episode_0004

Just like any other Monday morning commute.

The subway, or rather the “hell-train,” continues to carry various people forward.

From early morning coughing fits, loud phone conversations, elderly men and women occupying seats for pregnant women, to someone who passed out drunk from the night before disrupting the atmosphere of the train car.

“Ahhh.”

“Oh, yes! It’s my stop now! I’ll be right there!”

“Ugh, so tired…”

Of course, there was no exception even on a hot day like today.

‘Why didn’t I just take the car…’

Seems like Murphy’s Law is at play; why is it that only the car I’m in has so many strange people? I feel like getting off right now and changing trains.

“The next station is Yeoksam. Yeoksam Station. The doors will open on the right…”

Finally arriving at the office. Greeted a few interns and took my seat. By the way, Hyojin received an unsatisfactory work evaluation and won’t be around anymore.

She was nice, but… her work performance was really the issue.

“Here comes the boss~”

Jihee, who arrived about a minute later than me, greeted me. Yeah, that’s how you do it in the workplace. Whether it’s a job or part-time work, having good manners is basic etiquette.

“Shall we start work for today then?”

I turned on the computer and checked the quick memo I wrote the previous day.

“Introduction and Training for New Hires”

Oh, right, there were new hires coming in again.

It’s been a month since Hyojin left. In the meantime, another new person was hired.

‘I hope this time we get someone who’s good at their job…’

No matter how good your manners are or how well you navigate office politics, ultimately, survival depends on being good at your job, unless you’re one of the founding members or the chairman’s son.

With the shift towards ability-based evaluations from mere qualifications, society has become unforgiving of even minor mistakes. I think it’s quite remarkable to have survived for ten years.

As I was typing away on the computer for other tasks, Jihee guided a new person into the office.

“This is Kang Suhyun, who will be working with us starting today. Please take care of her.”

“Hello. Nice to meet you.”

Kang Suhyun, twenty-seven years old this year.

With long hair swept to my left according to my standards, makeup just enough with BB cream highlighting clear and clean skin.

Her large, cat-like eyes gave me the impression of focused attention, rather than being bright, her face had a somewhat haughty vibe.

For her first day at work, she wore a white shirt with a black jacket, reaching the ideal skirt length of 5cm above the knee. The black stockings slightly visible underneath seemed to draw attention involuntarily, almost as if intentionally done.

‘This won’t do.’

It would be troublesome to start harassing her already. It seems like my libido has suddenly increased recently. Even things that didn’t usually affect me now seem to stir something within me.

‘The fact that she’s my daughter is the biggest issue…’

Things have been awkward between Yoohee and me since then.

Thud.

The sound of hitting the wall with her head. You can sense the deliberate nature of that sound, indicating a signal. A signal that she’s going to masturbate.

From then on, as if it doesn’t matter, she lets out strange moans, making loud enough noises that you don’t even need to put your ear to the door.

Since the last incident was too embarrassing, I quietly put on my earphones and listen to music until her moans stop, or watch TV in the living room.

But even ignoring it has its limits. Once you know that your daughter is masturbating, all your attention shifts beyond the earphones to the room where she’s doing it.

“Heh, heh…!”

I don’t understand why they’re doing this. Are they urging me to leave, or are they treating me like a folding screen now? “It would have been better if they had just told me,” I think to myself without realizing it.

As the faint moans echo softly, I too lean against the wall and naturally join in that act. This has become our routine.

“Ah…!”

Overwhelmed by a tremendous sense of guilt and shame for not repenting, my mind becomes entangled, gradually gnawing away at my sanity as pleasure peaks, eventually leading to completion.

“Haah….”

Despite feeling self-loathing, my mind is already filled with naked fantasies. The day ends while I indulge in absurd thoughts about how extraordinary it would be in reality.

I worry about how long this relationship can last.

“Manager?”

“Oh, sorry. I got lost in thought for a moment…”

“No problem.”

“Haha… Let me show you to your seat then.”

Damn it. Here comes another pointless urge…

“This is Suhyun’s seat. The computer specs are a bit… well, after three months, you can move to another department, so please bear with it for a while.”

“It’s okay. I’ll adapt.”

Suhyun casually finds the power button. Even though Hyojin couldn’t find it, it seems the HR team does have an eye for detail.

“Oh…”

The remnants left by Hyojin. I wonder if she even left her password unresolved.

*Riiing. Riiing.*

And at an inconvenient time, a call from another department comes in. Just when things are busy enough. It’s month-end, and they’re asking for staff support.

Manager Choi is already on assignment in another department.

“Sorry, Suhyun. Do you know how to format?”

“Yes.”

“The red USB is for formatting, and the blue one contains necessary work files and programs. Please check these.”

“Got it.”

Ah~ Truly reliable.

After leaving the company, I seem to excel in these areas. Most people don’t know about these things even after coming to Seoul, but thanks to them, I’ve had less trouble.

“Hello?”

“Ah, Manager Kim. Will you be sending someone over?”

“Everyone is busy today, so we’ll send someone starting tomorrow.”

“Or maybe even you, Manager…”

“Don’t talk nonsense. We’re busy here too, you know?”

“Oh, I’m sorry…”

Between training new recruits and securing new business deals, I’m already swamped. Just because it’s the Education Department doesn’t mean we only focus on training newcomers.

And when going out on urgent assignments like this, you’re treated more like a tool than a person. If you don’t act quickly, you might end up being scolded or worse.

At least I don’t want my team to experience such treatment. I remember how badly I was treated when I first arrived…

“You waited, right? When it’s month-end, they always take advantage of us in this department. Suhyun might also move to another department from tomorrow… Have you finished formatting already?”

“Yes. It was faster than I thought.”

Seeing the neatly arranged blue screen, I felt relieved. Hyojin’s screen started with strange idol pictures and was extremely messy… I didn’t say anything since no one else would see it anyway.

I wish they’d stop customizing company computers as if it were their own home computer.

“When everything is installed, call me. It’s better not to go outside. You might get caught by another department.”

“Understood.”

Glancing at her profile, although her long hair covers most of her face, her delicate jawline is visible. With just a change of background, she could pass for a painting.

If she continues to work diligently, with talents like Suhyun coming in, it seems like there will be no better place than this.

As I continue with my work, Suhyun calls out to me.

“I’ve finished installing everything.”

“You did well. Would you like to turn on the messenger?”

Suhyun clicked her mouse in agreement with my words and opened the messenger app.

“Create an account, then talk to Jihee over there. She’ll get you transferred to our department. From then on, we’ll communicate through messenger.”

“Understood. Oh, Manager. Here.”

“Thank you.”

She made sure not to forget passing me the USB. Ah, this is great. With my junior handling things smoothly, it feels like my workload has lightened.

“Phew.”

Just in case any files went missing, I needed to plug in the USB to confirm. The most common mistake newcomers make in this area is moving the entire contents of the USB instead of copying the files.

This would result in no files remaining on the USB, rendering it unusable for future use.

This, too, was a mistake made by Hyojin.

“The boot disk seems fine.”

I plugged in the USB containing various documents and programs to check. Everything here was in perfect order as well.

“I look forward to working with you in the future.”

I invited Suhyun to our department’s chat room.

Although only Jihee and I had already greeted her, it felt good to send the invitation out of courtesy.

I apologized to Suhyun but handed her some tasks since the paperwork needing organization was piling up.

“Just fill it out according to the format report.”

“Got it.”

The sound of typing did not cease from that moment on. And within less than two hours, a notification came in that the documents were uploaded to the cloud.

“Good job. You work quickly. Take a break.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

To handle such a large volume before lunchtime was truly impressive upon reevaluation. While the tasks were essentially filling in templates, there were no typos, and any incorrect ratios were adjusted automatically. In reality, half of the people couldn’t even handle these basic tasks.

After finishing the checks, it was precisely lunchtime.

“Manager~ Would you like some army stew?”

“Sounds good. What about you, Suhyun?”

“I’m good too.”

With that settled, I also contacted Director Choi.

“I’ll pass. Those marketing guys keep insisting that last year’s data is the same as this year’s.”

There are always people like that. Even when the file is right in front of them, they can’t find it, or if there’s a template, they prefer to create something new… Director Choi must be furious. Especially if it’s not his own department.

“So, shall the three of us eat together?”

“Yes~”

—

Given that it’s a building, the first and second basement floors are filled with restaurants. Not all are good, and I remember to avoid certain ones based on their signs.

The army stew place we visited today, however, was on the tastier side.

“Where did you graduate from, Suhyun?”

“…I graduated from Business Administration.”

“Really? That’s not easy to get into!”

“I got in through specialized admissions.”

“Ah~”

I knew from her resume, but I had no idea there was such a thing as specialized admissions. If Yuhee had applied there, she might have had an easier time getting into university. She’s doing well now, so it doesn’t matter.

Leaving that aside, starting off with informal speech from the first meeting, isn’t she overly friendly?

“Is this your first job?”

“Yes.”

“Surprising~ What did you do during your break?”

“I worked part-time and…”

Suhyun hesitated to speak freely. There must be reasons she can’t disclose.

Ahem. I changed the subject with a cough.

“By the way, how old are you, Suhyun?”

“I’m twenty-nine.”

“Haha. Turning thirty tomorrow?”

“Why are you saying that to someone you just met?”

“What’s wrong~ I’m already thirty-three. Are there no good men around you?”

“You think I’m an easy catch? Manager is still a bachelor at that age.”

“That’s… ”

Only Director Choi knows about my personal life. Despite not having children himself, having been divorced once, he empathized greatly. Luckily, he’s a discreet friend, so even after more than three years, Jihee still doesn’t know.

“I’ll take care of it, so don’t worry.”

“By any chance, how old are you, sir?”

“Oh, I’m thirty-nine.”

“You look young. I thought you were in your early thirties…”

“Well, I did reach this position at that age.”

It’s fortunate that he looks younger than his age.

“Right, when do you plan to get married, sir?”

“Well… I might not at all.”

“What!? Why not?”

“I’m getting older… Maybe I’ve gotten used to being alone…”

Considering I already have a wife…

I don’t plan to until Yuhee gets married. Actually, I might get too old before that happens.

It would have been nice to get married before turning thirty, but since I have no news about a boyfriend, it’s frustrating for me.

“Enjoy your meal~”

“Enjoy your meal.”

“Enjoy your meal.”

Before I knew it, the army stew was bubbling, and even the ramen noodles were cooked just right. Seeing the ladle handle pointing towards me, I felt somewhat proud of myself for making it this far.

Perhaps because most of the conversation was led by Jihee, eating quietly didn’t feel awkward at all.

Until Jihee left.

“Oh no! I think I’m going crazy for real!”

It’s better not to say such things in front of your boss, but at least I could tell that Jihee was in a hurry.

“I’m sorry, sir! I had a dental appointment at 1 o’clock! I’ll go first!”

“Oh, okay.”

“Take care.”

As Jihee left in a hurry, the atmosphere quickly became awkward. Perhaps because of the significant age difference, or maybe because it’s hard to keep up with the trends of young people these days, it was difficult to find a topic to talk about.

“Sir…”

While we were silently eating, Suhyun was the first to speak up.

“Do you have someone you’re seeing, sir?”

“No, I don’t.”

“I see.”

“What about you, Suhyun? Do you have someone? You seem like you might.”

“I… don’t.”

“Is it because of work that you’re not seeing anyone?”

“Huh?! Oh, well… yeah, something like that.”

“Hmm…”

Well, dating is something you do freely during your school days; as you grow older, you become more selective. There are many times when you can’t meet each other, and there’s a lack of opportunities to solidify your relationship based on factors like money or living arrangements, unlike when you were a student.

Come to think of it, I really admire working couples. It’s tough to maintain a relationship through blind dates or clubs, unlike childhood friends.

“Experience? Oh, dating experience.”

“Uh, about four people…”

“Ah~”

Looks like she’s quite a catch. Four people… Even if you assume she dated one person per year in college, it adds up.

Hmm… seems like she changes partners every year. Well, maybe that’s why men don’t catch Suhyun’s eye.

“Do you ever think about meeting someone, sir?”

“Well… I’m not sure. At this age, it’s a bit complicated to look for someone.”

“Hmm…”

Suhyun seemed to be thinking deeply about something. I quickly scooped out the noodles from the army stew before they got soggy. Looking now, it seems like I haven’t even touched the noodles…

“Sir!”

“Surprised me.”

Thanks to that, I missed the ramen noodles and splashed the broth.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. But why?”

Suhyun took out restaurant napkins and wet wipes from her bag separately and wiped my shirt. As she got closer, I almost panicked for a moment.

“I’ll wipe this, it’s fine. Did you say something?”

“Huh? Oh… no. Nothing. Let’s finish lunch.”

“Oh, sure…”

It was clear she had something to say, but for now, I decided to play dumb.