Chapter 62

On Monday morning, after a quick meeting, Team Two of Export Administration returned to their desks and began their workday.

“Choi Donghae!” Lee Sangsub appeared next to Choi Donghae without warning and growled at him quietly.

“Yes, sir!”

Lee Sangsub handed some documents to the startled Choi Donghae.

“You… What’s with these papers?”

At his boss’s question, Choi Donghae hastily scanned them.

“These are for Ghana—”

“Do you think I’m asking because I don’t know that?”

Tap!

Lee Sangsub forcefully pointed at a number on the page. Choi Donghae looked puzzled initially but then paled as he realized the mistake.

“This is…”

“There’s a digit missing here, right? Thanks to this, our client will get our goods at one-tenth of the price…”

Lee Sangsub’s comment caught Kang Jin’s attention, and she glanced at Choi Donghae.

Oh no…

Although unsure of what exactly was going on, it seemed like spending ten million won felt as insignificant to him as one million won. This kind of mistake occasionally happened due to different currencies and exchange rates between countries. Lee Sangsub appeared to be scolding Choi Donghae not to repeat such errors again.

“I did everything correctly yesterday…

“But these documents clearly show you didn’t! If I sent them out like this, do you think your salary could cover that missing digit?”

“Well, I distinctly remember…”

The problem arose when Choi Donghae attempted to justify his error with excuses. Seeing this, Lee Sangsub sighed and put down the papers.

“Redo it and bring me the corrected version.”

“Yes, sir.” Choi Donghae nodded but paused before leaving.

“Choi Donghae, follow me. And Kang Jin, if you’re not too busy, come along as well.”

It had been about three weeks since they started their internships, so the department employees were starting to feel comfortable addressing them more casually. Lee Sangsub, being their supervisor, was especially relaxed around them.

As Choi Donghae and Kang Jin stood up, Lee Sangsub turned to Choi Mina.

“We’ll be back after grabbing some coffee.”

“Please get me one, too.”

“Will do.”

Lee Sangsub led Choi Donghae and Kang Jin to a café located on the first floor of the building. The trio sat down with three cups of coffee between them.

“Donghae, I’m sure your fellow interns have already filled you in somewhat.”

Choi Donghae looked at Lee Sangsub curiously. “What kind of talk?”

“You know what I mean. About not being cut out for this job. When I was an intern, rumors about who would make it and who wouldn’t started circulating after about two weeks.”

Lee Sangsub’s blunt words made Choi Donghae bite his lip before nodding reluctantly.

“Yes, sir.”

“Do you understand why Manager Kang and I have been so hard on you while teaching you the ropes?”

“I believe it’s to help me adapt better if I join another company.”

“We’re pushing you to learn as much as possible before leaving.” Nodding, Lee Sangsub took a sip of coffee and then turned to Kang Jin. “And you, Kang Jin, never intended to become a full-time employee here, right?”

“That’s correct.”

Lee Sangsub chuckled at Kang Jin’s response.

“In truth, you were one of our targets as well.”

“Targets?”

“If you weren’t running your own restaurant and had majored in international trade instead of psychology, you’d be working hard like Choi Donghae here.”

“So I wasn’t considered for full-time employment?”

“Of course not! Sure, you’re quick-witted and observant, but that’s about it. Do you have any practical experience or proficiency with paperwork?”

Kang Jin smiled despite Lee Sangsub’s words.

“Well, everyone in my department seems to like me quite a bit.”

“That much is true. There aren’t many people as sociable as you. However, we can’t justify giving you high marks on personnel evaluations if it means letting go of more competent interns. Do you understand?”

“Of course.”

Shhhk!

Lee Sangsub turned to Choi Donghae.

“Donghae.”

“Yes, sir?”

“You know what your problem is, right?”

“I’m still not proficient enough at my job.”

“That’s…” Lee Sangsub paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and continued. “What exactly is an intern?”

“Pardon me?”

“What do you think an intern is?”

“A trainee employee who hasn’t yet become a full-time staff member…”

Lee Sangsub nodded at Choi Donghae’s response.

“That’s correct. A trainee, someone new on the job, cannot be perfect no matter how well they perform. Mistakes can happen anytime, as it’s impossible to anticipate every situation or task. Why? Because their lack of experience stems from having started recently.”

Lee Sangsub paused briefly before continuing. “Experience comes with doing the job. The incident earlier happened because you’re still learning, not because you lack skills.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“I’m not saying this to comfort you.” Lee Sangsub took another sip of coffee and looked at Choi Donghae. “You need to change your mindset.”

“My mindset?”

“Yes, like just now. When I point something out, all you do is make excuses.”

“I…I apologize.”

“I don’t want an apology; I’m telling you to fix it. If you don’t adjust your attitude…you’ll have trouble fitting in anywhere.”

Lee Sangsub sighed as he watched Choi Donghae quietly listen to him without rebuttal.

“Why do you think you haven’t been hired full-time yet?”

“I…didn’t perform well enough, I guess.”

“If interns were excellent at their jobs, there’d be no need for permanent employees, would there? Besides, your work isn’t bad.”

“You really think so?”

“Yes. You went to a good school and have impressive grades. Plus, considering you’re just an intern, your reports are very well written. In fact…

After some thought, Lee Sangsub turned to Choi Donghae.

“In terms of qualifications and skills, I bet you rank among the top five out of all the new hires this year.”

“So is it because of my personality that I’m not being hired permanently?”

“Are you threatening to sue us or something?”

“No, sir.”

“It’s not about skills or personality either. Would you rather work with someone you like or dislike?”

“What part of my personality is problematic?”

Lee Sangsub scrutinized Choi Donghae’s response.

“You really don’t know?”

Choi Donghae lowered his gaze and pursed his lips at Lee Sangsub’s words. He was aware that he wasn’t exactly sociable when it came to interacting with others.

Lee Sangsub observed him for a moment before speaking up.

“Don’t live your life this way.”

“Pardon me?”

“I mean it constructively. With your current attitude, people won’t treat you well anywhere you go.”

“Could you give me an example?”

“An example?”

“I’m aware that my personality isn’t very sociable, but it’s not easy to change who I am.”

Lee Sangsub nodded understandingly at Choi Donghae’s words.

“All right, let me give you an example of your behavior.”

“Yes, sir.” Choi Donghae listened intently.

“Do you remember when we went for Chinese food during lunch sometime back?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And Manager Lim ordered sweet and sour pork, too, right?” Choi Donghae raised an eyebrow, puzzled as to why Lee Sangsub was bringing this up.

Everyone had ordered their own dishes, and Manager Lim had separately requested sweet and sour pork for everyone to share.

“Yes, sir.”

“At that time…” Lee Sangsub hesitated before continuing with some discomfort.

“What happened?”

“It feels embarrassing even saying it out loud.”

“Did I do something wrong then?”

“It’s not that you did anything wrong. It’s just…a matter of etiquette.” Lee Sangsub hesitated briefly before sighing and continuing. “You ordered jajangmyeon noodles and asked for extra rice on the side.”

“I…I tend to eat quite a lot.”

“Who said it was about how much you eat? The issue is…why did you wait until after finishing all the sweet-and-sour pork before starting on your jajangmyeon?”

“Huh?” Choi Donghae looked puzzled, unsure what Lee Sangsub meant, causing his superior’s face to flush red with embarrassment.

Sangsub felt both timid and pathetic for remembering such trivial details and bringing them up again, which annoyed him further.

“When there’s food meant to be shared among people, shouldn’t everyone politely partake together? But you gobbled down all the sweet-and-sour pork first, leaving only scraps by the time you started eating your jajangmyeon.”

Lee Sangsub’s face turned redder as he spoke, growing more irritated with each thought. It wasn’t that he couldn’t handle sweet and sour pork, but seeing it all gone right before his eyes didn’t sit well with him.

“That…uh… I really like sweet and sour pork.”

“No, you don’t. Remember when we went for pork guk-bap earlier? You finished off the boiled pork first before eating the soup.”

“I just…really enjoy meat…”

As Choi Donghae stammered, Lee Sangsub sighed heavily.

“No, it’s not about preference. With pork guk-bap or jjambong, which you eat alone, it doesn’t matter. But with dishes meant to be shared, like sweet and sour pork and boiled pork, you should start by offering them to others first. You tend to…have too much appetite.”

“But…”

Lee Sangsub observed Choi Donghae’s stammering and inability to respond. “Think about it. Would you feel comfortable eating with someone who behaves like that?”

Seeing Choi Donghae unable to reply, Lee Sangsub continued, “First, fix this habit. Honestly…I don’t want to eat with you.”

Choi Donghae lowered his head at Lee Sangsub’s words.

”…Yes, sir.”

Sighing, Lee Sangsub addressed him further, “And Kang Jin is studying psychology, right? Think of helping her as assisting your colleague; give her some insights.”

“Psychology can’t completely change someone’s personality, though.”

“But you must have noticed something about him. Speak directly and firmly. That’s how he’ll improve.”

As Lee Sangsub spoke, Kang Jin glanced at Choi Donghae before pursing her lips thoughtfully.

“If Mr. Choi is truly willing to change his personality, I can speak frankly with you. However…it’s crucial that this decision comes from your own will; it won’t work if someone else forces you.”

Pointing out others’ flaws requires caution, even among close friends. With Choi Donghae already feeling negative emotions towards himself, Kang Jin risked exacerbating those feelings by addressing his issues directly.

Kang Jin looked at Choi Donghae. “If you want to hear some harsh words now, just let me know.”

“Curse word #2.”

As Choi Donghae raised an eyebrow at the mention of curse words, Kang Jin explained:

“If you don’t want to hear any more curses, simply avoid talking to me about these matters. And remember…whether or not you choose to improve based on what you hear is entirely up to you. My role is only to point out the issues.” With that, Kang Jin took another sip of coffee and turned to Lee Sangsub.

“Let’s head back.”

“Sure.” Lee Sangsub finished his coffee, picked up Choi Mina’s order from the counter, and left the café.

As they returned to the government office together, Kang Jin quietly spoke to Choi Donghae.

“What else do you think I need to work on?”

Kang Jin looked at him for a moment before subtly stepping closer. In response, Choi Donghae took a step back.

“Why did you move away?”

“When someone approaches me…” Choi Donghae trailed off as Kang Jin nodded understandingly.

“It’s natural to want to be close to people we like and keep our distance from those we dislike… Everyone feels this way. Since Mr. Donghae doesn’t like me, it makes sense for you to step back. However, I’ve noticed that you maintain distance with others too.”

“That…is it a problem?”

“Keeping distance means literally keeping away from someone. For people like us who buy and sell goods, distancing ourselves from potential clients isn’t ideal.”

After considering Kang Jin’s words, Choi Donghae nodded briefly.

“You’re right.”

“It would be best to start addressing this issue first. Ah! But don’t suddenly invade their personal space too quickly. If you aren’t close with them, it might be perceived as threatening rather than friendly.”

“I understand.” Choi Donghae nodded slightly, then smiled faintly. “Is this the first step? You didn’t curse at me this time.”

Kang Jin looked at Choi Donghae’s remark.

“Cursing…?” Kang Jin shook her head. “Narrowing the gap won’t be easy.”

“Don’t we just need to take one more step closer?”

“To take that single step, considerable preparation is required.”

“What kind of preparation do you mean?”

Kang Jin pursed her lips at Choi Donghae’s question.

How should I explain this…?