My Company Is Black

#022

Lee Gyo-ha was taken aback. The truth was, Gyo-ha had no intention of harming Hwi-kyung. He thought that by completely overhauling the HR department and restructuring the company organization, it would actually make it easier for Hwi-kyung to work at the company.

Insufficient conditions, they said? Whatever these “sufficient conditions” were, he figured that since he was born with a silver spoon, he might as well do what he could for the regressor. If there was a problem, it was that Gyo-ha had read too many novels featuring such supportive characters.

A boss who lacks communication skills and rushes ahead with his intentions, and a subordinate who doesn’t explain their situation clearly to their boss. This was always the worst combination. But Gyo-ha, experiencing corporate life for the first time, couldn’t have known this.

And what was that? Not a great regressor, but a person trapped in a company…

“To think that the one who trapped me in graduate school is just an ordinary office worker…”

“Pardon?”

“No, I’m just a bit shocked.”

“I suppose you would be. I’m baffled by my regression conditions too. Forced regression if I get a job at a black company? It’s absurd. Where in Korea isn’t a black company?”

“…”

“So I tried working for foreign companies too. But once I went abroad, being Asian became an issue. It was almost cute when they asked if I was from South or North Korea… The salary tables differed based on race.”

Gyo-ha had experienced this during his modeling career too. He thought he’d do well overseas, but when he went to America, there were fewer opportunities because he wasn’t white. While there might be a preference for Asian women in the industry, it was rare for Asian men to be favored.

He thought it was just the modeling industry, but it seemed even ordinary companies made such distinctions. Then again, in a system where people hire people, it was unlikely to be completely fair.

“So once, I just lived as a day laborer.”

“Even though you know English, Chinese, and even Russian?”

“I know Japanese too. And even with a CPA license and backend development skills, one might not want to go to a company.”

“That’s true, but…”

“Even if my skills were wasted, I had no choice. I was on the verge of going crazy.”

Hwi-kyung found it strange that he was rambling on like this. These were words he hadn’t been able to say to anyone before.

He couldn’t even properly tell his grandmother, his most beloved family member, about the fact that he would return to the past if he got a job at a black company. His grandmother probably wouldn’t even understand what “regression” meant. She would just hug him, saying, “Oh dear, what can we do?” when her grandson said he was having a hard time.

So at some point, Hwi-kyung started burying his situation deep inside. There was no point in telling others. If he received psychiatric counseling, he would most likely be diagnosed with delusional disorder or schizophrenia.

But now, someone who could completely understand his condition had appeared before Jung Hwi-kyung. Lee Gyo-ha was still annoying, but at least he listened to Hwi-kyung’s words seriously. He didn’t think anything Hwi-kyung said was strange. Rather, sometimes he felt sorry for him, and in some parts, he empathized.

It was just listening, but Hwi-kyung felt more at ease every time he talked to Gyo-ha about the cycles he had experienced. It had been a long time since he felt this relaxed. It was the kind of comfort he could only feel after completing a major project in his previous cycles.

“The criteria is… you have to be a company employee.”

“The regression criteria?”

“Yes. Self-employed or freelancers don’t count.”

“Why on earth?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it reflects Korea’s strict standards for being a social adult, or something…”

“Hah, as if only company employees are real people.”

Hwi-kyung was so comfortable that he didn’t refuse when Gyo-ha suggested they continue their conversation over lunch. It was unlike Jung Hwi-kyung. It was also unlike him not to nag about not cleaning up the papers that had fallen on the floor, or not to complain about ordering delivery food because it would make the office smell.

As Hwi-kyung ate the sushi bento box Gyo-ha had bought, he thought, ‘Is this okay?’ But he had too many stories piled up. People tend to lose their composure when someone appears who sympathizes with their situation.

So Jung Hwi-kyung spilled everything about how he had regressed from the 1st cycle to the 12th cycle. Lee Gyo-ha quietly listened to Hwi-kyung’s rambling. Hearing it all, he felt like he might be the carcinogen in this cycle. Feeling guilty, Gyo-ha even added more salmon sushi to Hwi-kyung’s box.

“Eat more of this.”

“It’s fine.”

“I’m doing this because I feel sorry.”

“…”

“You had every right to be pissed off because of me.”

When Gyo-ha took such a humble attitude, Hwi-kyung lost the energy to be angry. He was about to lash out, asking why he was acting like this, if he was trying to piss him off on purpose, but the other party was genuinely well-intentioned. At times like this, his fighting spirit that had been boiling up hit rock bottom again.

Come to think of it, Lee Gyo-ha was just a victim too. After all, everything started from Hwi-kyung helping an old lady he bumped into on the street. This is why in modern society, you shouldn’t carelessly help others.

Unfortunately, Jung Hwi-kyung was still the kind of young man who would take two flyers from elderly people handing them out. Even after being caught up in this tragedy, Hwi-kyung was too weak against the elderly. He probably wouldn’t even be able to get properly angry if the Bodhisattva grandmother appeared again. It was the same principle as Chihuahuas raised by grandmothers losing their aggressiveness.

Hwi-kyung was weak not only to the elderly but also to people who were quick to apologize and acknowledge their faults. It’s because such people are really rare. Usually, people would insist it wasn’t their fault even if they were about to die, but Gyo-ha seemed genuinely sorry to Hwi-kyung.

“Actually, I wasn’t sure either, so I couldn’t ask right away if you were a regressor. I was a bit spiteful too… Do you know I went to graduate school more than ten times?”

“Because I regressed?”

“Yes. At first, not knowing you were being forced like this, I really thought you were crazy.”

Moreover, Gyo-ha’s graduate school story was something that couldn’t be heard without tears. Having completed integrated master’s and doctoral programs more than ten times, not at a Korean university but an American one, Hwi-kyung felt like he could see a giant Bodhisattva behind Gyo-ha.

If he had returned to the first semester of his master’s program thirteen times because of a regressor whose face and name he didn’t even know, Hwi-kyung would have dreamed of poisoning that regressor instead of adding an extra piece of salmon sushi.

Hwi-kyung had taken the path of employment right after his bachelor’s degree and was far from master’s or doctoral studies, but he knew enough that graduate school was a slave-training camp. Gyo-ha countered that business school wasn’t as intense as engineering or science graduate programs, but in Hwi-kyung’s view, Gyo-ha’s standard of intensity was different from others.

“When I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, I bought a degree for the first time in this cycle.”

Insufficient condition: You have learned that your superior’s degree is fake.

“Ah, that’s really unfair… I must know the theories better than the professors there by now.”

“Just ignore this system window.”

“Why does this system window even exist? Don’t system windows usually show things like grades? Like S-grade document processing ability, that sort of thing…”

“I think you need to read fewer novels.”

“It’s just that for a regressor, there’s not enough coolness…”

Hwi-kyung finally realized that Gyo-ha was a kind-hearted chaebol with flowers for brains. He had finally succeeded in interpreting the character. Lee Gyo-ha wasn’t a jerk, but a kind and good-natured person who was thoughtless, simple, and slightly childish.

With a face fitting for the youngest son of a chaebol family, but inside was a clear-eyed madman whose mental state remained intact even after thirteen regressions. It was the moment when Hwi-kyung’s impression of Gyo-ha recovered from negative to zero. Yeah, what could you expect from such a person…

“Anyway, please reconsider the reorganization issue.”

“Ah, that… I didn’t know it would turn out like this either. I just mentioned it casually to my sister.”

“You told this to the Vice President?”

“Yes.”

“Damn…”

Insufficient condition: You used inappropriate language in front of your superior.

“This regressor system window really lacks something…”

While Gyo-ha was distracted by Hwi-kyung’s system window, Hwi-kyung held his forehead. No wonder Director Jung got disciplined so quickly for something Lee Gyo-ha did directly.

If it had been Lee Jung-hye who found out about this fact instead of Lee Gyo-ha, it was inevitable that BK International would be turned upside down. The organizational restructuring could no longer be avoided. Because Lee Jung-hye was the Vice President of BK International…

“Director.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t be surprised if I suddenly regress.”

“…”

“From what I can see, I’m about to be forcibly regressed.”

“Why on earth?”

“You’d know if you’ve gone back about thirteen times. It’s coming soon.”

“Then at least tell me when you think you’ll regress.”

“10…”

“10 days later?”

“9, 8, 7, 6…”

“Oh, no!”

Insufficient condition: A post targeting you has been uploaded to an online community.

Insufficient condition: Malicious posts about our company are spreading.

Insufficient condition: Your department and real name have been revealed on an online community.

Insufficient conditions exceeded. Automatic regression in 5 seconds. 5, 4, 3…

“See you in the fourteenth cycle.”

“You really regress like this?”

“Don’t worry. I’m never coming back to a company like this. I’ll move to a better place.”

“No!”

“Yes!”

Hwi-kyung replied while stuffing the salmon sushi Gyo-ha had given up into his mouth. I haven’t memorized all the lottery numbers yet… So this is how it ends again… Regardless, the last piece of salmon sushi he put in his mouth melted smoothly.