RND 25

Leaving Yi-ho behind, Manager Jeong departed, saying he would go finish handling the rest. Chang-woo apologized repeatedly to an almost burdensome degree, then widened the gap between them, having previously sat so close that their knees were touching. In the meantime, the introductions ended.

The next turn was something called the “Ice Breaking Relay.” Since they had just finished introductions in a 1:N format—one person before many—this time it was the opposite: others would take turns speaking to one person in an N:1 format.

Judging by the content of the earlier lecture, the goal was to allow a person to understand themselves by seeing how they appeared through the eyes of others.

“Since he came straight from work, he probably didn’t hear the explanation well. Shall we start with him?”

Yi-ho was chosen as the first. Immediately, Chang-woo shot his hand up.

“Me! I want to be the first to say something to Yi-ho!”

“Then let’s move in a clockwise direction.”

With a face as tense as if he were in a job interview, Chang-woo looked at Yi-ho.

“The way you were working just now was so professional and cool that I want to make it my role model for my future company life, and you answered so kindly when I asked various things. And you truly have the ultimate baby face!”

Having finished his long speech, Chang-woo sat down with a proud expression. Yi-ho, who was not used to being the center of attention, desperately pulled up the corners of his mouth, which were twisting as if he were about to cry, to force a smile.

“Thank you….”

“I only spoke the truth!”

“…Thank you.”

Because the session started with such boisterous flattery, the comments from the following people were relatively mild.

“Your impression is so cute! Please do a corporate worker vlog on YouTube!”

“Thank you… I don’t think I’ll do YouTube.”

“You seem to have a very calm personality.”

“Do I? Thank… you.”

“Ah, Yi-ho is famous in the R&D department, right? As a genius developer.”

“…I’m not sure, but thank… you.”

Feeling the social survival skills of colleagues who had endured a large corporation, Yi-ho accepted the awkward compliments. Then, the microphone passed to the next person.

The next person spun the microphone once in front of his mouth and gave a thin smile.

“Team Song—no, Mr. Song Yi-ho is….”

Min-gyu’s curved gaze swept down over Yi-ho. Looking at Yi-ho, who was currently breaking out in a bucket’s worth of cold sweat, Min-gyu looked like he was dying of amusement. Just as Yi-ho grew tense wondering what would come out of that mouth, Min-gyu spoke.

“Pretty.”

Huh? What? A bewildered reaction spread through the group. Yi-ho froze, unable to react. After a moment of silence, a voice followed a step late to salvage the situation.

“Right… true… Yi-ho is truly a talent that the entertainment industry lost to the STEM field.”

Those who were reading the room were the ones who knew the relationship between Min-gyu and Yi-ho within the company. And of course, there were those who didn’t.

“Ah, we can’t just move on with such a simple compliment. Which part is the prettiest?”

Chang-woo suddenly asked loudly. He was a new employee who was impossible to hate, but whose social maneuvering was currently a bit annoying.

“The eyes.”

Min-gyu answered the question without hesitation.

‘Why do a man’s eyes look like that?’

…What? He used to say they were weird. As if signaling that he had done enough, Min-gyu passed the microphone to the person next to him.

∗   ∗   ∗

Each group began preparing dinner. Group B was split in half: a team to grill meat in front of the fire, and a team to make side dishes using the provided ingredients. Yi-ho took the cotton gloves and meat tongs without hesitation, while Min-gyu joined the side dish team.

Once again, company work was indeed a continuous series of team projects. Among the meat team members who were flustered, Yi-ho was the first to find and put on his cotton gloves.

Unless they had a hobby in camping, not many adults had experience handling torches and charcoal. Of course, Yi-ho—who grew up in a detached house and had countless domestic travel experiences with Min-gyu—was an exception. …Besides, he felt more at ease doing it himself rather than leaving it to twenty-four and twenty-five-year-olds. While Yi-ho and two others heated the charcoal, the side dish team held a meeting to decide on the menu.

The Taejang Group owned numerous subsidiaries. Among them was Taejang Food. Therefore, the subsidiaries’ workshops were overflowing with instant foods and meal kits from Taejang Food.

“How about the Peach Tteokbokki? It was a sell-out sensation last year, so I couldn’t try it. I saw some earlier.”

Tteokbokki?! Hearing the meeting, Yi-ho’s pupils shook. A few days ago, Yi-ho had eaten a year’s worth of tteokbokki while comforting Min-gyu. One piece of rice cake, one piece of fish cake. That was it. Then, Min-gyu’s voice drifted over.

“I think our team alone would need to take five or six bags of tteokbokki, so I don’t know if there’s enough. How about we pick something else and just secretly snag one meal kit?”

“…Is that allowed?”

“Everyone takes one quietly. I’ll keep watch, so hurry up and put it in your bag.”

After a smooth agreement, it was decided that the side dishes would be kimchi stew and kalguksu. Min-gyu barely contributed any words after opposing the tteokbokki, but the final menu consisted of two dishes that Min-gyu was good at making.

“Y-Yi-ho. I think this has turned red now. Is it ready?”

“Be careful. I’ll move it. I’ve got it.”

Yi-ho personally picked up and moved the tin can containing the heated charcoal. He heard a request to help, but he felt more at ease doing it himself rather than watching someone be precarious in front of the fire. Was this also part of the process of becoming a ‘kkondae’?

Yi-ho actually felt that although he had reached the age of thirty-three, he hadn’t truly become an adult. He was still an unreliable son to his mother, his ability to manage his daily life was inferior to Min-gyu’s, and regarding company work, he relied heavily on Deputy General Manager Yoon, who was higher in rank but older. However, looking at the young employees who had just joined the company, it seemed he hadn’t spent his time entirely in vain in many ways.

“It’s dangerous, so just leave it there and help me grill the meat.”

He put the charcoal in the brazier, assembled the grill, and waited for the heat to rise sufficiently. Only after demonstrating how to place the meat on the heated grill did he hand the tongs over to the employee who had been fidgeting behind him. However, not long after, when the flames suddenly flared up, he had to take the tongs back from the terrified employee. Around the time the meat was almost cooked, the side dish team arrived with several pots.

“Wow, it smells so good!”

“The meat team’s colors are amazing too!”

The atmosphere of Group B was generally harmonious.

“Yi-ho, give me the tongs now. Let’s take turns grilling.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

Yi-ho set his phone in a suitable spot on the table to claim his seat. He then diligently helped with the setting, laying out disposable cutlery. Meanwhile, Min-gyu was transferring the stew and kalguksu into individual plates. As he happened to pass by, Min-gyu placed two plates at Yi-ho’s spot.

Now empty-handed, Min-gyu gave a small flicking gesture with his hand toward his phone. Yi-ho returned to his seat and checked his phone.

Cha Min-gyu

[Song-i..]

[Stop running around and just sit down]

[Since both team leaders are standing, no one can sit down lol]

Oh.

No, it’s fine if everyone just sits…

Yi-ho looked around and was the first in Group B to pull out a plastic chair.

“Yi-ho.”

“Ah, yes. Chang-woo.”

“That’s Min-gyu’s spot, so how about the two team leaders sit side-by-side in the center to anchor the group? That way, you’ll both be comfortable, and Group B’s cohesion will increase, don’t you think?”

It was a comment heavily laced with flattery, but Yi-ho had no complaints about being allowed to sit next to Min-gyu. Coincidentally, Min-gyu was also about to sit down, just as he had advised Yi-ho.

“Why are you sitting here?”

“…?”

“Isn’t Team Leader Song’s seat over there?”

Min-gyu pointed to the spot Yi-ho had just left.

“Does it matter where I sit?”

“It does. Sit in your original seat. I set the table according to that.”

No, what’s the big deal about sitting anywhere, you brat. We always eat facing each other at home, so I thought I’d take this chance to eat side-by-side. However, before he could even stand his ground, Min-gyu pushed Yi-ho’s shoulder away.

“A-Alright.”

“Go back to your original seat.”

As Yi-ho trudged back to his spot, he locked eyes with Chang-woo, who looked as if he wanted to vanish from the face of the earth out of discomfort. …No, really, this wasn’t your fault…. He hoped Chang-woo wouldn’t go back in fear.

“Min-gyu is just… a planner, so he hates it when his vision is disrupted. Don’t mind him.”

“…Team Leader—ah, no, Yi-ho… are you okay? I hope you’re not too upset….”

“Well, we’re the type who clash often anyway.”

He smiled and patted Chang-woo’s shoulder to signal that there was no need to tremble in fear over this. In the meantime, people began to find their seats one by one, and perhaps because Min-gyu had said something, no one took Yi-ho’s original spot.

“Alright, Group B. Let’s have fun until the very end.”

Canned beers and drinks in paper cups clinked in the air. Perhaps because the preparation took some time, Yi-ho was hungry too. It might also be because he already knew the taste of Cha Min-gyu’s stew and kalguksu.

Yi-ho took a scoop of kalguksu first. As expected, it was truly delicious.

“Wow, this is really good. Min-gyu, is cooking your hobby?”

“Ever since I realized that what I make tastes better than what others make, I usually cook for myself.”

“That explanation is too relatable….”

The other people’s reactions seemed similar. As he dipped his spoon to get some broth, the bottom of the noodles felt strangely heavy.

When Yi-ho peeked under that part, he encountered a cluster of clam meat, as if it were a diamond mine with bursting veins.

Then, a message arrived quietly.

Cha Min-gyu

[I peeled every single clam myself]

[Too wasteful to give them to othersㅡㅡ]

What the…

Fearing he’d be caught, Yi-ho took a large scoop of the clams first. The others weren’t particularly paying attention to the inside of the person’s bowl next to them. Instead, their attention was focused on the kalguksu recipe Min-gyu had begun to recite.

“…….”

His heart was churning again. This was the symptom that occurred whenever his unrequited love—which he had intended to keep to himself and let go of when the time came—expanded in volume because of Cha Min-gyu. Yi-ho simply lifted the bowl to his mouth and finished the rest of the kalguksu. It was better to swallow it and digest it quietly than to have it flickering before his eyes. No one would know what was hidden in his stomach, and they would mistake the reason his face grew hot for the effects of alcohol.

As Yi-ho sipped his canned beer, the person next to him spoke.

“This is some makgeolli I brought earlier, would you like to try some? Since it was Min-gyu’s pick, I think there’s something to it.”

It was a brand he had never seen before. And Cha Min-gyu, a gourmet, was very interested in such challenges. Of course, his evaluations were ruthless.

Yi-ho glanced back at Min-gyu. Then, Min-gyu twisted his upper lip.

Translated, it meant, ‘Don’t drink it. That stuff tastes bad.’

“No. I’m fine.”

“But it’s a new product, just once….”

“Don’t push it on someone who said they don’t want it.”

Min-gyu stepped in to cut off the suggestion.

“I’ll just drink this.”

Yi-ho held up his canned beer. The other person poured the makgeolli into their own cup instead of Yi-ho’s. Seeing the ‘Huh?’ expression on their face after drinking it, it seemed the taste was subtle.

After enjoying the long meal, Min-gyu, who was moving around to tidy up the area, overheard a short conversation.

“The two team leaders… uh, well. It was true that they’re in a friendly rivalry.”

“It’s not like they’re physically fighting, so what’s the big deal. It’s thrilling to see two handsome men in a nerve war.”

A smile played on his lips. And he passed behind them, pretending not to have heard.

The mealtime ended peacefully in its own way.

∗   ∗   ∗

-Did everyone enjoy their meal?

Amidst a bright atmosphere where everyone was full and feeling good from a drink, cheerful answers popped out.

-Unfortunately, the Taejang Electronics workshop is now down to its final segment. We’ve had the compliment relay and shared a meal, but there are surely people here who haven’t become close yet. For them, we’ve prepared a corner called .