So What?

“So, how is it?”

The senior exhaled a cloud of fiercely acrid smoke.

Watching him, I felt like a coal-powered train, head bowed forward.

A week after returning from leave. I was facing a new Monday.

Daily life flowed like the wind, like a river. Meaning, nothing particularly unusual happened.

“What do you mean?”

My face involuntarily contorted from the smoke assaulting it.

The senior, realizing this, quickly moved. As he shifted to where the wind was blowing, the acrid smoke changed direction and flowed towards his face.

“The two newbies.”

He gestured with his chin while borrowing a light from someone who had forgotten their own.

“Well, the problem is…”

I was about to say there wasn’t a problem, but I paused.

“There isn’t a big problem.”

I swallowed what I was going to say, adding a word and spitting it back out.

“If there isn’t a big problem, that means there is a problem.”

The perceptive senior read my thoughts and grinned.

“Not a special problem… just, you know, that cluelessness unique to newbies.”

“Ah~ Let’s see, who would be clueless? It wouldn’t be the newbie with the cold impression… the other one, maybe?”

As the senior said, Lee Mina had no problems. On the contrary, she was reliable.

“Right.”

There was no reason to deny it, so I nodded.

“Her canines are unique. So sharp like a vampire’s, making it easy to remember her face.”

“That’s Kim Sung-ah. Her name. Senior, you should memorize the names of your team members.”

“Well, they only become team members after passing probation. Hey, I’ve been at this company for ten years. How many people do you think I’ve met and sent off? It’d be weirder to memorize each and every one of them.”

“Aren’t you just rationalizing your lack of affection?”

“Lack of affection? Even for people who transferred teams, I always made sure to attend their important family events.”

“Ah, that’s impressive, I’ll give you that.”

The senior was known as a man of loyalty who miraculously found out about news from somewhere and always showed his face.

There was a reason he was called the industry’s social butterfly.

“Anyway, Kim Sung-ah is clueless? From what I see, she’s energetic and pleasant. Her greetings are refreshing too. Everyone seems to like her.”

“She is sociable. Other team members often talk about her, so she seems to have a good personality.”

“Is she bad at her job?”

“It’s a bit touch-and-go. You know how it is? Seventy points is the passing score, and she’s getting 72, 71 on the mock exams.”

“Ah~ I know what you mean. Hey, mind if I have another?”

The senior put another cigarette in his mouth without asking for my consent.

I wondered if his lungs were okay, and if I should tell him not to skip his health checkup this year.

“She makes a lot of mistakes, and she forgets things often.”

“Isn’t that just a lost cause?”

“She’s showing improvement. She comes in more developed than the day before. But…”

“But, her progress is slow?”

The senior winked, making a gun shape with his index finger and thumb.

It was a little off-putting seeing a man do that.

“Right. There’s not much training left, and the rest is two months of actual work. I wonder if she can pass with that.”

“What if she doesn’t pass?”

“Huh?”

“She’s not your responsibility anyway. If she fails, she fails. Why are you worried?”

“Well, it’d be nice if she passed.”

“Why? From what I’m hearing, she’s bound to make mistakes even after passing probation. It’d be annoying to work with someone like that.”

“Well, still.”

“Hey, who’s the one who used to jump in and get angry when other team members caused trouble?”

The senior scowled.

“…Me.”

“Right. I spent a year cleaning up after you, apologizing to the team members you fought with.”

As if the memory had resurfaced, the senior spat on the flower bed.

“Think about it. Let’s say she barely passes probation. Then what happens?”

He took a long drag of his cigarette, the end burning down.

“She becomes a member of our team.”

“Exactly. Then she does her job. And then she makes a mistake. Who’s going to freak out then?”

“…Me.”

“Then she’s stressed, and you’re stressed, right?”

And I’m stressed watching it. The senior let the last words drift away like cigarette smoke.

“…Right.”

“Then wouldn’t it be better if she didn’t pass?”

In fact, the senior was right.

The company needed someone who was ready, not someone who needed to be prepared at the company.

But the word ‘still’ kept lingering in my mind.

“Still, she’s improving. She’s getting better than yesterday, so won’t she eventually do her part?”

The senior’s jaw dropped, causing his cigarette to fall and roll on the ground.

“Did you get brain surgery in the emergency room or something?”

The senior picked up the fallen cigarette butt and shoved it into a paper cup.

“…Watch your mouth.”

“I was thinking you’ve been acting a little nicer lately. What wind blew into you?”

“I just realized I shouldn’t live according to my temper.”

“Took you long enough to realize that.”

The senior chuckled.

“Yeah, I wish I had realized it sooner.”

I chuckled along.

“But is it okay for them to follow you out like this? The newbies?”

“They said they were going to buy coffee.”

“Ah? Did you make them run a coffee errand?”

“What do you take me for… They just go out together sometimes. They’re both newbies, so they probably talk about this and that.”

“Aren’t they talking behind your back? Saying you’re a bad teacher.”

“Surely not… I’d rather they say I have a bad personality.”

If it was a personality issue, fine, but there shouldn’t be any problems in terms of work.

The senior’s words made me unnecessarily worried.

The chat time ended, and the senior and I started to head back to the company.

Just then, a voice was heard in the distance.

“Ah!”

It was quite loud, so everyone in the smoking area turned their heads towards the sound.

A woman with dark features and a woman like sunshine were holding coffee and looking down at us.

The woman with violet eyes jumped up and down, waving her hand.

It was a bit frivolous, but somehow cute.

“Oh~ Looks like she bought one for you too.”

The senior nudged my side with his elbow.

“They bought it for the whole team.”

I gestured towards the heavy carrier.

“They shouldn’t be buying coffee already. They don’t make much money.”

The senior clicked his tongue as if he felt bad.

“Should I help you carry it?”

I said, closing the distance enough to express my intention without raising my voice like Kim Sung-ah.

“Ah, I’d appreciate that.”

Kim Sung-ah giggled.

“Yes, then give it he…”

As I reached out my hand, something caught my eye in the casually thrown glance.

A tall height, wavy hair, sharp eyes, and a somewhat outdated but neat outfit.

Wondering if I saw correctly, I naturally narrowed my eyes.

“Ah… damn it.”

At the senior’s almost-a-sigh, I realized who the person who caught my eye was.

“Um? What’s wrong? Is something the matter?”

Kim Sung-ah tilted her head, alternating between looking at the composed senior and me, and Lee Mina turned her head to guess where my gaze was directed.

“…Do you know them?”

Lee Mina asked quietly, and I smiled bitterly, shaking my head.

“What do you mean, no? Is it that embarrassing to say she’s your ex-girlfriend?”

My attempt to bury it was shattered by the senior.

Seeing Kim Sung-ah’s head snap around at the word ‘ex-girlfriend’, I had to press down on my throbbing temples.