“Sec… Section-chief?”
“Yeah?”
“N-no, never mind.”
Seeing his boss grinning from ear to ear, Yu Min-seok turned away.
When he looked around, every eye in the office was fixed on him.
Out of all these people, I’m the only one who can talk to Section-chief Cho…
Min-seok sighed.
I’m dying to know what’s going on too!
The sparkling gazes of his coworkers felt unbearably heavy.
“Hey! Isn’t Cho Jin-hyeok doing OR duty today?”
Deputy-manager Kwak Jeong-su stormed back from the executive director’s office and snapped at the room.
Silence returned, but the air heated up before it could even cool.
What would happen now? Everyone pricked up their ears.
“By OR duty, you mean sneaking illegally into the operating room, right?”
“What?”
Jeong-su, missing the mood, cocked his head.
“You eat something funny?”
“The department head, the deputy-manager… both of you sure care about what I eat. Yesterday I…”
Someone at the back whispered, “Chicken.”
“Oh!”
Jin-hyeok turned toward the sound, beamed, and nodded.
“Yes. I had chicken yesterday.”
Snorts broke out all over. A few people sucked air as if doing breathing exercises to keep from laughing.
“You little…!”
Kwak raised his eyebrows and swept the room with his eyes.
“What’s with this vibe? Has everyone gone nuts?”
He slapped a file against the wall, but the office, already boiling, wouldn’t cool.
“Hey! Cho Jin-hyeok!”
“Section-chief Cho Jin-hyeok.”
“What?”
“You’re younger than I am, so at least add my title on. Basic courtesy.”
“Huh… what the hell…”
Jin-hyeok’s gaze went icy.
They had joined the company the same year, but Kwak was a year younger.
He had stolen a supply contract Jin-hyeok had slaved over and used the credit to reach section-chief first. At company dinners he slobbered over HQ women, and by flattering the executive director he was first in line for manager.
“Forget it. Get to the OR.”
“Deputy-manager Kwak, did you just order me to perform an illegal job?”
“What kind of garbage is that? We do it every time! Are you insane?”
“Not ‘you.’ Section-chief Cho Jin-hyeok.”
“ … ! ”
“I told you a moment ago, didn’t I?”
Jin-hyeok walked right up to him.
Kwak had to lift his chin.
Was he always this tall?
Looking down, Jin-hyeok curled one corner of his mouth.
“Deputy-manager Kwak. If you call me ‘you’ outside the office too, big brother’s going to spank you.”
“W-what? Trying to get yourself fired?”
“Our company benefits are pretty nice. They can’t sack me that easily.”
“Damn punk. Don’t move. I’ll show you what happens to bastards who act like this at work.”
“I’ll be at my desk until quitting time.”
The office filled with the sound of people choking back laughter.
Grinding his teeth, Kwak glared.
They had entered together. No matter how he belittled Cho, the man never talked back. Even when Kwak stole his glory, Cho hadn’t complained—just stared silently.
He was someone to trample on at will.
Yet the more he tormented Cho, the better the subordinates thought of him. Today the man had flat-out refused an assigned job.
I’ll have to yank his desk.
No point talking further; he’d only become a joke in front of the staff. Kwak turned with a thin smile, picturing Department Head Jang Du-chang, who hated Cho for much the same reasons.
He scrolled for Jang’s number, unaware that Jang was already clutching his throbbing neck.
“Section-chief?”
“Mm?”
“What are you trying to do?”
“What do you mean?”
“Uh… are you planning to quit?”
Given today’s events, nothing else made sense.
Blowing off years of pent-up rage before handing in your resignation, the exhilarating fantasy every worker harbors but never enacts.
Yet it didn’t fit Jin-hyeok’s character at all.
“Do I have to quit?”
“Pardon?”
“Did I say anything wrong today?”
“Uh…”
Min-seok shook his head blankly.
“The ones in the wrong are the deputy-manager and the department head.”
“Y-yeah, but still…”
“Because no one speaks up, it’s become normal.”
Coming from Cho, Min-seok found that even harder to grasp.
He’s the one who never speaks up. He’d even told them, Just put up with it. It felt unfair.
“If you’re not quitting, what are you doing?”
Jin-hyeok clenched a fist and flashed a bright smile.
“Revolution.”
The boss’s innocent grin left Min-seok speechless.
–How have you been?
…Been a while, Vice-president Kim Woo-hui of Changcheon Trading hadn’t slept, unsettled by yesterday’s call.
–Could I… see Chung-gi?
Her briefly fluttering heart went cold again. Too much time had passed.
–Does he know I’m divorced?
She shook her head hard. He had nearly died because of her once; even hoping for anything felt like a sin.
First things first—deal with that idiot.
She jabbed the intercom.
“Yes, it’s me. Has my brother sobered up?”
“Executive director! The guy’s gone completely crazy!”
“Yeah, he told me to fire him if I wanted.”
“Come on, this is Cho Jin-hyeok we’re talking about.”
“Sir, let’s go straight to Security. You’ll see on the CCTV.”
Learning they were in the same boat, Department Head Jang and Deputy-manager Kwak ranted to Director Park Chan-yeong, adding plenty of spice.
“He charged me with his fist up! I almost punched him back.”
“Exactly! He was provoking me so he could frame it as workplace assault.”
Park eyed them irritably.
“So what, pull his desk?”
Their eyes gleamed. Even a cockroach like Cho might crack if his desk vanished.
“But if we sideline him, who backs him up?”
They looked at each other. Cho handled all the nasty accounts; Yu Min-seok couldn’t. They couldn’t spare a section-chief from another team. Everyone was swamped preparing a huge delivery.
Unless Cho resigned outright, the workload would drop squarely on Kwak.
“Still want to yank the desk?”
Kwak’s face twisted. And if Cho still refused to quit?
“Quit making things up and treat him right,” Park snapped. “You’re comfortable because he’s here. OR duty or kickbacks blow up, who takes the fall? There’s a reason we keep that unsociable perpetual section-chief on payroll.”
Gritting their teeth, they had to change tactics.
Just then, the intercom rang.
“Sir, the president’s left HQ and is on his way.”
“Now? All of a sudden?”
Park grabbed the tie he’d loosened.
“Get the office spotless. Anyone reeking of booze, send them out. Check attire—if the president notices, you’re dead.”
Nineteen-year-old Jin-hyeok admitted one thing: the forty-something Jin-hyeok had resisted in his own way.
While others clawed upward by any means, he simply did his work.
He fixed unfair tasks himself, never dumped them downward, never wagged his tail at bosses who disliked him. Fifteen years like that.
Impressive…
Marriage, a child—the burden of being a breadwinner was immense.
Then his wife collapsed. He had held out alone for years.
He first intended to quit and do nothing but music, yet loans, card bills, Eun-seo’s tuition, living costs, and his wife’s hospital fees said otherwise. Quitting wasn’t an option.
So just do the work that must be done, nothing more.
Most of what he’d been forced into was illegal or crooked… custom outside the rules. Simply calling wrongs wrong would shrug them off.
He took measured revenge on the two who’d tormented the forty-three-year-old Cho. Whatever backlash came, he wasn’t afraid. They too were bound by the system.
Ah… refreshing. The irritation he’d felt on his commute eased.
He looked around with a pleased face. Subordinates were startled and looked away.
Keyboards clacked, papers flipped, copiers hummed, chairs squeaked: the office’s rhythm, disparate yet familiar. He hummed along.
A quiet tune of revolution mingled with the company’s noise.
Hear that?
Wow, the section-chief sings well.
My heart’s swelling.
Told you he’s totally different now.
Really seeing him anew.
He stuck it to both the deputy-manager and the department head…
Revolution? That was epic.
Spring air of revolution filled the office, whispering every worker’s fantasy:
Don’t do work you shouldn’t.
Call wrongs wrong.
Claim what you’re entitled to.
One or two alone won’t change things.
Silence born of fear must vanish.
Raise the same voice and the system will change.
They are the ones in the wrong.
Set it right—revolution.
No one spoke the words aloud, yet they engraved themselves in every mind, and every heart thumped.
Jang and Kwak ordered everyone to tidy the office. Besides Cho’s untucked shirt, nothing was out of place.
They would get scolded too, but if Cho drew the president’s ire he’d be disciplined; then they could steal a section-chief from another team.
What luck! They bumped fists.
“Ah, the president this way…”
Director Park’s voice carried in.
President Lee entered with board members and VPs in tow.
Startled employees checked their attire then all looked toward one person.
“Huh? What is it?”
There stood the herald of revolution, beaming, shirt still hanging out.
Uh-oh…
Min-seok shot a desperate glare at the team heads, but the executives had already stepped into Sales Planning.
He stared, stunned, at Jin-hyeok’s open collar. The sprout that had raised its head quivered.
The warmth of revolution was far too short to let spring flowers bloom.
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