Imina – 1

A voice mixed with moisture. She’s trembling.

“What am I to you?”

The memories that she and the previous me had built.

Whether it was mutual or one-sided, it must have been a precious memory and connection for her.

That’s why I think she’s desperate.

Because I had to empathize with something I couldn’t empathize with, I had no choice but to act.

It’s not just to avoid provoking her.

Whatever the previous me was like, I wanted to soothe this woman now.

I just felt like it.

“Mina.”

I raised my hand slightly and interlaced our fingers.

She flinched, seemingly surprised by the sudden skinship, but didn’t exactly pull her hand away.

“Inho…?”

“As I said, I’m not going anywhere.”

“…Really?”

“Well… I did consider it.”

“See, I knew it!”

She puts strength into her hand. Her grip is stronger than it looks.

My hand almost got bent in an unsightly way.

“You had a lot of complaints about company life, didn’t you? I’m sorry. I should have paid more attention.”

Her voice is heavily laden with self-reproach.

I shook my head and said, with a faint smile to reassure her.

“It’s not that. Well… would you like to hear a slightly crazy story?”

“…?”

She widened her eyes at my unexpected words.

How should I explain it?

I try to explain it without being too absurd, but also not too concise.

After explaining my condition for 30 minutes, she seemed to have roughly understood.

I left out the part about moving through dimensions and losing my memory, and just said that I couldn’t remember my work well for some reason.

“So that’s why I came out on the weekend. Because I have to start working again.”

“A temporary memory loss, huh? This is the first time I’ve heard of such a case.”

“Yeah, it’s the first time I’ve experienced it too.”

Dimension-hopping is something I’ve never experienced before.

“Perhaps looking at the job sites was also…?”

“I just thought it would be better to get a job and learn new things. Actually, I didn’t think about it deeply.”

“Hmm… it is a problem. Inho is the team’s best asset. How am I supposed to work with people who are lacking?”

“I don’t know how to react when you say that.”

“Why? It’s true that they’re lacking. If I had to put it in terms of percentages, I did 40, Inho did 55, and the rest did 5.”

Then, you should have distributed the work well from the start.

“Why is the work distribution…”

“Well… because Inho took it all on. You don’t think I gave you 55, do you? The others just left it to Inho, and Inho happily accepted it.”

“You knew all along?”

“I didn’t get the team leader position by playing Ddakji… What do you think of me, Inho?”

A rich, pretty older woman?

She narrowed her eyes, but still didn’t let go of our interlaced fingers.

“I didn’t interfere because I thought it was Inho’s will. Of course… I can’t deny that I had my own personal motives too.”

She swallowed once and continued.

“And I was so used to the two of us working together. I’d just be anxious if I left it to someone else.”

“Ah, I think I know what you mean.”

“You too, right, Inho? I told you our working styles are similar.”

The anxious look from before was gone, and her face was filled with smiles.

We talked about trivial things, and the two hours we spent talking about small things felt really short.

We left the cafe with iced Americanos in our hands.

Because she accepted my suggestion that I should buy coffee as a sign of reconciliation, since I was a bit harsh in the morning.

Rather than accepting it… it was more like I unilaterally persuaded her.

She didn’t look too happy, but she bought the coffee anyway.

“Inho, what are you doing this weekend?”

“It’s Monday today. I don’t have any weekend plans yet…”

“Then, if you don’t have anything to do, would you like to come to the company? You need to get used to the work.”

A boss who naturally suggests working on the weekend.

I’ll let it slide because she’s pretty.

“Okay. I’ll let you know if something comes up.”

“Okay. I’ll pick you up in front of your house.”

Mina looked satisfied, perhaps because the promise was made.

But this woman… she’s obsessive, but she can’t make any progress.

“How about we watch a movie after work this weekend?”

I said it casually. She looked up at me, startled.

“A movie? With Inho?”

“Never mind if you don’t want to.”

“I never said I didn’t want to.”

She ran forward, her ears red.

Early summer, a Monday afternoon where a cozy atmosphere and hot air mix.

She turned back to me as she ran along the sidewalk lined with large trees and declared.

“I’ll prepare everything. You just come.”

Wow… this kind of boss. Isn’t she the best?