The Nature of Possession – Chapter 24

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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The holidays were short, and I returned to my daily routine.

Still, learning the work on the weekend wasn’t a waste of time, and I was able to handle the work that Mina occasionally gave me without much difficulty.

She gave me work as if she were testing the waters, and after I finished a few of the tasks succesfully, the work slowly increased until I was now doing the work of one person (according to Mina).

Thanks to that, overtime also increased.

Her declaration that work would be distributed fairly was kept. Thanks to that, the number of times I had to work overtime alone decreased.

Although it seemed like the eyes of the other employees who were working overtime with me were starting to lose their sanity.

They had faces that showed their dissatisfaction with the increased workload, but honestly, I had a lot to say about this.

It was only an hour longer than the regular quitting time, so was there a need to take it as if the world was ending?

And they were working overtime because they were slacking off during work hours.

When I told this thought to Mina, she burst into unprecedented laughter and slapped my shoulder.

“Hahaha, I didn’t think In-ho-ssi would say that.”

In the office, where everyone else had left and only the two of us remained, she covered her mouth with her hand and giggled as she helped me with my work.

A month passed like that.

The early summer energy had now boiled over into full-fledged heat, and it had become so humid that it was impossible to live without turning on the air conditioner.

People’s clothes became thinner, and I had a hard time figuring out where to put my eyes on.

If it seemed like I was even slightly paying attention to someone else, Mina would come running and glare at me, making me even more cautious.

She and I were already half-dating.

We hadn’t confessed, but we held hands and engaged in light skinship without hesitation.

It seemed like the psychological distance had become closer during the movie date last time.

Go to work, work, and then leave work.

On the weekends, a movie theater or a park.

We spent our days with similar yet different routines, and Mina, who had become addicted to Instagram, took pictures everywhere she went.

When I asked why she took so many pictures, she said it was because she was happy to be with me and wanted to capture those happy moments in photos.

When I heard that, my face turned red, and I had to turn my gaze elsewhere.

I thought that I was adapting to this dimension without any major problems.

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But don’t they say that unfortunate events come suddenly?

On a Thursday like any other, Mina and I were summoned by the director.

“What’s going on?”

I was a little scared because I had never properly talked to the director since I came here.

Usually, this kind of summons had a bad reason behind it.

“I’m not sure. If it was just me, I would roughly understand. But why did he call In-ho-ssi? Ah, perhaps he’s going to tell you to take on a part-leader role or something?”

“We’ll find out when we get there.”

Mina knocked on the door, and a voice from inside told us to come in.

I had seen him in passing, but I had never seen the director face-to-face like this.

He looked to be in his early fifties and was dressed neatly.

“We heard that you were looking for me and In-ho-ssi.”

When she closed the door and spoke, the director, who had been looking at us somewhat askew, threw out a question.

“How are you distributing work these days?”

“Pardon?”

She replied to the sudden question.

“I’ve heard some talk while passing by and I hear that you’re giving all the work to a specific person.”

At his words, Mina seemed to understand and said,

“Ah, In-ho-ssi had an excessive workload, so I distributed it fairly…”

“What are you talking about?”

The director retorted bluntly as if he had heard something absurd, and I felt that things had gone wrong.

“When I look at In-ho-ssi’s work reports these days, they’ve decreased by more than half compared to before. You’re giving In-ho-ssi’s work to other people, aren’t you?”

“No, Director. That’s because In-ho-ssi originally had a lot of work…”

“Enough. I know that you two have worked together for a long time and are close, but don’t reduce his work because of personal feelings.”

He waved his hand as if he didn’t want to hear it.

Mina seemed to want to say something because she felt it was unfair, but I nudged her in the side and stopped her.

“Yes. I understand.”

“Tsk. I don’t know why such a good worker is doing that.”

The director clicked his tongue and gestured for us to leave, and we left the room with a short bow.

“Try to get along with your team. Don’t just play around with each other.”

The director’s words were heard behind us as we left.

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After receiving a scolding that wasn’t quite a scolding, Mina couldn’t suppress her anger for a while.

She left the office with a stiff face, and I followed her.

“Huu… Huu…”

She kept taking deep breaths to try to calm her anger, but it didn’t seem to be getting much better.

“Are you feeling a bit better?”

We walked aimlessly down the street, holding the Americanos we had taken out from the cafe.

“A little. But I’m still upset.”

Her stiff words clearly showed how angry she was.

“Should we just quit the company? You and me, Mina-nim?”

When I said it as a joke, she looked up at me, still walking forward.

Her eyes were slightly empty.

“Don’t say things like that. This is a space that I and In-ho-ssi have built. Why should we quit? If anyone should quit, it should be the people who came in late.”

She continued her words, gritting her teeth.

“This is a place with our time and our sweat. We can never leave.”

“Alright, alright. I was just joking.”

I took a step back, frightened by her intensity, and she glared at me.

After the director called us out, Mina informed everyone that there had been a problem with the work distribution and distributed it as [before].

The team members, whose work had been reduced, went home happily, and Mina and I were once again struggling with overtime.

“I’m sorry.”

When she saw that I was struggling with the increased workload, she mumbled.

Who is comforting whom right now?

Seeing Mina’s dark circles that reached her cheekbones, I answered her concern by showing a smile.

A week passed by in a blur.

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It was Friday. The sky was gloomy, as if the rainy season was starting in earnest.

I arrived at work early, went to the bathroom, and returned to the office, but the atmosphere was quite unusual.

Mina was standing in front of Yun Hye-young with an expression full of irritation.

Yun Hye-young was explaining something to her with a terrified look.

“So, you forgot to convey the schedule and didn’t do it, is that right?”

“It’s not that I didn’t do it, I just forgot…”

“That’s the same thing. What did they say on their end?”

“They said they don’t have the manpower… there’s no one available today, so it’s impossible to do it alone.”

Mina roughly ruffled her hair.

“Sigh, how could you forget something so basic.”

“Th-that’s…”

“Well, there’s nothing we can do. Pack your things right now and go down to Busan. Oversee the packaging and shipping, and come back up after you see it all done.”

“B-but, Mina-nim. My father is sick, so I can’t go far.”

“Then who’s going to go? This happened because of Hye-young-ssi’s mistake, so who’s going to go down to Busan?”

“Th-that’s…”

The atmosphere in the office became extremely cold, and it was a situation where it was difficult to even breathe loudly.

The director intervened in that tense atmosphere.

“In-ho-ssi can go.”

The director came out of the break room in the center of the office.

He looked down at Mina.

Despite the pressure from the height difference, Mina didn’t back down.

“This clearly happened because of Hye-young-ssi’s mistake. So why should In-ho-ssi go down there?”

“Can’t they help each other out since they’re on the same team? And her father is sick. Mina-ssi, you’re being very heartless, aren’t you?”

“Before being heartless, isn’t this a matter of public concern? You’re the one who told us to clearly distinguish between public and private matters, Director.”

“Are you talking back?”

Their argument showed no signs of calming down, and I stepped in to resolve the situation.

“I’ll just go.” [T/N: fucking dumbass, I have a bad feeling about this]

When I intervened, Mina looked at me with wide eyes.

“Then it’s settled. Good work, everyone.”

The director avoided the situation as if running away.

“In-ho-ssi. Let’s talk for a moment.”

I was dragged into the conference room.

As soon as the door to the conference room closed, she asked me,

“Why did you step in?”

“It was a conversation that would only end if one side backed down, anyway.”

“The other side could have backed down.”

“You know that the possibility of that is low, right?”

“……..”

“If we keep clashing, my and Mina-nim’s positions will be greatly shaken.”

You know that too, right? I made that kind of face.

“If we want to get along, we have no choice. If we kept pushing, either Mina-nim or I would be excluded from this group.”

“But this kind of thing might happen in the future too.”

“Let’s think about that when it happens. When I come back from Busan this time, why don’t you suggest to the director that I get something for it? I think he’ll listen to that much.”

“Alright, I’ll strongly protest about this.”

“It would be nice to have a car at times like this. It’s sad being a pedestrian. I’ll book a train and go down, so please talk to the people over there for me.”

“Okay. After all, you’re the only one I can count on In-ho-ssi. ”

At my lively words, Mina smiled weakly.

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Four hours after In-ho volunteered to go down.

The office had returned to its original state.

“It’s about time the call should come.”

Looking at the pouring rain through the window, Mina waited for his call.

He had definitely contacted her when he got on the train, and it was already past the time he should have arrived in Busan.

The rain kept falling, and her heart sank like it was being submerged in the rainwater.

“I’m anxious.”

-*Crunch* *crunch*

She nervously bit her nails and shook her legs.

“Oh my!”

A loud noise was heard from the other side of the office.

It seemed like something unusual had happened, so she headed towards the sound.

Even though it was a short distance, a sticky anxiety grabbed her ankles.

The faces of the other employees who saw her approaching turned pale.

“What… happened?”

“Mina-nim… this…”

One of the employees pointed at the screen.

Her mind went blank for a moment after reading the headline.

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[T/N: I knew something bad was gonna happen but… Anyways, the next few chapters are crazy. Stay tuned for them]

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