Chapter 4
There he went again. “I think he only remembers women’s names. Like Sanghwa Lee and Kyuyoung Seo.”
“You should watch what you say,” Seonghyun Yoo, another coworker said, cutting Beomseok off just as Kyuyoung was about to retort.
“I mean, aren’t you upset, Seonghyun? He never picks on her or Sanghwa just because they’re women!”
“He doesn’t go easy on them because they’re women, he likes them because they’re good at their jobs. Come on. Let’s go out for a smoke,” Seonghyun said, putting a hand on Beomseok’s shoulder. He pretended to nod along as Beomseok continued to curse the team leader, and he shot Kyuyoung an apologetic look as they exited the room.
The team leader was not good at memorizing names. Perhaps it would be more apt to say that he simply did not bother to memorize names. It was not an issue of mental capacity—he was a member of MENSA with an IQ of 150, had attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and was renowned in Silicon Valley as a genius coder. After observing his behavior, Kyuyoung concluded that the team leader simply did not consider the names of his team members a priority. He just didn’t care about them. So why had he now memorized her name?
The change had happened right as spring began turning into summer, but Kyuyoung couldn’t recall anything significant that had happened around that time. When he called her “Manager Kyuyoung Seo” for the first time, she had been surprised to realize that he no longer considered her simply as “Project Management 4.” However, it wasn’t exactly a good thing that he had learned her name either.
Once she returned to her desk, she checked her phone to find text messages from Jihyuk and his mother. If the meeting had gone well, she had planned on asking the team leader if she could leave work early, but she had been too optimistic. These meetings never went well, and she was always the bearer of bad news to Team Leader Jung. Kyuyoung pressed down on her pulsing temples with one hand and began typing out a text message with the other.
I’m sorry. I don’t think I can make it today. I’ll text you later.
It wasn’t long before Jihyuk responded.
That’s too bad.
Sorry.
It’s fine. I’m tired of hearing you apologize.
After reading Jihyuk’s texts, Kyuyoung let out a sigh and pushed her phone into a corner of her desk.
Her fiancé faced a great deal of pressure from his father, and it was not uncommon for him to use her as an outlet to release his pent-up stress. Instead of working at ST Technologies, where his father was the CEO, he had been placed at ST Telecom. ST Telecom was the central part of the conglomerate and the work culture was incredibly toxic. As if that wasn’t enough, Jihyuk was the son of Jungcheol Lee.
Kyuyoung shook two aspirin pills out of a pill bottle and washed them down with a mouthful of coffee. The break room was only a few steps away, but she didn’t have the energy or desire to walk over. The aspirin bottle that she had bought on Monday was already half empty.
Kyuyoung was a graduate of the top school in Korea and had the highest rank out of all the applicants. She picked up new work easily, and her work mentor had often praised her when she was started out at the company. That was the kind of woman she was, yet the team leader always managed to make her feel so insignificant. Although she was intelligent, Kyuyoung couldn’t keep pace with Yoongun Jung.
It was no exaggeration to say that the AI start-up, one of the crown jewels of ST Telecom, depended entirely on him. There were rumors abound that he might even be promoted to the center of the AI team soon. Most people were promoted to team lead at age 30, stayed for 3 years, and then received central promotions. People liked to assume he received special treatment just because he was an MIT alumnus, but they were left speechless when they witnessed his talent firsthand. ST had entered the AI race late, but they had blown their competition out of the water last quarter.
When other IT companies heard that ST had managed to recruit Yoongun Jung, they were dying to know what ST had offered to convince him. After all, he hadn’t even batted an eye when they had offered him blank checks. During college, he sold one of his apps to Google for an exorbitant price, and the IT start-up he founded with his classmate was still thriving in the United States to this day. There was no way that ST had wooed him simply with money.
Just then, a notification from the company’s messenger app flashed on Kyuyoung’s screen. It was a message from her college classmate Heeyeon, whom she had grown close with after they entered the company at the same time.
Heeyeon: Did the team leader say no?
Kyuyoung: Yeah.
Heeyeon: Your team leader is so harsh. It’s like he’s torturing you.
Kyuyoung: I think he doesn’t like me.
Heeyeon: Jihyuk must be upset. It is his birthday and all.
Kyuyoung was just as upset as her fiancé.
Kyuyoung: Are you leaving for the day?
Heeyeon: Yeah, I’m getting ready to go now. My team isn’t that busy. Remember that guy I told you I’ve been seeing these days? I’m meeting up with him today.
Kyuyoung: Are you two dating now?
Heeyeon: I guess so. It’s his birthday today.
Kyuyoung: Good for you.
Heeyeon: I wanted to go to a nice restaurant for his birthday, but he said he was busy. His plans must have gotten canceled last minute. I’m meeting him at his house. I’ve never been there before, so I’m pretty excited. Did I show you my necklace last time we saw each other? He bought it for me.
As Heeyeon continued to gush about her love life, Kyuyoung smiled bitterly and let out a sigh. Heeyeon, who worked in the services department, was the only person who knew that she was dating Jihyuk, who worked in the same company. The two had been in the same year of college, but Kyuyoung had entered the company a year earlier than her.