Ch.332332. Why Is Shame Always My Burden?

In our department, there’s an unspoken rule about reporting vacation days ten days in advance. The reason? Well, apparently that’s just how it’s always been done since before I joined.

Technically, you can use your vacation days on the same day as long as it doesn’t interfere with work, but our team leader and department head are old-fashioned types who would make a fuss if you tried. Yet they constantly nag us to use up all our vacation days because the team’s vacation usage rate affects their performance evaluations. I really don’t know which tune they want us to dance to.

I got sidetracked. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is this: I need to take a vacation day next Friday, and today is Thursday.

So I have to talk about taking a vacation two days after the ten-day deadline.

I’ll probably get permission, but I can already hear the lecture about “kids these days” and “those MZ generation people…” But what can I do? My lovely daughter wants to see her parents. As a parent, I can’t refuse.

So I went to see my team leader, prepared to take some verbal abuse to get my vacation approved. But his response was:

“Oh? Then take that day off.”

“…Excuse me?”

“I said take that day off. Next Friday, right? April 7th.”

It was a casual approval. Too casual, in fact.

Wait, what’s going on? I expected to be bombarded with complaints the moment I mentioned taking a day off, but this is even more confusing.

I was so surprised by his easy agreement that I delayed my response, which made the team leader narrow his eyes at me. He seemed to be wondering why I wasn’t answering his question.

“Yes. Friday, April 7th is correct.”

“Right, April 7th. I’ve noted it, now go back to work.”

He even waved his hand as if shooing me away, leaving me dumbfounded. Did he eat something weird this morning? Our team leader is quite old-fashioned, so there’s no way he’d let me off this easily.

Could it be that he’s remembering this to use against me in my performance evaluation later? If that’s the case, I’d rather just hear the lecture.

“Why are you still standing there?”

“Um, well…”

I can’t exactly say, “I’m afraid to leave because you might mess with my performance evaluation,” can I? What should I do? Maybe I should ask in a more tactful way.

While I was pondering this internally, the team leader stared at me and then smirked. His expression suggested he could see right through my thoughts.

“What, are you worried I might penalize your performance evaluation over something like this, Siwoo?”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Yeah, right. It’s written all over your face.”

Was it that obvious? I awkwardly rubbed the back of my neck, and the team leader turned his desk calendar toward me. There was a photo attached to it—a young girl with the team leader and a woman who appeared to be around his age.

“Siwoo, you need that day off for your daughter’s school observation day, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“I’m a father raising a daughter too. We’re in similar positions—you think I wouldn’t be considerate about something like that?”

“Ah…”

The team leader returned the calendar to its original position. I belatedly nodded while standing there blankly. Right, if it’s consideration from one father to another, I guess I can relax.

After thanking him, I was about to leave his office when he suddenly called me back. Has he changed his mind already? When I turned around, he was fidgeting with his lips strangely, like someone trying to ask something difficult.

“Um, Siwoo. I’m just asking this out of curiosity…”

“Oh, yes?”

“Are you close with your daughter? I mean, do you talk with her every day and spend time playing with her?”

“Hmm, yes? I think we talk every day. We play together on weekends and go places too.”

“…What’s your secret?”

“My secret…?”

“My daughter is quite sensitive, and she absolutely hates it when I try to play with her. The other day, I playfully rubbed my cheek against hers, and she cried saying she hates daddy… What should I do? Do you have any good advice?”

The team leader asked me with an extremely serious face. I stared at him quietly for a moment, then bluntly said:

“First, I think you should shave off all your beard.”

“Huh? My beard?”

“Yes, kids usually hate their dads’ beards. They say it hurts when it touches their skin.”

“Ah… I see. Okay, what else?”

“The next part is a bit harder. Instead of just playing with her occasionally on weekends, you should show your face more often during regular days…”

*

I tried to leave after giving him some advice, but he kept asking more questions, so I couldn’t get away. As a result, it took nearly an hour to leave the team leader’s office.

What is this, some unexpected childcare consultation? I’m a bit tired from wracking my brain for answers. I sat down with a sigh, and my deputy manager and colleague glanced at me.

“Don’t take it too hard, Siwoo. The team leader has always been a bit old-fashioned.”

“That’s right. It’s the team leader who’s strange, so don’t worry about it. I mean, what era are we living in where you still need written approval for vacation a week in advance? Other companies let people take days off on the same day.”

The deputy manager nodded in agreement with my colleague’s words.

From the atmosphere, it seems like there’s some misunderstanding. Do these people think I got scolded by the team leader?

“Speaking of which, our department should change the vacation approval process. Look at Blind—even companies ranked lower than ours handle everything automatically through their systems when you submit vacation requests.”

“Exactly. We’re not in our fathers’ generation—I don’t understand why this outdated culture still persists.”

“If things had changed earlier, Siwoo wouldn’t have gotten chewed out. Hey, this won’t do. Siwoo, since you’re feeling down, should we go out for drinks after work? We can badmouth the team leader while we’re at it. What do you say?”

What is it with men and their love for alcohol? They’re always trying to persuade me to drink after work… Well, whatever. Company dinners are an extension of work, and it might seem odd if I always refuse. Occasionally socializing might help me in the future. I’ll go home a little late today.

I pretended to think about it for a moment, then glanced at the deputy manager. His eyes were gleaming as if he was already thinking about the alcohol he’d drink after work, even though it wasn’t even lunchtime yet.

“Ah, sure, why not?”

“Great! Let’s go to that meat place we went to last time. We can have dinner and drinks there.”

“How about somaek and gopchang instead? There’s a delicious place not far from here. Siwoo hasn’t been there yet, right?”

“Oh, that’s right. Siwoo hasn’t been to the gopchang place. Shall we go there tonight?”

They were beating their own drums and playing their own gongs, concluding that we should have soju with grilled intestines.

Hmm, I don’t particularly like soju since I only taste the bitterness, but isn’t drinking with male colleagues not about the taste? It’s about bonding, venting about bosses, and releasing pent-up feelings.

From their talk of first round at the gopchang place, second round at a beer joint, and third round somewhere with potato pancakes, it was clear I wouldn’t be walking home on two feet. I drove today—do I have the designated driver app installed? I took out my phone from my pocket. While I’m at it, I should check the app and also contact Hwa Nabi.

Just as I thought that, ding! A familiar notification sound rang from my phone. It was a message. The sender was none other than Hwa Nabi.

Speak of the devil—what a coincidence. When I checked, she had sent some photo, and I was shocked the moment it appeared on my screen.

Hwa Nabi♡♡ [photo]

“…What is she doing?”

It was a selfie of Hwa Nabi herself wearing a see-through negligee that was just as revealing as the photo she sent before.

Wow, that startled me. What is she thinking, sending something like this in broad daylight? I warned her that others might see these kinds of photos, but she seems to have forgotten and is boldly sending them anyway.

Hwa Nabi♡♡ [Hope you have an erect—I mean, energetic day today… hkhkhkk]

This is definitely intentional—judging by her laughter, she’s 100% trying to put me in an awkward situation. If she didn’t understand the risks, I could explain it to her, but she knows exactly what she’s doing, so there’s no way to stop her.

Have you ever seen such a runaway train of a woman? I saved the original in my gallery and deleted the message from this device. Meanwhile, another message arrived from Hwa Nabi. When I checked, it was another photo.

Surely this one must be decent. Though no one was peeking, I covered the screen with my finger just in case and peeked through the gap.

Hwa Nabi♡♡ [photo]

This time the angle had changed. It was taken from above, with her kneeling with her legs spread outward, showing her smooth thighs clearly.

To make matters worse, she had her fingers hooked at her chest area and was pulling downward, revealing her fair upper chest…

Hwa Nabi♡♡ [Hubby, want one more? hehehehe]

“……”

“Siwoo? Siwoo? Why aren’t you answering? Do you not like gopchang?”

“Ah, no. I like gopchang, but something urgent came up, so I’ll have to join you next time.”

“Huh? So suddenly? What is it—something that can’t be postponed?”

“Yes. It’s a matter of needing to scold someone…”

I muttered quietly, and the deputy manager opened his eyes wide. The colleague beside him looked equally confused.

Both of them were bewildered by the sudden turn of events, not understanding the situation, but I didn’t explain further and quietly typed on my phone.

Me [Nabi.]

Hwa Nabi♡♡ [Yes, hubby!]

Me [I’ll see you this evening.]

Hwa Nabi♡♡ [Oh…!!!♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥]