Chapter 340
-Chapter 340
A few moments later.
Yoo-hyun entered the lodging that was set up behind the factory.
Inside the single-story building, there were several rooms like a boarding house.
Kang Jong-ho, who opened the door with the number 103 on it, glanced at Yoo-hyun next to him.
He looked young, but there was something strange about his aura that made him use honorifics.
“This is your room.”
“Thank you.”
Yoo-hyun answered casually and scanned the room.
There was a bed and a closet in the small space of about four square meters.
There was also a bathroom attached, which looked fairly clean, as if someone was taking care of it.
He was satisfied with this much.
Yoo-hyun put down his luggage and turned around.
Kang Jong-ho, who was at the entrance, was staring blankly at him.
“Senior, do you have something to say?”
“No. Just…”
“Okay. Then I’ll tidy up a bit.”
He felt like he would stay there forever if he left him alone, so Yoo-hyun spoke bluntly.
It would take quite some time to unpack and organize his stuff.
Then Kang Jong-ho blinked his slit-like eyes without eyelids and asked.
“Oh, then when are you going to look around the factory?”
“I have a day off today. I’ll check it out tomorrow.”
“Oh, a day off.”
There was no concept of a day off in this branch of Yeontae.
Even on weekends, he had to get permission from the Mokpo branch to leave this place.
Aside from that, the guy in front of him was too calm for someone who had been transferred to Yeontae branch.
He didn’t look like someone who had been demoted at all.
Kang Jong-ho hid his curiosity and cautiously asked.
“Sorry, but you did come here from Yeontae branch, right?”
“Yes. I did. And please speak comfortably.”
“Huh? Oh.”
“Come on, there’s nothing to be shy about. You’re my senior since you came here first.”
They were in different departments and different positions, so it was awkward to use titles.
It was like calling someone from another unit ‘mister’ in the army.
So Yoo-hyun approached him first.
He looked older anyway, and he didn’t want to start a nerve war with him.
It was easier for him to live as the youngest.
“Oh, okay.”
“Haha. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
Yoo-hyun smiled heartily and greeted him, and Kang Jong-ho unconsciously stepped back.
He showed up in an executive car, and he didn’t flinch at all when he saw him, who was known for his strong impression.
That thought kept making him feel uncomfortable.
“Uh, sure.”
“Then go ahead.”
Yoo-hyun winked and closed the door.
Kang Jong-ho stood in front of the closed door for a while.
Yoo-hyun unpacked his luggage briefly and went outside the lodging.
He saw some trees growing behind the small factory that belonged to Yeontae branch.
He walked along the forest path for a bit and saw the reservoir scenery below that he had seen when he came up by car.
There was a steep stairway that led straight to the reservoir.
He thought he could get there in 10 minutes even without running down.
He took in the place with his eyes and walked along the ridge to look around.
After walking for a while, he saw some farmhouses clustered together.
It was a familiar sight of his hometown, which made him feel happy.
He walked a little further and saw some red brick buildings, but more than half of them had closed doors.
The signs were quite diverse, showing that it used to be a prosperous village.
But now it was a small town where people were hardly seen on the street.
It looked like the city that was left behind after the army base in front of it left.
The actual reason was similar too.
Using the landslide as an excuse, Hansung Electronics decided to downsize Yeontae branch.
As the number of factory workers decreased, so did Hansung Electronics’ support.
And naturally, the size of the village shrank too.
This part was in Jang Joon-sik’s report.
Yoo-hyun chuckled at the thought that suddenly came to his mind.
“Why did he bother to research the village situation?”
He seemed like an unnecessarily detailed guy no matter how he thought about it.
Ring ring ring
At that moment, Yoo-hyun’s phone rang.
He checked the content and saw that it was a message from Jang Joon-sik as usual.
-Senior, how is your work progress today?
He said he would take care of the team work and sent him messages every day.
He already had more than 10 messages piled up.
It was no use telling him to stop.
He only got a strong will to report to him throughout the transfer period.
Yoo-hyun shook his head as he thought of his loyal junior.
That evening.
A truck loaded with TVs that had assembly defects from Mokpo branch arrived at the factory.
Their job at Yeontae branch was to disassemble and reassemble them to reduce the defect rate.
If they didn’t meet the minimum monthly quota, they would get in trouble during the audit, so they had to work.
Park Chul Hong, the team leader who got off the passenger seat, was annoyed.
“Damn it. Those Mokpo bastards are always bossy.”
“They’re always like that. Don’t mind them.”
Jo Ki-jung, who was driving, consoled him with a resigned expression.
Vroom.
Just then, a Chinese restaurant’s motorcycle arrived.
Kang Jong-ho, who was receiving the black bean noodles bowls, was approached by Jo Ki-jung and asked.
“Kang team leader, why are there three bowls of black bean noodles? Is it for the new guy?”
“He said he’s taking a day off until today.”
“What? Doesn’t he have to eat anyway?”
Jo Ki-jung made a dumbfounded expression and Park Chul Hong, the team leader, said gruffly.
“Forget it. Just let him starve. He’ll survive on his own.”
“Yes. I agree. He needs to starve to come to his senses.”
Kang Jong-ho nodded as if he agreed.
The employee who was handing out the black bean noodles said casually.
“Oh, you mean the new guy? He ate black bean noodles with the company name earlier.”
“Excuse me?”
“He said he’s fishing at the reservoir.”
“What did you say?”
The three of them widened their eyes in disbelief.
At that moment.
Yoo-hyun was sitting on a chair at the reservoir fishing spot.
There were some weeds around because it was not well maintained, but it was not a problem for fishing.
It was free, and there was no one around, so it was quiet and perfect.
Swish.
Yoo-hyun threw his fishing rod into the reservoir with a swish.
It was light and elastic, and it looked expensive at a glance.
This fishing rod was given to him by Vice President Yeo Tae-sik.
-Our branch used to be famous for fishing. It might help you spend some relaxing time.
It was the first time that Yoo-hyun had a boss who gave him a fishing rod when he transferred.
When Vice President Yeo stepped in, the team members added more.
Team Leader Kim Hyun-min insisted that camping tools were essential for fishing, and Jang Jun-sik, who was inflexible, backed him up.
Thanks to them, Yoo-hyun received camping tools as a farewell gift.
A tent was basic, and there were also a chair, a portable storage cabinet, and various cooking tools.
It was enough to set up a separate household outdoors.
He was very grateful for their kindness, not to mention the money.
In fact, when he came here, he found them very useful.
There was a tent that he had set up earlier behind Yoo-hyun, and the lantern hanging on it lit up the darkening scenery.
Thanks to that, Yoo-hyun could enjoy fishing comfortably.
He achieved the first thing on his branch bucket list on the first day of arrival.
Chirp chirp chirp.
Yoo-hyun looked at the float floating on the water with the sound of crickets as background music.
It was still for a long time even if he spaced out.
It was definitely different from fishing on a boat in the sea, with a quiet charm.
“…”
No, it was too quiet.
He tried to empty his mind and find some leisure, but his body kept itching.
This wouldn’t do.
He should enjoy more leisure.
Yoo-hyun held his fishing rod while trying to control his mind.
He should just wait and see, but his hand kept moving.
He thought he had emptied his mind quite well, but it seemed not enough yet.
“It’s not easy to become laid-back.”
But Yoo-hyun was not impatient.
It was only the first day.
He thought he would find the answer someday if he kept trying like this.
Yoo-hyun’s attitude continued when he started working at the factory for the first time.
Yoo-hyun entered the factory and looked around lightly.
It was quite spacious inside, as it used to be a factory where 50 people worked.
Of course, more than half of it was not used.
It looked neat because they cleaned it up well.
Yoo-hyun looked at the work log hanging on the wall at the entrance of the factory after looking around inside.
A snicker escaped from Yoo-hyun’s mouth.
He could see that they had finished their work early, but they marked it as if they hadn’t done anything.
“That’s funny.”
It seemed that he could rest more comfortably than he had thought.
Yoo-hyun was thinking like that when it happened.
Kang Jong-ho, who was wearing work clothes, said with a click of his tongue.
He seemed to be serious, as he wrinkled his face.
But he looked weak rather than strong, as if he had not dealt with people much.
“Wow, you showed up. Did you sleep well?”
“I slept very well. My head is very clear.”
“That’s good for you. You’re good at adapting.”
“Thank you. Let’s go have a cup of coffee.”
Yoo-hyun smiled brightly and went into the break room in the factory.
Then he took out a paper cup and made some instant coffee as if he were familiar with it.
Kang Jong-ho, who saw that, asked with a dumbfounded expression.
“Is this your home?”
“Can’t I drink it?”
“It’s not that, but you shouldn’t act like this on your first day.”
“It’s not work time yet. If you have anything else to do, please let me know.”
“It’s not that but…”
Yoo-hyun cut him off with good timing and Kang Jong-ho trailed off.
He felt awkward to get angry at him because he was polite, and more importantly, there was nothing to do right now.
Then Yoo-hyun took out another paper cup and smiled brightly.
“Then sit down. I’ll make you a killer coffee.”
“Uh, okay.”
Kang Jong-ho sat down hesitantly as Yoo-hyun urged him.
It was a long time after work hours.
Team Leader Park Chul-hong, who had worked late yesterday, came in sluggishly.
He entered the break room and shouted at the ridiculous sight in front of him.
“What are you doing?”
At that sound, the three people who were lying on the floor of the break room got up.
Kang Jong-ho, who was rubbing his eyes, greeted him with a nonchalant expression.
“Oh, Team Leader, you’re here?”
“Huh? Did you just say oh? You have a newbie next to you and that’s what you say?”
Team Leader Park Chul-hong scowled at him, and Jo Ki-jung, who was sitting next to Yoo-hyun, grumbled.
“You told us not to work. And we don’t have anything to do right now.”
“What if there’s a surprise inspection? Do you want us all to get fired for showing them this?”
Yoo-hyun took in Team Leader Park Chul-hong’s appearance.
He was a man with a chubby face and a bulbous nose, which was impressive. If he only heard his angry voice, he might have mistaken him for a hot-tempered person.
But he kept rolling his eyes while scolding his team members.
His hands were fidgeting in front of his stomach as if he didn’t know where to put them.
He didn’t seem to be hard on his team members, but rather he didn’t have much experience in handling people.
It would have been better if he had some authority as a team leader, but he was also a newcomer who had been sidelined.
Yoo-hyun said to Team Leader Park Chul-hong, who was growling.
“Would you like some coffee? I made it myself.”
“What? Coffee? Now?”
Team Leader Park Chul-hong looked at Yoo-hyun with a flustered expression.