By Zephyria 
Gyeoul kicked a rolling stone. He felt suffocated. The massive gray factory felt like a monster that had lost all emotion. The stone, which had been rolling along, quickly lost its energy and stopped abruptly.
Just like that stone, this place was lifeless. Even the colors of the lined-up gray buildings felt tiring.
In the end, this factory had no defective machines or problematic employees. It simply produced something out of obligation. And anything unnecessary was excluded.
“How is it?”
Ian asked me, smiling habitually. I met his eyes for a moment and shook my head. A sigh escaped me involuntarily.
“There don’t seem to be any major problems. It’s definitely true that there aren’t any problems…”
That was the biggest problem. There shouldn’t be no problems. I frowned deeply.
The graph kept spiking here. The defect rate was too high at this factory, which was in charge of the most important parts in this project. But when I looked around, there was no cause. I couldn’t see it no matter how hard I looked.
Even the defect rate of the total parts observed today was different from the previous average. It was similar to other factories. No, it was actually significantly lower.
My head throbbed. My brain felt hot enough to explode, as if I had been using too much energy. My temples were throbbing.
I should be shaking my hips to relieve stress when I’m this tense. Instead, I stretched my pelvis once and turned my neck.
Ian let out a long groan. I looked at him when I heard the sound, and he was staring intently at the factory with narrowed eyes. As if the clue was definitely inside.
Could he have a clue? He was the only one I could rely on. Ian, whom I had been watching so far, seemed like he could definitely solve this situation.
The cold winter wind tickled the tip of my nose. I lowered my head sharply and sniffed. I felt a gaze and raised my head to meet Ian’s eyes head-on. There was warmth in his eyes.
He held out a handkerchief to me. It was a warm beige color, like Ian.
“Like Gyeoul said, there are no problems inside the factory. Even today’s results are very good, strangely. There’s no way the director didn’t know about this indicator. Um… it seems like there’s only one thing left, right?”
“It seems like we were lucky guys. As expected.”
“Then we’ll have to stay here forever. It would be more efficient to change the factory before that happens. Or change the person in charge.”
I blew my nose into the handkerchief. There wasn’t anything on it, so I didn’t think I had a cold. My nose felt frozen from the extreme cold. I wondered if snot would freeze if it was too cold.
Ian put the paper cup he was holding in his mouth and quickly wrote something in English in his notebook. Ian also buried half of his face in the black long padding I gave him, probably because he was cold. It was incongruous, but it suited his face very well. I stared blankly at him and said.
“Shall we hand it over to the audit department now?”
If there was no cause in the factory, there was only one answer. The problem must be the person there. It was a fact that he and I already knew. I wanted to deny it, but I couldn’t.
Ian finished recording, drank the remaining coffee, and threw it into a nearby trash can. It was instant coffee that the director had personally made with a servile face. Swish, the sound of empty branches hitting each other in the wind.
“I’ve already contacted them. I wish there was more solid evidence, but what’s written here is enough. And I took a few pictures earlier. I didn’t know I would be involved in something like this after coming all the way to Korea.”
Ian shook the notebook in his hand and smiled. For some reason, my heart was pounding. It was like that every time I faced Ian’s outstanding abilities. I wondered if I was jealous of him, but it was respect and passion. I want to be like that too.
An endless desire to grow more.
If I became Ian’s subordinate, I would definitely be able to grow much more than I am now.
“Team leader, you’re really a coveted talent. I just want to sit you next to me and make you work. If everyone in the world was like Ian, the Earth would probably rotate 360 degrees and open a new era.”
“That’s too much, Gyeoul. I’m more envious of Gyeoul. To the point where I want to teach you properly.”
A warm atmosphere began. But the temperature was heading below freezing, and the impact was minimal to melt the frozen body.
Perhaps because I had been standing outside for quite a while, Ian sniffed. As expected, the cold in Gangwon-do was on a different level. But I couldn’t let such a high-level talent catch a cold and be sick.
After thinking about it, I carefully took out the hot pack I had been saving in my pocket and handed it to him. Ian deserved to have precious survival supplies. An infinite affection for my comrade bloomed. I felt a deeper personal interest than I did for my army buddies who had rolled in the mud.
“Thank you for your hard work, Team leader. This is my burning heart for you. Please accept it!”
I deliberately bowed deeply. Ian laughed out loud. But no matter how long I waited, he didn’t take the hot pack. Feeling strange, I raised my head and saw Ian staring intently at my hand.
Instead of grabbing the ample empty space, he leisurely wrapped my hand with his hand, which was a hand larger. He carefully pulled it towards him and placed it on his cold, frozen cheek. I felt strange as the coldness moved to my hand.
It felt like… he was seducing me?
He was guilty as charged. He deserves the death penalty.
Ian closed his eyes and leaned on my hand before taking the hot pack and taking it away. I barely dragged my hand, which had frozen in the air, back. Ian opened his eyes again and rolled his eyes as if examining my expression. And he smiled brightly.
“You’re capable as expected, Gyeoul.”
“…Are you saying that the hot pack is more capable than the countless achievements I’ve made?”
“I guess so?”
The subtle atmosphere disappeared with the joke. He moved first and headed towards the factory entrance. I could feel his neatness even though he was covered in padding.
I stared silently at his back and followed him. In the distance, I saw the director looking around as if looking for us.
I thought he was the person who didn’t fit in with this factory the most. It felt like someone had forcibly synthesized him here.
Maybe that was really the case.
“Oh, why are you outside when it’s so cold?”
“Well, the smell is a bit strong. I came out for a while to get some fresh air and see the outside.”
“That’s our daily life. Heh heh.”
Not that smell, you son of a bitch, the disgusting smell of money.
The director wiped his forehead with a handkerchief and laughed loudly as if he didn’t know anything. I hoped his shiny forehead would be completely peeled off. But I still looked at him with a calm face.
The smile disappeared from Ian’s face. I always thought he was smiling without any thoughts, but surprisingly, his expressionless face felt cold. The director sneered at me, treating me like an ignorant office worker, but stopped smiling when he saw Ian.
I thought he had no sense, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.
“Director, please take good care of us.”
Ian smiled again as if nothing had happened. The director’s snake-like eyes curved again. It would be fortunate for him that an employee from headquarters had come down now. He was given time to cover it up.
But the audit team had already left a long time ago. The evidence Ian found was enough to start an investigation right away. All he had to do was buy time until the auditors arrived.
“What’s there to take care of? We’re just always working hard.”
“Ah, yes.”
“It’s a long way to Seoul, so shouldn’t you be leaving now?”
Because it was a short winter day, the sun was already starting to set. The director frowned as if he was worried. I almost threw up on that disgusting face. I barely turned my head and filled my lungs with cool air to hold it in. Ian was still smiling, probably because he had a strong stomach. He was really an amazing person.
‘I didn’t discuss how to buy time.’
I turned my head, wondering if Ian had any special measures. Ian, who felt my gaze, looked at me for a moment. His blue eyes were trustworthy. It hadn’t been many days since I had been with him, but it felt like I was connected to him.
“I don’t think I saw the press properly earlier. Could I check it again? It’s going to be hard for me to come down here again.”
“…Ah, there shouldn’t be anything wrong.”
“But wouldn’t there be a cause? If the defect rate is that high, it’s very difficult for us.”
“Hmm. You wouldn’t know if you’re not a field worker.”
The director took us back inside the factory with a reluctant expression. I could feel a subtle sarcasm in his words. My heart almost sank at the very direct criticism. Why don’t you say it in a roundabout way? Scary person!
I heard that Ian had worked in the field in the past. He was likely to know much better than the dummy director. As an assistant manager, I felt ashamed of his boasting. I wanted to hide him in the press.
“Director, how long have you been here?”
“Me? How long has it been…”
“It must have been so long that you don’t even remember?”
“Uh…”
The director wiped his forehead awkwardly. It was information that would come out if you just grabbed one of the employees and asked. He couldn’t answer as if he was nervous at the trivial question.
“How long have you worked in the field?”
“Already, about… more than 10 years.”
“Just that?”
“No, it’s because it was so long ago that I don’t even remember!”
The director got angry. He must not know how long you have to work to become a director. Even the approximate period he mentioned was so absurd that he was ignorant.