Episode 102
To be honest, no one thought of linking Director Lee Jae-heon and a child.
In-ho Jeong started as an intern and worked his way up to assistant manager through his regular social life, and Manager Jae-heon Lee was a so-called rolling stone who suddenly appeared in the middle of it all. Of course, given that most of their companies hire experienced workers, it may seem like ‘a stone has just been rolled in’, but in reality, it’s a parachute.
Moreover, Manager Lee Jae-heon, who suddenly intervened one day, was a typical old man. The people working below him were upset, but the higher-ups actually thought of Manager Lee Jae-heon well.
How absurd that was.
‘Who would think of having a child with someone like that?’
Even Director Lee Jae-heon was single. It was a well-known fact within the company that there were only a few managers and single people in that age group, so it was natural to wonder how well a person without a family would take care of a child.
And the office workers who had been fooled by such a frame were dumbfounded.
“… Manager… actually, you have a child at home…?”
Jeong In-ho, who was also staring blankly into space, gently shook his head at the cautious mutterings of employee Kwon Yeon-hee, who was shriveled up after eating sweet pumpkin twice.
“I don’t know about anything else, but you’re not the type of person who would break the speed limit… You don’t even have a lover in the first place.”
“Wow, that’s really surprising… No, no. But there was a rumor that he was flirting with female employees.”
“Oh, that’s…”
Jeong In-ho paused for a moment and then lowered his voice even further.
“Perhaps… I think this came about after seeing Kang Min-ah.”
“Why Mina?”
“Ever since Director Kang made a mistake a while ago, well. He continued to scold me excessively, even over trivial things. “Because it happens so often, rumors like that also arise.”
“Oh…”
“I can’t guess anything else. I really don’t know anything else… but our manager is not someone who behaves differently based on gender. “Both men and women were equally divided.”
“…is it good?”
“I’m not sure about that.”
He pressed his eyebrows once and continued speaking.
“If I could at least understand it… I think you probably took care of my nephew a few times.”
“Nephew? Oh, did you say you have a nephew?”
“Why do you say that there is a sister and an older brother above the manager? They all have families and children… so they may have been taking care of their nephews on the go.”
“…You know it very well, right?”
“But family is family. Isn’t this a famous company in the electronics industry? “With just a little bit of searching, information pops up right away.”
“Why did you bother to look for that…?”
“I was curious how amazing he was that he was brought into this department.”
Jeong In-ho’s gaze landed on Manager Lee Jae-heon, who was bickering with intern Noh Yeon-seok. It seems like Yeonseok made another vague and insensitive remark, and he’s probably doing it because he’s grumpy for no reason.
I felt strange for no reason and muttered.
“…But looking at it now…”
He was a very strange person.
“….”
“Why is it a bit childish?”
“…That’s true too.”
If you look at the way they are just joking around, pretending not to be the case.
‘Someone who can’t afford to do that.’
A child’s perspective is much more intuitive than that of an adult. Manager Lee Jae-heon, seen from a pure and unbiased perspective, is probably ‘a man dressed as a zombie’. It seemed to be nothing more or less than that.
Of course, the child named Jang Seo-ah that Jeong In-ho knew was quite bold, but even so, she was not a child who would hesitate to talk to or approach someone who was covered in blood like me. This meant that Manager Lee Jae-heon was behaving calmly enough to not bother others about his injury.
Moreover, looking at Manager Lee Jae-heon’s original personality, which was revealed during an honest conversation, such reckless pranks did not fit his nature.
‘I guess they did it on purpose because of the atmosphere.’
So that others do not pay too much attention to his injuries, which are more serious than anyone else’s, or that the atmosphere does not become depressed. He was making up his appearance just like he did before when he played the role of an old man.
In some ways, that was quite funny, but…
“….”
So I felt a little relieved.
My toes curled in an unfamiliar sense of stability.
“…Inho, Inho, are you okay?”
“…it’s okay.”
“You look a little dazed…”
Kwon Yeon-hee sneakily came up behind him and massaged his shoulders. When I took a quick look, I could see that even though he was standing on his knees, his hand was just touching his shoulder, so I guess his height is quite short.
Jeong In-ho, who habitually analyzed others, suddenly became dumbfounded and asked.
“What… are you doing?”
“…uh uh. “My father… he likes it when I do this.”
“I guess I’m not that kind of age…?”
“But since you are the head of our team…?”
He himself looked like he didn’t really understand what was going on, but when he saw that his hands weren’t stopping, the desire to stop him disappeared as if he had died. My grip wasn’t very strong, but it was still refreshing.
As Jeong In-ho remained blank for a moment, President Choi Jeong-man quietly joined in, looking at the two.
“I don’t know if I can ask this, but are you… are they dating?”
“no.”
“No.”
“Oh no?”
President Choi Jeong-man’s expression became embarrassed at the quick and decisive answers of Jeong In-ho and Kwon Yeon-hee.
“I was just trying to tell you that you two would get along well if you ever dated… I didn’t mean anything bad.”
“I know very well that the boss didn’t have any bad intentions.”
“Thank you for doing that. I was just looking for something to talk to since both of them were familiar with each other. “I’m sorry for misunderstanding you.”
‘Where are the friends between men and women?’ is a common question among people of that age. Although he was nervous about saying the same thing, President Choi Jeong-man quickly adjusted his words. This was also a consideration that Jung In-ho had never seen before.
He smiled and continued speaking as if he was trying to shake off the awkwardness.
“But what about you, manager? Jaehyun Lee? “Did you say that?”
“Ah… Manager Lee Jae-heon.”
“Yes, the manager is really kind to the child. “He’s a good person.”
As President Choi Jeong-man said that, there was a faint look of guilt on his face.
“But earlier… I said something harsh when I first saw him. “I overreacted…”
“…What if I said something harsh?”
“I think I just said that because I was wondering how I knew it was a monster… Of course I apologized, but um. “I wonder if we can talk again later when I have some free time.”
“….”
“You seem like someone I rely on a lot, but I’m sorry for saying that.”
The smile on his round face was awkward and shy, but Jeong In-ho was able to find the sincerity in his words. It seems that the three people, including In-ho Jeong, had some work to do before meeting with Director Jae-heon Lee.
He nodded without realizing it.
‘Well, it might be a little scary to see at night.’
Even Jeong In-ho felt that way.
“…I don’t think you should feel sorry for us.”
“Yeah…that’s not true. huh.”
“But it’ll be okay.”
Jeong In-ho blinked once, remembering the time when Director Lee Jae-heon woke up vomiting blood. From the corner of my eye, Lee Jae-heon’s front hair was stained so dark that it hurt my eyes.
Does he still want to die? In the process, does he want to do everything he can and disappear from this world? No matter how much I think about it, I think something happened that night when I was taken away by the green algae monster, but maybe I don’t feel like telling it now.
My head hurt and I didn’t know what I could do.
‘…Can I save it?’
Suddenly, the pitch-black sky before I died came to mind.
I remembered the blood-curdling sounds of glass breaking and all sorts of screams.
In-ho Jeong realized that the green algae monster had the ability to bring out a murderous intent that was not present in the monster. Therefore, only Jeong In-ho remained alone under the pure white sky.
So that’s what I thought.
“The manager will talk to you again whenever you want.”
Could it be that that person was overcome by that ability?
He was dragged away by a monster, filled with malice, and when he returned, he was still alive. Since he hasn’t died yet, I wonder if he’s holding back in an effort to avoid causing harm. I wonder if blood is being vomited out like that in the process.
I had doubts.
‘I’ve already become half a monster.’
The thought that we were right to run away because we were scared by the change continued to torment him. I was worried that I would no longer be able to save Director Lee Jae-heon in any way.
The green algae monster was quietly watching President Choi Jeong-man slaughtering people, and Jeong In-ho thought it looked like it was waiting for one of its subordinates to come get its prey. If Lee Jae-heon knew that too, he would have killed himself without any hesitation.
Because it would be better for me to die than to harm the people I have protected so far.
“He’s not as scary as he looks. “Really.”
“…is it?”
“Because he’s not the kind of person who dwells on things like that in the first place.”
So, isn’t Lee Jae-heon’s death already a foregone conclusion?
For a moment, a feeling of despair came over me. It was the feeling of despair I felt when I realized that the shiny pebbles I worked so hard to collect as a child were worthless, and when I found it difficult to find universal value in everything I did. It was empty.
Jeong In-ho recalled the conversation he had with that person while he was engulfed in flames.
‘I didn’t mean to get so angry.’
President Choi Jeong-man clearly said that he wanted to apologize to that person again.
“So… I don’t think you need to worry too much.”
So then, when should we ask for an apology? Even if I am sorry, I wonder if you will understand what I said.
I was worried.
“…Do you like children more than that?”
Jeong In-ho consciously changed his tone, but it wasn’t something that didn’t exist at all. Clearly, even before the incident occurred, President Choi Jeong-man was very kind to his child, Seo-ah.
In response to his question, CEO Choi Jeong-man scratched the back of his head.
“Okay… rather than saying I’ll do it, just. Something like that. “I also have a son just like that.”
“…I think Seo-ah is about the same age as my friend.”
“He’s similar and he’s just 6 years old. “He’s a guy who likes to run around everywhere, so it’s a real pain in the ass.”
The tone was rough, but the affection on his round face was sincere. He repeatedly talked about how active and brave his son was and how he never hesitated to step forward. The affection was enough to make Kwon Yeon-hee, who had been constantly tapping Jung In-ho’s shoulder, slip away.
Just like that, Choi Jeong-man’s face looks really happy as he talks happily.
“Last time, the child came with a scratched palm and there was an accident. But I won’t cry about it…”
“…I see.”
Jeong In-ho was once again overcome by a strange feeling.
That’s why, when Seo-ah called Manager Lee Jae-heon a zombie, the laughter rose to the top of her throat and she collapsed like that.
I guess I exhaled like that because it felt like it was the first time in a long time that I could burst into laughter. That’s why I feel so glum and hazy.
All these changes made me laugh and also felt empty.
“awesome.”
“Ah hmm. “No, I would even say it’s cool.”
“No, really.”
It’s really amazing.
How much has changed in just one person alive.
“I think it’s really… cool.” I can’t
believe that that person is about to die again
.
