24 – EP.2 Rainy season

***

The holidays were short, and I was back to my routine.

Still, as if learning work on the weekend wasn’t in vain, Mina did the occasional job without difficulty.

She handed me the work as if she was seasoning it, and after completing the task well a few times, the work increased metallurgically, and now it was enough to make one serving (according to Mina).

Thanks to this, overtime work also increased.

Her declaration of doing things fairly has been upheld. Thanks to this, I have less time to work overtime alone.

It seems that the eyes of the other employees who work overtime together are starting to taste good.

The girls seemed dissatisfied with the increased workload, but honestly, I have a lot to say about this.

At most, it’s an hour more than the regular work time, so is it necessary to accept it as if the world is about to collapse?

And because I do other things during work hours, I end up working overtime.

When I told Mina about this, Mina let out an unprecedented laugh and slapped me on the shoulder.

“Euhahahaha I didn’t know Mr. Inho would say that.”

In the office where everyone else had left work and only the two of them were left, the woman who was working next to her covered her mouth with her hand and laughed.

A month passed like that.

The energy of early summer has now boiled over with clear heat, and it has become impossible to live without turning on the air conditioner in the humid atmosphere.

People’s clothes became thinner, and it was difficult for me to look at them because I was confused about where to put my eyes.

If I seemed to give attention to others even a little bit, Mina and Dodo would come running and glare at me, and I became even more careful.

She and I already feel like we’re half dating.

I didn’t just confess, I hold hands and do light skinship without hesitation.

It seems that the distance got closer psychologically during the last movie date.

To go to work, to work, and then to work.

Movie theater or park on weekends.

We spent the day with similar but different routines, and Mina, who heard the taste on Instagram, took pictures everywhere we went.

When I asked why he took pictures so often, he said that he was happy with the moment he was with me, so he said it was a deal or something.

As I listened, my face turned red and I had to look away.

I thought I was adapting to this dimension without much trouble.

***

But didn’t I say that unpleasant things come suddenly?

On a Thursday like any other, Mina and I were called by the director.

“What’s going on?”

The call from the director, whom I hadn’t spoken to since coming here, scared me a little.

Usually a call like this wouldn’t be good for the business.

“I don’t know. If it’s just me, I’ll understand. What’s the reason for inviting Inho? Oh, are you talking about being a part leader or something?”

“You’ll know when you go.”

When Mina knocked on the door, she was told to come in from the inside.

I’ve come and gone and run into them, but I’ve never seen them move head-on like this.

He looked in his early 50s and was well-groomed.

“I heard that Inho and I were looking for you.”

When she said after closing the door, the director who was looking at us crookedly tossed it.

“How do you distribute the fortress work?”

“yes?”

She responded to the sudden question.

“I’ve been coming and going, and I’ve heard that it only gives work to certain people.”

Mina seemed to understand what he said.

“Ah, Mr. In-ho is overburdened with work, so we need to distribute them fairly…”

“What are you talking about?”

As if he had heard something absurd, the director replied bluntly, and I felt that things were twisted.

“Looking at In-ho’s job postings these days, it’s less than half compared to before. You’re handing over In-ho’s work to someone else, right?”

“No, Mr. Director. That’s what Inho-san usually does…”

“It’s okay. I know the two of you have been working together for a long time and are close friends, but please don’t do that with personal feelings.”

As if he didn’t want to hear it, he waved his hand.

Mina tried to say something unfairly, but I stopped her by patting her side.

“Yes, I understand.”

“Tsk. Why are people who are good at work like that?”

Issa clicked his tongue and gestured to leave, and we left the room with a short nod.

“Let’s have some fun with each other as a team. Don’t play alone.”

I heard Isa’s words behind us as we left.

***

Hearing a scolding that wasn’t a scolding, Mina couldn’t calm her anger for a while.

She left the office with a stiff face, and I followed her.

“Whoa… Whoa…”

He continued to breathe deeply, as if trying to dissipate the boiling anger, but it didn’t seem to improve much.

“Are you feeling better?”

We walked down the street with Americano taken out from the cafe.

“A little bit. But I still feel bad.”

From her hardened words, it was clear how angry she was.

“Shall we just quit the company? Me and Mina-nim?”

When I said it in a joking way, the girl who had been walking forward only looked up at me.

Her eyes were slightly empty.

“Don’t say things like that. It’s a space created by Inho and I. Why do we have to quit? If we want to quit, people who came in late have to quit.”

Briskly, she continued.

“It’s where our time and our sweat are. We can’t go out.”

“Oh, okay. I was just kidding.”

Fearing the momentum, I took a step back, and she twitched and stared at me.

After the director summoned us, Mina informed everyone that there was a problem with the distribution of work, and distributed it as [before].

The team members, who had less work, went home, and Mina and I again struggled to work overtime.

“Sorry.”

Seeing that I struggled with the increased work load, she mumbled.

Who cares about who right now, seeing Mina’s dark circles down to her cheeks, I answered my worries by showing a smile.

A week went by like that.

***

friday. Perhaps it was the start of the rainy season in earnest, the sky was cloudy.

I went to work early, went to the bathroom to do something, and came back to the office, but the atmosphere was not very serious.

Mina was standing in front of Yoon Hye-young with a clearly irritated face.

Yoon Hye-young was explaining something to her with a frightened face.

“So, you mean you forgot to deliver the schedule?”

“It’s not that I didn’t do it, I forgot…”

“That’s it. What’s wrong over there?”

“There is no manpower… There are no people today, so it is impossible to do it alone.”

Mina ruffled her hair roughly.

“Huh, how can you do something so basic?”

“That, that’s…”

“Well, I can’t help it. Pack your things right away and go down to Busan. Watch everything from packing to shipping and come back up.”

“That Mina. I can’t go far because my father is sick.”

“Then who goes? It’s because of Hyeyoung’s mistake, who goes down to Busan?”

“That, that’s…”

The atmosphere in the office quickly became cold, and it was difficult to breathe loudly.

The director intervened in the stiff atmosphere.

“Inho can go.”

A mover came out of the kitchen in the middle of the office.

He looked down at Mina.

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Despite the pressure from the height difference, Mina did not back down.

“This is clearly due to Hye-yeong’s fault. But why does In-ho have to go down?”

“Can’t you do that with the same team? And your father is sick. Mina-san, don’t you have a lot of compassion?”

“Isn’t this a public part before the recognition? It’s the director who told me to clarify the construction division.”

“retort?”

Their bickering showed no signs of calming down, and I set out to settle things.

“I’ll just go.”

When I interrupted, Mina widened her eyes and looked at me.

“Then let’s pretend that’s how it was. Then do your best.”

Isa avoided the seat as if running away.

“Inho, let’s talk for a minute.”

I was dragged into the conference room.

she asked as soon as the door to the conference room closed.

“Why did you leave?”

“It was a conversation that ended when one side stepped down anyway.”

“The other side could have backed out.”

“You know that the possibility is small, right?”

“…….”

“If we keep bumping into each other, Mina and I will lose a lot of ground.”

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Do you know? I made a face like that.

“If we want to get along well, there’s nothing we can do. If we continue to stretch out, Mina-nim and I will be excluded from this group.”

“It could happen a few more times in the future.”

“I’ll go and think about it then. When I go to Busan this time, suggest that the director bring something with me. I think he’ll listen to that much.”

“Okay. I will strongly protest this.”

“At times like this, it’s nice to have a car. It’s sad because it’s a walk. I’ll make a reservation for the train and go down, so please talk to me over there.”

“Yes. Inho is the only one.”

At my lively words, Mina smiled dejectedly.

***

Four hours have passed since In-ho said he would go down voluntarily.

The office has been restored to its original appearance.

“It’s almost time to call.”

Watching the pouring rain through the window, Mina waited for his call.

I was sure he contacted me when I was on the train, but it was already enough time to arrive in Busan.

The rain fell incessantly, and her heart was submerged as if it were submerged in rainwater.

“I’m anxious.”

– all over

Biting her nails, she trembled her legs.

“Oh!”

A loud noise came from the other side of the office.

It seems that something unusual has happened, so she headed towards the source of the sound.

Even though it was a short distance, a sticky feeling of anxiety caught her ankle.

The faces of the other employees who saw her approaching turned blue.

“What happened?”

“Mina… this…”

An employee pointed to the screen.

[Train derailment. Comprehensive casualties]

Reading the headline, her mind went blank for a moment.