"We should break up."
"…Huh? What did you say?"
It was on the way back after a date with the woman I was supposed to marry.
When I casually asked when we'd see each other again, my girlfriend, Park Sojeong, suddenly said that.
"I've been thinking about it for a long time. About whether we'd really be able to live well together after getting married."
I hadn't even fully processed her first words yet, so I couldn't properly take in what she said next.
"But I think it'd be too hard. I don't think I could live with someone like you—someone who gets drunk, hits people, and quits his job over it."
Only then did it hit me.
She was serious about breaking up with me. This wasn't the time to stand there spacing out.
"S-Sojeong. I told you, didn't I? It wasn't just some drunken mistake. I had been drinking, sure, but that time—!"
"No matter what excuse you use, the fact doesn't change: you hit someone. What if it happens again after we're married? Would you just say you had a reason and quit your job again?"
Honestly, I had nothing to say.
Because I couldn't guarantee that I wouldn't do the same thing if the situation repeated itself.
"Be honest with me. If you take away your big-company business card, what do you even have left? Can you really support me with your own ability?"
"I can find another job quickly. Can't you just trust me and wait a little longer?"
But she coldly turned her head away.
"I don't have the confidence to marry you and live well together. I'm sorry."
"So-Sojeong! Sojeong!"
After getting out of the car, Park Sojeong walked away without looking back, leaving me standing there.
"Tch. I shouldn't have gotten involved. This damn temper of mine…"
My life had been going reasonably well until then.
I wasn't born into a rich family, but within my circumstances, I'd lived a decent life—at least enough to be proud of.
I graduated from a good university, got a solid job, and even had a girlfriend I was planning to marry.
If I hadn't caused any major trouble, my life would've turned out average at worst.
The reason I'm making such a hypothetical is simple.
I was the one who caused that "major trouble."
"Haah… I really should've just held it in a little longer."
I let out a deep sigh, enough to make clouds gather in the clear blue sky.
The reason I quit my perfectly fine job was honestly stupid.
I punched my supervisor in the face.
That piece of trash—Assistant Manager Park.
He'd make mistakes himself and dump the cleanup on his subordinates.
He let others do all the work while he took all the credit.
Married, with kids, yet constantly harassing female employees.
I get it. I'm a guy too. It's natural to notice women.
The women in our department were well-known for being pretty—kind, competent, and friendly. It wouldn't be strange to develop feelings.
But looking is as far as it goes.
You don't touch your subordinates. Especially not by forcing them to drink.
In the end, all the resentment I'd been holding toward Assistant Manager Park exploded.
At a company dinner held after finishing an important project, I threw a punch.
Thanks to that, I had to quit my job.
At least it didn't turn into a lawsuit. I guess he had something to hide too.
"Hah! And she didn't even hesitate before dumping me."
The moment I became unemployed, my girlfriend—who'd been dating me with marriage in mind—dumped me without a second thought.
To be fair, she was way out of my league.
Beautiful, smart, wealthy family.
Without the title of "manager at a major corporation," I had nothing left to stand on.
"Still… wasn't it love?"
She was the one who approached me first.
She was the one who confessed first.
She was always the one whispering love in a melting voice in bed.
And yet she turned away so coldly.
If I said I wasn't hurt at all, that'd be a lie.
"…So in the end, it was another man."
According to a reliable source—her younger sibling—it seemed she'd been going on blind dates behind my back.
Her parents never liked me to begin with. I figured the blind dates were something they forced on her, so I didn't press her about it.
But for her to dump me this easily…
She was probably already doing well with the blind date guy somewhere I didn't know.
I felt pathetic for being stabbed in the back by the woman I trusted.
"Hah… so what now?"
Fired from my job. Dumped by my girlfriend.
I was already well into my thirties.
Could a man's life get any more miserable than this?
My vision blurred with tears.
Damn it.
Through my tear-filled eyes, a flashy banner caught my attention.
"Turn Your Life Around! Lottery Jackpot Shop!"
Normally, I wouldn't have given it a second glance.
But my life was at rock bottom.
Just like the banner said, what I needed right now was a reversal.
As if possessed, I walked into the lottery shop.
Inside the tiny store sat a hunched-over old woman.
"Hello. I'll take ten thousand won worth of lottery tickets. Auto-pick."
The old woman looked up at me with wrinkled eyes and chuckled.
"Hehehe! You're a young man with great luck with women!"
"Luck with women? Me?"
At this point, it'd be hard to find someone with worse luck with women than me.
Normally I would've ignored it, but right now I couldn't.
"I just got dumped yesterday."
The old woman clapped her knees happily.
"Well, that's perfect!"
"What?! Getting dumped is perfect? That's a bit harsh!"
It was absurd, but somehow I laughed.
Breaking up still hurt, but her cheerful tone made it easy to forget the pain for a moment.
"No need to worry! That woman's been blocking your luck all this time!"
"Haha… is that so?"
"From now on, don't block the women who come your way! That's when your money luck will open up too!"
"Heh. Then if I meet another woman, will I win the lottery too?"
Assuming any woman comes my way in the first place.
"Of course! Your love luck and money luck are tied together! The better your luck with women, the better your fortune will be!"
The old woman nodded firmly as she declared it.
"Oh! I see!"
When you hit rock bottom, you stop caring about most things.
That was exactly how I felt. I nodded along to the fortune of an old woman I didn't even know, thinking, whatever happens, happens.
It wasn't bad news anyway.
"Thank you. Hope you sell a lot."
"Hehehe! Do your best, young man!"
Leaving the shop with the lottery ticket, I felt strangely at ease.
So what if I got fired and dumped?
I could find another job. I could meet another woman.
Isn't life all about ups and downs?
If bad things happen, good things are bound to follow.
All I had to do was build better connections from now on.
Bzzzt.
As I steeled my resolve, my smartphone vibrated in my pocket.
The caller ID read: Hwang Juyeon, Assistant Manager.
The very subordinate Assistant Manager Park had harassed during that company dinner.
That evening.
At a bar not far from my former workplace.
I met Hwang Juyeon alone.
"Assistant Hwang. Long time no see."
"Manager."
She stood up and greeted me politely.
She must've come straight after work—she was still in a neat business suit.
It was a bit awkward facing her, given what had happened, but we needed closure.
I couldn't just quit the company and pretend nothing happened. We'd worked closely together.
"Did you order anything?"
"No, not yet."
"Then tonight's on me. Retirement severance, you know."
I made a joke that wasn't funny and placed the order.
She looked nervous, like someone who felt guilty.
"Manager… I'm sorry."
"Hey, it's fine. Like I said on the phone, none of this is your fault."
I deliberately spoke with a brighter expression.
"I never liked what Assistant Manager Park did. That day, everything just piled up and exploded. Plus, the project stuff."
"Right. You practically did all the work on that project anyway. And he acted like it was all his…"
"Exactly. I'd wanted to punch him for a long time."
I filled both our glasses with soju.
"I'll pour for you."
"No, no. It's fine. I usually pour for myself."
I took a sip.
She followed cautiously.
She wasn't good with alcohol. She wasn't back at the company dinner either.
But today, she was keeping pace with me.
"Well… since I've quit now, I'll say this. Assistant Hwang, maybe you should drink in moderation."
She quietly nodded.
Probably because of the alcohol, she'd taken off her jacket.
The thin white blouse underneath offered very little defense, clearly revealing the heavy presence beneath.
…Honestly, I didn't know where to look.
I remembered how Assistant Manager Park used to leer at her.
I'll never be like that.
I recalled the promise I'd made to myself long ago.
"So, uh… what I'm saying is, you should be careful too. Don't misunderstand—this isn't your fault. But when men drink, you never know how they'll change. Okay?"
"…Then what about you, Manager?"
The alcohol buzz vanished instantly.
She was looking at me calmly—but with intensity.
"Well, uh… I mean, there's no such thing as a man who's 100% safe."
I dodged the answer.
It's a sad truth of male biology—you can't deny it completely.
"So maybe just… drink in moderation? Am I being too old-fashioned? Haha."
She silently emptied her glass.
Right after I told her to drink in moderation.
Maybe I really was being a nagging old man.
"…Manager. You heard it that day too, didn't you?"
"Heard what?"
"What Assistant Manager Park and Assistant Kim from the next department said in the men's lounge."
I nearly dropped my glass.
"Uh—did you… hear something too…?"
"Yes. Assistant Kim told me directly. About what Assistant Manager Park said."
…That bastard told the person involved?
I nearly passed out.
Assistant Manager Park loved to boast to male employees from other departments about how obedient the women in our department were.
That day, his boasting went too far.
"He said he was going to take me down, didn't he?"
"Cough!"
It was an incredibly disgusting thing for a woman to hear.
If that had become public, it wouldn't have been strange for an internal disciplinary committee to be formed.
The reason I didn't expose it was because only Assistant Kim and I had heard it—and I knew Assistant Kim wouldn't testify for his own safety.
But to think he told her directly.
Would things have been different if I'd spoken up properly back then?
Too late to regret it now.
"I'm sorry, Manager. I didn't even know, and…"
"I told you—it's not your fault."
She lowered her head, not knowing where to put herself.
She was probably apologizing for getting that drunk at the dinner.
That day, Assistant Manager Park had pushed alcohol on her relentlessly.
She should've refused more firmly, but she kept accepting until she was nearly unconscious.
And he didn't miss that chance.
He tried to forcibly take her home himself.
His filthy intentions were obvious.
I couldn't stand it anymore and threw a punch.
That's why I ended up quitting.
"At least I got to punch him before leaving. Felt great, honestly."
Still, none of this was something she needed to feel responsible for.
I hadn't acted to protect her—I punched him because I was angry.
"…Manager. Did you know?"
"Know what?"
"Your place is the closest to mine."
"Huh? Is it?"
"Yes. That's why I thought if I got drunk, you'd take me home."
"And then someone like Assistant Manager Park got involved."
"Exactly. I got drunk on purpose, aiming for you. And that clueless bastard…"
"…Huh?"
She stared at me with hazy, drunken eyes.
At this point, I couldn't pretend not to understand.
Trying to hide my unease, I ordered another bottle of soju.
"Manager… did you break up with your girlfriend?"
"…How do you know that?"
I hadn't told anyone at work yet.
"Your profile picture changed. Hers too."
Why did she even know hers?
"And this is the first time I've ever drunk alone with you."
"Is it?"
"Yes. Before, you always said you felt bad about your girlfriend and avoided meeting me alone."
Now that she mentioned it, that did sound right.
"I thought you were just saying that. Drinking with your boss isn't exactly comfortable."
"Yes… it's a little uncomfortable."
As she said that, she unbuttoned two buttons of her blouse.
I desperately kept my eyes away and drained my glass.
"Isn't there somewhere we could rest comfortably?"
As if the weight bothered her, she placed her chest heavily on the table.