NOVEL NEXT 43
“Assistant Manager Park!”
“Assistant Manager!”
“I, Park Sang-won, have sworn my loyalty to Manager Roh! How could a man of honor speak with two tongues?”
His tongue was still sharp despite his swaying body. Park Sang-won always acted like this at company dinners.
I never thought I’d be glad to see his drunken antics. Thanks to him, the hesitant atmosphere lightened considerably.
The alcohol had taken effect, and the mood was heating up.
In situations like this, the first to join Assistant Manager Park’s nonsense is usually…
“Ah, forget it! I want to follow Manager Roh too!”
The one who stood up, raising her glass high, was none other than Assistant Manager Yang Ji-ah, Park’s fellow recruit.
With her distinctive curly hair and large round glasses perched on her nose, she slurred out:
“Let’s all just quit and leave together!”
‘Well done, keep it up.’
I fiddled with the phone in my pocket, which was diligently recording the entire scene.
‘It’s just drunken talk, so it probably won’t amount to much. But at least it might make them listen to what I have to say.’
If I tried to grab Roh Se-hee and say, “Just hear me out,” she wouldn’t give me the time of day. But by breaking the ice like this, I might at least get a chance to explain my business.
“Hyeonmu should reflect on its actions!”
“Hear, hear!”
“Let’s all just change jobs together!”
As the atmosphere heated up, everyone spouted nonsense in their drunken state.
Roh Se-hee touched her forehead as if troubled, but a resigned smile played on her lips, suggesting she was enjoying herself.
“You guys, really…”
“It seems everyone’s in agreement, so there’s no need to hesitate any longer.”
I said with a grin.
“We can iron out the contract details later, but for now, shall we start recording? I’d appreciate it if each of you could go around and express your aspirations for joining
Mission complete.
Let’s talk in more detail when you sober up, Manager Roh.
⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱
“Ugh…”
Roh Se-hee barely managed to control her churning stomach as she got up. Her stomach kept lurching as if she might throw up at any moment.
‘What? Where am I? Ah, I must have drunk too much yesterday. Well, we had reason to celebrate finally ditching that damn Hyeonmu. But I feel like something strange happened after that…’
“Are you awake?”
At the unfamiliar voice, Roh Se-hee bolted upright.
An unfamiliar woman stood before her. No, not exactly unfamiliar. It was a face she’d seen at the tail end of her drinking memories.
The strange person who had come forward to scout her.
But why was this person here?
“Why are you here?”
Song Woo-yeon smiled faintly at the question.
“You passed out from drinking too much last night, so I brought you to my place for now. Are you feeling a bit more clearheaded?”
“…Pardon?”
What was she talking about? As Roh Se-hee failed to grasp the situation and asked again, Song Woo-yeon muttered softly.
“So it’s true that you black out after just a sip or two, but keep acting normal and drinking so no one realizes you’re drunk. I thought you could hold your liquor since you always stayed till the end of drinking sessions.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Here.”
Without further explanation, Song Woo-yeon took out her phone and showed the screen.
“This is…”
The screen showed Roh Se-hee. In an unfamiliar place, with an unfamiliar expression.
We didn’t eat galmaegi-sal there. What’s going on? Did I go to a second round? No, judging by how drunk I look, a third? Fourth? With mixed feelings, Roh Se-hee pressed play.
Amid the noisy bar sounds, the words came through clearly.
-Manager Roh! You’re really coming to
-Why do you keep asking? I said I’m coming! I’m coming!
Roh Se-hee bowed her head deeply, then suddenly shot up, shouting:
-I’m finally quitting that godforsaken company!
-Oh my, Manager Roh. Please calm down…
Click.
Roh Se-hee couldn’t bear it and pressed the stop button.
What… what is this?
“Why did you stop? After this, the others take turns pledging to change jobs together.”
“……”
“Ah, we went to
“……”
“I’ve prepared some soup rice for your hangover. Is that okay?”
Thud.
Looking at the bowl of soup rice placed before her, Roh Se-hee just wanted to bury her face in it and die.
Unable to do that, she banged her head on the table instead.
“…What on earth have I done?”
Only Song Woo-yeon smiled brightly at her dying voice.
“Hurry up and eat, then get ready to go out.”
“What?”
“What do you mean, ‘what’?”
Song Woo-yeon pressed on as if it were obvious.
“You need to go see the office. Meet Jo I-ruk-ssi who works there. Since it’s your first day, just observe how things work and have lunch before going home.”
“……”
“The other team members will probably transition over gradually within a month. So please bear with working alone for a while. Understood?”
Feeling somewhat like she’d been conned, Roh Se-hee’s face fell. For now, her head was splitting, and her stomach was screaming for something to be put in it.
‘Let’s eat first and think later.’
When the body is in distress, instinct takes over the mind.
Roh Se-hee decided to push aside the troublesome matters for now and focus on the soup rice in front of her.
Slurp.
The moment she took a bite,
“……!”
“It’s delicious, isn’t it?”
Song Woo-yeon grinned as if she’d expected this reaction.
Yes. It really was delicious. Even after working at Hyeonmu, tasting, planning, and launching countless dishes.
Despite her already sky-high standards for “delicious,” the soup rice before her was more than satisfactory.
It was hard to believe this came from a small company she’d never even heard of.
She had planned to smooth over that verbal agreement made in a drunken state and leave.
But the moment she tasted the soup rice, it was as if her mind suddenly cleared.
“We have a brand called
“……”
“Although we’re just starting out, I’m confident in our competitiveness. I plan to grow
It was an outlandish claim.
But strangely enough.
If someone else had said it, she would have scoffed and told them not to be ridiculous. Yet mysteriously, it felt plausible.
“For that, I need you, Manager Roh.”
The outstretched palm was smaller than expected. But it looked bigger than any hand she’d ever grasped before.
“What do you say? Would you like to work with me?”