By Zephyria A snicker was heard. It was a blatant sneer that anyone could recognize. When I turned my head toward the source of the sound, Ian’s lips were twisted upward.
It was so cold that my heart tensed up. It felt like I was seeing that side of him for the first time. Even the director seemed flustered, wiping his forehead three times with a handkerchief. He was a man who had only compulsively wiped it twice until now.
“It’s alright. We can go up and check ourselves. If you can’t even remember your tenure properly, you should go to the hospital.”
“You don’t mince words. Is it because you’ve been abroad? You’re really making a mistake right now.”
I’m just saying what needs to be said.
I swallowed the sentence that had risen to the tip of my chin. If I said it in this atmosphere, I’d be the only one getting cursed at. It was best to stay quiet in situations like this.
The tense standoff between the director and Ian continued. There must be a reason why Ian was showing his emotions like this. He was a rational and reasonable person. There was no reason for him to warn like this.
“Or maybe you’ve just rejuvenated that much. They say mindset is important these days. If you’ve worked for about 10 years, you’d be the same age as me. I’m told I’m quite capable, but you’re on a different level, Director.”
Ian laughed loudly and spoke to the director. Only then did he seem to realize his mistake. His face gradually turned red, like someone who had drunk heavily. It was similar to his mental state.
The director pursed his lips and quickly moved his feet. It was a gesture that clearly showed he just wanted to show us quickly and kick us out. We didn’t say anything more and followed him. After all, Ian would buy us time.
We stopped in front of a huge press. The director called out loudly, as if passing the buck, “Sangcheol!”
A simple-looking man rushed over. His face was tanned dark, and he blinked his innocent eyes. He seemed bewildered by being called.
“Hyung, what brings you here?”
“Is there anything wrong with this machine?”
“You said you wouldn’t listen last time… Should I explain it again? You should probably hear about the last incident.”
“Forget it. Tell these people that this machine is fine. It’s your responsibility.”
He gave Sangcheol an unpleasant tap on the shoulder and stood back as if he was just observing. He must have been really upset by the earlier conversation. Sangcheol rolled his big eyes. Unlike his half-bent shoulders, his body was sturdy.
“Hello. We’re from headquarters.”
“Ah… Ah, yes! Hello!”
“Could you explain this equipment to us?”
His face brightened at Ian’s words, and he nodded vigorously. Instead of listening to the explanation, I carefully observed the director. He twitched his lips and picked at his ear. He seemed completely uninterested.
You don’t need to know everything, but this wasn’t the attitude of someone in a field position. People are better than the dogs of a schoolhouse. He must have heard something, but judging from Sangcheol’s nuance, he definitely didn’t know anything.
Their body types were also different. Sangcheol’s body was made of muscle, while the director was just fat. It would be insulting to compare him to a pig.
“What would you like to hear first? The operating principle is…”
“I know that much. It’s basic knowledge that you’d know after being in the field for a few years.”
“Ah, that’s right. Are you from the field?”
A look of joy spread across Sangcheol’s face. Employees passing by Sangcheol greeted him with their eyes. He raised his hand to return the greetings while looking at us. You could tell at a glance that he was a popular person.
Then, a question suddenly arose. No matter how I looked at it, it seemed like he was working as the chief of this place. You could tell from the attitude of those around him. Sangcheol was more respected than the director.
Interrupting him in the middle of his speech, I abruptly asked a question.
“I’m sorry to interrupt your pleasant conversation in the same industry, but how long have you been working at this factory?”
“Well…”
“Why are you curious about that? Look at the press. The person in charge will explain it in detail.”
The director, who had been yawning, hardened his face and cut off Sangcheol’s words. He acted as if we had asked something we shouldn’t have. Sangcheol’s eyes wavered. It wasn’t like we couldn’t get the information even if he avoided answering here.
It was simple personal information that would come out even if we just inquired with the personnel department. But he was deliberately preventing us from answering? I felt a strange sense of suspicion.
“Yes. Then what’s the incident you mentioned last time? There was no report sent to headquarters.”
“It’s nothing. The machine stopped for a moment, and when we investigated, we found that it had a malfunction. We called a technician and fixed it quickly. It wasn’t a big deal enough to send a report.”
“Was it?”
Despite the director’s excuse, Ian asked Sangcheol instead of the person speaking. Sangcheol hurriedly nodded and explained.
“Yes, yes. What the director said is correct. A foreign substance got caught in the upper panel, which caused a sensor error and caused a brief commotion. It wasn’t even enough to call a repair technician, so I fixed it and didn’t send a report…”
“Hmm, I see.”
Ian nodded roughly and headed for the machine. The press, several times larger than us, moved with a huge sound. Maintaining a safe distance, he seemed to be looking around the machine. Sangcheol was stuck close behind him, worried that Ian might get hurt.
The director yawned loudly, looking bored. He was truly redundant.
“Then that incident wouldn’t mean that the defect rate is high, would it?”
“Yes?”
“Alright, alright, let’s just finish this if there are no more problems. We’re busy trying to meet the order volume. Busy.”
Sangcheol stood still. Ian and I followed the director, leaving him behind and moving our feet. Sangcheol didn’t seem to notice the strangeness of the current factory. Or maybe there really was nothing wrong with the factory’s products.
As we were about to go outside, a car was parked in front. Judging by the look of things, Team leader had come down. The matter was more serious than I thought. If important parts had flowed overseas as much as the defect rate, it was an emergency. Moreover, it was a product that hadn’t even been released yet.
“Hello.”
“Thank you for your hard work. We will investigate from now on.”
“I recommend Sangcheol as a subject of investigation. He seems to know a lot.”
I whispered to Team leader and got into the car. Through the window, I stared at the director, who was standing alone in front of the factory with a pale face. Sangcheol had better testify well. He was someone who should have been a higher-ranking person if it weren’t for the director.
I don’t know how influential the person backing him is, but he won’t be able to get past this case. It was right for the project as well. The tail is there to be cut off.
I turned on the ‘butt warmer’ with a bitter feeling. It was a long way to drive to Seoul. I was working in a department with almost no business trips, and now I was coming out to such a remote area. It had been quite eventful since Ian came to Korea.
“Gyeoul, aren’t you sleepy? I can drive.”
“If I were sleepy, would this be a bed? I’m fine. It’s more comfortable for me to drive.”
“A bed sounds good. I could close my eyes and arrive at the company. Should I take a nap?”
Ignoring Ian’s reply with an even more absurd statement to my nonsense, I put the gear in drive. It was fortunate that we weren’t without gains. But it wasn’t a good direction either.
I drove quickly on the desolate road that was already dark. Even listening to rock music from the speakers didn’t make me feel any better. Rather, the deafening noise made me feel nauseous. Was that why that kid couldn’t stand the hustle and bustle either?
I grabbed the familiar thought that was flowing and changed direction. This was also a bad habit. My thinking had become fixed. Habitually. Even though I had escaped from a world where that was natural, I still hadn’t adapted.
Ah, if I had managed the factories more diligently, would this have happened?
Perhaps he noticed my gloomy mood, Ian spoke to me kindly.
“You worked really hard today.”
“Team leader worked harder. He was up all night yesterday.”
“I really want to finish this project well. It feels new to be out in the field after a long time.”
Ian spoke with a relaxed face, unlike before. He seemed to have been on edge at the factory. He leaned back in his seat and looked at me. As if he couldn’t even see the flowing sea.
“Is it rude to ask about the past?”
“What if you fall asleep because it’s a boring story? I still want to live longer.”
“Okay. I won’t ask.”
I observed him closely and realized something. He always refused indirectly. He seemed to say no quite well to other people, but somehow he didn’t do that to me. This answer was the clearest of Ian’s refusals so far.
At first, I didn’t even know he was refusing and was just pushing forward.
“Did I upset Gyeoul?”
“Ian seems to want to look good to me.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“……”
“You saw it right.”
I gave up looking ahead for a moment and looked at Ian. He, who always seemed to be smiling, was looking at me with a serious face. As if there were no lies.
The road was as quiet as if it were asleep. We were the only car running, and it seemed that only my heart was noisy.
“Team leader. Do you like me?”
That’s why I blurted it out. Boldly.