My Company Is Black

#010

Hwi-kyung endured to avoid pushing away Gyo-ha’s face as he kept coming close, trying to persuade him to ride in his car. If you endure a hundred times, you can avoid regression. Thinking that if he regressed, he’d have to get all his certifications again from the beginning, he felt he could draw about a hundred more patience characters.

“I’ll drive.”

“……”

“You look tired today. Long-distance driving is tiring, isn’t it?”

He couldn’t bring himself to say, ‘I’m tired because of you.’ Hwi-kyung bit his lip and said he would request the operations team again. What could he do when his superior offered to drive personally?

This time, the place Hwi-kyung and Gyo-ha were going on a business trip was Ulsan. They were going to check an export product manufacturing factory, but it was more like an excursion than a business trip.

No one entrusted important tasks to the parachute Executive Director. In the first place, it was Lee Jung-hye, who was greedy for company shares, who had inserted Gyo-ha into the company, and no matter how much the youngest lived like an unemployed person, there was no way she would give him a plausible job.

From Hwi-kyung’s perspective, Gyo-ha’s company life was similar to a staged play-house. Only the people working under him were ground down, while Gyo-ha sat at his desk and just signed documents moderately.

When he got bored, he would go on excursion-like business trips like today, conducting unnecessary audits or sales. Hwi-kyung thought Gyo-ha was really lucky. Those born with silver spoons in their mouths casually worked at large corporations that Hwi-kyung could only enter after taking dozens of qualification exams.

In this situation, Hwi-kyung couldn’t like Gyo-ha. It seemed difficult to feel any affection for him. From Hwi-kyung’s perspective, Gyo-ha had no ambition for work at all. Moreover, everything was too light. Should I say he lacked seriousness?

The two were really incompatible. At least that’s what Hwi-kyung thought. If they had met somewhere other than the company, Hwi-kyung would have obviously avoided Gyo-ha, thinking he was annoying.

“It’s been a while since I’ve driven. Do you have any favorite music?”

“…Not particularly.”

“Really? Then I’ll just play what I like.”

Gyo-ha’s car wasn’t one that an ordinary company employee could afford. A foreign car that would cost a fortune just to repair if it got scratched. Hwi-kyung felt uneasy even sitting in the passenger seat.

Moreover, Gyo-ha’s music taste happened to be classical. Hwi-kyung, who used to enjoy rhythmic trot songs with his grandmother, felt dizzy from the elegant string instrument sounds.

“When did you get your license, Hwi-kyung?”

“…Right after the college entrance exam. Before going to the military.”

“You got it early. You must be a good driver too, right?”

“I’m about average.”

“I had a chance to look at your resume the other day.”

Jung Hwi-kyung’s resume was surprising to anyone who saw it. Even Hwi-kyung himself sometimes wondered if it was too much of a setup.

However, in large corporations, talents like Hwi-kyung occasionally popped up, so Hwi-kyung’s versatility wasn’t such a noticeable characteristic. There were monsters in the world who could speak three languages without regressing thirteen times.

“You have all sorts of certifications.”

“…I lived diligently during my college days.”

“I was really surprised when I saw that. I’d believe it if you said you lived several lives.”

“……”

“Are you perhaps a regressor? Something like that?”

Suboptimal condition: Your superior is testing you.

Hwi-kyung checked the notification window that popped up in front of him. Testing? Asking if he’s a regressor because he has many certifications?

“…A regressor?”

However, he couldn’t just nod and say, ‘Yes, I am a regressor!’ here. Hwi-kyung just asked back like that and closed his mouth. He had met many people who said, ‘Isn’t that guy on his second life?’ when they saw him as a certification collector, but it was the first time someone had asked so subtly like this.

Wondering if he knew something, he checked Gyo-ha’s face, but Gyo-ha still had an inscrutable expression.

“You’re not a regressor?”

“…I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Haha, I was just joking. Because you’re so amazing.”

Lies flowed smoothly from Lee Gyo-ha’s mouth, who could speak English and Chinese at a native level and had also obtained all sorts of certifications.

Despite the subtle probe, Jung Hwi-kyung didn’t seem willing to reveal his regression fact willingly. Gyo-ha pondered for a very brief moment. Should I just confess that I’ve also regressed thirteen times because of you?

But Gyo-ha couldn’t carelessly say such things. It was problematic whether Hwi-kyung was a real regressor or not. If Hwi-kyung made up his mind to move on to the fourteenth iteration, Gyo-ha couldn’t stop him.

Although the probability was low, if Hwi-kyung wasn’t really a regressor, Gyo-ha would instantly become a person who said crazy things to his temporary secretary. He couldn’t rashly commit such an act when he didn’t know when he might regress. Following Amy’s precedent wasn’t a good choice.

Lee Gyo-ha decided to act cautiously. Anyway, now that he had bought his degree with money, he had time to spare.

* * *

Hwi-kyung couldn’t easily focus on the business trip tasks. Gyo-ha’s question asking if he was a regressor kept spinning in his head. Using the word ‘regressor’ while looking like an ordinary person who knew nothing about subculture.

It’s not that Hwi-kyung hadn’t looked up novels or dramas featuring regressors. He had given up watching them, thinking he’d like someone to give him a three-line summary because they didn’t suit his taste, but he had looked into them a bit in the sixth iteration.

However, Hwi-kyung couldn’t understand the image of ‘regression’ created by media. Coming back to the past to prevent the world from ending, monopolizing future information and starting over alone. Isn’t that just a failure in task allocation?

As an employee on his thirteenth regression, Jung Hwi-kyung thought he should take all the benefits he could get from regression, but he had no desire to swallow up the company or become an executive through it.

The higher you rise, the more retirement is delayed… If you’re unlucky enough to be hired as an advisor, it’s over. Hwi-kyung’s only hope was an honorable retirement after serving his full term. Only then could he somehow escape this black company regression.

“Careful.”

“Ah.”

“You need to be careful when looking around the factory.”

Gyo-ha quickly grabbed Hwi-kyung, who was about to bump into stacked equipment while lost in all sorts of thoughts. Having stayed in America for a long time, Gyo-ha had no reservations about physical contact.

“Thank you.”

Hwi-kyung looked down at Gyo-ha’s hand firmly gripping his arm. It was clearly the hand of a chaebol young master who had never experienced hardship, but it was oddly large and strong.

“What are you thinking about so deeply? You act like you wouldn’t bleed a drop even if pricked with a needle at the company.”

“……”

“What am I supposed to do if you get hurt?”

“…I’ll be careful.”

Gyo-ha started walking around while still holding Hwi-kyung’s arm. Even when the factory manager gave them strange looks, he didn’t seem to have any intention of letting go of the arm he was holding. Hwi-kyung clenched his molars to avoid showing a troubled expression. This open-minded person… Doesn’t he know this will only lead to rampant rumors?

“You can let go of my arm now.”

“Let’s just keep holding it. Who knows where you’ll crash into if I leave you alone.”

“I won’t do that. Please let go.”

Gyo-ha smiled brightly at Hwi-kyung’s request to let go. Gyo-ha seemed to enjoy it whenever Hwi-kyung was troubled.

“I don’t want to.”

Suboptimal condition: Your superior is harassing you.

“Do you think I’m harassing you when I do this?”

“……”

“I’m just doing it because I like you, Hwi-kyung.”

Suboptimal condition: Your superior is passionately harassing you.

Hwi-kyung checked the notification window that appeared right in front of Gyo-ha’s face. The expression that he was not just harassing but passionately harassing bothered him.

“Oh? Watch out!”

At that moment, cold water poured over Hwi-kyung and Gyo-ha, who were staring at each other and not paying attention to their surroundings. It was because a new employee who had come in dragging a hose to clean the inside of the factory made a mistake.

Everyone in the factory lost their words at the sudden cold water shower. The middle-aged factory manager started hiccupping. It was because the thoughtless newbie had sprayed water on none other than the chairman’s son.

“I’m, I’m sorry!”

Moreover, the newbie bowed his head towards Lee Gyo-ha without even thinking to turn off the water, still holding the hose in the same position. Fortunately or unfortunately, the rest of the water shower poured onto Hwi-kyung, who was in front of Gyo-ha.

Pfu pfu. Hwi-kyung, instantly becoming like a drenched rat, shook off his wet hair. His wet dress shirt clung tightly to his body.

Although less wet than Hwi-kyung, Gyo-ha was in the same mess. The well-dressed suit was all wrinkled. Gyo-ha, who shook off the water with a few hand gestures, continued speaking with a still smiling face, saying it would be good to turn off the water.

Finally coming to his senses, the factory manager ran over, pushed aside the newbie, and hurriedly removed the hose.

“Oh my, what to do… You’re all wet.”

“It’s alright.”

“Go to the employee dormitory and dry off. I’ll prepare some clothes for you to change into.”

“I’m not that wet, but ah, Hwi-kyung should change clothes.”

“I’m fine too.”

“No, you’re not. Hwi-kyung, you look like someone who’s been fully submerged. I’m not that wet because you blocked it with your body.”

Hwi-kyung hadn’t planned to block the water shower with his body either. It was just that due to their standing positions, Hwi-kyung ended up acting as Gyo-ha’s breakwater by chance.

But as Gyo-ha said, it seemed better to change clothes. They couldn’t walk around in this wet state anyway. It wasn’t right to ride in Gyo-ha’s foreign car while dripping wet either.

“Let’s go to the employee dormitory together.”

Gyo-ha reached out his hand towards Hwi-kyung. Instead of grabbing Gyo-ha’s outstretched hand, Hwi-kyung said okay and stepped back a few steps. The factory manager, making a fuss, guided the two towards the employee dormitory.