Chapter 2

002 A Glimmer of Hope

"Hello, this is Kim Wook from the live broadcast of the Big Jackpot Lottery."

By some stroke of luck, I tuned in just as the live lottery draw was starting. After a high-ranking official awkwardly explained how the lottery funds were being used for good causes, a time no one cared about passed, and the lottery balls began to spin.

"38."

Damn. It’s a bust from the start. How could not even one number match? This week, a large sum was donated to the underprivileged again. I might as well smoke a cigarette.

The charm of the attic is that you can step outside, enjoy the night view, and smoke in a picturesque manner. If you're lucky, you might even see the stars. I vividly remember climbing up to the roof as a child and drawing my own pictures while looking at the stars. I used to draw hope and sing of dreams while looking at the stars.

It can be achieved. It can be achieved.

"Hey? It’s right!"

A text from some lunatic popped up. I burst into the room, roughly tearing open the door, and hurriedly searched. I compared the numbers on the screen with the text.

"Damn it."

How could this happen! I felt like I was going to go mad. They say that other people's cakes look bigger, but the really big cake is the one you just missed. The six numbers displayed on the large and small screens shockingly matched.

I just collapsed. The text came at 7 PM, plenty of time to buy a lottery ticket. I must have been crazy, crazy! I should die, die. I should drink all the nicotine and die.

Overwhelmed by a sense of futility, I spent a long time in sage mode. First prize is 1.7 billion won. 1.7 billion! I, who earn only about 1.4 million won a month, just threw away 1.7 billion. Sigh.

With that money, I could have quit this wretched company and steadily walked towards my dreams! My own company, growing rapidly and building a tall office building. Sigh. It’s so futile, so futile.

I always sang of hope, but I didn’t realize I was becoming wrinkled and worn out. I lamented how I had become this way, but the wall of reality was very high. It’s as if I had kicked away the ladder that could have helped me climb over that high wall.

Was I deeply moved by the book "Kicking Away the Ladder" I read in college? I ended up kicking it away. Ah! It’s not my fault, but I wanted to blame myself. To soothe the futility, I entered a folder carefully selected with only A-grade content. An act of rage! I could only fall asleep after a true sage time.

* * *

After spending the day in a daze, the opening music of the comedy show, which causes stress for all office workers, can be heard.

I’ll start walking through hellfire from tomorrow morning.

Ding.

What text at this time?

-15 19 24 33 34 39

What is this!

Ding

Another text comes.

-Warning. Follow the instructions. Only two games are possible.

What is this? I felt a bit scared.

Thinking about it, it started after the return delivery text. Yes, I followed the link to confirm the return and installed something for verification. Could it be? Is it some kind of phishing that’s popular these days?

If it’s phishing, why would they tell me the lottery numbers? Just that is strange enough, but thinking further, is it even more strange to know the winning lottery numbers? It gives me chills. If there’s a sender number, I’d like to call and ask.

Is it a divine intervention? I haven’t been to church since I became a middle schooler. Even when I went to church, I never donated more than 100 won. If I were God, I wouldn’t help a guy like me.

After smoking about three cigarettes, my head cleared. I’ll do as instructed. The worst that can happen is losing 2,000 won for the lottery ticket.

* * *

Para para para para para.

The alarm sound is always unpleasant. The word "alarm" itself is unpleasant. It’s definitely a curse from God. Monday is especially hard to wake up. It’s another arduous journey.

This company should go bankrupt. The slave-like life should end with me. I’ll endure with pride and learn as much as I can. I’ll start my own company, just wait and see. I’ll definitely see this company go bankrupt.

"Manager Ji! Move this. Quickly! Quickly!"

The hellfire started at 7:40 AM, even though the workday starts at 8 AM.

"Director, I need to prepare for the weekly meeting."

"Is there anyone here just loafing around? What’s the point of having endless meetings that are just talk!"

Do I really want to have meetings? I do them because I’m told to.

"I’ll quickly make the meeting materials and come down."

"This is urgent. Hurry up!"

Thinking about it, nothing is really urgent. It’s a characteristic of people over 50. If there’s something in front of them, they feel they must deal with it immediately. They get restless as if the world will end if they don’t handle it. The chaos of the Korean War is nothing compared to this.

I lift and stack about 20-30 kg of copper wire on a pallet and move it to the next process with a forklift. I don’t know why I do this, but I just do it. Like opening my eyes when the unpleasant alarm rings or going to the bathroom when my bladder is full, I just do it.

"President, I’m busy with material orders and inventory, but I’m being asked to do too many odd jobs on the site. Can’t something be done?"

"I know you’re working hard, Manager Ji. But..."

In Korean, you have to listen to the end. As soon as the "but" comes, a sigh follows. It’s probably going to be a lecture about how it’s your job and you should do it without complaint. Knowing this, I resolve not to say a word, but I can’t bear the injustice of doing all this work alone.

I should have held back.

"To do material management well, you need to do site work, right? Since copper wire is a material, you can think of it as managing semi-finished products, can’t you?"

Of course. It’s frustrating to see someone who travels abroad and plays while their parents are well-off, then comes to their father’s company and acts like a president. It makes me sigh.

Do you understand the struggles of a salaried worker? What? No!

"If you think about it that way, everything becomes my job, doesn’t it? The president needs to clearly define the roles so that employees can work comfortably."

"I’m always thinking about it. How can I make employees work comfortably? I lose sleep over it. Even if it’s hard, please bear with it for a while."

His face turning red and blue, it’s clear my response has irritated him. Anyone can see the frustration on his face, but he pretends to be calm. This woman’s mental fortitude is truly admirable.

That’s why it’s even more annoying. She talks as if she’s going to solve something, but nothing changes.

Sigh, that incompetent golden spoon.

In the end, nothing changed, and I still do all the odd jobs on the site. I take time to place material orders. I came in for material management, but I’m doing the work of a laborer. In professional terms, it’s called a demo.

But today, my mindset is different. I’ll try to get through this week somehow. By Saturday, there will be a conclusion. If the unlikely becomes the impossible, and the impossible becomes reality? It’s exciting. I’ll endure this week.

It’s lunchtime, where I can eat a 3,500 won meal. I should be happy to eat a more expensive meal, considering I pay 50,000 won a month for meals. This is a small and medium-sized enterprise!

As usual, the room is filled with barking. An old man, who was stirring the side dishes with a chopstick he had just sucked, starts the conversation.

"These days, young people only look at large corporations for their convenience! They don’t get married, don’t have children, and don’t even look at small and medium-sized enterprises. How will this country survive?"

Another old man, who was burping without hesitation while eating, chimes in.

"That’s because they were spoiled. In my time, just having a job was a blessing. Now they talk about welfare without working, and the country will go bankrupt."

"The country will go bankrupt because of welfare. A neighbor’s child has been unemployed for over a year but receives 200,000 won a month in unemployment benefits. Why would anyone work when they can play and still get 200,000 won? Greece went bankrupt because of this! They need to experience it to come to their senses."

I resolved to keep my mouth shut at work, but I can’t. I feel something rising from my pancreas. Should I give a lecture on the relationship between the Eurozone and Greece, exchange rate issues, and pension mismanagement?

"Director, how can you get 200,000 won a month in unemployment benefits? That’s not how it works. And would you tell your son to work at our company?"

"Hmm. Hmm. Why not! If you go out and do nothing, who will give you 1,000,000 won for free?"

He says no, but his flustered expression is clear.

Three major mysteries in Korea come to mind. The mystery that their children all work at Samguang Electronics. The mystery that their children will give them monthly allowances and rest at home, but go out to work for exercise. The mystery that their children must work at large corporations, but why do they criticize others for avoiding small and medium-sized enterprises, saying they are morally corrupt?

The mysteries remain unsolved, but I’ve been marked by the old men. In the world of old men, talking back is a form of filial impiety. I’m 30, but I’ve become one of "these young people."

* * *

A tough week passed. Fortunately, this week we have Saturday off. It’s been almost 20 years since the five-day workweek was established, but a Saturday off is still a distant dream.

At some point, working on Saturdays became the best welfare the company could offer employees. It’s like saying, "Why stay at home and do nothing when you can come to the company and get 1.5 times the hourly rate?" Even if it’s the minimum wage, the beautiful welfare system brings tears to my eyes.

Finally, that day, that time has come. I kept a calm mind, worried that I might trip and fall in my eagerness. I took out the lottery ticket with two games marked from a leather wallet that could have mold growing on it.

Just in case, I took a day off on Monday. I had to endure all sorts of abuse to take a day off. It was enough to make my stomach hurt for a week.

"Manager Ji, taking a day off is good, but taking it over the weekend is not polite."

"What? Is there a problem?"

"What do you mean a problem? You take things the wrong way."

"No, you said it’s not polite. So, there is a problem, right?"

"Don’t you see how hard the employees are working? While they are working hard, you’re going to take a weekend off and play?"

Sigh, let it go. It’s not the first time, but it’s always hard to endure. But what can I do?

"I’m sorry. I have to because of family matters. Please understand."

While cursing inside, I had to bow deeply. All he wants is for me to bow. Adding more words just makes me tired.

"Manager Ji, you’ve submitted a leave request?"

The boss, who looks like a hundred-year-old, comes in for a second round.

"Yes."

"Yes? Is that it? You wrote personal matters as the reason. Are you going somewhere nice?"

"No, just."

"Tell me if you’re going somewhere nice."

"Just family matters."

"Is that so? Then, in the future, if it’s family matters, please specify what they are."

His tireless surveillance and suspicion. He suspects that I might be going to another company for an interview. Even in the days when bears ate garlic and mugwort, it wasn