By Zephyria 
Come to think of it, considering yesterday, a “firm” team leader might be better than a “friendly” one. That way, it might be easier for the mentor, Tae-gyung, and the rookie to get close.
‘But how do you actually act like a firm team leader…?’
Thinking as far as that, Yi-ho buried his face in both hands.
“I just want to do my work. I hate managing people so much.”
“Song-i does have that lab nerd streak in him.”
He had no words to refute that. No, as the nickname Min-gyu gave him suggested, he simply wanted to be a pine mushroom living alone under a remote pine tree in the forest.
“Aw, Song-i Song-i. I was just saying. You can do it well, so why are you like this? Your team atmosphere is great.”
“The team is great, but I don’t want to be the team leader…”
“…”
With a face suppressing a laugh, Min-gyu gave the back of the small head a few light pats. Exactly thirty seconds later, Yi-ho looked forward again.
“I have to do it, what else can I do…”
He muttered a phrase that sounded like a corporate worker’s proverb.
However, the opportunity for Yi-ho to put that resolve into practice never came. As soon as he arrived at work in the morning, he was called to the HR team. In the development team, the owner of the brand-new seat created yesterday had not shown up for work.
“…So, you’re saying he was… fired.”
“To put it simply, yes.”
The rookie, Song Jun-seo, had been fired.
While Yi-ho had been suffering through nightmares the previous night, far too many things had happened.
Last night, Song Jun-seo had a celebratory drinking session with the colleagues he had left the training center with to celebrate their department assignments. Because the DL Business Division was quite preferred due to its location in Gangnam, many colleagues envied Jun-seo, and his excitement grew as he talked about a meeting where he was treated by an executive from another company.
Shaking off the colleagues who suggested they stop drinking since they had to work the next day, he and one other friend bought a few more bottles of soju and settled on a bench. Even though it was late into the dawn, the streetlights were brightly lit, and the nearby exercise equipment was low enough to be fun to climb on and off of while drunk.
Unable to overcome the effects of the alcohol, the two fell asleep on the bench, and the next day it was revealed that the location was the playground of a nearby elementary school. A person on patrol at dawn saw the employee ID hanging around his neck and contacted the company to take him away immediately.
Since Song Jun-seo’s status was still probationary, the HR team quickly cut the tail under the pretext of violating the maintenance of dignity.
“I-I mean, do you really fire someone overnight for that?”
“Team Leader Song. Which elementary school do you think it would be around here?”
A school zone that occasionally crossed Yi-ho’s mind came to him. A private elementary school founded by the foundation.
“It’s only natural to cut the tail immediately.”
“…”
Wow.
Wow…
With a vacant expression, Yi-ho trudged back the way he came like a zombie. He ran into Department Head Gye on the way, but even he, for today, simply shook his head and disappeared instead of saying anything to Yi-ho.
When he returned to his seat, everyone was looking at him with similar expressions. News about what happened to a new employee is bound to spread from the lower ranks first, and by now, everyone must have known. Yi-ho sank into his chair as if falling into a swamp.
A message had also arrived on his way back. It was from the Hyung in the lab who had recommended Song Jun-seo. It said things like, I’m sorry I couldn’t be honest then… I thought he’d become a decent human being once he entered the company…
In the development team, where the atmosphere felt as if a giant meteor had passed through, Yi-ho’s voice, which he struggled to raise, spread.
“Something unexpected happened… but let’s just work.”
“Yes.”
“…Yes.”
Tae-gyung, whose eyes were rolling around, quietly spoke a word.
“I’ll just be the youngest employee for a few more years. I think I can do it better…”
As if those words were a signal flare, hollow laughter mixed with the sound of wind broke out one by one among the development team.
Yi-ho, who hadn’t known how to react to something he was experiencing for the first time in his life, was finally able to laugh like a sigh.
From the development team’s perspective, this incident wasn’t a matter of determining right or wrong, but something incredibly absurd. Something they would likely never experience again in their corporate lives.
“Um… shall we go ahead with the company dinner to cheer up Tae-gyung nim!”
No one opposed that.
∗ ∗ ∗
On the grill, pork belly cooked along with the smell of grease. Between two grills filled densely with garlic and bean sprouts, the youngest, Tae-gyung, sat in the center. Normally, he had volunteered to hold the tongs at company dinners, but today, the sunbaes allowed him no utensils other than chopsticks and a liquor glass. Cooked meat piled up menacingly on Tae-gyung’s plate.
“Because we have Tae-gyung nim, our team’s average age has dropped significantly and it’s full of energy.”
“That’s right. Yesterday reminded me of when Tae-gyung nim first joined for the first time in a while. It was a time when our team’s timing wasn’t great, but he really held on well.”
“Tae-gyung nim is truly a unicorn rookie.”
Everything they said was correct. Under someone’s lead, glasses mixed with soju and beer clashed. Just as he was about to bring the glass to his lips, a small question was directed at Yi-ho.
“Team Leader… what do you think of me?”
Ah, this requires an answer filled with sincerity.
“I really like Tae-gyung nim too. I’m so proud of you. I attended school for a long time, so I joined the company around Tae-gyung nim’s age, and thinking about how I struggled back then, Tae-gyung nim is really on the mature side.”
“Really…”
His gaze, reddened perhaps by the heat of the grill, fell upon the glass in his hand. Tae-gyung had taken off his glasses and worn lenses to work today. The innocent eyes that were usually hidden behind thick lenses blinked.
The sight of his cute team member pushed Yi-ho’s hidden social skills to their maximum.
“In the future, um… if anything happens, please make sure to consult me. I’ll help you as much as I can.”
“Yes…!”
Speaking such cringeworthy words that weren’t in his nature, Yi-ho’s face also grew hot as he faced his hubae right in front of him. As expected, code is a hundred times easier than people.
Since it was a Friday dinner, the meat restaurant began to get crowded from early evening. Smoke from the cooking meat rose incessantly. Unable to withstand the heat of the grill, the team members one by one opened the seats of the drum-shaped chairs and stored their outerwear. Mi-so, who had stood up to fold in her long cardigan, pointed toward the door and shouted, “Oh!”
Broad shoulders passed through the gap in the door, blocking the dark city landscape outside the sliding door. Behind him, people dressed in similar suits entered.
“Looks like the marketing team is having their dinner here too.”
A few people in the team who were friendly with the marketing team members waved. At that moment, Yi-ho’s eyes met the person at the very front of the new group. Min-gyu’s gaze was slightly to the side of Yi-ho, looking at the gap between Yi-ho and Tae-gyung, who were pressed close together. His eyebrows rose and fell slightly. The gaze of the corporate workers turned toward him as he walked steadily between the tin tables.
‘True, Cha Min-gyu is handsome.’
The destination of that handsome human was behind Yi-ho’s back.
“It looks like there aren’t enough seats; would it be alright if we sat together?”
The development team had reserved for a total of nine people yesterday and were assigned three tables, but because they visited as eight due to the unfortunate story, they were sitting quite spaciously. Since there were two empty tables next to them, as he said, if the personnel mixed a bit, it was suitable to accommodate the marketing team of about ten people.
A company dinner with Cha Min-gyu? Of course it was good. It was good, but… Yi-ho looked back at his team members. Only one or two had bright expressions; cold sweat was already visible on the faces of the shy developers. That said, he couldn’t tell them to go away while the other team was all standing.
“Let’s huddle together, development team. I’ll move my seat this way. Team Leader Cha, please sit here.”
Yi-ho gathered the seven members of the development team, excluding himself, into two tables, and then moved to the center table with his utensils. Min-gyu came in front of him as if he understood what he meant. It was a layout meant to divide the center with the two team leaders and let the respective team members have a comfortable dinner on either side… plus a bit of Song Yi-ho’s personal desire.
As soon as Min-gyu took his seat, he took off his jacket and set it down. His broad upper body inside the shirt became more prominent. He raised his hand and called the owner. As his shoulder rose, the shirt across his chest pulled tight.
“Owner, please give us three orders of six servings of pork belly and eleven glasses.”
New tables were set with new glasses and basic side dishes. Seeing the pumpkin salad placed in front of him, Yi-ho pushed it toward Min-gyu. Sweet things like that are only liked by people like Cha Min-gyu. Min-gyu, who caught a glimpse of that action, pretended to take side dishes from the part-timer’s tray and placed the seasoned radish in front of Yi-ho.
Then, the tip of a beer bottle approached Yi-ho.
“Team Leader Song, have a drink first.”
Yi-ho tilted his glass toward Min-gyu. The beer rose smoothly along the wall, creating a perfectly ideal foam shape. The bottle was naturally handed to Yi-ho, and Min-gyu’s glass was also filled.
Foam was 80 percent. It was a glass with an impressive shape, making it unclear whether he had poured beer or stuffed in cotton candy.
“…Enjoy your drink.”
It meant, ‘Why did you make me do it, knowing it would be like this.’
“Yes, thanks to you.”
Giving a familiar answer, Min-gyu poured soju on top of it to settle the foam.
“I heard the development team had a rough day today.”
Translation: I heard. What kind of crazy bastard is that?
“This isn’t a topic I want to discuss with Team Leader Cha here.”
Translation: Ah, don’t talk about that. I barely erased it from my kids’ memories.
“Since it’s our Team Leader Song’s business, it doesn’t feel like someone else’s matter.”
Translation: Don’t worry about others, take care of yourself, you idiot.
“No need. Just drink your alcohol.”
Translation: Enough, let’s just drink.
Before they knew it, all voices had disappeared from the dinner table, except for the sizzling sound of grilling meat.