As Ma Seong-geon poured, I held my soju glass in both hands to receive it. He spoke in a displeased tone.
“I would rather not discuss unpleasant things on such a good day, but I cannot leave this unsaid.”
“Yes.”
“There used to be a fellow called Yu Seong-u here. Your immediate predecessor, Officer Eun.”
“Yes.”
I listened, pretending to know nothing.
“Arrogant and utterly self-willed. He was no decent human being, yet he got into the bank. Said he did not want to bring in sales. Sowed discord among the staff.”
Well. That's not how he sounded on the phone. Ma patted Hwang's shoulder beside him.
“Manager Hwang had a very hard time.”
Hwang beamed at him with his whole face.
“As always. You're the only one who appreciates my efforts, Branch Manager.”
“Yes. I know all about it. Have a drink.”
“Yes!”
Hwang knelt and offered his glass with exquisite deference, as though receiving wine from a king. We clinked glasses and drank them dry. Perhaps because it had been so long, it felt like swallowing a spirit lamp. At Hwapyeong, we'd cut cake and drunk coffee. At Taecheon, we were pouring soju down our throats. The branches seemed separated by twenty years. As I refilled the manager's glass, he watched the rising liquor and spoke.
“Officer Eun. I had a phone call recently.”
“Yes.”
“From Kim Seong-a at Hwapyeong. The branch manager had a great deal of praise for you. Said you handled your work well.”
“Oh, really? I'm very grateful for such a favorable opinion.”
Kim Seong-a must have contacted Ma before leaving. I'd always thought our manager was remarkable. How could someone remain so admirable to the very end? If I were a branch manager and a junior employee were transferred to a place with a bad reputation, would I call the other manager and ask them to look after that employee? On my retirement day, no less? I'd be more likely to flip the bank off and disappear. I hadn't been so brilliant that Kim should go to all that trouble. I didn't have connections or money either. I'd just been an ordinary rookie, making stupid mistakes and inwardly going mad as I fixed them, one day at a time. Ma asked another question.
“How long have you been with us?”
“Exactly one year and six months.”
“That means you are no longer a rookie. You understand?”
“Yes. That's right.”
“I trust you will act in the branch's interests.”
“Yes. I'll work hard.”
“Hard work is useless. Any dog or cow can work hard.”
“Yes. I'll work hard to bring in sales.”
Apparently satisfied at last, Ma raised his glass, and I clinked mine against it. Then I turned my head away to drink. This is fucking miserable. Really. He did the same to Bu, but she didn't realize she was supposed to promise sales, so their conversation went in circles. He gave her a look that said he was watching an idiot, then poured for Ji across the table and started much the same conversation.
I kept hold of the tongs and diligently grilled beef, placing cooked pieces on everyone else's plates. I ate too, but couldn't taste it. My tongue seemed coated in bitter soju. Why am I doing this here? A welcome dinner, wasn't it? Then shouldn't we be doing something the new arrivals enjoy? The manager's eyes changed the moment he saw alcohol. He apparently loved drinking. This branch had a thoroughly overbearing, old-fashioned mentality.
I secretly looked up the restaurant's closing time on my phone. Ten. I was trapped in a drinking prison until then. Thankfully, at nine fifty, everyone naturally began wrapping up. I'd drunk a bottle and a half of soju by then, but was so tense I didn't even feel drunk. Outside, even the air was different. I drew cold January air into my lungs and breathed out the smell of soju. I thought we were going home. At Hwapyeong, even on dinner nights, everyone had been sent home around nine. The branch strictly followed the one-one-nine rule: one kind of alcohol, one venue, home by nine. Besides, we had to work the next day. Drink late enough and you could still be drunk in the morning. Misread a number and transfer a hundred million instead of ten million? The thought alone was horrifying.
Rather than head for the residence, the Taecheon staff naturally walked toward a basement karaoke bar ten meters from the restaurant. Only the new arrivals hovered awkwardly, wondering whether to follow.
“We need a song before we go. Hurry up!”
Ma shouted at us as we stood uncertainly. Bu hurried after Gu Ji-hye. Senior Manager Lee Tae-bong, who'd been smoking outside, crushed his cigarette underfoot.
“Coming!”
Song finished paying and came over to ask me something.
“Officer Eun. Can you sing?”
“No. Not at all. What about you, Manager Song?”
“Well enough.”
Song had been the only one drinking zero-sugar cola at dinner. Even the manager, who forced soju on everyone else, had kept pouring him cola instead. As the employees vanished underground one by one, the karaoke bar seemed to be swallowing them. Perfectly sober, Song descended as though it were only natural. I was the only one left outside. After hesitating for a few seconds, I stepped onto the stairs. Can't I just not go? It's work. I have to, don't I? The steps were uneven enough to make my stomach lurch just going down.
There were several large rooms in the basement, but few were lit. Perhaps business wasn't good. Finding our group wasn't difficult. Inside, ten bottles of beer and fruit platters had been arranged on a wide table. More drinking? They were already pouring the beer. Once everyone had a glass, the deputy suddenly told me to give a toast. Right. I was wondering when that would happen. It really is twenty years behind Hwapyeong. Kim Seong-a never made me do this as a rookie. I searched my soju-soaked brain for a toast, but nothing good surfaced. Holding my glass, I spoke.
“Hello. I'm Eun Su-won, newly assigned to Goldlight Bank's Taecheon branch. I'll learn from my senior colleagues and settle in as quickly as I can. I'll work hard to meet our sales targets and help make Taecheon the number-one branch. I ask for your help and support. When I say, ‘To the number-one branch,’ please join me with, ‘Cheers.’”
I lifted my beer, looked around at everyone, and called out.
“To the number-one branch!”
“Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
After clinking glasses and drinking, we were told the rookies should perform. Our senior colleagues were bored. Looking as though her soul had escaped, Bu leafed through the songbook. Ji quickly chose a number, grabbed the microphone, and sprang up to sing a recent girl-group song in his male voice. Thank you, Ji. That's bought me three minutes. I had three minutes to choose. What do I sing? I hadn't been to karaoke lately and had no idea. My glass kept being refilled, and I kept filling everyone else's.
My first day at Taecheon. We took a taxi back to the residence after midnight. Kim switched on the TV the moment we arrived. When I asked whether he was going to bed, he said he wasn't sleepy. Lee and Hwang barely staggered into their rooms like zombies without washing. Soon, I couldn't hear anything from them. They'd probably passed out.
Apart from the rooms those two had entered, the remaining one must be mine. Carrying only the briefcase I'd somehow managed not to leave behind at either restaurant or karaoke bar, I entered Yu's old room. It held a bed without blanket or pillow and a small folding table. There was a built-in wardrobe. I opened it to find three hangers and hung up only my suit jacket.
When I lay on the bed Yu had abandoned, my feet stuck out a little. He must be shorter than me. I wasn't in any state to fetch the bedding and clothes from the car. I felt ready to vomit. Or fall asleep. My whole body seemed pickled in alcohol. Merely breathing brought a dreadful reek of soju from my mouth. Thinking I couldn't sleep like this, I opened my briefcase. It held only my phone charger, toothpaste, toothbrush, staff ID, and such things.
I went to the bathroom, washed my hands and face, and brushed my teeth. I wanted to throw up everything I'd eaten, but sleep was more urgent. I'd have sold my soul just to sleep. Just before passing out, I plugged in my phone. My things are in the car. I need to bring them in. I set an alarm for five thirty and fell asleep without a blanket.
The alarm woke me in a haze. Where am I? I've never seen this place before. I wondered whether I'd been kidnapped by some shitty company, then remembered last night. With a churning stomach and a splitting head, I got up and went into the living room. Kim was asleep on the sofa, mouth wide open.
I was the only one awake. After showering, I put on yesterday's soju-stained shirt and suit trousers with my hair still damp. My car was parked outside the branch, so I had to go there like this. The trouble was that no taxi would come, however often I tried. Perhaps they barely operated at this hour. I had to walk two kilometers, stopping at every convenience store I passed for sports drinks and hangover remedies. At least I learned there were three between the residence and work. When I reached the bank, everyone's cars were exactly where they'd been last night.
I drove back, unloaded my things, and carried them into the residence. The bedding took up the most space, followed by the clothes. I stripped off the soju-smelling outfit and changed into a clean, neat suit.
I spread the thin pad I'd brought over Yu's mattress, then laid out my blanket and pillow. Once the bed was made, I sighed. I had an ominous feeling that if I didn't do it now, I'd be sleeping without either again tonight.