NLFSD Chapter 73
by berryChapter 73
The part of the report Song Team Leader pounced on was petty.
“The spacing is all wrong. Kerning, scaling — a mess. And look here, spelling mistakes too. During the customer interview, you wrote ‘돼요 (dwaeyo)’. Are you kidding? It should be ‘되요 (dweyo)’.”
Pointing aggressively at the monitor, he scowled.
“The template is the standard company format; I didn’t alter kerning or spacing. And on spelling— ‘돼요’ is actually the correct, standard form.”
Jiwoon answered calmly. Song snorted in derision.
“Hold it, Assistant Lee. Are you talking back to me right now?”
“No, sir. Not talking back, only clarifying what I did.”
“When a document’s trash, you apologize first. Why raise your voice claiming you’re right?”
Though it was Song who was loud, obstinate, and wholly wrong — still, Jiwoon ended up the scolded one. He swallowed his indignation, bowed his head.
“Apologies. I’ll correct it.”
“Fix it and resubmit for approval.”
“Yes, sir.”
Back at his desk, Jiwoon grudgingly edited and resubmitted. But Song flatly rejected it again.
Returned, rejected, again and again — so obvious he was deliberately tormenting Jiwoon.
“You know what? Scrap it. Re‑conceptualize the whole thing. There’s no insight here. The concept’s wrong from the ground up.”
“…Excuse me?”
“I’ll lay it out exactly: change the concept entirely. Redo the report from scratch. Clear?”
Song had approved the project earlier, but now nitpicked nonsense. Watching in disbelief, Assistant Manager Min couldn’t hold back and shot Jiwoon a message.
Min:
Why is Team Leader acting like this? Did you cross him?
Jiwoon:
I… don’t know. He just seems in a bad mood.
Min:
Even so, picking fights like that is insane. If you need, I’ll help with the report.
Jiwoon:
Thanks. But I’ll manage.
Taking a deep breath, Jiwoon bit his lip. Inside he seethed.
Pathetic guy. Taking petty revenge because I rejected him? He reeks of insecurity.
Nicknames followed him through life — one was “Iron‑willed.” Having endured worse, he wasn’t one to crumple under childish tricks.
Tack-tack-tack!
His fingers blazed, hammering the keyboard with furious speed. The gleam in his eyes was not mere focus — it was the madness of absolute will.
“Report complete.”
5:50PM. What took others three days, Jiwoon finished in hours — clean, original, insightful.
“Hmph. Didn’t rush it? Why so fast? The key is whether there’s insight. If you stick to dry formats, this means nothing.”
Though impressed, Song pretended otherwise, belittling him.
“I did not rush. There is insight. I ask thorough review.”
“No. Redo with a new concept. Have it on my desk before tomorrow’s 9AM.”
“…What?”
Ridiculous. Working hours over — how could this be reasonable?
“I’m sorry sir, but finishing by tomorrow morning is impossible.”
“Impossible? Just work overtime.”
Mocking grin, he grabbed his bag and jacket. Dumping the task, he himself was leaving.
“I’ll head home now. Assistant Lee, stay behind and work late.”
He even squeezed Jiwoon’s shoulder, leaving his unpleasant touch, then sauntered out.
Shaking with disgust, Jiwoon muttered darkly.
God. I want to flatten that guy. Tonight Taecheon and I planned a nice dinner. Now ruined — though he’ll cook, without me there, it won’t be the same.
With a heavy sigh, he texted:
Sorry, I’ll be late tonight.
ㅌㅊC:
What happened?
Sudden report rewrite.
ㅌㅊC:
Just now assigned? Who orders such at this late hour?
No, just backlog. I’ll finish quickly. Please have dinner first.
He concealed details, not wanting to burden him. Dinner lost with Taecheon was bitter, but he clenched fists.
Fine. I’ll crush this report fast.
Back at his desk, he typed furiously. Every keystroke, he imagined smashing it against Song’s face. The growl of his stomach added to his fury. Hunger was the one thing he couldn’t bear.
By near trance, he finished — at 10PM sharp.
“God. Starving.”
Eager to fly home, he slammed the printed report on Song’s desk with a bang, cut the lights, and left.
By bus, he reached his neighborhood close to 11. Exhausted, he opened the door.
“I’m home.”
“You’re late.”
Leaping from the couch, Taecheon hurried to him, taking his coat and bag, voice laden with concern.
“You worked through dinner, didn’t you? Come — I cooked.”
“Really?”
The words he wanted most.
Smiling bright, Jiwoon followed him to the table. Warmed by candles sat braised short ribs with pumpkin, and other flavorsome dishes.
“Thank you.”
“Dig in.”
He ladled a mountain of rice. One taste, and Jiwoon felt in heaven.
Right. That petty manager’s bark is nothing. I’ve got a perfect, loving husband. That hot‑tempered fool will burn himself out soon. Stay strong, endure.
He cheered himself, happily eating with all his heart.
But contrary to his prediction, Song was as stubborn as himself.
Next morning, Song called for him at once.
“Assistant Lee.”
“Yes, sir.”
What now.
Song eyed him with disdain, waving the report.
“And this?”
“That is the revised report, as ordered. Please review.”
“When did I tell you to rewrite entirely?”
“…What?”
Jiwoon’s jaw dropped.
“I said tweak it, not remake.”
“Sir, clearly yesterday you instructed me to build a whole new concept, so I did.”
“Strange. You really don’t listen well. I told you mere edits.”
Smirking, brows arched, he taunted. Jiwoon forced a fake smile, but behind his back, raised the middle finger.
Eat shit, bastard.
This guy won’t ever admit reality. Without hard evidence like recordings, he’ll never concede.
Sighing inwardly, Jiwoon cut it short.
“Understood. I must have misunderstood. Apologies.”
“Yes, yes. Your hearing is poor indeed! Hahaha.”
Clapping his hands like a clown, he drew everyone’s attention. Witnesses quietly traded looks.
He clearly changed his orders. Is this man insane? Be careful.
Their wary eyes all fell upon Song.
Footnotes:
- 돼요 / 되요 — Korean verb for “become/do”: the only correct spelling is “돼요.” Writing 되요 is a common error. Here, Song publicly displays ignorance, adding pettiness.
- 자간 / 장평 (kerning / scaling) — Formatting terms for spacing and character width; Song’s complaint is baseless, as Jiwoon used official company templates.
- 독종 (dok‑jong) — Colloquial nickname: “stubborn/iron‑willed one.”