【Book Chapter 5】
Reason for application.
‘I want to work in a stable, well-paying job. If I have to be a subordinate, I might as well serve in a top-tier company with good benefits. I’ve heard the cafeteria food here is famous for being delicious. Plus, I want to surpass my older brother by landing a job at a big corporation faster than he did.’
Honestly, she didn’t understand why companies even asked questions like this. Of course, it wasn’t like anyone would write down their real thoughts. If writing cover letters were like writing novels, she would have authored several books by now. Tailoring the same content differently for each company was more time-consuming and tedious than she had anticipated.
Having just completed her cover letter for a new job posting, Gaeul leaned back in her café chair and took a long sip of her half-melted iced Americano.
Clink. She set her cup down and closed her laptop, meeting the bright, eager gaze of Kim Juhee, who had been watching her intently.
“Why are you looking at me like that…?”
Juhee's mouth twisted into a knowing smile.
“Lee Gaeul.”
“Hm?”
"People usually refer to what you're experiencing as love at first sight."
"I was just writing my cover letter"
Normally, wouldn’t a person in this state be called a job seeker?
Gaeul muttered that, but Juhee’s expression didn’t change.
"Even if you try to change the subject, I’m not letting you off the hook. If you’re finished, let’s talk more about Seo Dohyun."
"There’s nothing more. That’s all there is to it. We agreed to do it three times, and two are left."
“So, you really aren’t going to date him?”
“…What kind of job seeker has time for romance?”
“But you said you were interested in him, too.”
If anything, her interest was more than just mild — it was substantial.
When she woke up on Saturday morning and found that Seo Dohyun wasn’t at home, she felt a pang of disappointment. It frustrated her even more to realise she couldn’t even check on him without going through her brother.
After waking Lee Gajun to remind him of the mess he’d made the night before, she headed out to grab a late breakfast of soybean sprout soup with him and dropped off Dohyun’s clothes at the dry cleaners. She hoped the fresh air might lift her spirits, but on the walk back, she found herself sinking back into her earlier feelings. Throughout the meal, she half-listened to Lee Gajun’s grumbling about lending out a brand-new outfit he hadn’t even worn yet. He knew he couldn’t complain too much, given his own misdeeds from the night before.
After coming home like that, she saw her brother about to lie down on the living room sofa and, startled, pushed him down to the floor.
“Ah! Lee Gaeul, what’s with you all of a sudden?”
“I-If you’re going to lie down and sleep, go do it in your room. I plan to stay here and work on my cover letter.”
“Then you should work on it in your own room. My room still reeks of alcohol and vomit; the smell hasn’t cleared out yet.”
“So who told you to drink so much? You still smell like alcohol now. Why don’t you go shower?”
“Oh, maybe I should.”
Even though she’d double-checked that the sofa and bathroom were clean before going to sleep, it was somehow unsettling knowing her brother would use the space right away, probably because they had been fooling around on it.
Come to think of it, the bathroom, too.
“…Actually, don’t even shower. Don’t even go near the bathroom. Just go into your room for a bit.”
“What’s up with you lately? Is the stress from job searching really that bad?”
“Yes. It’s too much.”
"There's no need to rush into a big company right from the start. The job market is more challenging now than it was in my time, so try not to stress too much — take it easy. If you need help, I’d be happy to review your application."
“Thank you. So, Brother, could you please lie down in your room?”
“I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but I’m going to take a shower in thirty minutes, so finish up by then.”
“Got it.”
The moment Gajun went into his room, she headed straight to the bathroom. She wanted to double-check that no traces were left behind, but it was as spotless as ever. She returned to the sofa and laid down. She even buried her nose where they had lain, but there was no trace of him here, either.
It was a relief that everything was clean, but somehow, she felt a bit disappointed.
Gaeul let out a long sigh and went into her room. Even the stain he’d left on her window was wiped away, leaving the glass spotless. The used tissues were flushed away in the toilet, erasing any evidence, so there wasn’t even trash left behind. Looking at it this way, the events of last night all felt like a dream.
“Enough of this; I need to get a grip.”
She couldn’t let herself space out all day. She had to do something productive. That was when she headed to her desk to review her cover letter.
She noticed a sticky note attached to her laptop.
「I have an appointment this afternoon, so I left without saying goodbye. Call me. 010-XXXX-XXXX.」
The moment she found his number, her mood instantly soared on a steep upward curve. For some reason, her chest tingled with an odd fluttering feeling, and her heart began to race. She tried to keep herself from smiling too widely, but her lips refused to stay down. When she walked out of her room, even seeing Lee Gajun sprawled across the sofa again didn’t bother her in the slightest.
Why did even his beautiful handwriting make her heart flutter for no reason?
Those kinds of thoughts occurred to her four days ago.
“Honestly, it doesn’t make any sense. If Lee Gajun finds out, he’ll freak out, you know? Plus, he’s older than my brother. He’s at least six years older than me — that’s a significant difference.”
“He looks like he’s in his late twenties to early thirties, so wouldn’t that just mean a difference of six or seven years at most? Honestly, that’s a bit significant, but as long as it’s not over ten years, it’s worth meeting him a few times.”
“What worries me the most is that he’s connected to my brother’s company. It’s a place where Lee Gajun really wanted to work. I’d feel awful if I caused him any awkwardness at work because of me. Plus, I’m really busy right now, and I’m not sure if this is the right time to be doing this.”
“Didn’t you say he’s a team leader at a big company? In that case, you could even ask him for advice on your cover letter or something.”
Gaeul looked at Juhee in surprise.
“Since when did you give me advice that actually helps with my job search?”
"If it’s directly related to dating, I don’t mind giving you some advice. Besides, he gave you his number, didn’t he?"
“That’s true.”
“By now, the other person must be burning with frustration, their insides reduced to ashes. Can you imagine giving you his number and getting completely ignored?”
“If possible, I’d prefer it if he thought of me as someone who’s cautious and inclined to dwell on things.”
"He probably thinks he’s been 100% rejected."
“No way. He’s so full of himself that he probably can’t even imagine being rejected.”
Gaeul sighed and shook her head.
・・・・・
Rejected.
Dohyun paused from reviewing a report, pressing his fingers to his temples as he leaned back in his chair. Had he ever been rejected before? If anything, he was used to pushing people away, not the other way around. After all, he’d never even had to approach anyone first — there were always people eager to come to him.
“Team Leader, are you feeling unwell?”
"I'm just not feeling great today. It's nothing for you to worry about, Assistant Manager Lee."
But he did wish that Assistant Manager Lee’s younger sister would show a bit more concern.
Lee Gaeul had become the biggest conundrum in Seo Dohyun’s life. She didn’t actively avoid him, nor did she dislike him, yet she seemed to slip away from him at every turn.
Dohyun cast a quick glance in Gajun’s direction.
If he hadn’t chosen Lee Gajun, would things have turned out differently? Then again, if he hadn’t, Dohyun and Gaeul would never have crossed paths again after that one night. Looking back, hiring Gajun was one of the best decisions he had made.
A dull throb pulsed in his head. Perhaps it was the frustration of things not going as planned, but he could feel a heat rising within him.
“Excuse me, Team Leader?”
“…What is it?”
"You look really unwell."
“Do I?”
Later, while receiving a debriefing from Cha Seonwoo, he realised that the symptoms he'd felt earlier weren’t just in his head.
"Hey, Seo Dohyun. I think you’ve got a fever? The summer flu is going around these days. You should go to the hospital tomorrow morning. Do you think you caught it from me last week?"
The next day, Seo Dohyun was diagnosed with the flu and, for the first time in his life, took sick leave.
・・・・・
Throughout life, one would inevitably hear about people who didn’t seem quite human.
These individuals were typically found on television, social media, and in one’s parents' lectures. They tended to be tall, fit, attractive, excel academically and athletically, and not only held high social positions but also had impressive salaries.
Yet, if one looked closely, most of them turned out to be surprisingly ordinary.
Even her brother, Lee Gajun, who had once been the object of admiration among Gaeul's friends, seemed like nothing more than a chicken vending machine or a pathetic drunk when he was at home.
Of course, exceptions exist in every corner of the world.
In Gaeul’s eyes, Seo Dohyun was the epitome of someone who lacked humanness. His hobby was working out, and besides being a team leader at a major corporation, Gajun mentioned that his academic background was quite respectable. Moreover, his stamina was remarkable; even after pushing her to her limits all night, he would wake up the next morning completely refreshed. They said that people with thick thighs were healthy, and by that logic, Seo Dohyun seemed destined never to fall ill.
On the table, there were side dishes sent by her parents who had gone down to Jeju Island. Since the side dishes had arrived, Gaeul decided to have a home-cooked meal for a change today. Her brother had been treating her to fried chicken less often lately, probably because his work days had become more bearable.
“Oh, right. Did you return the dry-cleaned outfit back to your Team Leader?”
She only heard about Team Leader Seo if she specifically asked; he now rarely mentioned him otherwise.
Gajun paused while serving himself rice and responded.
“I gave it to him yesterday. Come to think of it, Team Leader Seo isn’t feeling well and must be resting at home. He hurriedly took sick leave today and even requested tomorrow off.”
Gaeul, who was just ladling some hot beef and radish soup into a bowl, looked up with wide eyes at Gajun.
“What? What's wrong with him?”
"He’s got the flu. There was a flu outbreak in another team recently. Since he spent a lot of time around that team leader, it seems he caught it. He said he’d take time off to avoid spreading it to the team and would handle urgent tasks from home."
"I heard this year’s flu is particularly severe. It seems that person doesn't even get a flu shot every year."
Gajun nodded, looking a bit troubled.
"Just the other day, I asked if he got the flu shot when the flu was spreading, and he said he hadn’t. And now look what happened. These days, there are fewer people like us who take their flu shots regularly. It’s especially true for those who live alone. I heard Team Leader Seo has been living alone for quite a while, too."
“But he probably has family nearby, right?”
"Team Leader Seo’s parents live overseas. Since he’s an only child, he has no siblings to take care of him. From what he shared while we were drinking, it seems he doesn’t meet up with friends often either. Ah, now that I’ve said it out loud, I’m starting to worry. Hopefully, he’s okay."
Lee Gajun was the type to worry about a resigning, accident-prone assistant manager whom everyone else avoided like a ticking time bomb. And now, he was concerned about Seo Dohyun. Though it might seem odd for him to care about someone he had once claimed to dislike intensely, Gaeul's expression became more serious than ever.
“Especially since there’s a typhoon expected tomorrow evening. And it’s already raining today.”
"They say this autumn’s typhoon could cause serious damage. It’s the largest one we’ve had since 2003. Make sure you stay indoors too, alright?"
"Will the hospitals still be open despite the typhoon?"
"The problem is, he’s not the type to go to the hospital. Apparently, he’s been so healthy since he was young that he’s only ever gone for routine check-ups. Even this time, he didn’t realise he was sick until I pointed it out. When I called to suggest he get an IV, he was already at home and figured he could just sleep it off. But with the flu, I wonder if he even knows how to properly rest and take care of himself."
“...”
"Well, come on, in today’s world, a healthy person wouldn’t actually die from the flu, would they? They might feel a bit sick, but they’ll be back to normal by next week. I shouldn’t worry about it."
Gajun continued humming as he scooped more rice into his bowl, looking genuinely unconcerned, but Gaeul’s mind was completely focused on Seo Dohyun.
She picked up her phone and opened her messaging app. His profile, which appeared automatically after she saved his number, caught her eye. It was plain, with no photo or status message, making him seem even more inscrutable. Gaeul typed and deleted her message several times before finally leaving only the essential words and hitting ‘Send.’
「Are you okay?」
It had only been a few seconds since she sent the message, but the read receipt still hadn’t appeared. She knew that checking repeatedly wouldn’t make the reply come any faster, yet her anxiety kept growing with each passing moment.
“Gaeul, what are you doing? Eat your meal.”
“Okay.”
Gaeul set her phone down and began eating.
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