Goldlight Bank announced personnel transfers in January and July. We closed the teller counters at four on the dot, and everyone waited for the news. Countless rumors and guesses circulated through the bank about who might be transferred or promoted this time. We knew the announcement would go up today, but not when, and everyone was on edge.
At five, the instant a notice titled [First-Half Reorganization and Regular Personnel Appointments] appeared, every employee clicked on it at the speed of light. The board nearly crashed. While everyone else struggled to get the post to load, I managed to get through. Anxiously, I downloaded the Excel file beneath the words [Goldlight Bank Practices Fair Personnel Management]. I'd been at this Hwapyeong branch for a year and a half since joining the bank. A year and a half was an awkward stretch. People were usually moved to another branch after two or three years. Those of us who hadn't been here two years weren't due for a transfer. Yet even before I opened the spreadsheet, I had a strange feeling of dread. Just in case, I searched for my name first. Eun Su-won. Please don't be there.
[Taecheon Branch: Eun Su-won]
I've been transferred? As I stared blankly at my name, Assistant Manager Kang Myeong-seong came over.
“Officer Eun. You're off to Taecheon?”
Assistant Manager Kang's pronunciation was so poor that it sounded like Daejeon, not Taecheon.
“......Assistant Manager Kang. Where is the Taecheon branch?”
“I've heard it's Goldlight Bank's most out-of-the-way branch. That's all I know. No idea where it is.”
At his request, I searched for Kang Myeong-seong. He hadn't been transferred. That meant at least another six months here at Hwapyeong. He patted my shoulder in sympathy for my distant posting. Once the country reunified, the banks started throwing up branches everywhere. It's a total shitshow. With his voice behind me, I sent the downloaded [First-Half Reorganization and Regular Personnel Appointments.xls] to everyone at Hwapyeong. When Deputy Branch Manager Kim called out to ask whether anyone had the file, I answered that I'd just sent it through the company messenger.
“It's better to get sent somewhere remote while you're young. An unexpected transfer when you're married with children is a much bigger headache. They'll probably give you staff housing, too. Who's the branch manager?”
At his suggestion, I entered the branch name into the employee directory. Its location and staff names appeared. When Kang saw the Taecheon branch manager's name, he gave an uncharacteristic whistle.
“......Ah, shit. This crazy bastard. So this is where he's been hiding. ......Call him right now. Unless you want a target on your back.”
Kang Myeong-seong was a typical banker. By that I mean he'd mastered slipping away like a loach without answering either yes or no. He rarely spoke this plainly. If he called the branch manager a crazy bastard, the man really was a crazy bastard. I'd started here as a new recruit and spent a year and a half at Hwapyeong. Listening to Kang's advice had never hurt me. First, I checked the name. Branch Manager Ma Seong-geon.
I called immediately.
“Good afternoon, Branch Manager. Is this a convenient time? I'm Officer Eun Su-won, newly assigned to Taecheon. I'll give the job my best starting Monday. I look forward to working with you!”
Contrary to Kang's assessment of him as a crazy bastard, Ma Seong-geon didn't spew shit or abuse down the receiver. Surprisingly, he seemed someone you could talk to. Officer Eun? Good to have you. See you Monday. The call ended on his cheerful voice, and I immediately rang Deputy Branch Manager Kim Jong-do at Taecheon. Good afternoon, Deputy Branch Manager. Is this a convenient time? I'm Officer Eun Su-won, newly assigned to Taecheon.......
After finishing a similar conversation, I wondered who to call next. Judging by the head count, it wasn't a large branch. I wanted to talk to someone at my own officer grade, but the appointments list showed that almost all the officers were newly assigned there. Does that mean almost all the old ones are leaving? Two officers had been transferred elsewhere, and only one seemed to be staying. The departing ones probably wouldn't answer. They'd be making calls of their own.
Until now, I'd lived a thirty-minute drive from work, so I'd never used bank housing. Apparently, branches in provincial or distant areas provided accommodation, but I knew nothing about what it was like, what was in the rooms, or whether they were completely empty and I'd have to bring even my bedding. I'd heard employees in Seoul got single rooms, but this was the provinces. I couldn't be sure I'd get one. With bad luck, I might have to share with an assistant manager or manager. What if it was so bad there wasn't a bedroom for me and I had to sleep in the living room?
I couldn't ask the branch manager or his deputy where and how I was supposed to live from Monday, with a silly little laugh. Besides, senior staff might get separate company accommodation or different benefits. They probably wouldn't know how an employee only just past the rookie stage was expected to live.
Among the assistant managers staying at Taecheon, one had been promoted to manager. I called the newly promoted Manager Song Byeong-jun both to congratulate him and to get information, but the line stayed busy. He was probably fielding congratulations. I sent a message.
[I'm Officer Eun Su-won, assigned to Taecheon starting Monday. Congratulations on your promotion, Manager Song Byeong-jun! I look forward to working with you.]
My next choice was Officer Yu Seong-u. His employee number suggested he was closest to my age among the officers already at Taecheon, and there was no record of a transfer for him. If he's staying, he might be using the staff housing.
“Hello, Officer Yu. I'm Officer Eun Su-won, newly assigned to Taecheon. Do you have a moment to talk?”
“Hello. Yes. Go ahead.”
“I'll be starting at Taecheon next Monday. I'm calling because I have some questions about the staff housing.”
“What would you like to know?”
“Does it have bedding or a bed? I was wondering what's already there and what I need to bring.”
“There's the bed I've been using. I bought it for 50,000 won, but you can have it. I've only used it a year.”
“Oh. Thank you. I'll put it to good use.”
“I'll leave my little folding table, too. Use it for meals, or put it on the bed for your laptop like I did.”
Yu Seong-u sounded as though he planned to shed his skin, discarding everything he'd used. I thought he hadn't been transferred anywhere.......
“Thank you. I'll use it well. But why leave it behind? Couldn't you take it with you?”
“I don't even want to take anything I used at the bank. I'm resigning.”
“Sorry? You're not staying at Taecheon?”
“No. ......Officer Eun, can you hold your liquor?”
What an unsettling question. What's that supposed to mean?
“......I'm not bad at it. Are there occasions when you have to drink at the branch?”
At my current branch, nobody cared whether we drank alcohol, water, or ink at staff dinners.
“I...... I just can't stay here anymore. So I'm quitting. I'm questioning what I'm doing at a bank in the first place. Banking isn't for me.”
One thing I'd learned working at a bank was that almost nobody was a hundred-percent fit. Anyone who was would be a little strange.
“May I ask what made you feel that way? Was Taecheon very difficult for you?”
“Yes. So difficult I'm quitting. Every last person here is out of their mind. I can't do this anymore.”
I'd never heard an answer so honest since joining the bank. A banker would insist everything was fine while dying, then quietly expire inside the branch. Kang Myeong-seong sometimes said that if you were going to die, you should do it inside the branch. Die outside, and getting it recognized as a workplace accident was harder. Besides, in banking, a rumor that some manager on Jeju had grabbed a customer by the collar could reach a Hamgyeong branch in under ten minutes. One wrong word could follow you for twenty years and stay on your record. However rotten you felt inside, you pretended to be fine for the sake of your reputation. This man really must be leaving.
“It sounds like you've been through a lot, Officer Yu. I'll probably be taking your position. Could you tell me a few things, for the sake of saving a life? What time did you come in?”
“The branch tells you eight, but if you arrive then, the supervisors bad-mouth you behind your back. Be there by seven thirty.”
What the hell does that mean?
“What's the housing like?”
“The entry code is Christmas Christmas. Think of it as living in a four-bedroom apartment. Oh, Manager Song doesn't use it. He lives separately. So it'll be four of you: the deputy branch manager, Senior Manager Lee, that son of a bitch Manager Hwang, and you.”
Sounds like this Hwang bastard was the problem. Four bedrooms....... One each for the deputy branch manager, the senior manager, and the manager leaves one. Looking at the staff list, Yu seemed to have shared with Officer Sim, who'd been transferred elsewhere.
“What was it like living there?”
I'd never lived with coworkers. How bad should I prepare for? I'd always had this little fantasy of trying company housing at least once while I worked here. I hadn't expected to be shipped off somewhere remote so suddenly.
“It was awful. ......You'll understand once you're there.”
The more honestly Yu spoke, the more worried I became about the new branch. No. It might not be that bad. Searching Taecheon in the appointments file, I found a brand-new recruit assigned there. The name sounded female, so I looked it up in the directory, but nothing came up. Perhaps she hadn't been registered yet.
“What sort of sales targets do they set?”
“As soon as I got here, they told me to bring in a hundred credit card applications. I'm leaving now, and I still haven't reached that hundred. I don't have many friends or know many people.”
Were the sales targets what broke him? How hard did Taecheon squeeze this man? And that's where I'm going?
“I don't know what it'll be like for you. I'm leaving because I can't take it anymore. Well. You might dismiss this as a loser's rambling, but the people here are all garbage, and I don't think I'll ever meet the company's targets. Maybe things other people think are nothing are only hard for me. I've heard other banks are a mess too, but few are as bad as this place.”
It sounded as though today was his last day. Perhaps because he was leaving, his voice held an eagerness and happiness he couldn't hide.
“It's a shame. We might have worked together. You've been through a lot at Taecheon. Thank you for all the advice. I hope you find somewhere better, where you can work more comfortably.”
Yu didn't answer for several seconds. I checked the phone, wondering whether he'd hung up, but the call timer kept running. He let out a quiet sigh.
“......This sounds ridiculous, but nobody at the bank has ever said anything like that to me. Like you just did. They asked if I thought I could make it after leaving, said a fucking idiot like me would be dead weight wherever I went, and told me to spend my whole life running away.”
That's some serious verbal abuse. Which bastard said that? ......I'll meet them soon enough. They'll probably treat me the same way.
“I was hearing that right up until a moment ago. So hearing you say that feels really strange.”
Yu probably wasn't much older or younger than me. We exchanged a few more farewells and hung up. The call had left me with a wealth of ominous information. As I finished my closing work, wondering what sort of bolt from the blue this was, my vision suddenly darkened. For a moment, I thought despair had ruined my eyesight. Then I realized someone had switched off the lights. A cake with lit candles slowly approached from across the branch. It was the cake I'd bought at the bakery during lunch. I stood as soon as I saw it.
Today was Branch Manager Kim Seong-a's last day at Hwapyeong before taking voluntary early retirement. We'd pooled money for a small farewell gift and celebrated with cake and delivered pizza. We blew out the candles, cut the cake, and served it on disposable plates. From the transfer news, it seemed about thirty percent of our staff were moving elsewhere. Most had been here two and a half or three years. Few had been transferred after an awkward stretch like mine.
Over cake, we exchanged good wishes. I hope you get a good branch. Take care. I hope everything goes smoothly. Some of those leaving stroked the head or arm of Goldlight, the branch android, as they said goodbye.