Chapter Text
Gihun had been working at a pretty standard office for a huge bank company in Seoul, Shinhan Bank, for quite a few years now, almost 20 in fact. Even though he’s told his friends at other jobs multiple times that he feels like he does the same old thing every day, he liked the simple routine, the meetings, the customer service aspect, and he enjoyed the accounting that came with the job too.
By now he was a business development manager along with 3 others, so he had his own people to watch over when it came to certain tasks that had to be completed, but still had to do work for the officers, representatives, and of course his boss. Typically his assignments consisted of researching new ways to prevent bank fraud, scamming, but also working with engineers and manufacturing companies to see if they could make and improve their banking systems and atm cards.
Today was the start of a new week, a bright and early Monday morning, spent right at his desk.
“Ah, Mr. Seong?” One of his colleagues asked. “We have a meeting in 5.”
He nodded with a slight smile and moved to get his things, usually just a folder and notepad, going down the hall.
“Do you know why? Didn’t everyone just get here?”
“Beats me. I just got a message in the group chat about it.”
“Ahh, my notifications are always turned off for it. Thanks for telling me.” Gihun sighed, following the other into the meeting room.
“You really need to go to one of those phone stores where they teach you how to use the phone you spent so much money on.” They teased.
“Yeah yeah- I hear enough of that from everyone else.”
He set his things on the table, pulling in his chair.
“Ah- that’s right.” His coworker whispered as they sat down together. “I remember our boss mentioning this. The company hired someone new past the hiring dates apparently.”
“What? How can you be hired past that date? All colleges do is yell at you to apply for a million jobs before you even start a single class.”
“God, I know.”
Once everyone got seated at the long table, their boss put his hands together loudly, startling some. “Sorry- sorry. good morning.” He laughed. “I know I called you all in early, I usually give more warning before a meeting but I had someone I have to introduce to the company today, he’s starting new here.”
The man beside him smiled and bowed slightly. “Good morning. I’m sorry as well for coming in so early, I would have come later had I known everyone got here at the same time-“
“No, no. Early is good.”
Everyone else looked around at each other, judging. Speak for yourselves, early was not good, especially to those who work overtime.
“Right,” he chuckled. “I’m Oh Young-Il, I’ll be starting here this morning as a sales manager.”
“Ah that’s right- he transferred from another company.”
“Mhm…right.” He nodded again, bowing once more. “I’m looking forward to working with everyone.”
“So is he working with us?” One of the other managers, Daeho, asked.
“That’s correct.” The man nodded. “Well, that’s really it- I can dismiss this early as a way to apologize for the meeting.”
Gihun got up, waving to his other coworker who left, then looked at the other managers, then at Mr. Oh who came over to greet them.
“Please forgive me, I didn’t think he would bring you guys in so early.” Young il sighed.
“No, no! You’re totally fine.” Jun hee chuckled, the marketing manager. “Why did you get transferred?”
“Ah, it’s kind of complicated. There was an attempted merger but they only sent me for some reason to try it out I guess. I was the last one hired there about..18 some years ago so they used me as the test subject.”
“Damn.” Gihun laughed, “that’s a shame. At least you have a job still.”
“Mm. Exactly. I’m sorry, and you two are?” He asked the other managers.
“I’m the general department manager, Dae-Ho.”
“Jungbae, brand manager.” He smiled, shaking his hand.
“Great. And you?” He finally asked Gihun.
“Business development.”
“Agh. Everyone sounds so professional. I hope I don’t disappoint.” Young il chuckled, “Is everybody free tonight? I’d like to get to know everyone better before the week unfolds.”
Gihun looked at everyone else, who all basically shrugged or shook their heads. “We’re good for tonight, we have a pretty regular bar we frequent. We can go there.”
“Sounds good. Could someone show me to my desk? I’m a bit turned around. Your office is really spacious.”
“I’ve got it, I’ll see you three tonight then,” Gihun told the others before leaving with the new transfer.
—-
“I apologize, it’s probably not the best first impression if I can’t find my own desk.”
“You don’t have to be sorry, it’s really okay.” He laughed, turning to where the cubicle was and patting the chair. “That’s your name I believe, Oh..Young Il?” He read the nameplate.
“Yes, thank you.” He hummed, putting his bag on the desk.
“Do you need anything else? Did your company have the same computers?”
“I’m sure I’ve got it. I’ve bothered you enough for the day, I’ll see you tonight.” He said, waving and bowing his head.
Gihun bowed slightly back and went back to his own desk. Great, now he felt bad for shit talking about new hires. He was just a transfer.
The work day was pretty average for a Monday, usually a bit busier since there were many who waited for the bank since it’s closed on weekends, so the calls and complaints and projects would come in like a flood. Anytime a manager would walk around they’d peek at what Mr. Oh was doing, curious, and oftentimes asking if he was alright. New hires for regular office staff right out of college was normal, but not a random transfer. Everyone was treating him like a refugee at this point.
—-
Gihun watched the clock as it reached around 6:30 PM, finishing up some email for an IC chip company.
“Mr. Seong was it?” Young il came over with his bag, putting his blazer on.
“Oh, yes but you can just call me Gihun. It’s fine.” He smiled. “Time to go?” He asked, looking back at his computer as he hit send.
“Ready when you are.” He smiled, going to the elevator where the other managers waited.
Gihun caught up with them, and once out of the office they headed for the nearby bar they were practically regulars at.
“What does everyone drink?” Young il asked.
“Mm, we usually start with soju, but we drink all sorts of stuff.” Jungbae said.
“You can’t really go wrong with that I suppose. I wanted to know because I’m paying.”
Gihun raised a brow, and the other three stopped.
“Seriously?” Daeho asked, laughing a bit out of shock. “We drink a lot, you know.”
Young il smiled and shrugged. “It’s fine. My impression today wasn’t the best so it’s my treat. Go crazy.”
Jungbae laughed and wrapped his arm around his shoulders. “That’s the spirit,” he said, shaking him a bit. “Alright- alright let’s go drink huh?” He said, Young il nodding.
“Lead the way.”
Everyone else went in, and Gihun, then Young il.
“You don’t have to pay, seriously. They will destroy your credit card.” Gihun warned.
“I said I’ve got it, don’t worry.” He said, brushing it off. “People like me who just waltz on into someone’s company have to do things like this.”
They got seated at a decent table for the five of them, with the two other men already ordering various flavors of soju.
“Ah- wait can you drink yet?” Gihun asked Jun hee.
She shook her head with a slight smile, feeling bad. “No, but I’ll just get some fake drink. It’s fine.”
“Hm? Why? Is it lent or something?” Young il asked, checking his phone for any emails as he waited for the drinks. “I don’t keep up with religious calendars.”
Jun hee laughed. “No. I had a baby a few weeks ago.”
“..And you’re still working?”
“Ah, I just don’t like sitting at home. So I came back a bit earlier.”
“Hm? How early?”
“2 weeks early.”
Young il thought for a second, then set his phone down. “Wait, what?”
Gihun felt uncomfortable with how quiet the table got. “..it’s fine, it’s fine right?” He asked her. She just nodded, unsure of what to say.
Young il sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Okay..well, you should have stayed at home. You had paid leave. Who is even watching the baby?”
“My boyfriend.” She shrugged, looking around aimlessly. Here we go.
“What does your boyfriend do?”
Everyone got quiet, knowing the answer was going to make him blow his top. They didn’t even know him that well yet but he definitely seemed a lot more into the whole banking and financial world than they were. The reason why that seems so is due to Gihun catching him scrolling through the stocks page on their way here- who even does that casually?
“Erm.” Junhee chuckled, scratching the back of her arm.
Young il made a gesture with his hand as if to say ‘well?’
“Hedoesbitcoin.”
“What?”
“Bit coin.” She said quickly, looking away. “Can I get some water?” She hurriedly whispered to the waiter to avoid the outcome of her answer.
Young il’s phone thudded gently as he dropped it from his hand to put his face in them. “Actual bit coin or?”
“Nope- nope. He has his own.” She coughed, still not looking at him, smoothing over her shirt.
“What.”
Gihun poured a shot of soju for himself, trying to contain his laughter.
“Does that make any money?”
“..someday. That’s all he says.”
“Ugh, okay..Oh! Speaking of bit coin, I saw some crazy article the other day.”
“Oh yeah?” Dae ho asked.
“This actual loser made one to sell to people on the internet or something, it looked like some streaming website maybe- I don’t know. But get this. He names it after himself. I’m not even lying, and it fails, every single time. There’s barely any payout-“
Gihun spit out his drink, covering his mouth as he bursted out laughing.
Junhee put her head on the table, unable to contain herself with the mess her coworker made, but also her boyfriend being in some dumb finance article- and Mr. Oh knowing about it.
“What?” Young il asked.
“That’s- oh my god.” Jun hee laughed. “Yeah- that’s who I’m dating. Believe it or not. Can you send me that article? That’ll make my week.”
“Oh-“ he covered his mouth, eyes wide. “Oh my god. What the fuck is wrong with me. I didn’t mean to call him an idiot-“
“No, no you’re right- he’s not the brightest.” She laughed, her eyes watery. “I can’t stop laughing- please send me that now.”
Gihun could barely stop either, still wiping his mouth with a napkin and the surface of the table. “God what are the odds.”
“Your impression keeps getting worse.” Jungbae laughed.
Young il grumbled and poured three shots of whatever flavor of soju was closest in reach, then downed them one after the other, making Daeho ook up. “Hey- is that even safe?” He laughed nervously, taking the bottle away. “You’ll black out before we even get started!”
Junhee laughed, shaking her hand at him. “Seriously it’s fine- don’t even think about it.”
He rubbed his face and groaned. “I’m sorry.”
She smiled and shook her head. “It’s fun talking about it. I don’t care.”
Everyone got their own drinks after a bit of testing out the soju, and eventually they all got a few beers, leaving Jun hee with simple mocktails.
“So, how do you four do formalities at work? I’m sorry I’ve been speaking so casually so far.”
“Well..Gihun is the oldest, so in meetings we refer to him as Mr. Seong.” Dae Ho said.
Gihun’s face felt hot. “Don’t feel like you have to call me that though.”
“Well I should, especially if I’m new. Can I ask how old you are?”
“I’m 51. Junhee is 23, Jungbae is also 51, and daeho is 28.”
“Ah. I’m 49, so I’ll keep the formalities. You two however.” He pointed at Daeho and Junhee, who both laughed, bowing jokingly.
“Yes sir!” They both said, laughing.
—-
More drinks filled the table, and eventually it was 11 PM. They had spent hours just talking about themselves, where they were from, what high school and college they went to, family, etc. Young il definitely had a good amount of info on everybody now, and felt more comfortable going into work tomorrow knowing these people better.
They stood outside the bar, laughing as Junhee mentioned she got a text from her boyfriend.
“He’s mad about the article you sent me,” she chuckled. “I gotta go home, I think the baby is driving him insane.”
“Alright. Thanks for coming out,” young il smiled, waving as she bowed. “Tell him to invest in real things!” He called as she walked away, everyone laughing as she visibly laughed on her way to a taxi.
“Well. Where are you two going?” He asked.
“Just home,”
Jung bae nodded.
“I guess I should head home too. It’s really late, sorry I kept you out.”
“Nah- it’s good. See you tomorrow, okay?” Jung bae said, patting his shoulder.
Gihun smiled and waved goodbye as they both left to get a taxi.
Young il bowed his head and waved as well, watching them until he decided to head home himself.