Winter Season Chapter 25

“Customer, I am sorry, but since your credit score is low, I think this loan product might be a bit difficult for you. Are you currently employed?”

“I did have a place where I worked, but I quit recently…”

The woman, who had been operating the computer with tension in her eyebrows as if concentrating, shook her head with a look of pity. Swallowing a sigh, Yihyeon took back his identification card with a calm face.

“When you quit, was there no severance pay that you received separately?”

“…Severance pay?”

“If your years of continuous service are significant, the amount of severance pay should be a fair bit. I think you could cover part of the amount with that.”

Severance pay… Yihyeon, who muttered the words quietly, bowed his head to the bank clerk and stepped outside. When he sat on a nearby bench and searched on his phone, long lists of explanations from labor attorneys were displayed.

[If your weekly working hours are over 15 hours and you have worked for more than one year, anyone can receive severance pay. For more details, please inquire at the number below!]

By law, it was money he should be able to receive, but the opposing party consisted of people for whom the law did not apply. Yihyeon bit his lip repeatedly before suddenly springing up from his seat.

Since I have nothing to lose anyway…

Once he made up his mind, there was nothing to hold him back. He caught a bus and headed straight to Nexus. He saw the staff members looking surprised as they discovered him. Yihyeon left them behind and went directly to the President’s office.

“…No. There is no way. I will once again—”

Even though he knocked, there was no answer, so he opened the door and entered immediately, but it seemed the man was in the middle of a call. President Kim, his face contorted in a grimace, hurriedly covered the microphone portion of the phone. Yihyeon approached and stood before him.

“Yes? Ah, no. Then, regarding that matter, I will look into it a bit more and call…”

“I came because I think there is something to talk about regarding severance pay.”

“What? Ah, no, Manager. I didn’t mean that to you, Manager… Something urgent just came up for me… I will contact you again in a little while—”

“I worked for three years without any issues, so I think I should be able to receive at least that much.”

President Kim, who still had the phone to his ear, wore an expression of horror and mouthed words without making a sound. It looked like either ‘Are you crazy’ or ‘You crazy bastard.’

“Ah, no, Manager. I’ll just handle it on my end… Ah, that, yes… That is true, but…”

President Kim, who had been bowing toward the empty air, squinted at Yihyeon and slowly straightened his back.

Until just a moment ago, he had been trying urgently to end the call, but now he was listening intently to the words coming from the other side. Yihyeon opened his mouth toward the President again.

“If severance pay is not possible—”

“Yes, yes. I will do exactly that. Yes, please hang u— oh, fuck…”

“If you could give me even something like a consolation payment…”

“Ugh, fuck, seriously. Here or there, everyone is just saying whatever they want to say. Only their own words matter, fuck?”

Just as Yihyeon was about to speak once more, the President roughly ended the call and glared fiercely at Yihyeon. Yihyeon, who was about to utter another word, pressed his lips inward and put strength into his eyes.

“Hey, you punk. Can’t you see I’m on the phone? Fuck, it’s a good thing Manager Gu was in a good mood; if he wasn’t, both you and I would have had our heads chopped off!”

Yihyeon flinched at the sudden mention of Gu Seunghyeok’s name. If he had known the person on the other end of the phone was him, he would have waited until the call ended. It wasn’t a major issue, but the thought that his voice might have been heard made him feel uncomfortable.

“Damn, that was a close call. I’m already scared to death as it is.”

The President, who glared alternately at Yihyeon and the phone, gestured with his chin toward the sofa. When Yihyeon ignored the gesture to sit and approached the desk, the man turned his eyes upward and let out a sigh.

“Fine, speak, speak. Fuck, what. What do you want? Severance pay? Consolation payment?”

“…I know that if one works for more than a year, it is something that must be given legally.”

At Yihyeon’s words, the President wore an expression as if he were hearing something absurd. However, instead of saying it was impossible, he looked down at the phone he was holding and clicked his tongue.

“That isn’t something I can decide. Go and talk to him directly.”

“…To whom?”

“Who else? It’s Manager Gu Seunghyeok.”

President Kim grimaced again as he spat out Seunghyeok’s name.

“Do you think I’m the one giving you money here? That all comes out of Taeseong’s back pocket. Now it’ll be coming out of Manager Gu’s wallet.”

The President, who put both legs up on the desk, leaned his chair back. He shook the phone with one hand and looked Yihyeon up and down. Then, with a look of dissatisfaction, he spoke.

“Hey, what is the deal with you and the Manager really? He says for you to come to the main office right now.”

“…The main office?”

He couldn’t grasp the intentions of Gu Seunghyeok telling him to come directly. It was he who said they should not see each other again. Was he planning to call him out and insult him like last time?

“That man is not the type to pay attention to some mere club staff member. Who do you think you are to go there and meet Manager Gu directly? Hearing the kids talk, it seems you two are acquaintances. Is that true?”

President Kim, with one eyebrow raised crookedly, threw out various questions, but they did not enter Yihyeon’s ears. Yihyeon swallowed a sigh and bowed to the President. He clenched his fists and turned his back.

“Hey, hey! You, stop right there, you punk. A person is talking…!”

He thought he heard footsteps behind him, and then a hand grabbed his shoulder. Yihyeon put strength in his eyes and shook off the President’s hand at once.

“Don’t touch me. I’m not an employee here anymore.”

“What? This disrespectful bastard…!”

“Thank you for everything until now. Please take care of yourself.”

Yihyeon, having spat that out in a dry tone, opened the door and left the President’s office. He saw the employees who had been watching from the corner of the hallway ahead get startled and scatter.

Yihyeon passed the staff members who were pretending to be busy while avoiding his gaze and stepped up the stairs.

Just thinking about what words and actions Gu Seunghyeok would show after making him stand there already brought a sigh. However, for now, there was no other choice.

He only hoped that this would be the last time, and that no further involvement with him would occur.

༘⋆🤍˚ .❄️₊˚ෆ

As soon as he exited the station, what he saw were high-rise buildings stretching upward. Perhaps because it was an area with many office buildings, there seemed to be more cars than pedestrians passing by.

After walking for about ten minutes following the address he found on the internet, a large stone ornament with ‘Taeseong’ written on it appeared. It felt somewhat crude to be placed in front of a blue-tinted modern building, but apparently, it wasn’t so in the eyes of the building’s owners.

Yihyeon tilted his head and looked up at the upper floors of the building stretching toward the sky. Lowering his head again, he let out a small breath and pushed the revolving door to enter the lobby. The scene that unfolded inside was, contrary to Yihyeon’s expectations, ordinary and common.

He thought gangsters wearing black suits with tattoos revealed on their necks and the backs of their hands would be lined up, as it was at the club, but the interior was larger and cleaner than expected. Ordinary people who looked like office workers occupied various spots in the lobby and the cafe.

Nevertheless, Yihyeon did not let his guard down. It was a place where it would not be strange for a scene like the one he saw at the club parking lot last time to be reenacted at any moment.

As he shoved his hands into his padded jacket pockets and looked around warily, he felt a gaze from somewhere. Turning his head, he saw someone looking this way from a company cafe in the distance.

It was a man dressed in a black suit. His heart sank with a thump.

Could it be Gu Seunghyeok?

He narrowed his eyes, but because it was far, he couldn’t see the face clearly. However, the build looked smaller than the Gu Seunghyeok he saw back then. He couldn’t know the reason for looking this way, but at least it didn’t seem to be him. Yihyeon bit his lip and turned his head away first.

As he approached the lobby counter, an employee who had her hair neatly swept back lifted her head. Yihyeon spoke cautiously.

“I came to meet… Manager Gu Seunghyeok.”

Thinking it wouldn’t be right to say just the name, he attached the title he had overheard somewhere, but it felt awkward instead. It seemed the same for the other person, as he saw a subtle look appear on her face as soon as she heard the name.

She seemed to search for something on the computer, and then spoke with a look of doubt.

“Do you have an appointment?”