Moon's Labyrinths

Sungyoon looked at the stack of paper in front of him with great emotion in his eyes. The numbers on these papers were written with black ink, akin to a brand seared into a criminal. They were Sungyoon’s promissory notes, his shackles. Each promissory note held a different figure, but if he added it all, the amount went up to six million dollars. This figure looked like the blade of an executioner.

Jimin pushed the papers closer to Sungyoon. However, he just glared at them. Jimin didn’t say anything either as she waited for him to do something.

Finally, Sungyoon started to move. He placed each paper into his hands, careful and precise in handling them. It was as if he thought the world would come to an end if he dropped one of them.

However, it all lasted for only a moment.

After he had gathered all the papers, Sungyoon acted in a violent manner.

Chwahhhk!

He ripped them apart. There were a lot of papers, so the stack was very thick. However, he used his superhuman strength, a characteristic of a Connector. He ripped them all, yet he wasn’t satisfied with doing it once.

Chwahk! Chwahk! Chwahk!

As if he didn’t want to leave behind any evidence, Sungyoon ripped the paper several more times. The papers had been well stored, so they were crisp, and it only took a moment to make a mess of the papers. He was ripping them so violently that little pieces of paper flew into the air.

Puhl-luhk!

After ripping all the papers into pieces smaller than his palm, he tossed them into the air.

Some of them settled down on Jimin’s desk.

“Are you satisfied?”

Jimin flicked the piece of paper in front of her as she asked the question. Sungyoon took a deep breath as he nodded.

“Yes. It feels as if I lost 10 years worth of weight.”

Jimin glanced at him and then looked at the pieces of papers spread across the room.

Normally, Sungyoon didn’t express his feeling, and when he did, it would be regarding Shinhae. That kind of person was showing such intense emotions.

‘As expected, he had a lot of pent up emotions due to this debt.’

The promissory notes had become useless paper trash. Jimin once again glanced at Sungyoon. In some ways, this scene made it seem like she had used the promissory notes to threaten him. However, Sungyoon didn’t care if Jimin was looking or not. He looked refreshed as he sat down in front of her, but he didn't show any resentment toward her.

Jimin’s gaze once again turned to the remains of the promissory notes. An odd expression appeared on her face.

‘I don’t feel it anymore.’

In the beginning, the promissory notes had been a mechanism she used to control Sungyoon. She had put the shackle on him. However, it was also true that they were each other’s last hope. That was why she was afraid of the day when Sungyoon fully paid off his debt, because that day, his shackles would come off. He wouldn't need to keep his promise to Jimin. Her last hope would fly out the window.

However, that fear had disappeared from her eyes.

“The chains binding you are gone now.”

“I guess so.”

Sungyoon spoke in a matter of fact tone. Just this answer was enough to melt away her worries. Still, she decided to feel out his feelings one more time.

“At the rate Mr. Sungyoon makes money, you just need a bit more time before you can break the contract with my company.”

“Is that so?”

Sungyoon sounded apathetic. It seemed he knew what Jimin was trying to do, but he didn’t look interested in the topic at all.

Jimin pushed down the laughing fit surging up from within.

It was to be expected of him. She knew it ever since Sungyoon had turned down the contract offered by the scout from Fabion. It didn't matter what situation he found himself in. Sungyoon would keep his promises.

“Anyway, I think the interviewees will be here soon.”

Sungyoon spoke as he looked at his watch. As he said, the first round of interviews was scheduled to start in 20 minutes.

Both of them looked around the office after realizing it. Due to him being free from his debt, Sungyoon had committed atrocities against the stack of papers, and the evidence of his actions was in this office.

“… I should clean this place.”

“I am partially at fault. I failed to stop you, so I’ll help too.”

The two of them bustled through the office as they picked up the ripped pieces of the promissory notes. Sungyoon had so many pent up emotions that he had ripped the paper into very small pieces. Therefore, the cleanup took longer than expected. Fortunately, they were able to do it before the promised time.

Zeeeeng!

Jimin pushed all the pieces of paper into the shredder, completely destroying them.

She dusted her hands off to signal the end of her work. That was when they heard the doorbell.

“He’s here.”

It seemed an interviewee had arrived. Sungyoon slowly followed Jimin, who went out to bring in the interviewee to the office. He once again had to take on the role of an interviewer.

* * *

The interview process lasted three days. Most of the interviewees didn’t distinguish themselves from each other. However, the two of them did find some who had graduated from universities in Seoul with good grades. These people had mainly applied because they didn’t want to be worked to death, and Jimin had promised to keep strict office hours. With the reassurance of a strict schedule from the company president itself, the interviewees looked satisfied.

They had finished the interviews for the day, and it happened when he was organizing the resumes.

“We have one more person left, Mr. Sungyoon.”

“We have another person to interview?”

Sungyoon looked through the resumes. However, they had interviewed everyone that had submitted their resumes. To be precise, two interviewees hadn’t shown up. However, Jimin wasn’t interested in them. If they couldn’t even be bothered to call her while breaking their appointments, she didn’t want them. Jungbum wasn’t that desperate enough to hire such people.

“It isn’t for a full-time employee position. Didn’t I tell you I wanted to hire a temp worker for handling miscellaneous work? Someone contacted me yesterday, so I told her to come in today. She is a university student, and she is working towards a major within the Department of the Moon’s Labyrinths.”

Sungyoon suddenly thought about Jiyoon. She had the same details. However, that was it, and he soon pushed her out of his thoughts.

A bit of time passed as he made small talks with Jimin, and the doorbell to the company rang once again.

“She’s here.”

Jimin stood up to bring in the last interviewee for the day. Sungyoon also got up, wondering why he had to stay for this interview. He could understand Jimin wanting his presence when hiring permanent employees, but he questioned why he had to be present for the interview of a temp worker. However, he had already agreed to go along with her request, so he followed her.

He saw Jimin greet the applicant. But when he looked over Jimin’s back to see the person, Sungyoon became surprised.

“… Ms. Jiyoon?”

Sungyoon mumbled to himself. Jiyoon, who had come to the interview for the temp position, laughed. She stuck out her tongue a little bit, acting like a child successful in pulling off a prank.

“Oh my! You guys know each other?”

Jimin looked at the two of them.

“Yes. I believe I told you before. There is a college student that sometimes comes and plays with Shinhae.”

“Ah ah!”

Jimin remembered hearing about it. She remembered being a little bit jealous because it felt as if she was being robbed of her time with the cute Shinhae.

“My name is Jung Jiyoon, and I’m here for the temp job interview. Thank you in advance.”

Jiyoon bowed, and Jimin responded by also bowing.

“It is nice to meet you. I am Hahn Jimin, the president of Jungbum.”

“You live up to your reputation as a beautiful woman.”

Jiyoon decided to start it off with a compliment. However, Jimin remained faithful to her personality, and her expression remained cold.

“Thank you. Did you bring your resume and a copy of the resident registration?”

“Please wait a moment.”

Jiyoon took out the papers from her handbag and handed them over to Jimin. Jimin turned around after she took possession of the papers.

“Please follow me.”

The ladies went into the office, and Sungyoon quietly followed them.

Jimin sat behind her desk as she looked over the resume. Jiyoon was sitting across from her, her back straight. It seemed she wanted to maintain proper posture, but she also looked nervous and stiff.

Sungyoon sat back in his original seat, and his eyes remained planted on Jiyoon.

‘Why would she….’

No, he knew the reason why. They were currently in an interview for the temp position, and Jiyoon had said she came to apply for the position. He just never would have expected her to apply to the company that he was contracted to. However, he soon thought about what had happened two days before.

‘I did tell her that my company was looking to hire temp workers.’

It seemed his words had caught her interest. As his thought reached that point, he decided it wasn’t a big deal.

‘I guess she really came here to work as a temp.’

Sungyoon treated this the same as all the other interviews up until now. He crossed his arms and went into his observation mode.

As expected, temp workers were not interviewed as strictly as regular employees. It might be because they were less important to the normal operation of a company. In the interviews for prospective employees, Jimin had been very meticulous. She had asked wide-ranging questions, and at times, she also threw in some provocative questions to throw off the interviewees. However, all the questions for Jiyoon had fewer teeth behind them. The questions were innocuous.

“Hmm. You are currently a university student. Are you in your second year?”

“Yes.”

“So, we will have to schedule around your classes. We can be flexible on when and how long you will stay at work. Scheduling won’t be a problem. But wouldn’t it be too hard for you to work while going to school?”

“I'll be fine. Above all else, I want to work at a Connector office so that I can move toward my dream.”

“Dream?”

“Yes. I would like to work on the moon as a public official.”

Jimin nodded. Her eyes headed towards Jiyoon, and then she took a brief glance at Sungyoon. However, it all had happened in an instant.

“Shinhae is cute, right?”

“What?”

Jiyoon became surprised at Jimin’s random question. Sungyoon, who had been listening in silence, also looked towards Jimin.

“… yes. She is really cute.”

It didn’t matter what her intention was in asking the question. Jiyoon let out a bright laugh as she answered Jimin.

“When can you start working?”

“I can start working right now.”

Jiyoon gave a small fist pump. However, Jimin cooled Jiyoon, who was overflowing with energy.

“We don’t need you right now. But I would like you to come to work starting next week. Ah. I have to be mindful of managing your time. Please send me a schedule of your classes.”

“Yes!”

Jimin had a cold attitude that was distinct to her, and one had to worry if her coldness might hurt Jiyoon. But in contrast, Jiyoon had a soft and warm personality unique to her, and she was able to accept Jimin’s attitude.

In some ways, it was like watching the cold winds of Siberia clash against the warm spring airs blowing over the Okhotsk sea.

“I will send you an employment contract after I receive your class schedule. We can come up with your working hours afterward. Do you agree to the hourly wage posted on the site?”

“Yes. That’ll be enough.”

Then they went over the details of her contract. However, it wasn't anything special. It was a cookie-cutter contract given to temp workers in most companies.

“I look forward to working with you.”

“Yes, I look forward to working with you too.”

After they exchanged handshakes, Jiyoon exited from the room. However, she gave Sungyoon a mischievous smile before leaving.

Jimin put away the girl's resume.

“Is it ok to go so easy on her?”

This interview was completely different from the others. It had been very lax and easy. That was why Sungyoon asked this question.

“I’m not going to make a temp do anything amazing. She’ll do miscellaneous work for other employees, and she might have to keep the office tidy. It is something anyone can do, so I don’t feel the need to go through a meticulous interview process.”

She had a point.

“Moreover, she’s studying a major related to our industry. This is unlikely, but we might be able to use her as a reserve if we get overwhelmed with work. How’s her personality?”

“Shouldn’t you have asked that question first?”

“I couldn’t openly ask such a question in an interview. Moreover, she’s a temp worker. It isn’t as if I expect much from her.”

Since his president was speaking in such a way, he had nothing further to say in protest. He went through his memories and picked out information relevant to Jimin’s question.

“Her personality is great. I met Ms. Jiyoon when she was volunteering at the orphanage. It is the place that I had entrusted Shinhae to. She became close to Shinhae there, and she still occasionally visits to play with her. She is kind, and has never left a bad impression on me.”

He gave high praise. It meant Jiyoon’s image in Sungyoon's eyes was very high.