OCMG chapter 6

“Tell me if anything comes to mind after listening.”

“…What?”

The tension made his mind foggy, and his thoughts were unusually slow. While he was momentarily dazed, Junhee’s phone buzzed.

[Director Ki Taeryu: File Received (CallRecording_102956.m4a)]

The moment he saw the notification, he felt as if the blood drained from his fingertips.

“What are you waiting for? Are you going to wait for Director Lee to come in?”

“No, I’ll check it now.”

At that point, he had no choice but to comply with whatever Ki Taeryu wanted.

A part of him thought that Ki Taeryu was treating this as a trivial matter, like a simple mishap, which is why he arranged for them to have lunch together.

If the content of the call had been truly serious, he would’ve sent it to the Director at the crack of dawn to have him disciplined right away, rather than sending it to him in a half-joking, probing manner.

While he was lost in these thoughts, the download finished.

He glanced up at Ki Taeryu, who gestured with his chin for him to play the recording. He swallowed hard and pressed the play button.

A familiar yet unfamiliar voice echoed—it was his.

“…Hey, psycho. Why are you talking down to me?”

Now he was certain—he was completely screwed.

“Well, Manager, I’ll be leaving first. Thank you for the meal today. We’ll make sure to treat you to something nice soon.”

Not long after Director Lee returned, the lunch meeting naturally came to an end.

As is often the case with business people, both sides had tight schedules, so there was no time to linger.

This was fortunate for him, but in reality, he wasn’t quite himself from the moment he heard that call recording.

“…Thank you for the meal, Manager,” Junhee mumbled belatedly, following Director Lee’s lead by bowing.

He then hurriedly tried to escape to the car.

“I’ll give you a ride, Assistant Yoo.”

He couldn’t hide his surprise as he turned to look at Ki Taeryu. Their eyes met.

“We’re headed in the same direction anyway, so let’s chat on the way.”

Director Lee’s cheerful voice rang out behind him as he froze in place with his hand on the door handle.

“Oh, would you? I was worried I’d be late for another meeting at the office, so that would be a huge help. Thank you, Manager.”

“Director…”

‘Please take me with you.’

But Director Lee, oblivious to Junhee’s desperate plea, quickly got into his car and drove off.

As he stood there staring blankly into space, he was snapped back to reality by Ki Taeryu’s firm voice.

“Not getting in? Or would you rather take a walk?”

“No, I’ll get in.”

It was at least a 20-minute drive, but how long would it take on foot?

There was no way he could bear being stuck with Ki Taeryu for over an hour. He might even wither away along the way.

He climbed into Ki Taeryu’s black car.

The windows were tinted dark, likely to prevent people from seeing inside, but from within, the outside world was perfectly visible.

The car was so quiet he couldn’t even feel the engine’s vibration. It smoothly merged onto the road. His hope that they would ride in silence all the way to the office was quickly dashed.

“Assistant Yoo, Junhee.”

“…Yes.”

“Why did you stop listening? You didn’t finish it.”

“….”

There was no need for him to specify what he was talking about. I knew all too well.

But how could he possibly continue listening? He only heard about three seconds, but that was already a disaster.

If he listened any further, he might just jump into the Han River.

“…Manager, I’m truly sorry. I have no excuse. And you can speak informally to me.”

Now he understood why Ki Taeryu, who usually didn’t bother with formal speech, was using it with him.

He was mocking him by reminding him of the phone call he made at dawn.

“Are you the type to hold grudges?”

“…No.”

“Do you turn into a different person when you drink?”

“…”

He wanted to deny it, but from Ki Taeryu’s perspective, it must have seemed like he had a pretty nasty drinking habit. He bit the inside of his cheek and stammered out a weak excuse.

“To be honest… I was a bit upset about something personal that day, so I overdrank. I’ve only blacked out like that twice in my life, so I didn’t realize I had such a terrible habit. I’m truly sorry. I’m sure you were shocked and upset. I’ll keep apologizing until you forgive me.”

He bowed deeply toward Ki Taeryu, almost as if he was paying homage. He could feel his gaze sweeping over his bowed head.

“So, it’s not the first time.”

“…It happened when I was younger.”

Ki Taeryu rested his arm on the armrest and stared at him intently before casually tossing out a remark.

“Apologies alone don’t seem fair.”

“What…?”

“Just accepting an apology doesn’t seem quite reasonable.”

At that moment, he wondered if some kind of ‘negotiation’ with Ki Taeryu might be possible after all.

Maybe he was giving me another chance because he wanted something from him. He quickly tried to figure out what that might be.

“You’re right, Manager. I will extend your membership and provide unlimited personalized matching services until you find a partner you’re satisfied with. I’ll assist you diligently until you feel fully satisfied.”

Had he ever been this desperate in my life?

Having been abandoned three times, there was a time when he had no attachment to life. When he turned 20, leaving the orphanage with just 5 million won, and when the cold wind felt like it was cutting his cheeks.

At that time, he was determined to die.

He was scared of being abandoned again, so he decided to leave the world before it left him. But he survived and kept living.

And now, he was not only taking care of himself, but he was also helping others in similar situations.

‘That woman came to the orphanage again looking for your brother.’

He wanted to show the people who abandoned him that he could live well. He stood up again with weak tears.

This time, instead of avoiding him, Junhee looked Ki Taeryu straight in the eye with a firm expression.

The corner of Ki Taeryu’s lips curled into a smirk reflected in his light brown eyes.

“Until I’m satisfied?”

“Yes, Director.”

“That won’t be easy.”

“I can do it.”

No matter how eccentric he was, the world was big, and there were plenty of eccentrics. Junhee just had to keep introducing him to people until he found the right match.

“I’m in a bit of a hurry.”

“…How much time do you need?”

“I need to get married within three months.”

“Three months?”

Junhee wondered if he had misheard.

“You’re not confident, are you? Then I’ll just hand the recording over to Director Lee and have another manager…”

“No, I can do it. I’ll take care of it.”

As far as he knew, the shortest time it ever took for a match to lead to marriage in the company’s history was 55 days.

“Director Ki Taeryu, you’re the ideal candidate for marriage, so I’m confident you’ll find a match quickly.”

“That may be true. The problem is whether I’ll like them or not.”

“I’ll find someone you’ll be happy with.”

What a piece of work.

Junhee couldn’t help but think he’d gotten himself into a mess, but at the same time, he felt a sense of relief. At least he wasn’t a broke eccentric, so there was bound to be some demand.

It’s only a problem if there’s supply without demand, but luckily, someone like Ki Taeryu would definitely attract attention, even if it was just for his money.

The only concern he had was…

“The matching rate is 0%, after all.”

“It’s too early to lose hope. You’ve only tried matching with five people so far. If you start using the matching app seriously from today, you’re bound to see some results.”

“So, should I just trust Assistant Yoo Junhee?”

“If you cooperate, I’ll make sure you’re married within three months.”

“Alright, let’s write up the contract, then.”

“…Contract? What contract?”

Ki Taeryu, as if he had been waiting for this moment, extended his long arm and took a document out of the car’s storage compartment.

“…Crazy bastard.”

The next day, Yoo Junhee’s day at work was just as hectic as usual.

“Congratulations! Yoo Junhee, the star of four successful matches, please come forward.”

He received the Best Employee Award at the year-end company event, but he wasn’t particularly happy. The aftermath of yesterday’s events was still weighing on him.

“Congratulations, Assistant Yoo Junhee! As expected, you won the Best Employee Award again this year! We knew you’d get it. Are we going out for drinks today?”

As the congratulations poured in, Junhee’s phone rang.

He quickly slipped out of the office and into an empty consultation room, letting out a deep sigh.

[Director Ki Taeryu]

As he hesitated about whether to answer, the call ended abruptly.

Before he could catch his breath, the phone lit up again.

“…Hello, Director Ki Taeryu. This is Yoo Junhee.”

“You’re late.”

“Pardon?”

The voice that suddenly came through the phone was laced with irritation.

“You’re late.”

The heavy voice echoed in his ear, and Junhee stopped himself from asking any more foolish questions, taking a moment to collect himself.

“I gave you a whole day to think. Do you need more time?”

It had been less than 24 hours since he’d received the contract at lunch the previous day.

He’d said he would review it and get back to him, but he hadn’t expected a follow-up call so soon.

“I’m sorry, Director. I’ll get back to you this afternoon…”

“Let’s meet at the office. I should be available around 7:20.”

“What? Do you want me to come to your office…?”

“I’m too busy to finish my work before then. That’s all.”

Click.

Junhee’s fingers were so tightly clenched around the phone that they had turned white.

In his other hand was the crystal plaque he had just received.

[For your outstanding dedication and loyalty to the company…]

Thud. The Best Employee plaque fell to the floor.

At the same time, a low curse slipped from Junhee’s lips.

“…Damn it, should I just quit?”