick training booklet was nearing its end.

As I felt on the first day, Lee Mina was quick to learn. On top of that, she was also putting in the effort.

She started the second week’s training in the first week, and the third week’s training in the second week.

Her evaluation was top-notch, and her training attitude was excellent.

“You come in early, sir.”

Well, I’m always in the office.

“Mina also comes in early.”

Lee Mina can never come to work faster than me.

“……..”

Lee Mina sat down and began to prepare for work.

The sound of the computer turning on filled the quiet office.

“Actually….”

Lee Mina opened her mouth.

“Every morning, I come in thinking, ‘I’m going to be the first one to arrive today!'”

Lee Mina brought up a personal story for the first time.

“Is that so? Trying to make a good impression?”

I took a sip of water and responded to her words.

It was a slightly direct question.

“Yes.”

She answered honestly.

“You already look good enough. You don’t need to try harder here.”

“No, I need to.”

At least to me. Lee Mina smiled slightly.

There were many stories hanging on the edge of that smile.

“I see.”

“You’re not asking.”

“Everyone has their own story. I don’t want to ask until they tell me.”

“……..”

Lee Mina stared at me intently.

“Why?”

“I’ve heard similar words before. Hearing your words reminded me of that time.”

“I see.”

“I want to be successful.”

That’s why I work so hard. Lee Mina reconnected the severed conversation.

“Is it ambition? Or money?”

“Money. I’ve done some calculations, and I need to earn twice as much as I do now to live alone. Is it a bit of a… unromantic reason?”

“I don’t think it’s a matter of judgment. Independence is important too.”

“…Yes.”

That’s how her and my personal conversation ended.

After that day, I started having small talks with her. But we didn’t talk much.

As much as the dew that falls from the grass blades raised their heads through the dawn.

Perhaps I was the only one here who could understand her situation well.

I talked to her with her personal history, which I vaguely knew, in mind, and she seemed to accept the conversation as a positive experience.

As she opened up to me, changes also occurred in me.

Only a little, but I was able to go outside the office.

First the hallway, then the elevator, and today I was even able to go to the smoking area in front of the company.

“You’re here early again today.”

Lee Mina, who I met in front of the company, scanned my outfit and said.

“I guess so.”

“Will there ever be a day when I come earlier than you, sir?”

She showed a smile that was deeper than the faint pastel smile she had shown at first.

“Don’t try to win too much.”

I responded to her smile and returned to the office.

Positive conversations and psychological comfort.

Gradually increasing territory.

I thought that I could wake her up from her slumber if I continued like this.

But that was my delusion.

“Do you happen to know someone named Lee Mina?”

A man spoke to me as I was resting in the sun in front of the company.

Shaggy hair, shabby clothes, and a terrible smell of cigarettes.

“Yes? Yes, I do. Who are you?”

“Ah, so you’re Mina’s superior.”

The old man smiled, revealing his yellow teeth.

It was a creepy smile.

“Who are you?”

“Ah, I am….”

Just as an unpleasant and ominous feeling was about to creep up, someone came between me and the man.

“Why are you here?”

Lee Mina’s coldly subdued voice was exactly like her first day at work.

“Mina, I’m just….”

The man tried to explain something, but

“What nerve do you have to come here?”

Lee Mina had no intention of listening.

“That’s….”

“What kind of face do you have to show up in front of me?”

“If you have any grievances, let’s talk them out. You can’t easily sever the ties of kinship.”

“Kinship?”

Lee Mina glanced back. She covered her face with her hair.

I felt like I knew what kind of expression was on her face hidden by her hair.

That’s why my heart ached.

“Get out. Get out of my sight…. Get out of my workplace….”

Unlike her sharp words, she was obviously crying.