“Ahem, come over here.”
Geowung gestured toward Hakyung, who was looking around like a student on a field trip.
Hakyung quickly moved toward the man calling him.
“You can use any room here.”
“Pardon?”
What does this mean? Why isn’t anyone using this place when it’s been built so nicely?
“What about the rooms for the other staff?”
“Uh… there aren’t any.”
“There aren’t?”
“Yeah.”
That was the complete opposite of what Geowung had just said, mentioning that they built such a large dormitory thinking about employee welfare.
After finishing the contradictory conversation, Geowung quickly left the dormitory, saying he would be on his way.
Hakyung had a lot of questions: What should a janitor do?
Was today the first day of work?
How would he get his meals?
But the slow-moving man disappeared before he could grab him.
“Slow, but fast…”
Left alone in the large hallway, Hakyung took off his hat and let air into his scalp through the breathing hole.
As fresh air flowed through, the tension melted away, and his lips lifted into a smile.
Anyway, since he was allowed to use any room here, he decided to first look around for the room he’d be using.
He passed through the large kitchen, and as he turned the corner of the hallway, several doors appeared in a row, looking like rooms
He was secretly worried there might be a hammer or saw inside, but they were all neat, with props like the ones seen in historical dramas.
Thick blankets and quilts with beautiful embroidery, a lantern on a nightstand, and a dresser with mother-of-pearl decorations.
It seemed almost too nice to be for regular staff accommodations. All the rooms were decorated similarly with a refined touch.
Hakyung turned back along the hallway and chose the room with the whale-embroidered blanket as his own.
“Wow, it’s so soft!”
After carefully checking every corner of the room to make sure it was brand new, Hakyung’s first action was to jump into the thick quilt.
Back when he was in the countryside, he always slept on the ground with a thin blanket, but now, with bedding so soft he couldn’t even feel the floor beneath him… it was absolutely wonderful!
Hakyung rolled around on the bed, shaking his limbs and enjoying the softness for a long time.
His pink hair scattered joyfully across the quilt.
His body, exhausted from the past two days, was tempting him to fall into a deep sleep, but he picked up his nearly-dead phone instead.
He couldn’t stop thinking about his grandmother, who was probably waiting anxiously for news.
The phone rang a few times before his grandmother’s voice came through.
“Oh my, our little piglet! Have you started work yet?”
Hakyung hadn’t told his grandmother about being scammed by Taeyoung.
He had just told her he arrived safely, and his grandmother thought he had already started working today.
Hakyung frowned at the fact that he had to tell another lie, but there was no choice.
“Uh-huh! I’ve started work. I’m staying in a really nice dorm.”
“Is that so? Has Taeyoung finally come to his senses?”
“Y-yeah! I think so! Grandma, I just called to let you know I’m doing fine. I need to go to work now, so I’ll hang up!”
“Already? Well, call me again this evening, okay?”
After repeating Hakyung’s answer a few times, his grandmother hung up.
Hakyung sighed, feeling guilty for the lies, but it was a hundred times better than worrying his grandmother.
Hakyung sighed again and began to unpack his bag.
It only contained a few clothes, his journal, and his laptop with its charging cable.
It was incredibly shabby.
However, Hakyung lifted his sinking mood with the positive thought that if he ever had to run away, he could quickly grab what he needed.
It didn’t look like a normal company here, after all.
“Whew, time to work!”
Hakyung stood up, firmly pressed his hat down, and stretched his body as he turned.
It wasn’t even past lunchtime yet, and it felt a bit awkward to spend the whole day in the dormitory.
After one last look at the thick quilt with regret in his eyes, he opened the door and screamed when he immediately came face to face with a pitch-black silhouette.
“Of course, it’s a dolphin…”
The man, suddenly assaulted by a loud scream, furrowed his brows.
It wasn’t until he heard the low voice that seemed to pierce through the floor that Hakyung realized the person in front of him was the boss, and he quickly took a step back.
His heart, still racing from the surprise, thumped heavily, and his breathing hole at the top of his head was left gaping.
Hakyung placed his hand on his startled chest and looked up.
The man, still frowning, was looking down at him.
“Hello.”
“You’re quite polite.”
Hakyung couldn’t tell if it was a compliment or sarcasm, as the man handed him a piece of paper.
It had the words “Employment Contract” written on it.
However, the issue was that the paper was stamped with the “sample” watermark all over it, as if it had been hastily copied from somewhere.
“Uhm… this doesn’t seem like a formal contract.”
“What? It’s an employment contract, isn’t it?”
“This is a sample from another company. It has no legal validity.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
The man raised his voice, clearly not understanding what he meant.
With each increase in his volume, Hakyung’s shoulders shrank.
He should have just accepted whatever the man gave him.
Why did he have to argue?
Hakyung cursed his own righteous mouth, which always spoke the truth, but it was already too late to take it back.
An awkward silence lingered between them for a while.
Surprisingly, it was the man who broke the silence first.
“Then let’s go write a proper employment contract.”
“Where to?”
“You’ll know if you follow me.”
The man smiled, raising only one corner of his mouth, and led the way.
Hakyung hurriedly moved his feet, following him. After passing a long corridor, they arrived at a large open space.
“Quite the little troublemaker, how cute.”
“What?”
“Forget it if you didn’t hear.”
Hakyung, tense and unable to catch the man’s muttering, asked again.
But he simply responded indifferently, without explaining what he said.
Even when Hakyung hovered around him, curiosity rising, his lips remained sealed, offering no answers.
In the end, Hakyung had to create the employment contract himself using Word.
Surrounded by employees in dark suits, it felt strange to be working like this.
At first, he thought they were all watching him closely, perhaps because there might be company secrets around.
But before long, he realized that his worry was totally unnecessary.
Every time he created a new document, people around him exclaimed, “Oh!” even when he increased the font size.
These days, they don’t even teach such simple computer skills in school…
Hakyung, feeling a mix of awkwardness and embarrassment, had to keep moving his fingers.
It felt like when he used to perform in front of the elders at the village hall.
“Wow! The janitor’s doing a great job!”
“Wait, you can do that too? You know, putting numbers in those little squares.”
“Numbers in little squares? Could it be…?”
“Excel?”
“Yeah, that’s it! You know how to do that too?”
Hakyung nodded.
It was a bit awkward to say, but he actually held a level 1 certification.
“I also have a computer skills certification.”
Though he was hesitant to brag, it was a world where these small mentions were necessary.
The people around him reacted with another round of “Oh!”
Anyway, it was a strange company.
In the end, Hakyung made the contract, signed it, and brought it to the man.
He stared at the document with a pleased expression for a while.
What a strange boss he was.
“Boss, where do I clean? And what about meals… should I buy them myself?”
“Clean? Clean your own room. Meals? Take care of it yourself if you’re hungry. There’s a kitchen.”
“That’s it?”
“What more do you need?”
The man shrugged and put the document into his desk drawer.
It was the top drawer, the one you couldn’t open without a key.
Why does he hide it so tightly?
A warning light went off in Hakyung’s mind, already filled with suspicion.
He’d been hired as a cleaner, and the only task was cleaning his own room?
And he’s offering an unlimited supply of food from the kitchen?
It really seemed like he was planning to fatten him up and sell him off somewhere.
“No, it’s fine. I understand.”
Seeing the man’s expression, as if he would drink him up the moment Hakyung asked for anything more, Hakyung quickly waved his hands.
It seemed best to stay quiet and plan a stealthy escape at dawn.
He managed a small smile and bowed before leaving the office.
Though he thought his movements were completely natural, Muheon found it quite suspicious.
Just moments ago, Hakyung’s face was full of confusion, but now, he didn’t ask for an explanation and said it was unnecessary…
Even without peeking into his small mind, it was obvious what Hakyung was thinking.
“I can’t let him escape just yet.”
Muheon quietly watched the back of the quick-moving “dolphin” before smiling mischievously.