Chapter 31.
“Mr. Eejun, did you bring warm winter clothes?”
“No. It’s only September… Do you think it will be cold?”
“Germany can be a chilly place, especially in the mornings and nights…”
“Oh, Mr. Shin Kim, have you been to Germany before?”
“Oh… yes, for training…”
Eejun Bae from the sales department was going on the business trip to Germany as well. Shin and Eejun were chatting at the airport. Getting checked in took a long time as Shin feared despite it being an international flight. This trip also only included rather low-ranking employees. No CEOs or team leaders.
Eejun Bae from the sales department had been working about a year longer than Shin. As expected of a salesperson, Eejun Bae was an extremely social and chatty man.
He was of an average height, but he wore bold shirts, like the warm grey knitted shirt on top of the checkered plaid t-shirt. He seemed very confident.
The first moment they met, Eejun introduced himself as a graduate from a university in England. He explained that he often went on business trips to Europe. Shin and Eejun chatted online the night before to talk about the trip schedule. Eejun suggested that they meet 2 hours earlier so they could meet in person and get to know each other. He texted Shin–
-It’s ok to go to the airport separately, but wouldn’t it be better to meet earlier? I mean, we don’t even know what the other person looks like.
When they met, Eejun greeted Shin with a kind smile.
He asked Shin, “Training? Did you play sports?”
“Yes, just until high school.”
“Oh, now that I think about it, I heard the female workers talking about your body… Haha.”
Eejun grinned at him and continued, “I hear you are very popular, Mr. Shin Kim.”
“… Pardon?”
“You know, the four beautiful men of our company.”
“…”
“You look shocked. You didn’t know? There are four. It used to be three, but when you got hired, you became the fourth, Mr. Shin Kim.”
Shin looked at him as if he was being ridiculous. Eejun handed Shin the ticket and continued, “Do you know Assistant Manager Hyunwoo Go from the ad team? He is nicknamed the ‘traditional beauty.’”
“No, I work on the 9th floor, so…”
“Oh, that’s right. You work on the 9th floor marketing division, right? That floor has two beautiful men, right?”
“…”
“Assistant Manager Jihoon Kang and yourself, Mr. Shin Kim.”
Shin remained silent as he continued to drink his coffee. “Traditional beauty?” The four beautiful men of the company? People can be so absurd and silly in their own workplace. Shin felt embarrassed so he frowned, which made Eejun smile again.
“You are acting so uncomfortable abut this, Mr. Shin.”
“…”
“You know, like in university? Didn’t your school have the list of top four beauties? I mean, why should there be a list for girls?”
“Oh, ok…”
“Oh, look over there. The queen is coming.”
Eejun waved pleasantly. When Shin turned around, wondering who the “queen” was, he saw that it was Woojin Choi walking towards them.
In a dark cobalt blue turtleneck, Woojin looked at Eejun. He was wearing a casual outfit, but somehow, there was an obvious tension about Woojin. When Shin saw his face, Shin himself became tense. Woojin looked too pale, especially against the blue sweater.
Eejun explained, “You know, he is the one and only ‘queen’ of our office.”
Smiling at Woojin, Eejun continued, “He can’t be well enough to be going on a business trip. In a way, he is amazing, our queen.”
“…”
“I’m not sure if he is being stubborn, or if he just doesn’t care.”
Shin thought about the nickname, ‘Hmm… the queen…’
It actually was an amazingly well-suited nickname. Snow-white canvas sneakers and black slacks looked good on him.
Had it already been a week?
Just watching Woojin coming closer made Shin feel rigid.
“Hello, Assistant Manager Woojin Choi.”
“Hello. How are you?”
Woojin bowed lightly and looked at both Shin and Eejun.
Thankfully, Woojin looked like he gained a little weight. Since that day he collapsed, he hadn’t been coming to work. Shin was told he took a medical leave. It had been exactly 7 days since Shin saw Woojin on the emergency bed.
Going on an abroad business trip only after a week of being in the emergency room… Shin expected everyone to stop Woojin from doing this, but Chief Hyunsoo Lee apparently didn’t object to it. It was very strange.
Shin asked carefully, “I didn’t expect you to be going, Assistant Manager. Are you feeling ok?”
“It’s not that bad. Nothing you need to worry about.”
Shin tried to catch Woojin’s eyes, but Woojin kept his head down. He continued, “I will go get my ticket separately. I know there is a quick 2-hour layover in Amsterdam, but we don’t have to try to meet there. We will just see each other in Hamburg.”
“Oh, ok.”
“See you later.”
And with that, Woojin walked away. Their conversation was so cold.
After Woojin left, Eejun laughed. Shin asked in confusion, “What was Assistant Manager Woojin talking about? Getting the ticket separately?”
Eejun replied, “He is probably getting first class. He is a VIP.”
“Huh?”
“Didn’t you know? Assistant Manager Choi is the grandson of our CEO.”
Shin froze on the spot.
“… What did you say?”
“He is the future CEO of our company since he is the only son of the CEO’s deceased son.”
“…”
“I guess you didn’t know since you haven’t worked in this company for long. I did hear that on the 9th floor, people make a point of not talking about it.”
Eejun stood up and suggested they go now. Shin followed but kept looking back.
The man who seemed so fragile. A man with such a faint presence…
The man Shin kept checking to make sure he was breathing in the emergency room.
When they were still in the emergency room the next morning, Jihoon Kang came to Shin and told him, “I got a call from the office. You need to go to work as usual today, Mr. Kim.”
Jihoon looked very unhappy.
Shin had no choice but to go to work, but he noticed that neither Jihoon Kang nor Woojin Choi were there even the next day.
All Shin heard was that Woojin took a sick leave. He apparently moved to a different hospital and no one knew where he was.
People made a point of not talking about what happened to Woojin. Shin did think it was strange at the time, and now, it made sense. Shin Kim suddenly felt cold.
Eejun Bae called loudly, “Shin Kim, hurry up!”
Shin finally looked up. He covered his face with his hands, feeling like all his emotions were scattered on the floor.