“Hm...”
As I slowly regained consciousness, only one thought occupied my mind—I was in deep trouble. Winter daylight was already pouring in through the window, making it obvious that quite a lot of time had passed. I picked up my phone from the floor and checked the time.
Half past eight.
“Damn! I'm late!”
I was just about to strip off my clothes and jump into the shower when a horrible stench hit my nose. I sniffed carefully and froze. The source of that awful odor was my own body.
“Right... I went to sleep without showering yesterday, so I must stink,” I thought absentmindedly, tossed aside my clothes, and rushed into the bathroom.
My apartment was old, so hot water didn't come immediately. While waiting with the tap running, I happened to glance into the mirror—and nearly jumped.
My entire body was covered in black spots.
'Could these be... side effects from the medicine?'
The thought made me shudder. If those marks were permanent, I could forget about ever working around people normally. During the summer, I wouldn't even be able to dream about wearing shorts and short sleeves.
Consumed by anxiety, I cautiously rubbed one of the spots with my finger.
And immediately let out a sigh of relief.
They weren't spots.
It was dirt.
“What the hell?! Where did all this dirt come from?”
But reason quickly told me that something wasn't right. Because of my work as a delivery rider, I sweated buckets every day, so I'd made it a strict rule to shower immediately after coming home. I had always paid close attention to hygiene. It was absurd that this much grime could suddenly appear.
'Could that medicine have flushed all the toxins and impurities out of my body?'
It sounded like something out of a late-night TV program, but considering Chairman Park Yeongil had said his friend spent years making the medicine, such a miraculous effect wasn't entirely impossible. Deciding it was incredible luck, I stepped under the warm water.
After thoroughly washing away all the filth with soap, I turned my attention to my clothes for the interview.
I chose a suit without hesitation, but I couldn't bring myself to wear the expensive watch. It was only proper to return it to Chairman Park.
After hurriedly getting ready, I stepped outside.
A miserable winter rain was falling over the city.
Normally, I would've gone back for an umbrella, but time was already tight if I wanted to reach Hangang Group by ten.
“Fine. It's not raining that hard, and the subway station is close.”
Having made up my mind, I ran toward the station.
Rush hour was already over, so the train wasn't crowded. After finding a seat, I searched on my phone for information about the Pills of Peace of Mind. But no matter how much I searched, I found no record of anyone losing consciousness for over ten hours immediately after taking them.
'Could Chairman Park's gift really be that powerful?'
Before I knew it, I had arrived at Chungmuro Station.
While waiting for the transfer train, I used the opportunity to call Chairman Park Yeongil and thank him.
“...But I really can't accept such an expensive watch. My conscience won't allow it.”
“Then let's make a deal. If you pass the internship interview, consider it my gift in celebration of your success.”
'Since I'm guaranteed to fail anyway...'
“All right. I accept your proposal.”
“Good. By the way, why are you only calling now?”
“I think the medicine's effect was too strong. The moment I took it, I passed out and only woke up this morning.”
“What?! Really?!”
Chairman Park's voice boomed so loudly that my ears almost rang.
“Yes. That's exactly what happened.”
“And you haven't experienced any other symptoms?”
At that moment, the loud horn of the arriving train sounded, followed by the automated announcement.
“Chairman, I need to board. I'll contact you right after the interview.”
***
Click.
Chief Secretary Kang Inhan spoke immediately after Chairman Park hung up, as if he had been waiting for that moment.
“Chairman, what happened?”
“Well now... Jiham took the medicine last night and remained unconscious until this morning.”
“...What?!”
“No matter how you look at it, it seems the medicine was completely incompatible with his body.”
“Then...”
Sensing something bad, Kang Inhan stopped halfway through his sentence.
Chairman Park, as though reading his thoughts, answered in a heavy, resigned voice.
“Ah... now all we can do is trust Jiham's fate. We have no other choice.”
***
“Whew... Thank goodness I'm not late.”
I breathed a sigh of relief as I emerged from the underground passageway, only to be met with disaster.
A guy on an electric scooter sped past me at full speed. Unfortunately, a huge muddy puddle had formed overnight right beside me. I desperately tried to jump away, but I was too late.
Splash!
“Damn idiot! I hope you crash around the corner!” I shouted after him while wiping mud off my trousers.
And then something unbelievable happened.
The moment those angry words left my mouth, the scooter suddenly swerved violently, and the rider tumbled headfirst onto the pavement.
“Serves you right.”
Watching the sprawled youth with satisfaction, I quickly headed toward Hangang Group headquarters.
Once inside, I immediately rushed to the restroom to clean my suit.
I wet my handkerchief and carefully wiped away the muddy water stains from my jacket.
Unfortunately, my bad luck hadn't ended.
There were dark stains on my white shirt as well. Worse still, when I rubbed them with the damp cloth, the black marks only spread deeper into the fabric.
There was no time to run out and buy a new shirt.
“Sigh... I'll just have to go like this.”
After leaving the restroom, I approached the information desk and informed the receptionist that I had come for an interview.
She asked for identification in a routine tone.
I handed her my passport. After comparing my face with the photo, she typed something into her computer while I waited patiently.
A minute later, she returned it with a friendly smile.
“Please tell the security guard at the gate that you're here for the internship interview, and he'll let you through.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“The interview is on the twenty-fifth floor. One of our staff members will greet you when you get off the elevator.”
“Thank you.”
After saying goodbye, I headed to security.
On the twenty-fifth floor, I immediately spotted a registration desk staffed by a neatly dressed man and woman.
I handed my documents to the man.
He opened a folder, checked the list, found my name, and spoke calmly.
“Cha Jiham, welcome to the Hangang Group interview. Your number is 202. Please enter the hall. The seats are marked with numbers. Sit in your assigned seat and wait for the orientation to begin.”
“Yes, understood.”
Apparently pleased by my energetic reply, he smiled and handed me back my passport together with a name tag.
“I hope you pass this test and become our colleague.”
“I'll do my very best.”
After hanging the badge around my neck, I pushed open the doors to the hall.
Inside, a swarm of competitors was already buzzing.
Naturally, compared to their brilliant resumes, my qualifications didn't even come close.
After scanning the rows, I found seat number 202 and sat down.
While I was catching my breath, the doors opened again.
A breathtakingly beautiful woman entered.
The room instantly fell silent, and almost every pair of eyes turned toward her.
Without the slightest sign of embarrassment, she walked gracefully and confidently down the aisle.
'She ought to be an actress. Just how many good deeds would you have to do in a previous life to meet someone like that...'
While I indulged in useless fantasies, something unexpected happened.
She was heading straight toward my row.
'Now that would be something if she sat next to me.'
But something felt strange.
By all laws of nature, the heart of a healthy young man should've started pounding at the sight of such a beauty.
Yet, to my own surprise, my heartbeat remained completely steady.
As calm as if I were looking at a wall.
'What the hell? Did that medicine really turn me into a man of steel?'
While I pondered that, the woman actually sat in the seat beside me.
Immediately, I could feel the jealous gazes of the other men in the room stabbing into my back.
'Heh-heh. Keep being jealous.'
As I secretly gloated, a faint scent of expensive perfume drifted over from her.
Obviously, it was coming from her.
But even that didn't affect my heartbeat in the slightest.
In the prolonged awkward silence, the woman turned to me and spoke first.
“Hello. My name is Yun Sola.”
“I'm Cha Jiham.”
Pfft!
Yun Sola covered her mouth and laughed elegantly.
Naturally, she found my name amusing.
I was about to make some sarcastic remark, but stopped myself.
We would probably never meet again after today anyway.
Noticing my displeased expression, she hurried to smooth things over.
“I'm sorry. Your name just seemed very rare and beautiful. I wasn't trying to mock or offend you.”
“It's fine. I'm used to it, so don't worry about it.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
While we exchanged polite smiles, the doors opened once more, and a group of officials entered.
They climbed onto the stage and bowed in unison.
The man standing in the center switched on the microphone.
“Welcome, everyone. I am Team Leader Oh Jaeseong from the Recruitment Department. First of all, I'd like to sincerely congratulate you for surviving a screening process with odds of twenty-eight applicants per spot.”
He paused and slowly surveyed the room.
“We will now begin today's orientation. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to raise your hand.”
“Yes, sir!”
The hall answered in unison.
“Because we have many applicants today, we've divided you into four groups. Numbers one through fifty are Group A, fifty-one through one hundred are Group B, one hundred one through one hundred fifty are Group C, and everyone up to number two hundred two belongs to Group D.”
Someone in the middle of the room raised a hand.
“Team Leader, the announcement stated that exactly two hundred candidates would advance to the interview stage. Why are there two hundred and two participants?”
“This year, there were simply too many outstanding candidates, so we slightly exceeded the limit. I hope you'll understand.”
“Does that mean the final number of accepted interns might also increase?”
“Certainly. That's entirely possible.”
Excited murmurs immediately spread through the room.
People were clearly delighted by the extra opportunity.
As for me, the most likely candidate to be eliminated, I couldn't care less.
Once the noise died down, Oh Jaeseong continued.
“Now, regarding the interview itself. Interviews will be conducted in small groups of four to six people. Including preparation time, each group will take twenty-five minutes. Once your interview is over, you're free to leave. By the way, every participant today will receive compensation of one hundred thousand won.”
A hand went up again.
“What about lunch if the interviews continue into the afternoon?”
“A lunch break is scheduled from twelve to one. Those whose interviews take place after one o'clock will receive complimentary boxed lunches.”
“I understand. Thank you.”
“The final results will be announced individually within two weeks.”
Team Leader Oh Jaeseong patiently answered all remaining questions and brought the orientation to a close.
Finally, after the stream of questions dried up, he announced:
“That concludes the orientation. We will now begin the interviews.”