Dry Monsoon

“I thought maybe you might have felt the same way as me. Was I a little presumptuous? That’s why I said that at that time. I’m sorry.” Said Ji-Eun.

A light smile was painted on her face. The attendants who had been waiting in the distance approached the two who got off the elevator and walked through the quiet lobby. Just before joining them, Lee Hyun pulled off his jacket and put it over her shoulder.

“It is chilly at night. And that day, I was sincere when I said that I wanted to take Lee Ji-Eun to the hotel.”

She was only wearing a thin blouse.

Ji-Eun laughed out loud as if what he was saying was absurd. She didn’t seem to believe him. He smiled mischievously. The attendants who surrounded the two guided them to a car waiting outside the lobby.

He escorted Ji-Eun out and whispered to her as he opened the passenger door.

“I sometimes feel like I’ve become Tom Ripley. Of course, I’ve never been poor before.”

Tom Ripley weighed endlessly between wealth and poverty, morality and immorality, conscience and selfishness.

Lee Hyun used to envy Kwon Hae-In, who provoked him and wanted to be like Hae-In. So, after Haein died, he stood in front of the mirror and practised every day. By suppressing his selfish, cynical, and destructive nature, he wore the mask of a gentle businessman who smiles like Kwon Hae-in and who knew how to be considerate.

Lee Hyun rounded the car and took the driver’s seat. Ji-Eun frowned as she tried to understand what he meant. He lightly caressed his chin and stepped on the accelerator pedal.

It’s been a long time since he saw Kwon Lee-Hyun through the mirror and not Kwon Hae-in. It was him.

“Then, shall we talk about business?”

***

“What? Turnover?”

Director Ko and Manager Yoon exclaimed at the same time.

There is a moment of silence in the bustling office. I responded calmly while organising my transition materials.

“I decided to move to another company through the CEO’s introduction. They told me they were going to have an interview today.”

“All of a sudden? What? Why doesn’t CEO Shin give you a position as a designer in this company?”

“He told me the position is already filled. It’s okay, I have got used to it… Anyways, thank you so much for everything you both have done for me. I’m resigning at the end of the day, but I’m saying goodbye in advance.”

“But still… this is all so sudden. I feel like I’m having a headache.”

Unlike the two, who were clearly disappointed, Lim Soo-Wan’s expression was strange. As he was twirling his pen, he leaned back in his chair and spat out.

“Don’t forget to back up the data on your computer. Delete all saved IDs and passwords. Move the blueprints to the cloud. If possible, how about factory resetting your computer, just to be sure? Nowadays, industrial spies don’t even recognize themselves as spies.”

I arranged the file folders and reference books in order and turned toward Lim Soo-wan with a smile and said sarcastically,

“The computer belongs to the company, so I’m only going to delete my personal information. Sketches and materials will be the responsibility of the person who will take over. All I have to do is transfer my personal work to my external hard drive so no one can access it. But I’m still worried. There are still people out there who don’t even know the basics of copyright.”

Blinded by the wit of my words, Soo-wan glared at me before grumbling that he didn’t want to have a groundless argument with me. He then buried his head in his tablet. Upon hearing the news of my turnover, the office staff came over one by one and said their goodbyes. As I thanked each of them, I realised one thing, that is my social relationships were surprisingly not very broad.

I didn’t feel any regrets about leaving the office where I worked for almost 6 years. Of course, Lim Soo-wan played a big role recently, but I didn’t think I had an affectionate personality in the first place.

“Then, I’ll get going now.”

Because of CEO Shin’s consideration, I got an interview opportunity during business hours. So, I left the office with my handbag. As I came down the stairs of the piloti-style stand-alone office building, my phone started to ring.

“Hello.”

— “You said you were going to an interview today?”

It was Kwon Lee-Hyun.

“Yes, I’m heading there now. Why do you ask?” 

–“I’d like to see you later today. Do you have a car?”

“It’s parked at home. Should I stop by and go?”

–“Ah, then I’ll send my secretary for you later. I’ll see you at the meeting place.”

“Okay, see you later.”

After the light reply, I hung up.

I decided not to think too complicatedly about Kwon Lee-Hyun. Apart from how we were introduced to each other, his offer a few days ago was extremely attractive. He had presented a starting payment that could not be exceeded by a mere salary of an office worker. Later, he planned to pay differential incentives according to the client’s satisfaction.

Of course, the condition of satisfying the demands of the building’s owner and the burden of maintaining secrecy followed. But the amount of money was enough to open a small architectural office, so I could no longer refuse.

Besides, I had a justification now. I had no intention to bury my bones in a company that boycotted me.

I got into the taxi that arrived at the bus stop. With a quiet and bitter smile, I looked back at the office that was moving farther away.