Chapter 130
Chapter 130
Sungyoon looked at the stack of paper in front of him with great emotion in his eyes . The numbers on these papers were written with black ink, akin to a brand seared into a criminal . They were Sungyoon’s promissory notes, his shackles . Each promissory note held a different figure, but if he added it all, the amount went up to six million dollars . This figure looked like the blade of an executioner .
Jimin pushed the papers closer to Sungyoon . However, he just glared at them . Jimin didn’t say anything either as she waited for him to do something .
Finally, Sungyoon started to move . He placed each paper into his hands, careful and precise in handling them . It was as if he thought the world would come to an end if he dropped one of them .
However, it all lasted for only a moment .
After he had gathered all the papers, Sungyoon acted in a violent manner .
Chwahhhk!
He ripped them apart . There were a lot of papers, so the stack was very thick . However, he used his superhuman strength, a characteristic of a Connector . He ripped them all, yet he wasn’t satisfied with doing it once .
Chwahk! Chwahk! Chwahk!
As if he didn’t want to leave behind any evidence, Sungyoon ripped the paper several more times . The papers had been well stored, so they were crisp, and it only took a moment to make a mess of the papers . He was ripping them so violently that little pieces of paper flew into the air .
Puhl-luhk!
After ripping all the papers into pieces smaller than his palm, he tossed them into the air .
Some of them settled down on Jimin’s desk .
“Are you satisfied?”
Jimin flicked the piece of paper in front of her as she asked the question . Sungyoon took a deep breath as he nodded .
“Yes . It feels as if I lost 10 years worth of weight . ”
Jimin glanced at him and then looked at the pieces of papers spread across the room .
Normally, Sungyoon didn’t express his feeling, and when he did, it would be regarding s.h.i.+nhae . That kind of person was showing such intense emotions .
‘As expected, he had a lot of pent up emotions due to this debt . ’
The promissory notes had become useless paper trash . Jimin once again glanced at Sungyoon . In some ways, this scene made it seem like she had used the promissory notes to threaten him . However, Sungyoon didn’t care if Jimin was looking or not . He looked refreshed as he sat down in front of her, but he didn"t show any resentment toward her .
Jimin’s gaze once again turned to the remains of the promissory notes . An odd expression appeared on her face .
‘I don’t feel it anymore . ’
In the beginning, the promissory notes had been a mechanism she used to control Sungyoon . She had put the shackle on him . However, it was also true that they were each other’s last hope . That was why she was afraid of the day when Sungyoon fully paid off his debt, because that day, his shackles would come off . He wouldn"t need to keep his promise to Jimin . Her last hope would fly out the window .
However, that fear had disappeared from her eyes .
“The chains binding you are gone now . ”
“I guess so . ”
Sungyoon spoke in a matter of fact tone . Just this answer was enough to melt away her worries . Still, she decided to feel out his feelings one more time .
“At the rate Mr . Sungyoon makes money, you just need a bit more time before you can break the contract with my company . ”
“Is that so?”
Sungyoon sounded apathetic . It seemed he knew what Jimin was trying to do, but he didn’t look interested in the topic at all .
Jimin pushed down the laughing fit surging up from within .
It was to be expected of him . She knew it ever since Sungyoon had turned down the contract offered by the scout from Fabion . It didn"t matter what situation he found himself in . Sungyoon would keep his promises .
“Anyway, I think the interviewees will be here soon . ”
Sungyoon spoke as he looked at his watch . As he said, the first round of interviews was scheduled to start in 20 minutes .
Both of them looked around the office after realizing it . Due to him being free from his debt, Sungyoon had committed atrocities against the stack of papers, and the evidence of his actions was in this office .
“… I should clean this place . ”
“I am partially at fault . I failed to stop you, so I’ll help too . ”
The two of them bustled through the office as they picked up the ripped pieces of the promissory notes . Sungyoon had so many pent up emotions that he had ripped the paper into very small pieces . Therefore, the cleanup took longer than expected . Fortunately, they were able to do it before the promised time .
Zeeeeng!
Jimin pushed all the pieces of paper into the shredder, completely destroying them .
She dusted her hands off to signal the end of her work . That was when they heard the doorbell .
“He’s here . ”
It seemed an interviewee had arrived . Sungyoon slowly followed Jimin, who went out to bring in the interviewee to the office . He once again had to take on the role of an interviewer .
* * *
The interview process lasted three days . Most of the interviewees didn’t distinguish themselves from each other . However, the two of them did find some who had graduated from universities in Seoul with good grades . These people had mainly applied because they didn’t want to be worked to death, and Jimin had promised to keep strict office hours . With the rea.s.surance of a strict schedule from the company president itself, the interviewees looked satisfied .
They had finished the interviews for the day, and it happened when he was organizing the resumes .
“We have one more person left, Mr . Sungyoon . ”
“We have another person to interview?”
Sungyoon looked through the resumes . However, they had interviewed everyone that had submitted their resumes . To be precise, two interviewees hadn’t shown up . However, Jimin wasn’t interested in them . If they couldn’t even be bothered to call her while breaking their appointments, she didn’t want them . Jungb.u.m wasn’t that desperate enough to hire such people .
“It isn’t for a full-time employee position . Didn’t I tell you I wanted to hire a temp worker for handling miscellaneous work? Someone contacted me yesterday, so I told her to come in today . She is a university student, and she is working towards a major within the Department of the Moon’s Labyrinths . ”
Sungyoon suddenly thought about Jiyoon . She had the same details . However, that was it, and he soon pushed her out of his thoughts .
A bit of time pa.s.sed as he made small talks with Jimin, and the doorbell to the company rang once again .
“She’s here . ”
Jimin stood up to bring in the last interviewee for the day . Sungyoon also got up, wondering why he had to stay for this interview . He could understand Jimin wanting his presence when hiring permanent employees, but he questioned why he had to be present for the interview of a temp worker . However, he had already agreed to go along with her request, so he followed her .
He saw Jimin greet the applicant . But when he looked over Jimin’s back to see the person, Sungyoon became surprised .
“… Ms . Jiyoon?”
Sungyoon mumbled to himself . Jiyoon, who had come to the interview for the temp position, laughed . She stuck out her tongue a little bit, acting like a child successful in pulling off a prank .
“Oh my! You guys know each other?”
Jimin looked at the two of them .
“Yes . I believe I told you before . There is a college student that sometimes comes and plays with s.h.i.+nhae . ”
“Ah ah!”
Jimin remembered hearing about it . She remembered being a little bit jealous because it felt as if she was being robbed of her time with the cute s.h.i.+nhae .
“My name is Jung Jiyoon, and I’m here for the temp job interview . Thank you in advance . ”
Jiyoon bowed, and Jimin responded by also bowing .
“It is nice to meet you . I am Hahn Jimin, the president of Jungb.u.m . ”
“You live up to your reputation as a beautiful woman . ”
Jiyoon decided to start it off with a compliment . However, Jimin remained faithful to her personality, and her expression remained cold .
“Thank you . Did you bring your resume and a copy of the resident registration?”
“Please wait a moment . ”
Jiyoon took out the papers from her handbag and handed them over to Jimin . Jimin turned around after she took possession of the papers .
“Please follow me . ”
The ladies went into the office, and Sungyoon quietly followed them .
Jimin sat behind her desk as she looked over the resume . Jiyoon was sitting across from her, her back straight . It seemed she wanted to maintain proper posture, but she also looked nervous and stiff .
Sungyoon sat back in his original seat, and his eyes remained planted on Jiyoon .
‘Why would she… . ’
No, he knew the reason why . They were currently in an interview for the temp position, and Jiyoon had said she came to apply for the position . He just never would have expected her to apply to the company that he was contracted to . However, he soon thought about what had happened two days before .
‘I did tell her that my company was looking to hire temp workers . ’
It seemed his words had caught her interest . As his thought reached that point, he decided it wasn’t a big deal .
‘I guess she really came here to work as a temp . ’
Sungyoon treated this the same as all the other interviews up until now . He crossed his arms and went into his observation mode .
As expected, temp workers were not interviewed as strictly as regular employees . It might be because they were less important to the normal operation of a company . In the interviews for prospective employees, Jimin had been very meticulous . She had asked wide-ranging questions, and at times, she also threw in some provocative questions to throw off the interviewees . However, all the questions for Jiyoon had fewer teeth behind them . The questions were innocuous .
“Hmm . You are currently a university student . Are you in your second year?”
“Yes . ”
“So, we will have to schedule around your cla.s.ses . We can be flexible on when and how long you will stay at work . Scheduling won’t be a problem . But wouldn’t it be too hard for you to work while going to school?”
“I"ll be fine . Above all else, I want to work at a Connector office so that I can move toward my dream . ”
“Dream?”
“Yes . I would like to work on the moon as a public official . ”
Jimin nodded . Her eyes headed towards Jiyoon, and then she took a brief glance at Sungyoon . However, it all had happened in an instant .
“s.h.i.+nhae is cute, right?”
“What?”
Jiyoon became surprised at Jimin’s random question . Sungyoon, who had been listening in silence, also looked towards Jimin .
“… yes . She is really cute . ”
It didn’t matter what her intention was in asking the question . Jiyoon let out a bright laugh as she answered Jimin .
“When can you start working?”
“I can start working right now . ”
Jiyoon gave a small fist pump . However, Jimin cooled Jiyoon, who was overflowing with energy .
“We don’t need you right now . But I would like you to come to work starting next week . Ah . I have to be mindful of managing your time . Please send me a schedule of your cla.s.ses . ”
“Yes!”
Jimin had a cold att.i.tude that was distinct to her, and one had to worry if her coldness might hurt Jiyoon . But in contrast, Jiyoon had a soft and warm personality unique to her, and she was able to accept Jimin’s att.i.tude .
In some ways, it was like watching the cold winds of Siberia clash against the warm spring airs blowing over the Okhotsk sea .
“I will send you an employment contract after I receive your cla.s.s schedule . We can come up with your working hours afterward . Do you agree to the hourly wage posted on the site?”
“Yes . That’ll be enough . ”
Then they went over the details of her contract . However, it wasn"t anything special . It was a cookie-cutter contract given to temp workers in most companies .
“I look forward to working with you . ”
“Yes, I look forward to working with you too . ”
After they exchanged handshakes, Jiyoon exited from the room . However, she gave Sungyoon a mischievous smile before leaving .
Jimin put away the girl"s resume .
“Is it ok to go so easy on her?”
This interview was completely different from the others . It had been very lax and easy . That was why Sungyoon asked this question .
“I’m not going to make a temp do anything amazing . She’ll do miscellaneous work for other employees, and she might have to keep the office tidy . It is something anyone can do, so I don’t feel the need to go through a meticulous interview process . ”
She had a point .
“Moreover, she’s studying a major related to our industry . This is unlikely, but we might be able to use her as a reserve if we get overwhelmed with work . How’s her personality?”
“Shouldn’t you have asked that question first?”
“I couldn’t openly ask such a question in an interview . Moreover, she’s a temp worker . It isn’t as if I expect much from her . ”
Since his president was speaking in such a way, he had nothing further to say in protest . He went through his memories and picked out information relevant to Jimin’s question .
“Her personality is great . I met Ms . Jiyoon when she was volunteering at the orphanage . It is the place that I had entrusted s.h.i.+nhae to . She became close to s.h.i.+nhae there, and she still occasionally visits to play with her . She is kind, and has never left a bad impression on me . ”
He gave high praise . It meant Jiyoon’s image in Sungyoon"s eyes was very high .