DMSD | Chapter 6

The manager dashed out to greet the two men.

“Hello, Manager.”

It was Deputy Team Leader Kwon Jinhyeok and Deputy Head Manager Kwon Jinhyeon. After greeting Kwon Jinhyeon, Kwon Jinhyeok exchanged pleasantries with the manager, asking, “How have you been lately?”

In between keeping an eye on Kim Junyoung, Myeongeun admired the two brothers’ handsome faces.

Ah, they look good as always.

Thanks to them, the anger he’d been harboring over Kim Junyoung slowly faded, and a sense of calm returned to his heart.

“Alright, let’s do that. Hey, Assistant Manager Go.”

“Yes?”

Out of the blue, the manager called out to Myeongeun. He shot a quick glare at Kim Junyoung before walking over to them.

“It’s been a while, Assistant Manager Go.”

Kwon Jinhyeon’s bright smile made Myeongeun’s face go pink for no reason. If only these two brothers handled all the exit interviews, the retention rate would probably shoot up to 90%.

“They’re asking if you could check Warehouse 1 with them, so go along and take a look.”

Hearing this from the manager, Myeongeun’s eyes widened.

“The warehouse?”

“Yes, they need to check it now,” he was saying.

“I’ll explain the rest on the way. Thank you, Manager.”

Kwon Jinhyeok quickly thanked the manager and, with a hint of urgency, gave Myeongeun a light push. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Wait, hold on a second.”

Returning to his desk, Myeongeun grabbed the warehouse key and turned to Kim Junyoung. “Are they sending it?”

“They said they’ll send it. But it won’t get here until around 9 tonight.”

“…….”

The sight of Kim Junyoung, showing not the slightest hint of remorse, ignited a spark of irritation in him.

“Then why don’t you stay late to receive it, Junyoung?”

“Huh?”

Kim Junyoung furrowed his brow. “Me?”

“Since you’re the one who messed up the order, you should be the one to clean up.”

“But I have an important appointment tonight.”

Myeongeun turned around, paused, then glared at Kim Junyoung. Are you really saying this now, you shameless idiot? He bit his lip hard. Sensing a different, more intense mood than usual, Kim Junyoung softened his tone and pleaded.

“But it’s really important. Can’t you stay and help out, Assistant Manager?”

“Assistant Manager Go, will this take long?”

The mix of Kim Junyoung’s nonsense and Kwon Jinhyeon’s soft, low voice clashed discordantly. Sighing at Kim Junyoung, Myeongeun quickly ran over to the Kwon brothers.

◆

“The warehouse is on the 5th floor.”

Entering the elevator first, Myeongeun pressed the button for the 5th floor and glanced at Kwon Jinhyeok. He gave a slight nod. Of course, Kwon Jinhyeon, a mid-manager in the Management Support Department, already knew this information. The Management Support Department, acting as the general affairs team for all of Gaon’s subsidiaries, would receive reports and relay them to executives while also handling negotiations. In a sense, the headquarters’ Management Support Department was Gaon’s main general affairs unit.

“The elevator could use an upgrade, don’t you think?”

At Kwon Jinhyeon’s comment, Myeongeun glanced at him. Leaning on the safety bar, Kwon Jinhyeon looked up at the slowly changing floor indicator. Noticing Myeongeun’s gaze, he turned to him.

“Pretty slow, isn’t it?”

He asked with a smile. Unsure how to respond, Myeongeun just laughed awkwardly. Managing this outdated elevator was also a task for the General Affairs team. They’d tried subtly pushing for a replacement a few times after staff complaints, but no budget was ever approved for anything beyond basic maintenance.

“How about you step up and push for it, Deputy Head Manager?”

From behind, Kwon Jinhyeok, arms crossed and also watching the floor indicator, chimed in abruptly.

“Every time important clients come, I feel embarrassed because of this shabby building.”

“Wouldn’t it be faster if the Deputy Team Leader pushed for it? Use something like the safety regulations.”

Kwon Jinhyeon’s blunt response made Jinhyeok snort. “If they were the type to listen to reason, they wouldn’t have put the headquarters in a place like this.”

The headquarters building was an old, shabby 15-story structure. The 2nd and 3rd floors served as affordable SOHO offices for those preparing to start a business, while the headquarters used the floors from the 4th up. Gaon Group’s headquarters housed only a few administrative departments and senior executives, so it had the smallest staff of any Gaon subsidiary. Yet, it was still the headquarters, supposedly representing the whole Gaon Group. The building’s state was all due to Late Chairman Kwon Jincheol, Gaon’s founder, who had firmly believed that “executives, who aren’t involved in hands-on production, don’t need fancy buildings or offices.”

Rumors circulated among the staff about this shabby building. One story claimed that, during the purchase of this property ten years ago, Executive Director Kwon had been overly enthusiastic, with some saying he manipulated the deal to skim off the difference. Others mentioned how damp the building was or claimed that “something” appeared after midnight.

But despite countless late-night work shifts over his four years at the company, Myeongeun had never sensed anything unusual. Oddly enough, since his days at the Temple of All Gods, his sensitivity to such energies seemed to have vanished.

“Well, at least the building is sturdy,” he commented as the elevator finally neared the 5th floor.

Both Kwon Jinhyeok and Kwon Jinhyeon looked at him. Pretending not to notice, he waited for the doors to open.

With that, he had fulfilled his duty as a staff member. No matter what grievances these two might have about the company or the building, he couldn’t forget that they were part of the family of the founder.

As they reached the 5th floor, he led the way down the hallway, with the Kwon brothers following behind. At first, he could hear the steady sound of their footsteps, but then the rhythm began to break. Realizing one of them had slowed down, he heard Kwon Jinhyeok say.

“I haven’t really been to the 5th floor before.”

Stopping, he turned around. A couple of steps back stood Kwon Jinhyeon, and a few more steps behind him, Kwon Jinhyeok, approaching slowly.

“This place really is a bit…” Kwon Jinhyeok’s expression was uneasy.

“Is there an issue?” asked Myeongeun.

Kwon Jinhyeok, hands in his suit pants pockets, stopped in place. After frowning slightly, he sighed, as if tired of something. “No, it’s nothing,” he finally said, striding forward with long steps.

The three walked down the hallway. The 5th floor only had three storage rooms managed by General Affairs, so no one else really came here. Though two small offices existed, they were currently empty. The layout was straightforward: a hallway ran straight ahead from the elevator, with two empty offices spaced apart. Though it appeared to be a dead end, turning a corner revealed Storage Rooms 3 and 2, and further down, Storage Room 1, located at the very end and the largest of the three.

“Wasn’t there something about personal belongings left by former employees in Storage Room 1?” Kwon Jinhyeok asked.

“Yes,” Myeongeun nodded. “We store unclaimed items for a year. After that, they’re discarded, but we periodically remind them to come collect their stuff.”

“Hmm.”

Kwon Jinhyeok scratched his chin thoughtfully. Glancing over, Myeongeun’s eyes were briefly drawn to his forearm, exposed by his rolled-up shirt sleeves. They were impressively toned. According to a rumor from the Legal Team staffer, despite looking like a gym regular, Deputy Team Leader Kwon actually only went to the gym a couple of times a week. In other words, those muscles were mostly natural.

He glanced over at Kwon Jinhyeon on his left. Typically seen in a three-piece suit, today Kwon Jinhyeon was only in a vest, no jacket, with his shirt sleeves also slightly rolled up. Though his forearm muscles weren’t visible, the veins trailing from the back of his hand to his wrist looked notably healthy.

Then, he looked down at his own hand.

…Really pale and smooth.

He didn’t have particularly small hands for a man. His fingers were long and straight. But that was about it.

Probably another reason he didn’t attract much attention.

Lost in his thoughts, he continued walking. At twenty-three, he’d had his first boyfriend, an upperclassman at his university. They’d gone clubbing for the first time together, and he’d made a few acquaintances. Up until then, his life had revolved around studying and part-time jobs, so he’d never really had the chance to “live it up.” He and that boyfriend broke up after three months, and most of his acquaintances faded away, but he’d gained one important insight.

Turns out, I don’t appeal much to gay guys.

He didn’t know how to have fun, was terribly shy, and struggled to hold conversations without awkward silences. At twenty-three, it was the first time he’d encountered a world where dating and relationships might be possible for someone like him—a world he was allowed to see himself in. It was thrilling and exciting, but it also made him feel tense and uncomfortable.

Among the people he’d met back then, the only one he’d kept in touch with was his peer and now close friend, Han Juyeol. He’d once asked Juyeol over drinks a couple of years ago, albeit sheepishly.

“Do you think… I’m that unattractive?”

JuYeol was tall and handsome, and with his specific “top” orientation, he was quite popular in that circle. Asking someone like him about his own appeal felt embarrassing, so Myeongeun had just smiled awkwardly after speaking.

After silently watching him for a long moment, Juyeol replied.

“Guys like you are usually popular with bi guys.”

“Oh…”

Having guessed where he was going with this, Myeongeun looked down and quietly drank his beer.

“They don’t see you as a real dating prospect; they just think you look submissive enough to maybe hook up with. You should know best. After all, both your short-lived relationships were kind of like that, weren’t they?”