The office was buzzing with someone's shouts from the morning. It was Manager Kang's voice. Ha-min went to where the sound was coming from and saw Manager Kang rolling up a piece of paper and hitting Ye-jun on the head, throwing a tantrum.
"Hey!! Didn't I tell you to do this all at the morning meeting? Do you want to get fired? Do you think I'm joking?!"
Yejun just hung his head low and quietly endured Kang Daeri's violence.
"..sorry."
“…Manager Yoo Ha-min said there was no need to do it...”
Mr. Kang laughs at Nam Ye-jun's words and says:
“Sigh, since you’re not that capable, you just make excuses. Tsk tsk.”
Ye-jun, listening to Kang's insulting words, was helpless. Everything Kang said was true. Having started later than others, I felt I couldn't handle this. Kang's constant harassment sank Ye-jun's confidence to the floor. Then, suddenly, Ha-min appeared and stopped Kang.
“What are you doing now?”
“G..Manager..”
“I told you not to do it.”
“Manager, but he’s my employee, so please don’t do whatever you want with him…”
“Haha, is that your employee?”
Ha-min snorted in response to Kang Dae-ri's excuses. Kang Dae-ri blushed in anger at the sight, but he held back his anger and spoke to Ha-min.
“Manager Yoo. It seems like you keep protecting that newbie. You two are acting strange, right?”
Yejun, hearing Kang Daeri's words from behind, was terrified. He was afraid that Ha-min would be harmed because of him. But Ha-min's expression remained unchanged, and he spoke to Kang Daeri in a cold voice.
"You come to work and say things like that. You don't live up to your age. Considering Manager Kang's age... doesn't that seem childish? And I'm not defending Nam Ye-jun. I'm just explaining the fundamentals of organizational life. If this doesn't work out, I'll report it to the manager."
After hearing Ha-min's words, Manager Kang snickered and kicked the door open as he left. As soon as Manager Kang left, Ha-min's expression changed to affectionate and he turned to Ye-jun.
"are you okay?"
Yejun's heart sank when he saw Ha-min's worried expression. How could he possibly deserve this kind of treatment from the manager?
Yejun's confidence was lowered by Manager Kang's insulting words earlier, and he continued to answer with his head down.
"Yes, it's okay."
Ha-min's heart ached at the sight of Ye-jun like that. He placed a tender hand on Ye-jun's shoulder and spoke.
"Let's go get some coffee later. I'll buy you some."
Yejun nodded at Hamin's words and returned to his desk to resume his work. Yejun tried to regain his composure and focus on his work, but Manager Kang's words kept flashing through his mind, making it impossible for him to concentrate. Yejun, who felt like he was about to burst into tears, fought back tears and continued working. Hamin, watching, wanted to hug Yejun, but he couldn't approach him, concerned about his image within the company and unsure if Yejun would accept him.
After a while.
As lunchtime approached, Ha-min approached Ye-jun.
“Let’s go. To eat.”
“Ah..yes..”
So the two went to the cafeteria. Yejun didn't have any close friends, so he usually ate alone in a corner. But today, eating with Ha-min felt awkward. As they were forced to eat together, the female employees began to crowd around Ha-min.
“Manager Yoo, come eat with us~”
"Oh, I already have plans to eat with someone. Sorry."
Yejun, who was eating, felt even more unsure about Hamin's popularity compared to his own. Was it right for such a shining person to be hanging out with me like this?
Yejun couldn't hide his discomfort at the constant stream of employees. Seeing this, Ha-min spoke to Yejun.
“Yejun, are you uncomfortable?”
“Oh, no. It’s okay.”
Yejun's expression didn't look all that great, to say he was okay. Ha-min had no choice but to lead Yejun out to a coffee shop. Ha-min casually ordered two Americanos and brought them over, placing them in front of Yejun.
“Yejun, I apologize for what happened this morning.”
"yes..?"
"...I'm talking about Manager Kang. I knew about it, but I didn't know he'd be so reckless."
"Haha..no. I'm fine."
Ha-min looked at Ye-jun with worried eyes.
“Your face doesn’t look okay. Are you having a hard time?”
“No..! I guess I have to hold out for this much.. haha”
Yejun trailed off and lowered his head towards the floor.
Ha Min, looking at the sight, thought to himself.
"Oh, I just want to start my own company and recruit Yejun. Then I can keep him by my side and watch him with peace of mind. Then... Yejun will be able to work comfortably too."
“"Yejun, if it's too hard, take a vacation. I checked my records and there's no record of you taking any vacation time."
“Ah..yes..! Thank you.”
So lunchtime ended and work resumed. Yejun, who hadn't had a proper meal earlier, filled his stomach with coffee, unable to even feel hungry due to the piled-up work. Some time passed, and Hamin came to see Yejun. He found six cups of coffee on his desk, and Yejun was sleeping uncomfortably, dark circles under his eyes. Hamin was startled by Yejun's haggard face and approached him, waking him up.
“Yejun, are you okay?”
‘Ah, I want to stroke your face.’
Startled by Ha-min's call, Ye-jun gets up with a pale face and apologizes.
“Ah… I’m sorry…”
“Yejun, go to the break room and rest for a bit.”
“No..! I have to work.. haha”
Yejun's bloodshot eyes turned to the monitor, but he eventually fell asleep again. Ha-min, seeing this, looked at Yejun with pity.
‘Ha, I just want to lay you down on my lap and let you sleep.’
"Everyone, I have something to tell you. Lately, I think our team has been working overtime too often. It's good to work hard, but if you overdo it like this, it won't improve your efficiency, so please refrain from doing so for the time being."
As Ha-min finished speaking, the staff all cheered. Ye-jun, who was listening from behind, let out a silent scream. Ha-min, seeing this, found Ye-jun's expression incredibly funny, but he held back a laugh.
After everyone returned to their seats, it was time to leave work.
"Yejun, are you leaving work early today?"
"Ah..! I just need to finish this..! I think I'll be fine soon since I'll be out of here."
“I’ll help you. Let’s do it together.”
In this way, Ha-min helped Ye-jun finish the remaining work together.
“I’m done..!!”
I looked at my watch and it was 8 o'clock. It was earlier than usual.Yejun, who finished all his work quickly, went home and felt good thinking about Seol.
"I'm done. Let's go home now."
"yes..!"
“Hey Nam Ye-jun!!!”
At Kang Daeri's shout, Ha-min and Ye-jun turned around. Kang Daeri was running towards them from afar, furious. He then lashed out at Nam Ye-jun, lashing out at him.
“Hey, where’s the data I told you to send by 9 o’clock?”
“I just sent that by email...”
"I didn't see it! That was another company's request. If the company goes bankrupt because of you, you'll take responsibility? You'll take responsibility!"
"..I'm sorry. I'll go back up and send it to you now."
Ha-min grabbed Ye-jun's wrist as he was about to go back up to the company.
"Is it okay if I just send it?"
"Oh no, sir! That kid's not doing his job well, so I'll have to edit his work."
"A correction? Can you finish it today?"
"Look at that little shit, I can't do it! Tsk tsk"
Yejun listened with his head bowed as Kang Daeri spoke. Ha-min felt his heart sink at the sight. Then he spoke to Kang Daeri.
"Then I guess it's okay to send it tomorrow morning. Your company's employees will probably have already left work anyway."
“Huh? Where’s that! You have to do it in advance...”
Ha Min cuts off Manager Kang and continues his speech.
“Manager Kang Min-jun, you know you’re going overboard right now, right?”
Manager Kang is dumbfounded by Ha Min's words and says:
"What the heck?? I'm just working hard for the company right now. If that guy keeps doing this, our company will go under!"
"Ha... Manager Kang. Why are you insisting on only asking Yejun to do it when the rest of the team could have done it tomorrow?"
In the end, Yejun noticed and intervened, saying:
"I'm sorry, Manager Kang. I'll go up and send you right away. Manager Yoo, you should leave work first... haha."
Yejun sent Hamin away and returned to the office to begin the work assigned by Manager Kang. Hamin was worried about Yejun, but he realized his capabilities were limited, so he ended up leaving work early.