Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Episode 16: Suspicious Bodyguards (1)

The shamans who had come down from Mount Gyeryong hurried back to their respective cars.

“What happened? He even summoned everyone.”

The man in the driver’s seat asked the Haedong Divine Maiden while noisily chewing gum.

“Go to Namyangju. No, stop by the shrine first. We need to pick up some useful ritual implements.”

“What happened?”

“The Mountain God had a separate message for us. And I told you not to wear that thug-looking leather jacket when you come to Mount Gyeryong. You call yourself a dharma master, yet I’ve never seen you wear Buddhist robes.”

“Why are you giving me shit all the way out here?”

“What? Giving you shit?”

-Thud. Thud.

The irritated kicks flying from the back seat struck the driver’s seat with dull thumps.

It was a rough way of speaking and behaving that she had never shown in front of the raccoon dog she revered as the Mountain God.

But the dharma master in the driver’s seat seemed quite accustomed to the Haedong Divine Maiden acting this way. Rather than taking it seriously, he became angry instead.

“Hey, damn it! I haven’t had this car for long!”

“Just start the car.”

“Seriously, I can’t tell whether you received a god or caught some kind of crazy disease.”

“Watch your mouth. Is the Heavenly God your friend?”

“And is Maitreya yours?”

-Hummm. Clunk.

Just as the two were about to raise their voices further, the engine of the car traveling down the road suddenly died.

“See! He’s angry!”

“My Heavenly God must be the one who’s angry. You think Buddha got angry? Seriously, divine power should only be received by people with brains.”

“Keep picking a fight like that and the engine will die again. Want to ride a tow truck?”

Only after hearing an ultimatum bordering on a threat did the car finally become quiet.

And so the car carrying the two of them left Mount Gyeryong and began speeding somewhat excessively down a deserted road.

“So, seriously, what happened?”

“They say another Divine Tree appeared.”

“Quit bullshitting me.”

The answer he finally heard after quite some time had passed since things calmed down was irritatingly difficult to believe.

“We’ll find out whether it’s bullshit or not when we get there. Here.”

“Hey! I’m driving. How am I supposed to put it into the navigation if you show me that now?”

“We’re going to the shrine first anyway.”

“Then who’s guarding the Divine Tree right now? Don’t tell me we’re going there to guard it.”

“Like we could. Fortunately, apparently an incredible person who can use divine power and magic so strong even the Mountain God can’t budge is guarding it.”

“Another divine beast?”

“From what I heard, I don’t think so. Sounds like a person.”

“You’re the one talking nonsense now. If a shaman like that had appeared, we should’ve closed up shop ages ago and found different work.”

“I only heard it from the Mountain God too!”

-Thud. Thud.

“I told you not to kick! Huh? Isn’t that the car belonging to those people who serve Lord Guan? Looks like they’re in quite a hurry too.”

“Where!”

“Those two Benz S-Classes over there.”

The dharma master pointed toward two cars passing in the opposite direction.

“As expected, if you’re going to serve a god, you should serve a famous one. Serve Lord Guan and people from China just come swarming in carrying money. Meanwhile, I get called a fake monk every day and end up running errands like this...”

“Turn the car around.”

“Turn around where? We have to go another two kilometers before there’s a U-turn. Didn’t you say we were stopping by the shrine to pick up ritual implements?”

“If they get there first and make an impression, we’re all screwed!”

“No. I’m done with traffic tickets.”

“It’ll be fine, you fake-monk bastard!”

“It won’t, you crazy unlicensed driver!”

“It will!”

“Aaaaah! Don’t turn the wheel!”

And at that same moment, coincidentally, the guardian of the Divine Tree at the center of their argument found himself in a similar predicament.

___________

“No.”

“Pardon?”

“I said no means no! Working from home, my ass!”

“Department Head, he said it’s because of personal circumstances.”

“What, Assistant Manager Kim is the only one with personal circumstances? What about me!”

“What are you talking about?”

I had not expected this.

I had assumed neither the department head nor the manager had switched to working from home because promotions were important to both of them at this stage.

But the department head’s next answer overturned my assumption once again.

“Look at this. There are only three people in the department. Manager Lee is newly married, so he goes home early. If Assistant Manager Kim starts working from home too, who am I supposed to drink with!”

“Stop talking nonsense and approve it already. You have to approve it today for the director to sign off too. Besides, Assistant Manager Kim will still come in once or twice a week, so you can have team dinners then.”

“What nonsense! Alcohol is something you suddenly crave when you’re happy, and you crave it when you’re depressed, and if the weather is nice you want draft beer, while if it rains you want makgeolli. It’s different every time!”

Manager Lee did not even bother responding to logic that was not worth hearing and simply forced the mouse into the department head’s hand.

“Tsk, this really shouldn’t happen...”

-Click.

The department head reluctantly clicked the mouse with an expression as though he had lost the whole world.

「Approval complete for ‘Strategic Planning Team Assistant Manager Kim Jinseong’s Transition to Remote Work.’」

“Thank you.”

“Then how about a drink today to celebrate Assistant Manager Kim working from home?”

“The director hasn’t even approved it yet.”

“Ah, he’ll approve it! Come on, let’s wrap up and go. No soju today. Let’s get properly buzzed on Ninety-Year Wine.”

It was too late. Once the department head got started, he had already put on his coat.

Besides, I had already turned him down once before because of the Divine Tree, so morally speaking, attending this time was unavoidable.

“Good grief, if we’re leaving now, let’s take the stairs.”

“We’re on the twelfth floor. My joints are bad. What stairs?”

“What are you going to say if we run into the director on the way?”

“Let’s take the stairs.”

The company had many eyes besides the CCTV cameras. The directors in particular had no restrictions on when they came and went, so they often left early to avoid the crowds around quitting time.

“What’s this? The Strategic Planning Team going out for drinks?”

“Ah! You scared me!”

Since the entire team was leaving early, we had carefully taken the stairs instead of the elevator, only to run straight into the Development Team 3 manager, who happened to be sitting on the stairs taking a call.

“It’s five o’clock. You guys have guts.”

“So what? We work overtime all the time.”

“When you work overtime, Manager Lee and Assistant Manager Kim suffer. Department Head Cha just sits around.”

“That’s why I’m treating them to dinner as thanks for their hard work.”

“My, what a wonderful boss you are.”

“If it bothers you that much, Development Team 3 can come too.”

“No thanks. You’ll just go to that same tiresome pork-skin place again while acting generous. Look at your team members. They’ve gone yellow from eating nothing but pork skin.”

“We eat pork belly too.”

No, we didn’t.

The pork belly was just something we ordered one serving per person to warm up our stomachs because eating pork skin immediately was too heavy. And even that was eaten with rice mixed into soybean paste stew like a drinking soup.

“You really are relentless.”

“What is so relentless?”

“What else? Their team dinner menu. Huh? D-Director!”

The Development Team 3 manager, who had naturally assumed the answer came from a colleague or subordinate, hurriedly clasped both hands politely.

At some point, one more person had appeared beside us.

And it was the person we least wanted to run into.

“Good evening, Director.”

“Yes. A team dinner?”

“Not us. Only the Strategic Planning Team is going out.”

“Hmm, is that so? Then I’ll join you. Everyone’s been busy, so it’s probably been a while since we had a drink together.”

“It would be our honor if you joined us. But I’m not sure the place will suit your taste... We can make a reservation somewhere else right now.”

“Haha, no need. We’re just having a simple drink. There’s no need to make a reservation. But why are you taking the stairs?”

“Ah, we thought we’d get some exercise on the way...”

There was still a long time left before official quitting time.

Afraid that question might leave the director’s mouth, the department head broke into a cold sweat the entire way to the pork-skin restaurant.

And so, cutting through the awkward atmosphere, we arrived at the old-fashioned restaurant, which was still completely empty because it was so early.

“Oh my, you’re here again? Go into that room over there. It’ll get noisy once people start coming in.”

What followed unfolded as naturally as flowing water.

Before the charcoal arrived, I went to the kitchen entrance and brought over the tray already set with side dishes, while Manager Lee took water and soju out of the old refrigerator.

Meanwhile, the department head arranged the seat cushions and utensils.

Exaggerating only slightly, we had been here nearly a hundred times, so our bodies automatically took over the kitchen work and serving for the owner, who ran the place alone, without anyone even needing to tell us.

“I didn’t know Department Head Cha liked places like this.”

“Haha, it’s close, so we come often.”

“Now that the side dishes are here, let’s each have a drink. First glass will be somaek.”

-Crunch. Glug glug.

Ice-cold soju with a layer of slush was poured shallowly into each beer glass in turn.

Company dinners for office workers were usually like this.

Even if things ran long, people like me who lived on the outskirts of Seoul had to get up and leave before ten at the latest.

If we wanted enough time for a second round of beer with dried snacks, we had to begin drinking immediately with the basic side dishes, like university freshmen.

The director, who had once been an ordinary employee himself, also seemed familiar with this style of company dinner.

“I know this must be uncomfortable, so thank you for arranging a gathering like this.”

“Oh, Director, not at all.”

“Is this the fellow who is switching to remote work?”

“Yes. He is extremely capable. Our department practically cannot function without him.”

“Yes, I know him well.”

“Pardon? How do you know Assistant Manager Kim, Director?”

“I was the one who brought him over from the development team.”

“You did, Director?”

Every question was answered at once.

Completely unexpectedly, I finally learned why I had suddenly been notified two years ago that I was being transferred to the Strategic Planning Office.

“Staffing for the Strategic Planning Team gets reported all the way up to the chairman’s line. I never said it before, but unless they leave the company, there probably isn’t a single employee here who won’t eventually become an executive through promotion. The Strategic Planning Team was created from the beginning by the chairman as a springboard for cultivating future executives who came up through hands-on work.”

-Thump.

The beer glass he emptied in one gulp struck the table with a crisp sound.

Then the director wiped the rim with the back of his hand and placed it down in front of me again.

“That is, as long as something like working from home does not leave a blemish on your performance review. Will you still do it?”

The question was heavy.

To summarize the composed proposal from a director I had never dreamed I would have a chance to sit and drink with, it amounted to this.

‘If you don’t work from home, there probably won’t be any major obstacle to your promotion.’

Could there be happier news for someone working a corporate job?

No matter how famous the conglomerate was, simply getting hired did not mean a silk road through life opened before you.

The warm, human side of corporate life existed only among colleagues within a department.

Departments that were considered part of a particular executive’s faction could, depending on transfers among the board, see anything from department-head-level staff to the entire department itself suddenly dismantled.

In the midst of that, being guaranteed safety so long as I simply stayed unobtrusive in a department recognized by both the chairman and the director would have been an offer the old me would have found difficult to refuse.

But in only the span of a month, far too many things had happened to me.

And the way I looked at things had changed.

I was no longer the person I used to be, endlessly going back and forth between work and home like a hamster on a wheel.

“I appreciate what you’re saying, but I need to work from home because of personal circumstances.”

“And if that is not possible?”

“I’m considering changing jobs. I can’t cause trouble for the company.”

“Assistant Manager Kim!”

“I’m sorry.”

“That’s unfortunate. Then I’ll be going first. I can’t stay too long at a gathering where everyone should be able to relax.”

“D-Director... Still, this fellow is better than two or three ordinary deputy managers or managers! And his work performance is also...”

“Yes. I’ll pay with my card, so eat as much as you like.”

The director patted the shoulder of the department head, who had hurriedly begun showering me with praise, and stood up.

Now I truly had to start considering changing jobs.

“By the way, Assistant Manager Kim.”

“Yes?”

-Buzz. Buzz.

The director pointed at the screens of our phones on the table as their notifications went off.

「‘Strategic Planning Team Manager Kim Jinseong’s Transition to Remote Work’ has been approved.」

“You’re a manager now.”