Chapter 7
The day after Kim Si-min spoke with Park Won-jung at Lighthouse’s office.
Kim Si-min went to work at the bank to take care of one thing he had been thinking about for quite some time.
“Hey, Kim Si-min! Did you eat something weird while you were on vacation? Get a grip, man. I feel bad about what happened to Mr. Park Mun-seong too, but did you kill him? If you leave like this, you’ll end up with nothing!”
Team Leader Park Cheol-sun sincerely tried to stop him from submitting his resignation.
A real senior.
A real older brother.
While everyone else had simply thought, Another one is leaving, and moved on, he was the only one who tried to hold Si-min back.
“Team Leader—or rather, hyung. I’ve worked really hard here for eight years.”
“Exactly! That’s why it’s such a waste. You know you’re the youngest person ever promoted to manager since Narae Bank was founded. Everyone says you’ll at least make executive. So what’s gotten into you?”
“Hyung, I think I’m finally starting to live.”
“What?”
“I think I’m finally living like a real person for the first time since I came to Seoul.”
“…”
Seeing the clear, shining light in his eyes, Park Cheol-sun squeezed his eyes shut.
He didn’t know what Si-min had been through, but his eyes were shining more clearly than they ever had before.
“Phew… I don’t know what you’re thinking by leaving, but you’re a smart guy, so I’ll believe you have a reason. If things get tough, call me. I don’t know if I can find you somewhere better than here, but I’ll at least put in a good word with some business owners I know.”
Team Leader Park Cheol-sun really was a good person to the very end.
“I’ll come back as a VIP customer.”
“Yeah, man. Come back successful enough to make those higher-ups squirm. It’ll make me feel good too.”
He laughed heartily.
Si-min couldn’t help laughing along with him.
And just like that, he submitted his resignation.
He had already been thinking for some time that it would be difficult to balance being the Representative of Lighthouse Co., Ltd. with his life at the bank.
Before proceeding with Lee Seon-hye’s case, he decided to resign as a way of properly steeling himself for what lay ahead.
—Congratulations on your resignation. Blessings and glory upon your future.
Along with the system’s utterly ridiculous congratulations, Kim Si-min experienced his first resignation in life.
Feeling lighter than he had in a long time, Kim Si-min headed toward Lee Seon-hye’s snack bar.
As he entered Rodeo Street, he noticed a woman handing out flyers.
Flyers in this day and age…?
Even so, the woman continued handing them out, sweat beading on her forehead. She drew people’s attention without even seeming to notice her surroundings.
She’s beautiful.
People commonly used the word pretty to describe someone, but beautiful was the word that suited this woman handing out flyers.
Even while covered in sweat, she handed out flyers with a smile, and there was something remarkably clear and pure about it.
She looked completely different from the way she had appeared when she came to the bank after Park Mun-seong had passed away.
“…”
Thinking it would be rude to stare too much, Si-min turned his head to the side.
Then, at some point, he realized that she had approached him.
“Oh!”
For a moment, silence fell between the two as their eyes met.
“Uh… I…”
The woman seemed to recognize Si-min as well and awkwardly stumbled over her words.
“Would you like to have a cup of coffee?”
“What? Ah… yes.”
Without even realizing it, Kim Si-min had glanced at the sign of a nearby café and spoken first.
“…”
“…”
He had brought her into the café without really knowing what he was doing, and now the two sat in silence with their coffees ordered.
“So… what brings you here?”
“Ah… well, I quit the bank.”
“What?!”
The woman was so startled that she suddenly exclaimed.
“Oh, I’m sorry!”
Embarrassed by her outburst, her face turned red.
“I probably shouldn’t ask why you quit, should I?”
“Somehow, that’s just how things turned out.”
Kim Si-min gave her a faint smile as he spoke.
“I’m sorry about your father. I wasn’t able to help…”
“I found out later that you held on until the very end, trying to save my father.”
Kim Si-min had certainly been brave when he had jumped in to save the man from the bridge. A ViewTube video showing him in a precarious position, looking as though he might fall beneath the bridge along with the man, had circulated briefly.
Eventually, the so-called Korean internet detective squads managed to uncover his identity.
Park Min-young had also seen how desperately he had tried to save her father.
Her eyes fell on the mark still remaining on his wrist from that day.
“…”
Remembering the sight of Park Mun-seong falling, Si-min lowered his head.
“I couldn’t save him that day either.”
“No one could have saved him. I know how hard you tried. You don’t have to think that way. Thank you.”
“…”
“My father also knew that you were trying to help us with the debt, Manager. He said there was a good manager at the bank, but even he couldn’t find a way to help.”
Whether her father had truly said those words or she was simply saying them to comfort him, Kim Si-min felt a surge of emotion at what she said.
“You came by a few days ago too, didn’t you? I wasn’t trying to see you, but… I saw you watching the shop from outside.”
“Yes, I came.”
“Mom understands too. She’s grateful. She feels the same way I do.”
Park Min-young was a kind person.
Watching her earnestly try to comfort him, Si-min felt warmth spreading through his heart.
“I have quite a lot of free time for the time being. So if it’s all right with you, I thought I’d come and help your mother.”
“What?”
“You’re working alone.”
“We can’t afford to hire anyone…”
“You don’t have to pay me. I only intend to help for a while.”
“You really don’t have to. I’d feel uncomfortable accepting that.”
Of course it would feel burdensome if a complete stranger suddenly appeared and offered to help run your food shop.
Kim Si-min nodded at her words and spoke sincerely.
“I completely understand. But would you still let me help? I told you I quit my job, right? I’ve been thinking about a lot of things. It was difficult for me too. I thought that by helping your mother, I could at least make up for some of the guilt I feel, and maybe breathe a little easier myself.”
“…”
He meant every word.
He wasn’t responsible for everything that had happened that day. In a way, Kim Si-min had been a victim too.
And yet the memory of that day was deeply embedded in his heart.
“I’ll talk to my mother. I can’t promise anything.”
“That’s enough. Thank you.”
Park Min-young watched Kim Si-min bow his head with a complicated expression in her eyes.
That day, instead of going to the snack bar, he went home.
“Mom…”
“Why does my daughter look like that? You look so troubled. Did something happen?”
“Well…”
Park Min-young told Mrs. Lee Seon-hye everything that had happened that day.
“…”
Silence followed for a moment.
“That manager must have had a really hard time too.”
Her first words after the long silence were not blame or sorrow, but concern and sympathy for the other person.
“I didn’t want to watch that video, but I couldn’t resist and watched it once. I saw that young manager desperately trying to save your father. I don’t know why, but your father was doing everything he could to die that day.”
“…”
She had felt it too.
Her father had made up his mind to die that day.
“No one could have saved him. No one.”
“…”
The two women looked at each other with tears in their eyes.
“Let the manager work here. From what I can see, he must be carrying a deep emotional wound too. If someone that young made it all the way to manager at Narae Bank, he must be very smart. If he even quit his job, then he must be having a really hard time. If working here will help him feel a little better, we should let him.”
At her mother’s warm words, Min-young nodded.
“That really is my mom.”
She hugged her mother tightly. Lee Seon-hye gently patted her daughter’s shoulder, and the two comforted each other.
Papapapang! Papang!
“One! Two! One-two, left hook! Jab to the body!”
Papang! Papapapang!
Amid the sharp sounds of fists striking the mitts echoing through the gym, Kim Si-min hammered away at them, sweat flying from his body.
“Huff… huff…”
After finishing the mitt work that capped off roughly two hours of exercise, he collapsed flat on his back, having exhausted every ounce of his strength.
“Whoa, hyung. You’re especially intense today. Since you’ve quit the bank anyway, why don’t you seriously pursue fighting? The guy you took down last time is currently on a five-fight winning streak in White Combat.”
“Forget it, man. What am I supposed to do at my age?”
“Fighters usually hit their prime in their early thirties. Someone like you could make it to WFC with just a little training.”
Kim Do-gyun, who ran the gym while also competing as a fighter, let out a regretful sigh.
“By the way, hyung, did you really quit the bank because of what happened that day?”
“Well… among other things.”
“You were doing really well at the bank.”
“I suppose I was.”
Kim Si-min laughed as though it were a joke, and Kim Do-gyun tried to comfort him with a joke of his own.
“Well, you can’t really do anything badly, hyung. Whatever else you do, you’ll be good at it. If nothing else works out, become a fighter. Seriously. In terms of talent, you’re the best out of everyone I’ve ever seen. Your work ethic too.”
“Have you really met more than five or six people in your entire life?”
Bzzzzzz.
Just then, his phone vibrated.
[Park Min-young]
—Mom says it’s okay for you to come work here. Our shop is open from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. Come whenever you want.
Kim Do-gyun was about to hand Kim Si-min his phone when he saw the profile picture and message on the screen. His eyes widened in shock.
“Hyung… who is this woman? Wow, she’s really pretty… Is she your girlfriend?”
“No.”
“Then what kind of relationship do you have that she’s telling you about her mother’s shop?”
“It’s complicated.”
“What does that even mean?”
“I’m leaving.”
“Hey! At least tell me!”
Leaving Do-gyun shouting behind him, Kim Si-min headed home, took a shower, changed into a hoodie and comfortable pants, and arrived at Lee Seon-hye’s snack bar.
He hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath and opened the door to the snack bar.
“Welcome.”
The warm voice of the kind woman who always greeted people brightly filled the shop.
Her eyes met Kim Si-min’s.
