Chapter 1 - It's Stuck (1)

"Jungbok, you have a really good impression. I heard your name is written with the characters for 'auspicious' and 'blessing,' right?"

"Yes, that's correct."

As the portly manager spoke, Lee Jungbok’s lips curled upward.

His trembling lips revealed that the smile was a product of effort.

Still, through his social experiences, he had learned to smile even in moments when he wanted to curse.

"That’s right. They say that life often follows one’s name. In that sense, I think it’s very good to do business with Jungbok. I really like it."

"Oh, really..."

Could this be the fruit of his past efforts? A smile appeared on Lee Jungbok’s face without him having to force it.

"But we’re not going to do business just once or twice, right?"

Suddenly, his head throbbed.

It wasn’t a metaphorical pain; it was a real, throbbing pain. It was as if the person in front of him was telling him he was a piece of shit.

Of course, he was here because the company had sent him. The manager, however, continued with a grin.

"You know, even in B2B, it ultimately comes down to people. Don’t you think the atmosphere is too business-oriented?"

"Ahaha!"

He just laughed.

He laughed out of frustration, but in reality, he just laughed. The discomfort he felt from the manager of the client company intensified.

'In the end, you want me to show more hospitality, right...?'

The words were smooth, but it meant he wanted more sincerity. The manager glanced at his watch and then stood up with a hollow laugh.

"My, my, look at me. I might have kept you here for too long."

"That’s true. It’s quite late. So, you’re not going to do it now, right?"

The manager, who seemed slightly flustered as if he hadn’t expected this, hurriedly continued.

"Ahem. I’ll review the proposal with the team. You know, as a manager, I can’t just decide things on my own. I’ll make sure to convince them, so let’s talk over a drink next time."

The manager patted Lee Jungbok’s shoulder lightly with a smile. His attitude was gentle, but his intentions were not.

"It’s a bit disappointing, but Jungbok, you seem too tense. It would be good to develop more flexibility, like other employees."

Throb.

The pain in his head returned suddenly. A stronger signal than before.

A familiar pain. And a harbinger.

"Yes, thank you for your advice. I’ll see you next time."

However, Lee Jungbok maintained his smile until the end as he left the client’s office. Seeing the sunset in the sky, he let out a sigh.

'As expected, it didn’t go as planned. They’re making a fuss about this...'

He felt a sense of foreboding from the manager and the entire area. However, he couldn’t just cancel the contract based on his feelings, as the company had pushed him to make it happen.

'Tsk, I can feel the company’s decline.'

Lee Jungbok consoled himself.

Before thinking about the company’s future, he needed to think about his paycheck.

He quietly made his way to the train station and booked the fastest northbound ticket on his smartlink.

'...Even if I finish work, it’ll be past 11 PM.'

He felt hungry, having not eaten dinner. After arriving home, having a simple meal, taking a shower, and sleeping, he would wake up and go to work again.

Just thinking about it made him feel suffocated.

'Do I really need to stick with this company?'

A sense of futility overwhelmed him.

Perhaps it was because the contract he thought would go through today didn’t materialize. His heart, which had felt like it was sinking into the depths, suddenly surfaced with a sense of unease.

His head was throbbing.

At the same time, he turned his head.

He saw a child running across the crosswalk before the signal had changed.

"Damn it..."

His body moved instinctively.

He grabbed the child who was about to run out.

"What are you...?"

The child’s mother, startled, was about to say something.

A loud engine roar and a delivery motorcycle turned the corner, passing right in front of the child.

If Lee Jungbok hadn’t stopped the child, an accident would have happened. The child, frightened, burst into tears, and the mother, a beat late, scooped the child up.

"Jae Woo! Are you okay!? Thank you, really thank you."

"No, it’s nothing."

Lee Jungbok clenched his teeth against the oncoming headache. But he forced a smile and added a word.

"Always hold your child’s hand when crossing."

"A, yes, yes..."

Lee Jungbok watched the mother, who was muttering as if in a trance, and then walked across the crosswalk.

'If I had become a shaman like my grandmother, it might have been better than this.'

He had always been different from ordinary people since he was young. His parents didn’t acknowledge it, but his grandmother, who was a shaman, had noticed something special about Lee Jungbok.

However, his grandmother didn’t want him to receive a divine calling.

"Jungbok, the divine power within you is not something a human body can handle. Don’t even think about becoming a shaman, understand? If you do, the gods will consume you."

His grandmother’s repeated warnings were still vivid in his mind.

'Divine power (神力)...'

He couldn’t ignore his grandmother’s warnings, especially since he had experienced numerous 'reactions' already.

Even now, his head was throbbing for no reason, and he felt a slight dizziness.

'But I won’t fall ill, right?'

Lee Jungbok consciously took deep breaths, waiting for the reaction to subside.

'If I had this level of reaction, I would have been seriously injured or even died.'

Fortunately, the symptoms didn’t worsen, and he was able to sit safely on a bench in the waiting room.

Just as he thought he could rest a bit,

A vibration and a call notification appeared.

[Human Nearby]

It was his supervisor.

Lee Jungbok slightly furrowed his brow, turned on the recording app, and answered the call.

"Yes, Manager Jung."

<How did the contract go?>

The stress rose as soon as he heard the voice. However, showing his feelings would only make him more tired.

"It’s almost done. I think next time..."

<You didn’t do it?>

The words cut in before he could finish. Lee Jungbok tightly closed his lips.

<Hey, how long are you going to spend on this one thing? You’re only going to meet this month’s target with this one deal?>

"I have to work hard. And we can confirm it at the next meeting."

<Did they say that? They said they’ll see you next time?>

"Yes."

In this situation, a short answer was enough.

This was a familiar scenario.

No matter what he said, it was clear that it wouldn’t be heard.

<Yes? Yes?>

"Yes."

<Ha, this guy. What’s the point of answering well? What? Shouldn’t you improve? Why? Is work hard? Are you the only one suffering? If you do work like this, don’t you think you’re making others suffer too?>

"Should I go back now?"

Of course, he wouldn’t go. But the supervisor wouldn’t tell him to go either.

Having helped the supervisor with work for a long time, he knew the supervisor would be stuttering at this point.

<Forget it, are you on the train now?>

"No, not yet."

<What time is your train?>

"Ten minutes from now."

<...Sigh, forget it. Since I’m passing by there anyway, just go up. I’ll take care of the aftermath.>

"Yes?"

<Ah, is your smartlink 'Pineapple Inc.'?>

They had worked together for a long time, yet the supervisor didn’t know this.

"A, yes... Why?"

<Tsk, a salesperson with a sense of vanity. You should use Android. Your basics are completely messed up. That’s why you’re like this. Got it? Get your act together.>

The call ended abruptly, leaving him feeling bewildered.

'This guy is going to take care of the aftermath?'

Although the company had assigned him as a supervisor, he had never benefited from it. When he asked questions, the supervisor would ask why he didn’t look it up himself, and when he handled things on his own, the supervisor would criticize him for doing it his own way.

Instead, the supervisor would nag him to clean up his own mess.

'Something’s off.'

A deep sense of foreboding grew within him. It wasn’t just a feeling; it was almost a premonition.

Sure enough,

His face contorted.

Throb.

"Damn it."

His head throbbed again, more intensely than before.

Lee Jungbok glanced at the time. It was time to board the train, but he didn’t stand up.

After a moment of contemplation, he closed his eyes and took deep breaths. Gradually, his senses dulled, and a sense of calm enveloped him.

A voice rose above the calm.

'What time is your train?'

His supervisor, who usually showed no interest, had checked his schedule.

'I’ll take care of the aftermath.'

The supervisor had volunteered to handle the aftermath, even though he had no prior relationship with the client’s manager.

'Other employees should develop more flexibility.'

Strangely, the client’s manager had mentioned 'other employees,' even though Lee Jungbok was the only one in charge.

"The reason my head keeps hurting is this."

He couldn’t let this slide. Something was happening behind his back.

The throbbing in his head.

This wasn’t just a headache.

It was a signal.

A signal transmitted to him, even though he hadn’t received a divine calling.

As he pieced together the fragmented clues and formed a picture, the divine power he had suppressed began to move on its own.

Lee Jungbok reflexively took out a pen and notebook and started making random dots. If he had rice, he would have done a rice divination like his grandmother, but the situation wasn’t suitable.

Still, this was enough for now.

'If I go up now?'

Great Misfortune.

'If I go back to the client?'

Minor Good Fortune.

The fact that this could turn into a blessing was also added.

Seeing the divination results, Lee Jungbok made his decision. He would not go up but would visit the client again.

However, the dizzying pain in his head made his vision blur.

The aftereffects of the divine power activation.

"Ah..."

A red drop of blood fell on the waiting room floor. He quickly took out a tissue, wiped his nose, and took deep breaths.

He felt a significant loss of energy. But he had no regrets.

He knew what would happen based on the given information and the divination results.

'Trying to steal the credit? But why exclude me? He could boast about it even if he took me along. There’s something more.'

Lee Jungbok’s face was filled with confidence. The divine power, which his grandmother had worried would consume his body, had never been wrong.

As the pain subsided, Lee Jungbok headed straight to the client’s office.

'...1... Is that?'

He saw his supervisor and the client’s manager shaking hands warmly, a familiar sight despite being strangers.

Soon, the client’s manager naturally got into the car.

Lee Jungbok’s smartlink captured the scene in detail.

* * *

Late evening, a bar with dim lighting.

"Electronic cigarettes are good, but regular cigarettes are better for my taste."

"You’re right. I don’t know how well Manager Jung and I match."

"Ah, you, a Cuban cigar would suit you, of course."

With a high level of intoxication, the supervisor and the manager laughed and returned to the table.

"Is that so? Heh, with this contract, I might get one. But can we really take such a big cut?"

"Ah, don’t worry about it."

The supervisor waved his hand and sneered.

"Nobody knows I came here today. The employees didn’t see me, right?"

"Um, that’s true, but..."

"Manager, just say you did the contract with Lee Jungbok. And we both need to eat, right? He’ll take the blame anyway."

The supervisor’s bold words made the manager laugh heartily.

"Good, good. I’ll trust Manager Jung. But I don’t understand why Lee Jungbok is so clueless. In sales, you need to know how to take care of people. It’s frustrating. Working with him must have been tough for you, Manager Jung."

"Ah, don’t even mention it. He’s all show and no substance. Do you know what he’s like at the company? He always tries to control the atmosphere in front of female employees. He should focus on his work instead."

"Really? He was that kind of person?"

Of course, Lee Jungbok was not like that. But that’s how the supervisor saw him.

A jealous gaze is never fair.

"Yes. He’s destined to be a pillar of the community. And by the way, this is also for the company’s benefit."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"If we leave him, he’ll definitely cause trouble with the female employees. In the long run, it’s for the company’s benefit."

"Ah, that’s true."

The two of them chuckled and finished the bottle of brandy.

"Come on, Manager, let’s go to the second round."

"Ah, right, right. Let’s go."

As the two, swaying, left their seats, an employee approached to clear the table.

At that moment, a man approached the seat where the two had been sitting.

"Excuse me, I think I dropped my smartlink."

"Ah, yes, yes. Do you need a flashlight?"

"No, no, it’s fine."

The man pretended to search the dark floor and retrieved the smartlink he had hidden under the table.

[New Recording]

[00:47:57]

The man, Lee Jungbok, stopped the recording. He lightly bowed to the employee and left.

"I’ll have to pay a high price for the nosebleed I got. A very high price."

The company will probably be in chaos tomorrow.

* * *

The next morning.

As soon as Lee Jungbok arrived at work, he received numerous concerned looks from his colleagues.

"Jungbok, what happened?"

"The department manager is in a rage."

"Jungbok, you’re being called to the office now."

Other employees asked with worried expressions. Before Lee Jungbok could answer, his supervisor approached with a scowl.

"Jungbok, what happened? The re-contract issue has completely turned the company upside down!"

Lee Jungbok couldn’t help but chuckle at the supervisor’s unchanging facade.

If this was acting, he should consider a career in acting, not sales.

"That contract, didn’t Manager Jung say he would close it?"

"What?! No, what are you talking about!?"

What a despicable person.

Even in private, the supervisor would speak informally, but in front of others, he would pretend to be respectful. This was especially evident now.

"...Talking more would be a waste of time."

Lee Jungbok looked at the confident supervisor with disdain. The supervisor’s face truly contorted.

"What, what are you...?"

"Lee Jungbok and Manager Jung! Come to the conference