IMCT 07

Chapter 7

The day after talking with Park Won-jung at the Lighthouse office, Kim Si-min went to his bank branch to take care of something he had been thinking about for a long 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 Park Moon-seong too, but did you kill the guy? If you leave like this, you’ll end up with nothing.”

Team Leader Park Cheol-sun once again sincerely tried to stop him from submitting his resignation.

A real senior. A real older brother.

While everyone else simply thought, Another guy is leaving, and moved on, he was the only one who tried to stop Si-min.

“Team Leader, no, hyung. I really worked hard here for eight years.”

“Exactly! That’s why it’s such a waste. You know you’re the youngest person in Nara Bank’s history to be promoted to Manager. Everyone says you’ll make executive at the very least. So what are you doing all of a sudden?”

“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.”

“…”

Park Cheol-sun tightly shut his eyes as he looked at Si-min’s eyes, which were shining with unusual clarity.

He did not know what Si-min had gone through, but his eyes were clearer and brighter than any he had ever seen before.

“Phew… I don’t know what you’re thinking by leaving, but you’re a smart guy, so I’ll trust that you have your reasons. If things get tough, call me. I don’t know if I can find you somewhere better than here, but I’ll still 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 after making it big enough to make all those higher-ups sweat. It’ll make your old hyung proud, too.”

He laughed heartily.

His laughter naturally made Si-min smile as well.

And with that, Kim Si-min submitted his resignation.

He had known from the beginning that it would be difficult to balance being the Representative of Lighthouse Co., Ltd. with working at the bank.

Before getting started on Lee Sun-hye’s case, he decided to quit his job so that he could make a firm commitment to his new life.

—Congratulations on your resignation. May blessings and glory follow your future.

Along with the system’s completely unfunny congratulations, he experienced his first resignation in life.

Feeling much lighter, Kim Si-min headed toward Lee Sun-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, beads of sweat rolling down her face. She naturally drew people’s attention without even trying.

She’s beautiful.

People often used the word “pretty” to describe someone, but “beautiful” suited this woman better.

Even while sweating heavily, she handed out flyers with a smile. Her smile was incredibly clear and pure.

She looked completely different from the woman who had come to the bank after Park Moon-seong had passed away.

“…”

He felt it would be rude to stare too much, so he turned his head to the side.

Then, at some point, he realized she had come closer.

“Oh!”

For a moment, silence fell between the two as their eyes met.

“Uh… I…”

The woman seemed to recognize Si-min too 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 looked at the sign of a nearby café and spoken first.

“…”

“…”

He had brought her to the café without really knowing what he was doing.

Now, with their coffee ordered, the two sat in silence.

“So… what brings you here?”

“Ah… well, I quit the bank.”

“What?!”

The woman suddenly cried out in surprise.

“Ah, I’m sorry!”

Embarrassed by how loudly she had reacted, she blushed and spoke again.

“I’m guessing I shouldn’t ask why you quit, right?”

“It just… happened that way.”

Kim Si-min gave her a small smile as he answered.

“I’m sorry about your father. I couldn’t do anything to help…”

“I found out later that you were holding on to my father until the very end, trying to save him.”

Kim Si-min had been brave when he jumped from the bridge to save the man.

A ViewTube video showing him desperately trying to save Park Moon-seong, looking as though he might fall from the bridge himself, had circulated briefly.

The so-called Korean internet detectives eventually managed to uncover his identity.

Park Min-young had also seen him desperately trying to save her father.

Her eyes fell on the marks still left on his wrist from that day.

“…”

Remembering Park Moon-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 blame yourself. Thank you.”

“…”

“My father also knew that you had tried to help him with his debts somehow. He said there was a good Manager at the bank, but even he had no way to help.”

Si-min did not know whether her father had really said those words or whether she was only saying them to comfort him, but her words made something well up inside him.

“You came a few days ago too, didn’t you? I wasn’t trying to see you, but I saw you standing outside the shop.”

“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 sincerely try to comfort him, Si-min felt warmth spread through his heart.

“I have quite a lot of free time for the time being. So if it’s all right with you, I was thinking I could help your mother for a while.”

“What?”

“She was working alone.”

“We can’t afford to hire someone…”

“You don’t have to pay me. I’m only planning to help for a while.”

“You really don’t have to. I’d feel bad about it.”

Of course she would feel uncomfortable if a complete stranger suddenly offered to help at her family’s food shop.

Kim Si-min nodded at her words before speaking honestly.

“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 really hard for me too. I thought that by helping your mother, I could repay even a little of what I feel sorry about, and maybe breathe a little easier myself.”

“…”

He meant every word.

He was not responsible for everything that had happened that day.

In a way, Kim Si-min himself had been a victim too.

Even so, the memory of that day had been deeply embedded in his heart.

“I’ll talk to Mom. But I can’t promise anything.”

“That is enough. Thank you.”

Park Min-young watched Kim Si-min bow his head, her expression complicated.

That day, he did not return to the snack bar.

He went home instead.

“Mom…”

“What happened to my daughter’s face? You look so troubled. Did something happen?”

“Well…”

Park Min-young told Lee Sun-hye everything that had happened that day.

“…”

Silence followed for a while.

“That Manager must have had a really hard time too.”

After a long silence, her first words were not words of 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 with everything he had. I don’t know why, but your father was determined to die that day. He was struggling like crazy to do it.”

“…”

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 had tears in their eyes.

“Let the Manager work here. From the looks of it, he must be hurting badly too. If such a young man made it all the way to Manager at Nara Bank, he must be very smart. If someone like that even quit his job, then he must be having a really hard time. If working here will help him feel a little better, then we should let him.”

At her mother’s warm words, Min-young nodded.

“That’s my mom.”

She hugged her mother tightly.

Lee Sun-hye gently patted her daughter’s shoulder, and the two comforted each other.

Pow! Pow-pow! Pow!

“One! Two! One-two, left hook! Jab to the body!”

Pow! Pow-pow-pow!

The sound of punches slamming into the mitts echoed throughout the gym as Kim Si-min struck them, sweat flying from his body.

“Hoo… hoo…”

After finishing the mitt work that wrapped up roughly two hours of exercise, he poured out the last of his strength and collapsed flat on his back on the floor.

“Whoa, hyung. You’re especially fierce today. Since you’ve already quit the bank, why don’t you seriously pursue fighting? That guy you took down last time is on a five-fight winning streak in White Combat right now.”

“Forget it, man. At my age?”

“Fighters usually hit their prime in their early thirties. At your level, hyung, you could probably make it to WFC with just a little more 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 guess I was.”

Kim Si-min answered with a joking smile, and Kim Do-gyun tried to comfort him in the same joking manner.

“Hyung, there’s nothing you can’t do anyway. You’ll probably do well at anything you try. If nothing else works, become a fighter. Seriously. Out of everyone I’ve ever seen, you’re at the top when it comes to talent. And you’re just as good when it comes to effort.”

“Have you met, like, five or six people in your whole life?”

Bzzzzzz.

Just then, his phone began to vibrate.

[Park Min-young]

—Mom says it’s okay for you to come work here. Our shop is open from noon to 10 p.m. Come whenever you want.

Kim Do-gyun was about to hand Si-min his phone when he saw the profile picture and message on the screen.

His eyes widened.

“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 mom’s shop?”

“It’s complicated.”

“What does that even mean?”

“I’m leaving.”

“Wait! Tell me before you go!”

Leaving Do-gyun shouting behind him, Kim Si-min went home, took a shower, changed into a hoodie and comfortable pants, and headed to Lee Sun-hye’s snack bar.

He hesitated for a moment before taking a deep breath and opening the door.

“Welcome.”

A warm, cheerful voice greeted him as it always did.

Then her eyes met Kim Si-min’s.