I shoved the somaek—soju cut with beer, ready to overflow at any moment—down my throat.
The sight of me chugging without hesitation drew an impressed "Whoa!" from the other crew.
"Now there's a gutsy new hire."
"Oh, looks like we've got a showdown."
Even the captains watched with interest.
Gam Doyeong matched me drink for drink, and before anyone realized it, a full-blown drinking battle had broken out.
There was no room left for lectures.
The First Officer discreetly gave me a thumbs-up, as if I were his personal savior.
The other crew members sent me looks that said 'you saved us all' and finally started eating their meat in peace.
...How long had it been? Honestly, thanks to family genetics, I rarely got drunk—but for the first time in a while, a pleasant buzz was starting to creep in.
Right now was that perfect sweet spot of 'just the right amount.'
GLUG-GLUG-GLUG-GLUG,
SLAM!
Gam Doyeong downed a full 500cc beer in one shot and slammed the glass on the table.
The flush had reached his ears and cheeks—they were redder than ripe apples.
"Ugh, insane—how strong is your tolerance?"
"Haha, I can't take much more either...."
Jeong Siun and So Hyena, who'd joined in to help me, waved the white flag.
About fifteen bottles of soju and beer stood in a row at the edge of the table.
"Damn...... you've got some fight in you."
"...Just call me a booze hound."
"Grit alone isn't enough. Kids these days, like I said before, don't have an ounce of desperation in them."
Gam Doyeong's words were starting to slur and stretch.
"Yes, you're right. You seem a bit drunk, though—planning to keep going?"
"Ha! You ignoring what I'm saying?"
Wow, first person since college who could match me drink for drink.
I couldn't afford to black out, though.
Getting into trouble after joining the company was absolutely out of the question.
"Senior, how about stepping out for some fresh air?"
"You lost. You're bailing, right?"
"I lost. You're the best, Senior."
I said with a smile.
Gam Doyeong finally looked satisfied and set down the glass he hadn't released once.
'I shouldn't say this, but... he's pretty simple.'
Gam Doyeong's head drooped—whether from the alcohol or fatigue.
"Hey. You came here because you were desperate too, right?"
"Very much so."
"Then doesn't it honestly piss you off? Doesn't what I said make sense? You were that desperate—you barely got in—and they just slap down a resignation like it's nothing? They even passed the ghost story test."
'You look a bit different from your application photo.'
The interviewer's remark about my face flashed through my mind.
"...I think everyone has their own circumstances."
"Bullshit. Are you naive or just stupid?"
Gam Doyeong stood up with an irritated grunt, swaying. Then he headed straight for the restaurant door.
"Finally gone, that psycho."
"Hah... Cheongho, please drink some water. Your stomach's going to flip."
Jeong Siun and So Hyena were barely surviving on ice water.
"I'm worried he'll walk into a utility pole, so I'll just check on him and come right back."
To be honest, I partly agreed with what Gam Doyeong had said.
They'd come to Cheonsu Airlines to become flight attendants, sure—but they'd already experienced a ghost story during the interview test. They must have been okay with it when they accepted the offer.
I'd only processed three ghost stories so far.
But the view from the cockpit—that unforgettable scenery—and this job of mine were things I loved too much.
It was reckless to say without thinking about the future, but the thought that ghost stories were manageable and that I wanted to keep working on board was overwhelmingly strong.
'I'll be honest with you. Mr. Yoo Cheongho, you don't fit our airline's image.'
'That scar—can it not be removed?'
'Your natural expression is... hmm, try smiling for us.'
Because of my face, I'd been asked the same questions at every single interview.
That's exactly why this place was special to me.
I'd been on the verge of abandoning my second-chance dream and scraping by on part-time jobs.
'The ghost stories they were assigned weren't even Type 1—they were Type 2.'
'Type 2 means even if you get hurt, you come back fine.'
Those were the thoughts I'd had when So Hyena mentioned the two colleagues resigning.
Ugly thoughts had taken root in a corner of my heart.
It felt like a snake had coiled inside me—a sickening, nauseating sensation.
"...Pathetic."
I was simply disappointed in myself for thinking that way, even briefly.
"Why are you out here too?"
Not far away, Gam Doyeong was about to light a cigarette.
"Just... came out for a smoke myself."
"Heh."
Flick, flick—
I stuck a cigarette between my lips and lit it.
Whether the thoughts had been alcohol-fueled or genuinely one hundred percent sincere—it was complicated.
"I really wanted to work at an airport. That's why this place, which accepted me, is precious."
I broke the silence first.
"Precious, sure. But I'm right, aren't I? Those two who quit are still—"
"Even so, I don't resent the two who resigned."
Gam Doyeong scoffed at that with a dry laugh.
"Some people's reason for joining might've been a dream of working at the airport, like mine. For others, maybe it looked cool, or they wanted to travel abroad."
"Everyone has their reasons. But you think just anyone can become a flight attendant?"
"They all found this airline for different reasons—or similar ones—went through interviews, and joined. But it was too hard... or they had circumstances. You might call them quitters, Senior, but unless you're them, you can't know for sure. That's... what I think."
Normally, I'd never have had the nerve to defend the resigned employees to a senior's face. The alcohol was doing the heavy lifting.
SSSS—
The menthol hit my airway and lungs with a sharp burn.
Gam Doyeong didn't laugh, and he didn't snap at me to shut up either.
A sideways glance showed he was just silently smoking.
"Who asked for a lecture."
"...If I was out of line, I apologize."
"Insufferable."
Gam Doyeong paused for a beat, then continued.
"There was a senior I was close with. Another Cabin Manager—there before Naju got promoted."
Gam Doyeong lit a fresh cigarette.
I listened quietly.
"You don't need to know who. Anyway, with that much seniority, you'd normally work exclusively in-cabin instead of ghost stories. But a few years back, there was a god-awful stretch where ghost stories kept appearing nonstop for months."
Gam Doyeong's expression soured as he went on.
"Me, the other seniors, the new hires—even the First Officer when needed. Everyone was cycling in and out of ghost stories, clearing them over and over. Then people started resigning left and right. Just dropping a resignation letter and bolting."
I barely caught the quiet curse Gam Doyeong muttered under his breath.
"My senior had no choice but to take on the ghost stories the others were supposed to handle too. And during one of them..."
"...The cold case. They went missing."
"Yeah. The ghost stories popping up wasn't the quitters' fault. But if they hadn't quit—if everyone had covered for each other and filled the gaps—maybe things would've turned out differently."
PTOO—
Gam Doyeong spat on the ground and scowled.
"I can't say for certain it was the ghost story that caused the disappearance. Maybe overwork led to a mistake, maybe it was a genuinely unpredictable ghost story—too many variables."
"Yeah...."
"Right now, Naju took it on herself to handle more ghost stories after the cold case, but normally a Cabin Manager almost never enters ghost stories. Compared to back then, the number of ghost stories now has dropped massively."
Gam Doyeong swept his hair back and flicked a half-smoked cigarette to the ground.
"Tune out the nagging. It's just a bad habit—running my mouth on autopilot. Here, take this."
He tossed something from his pocket and walked back into the restaurant.
[For Hangovers—Refreshing!]
"......"
It wasn't something I could pile more careless words onto, so I just fiddled with the hangover drink Gam Doyeong had given me.
When I went back inside, Gam Doyeong was already seated.
'...Just when I think I understand him, he throws me off again.'
"Senior, let me pour you a glass of wa—"
"That's the kind of thing you should've poured ahead of time without being asked."
Another junior had tried to make conversation with Gam Doyeong and gotten nothing but a scolding.
'...His personality is still insufferable. But he's not a bad person. That kind of person.'
Gam Doyeong was back to his full boomer glory.
I'd have to ask him properly about the cold case later.
After all, before he disappeared, my uncle had worked at a logistics company directly under Incheon International Airport.
An airport, and a disappearance.
There might be no connection at all—but maybe it could be a lead.
As the saying goes, 'what if.'
"Oh, our Yuja-cheong!"
"Impressive—you're the first person to beat that guy in a drinking match."
The First Officer and Naviq, back from toasting with the captains, heaped praise on me, calling me a hero.
And as if their energy was limitless, they stuck themselves to the seats beside me and filled my glass to the brim.
"Haaaaaah. We've got work again first thing tomorrow. I wish we could just drink like this every day."
Naviq let out a deep sigh.
"You used to say cigarettes over booze. Is the maintenance crew busy lately?"
"Same as always, I guess. But it's the cargo team that's really in crisis mode right now. Come to think of it, you'll probably hear from them soon."
"Huh, don't make me nervous. What is it?"
At Naviq's words, the First Officer urged him to spill.
'Seriously. Why would we be getting contacted?'
"You and Cheongho both saw the recent news, right? A Chinese pharmaceutical company and a Korean biotech firm jointly developed a new drug. Technology exports generating royalties—the whole thing's been a huge success."
"Yeah, I think I saw that article."
"Both companies said it was a great experience, the partnership was worthwhile, so the Chinese pharmaceutical side sent a gift. And that's where the problem started."
Naviq laughed, as if he still couldn't believe it himself.
"Apparently one of the gifts was a talisman."
"Huh, that's a weird thing to send. I'm guessing the writing on it meant something?"
At the First Officer's words, Naviq pointed at the Cheonsu Airlines badge on my shirt.
"Tiānchángdìjiǔ (天長地久). 'Enduring as the heavens and the earth.' Basically wishing the company long-lasting prosperity."
"That's a nice sentiment."
"Hahaha, right? Great meaning. Except for a completely absurd reason, that meaning changed."
'A leak? Are you serious?'
'The, the turbulence during transport damaged the talisman's case... so we set it aside separately... but of all places, it ended up... we're deeply sorry....'
'Are you out of your mind? This could blow up into a major incident!'
'I, I'm so sorry...! We'll handle compensation and get the word out properly......'
'We can't even properly investigate this, and it's already spreading... what a mess.'
"So the talisman originally reading 'tiānchángdìjiǔ' got water-damaged and the ink ran?"
What kind of mess is this, seriously.
"Haha, still can't believe it when I think about it. The '長地久' part was completely smeared beyond recognition, and the '天' had its strokes warped from the bleeding."
"Bwahahahahaha! You can't make this stuff up!"
The First Officer cracked up, saying this was comedy gold.
'But why would a problem of this scale result in our team being contacted?'
I chewed on some bar snacks, thinking it over, when something clicked.
'Wait—they said it was a talisman...'
"Don't tell me—a ghost story."
"Sharp as always, our Cheongho. Apparently the talisman was seriously potent, and things got completely f*cked."
Insane.
The First Officer then asked, sounding puzzled:
"The writing on the talisman got smeared—how does that create a ghost story? Shouldn't the effect just disappear?"
"You'd think so, hahaha. It's a real emergency."
Of course the worst-case scenario is exactly what happened......!
Just as Naviq said—it was so absurd it was shocking. I couldn't close my mouth.
"What is it? What happened?"
"Cheongho, sorry to say this, but your face looks like a ghost right now."
Jeong Siun and So Hyena, reasonably sobered up, approached with curiosity plastered all over their faces.
"What are your schedules tomorrow and the day after?"
The First Officer, checking his phone, asked the two.
"Schedule? I'm on GS."
"I'm off!"
Jeong Siun and So Hyena checked their rosters and answered.
An ominous feeling crept up, but I spoke too.
"And our Yuja-cheong?"
"...I'm on GS as well."
"Hmm, Cheongho and Siun win the lottery! Can't believe the assignment drops the second we're talking about it!"
The First Officer showed us his phone with a helpless grin.
The condensed summary of the incident Naviq had described and the ghost story assignment were right there—scheduled for tomorrow.
"I think this is too big in scale for rookies like us. Shouldn't someone more naturally talented and experienced handle it?"
I said urgently.
"Huh? What's going on?"
The blissfully ignorant expression on Jeong Siun's face, contrasted with the 'good luck' gestures from the First Officer and Naviq, made my head spin.
"Don't worry—the naturally talented Gam Doyeong is going in with you! He said he's on GS tomorrow too."
"Excuse me?"
"Ooh, that's an even tougher break. Fighting, Cheongho."
At the First Officer's words, Naviq consolingly patted my shoulder.
I creaked my head around to look at Gam Doyeong.
"Captain Han, the thing about hiring new recruits these days—what you really need to look for is grit. That's the psychological term. In other words, the passion and perseverance to achieve long-term goals—"
I'd thought he'd be passed out drunk, but Gam Doyeong had somehow rallied and was now holding a captain hostage with a full-blown lecture.
Um, Captain, sir—your soul appears to have left your body.
Things were already awkward after accidentally hearing his backstory...
And on top of that:
"Is that senior ever not insufferable? Seriously. Absolute psycho boomer."
Jeong Siun, still blissfully unaware of everything, was staring at Gam Doyeong with a look of pure revulsion.
Hahahahaha.
My own soul was about to check out next.