GGAS 11
by NiluEun Sanho smiled as he spoke.
“Every single day, with all my effort!”
“This is crazy.”
“Sorry?”
“…Nothing.”
Kim Gwanggong did not care if it was Evian or Samdasoo, he just wanted cold water.
***
“Secretary Ha, do you have time?”
Kim Gwanggong asked as he stepped into the break room. Inside, Ha Bomi and Lee Minjeong were each making a cup of coffee.
“Time? Oh, I’ve got plenty~”
Ha Bomi answered playfully, then flinched when Lee Minjeong poked her in the side.
“Haha, I misspoke again… I don’t have any time at all. Really. I’m so, so busy with work. I don’t even have time to breathe. Want to see? Huff.”
When Ha Bomi held her breath, Kim Gwanggong frowned.
“Please breathe.”
“Haa— yes. But why are you asking?”
“Secretary Ha, have you ever heard of BL?”
“Pft…!”
Lee Minjeong, who often used the blue e-book app, ended up spitting out the coffee she had been drinking.
“B-BL?”
Lee Minjeong asked again in confusion. Kim Gwanggong looked at her strangely.
“Yes. The marriage information company .”
At his answer, Lee Minjeong doubted her ears even more. A marriage information company called <B.L> . Even if the members there found a match, in Korea the chance of them becoming an actual married couple still looked, at least for now, remote.
‘They said it would take a year or two before a same-sex marriage law could even exist….’
Lee Minjeong rolled her eyes around and spoke.
“…Is it a Korean company?”
“Oh, is it a foreign company?”
“No, that’s not what I meant….”
Lee Minjeong trailed off. Saying more about a marriage information company called BL to a boss named Kim Gwanggong did not seem proper. Above all, she also had her own social reputation to consider.
“Assistant Manager Lee? Why did you stop talking?”
“Well… on second thought, I don’t know anything. As you know, Director, it’s been a while since I last thought about marriage, right?”
Lee Minjeong stopped thinking and just said anything.
“…I see. Secretary Ha, do you know about it?”
“Not in detail, but roughly? I heard about it from my cousin. I heard it’s a pretty big place.”
“Do they have good results?”
“Probably?”
“…When a marriage information company says they have good results, doesn’t that mean they have a high success rate?”
“That’s right?”
At her answer, Kim Gwanggong frowned slightly. But since Ha Bomi did not care about his expression, she did not feel any need to change the subject.
“But why suddenly bring up a marriage information company? Is our company going into the marriage market now?”
“…Someone I know said they’re joining.”
“Well, these days people keep saying it’s the right age to marry, so even some of my college classmates have been signing up.”
Lee Minjeong, now composed, added.
“Assistant Manager Lee, are you going to sign up too?”
Ha Bomi asked.
“No, I prefer to meet someone naturally. Like through shared hobbies.”
“Like a club?”
“That’s right.”
“Mm~ actually, I’ve been thinking of joining a drama fan community these days. When I looked it up, there was one called ‘Simcheong Dan,’ a fan community for <Great Detective Simcheong.>”
Ha Bomi spoke naturally while hiding her identity.
“Simcheong? A lot of people are watching it lately. Is it fun?”
“Of course! Yesterday’s episode was really amazing… Do you want to see a short highlight clip? It’s a video without any big spoilers.”
Ha Bomi tried to play a short highlight video, but unable to contain her excitement as a fan, her finger slipped and she played a 15-minute video instead. Fortunately, the video seemed to suit Lee Minjeong’s taste.
“Why is it so short? Is there no more? No, if it ends like this, what am I supposed to do?”
When the video ended at the scene where Simcheong fell into the sea, Lee Minjeong spoke in disbelief.
“What else, you have to watch the live broadcast tonight!”
“Wow, Director. Did you just see how scheming Bomi-ssi was….”
Lee Minjeong stopped in the middle of asking for Kim Gwanggong’s agreement. He was not there.
“Wait, where did he go already?”
Ha Bomi, who had planned to pitch Simcheong to Kim Gwanggong as well, spoke in frustration.
“Did he just leave because I was talking only with you, Secretary Ha?”
Lee Minjeong tilted her head.
***
“You left this in the break room.”
Ha Bomi put a key down on Kim Gwanggong’s desk.
“Ah, I forgot. Thank you.”
Kim Gwanggong answered while keeping his eyes fixed on the monitor. Seeing that, Ha Bomi shook her head side to side. She thought he would live a short life working like that all the time.
“Director, what do you even live for?”
Only then did Kim Gwanggong look at her.
“Why are you suddenly asking that?”
“Don’t you have any hobbies? Like… fishing? Or hiking?”
“How old do you think I am? And if you want to be precise, my hobby is work.”
“What?”
“Why are you so surprised? Both you and I have already decided to bury our bones in this company.”
“Not me. If I find a company funnier than this one, I’ll switch right away.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
“I’m serious, you know? And compared to me, you’re the real workaholic, Director. Even now at lunch break, you’re still working.”
“Who said I’m working?”
“You’re looking at that report… wait, it’s not a report?”
Ha Bomi was startled.
“What is all this?”
What was on Kim Gwanggong’s monitor was not a report. It was a website completely covered in pink.
At the top, in large letters, it said, “Find your match – BL,” and at the center of the screen, an unbelievable pop-up message was displayed:
“Mr. Kim Gwanggong, your consultation appointment has been booked for next Tuesday!”
“You, you signed up for this?”
“Yes.”
“Why…?”
“Someone said if there’s a common interest, it makes conversation easier.”
“Who are you trying to talk with? Don’t tell me… that acquaintance who signed up first?”
“Yes.”
“Director, is the acquaintance who signed up for the marriage information company Chairwoman Kim?”
“What kind of nonsense is that? My mother is married.”
“No, I just thought maybe you were doing this to get on the good side of someone powerful.”
“No.”
“Then who exactly is this acquaintance that made someone like you, who made a vow of celibacy, go so far as to join a marriage information company just to get an extra conversation topic?”
Kim Gwanggong raised his eyebrow.
“Let’s be clear about this once and for all. I did not make a vow of celibacy. Don’t spread rumors.”
“When did I ever spread rumors? I only thought about it in my head and never said it anywhere, okay?”
“You told Eun Sanho-ssi.”
“What, how did you know that?!”
Because of the coffee she was holding, Ha Bomi couldn’t actually jump, but her heart leaped as she shouted.
“Where in the world did you hear that?”
“Who knows.”
“I really only said that to Eun Sanho-ssi… Oh no, Eun Sanho-ssi betrayed me!”
“…He was drunk, so he didn’t do it on purpose.”
“Why are you defending him now?”
Ha Bomi grumbled.
“Even so, the fact doesn’t change that Sanho-ssi broke faith and revealed my secret….”
She trailed off, narrowing her eyes.
“Wait a minute.”
Ha Bomi-ssi spoke.
“……?”
“It’s not Chairwoman Kim, it’s Eun Sanho-ssi. Right?”
“…….”
“I got it right! The person who made you sign up for BL, it’s Eun Sanho-ssi, isn’t it?”
Ha Bomi took Kim Gwanggong’s silence as agreement and became excited.
“Wow, I knew it. Director, your eyes looked unusual! Wow, I won’t ever have to change jobs. Director, your life is funny just by breathing!”
“…Are you finished with the compliment?”
“Ahem, yes.”
“Then let’s do the morning work report. Lunch break is over.”
Kim Gwanggong checked his wristwatch as he spoke. Ha Bomi thought to herself, ‘That rhyme is amazing,’ and quickly put on a professional serious expression on the outside.
“Yes. First, the meeting schedules were adjusted as you instructed, and the advertising model contract has been completed without issue. Tomorrow at 7 p.m., you have dinner not with Chairman Han’s grandson but with Chairman Han himself. I’ve prepared all the Ichunbok traditional yeot. And….” (a famous brand of handmade Korean taffy)
“And?”
“Kim Abang-ssi, codename Bang Bang Bang, called and asked you to contact him quickly. That’s all.”
“I see. Then go out and take care of your work.”
But Ha Bomi did not leave and cleared her throat a couple of times.
“But, Director.”
“What is it?”
“Kim Abang-ssi is really worried, asking why you’re not reading his messages, if maybe you broke your finger. So, could I maybe take a picture of your finger and send it to him?”
“…….”
“I mean, he’s worrying so much that I also don’t feel good….”
“…….”
“It would only take 10 seconds….”
“…Go out.”
“Yes.”
Ha Bomi answered quickly and left the director’s office with brisk steps. But she still felt regret that her idea, which would have been good for both her and him, had been rejected, so she kept glancing at the closed door. However, in truth, there was no need for Ha Bomi to keep looking at the door so regretfully. At that moment, Kim Abang’s phone was ringing with a cheerful sound.
Ttorong~.
“Huh? What’s this?”
When Kim Abang opened his phone, the message preview showed the following content.
Gonggong: Photo attached (1)
“……?”
When he tapped it, a photo appeared of a handsome, long-fingered hand.
“What’s this?”
Kim Abang tilted his head.
“A hand, a hand, what hand… a round hand like a tray1, that’s my hand.”
He turned the photo this way and that.
“The angle looks like it was taken by himself… with a hand shaped like this… this is… ah, Gonggong’s hand!”
Finally realizing what the photo was, Kim Abang’s eyes sparkled as he zoomed in.
“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Whew, all ten of Gonggong’s fingers are fine…!”
Kim Abang, who had been greatly relieved, suddenly became angry.
“All ten are fine, so why doesn’t he ever reply?”
He shoved his phone into his bag.
“Let’s see if I ever reply again. Hmph, he can wait five thousand years!”
Then, Kim Abang suddenly realized where he was. He had only needed to look directly, but instead he sneaked a sideways glance. The massive whale-backed building standing right beside him was none other than H Hotel.
Kim Abang puffed his cheeks in displeasure, then let them deflate.
“Well… I need at least one friend to make waiting five thousand years not boring….”
Muttering, he picked up again the five-tier lunchbox he had set down on the ground while looking at his phone.
“Gongcha2, should I go see Taerim-ssi then?”
Kim Abang muttered like that, and within five seconds he shook off his sulking and walked away with lively steps.
***
Seo Taerim forced himself to calmly lift his teacup. He had clearly ordered salmon sushi for lunch, but instead of salmon sushi arriving, it was Kim Abang who appeared in front of him, smiling brightly. Seo Taerim became anxious because he could not figure out what Kim Abang was up to.
‘Why did he even come? And what’s with that weird bundle?’
He tried not to look at the floral cloth bundle that looked as if it had just been taken out of a grandma’s wardrobe, while he thought.
‘Could he really be planning to become a peddler?’
Seo Taerim wanted to ask honestly but held it in. If he asked something like that, it could look as if he was actually interested in Kim Abang changing professions, and that absolutely must not happen. One wrong question, and the H Hotel president’s office could turn into a career counseling center.
“Mm~ this is delicious! Is it chrysanthemum tea?”
Kim Abang asked brightly as he sipped the warm tea.
“Yes.”
Seo Taerim answered with a smile on his face, hiding his confusion.
“I didn’t drink tea often before, but starting today I should drink it often. It’s really good!”
“Should I pack some for you?”
“No~. Today I came to give something to Taerim-ssi.”
“To me?”
“Yes. Taerim-ssi, did you eat lunch yet?”
“Not yet.”
At Seo Taerim’s answer, Kim Abang clapped his hands in delight.
“Perfect!”
“……?”
“What I brought is a lunchbox!”
Kim Abang began untying the floral bundle he had placed beside him and took out lunchboxes, lining them up on the table.
“I was worried it would taste bad if it got cold, but this is perfect. If you eat it right now, it’ll be really delicious.”
When Kim Abang opened the lunchbox lids, fluffy white rice, steaming seaweed soup, bulgogi and grilled pine mushrooms, acorn jelly and spicy bellflower root squid salad, and other appetizing side dishes were revealed. Faced with the sight of a table that looked ready to collapse, Seo Taerim was flustered.
“Kim Abang-ssi, what is…”
He could not finish his question, because Kim Abang had picked up a pine mushroom and popped it right into his mouth. Seo Taerim, caught off guard, ended up tasting the flavor of the mushroom.
“Isn’t it good? Isn’t it amazing?”
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