New Employee Kim Chul-soo

Chapter 1

First Day of Work

President’s office on the 45th floor.

A beautiful woman helped a man put on his suit jacket and smiled contentedly.

“Come down on time.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

The woman gave the man a quick kiss on the cheek and turned around.

The young-looking man nodded and turned his gaze back towards the window.

Sometimes in life, you have these thoughts.

If given another chance, I would have lived a different life.

If I could go back to the past, even for a day, my life would have changed.

If given another life, I wouldn’t live like this.

It was the same for the man.

He was born poor and lived diligently, but the fact that he was on an unfortunate path in life didn’t change.

Poverty, death, divorce, separation, layoff.

Around the time he felt that the only thing left at the end of his life was himself.

Good fortune came to him.

The man looked down at the world from the building that seemed to be above everything and was lost in thought for a moment.

“When… was that…?”

******

“To our unforgettable team leader, who encouraged the team members with a boundless heart for three years!”

“Cheers!”

Kim Chul-soo raised his beer glass at the farewell party his team members had prepared for him.

It’s been 17 years since he joined the company.

He joined as a fresh graduate and was promoted to Assistant Manager after six years, Manager after another six years, and finally Deputy General Manager after five years. But in the end, he was laid off before reaching General Manager.

“Before we begin the main event, we’d like to ask the team leader for a few words.”

Jang Hae-sung, a third-year Assistant Manager, wasn’t very good at his work, but he was skilled at creating a lively atmosphere.

Kim Chul-soo, receiving the spoon from Jang Hae-sung, looked at each of the 16 team members gathered.

As of 6:00 PM today, he had become a complete stranger to them, and in these times, it wasn’t easy to have such a gathering, so he felt grateful.

Although it was a situation where he couldn’t laugh, being laid off, Kim Chul-soo smiled naturally.

With 17 years of experience in the company, he could create expressions as skillfully as an actor.

“Thank you all for preparing this meaningful farewell party, especially as the cold winter retreats with the arrival of spring.”

“Hey! You can’t use formal language already! Team Leader!”

Jang Hae-sung said.

“Hey! You! Don’t interrupt while the team leader is talking!”

Kim Chul-soo laughed at that and made a nasally sound, making everyone burst into laughter.

“That’s our team leader!”

“Oh, come on. You won’t even let me do as I please on my way out. Do you guys want to go back to the office and work until 10:00 PM?”

Laughter erupted again.

Kim Chul-soo scratched the back of his head and opened his mouth again.

“Last winter was terribly cold, wasn’t it? It was even colder because of COVID. Our company was cold too. What about meetings and farewells… I want to swear!…. Hae-sung, you bastard! Don’t interrupt your superior!”

“Yes! Team Leader!”

“I’ll just say one thing. Don’t live your company life like me.”

Manager Lee Jin-soo, holding a beer glass, shouted.

“I want to live my company life just like you, sir!”

“Bullshit!”

Laughter filled the room again.

Looking at the new employees trying to hold back their laughter, Kim Chul-soo opened his mouth again.

“Company life is a marathon, but if you only look ahead, you’ll get hurt. When the moment of choice comes, constantly think about what’s best for you. That was the last piece of advice from an old fart. Now! Raise your glasses.”

Kim Chul-soo concluded and raised his beer glass.

“Sales Team 5, fighting!”

“Fighting!”

******

After the farewell party his team members threw for him, Kim Chul-soo, slightly drunk, stopped by his usual street vendor, ordered soju and spicy whelk salad, and drank soju alone.

“Drinking alone here again?”

“Oh, sir. You must have had a late meeting.”

Senior Managing Director Lee Jun-hak, with his graying hair and gold-rimmed glasses, sat next to Kim Chul-soo. As soon as Lee Jun-hak sat down, the vendor quickly brought out another soju glass.

“What are you doing? Pour me a drink.”

“Yes, sir.”

They clinked glasses and downed the soju in one gulp.

“Are you okay?”

When Lee Jun-hak asked, Kim Chul-soo nodded and said.

“I have to be okay, don’t I?”

“I never thought they’d lay you off. That bastard, Executive Director Park.”

“Don’t curse the restructuring team too much, sir. You know, right? I didn’t go to a good school, I don’t come from a good family, and I’m not exceptionally talented.”

“You… you… aren’t you even upset?”

“Hahaha.”

Kim Chul-soo poured soju instead of answering.

“I wondered why they hired a guy who was just messing around with music in college. You don’t even know any foreign languages, you don’t know anything about trade. I was at a loss as to how I should work with you.”

“Come on, sir, why are you bringing up old stories?”

“I’ve never seen a workaholic like you.”

Lee Jun-hak raised his glass, and they clinked glasses again and took another shot.

“And to think that guy, who was doing quite well, got laid off. What’s wrong with the company?”

“Oh, come on, sir. What can’t I do if I leave? I’m thinking of starting a small trading company using my experience.”

“Wasn’t your dream to become the president of our company?”

“Hahaha.”

Kim Chul-soo picked up the soju bottle and filled two glasses.

“It’s an outdated dream. I realized it when I became a manager. That I was on the wrong track. Still, I foolishly didn’t give up and kept running.”

“Yeah, you wouldn’t be Kim Chul-soo if you didn’t take on a challenge even though you knew it wouldn’t work. But you’re too soft.”

“Soft?”

“If you’re looking up, you shouldn’t even look down.”

“How can I abandon my subordinates?”

“So you’re going to take responsibility for all of them? You idiot. Sigh…”

Lee Jun-hak pounded his chest in frustration.

“It’s because I’m greedy! It’s because I’m greedy. I wanted to be respected by my subordinates and recognized by my superiors. I thought I could do it all.”

“That’s fine, but why did you go against Executive Director Park?”

Kim Chul-soo smiled sadly and filled the soju glass again.

“Auntie, one more bottle of soju, please.”

Lee Jun-hak patted Kim Chul-soo’s back a few times as he couldn’t hold himself up.

“You worked hard. I’m sorry that the company couldn’t repay you enough.”

At those words, Kim Chul-soo covered his eyes with his sleeve.

“It’s unfair to make a grown man cry.”

“You…”

“I may not be able to become the president of a trading company, but I can probably run a small office and act like a president.”

“Yeah, you wouldn’t be Kim Chul-soo if you gave up here.”

“Let’s have a drink, sir.”

After drinking and eating, Lee Jun-hak, enjoying the cool breeze by the river, opened his mouth.

“Have you taken care of everything?”

“Yes, I signed the papers last week.”

“You know, I told you not to be a geese dad, didn’t I? If you leave your wife alone abroad, she’ll cheat on you.”

Kim Chul-soo answered while pouring soju into the empty glass.

“I should have listened to your advice then, sir.”

“What about the kids?”

“They want to stay with their mother.”

“Sigh. You stubborn idiot. What about alimony?”

“I’m broke, sir.”

Lee Jun-hak sighed deeply and flicked Kim Chul-soo on the forehead, who had half his face buried on the table.

“You should have held onto at least one thing!”

“I can make money again, and I can meet another woman.”

“Even if you say that, I… know how rotten your insides must be.”

At his words, Kim Chul-soo buried his head in his arms and started sobbing.

Lee Jun-hak emptied his soju glass alone and muttered.

“If only the company was full of guys like you, I wouldn’t have to work with a frown.”

******

After parting with Lee Jun-hak, Kim Chul-soo, holding his old briefcase, staggered and sang.

The song was Na Hoon-a’s “Heoya”… a song about a futile life.

From the time his voice changed, he dedicated his life to singing and playing the guitar with his natural talent and beautiful voice.

Until his father died in an accident at a construction site when he was a junior in college.

In an instant, he had to support his mother and his younger brother who was about to enter high school. He gave up his beloved singing and guitar and worked tirelessly to join a general trading company in 2003.

For seven years after joining the company, he didn’t even dream of getting married because he was supporting his younger brother.

By the time his younger brother, who was smarter than him, got a job at a large corporation, his family’s financial situation had improved considerably.

Only then did he hurriedly go on blind dates and get married, having a son and a daughter.

His wife wanted to educate their children in the United States for their future, and Kim Chul-soo, whose salary was sufficient, agreed to her suggestion.

He thought there would be a sweet future at the end if he just kept running forward, but reality was different.

He hadn’t taken a single day off since joining the company 17 years ago.

He worked, met buyers, managed clients, and studied.

However, the end of a life lived without a single misstep was nothing but ruins.

“Neither you nor I, nor anyone else knows what life is all about…”

It was a song that no one knew even though it was from a long time ago, but it was so heartfelt and poignant that even young couples passing by turned around and watched him for a while.

“Is that guy a singer?”

“No, he looks like an office worker?”

Kim Chul-soo, staggering and singing drunkenly, suddenly disappeared into the ground.

Where he disappeared, there was an open manhole cover, probably not properly closed after construction.

******

“Brother!”

Kim Chul-soo woke up with a start at the feeling of someone shaking him.

But then, with a ‘thud’, he felt a sharp pain on his forehead and lay down again. He had hit his forehead on the bunk bed above him.

“You’re such a fool.”

Kim Chul-soo winced in pain and touched his forehead.

“When did you come back from Germany?”

Kim Chul-soo’s younger brother, Kim Young-soo, had been working at a large company and was stationed in Germany.

It was strange to see him next to him since he usually only came back for their parents’ death anniversary.

“What kind of dream did you have that you’re talking nonsense? You said you were starting work today, right?”

“Starting work? I got laid off.”

“What? Were you lying about getting a job?”

Kim Chul-soo felt the conversation was going strangely and opened his eyes.

“What the…”

Gone was his younger brother in his late 30s, and he saw Young-soo with a crew cut and peach fuzz.

“Chul-soo! Wake up! Young-soo, what are you doing? Why aren’t you waking your brother up!”

From somewhere…

A familiar voice was heard.

‘What the hell is going on?’

Chul-soo looked at Young-soo with bewildered eyes.

“Mom! Brother’s awake!”

“I turned on the boiler, so go wash up quickly. The oil bill is expensive.”

“What are you doing? Brother?”

Young-soo pulled Kim Chul-soo’s hand, and Kim Chul-soo got out of bed and looked around blankly.

Young-soo pushed Kim Chul-soo’s back, who was still dazed, and they went out to the living room.

Kim Chul-soo saw Yoon Jin-sook setting the table in the kitchen.

“Huh…?”

She had said that she had seen all of her two sons’ grandchildren, so it was okay for her to go, and she went to be with his father. But at the time, his mother was suffering from lung cancer, so she looked terrible.

However, seeing his mother so healthy and young in front of him was so unbelievable that Kim Chul-soo kept rubbing his eyes.

‘Is this a dream? It must be a dream. How do I wake up from this dream?’

Yoon Jin-sook slapped Kim Chul-soo’s back as he stood there blankly, rubbing his eyes.

“Are you out of your mind on your first day of work? Son!”

━Smack!

Only then did he remember how hard his mother’s hand could hit, and Kim Chul-soo realized that this pain was reality.

“Ahhhhhhh!”

Whether it was because of the pain…

Or because of the joy…

A powerful yell erupted from Kim Chul-soo’s mouth.