episode_0009

I parked my car in the mart parking lot, grabbed my handbag, and went inside the mart. I pulled the cart and took the escalator. Then, after glancing around, I carefully leaned my chest on the cart handle when I confirmed no one was around.

– Boing.

“Ah~ comfortable.”

Lately, I’ve realized that carrying weight on my shoulders is not an easy task, as if I’m carrying a cruel weapon on my chest, so whenever I have the chance, I put the weight down.

When I asked Dayoung if exercising would help, she said it wouldn’t solve the fundamental problem of the weight on my chest. She suggested getting reduction surgery. Anyway, since I urgently need more strength, I plan to visit a fitness center for consultation soon.

I never tried exercising even when I was a man, but now that things have turned out this way, I didn’t expect to decide to start.

When the escalator was halfway down, a man came up on the escalator going the opposite direction. When our eyes met, he seemed very flustered.

I, too, was startled by the sudden appearance of the man and quickly straightened up, adjusting my clothes.

“Oh, embarrassing.”

I should have controlled myself outside. But they say there’s no use crying over spilled milk, right? My face flushed, so I fanned myself vigorously to cool down.

Then, I arrived at the grocery section on the second floor and walked into the store. It’s quiet because it’s just opened; indeed, you should come to the market in the morning.

Of course, there are discounts at closing time, but…

“Next time, I should come with Dayoung in the evening.”

Since she’s a girl, teaching her how to shop or cook wouldn’t hurt. Even though the world shouts “gender-free,” women who cook are still preferred by men, and if they have vitality, they’ll be even more loved.

“Of course, I have to knock me down first.”

As a father with a daughter, I won’t hand her over easily. Wouldn’t a father want to send his daughter to a better man than himself?

Anyway, while wandering through the quiet store, I loaded items from my phone’s memo list into the cart one by one.

“It’s nice that it’s quiet, but it’s still early, so the tasting corner must still be preparing.”

Haggling at the market and using the tasting corner at the mart used to be fun, but now that the biggest thrill is gone, it’s disappointing.

Of course, using the tasting corner may lead to impulse buying, but that’s acceptable to some extent…

Putting aside my disappointment, I checked off all the items on my list and headed to the checkout counter. Deciding what to buy beforehand makes the process efficient.

“Heheh~”

Enjoying the satisfaction of finishing shopping quickly at the market, I hummed a tune as I walked, and a man with a familiar silhouette approached from the opposite side.

I kept wondering who he was, hesitating.

At first, he just glanced at me, but when our eyes met unmistakably, I unintentionally called out to him.

“Mr. Kim Taehyun?”

The Kim Taehyun I called out to looked extremely flustered, pointing at himself with his finger as if asking if I had called him, but I was equally surprised. Why did he pretend to know me?

It would have been easier if I had just passed by pretending not to know him.

The Kim Taehyun I called out to is a new employee at the company I work for, and he’s in our department. He’s my direct subordinate.

At first, I didn’t recognize him well because he was a new employee who had only been here for three months. It happened to be around the time he joined that my divorce was finalized. It was during the TS syndrome, so we only actually worked together for about a week.

“Do you know me?”

Kim Tae-hyun quickly regained his composure, wearing a very kind smile, and asked me.

“Oh, that’s…”

I couldn’t say, “You’re my boss!” So I pondered where to start explaining.

“Oh, have we met somewhere before? No… I couldn’t possibly forget such a beauty like you.”

As his awkward attempt began, things got more difficult.

– Smack!

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“Oh, Manager Kwon!”

Another big man appeared and smacked Kim Tae-hyun on the back of his head loudly.

“I told you not to fool around. Anyway, this kid here is being too nosy. Ugh.”

“Oh, no. It’s not like that. She just recognized you for a moment…”

“Again, again. Do you go around teasing every woman, whether she’s pretty or not? Huh? Hmm.”

Manager Kwon, who was scolding Kim Tae-hyun, then made eye contact with me and exclaimed in amazement.

“Oh, this is our subordinate who made a mistake. I’ll make sure to discipline him properly, so please don’t take it to heart.”

Manager Kwon handed me his business card.

The card read: Wooseong Foods, Manager Kwon Sung-yeol.

Well, there’s no point in hiding it. This person, or rather this guy, is my direct subordinate. In a way, he’s almost like my right-hand man.

In that moment, I wondered how I could best tease him.

Just then, I took out my emergency business card from the snapback in my cart and handed it to him.

“Oh, this is who I am.”

“Huh?”

Suddenly pulling out a business card for a housewife at the mart amused Manager Kwon Sung-yeol, but the housewife receiving the card back in return would have been even more bewildered.

And as Manager Kwon Sung-yeol checked the received business card, his face turned pale and he froze on the spot.

“Why, what’s wrong, sir?”

Saying this, Kim Tae-hyun swiftly snatched the business card from Manager Kwon’s hand.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m too old-fashioned, but seeing a subordinate snatch a business card from a superior’s hand is not a pleasant sight as a boss.

“Wooseong Foods… Manager Jung Dohyun? Huh? Isn’t this our manager’s card? Oh, could it be the manager’s wife? Wow, nice to meet you. Oh, by the way, is the manager feeling unwell?”

Our newly hired intern… I don’t know about the work, but their manners were quite lacking. Why did such a talkative person join our team? Moreover, what? Flirting with a woman? This was not an issue that could easily be overlooked as a direct supervisor.

However, Manager Kwon Sung-yeol quickly grasped the situation and once again, he smacked Kim Tae-hyun’s head sharply to resolve the situation.

“I-I’m sorry, sir. He’s still immature…”

“What?! Sir?”

Kim Tae-hyun, with rabbit eyes, looked at Manager Kwon in surprise.

“Manager Kwon, well, we’re outside the company now, and I’m on leave too, so let’s relax. Yeah. Seong-yeol, how have you been?”

Seeing my replacement after almost two months, he seemed a bit thinner and paler than when I was around, probably because he seemed busier, but it’s polite to ask about someone’s well-being first when you see them.

Moreover, this was the reason he recognized me. It was because I had only told my closest colleague, Manager Kwon, about my illness. After that, we only communicated about work and personal matters via text, never showing any photos or meeting in person, so it could have caused quite a stir.

“Of course, Manager. Despite the fact that it’s a bit challenging for an acting manager to cover the work of a manager, he manages somehow due to his experience and job skills being close to a manager’s level. Also, my daily tasks at the café must be helpful in some way.”

“Yeah, you’ve been working hard. I’ll be back on duty next month, so hang in there a little longer until then. So, what about today, did the market research come out?”

“Oh, yes. I met with field staff to get feedback on our products and learn how product management is done, and…”

“Wait, isn’t that distribution management? Why is the development department handling it? It was supposed to be handled by the sales team, especially since they are already busy with developing new products.”

“Oh, well…”

It’s obvious even without looking. The director is on a business trip, the assistant director was fired recently for having an affair within the company, and soon after, when I go on leave next month, our team will become the most relaxed.

“Oh, you’ve been through a lot because I’m not here.”

“No, it’s not like that. I feel sorry for making you worry while you’re on leave and feeling unwell. Well…”

“Hmm… Anyway, can you all leave on time now? Aren’t we already very busy just doing our regular tasks?”

“Well… um…”

I sighed, tapping my forehead. Of course, overtime is inevitable. Especially in a company that doesn’t pay overtime allowances properly.

“Phew, okay, I understand. I’ll try to return to work as soon as possible, so hold on a little longer. Oh, and I’ll talk to the director about the night shift allowance.”

In times like these when everyone is complaining about the company, at least getting a decent allowance might make work more bearable.

Why wasn’t this mentioned in the drama “Misaeng”? If employees don’t receive fair compensation for their work and a promotion that matches their efforts, what else can they expect?

“Thank you.”

“Alright, keep up the good work. Let’s meet at the company later, Mr. Kim Taehyun.”

“Yes, Manager. I hope you recover quickly and I look forward to seeing you at the company soon.”

As I smiled warningly at him, he responded with a smile as well. His gaze fixed on my chest. What a desire-driven horse-like guy he was.

Sigh… It wasn’t just a bad company; it was a really bad one.

As I made a disgusted expression, Assistant Manager Kwon quickly greeted Kim Taehyun by patting him on the back.

“Then, Manager, please go inside. We’ll go see the work.”

“Alright, good work.”

With that, I bid them farewell and exhaled deeply before heading towards the cashier.