Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Thank you! I’ll do my absolute best in sales so I can keep my A rank next quarter too!”

Clap, clap!

Applause and cheers for him filled the meeting room.

Lee Sejun’s lips stretched into a huge smile after receiving an A rank.

He remained standing in his place and bowed politely.

Watching him, Assistant Manager Im Sanghyeon, who had joined the company at the same time as me and was sitting beside me, smiled while muttering under his breath.

“Hey, Inwoo. Isn’t it seriously ridiculous that Lee Sejun got another A?”

At Im Sanghyeon’s words, I clenched my teeth so hard that my cheek trembled.

“You were definitely number one among the assistant managers until right before the quarter closed.”

“...Tell me about it.”

“It’s obvious. His wonderful mother probably handed him another pile of sales.”

Just then...

Click.

The lights in the darkened meeting room came back on, and CEO Jeong Seonghan, who was sitting at the head of the table, spoke.

“You all worked hard this quarter as well. Assistant Manager Lee, if you keep this up, your promotion is practically guaranteed.”

“Thank you.”

“The rest of the assistant managers should try a little harder in the third quarter.”

“...Yes.”

Except for Lee Sejun, the rest of us nodded and answered almost in unison.

“Then get back out there and do your jobs.”

CEO Jeong Seonghan stood and headed for the meeting room door, only to suddenly stop.

“Oh, right. The incentives for the A-ranked employees will be included in this month’s salary, so make sure you check.”

“Yes, sir! Thank you!”

Lee Sejun raised his palm beside his eyebrow and shouted as if pledging loyalty.

And with that, the meeting ended.

The sales rankings of the employees were still displayed clearly on the screen.

[Second Quarter Sales Performance - Assistant Managers]

Lee Sejun: A
Choi Inwoo: B
Park Dohyeon: C
Baek Seoyeon: C
Im Sanghyeon: C
Kim Jonghyeon: D

Once again, Choi Inwoo had remained at B rank.

I looked at my own name and bit my lip.

Lee Sejun rose from his seat and walked toward me with a sly smile.

“Assistant Manager Choi, too bad. You’re a B again this time. You looked like you were working yourself to death in the second quarter too... What a shame.”

Then he leaned his face toward mine, clenched his fist, and shouted.

“Try a little harder next time, Assistant Manager Choi. You can do it!”

A luxury watch from Brand R gleamed on the wrist he was waving in front of me.

Instead of answering him, I simply shrugged and waved my hand through the air.

Lee Sejun walked away with a face full of smiles.

No, it was closer to a sneer.

Im Sanghyeon watched him leave, clicked his tongue, and came over to me.

“What the hell was that? Isn’t he going too far?”

I disliked Lee Sejun’s attitude too.

But there was one fact I couldn’t deny.

He had produced the highest sales among all the assistant managers in the second quarter.

“Yeah, but it’s not illegal for his mother to boost his sales. He was just born into a good family. That’s basically his one talent.”

“That’s exactly why it’s ridiculous. She spends that much money just to raise her son’s sales figures?”

Im Sanghyeon raised his shoulders almost to his ears and shook his head in disbelief.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just give her son the money as an allowance? Don’t you think so, Inwoo?”

“You’re not wrong. But Young Master Lee Sejun insists on working at a company so he can gain some ‘real-world experience.’”

“Damn. Even if he gets an incentive like that, it probably doesn’t cover even a quarter of what his mother spends to raise his sales. I seriously don’t know if that rank is fair.”

“Same here. There can’t even be any profit in it. Who knows why they do this every quarter?”

We left the meeting room and sighed while watching Lee Sejun, who looked delighted.

Still staring at Lee Sejun, Im Sanghyeon frowned.

“Sometimes I seriously wonder if he just can’t stand seeing you get an A.”

“Next quarter, I’ll raise my sales so high that even if he uses his mother’s money, he won’t be able to overturn it. That’s the only way.”

WG Food.

Our company divided the year into four quarters and calculated sales performance at the end of each one.

Employees were ranked from A to D based on those results.

The highest rank, A, came with an incentive.

Naturally, those quarterly rankings also affected promotions.

That was why every employee became obsessed with getting a high rank.

Incentives.

Promotions.

In other words, salary.

It was directly connected to how much you were worth as an employee.

One year ago.

After I had been promoted to assistant manager, I received an A rank during the first quarter of that year.

But that was the only A I had ever received.

Ever since then, I had remained at B.

And it was all because of Assistant Manager Lee Sejun.

His behavior alone made it obvious that he did not come from an ordinary family.

He drove an expensive imported car that was excessive for a food-company salesman.

A luxury watch wrapped around his wrist.

Luxury belts, shoes, and clothes.

No matter how much incentive money an ordinary employee received, even if he spent his entire salary on luxury goods, he could not live like that.

Lee Sejun, the son of a wealthy family, seemed to treat the company almost like a hobby.

His wealth was obvious enough for everyone to notice.

More importantly, during working hours, when a salesperson was supposed to focus on sales, he rarely spent much time visiting clients.

No one knew what he did or where he went.

But for someone in sales, he spent far more time in the office than out in the field.

That was another reason people could not sincerely applaud him even when he received an A rank.

Yet Lee Sejun always received an A.

The employees all knew the secret behind his ranking.

His mother created his sales for him.

But no one could complain about the sales he brought in.

...Because technically, it was not illegal.

Until shortly before the end of every quarter, I, Choi Inwoo, was always the one closest to A rank.

Then, right before the rankings were finalized, Lee Sejun would suddenly boost his sales by a huge amount using his mother.

It was unfair.

It made my blood boil.

But what could I do?

I could not blame him simply because his parents were rich.

Born into an extremely ordinary family, I had no choice but to overcome that advantage through my own sales ability and effort...

I looked at my name, still sitting at B rank, and clenched my fist.

“Fine. Let’s go get that A rank...”

Since childhood, I had lived under the illusion that my family was wealthy.

I could eat whatever I wanted.

I could have the things I wanted.

And whenever there was something I wanted to do, I was usually allowed to do it.

So I grew up foolishly believing I was a child who had everything.

Back then, I did not know.

I did not notice the holes in my parents’ socks.

I never wondered why they always wore the same clothes and the same shoes.

If I had noticed those things at such a young age, perhaps I would have matured much sooner.

It was only in my early teens that I realized my family was not rich.

I think it started when I was twelve and began visiting my friends’ homes.

At their houses, the food they wanted was cooked by their mothers, not their grandmothers.

And their homes had separate rooms where each family member could stay.

I had never known.

I had simply assumed that the entire family sleeping together in one cramped room was normal.

After all, that was how I had lived for the first twelve years of my life.

And from that point onward, I began to understand everything.

The reason I had always been able to eat what I wanted, do what I wanted, and have what I wanted...

Was because my parents had sacrificed their time with me to earn money.

I realized far too late that they had been working themselves to the bone for my sake.

Even now, I sometimes wonder...

Instead of receiving all those things, what if I had simply spent more of my childhood with my parents?

But back then, I was too young and immature to understand.

That was how I grew up in a household where both my parents worked relentlessly.

Since I was still at an age where I needed someone to take care of me, my grandmother filled the role my parents could not.

I had never once seen my grandfather.

He had already passed away before I was born.

My grandmother worked incredibly hard so no one would notice that I had not been raised in my parents’ arms.

Thanks to her, I think I grew up properly, just as she had wanted.

In some ways, I had probably spent more time with my grandmother than with my parents.

And yet she was always the one apologizing because I had grown up under her care.

When I was about to graduate from university...

I dreamed of a happy future more than ever.

I thought that once I graduated and entered the workforce, I would finally be able to repay my grandmother.

As if wanting to prove that dream, I stood there on graduation day wearing my graduation cap and waiting for her.

I waited.

And waited.

But my grandmother never came to my graduation.

No.

She could no longer come.

Why had she been in such a hurry to leave this world before her grandson could even begin repaying her kindness?

All I had ever done was receive her love.

I felt as though I had not even repaid a fraction of it.

In the end, before I had even received what could properly be called a salary...

My grandmother peacefully closed her eyes forever.

After the meeting ended, I stepped outside the office and stared up at the clear blue sky without a single cloud.

“Grandma... I miss you more than usual today.”

Ever since I was little, my grandmother had always told me one thing.

Inwoo, my sweet puppy. Even if life ever corners you, you must never take what belongs to someone else. That is a very bad thing. You understand what Grandma means, right?

Her words suddenly came back to me.

But as days like today kept repeating themselves, for the first time, I found myself wanting to break that promise.

“Grandma... do I really have to keep that promise?”

Because I could not keep living while everything was taken away from me.

My face was tightly twisted as if I were suffering from a nightmare.

I groaned and twitched in my sleep.

Pat, pat.

A familiar hand stroked my body.

The moment it did, the pain disappeared as if it had never existed.

I slowly opened my eyes.

And saw a familiar face.

...Grandma.

“Is it really you, Grandma?”

The moment I saw her, tears filled my eyes.

Grandma welcomed me with a gentler smile than ever before.

“Grandma... I missed you.”

Just like when I was a child, I buried myself in her arms and cried.

Why did I feel so heartbroken?

Grandma did not say a single word.

But I could feel it.

Instead of words, she comforted me with the warmth of her touch.

I had no idea how much time passed.

Eventually, I pulled away from her arms and looked at her.

Grandma stared at my tear-covered face and smiled.

“Grandma... say something. Please?”

She continued to keep her lips tightly closed.

Then...

“Take this, my sweet Inwoo.”

For the first time, Grandma spoke.

Hearing that familiar voice again after five years made my chest tighten with emotion.

She pressed something firmly into my hand.

Wiping away my tears, I looked down.

There was a phone in my hand.

“A phone...? Grandma, what is this?”

My voice trembled after crying for so long.

I raised my head.

“Huh? Grandma...!”

Grandma, who had been smiling in front of me moments earlier, had completely disappeared.

“Grandma! Grandma!”

I desperately searched for her and cried out.

Then...

Flash!

Instead of the scene I had just been looking at, the white ceiling of my house filled my vision.

“What... Was that a dream?”

I sat up from my pillow, which had become damp with tears, and thought about Grandma.

Since her death, this was the first time she had ever appeared in my dreams.

Simply seeing her again made the dream feel overwhelmingly real.

“I kept asking you to appear in my dreams, and now you finally do... Grandma. I really missed you...”

While I was thinking about her...

Ding.

An unfamiliar notification sound came from the phone beside my bed.