Chapter : 08
“I’m not particularly pleased about the commercialization of AI from the perspective of someone who has to approve things. When people try to rely on it for everything from A to Z, their individuality disappears.”
Je-eon spoke as he slowly looked around the table, making sure the employees could hear him.
“But the sentence Han Se-a translated here doesn’t have that smooth, polished flavor characteristic of AI.”
He lightly tapped a particular passage in the document with the tip of his pen.
“Rather than choosing the obvious answer a database would likely pick, I can see traces of someone selecting words that fit the context before and after it. Am I right?”
In an instant, everyone’s eyes turned toward one person.
Se-a met Je-eon’s persistent gaze head-on before finally parting her lips.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“That’s why I asked. Do you normally study on your own?”
“What was that situation? He didn’t sound like he was scolding her.”
Hyeong-seok anxiously watched from the side, his leg trembling nonstop.
“English is my minor, so I’ve been studying on my own consistently.”
“Why didn’t you use AI? It would have been easier to run it through a translator.”
“I suppose it would have been, but… it isn’t one hundred percent accurate, so I thought comparing and correcting it would take even more time. I did run the finished translation through a translator afterward just to double-check it. Is there something wrong with it?”
“No.”
“……?”
“It’s because you did a good job.”
“…….”
“Try focusing on it more intensively from now on.”
Se-a had been tense, expecting to be reprimanded, so the unexpected praise left her mind completely blank.
On the other hand, Hyeong-seok felt as though he had only made a fool of himself and wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and hide.
“Se-a. You really didn’t use AI? Seriously?”
As soon as the meeting ended, Hyeong-seok went looking for Se-a.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand.
He had called it high-school-level English, but in reality, the material required considerable skill to translate.
Yet not only had she translated it herself, she had also finished it on time. He simply couldn’t believe it.
“It wasn’t a small amount, either. How did you do all of that by yourself? There’s a difference between the English you learn at school and practical business English.”
Hyeong-seok couldn’t shake the suspicion that Se-a was lying.
To be perfectly honest, he wanted her to be lying.
He had built up more than enough resentment toward Se-a, who had rejected him every time he tried to help her.
“I really did it myself.”
“Then how?”
“Exactly as I told the division head.”
“We can check whether you’re telling the truth or not. Come with me.”
Hyeong-seok pushed Se-a by the shoulder and grabbed the mouse. He moved the cursor around, checking her internet search history.
“What are you doing?”
“Just wait a moment.”
But no matter how thoroughly he searched, there was no record of her using an AI site.
Hyeong-seok slammed the mouse down as if taking out his frustration on it.
“Looks like you deleted just that.”
He muttered as though talking to himself.
“I didn’t delete anything.”
“Sure you didn’t. Se-a, you can be honest with me. I’m your supervisor, after all.”
Se-a was at a loss for words. She couldn’t understand why he was getting this worked up.
“The company hasn’t banned the use of AI. When we’re short on time, we use it. Do you know how nervous I was earlier because you were running late?”
“…….”
“Haah, are you just a little too inflexible?”
Hyeong-seok threw another pointed remark that sounded half like he was talking to himself and turned away.
Se-a mulled over his words before finally speaking.
“Assistant Manager Lee, wait a moment.”
Se-a rose from her chair and walked up to Hyeong-seok.
Whoa, shit. That startled me.
The sudden closing of the distance caught Hyeong-seok off guard, and he instinctively stepped backward.
“Wh-What?”
“Did I do something wrong?”
“What did you say?”
The atmosphere suddenly became tense, and the employees nearby began gathering one by one.
“Why are you two making such a fuss when even the team leader is watching? Se-a, did you forget that Assistant Manager Lee is your supervisor? Just think of it as advice from someone more experienced in life and let it go. Why confront him as if you’re trying to pick a fight?”
“Exactly. You need to be especially careful as an intern.”
Their tones were all gentle, but not a single word sounded kind to Se-a.
The unsolicited advice being thrown at her was nothing more than background noise.
Se-a kept her eyes fixed solely on Hyeong-seok.
“You were the one who asked me to do it right before the meeting. If you had given me enough time, I would have finished it on time.”
“Huh…! So what’s your point?”
“I’m just telling you the facts. It’s also true that I was given very little time, and ultimately, the division head didn’t consider it a problem. So I genuinely don’t understand why you’re blaming me.”
Se-a calmly and logically rebutted him.
The employees who had defended Hyeong-seok without properly understanding the situation coughed awkwardly before returning to their desks one by one.
“Who’s blaming you, anyway…!”
Hyeong-seok continued to fume on his own before storming out of the office.
On Monday, Se-a was the last person left in the office.
She shut down her computer.
The hour hand had already passed ten.
It was because of the message she had received just as she was preparing to leave.
[It’s needed for tomorrow’s meeting, so organize it before you leave.]
The sender was Hyeong-seok, asking her to organize a report.
She had become so absorbed in organizing it that she lost track of time, and eventually felt the muscles in her shoulders stiffening.
In the end, Se-a stopped after completing what she could and left the office. While waiting for the elevator, she massaged her stiff shoulders.
When the elevator arrived and the doors opened, she stepped inside.
But the moment she saw the face of the person already inside, her heart began pounding wildly.
“You’re working late again?”
It was Je-eon.
Perhaps it was because she felt that her connection with him was special for a coincidence.
She had never experienced encounters like this in her life before.
“You too, Division Head?”
“I’m always like this.”
He had helped her several times and even had meals with her privately.
Those things alone had made her feel an inexplicable sense of closeness toward him, but worried that she might appear rude, she deliberately hid her happiness at seeing him.
“You’ve been here for a little over three months now, right?”
“Yes? Yes.”
“Is the company treating you okay?”
It was the first question he had ever asked her.
It felt as though he was asking because he was aware of the criticism she had received from the employees during the daytime meeting.
“It’s okay.”
“‘It’s okay’ means neither good nor bad.”
“…….”
She knew perfectly well how she was being treated in the office, so she couldn’t bring herself to say that things were good, not even as a polite response.
In the meantime, the elevator stopped at the first floor.
As the doors slowly opened, Je-eon asked,
“How are you getting home?”
“By subway or bus.”
“Isn’t it too late for that?”
“……?”
Could he possibly be offering to give her a ride…?
“Do whatever is convenient for you. I have to pass that way anyway.”
“Th-Then please give me a ride!”
She blurted it out without hesitation, as if she had been waiting for him to say those exact words.
As Se-a got into his car, she parted her lips.
“Have you eaten?”
“Why? If I say no, are you going to buy me dinner?”
“Ah… You haven’t eaten yet?”
It had been nothing more than a polite question, but now she was flustered because it sounded as though she had reminded him of his promise to treat her to dinner.
“I ate a long time ago.”
“Oh…”
“What about you, Han Se-a?”
“I haven’t eaten yet.”
Je-eon, who had been looking straight ahead, turned his head toward her.
“Looks like you often skip dinner. You did it last time, too, and today as well.”
“Last time? ……Ah! The day I returned your jacket?”
That was the day she had lied about not having eaten even though she had filled her stomach with a sandwich.
She hadn’t understood why she had done that back then, but now she thought she understood a little.
Some connection buried deep within her unconscious had been continually drawing her toward him.
“Let’s grab something simple before you go home. If I hadn’t heard your answer, I might have let it go, but now that I know, I can’t just send you home like this. What would you like?”
“Ah… I’d really like that, but I have something to finish tomorrow morning, so I need to get to work early.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“If you let me know another day in advance, I’ll make sure I’m free.”
Se-a quickly added that, worried he might say they could just consider the matter settled since she had already eaten.
“Sure.”
The corner of his lips lifted slightly.
There wasn’t the slightest hint of disappointment in his smile.
Se-a was the only one who felt disappointed.
What if he never brings it up again? From his perspective, it wasn’t even an important promise. Am I the only one getting my hopes up this much?
Just as an unnecessary worry crossed her mind, her aunt’s voice rang in her ears.
You know you’re not ready to be seeing men yet, right? Unless you want to live like your mother did, don’t just ignore what your aunt tells you.
It felt like a warning to keep her heart from being drawn toward Je-eon.
