Chapter 50

After successfully completing his weekend business, Kang Jin headed to work with a light heart.

Standing at a crosswalk, he listened to music while waiting for the signal to change. As he glanced up, he spotted Choi Donghae across from him.

Choi Donghae kept stealing glances at Kang Jin, seemingly unsure whether they should acknowledge each other or not.

Kang Jin subtly raised his hand as a greeting before focusing back on the traffic light. It was enough for him. Neither of them harbored any romantic feelings towards the other, so there was no need to engage further. A casual nod acknowledging their shared workplace sufficed.

Seeing this, Choi Donghae hesitated momentarily before turning his attention back to the traffic light.

When the signal changed, Kang Jin crossed the street. As he approached the company building, Choi Donghae naturally fell into step beside him, given their common destination.

Since they had the same destination, it was natural for them to walk together. Choi Donghae kept glancing at Kang Jin as if wanting to strike up a conversation, but Kang Jin ignored him and continued walking. They silently rode the elevator together and entered their office, turning on their seniors’ computers so that work could commence immediately upon arrival.

Kang Jin and Choi Donghae then began reviewing documents. Despite having completed his first week as an intern, there were still numerous files left to examine.

The other employees had gathered around Lim Ho-jin’s desk with chairs pulled up close. As Mondays marked the start of the week, they held a weekly schedule meeting. If expected to be lengthy, they would reserve a conference room, but today’s agenda was simple, merely announcing the beginning of the week, so they conducted the meeting right in the office.

“In Africa…

“France has…

“…Then let’s proceed as discussed…”

As the meeting came to an end, Lim Ho-jin looked at Kang Jin and Choi Donghae.

“How was your first week? Do you think this job is manageable?”

“It’s doable,” replied Kang Jin, with Choi Donghae nodding in agreement.

“Good.” Lim Ho-jin nodded at their responses before gesturing for the other employees to return to their desks.

Once everyone had dispersed, he turned his attention back to Kang Jin and Choi Donghae.

“Lee Kang-jin, have you considered becoming a full-time employee?”

Kang Jin glanced at him.

He already knows I’m not interested, but by asking again like this…

Sssk!

Kang Jin looked toward Choi Donghae. It dawned on him that Lim Ho-jin wasn’t actually posing the question to him but rather wanted Choi Donghae to hear it.

Kang Jin glanced at Choi Donghae and nodded firmly. “Yes, sir.”

Lim Ho-jin acknowledged his response with another nod. “Then continue making copies and running errands for your teammates.”

“Yes, sir.”

With that, Lim Ho-jin turned to Choi Donghae. “Do you aspire to become a full-time employee here, Mr. Choi?”

“I do, sir. Absolutely.”

Lim Ho-jin studied him before asking, “Do you think you can stay with our company if you keep working as you have been so far?”

“I’m…trying my best, sir.”

Lim Ho-jin considered Choi Donghae’s answer before continuing. “From now on, you will work one-on-one with Lee Sangsub to learn practical skills. Find an item together and proceed with it. Sangsub will assist you in locating the item.”

“Me?”

“Do you not want to?”

“No, sir.”

“But… Choi Donghae will handle most of the tasks, but everything must be approved by Lee Sangsub first. If you have any phone conversations, record them and play them for him afterward. Any documents you read should also be discussed with Mr. Lee, especially those containing numbers. He needs to review them before proceeding further.”

“Yes, understood.” Choi Donghae nodded proudly, casting a smug glance at Kang Jin.

His eyes held a triumphant gleam. Unlike Kang Jin, who would continue doing errands and photocopying work, he was now entrusted with actual responsibilities.

However, Kang Jin found Donghae’s gaze irritating.

So they’re making sure he learns properly before letting him go.

Kang Jin surmised the reason behind Lim Ho-jin assigning practical work to Choi Donghae.

The decision regarding Choi Donghae had been made. Since he was unlikely to become a full-time employee, they figured it would be better to teach him some practical skills before letting him go.

The reasoning behind this was simple. If Choi Donghae were meant to join their team permanently, his performance evaluations should have reflected that favorably. However, both the team members and Lim Ho-jin seemed to keep their distance from him. Naturally, such detachment indicated unfavorable reviews…and thus, a slim chance of becoming a permanent staff member.

Our team is quite considerate. They could’ve just given him busywork until we let him go.

There was no reason to train someone who wouldn’t stick around. Moreover, since tasks were delegated to an intern, Kang Jin needed to closely monitor each step of progress—like supervising a grade schooler lifting weights at the gym. Personally, Jin preferred doing the work himself rather than overseeing others’ efforts.

It was like being forced to watch someone else exercise instead of doing it oneself. Choi Donghae seemed to think he had outsmarted Kang Jin and appeared quite pleased with himself.

“Get back to work… Mr. Choi Donghae, please report to Lee Sangsub for your assignments.”

“Yes, sir.” With a firm reply, Choi Donghae headed toward Lee Sangsub while Kang Jin returned to his desk and started reviewing some documents.

As quitting time approached, Choi Donghae approached him again.

“So, what do you say?”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re supposed to meet up with our fellow interns tonight for drinks, remember?”

“Oh?” Kang Jin blinked, as this was news to him.

“It was posted in our group chat. Didn’t you see?”

Kang Jin shook his head, then chuckled at Choi Donghae’s response.

Looks like…I’ve been ostracized without even realizing it.

Kang Jin wasn’t part of their group chat…which likely meant they had created one among themselves to share information and bond as colleagues. And Kang Jin hadn’t been included, for reasons he could easily guess. They excluded him because he was the only intern not majoring in trade management.

“Huh? Why are you smiling?” Choi Donghae looked at Kang Jin quizzically.

Kang Jin shook his head again. “Have fun tonight.”

“What? You’re not coming, Kang Jin?”

Kang Jin chuckled at Choi Donghae’s question.

“I didn’t know this side of you existed, Choi Donghae.”

“What do you mean?”

Puzzled, Choi Donghae stared at Kang Jin, who continued with a smile.

“You already knew I’m not part of the group chat, right?”

“Wait, you’re not in our chat?” Choi Donghae sounded genuinely surprised, which made Kang Jin laugh.

“You already know I’m not part of that group chat, right?”

“That’s…” Choi Donghae hesitated briefly before admitting, “I didn’t realize.”

“How could you not? We see each other every day at work… And yet, you’ve never mentioned anything discussed in the chat with me. That means you knew I wasn’t part of it and intentionally avoided talking about it around me.”

“But—”

“Yet today, you brought up both the group chat and the gathering… It seems like a display of superiority. A way to show off how well-connected you are with our peers. If I agreed to join, you’d feel superior, thinking, ‘Look, I’ve already built strong bonds with our colleagues. I’ll guide you.’ You were probably expecting disappointment or bitterness on my face when I said I wasn’t aware…”

Kang Jin smiled. “I’m sorry.”

Hastily shaking his head, Choi Donghae replied, “No, that’s not what I meant…”

“It’s okay. Everyone enjoys feeling superior to others,” Kang Jin said with a smile as she glanced at the time. There was about one minute left until 5 PM. She began tidying her desk and picking up her bag.

“If you want to show off your superiority…achieve success later on and buy me something expensive. Then, I’ll truly envy you.” With those words, Kang Jin looked around the room.

“I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

Lim Ho-jin nodded and waved goodbye. “See you tomorrow.”

After bowing to the other employees, Kang Jin left the store. Seeing this, Choi Donghae also picked up his bag.

“I’m clocking out…”

Lee Sangsub turned to Choi Donghae at his farewell.

“You have work left, so where are you going?”

“Huh?”

“Have you reviewed all the documents I gave you?”

“I…was planning on doing that tomorrow.”

“But these items ship out Friday! What good does it do reviewing them on Tuesday?”

Choi Donghae hesitated briefly before putting down his bag. “Understood.”

Lee Sangsub observed him for a moment and then asked, “Do you want to leave early like Lee Kang-jin?”

“Pardon me?”

“Well, if you do, you’ll be assigned administrative tasks just like her.”

“Oh…no, sir.”

With that, Lee Sangsub turned back to his monitor and spoke over his shoulder. “From now on, you can leave when I leave.”

“Yes, sir.” With a quiet response, Choi Donghae started perusing the documents.

After finishing work, Kang Jin took a brief rest before preparing for dinner service. There wasn’t much to do; all he needed was to cook rice. Once customers arrived, they would order their dishes accordingly.

Kang Jin had served two tables of guests who found out about his restaurant online and was now taking a break.

“What should we make today?”

Although ghosts typically didn’t order main courses, Kang Jin always prepared one in advance to avoid delays when orders came in.

Bae Yongsoo and Oh Soon-young, bustling around the kitchen, responded to Kang Jin’s question.

“How about Jujulpan (Nine-Sectioned Platter) as the main dish today?”

“Jujulpan? Isn’t that quite sophisticated?”

“Not really, Jujulpan is simple. Just create some millet pancakes and arrange various ingredients on top. It’s easy to eat and flavorful, so the ghosts will likely enjoy it too.”

At Bae Yongsoo’s suggestion, Kang Jin started taking out ingredients for Japchae. The dish can include various ingredients with no strict requirements. Typically, it consists of meat or seafood along with assorted vegetables and mushrooms. While it requires meticulous slicing to wrap neatly, it isn’t a difficult dish to prepare.

Kang Jin recalled the Japchae from his culinary training days as he began preparing the ingredients.

Chop chop chop! Chop chop chop!

As he worked, Kang Jin heard the sound of the door opening before 11 PM, which puzzled him. A whiteboard indicating “Closed” was displayed at the entrance, deterring customers.

Creak!

Kang Jin glanced towards the hall, wondering who could be entering.

No one should be entering at this hour.

Swish!

Kang Jin looked towards the hall and saw Choi Donghae walking in.

Why is he here again?

With that thought, Kang Jin wiped his hands and stepped out to the hall.

“You’ve been working late?” asked Kang Jin as Choi Donghae took a seat after glancing at him.

“Can I have some ramen?”

Kang Jin stared at Choi Donghae before replying, “How would you like it cooked?”

“One cup of water with two packets of noodles, please. And add all the soup mix too.”

Kang Jin looked incredulously at Choi Donghae’s request.

“That’ll make it extremely salty, won’t it?”

“Just do it as I asked.”

Kang Jin nodded reluctantly.

“All right then.” Kang Jin poured enough water for one serving into the pot and added two packs of ramen noodles to boil.

With only one portion’s worth of water, the noodles absorbed all the broth, resulting in stir-fried ramen. He carried it over to Choi Donghae’s table and set it down.

As soon as he did, Choi Donghae started eating with his chopsticks while making another request.

“And give me a bowl of rice too.”

Without hesitation, Kang Jin served him a bowl of rice. Choi Donghae promptly mixed the rice into the ramen pot and began scooping both onto his spoon.

What…is this guy?

Despite how salty the combination looked, Choi Donghae chowed down without missing a beat.