On the trip home, the vehicle remained silent. Staring at the blurry city lights, Sunoo clutched his hands tight over Sunghoon's coat which draped his body. The heat on his cheek, the sting of Manager Choi's words as she had witnessed him leave the restaurant like he was a trouble nobody wanted to accept, could still be felt.
His chest felt empty when he finally arrived at his little apartment. Hanging the coat over a chair, he strove not to look at it. He sat on the edge of the bed for a while, paying attention to the refrigerator's buzz.
The humiliation was so heavy on him and hr lay down after eventually changing into a clean shirt, but sleep never really came.
Morning did not seem any gentler.
He understood something was off before he even got to the elevator in the business foyer. Somehow, the air smelled crisper, heavy with eyes that didn't bother to look away.
"Uwah!. That's him," someone murmured behind the reception desk.
"The one who made Director Kang give him his coat?" another voice whispered, half pity, half sarcasm.
He kept his head down but It didn't help. Everywhere he walked, it felt like someone's gaze stuck to his back.
Halfway across the lobby, Manager Choi appeared, her heels clinking against the marble floors. She was holding a file in one hand and a paper cup of coffee in the other, as if she'd been waiting for him to show up.
"Yahh!!.....Mr. Lee," she called, voice cutting through the low buzz of the lobby. She didn't lower it even when people turned to look.
He stopped. "Yes, ma'am."
Choi looked him over with cool disdain. "I see you managed to find a shirt that fits today."
A couple of people behind the front counter ducked their heads quickly, pretending to focus on their screens.
"I'm sorry about last night," Sunoo said, his voice steady only because he'd spent all night rehearsing it.
"Sorry?" She lifted a brow. "It's not me you embarrassed. It's Director Kang, and by extension this company. You do realize you're here to make his job easier, not harder?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Her mouth tightened. "If it were my decision, I'd have your badge collected by security. You can't seem to do anything right for longer than a week."
A hush fell over the lobby. Sunoo felt every pair of eyes crawl over him.
Choi set the file on the reception counter with a deliberate slap. "Your schedule. Director Kang expects you in his office in ten minutes."
She didn't wait for a response. She turned and walked toward the elevators, leaving her coffee untouched.
He heard a woman nearby whisper, "I almost feel bad for him."
Her colleague replied, "Don't. You don't get to that position without knowing exactly what you're doing."
He picked up the file and closed his hand around it until the edges bit into his skin.
.
.
.
.
The executive level upstairs was as still and tidy as ever. Nobody spoke to him. He felt the silence ahead of him, a ripple of judgment and curiosity he could not outrun.
He knocked once at the director's door and fiddled his fingers, waiting for response.
Sunghoon yelled from inside, "Come in."
The office was peaceful and bright. Pen in hand, Sunghoon sat back across the desk. He did not look up immediately.
Closer, Sunoo bowed fast, clutching the folded jacket. His voice emerged somewhat too quickly, almost stumbling over itself.
"Director–nim, good morning . I…I wanted to say I was sorry. Concerning last night. It wasn't—" He gasped, then started over. "It wasn't my fault. Someone tugged at my shirt. It wasn't till—"
He forced his lips together, wondering how ludicrous he possibly sounded. His fingers buried themselves into the fabric of the jacket.
Sunghoon at last looked up and examined him quietly for some time. His eyes just seemed tired, not icy at all.
"You did nothing wrong," he remarked. His voice was low, businesslike. "I saw what happened."
Sunoo gulped hardly and shaked his head. "Still, it looked horrific. I apologize for—"
"It makes no difference," Sunghoon interrupted him more softly than he had anticipated. He shoved the jacket back down the desk. "Keep it."
"Sir…" Sunoo started, but Sunghoon stated firmly,
"That will be all."
The room felt so dense and small to him. Sunoo just stood there for a while, gripping the folded cloth.
"Thank you," he said at last, his voice quiet.
Sunghoon only nodded; he was already looking over the documents once again.
Once again, Sunoo bowed, then turned and walked from the office, closing the door behind him as softly as he could.
.
.
.
.
Sunoo left the building to his own, shutting the door as lightly as he could manage. He breathed weakly, clutching the coat's borders around himself tighter. He stood there in the calm hallway for a moment, believing that everyone in the building could see straight through him.
He walked by a crowd of workers near the elevators as he began back to his desk. They spoke softly, but not softly enough.
One lady whispered, "Put his own jacket on him. Have you ever seen Director Kang do that?"
Another chuckled doubtfully. "Perhaps he's got a thing for lovely faces."
"Or perhaps he simply feels bad for him," another person said, sounding bored. "I would too. He looks like he's ready to cry half of the time."
Sunoo's neck burned. He kept his eyes on the floor and sped by them before any of them might pretend to greet him. He knew he would distrust what might come out if he spoke.
He closed the door as he got to his office, but someone gently tapped behind him before he could lock it. He choked down his irritation and reopened it.
Manager Choi stood still with a small stack of files. She did not hand them over at once. She scanned him first—his face, then the coat still hanging over his shoulders.
She said in a monotone, virtually uninterested tone, "You'll be fired soon,you know?. Less than a week you've been here, and still you have everyone something to discuss."
Her remarks sounded merely tired, like she was just stating the facts at least they were not even cruel like the ones she had said in the past.
"You have a job," she kept on saying. "Don't forget that."
She turned to depart after she set the folders on his desk and gave a sharp nod. The door closed behind her with a click.
Breathing through the severe pain in his chest, Sunoo stood there for a long moment. Almost worse was that she hadn't shouted. Just that quiet sadness, as though he had not met some hidden criteria.
He rubbed his palms over his face and tried to push it aside. He didnt have the luxury of falling apart. Not when so much was riding on this.
When he finally sat, he felt a prickle of motion at the door again. He looked up quietly, but this time, it was only a young employee from the management team
maybe a year or two younger than him. She hovered in the doorway, twisting her hands together.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I shouldn't remark anything, but...I thought it was kind what he did. Offering you the jacket. I mean,he has never done that before so that's why everyone's been so gossipy.
Sunoo forced himself to nod. "Thank you." The girl looked like she wished to add more, but he swung back to the files on his desk and wanted her to go. She got the message and walked away. He heard her shoes fade down the hallway.
Feeling the cold sweat there, he reached a hand toward the back of his neck. He had not arrived to make acquaintances. He couldn't let anyone close enough to ask questions he didn't want to answer.
Should he succeed, he would receive everything he had been promised. Mr. Han had locked his brother under a charge severe enough that the judge had used the word "execution."Mr. Han kept his mother cooking, cleaning and working in the countryside until her hands bled. None of them would ever experience freedom again if he failed this job.
He gulped, grabbed the first folder, and started reading. He compelled himself to concentrate as the words floated in front of his eyes.
.
.
.
.
Later that night, he eventually escaped the company without anyone seeing him. He waited until Manager Choi's office was vacant and the last lights on the executive floor went out. Only then did he drape Sunghoon's jacket more firmly around himself and head outside into the chilly air.
From here the city seemed really ordinary, as nothing had changed. Just rows of windows and flashing traffic lights. He paused there for several seconds, clearing his mind with the wind.
Then he squared his shoulders and walked away from the tall buildings of the city.He had a job to finish. And no matter how many eyes followed him or how much he hated himself for it, he wasn't allowed to stop.
TO BE CONTINUED.....