The "warm record" left at Cafe 'Sum-pyo' the previous day didn't last as long as expected.
Early the next morning.
The air in the office was about three degrees more agitated than usual. It wasn't because of a threatening notice from the IT team, nor was it Team Leader Cha Do-il's blood pressure alarm. In a subcontracting company, the thing that spreads fastest isn't a virus, but a rumor. And that single line Assistant Manager Yoon Se-jin had spilled yesterday had multiplied between the cubicles overnight.
—A new recruit is coming.
—The HR manager is bringing them personally.
—Isn't it a parachute appointment?
—Or maybe a monitor?
Jin-woo categorized such noises as "background noise." He opened his work folder and brought up the file he had postponed yesterday.
[Request for Re-verification of Security Logs for Joint Work Section]
The filename was dry, but the content was, as always, unpleasant. The main contractor threw logs they had created and messed up at the subcontractor and said, "Check this."
Jin-woo's eyes skimmed over the numbers on the monitor like gliding.
Usually, he was a "salary thief type Section Chief," but when the texture of data was misaligned, he became closer to a machine than a human.
At that time, his expression didn't smile. A face without a smile always looked a bit dangerous.
"Chief, it looks like they're really coming today."
Se-jin poked Jin-woo in the side while holding a coffee.
"They say the HR manager is bringing them personally? This is real, really real."
"Ms. Se-jin."
Jin-woo replied without taking his eyes off the monitor.
"Why are you so excited? It's not like our salary goes up just because a new recruit comes. If people increase, only the work process gets more complicated. In our field, 1+1 doesn't become 2, it becomes 11."
"Oh my, such heartless talk! Ms. Da-yeon, don't listen to the Chief. You're happy to have a junior under you now too, right?"
Da-yeon, who was refilling copy paper in the corner, smiled awkwardly and nodded.
But her fingertips were pulling at the edge of the paper more than necessary. The paper, almost tearing, made a rustle sound.
Jin-woo heard that sound.
He had learned a long time ago that even a single sound contains a person's heart.
Da-yeon was just learning how to breathe next to Jin-woo.
She was carefully verifying once a day that 'Section Chief might be a decent person.'
But a new variable enters?
And a variable stained with the touch of the system, brought "personally by the HR manager"?
Da-yeon's anxiety wasn't just because she was timid.
A timid person's body reacts first to system changes.
Because that is the way to survive.
It was then.
The sound of the office door opening rang out quite loudly. It wasn't a cheap creak, but an opening that felt like someone deliberately made noise while entering.
Team Leader Cha Do-il sprang up at a speed that made one wonder, "Are they here?!" The crown of his head flashed.
"Oh, oh-oh! Finally here!"
The HR manager entered. And next to him stood a woman wearing a yellow blazer.
The color was so 'bright' that it actually caught the eye. In the gray air of a subcontracting company, a bright color immediately becomes a 'target.'
"This is Yoon Mi-ra, who has been assigned to our team this time."
Even as Team Leader Cha said that, half of it was welcome, and half was 'Please cause less trouble.'
The HR manager added a few words.
"She'll adapt to the work quickly."
"Her communication is good."
"She's also positive for the organizational culture."
Jin-woo translated inwardly.
—This person talks a lot, is quick-witted, and will intervene amazingly well.
So be careful.
As soon as the HR manager left, the air in the office was slightly pressed down.
A 'new recruit' is never light news. In a subcontracting company, when one new recruit enters, someone's seat gets pushed. Someone's role changes, and someone's evaluation sheet shakes.
Yoon Mi-ra was not the type to bow and greet cautiously.
She scanned the audience with a refreshing smile. It was a kind of smile that said not "I have entered," but "Of course I have entered."
Her gaze slid over the partitions and stopped at the nameplate on Jin-woo's desk.
[Section Chief Kang Jin-woo]
Yoon Mi-ra marched straight ahead without hesitation.
"Section Chief Kang Jin-woo… right?"
The stack of documents Da-yeon was holding was slightly pressed with a rustle.
Jin-woo didn't miss that sound either.
Mi-ra held out her hand in front of Jin-woo.
"I came after hearing rumors about you, Chief. That you handle work cleanly and are good at jokes too. Please take care of me, Chief!"
Jin-woo narrowed his eyes very slightly as he looked at the extended hand.
This woman… was a type not in the algorithm.
Instead of the damp battle of wits unique to subcontractors, she was pushing the confidence and aggressive goodwill of a large corporation all at once.
Jin-woo knew better than anyone that goodwill could become an attack.
Jin-woo shook her hand and said.
"Have my rumors already gone that far? Ms. Mi-ra, rumors are usually 90% exaggeration (Gwajang). The other 10% is just because I am a Section Chief (Gwajang)."
Normally, it was a joke that would end with everyone laughing, saying "Ah, there he goes again."
But far from being flustered, Yoon Mi-ra held her belly and laughed.
"Ahaha! You really are as rumored! I love your style, Chief. Let's communicate often!"
Communicate.
That word hung strangely in Jin-woo's ear.
In a company, 'communication' was usually another word for "Give me more of your information."
Mi-ra's eyes were bright, but that brightness was too consistent.
The timing of her laughter was precise, and the angle at which she viewed people's reactions was precise.
That was closer to 'eyes that read people' than 'eyes that like people.'
Jin-woo smiled.
But that smile was of the automatic response variety.
Throughout the afternoon, Mi-ra's voice filled the office.
"Chief, how do I do this?"
"Chief, what do you like for lunch?"
"Chief, I think it would finish faster if we looked at this together?"
It was an offensive masked as questions.
Like a sly snake, Jin-woo let them slide with words like "Look at the manual," "I eat anything well," and "It's not me, but the system that hates that."
But Mi-ra didn't flow away easily. Like a ball thrown against a wall, she bounced back.
And Mi-ra subtly touched Da-yeon.
Not bullying openly, but rather the opposite.
"Ms. Da-yeon, right? You're so cute. Let's be close friends."
"Ah… yes…."
"Our team atmosphere is really good. Especially because the Chief holds the center."
Those words made Da-yeon more uncomfortable.
The compliment 'cute' is often translated as 'small' in a company.
The word 'center' often leads to the word 'target.'
Seeing Da-yeon's hand repeatedly spinning her pen, Jin-woo came to a very short conclusion.
—When Mi-ra enters, Da-yeon becomes more anxious.
—When she becomes anxious, she makes small mistakes.
—The system loves small mistakes the most.
That afternoon, Jin-woo finished the log re-verification at the "speed of light."
Even after finishing, his heart wasn't at ease.
Because he knew there were days when human variables were more dangerous than numbers.
Around quitting time.
Jin-woo grabbed his coat out of habit.
And out of habit, he intended to head to Cafe 'Sum-pyo.'
At that moment, unfamiliar footsteps followed from behind.
Fast, unhesitating footsteps that had already decided, "Let's go together."
"Chief! Let's go together!"
It was Yoon Mi-ra.
Jin-woo wanted to ask "Why?" for a moment, but in a company, "Why?" is a useless question.
If there is already a determined flow, people call it 'natural.'
Mi-ra naturally inserted herself between Jin-woo and Da-yeon. She raised her hand as if to link arms, but when Jin-woo slightly twisted his body to dodge, she just smiled brightly and walked on.
That smile was scarier.
A person who is not embarrassed does not stop.
Even before opening the cafe door, Jin-woo felt an ominous premonition.
And that premonition was always accurate.
"Welcome—"
Da-woon's expression, standing at the counter, hardened.
That hardness was not the hardness of "A customer has come," but of "An intruder has come."
Da-woon noticed Da-yeon's pale complexion at once.
That wasn't because she was a sister, but a 'radar that only women recognize.'
Da-woon scanned Mi-ra up and down.
And she deliberately lowered her voice taking the order. When lowered, it sounds sharper.
"Would you like to order?"
"Wow, this cafe is pretty!"
Mi-ra stood in front of the counter as if nothing was wrong and smiled.
"Is this your regular spot, Chief? I'll have an Iced Vanilla Latte. If it's something the Chief recommends, it must be delicious, right?"
Da-woon's mouth twisted very slightly.
The glare she shot at Jin-woo seemed to say this:
—Oppa, what did you drag in again?
The next words were actually more direct.
"Oppa, who is this fox? Where did our Da-yeon unnie's seat go, and why did something like this come along?"
Da-yeon opened her eyes wide in surprise.
Jin-woo quickly raised his hand to stop Da-woon, but Da-woon had already fired.
Once Da-woon fires, there is no cancel button.
Yoon Mi-ra hesitated for a moment.
But the 'hesitation' was one second.
After that, she saw a small photo frame on the counter.
A photo of Jin-woo and Da-woon taken when they were young.
And she looked at Jin-woo again.
—Ah, biological sister.
Yoon Mi-ra's eyes completed the calculation very minutely.
She maintained her smile. The way she maintained it was too smooth.
"Something like this… your words are too…"
As Mi-ra tried to counterattack, Jin-woo intervened first.
"Da-woon. This is Yoon Mi-ra, a new recruit on our team."
Jin-woo introduced just as much as necessary.
"Ms. Mi-ra, this is my sister."
Da-woon didn't even give Mi-ra a glance.
She stuck right to Da-yeon.
"Unnie, come this way. Before strange air mixes in, I'll give you something delicious."
Da-woon openly treated Mi-ra like an invisible person and led Da-yeon to an inner table.
Da-yeon looked back at Jin-woo once, checking his reaction, but Jin-woo nodded very slightly with an expression saying "It's okay."
That looked like a subtle permission to Da-yeon, so she followed Da-woon inside.
Mi-ra looked at the empty seat for a moment, then plopped down next to Jin-woo as if nothing was wrong.
As if this was originally her seat.
(Suppressing her feelings)
"Your sister has a very fiery personality, Chief? She's my style."
Jin-woo bit the straw and took a sip.
Rather than the coffee being bitter, the situation felt bitter.
He looked out the window.
His silhouette reflected in the glass window shook for a very brief moment.
The word 'Glass' brushed through his mind.
…Glass.
Jin-woo smiled quietly as if pulling himself together.
And muttered very softly, so only he could hear.
"Starting today… I'll have to analyze the logs a bit tightly."
The sunset seeping into the cafe was the same as yesterday.
But the air of the people receiving that light was different.
Da-yeon was trembling anxiously,
Da-woon didn't hide her knife,
Yoon Mi-ra occupied the seat with a smile,
and Jin-woo, in between them…
Felt like he had opened another algorithm of emotions more complex than numbers.
And Jin-woo knew.
The system always sends an 'intruder'
to verify the cracks in a person.
The intruder who entered today
might definitely… not be just a new recruit.