Runner-up's Revenge

Studying felt like the only solution.

He’d been top of the class, and a graduate of Seoyeon University, even though all those accomplishments were behind him now.

Dowon thought, if he could just study without distractions, things would somehow turn out okay. Maybe he could even go back to being the top student he once was.

But of course, there was no way he would have time to just study. That kind of luck was never his.

“Dowon, don’t worry about the money,” his mother said. “I will figure something out. Just go be with your father. He’s all alone down there.”

Who isn’t alone here? She seemed to have forgotten that Dowon, who was working like a dog, and she, lying in the hospital, were both alone.

His mother called constantly, asking him to go stay with his father. She felt so sorry for her husband and wanted his son to be there for him.

Dowon wanted to ask why she felt sorry for a man who slept perfectly well at night after stealing all that money and leaving the mess in their laps, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

“Your poor father…”

Whenever Dowon heard his mother’s tearful voice, all he wanted to do was escape.

He leaned against the wall for a while, listening to her careful blend of blame and pleas. Then, as if something in the sky would soothe his mind, he gazed up into the clouds.

But nothing changed.

With a heavy heart, he took out his phone and transferred money to his father’s account. He scraped together a million won from his savings account, the amount his father had said he needed.

“Dad.”

“Dowon, I got the money. So—”

“I’m not going,” Dowon said, his throat tightening too much to elaborate. Every time he spoke to his father, it felt like something hot was rising in his throat, choking him. “I need to focus on studying now.”

“What are you talking about?”

His father was always like that, unable to imagine that his ways and ideas could be wrong.

“What do you need to study for? How old are you now? You failed at university, you’re getting older, and you need to switch gears. That’s the practical thing to do.”

“I—”

“Look at reality, Dowon. Who would want to hire you? Who would pay a decent salary to someone like you? Someone with a pretentious background, but with no real skills?

His father sighed. “Just do what I say. Come down here.”

Dowon fought back something that threatened to bubble up and answered as calmly as he could.

“I really can’t go.”

“Then send more money.”

Dowon let out a bitter laugh, knowing his father could hear him but unable to stop himself.

“What did you say?”

“I made all sorts of arrangements, assuming you’d come. But if you won’t, what am I supposed to do? Take responsibility and send more money.”

This was also typical of his father. He was always right, and if something went wrong, it was always someone else’s fault.

Dowon couldn’t hold back and yelled into the phone.“Why should I do that, Dad? Do you even know how much Mom’s hospital bills are right now?”

But his father merely clicked his tongue indifferently.

“Then you should’ve said you weren’t coming from the start. You’ve been like this ever since you were a kid.”

Feeling like he might explode, Dowon hung up. A hot, balloon-like sensation was swelling inside him. He took deep breaths, trying to calm down.

But the world offered no help, and neither did his family.

Mom: Did your dad call?

Mom: Please just have a little bit of faith in him

Mom: You know how smart and capable your dad is. That’s how you got into Seoyeon University, right? You got his genes.

She was wrong. That was all thanks to Dowon’s hard work.

He wondered why his parents had even had him. Maybe they saw him as just a retirement plan or a safety net for their business ventures.

Dowon wanted to run away. If he didn’t, he felt like his parents would slowly consume him until there was nothing left, not even a trace.

What was I born for?

That thought lingered as he finished work for the day. The stifling heat outside made him sweat profusely. After a draining shift at the factory, even the walk home felt exhausting and miserable.

He was heading toward Hana’s place on instinct. He wanted to study, but his worn-out body wasn’t cooperating after the long hours at the factory.

He knew that going to Hana’s place would only lead to more distractions.

…But still…

Dowon knew that if he went to Hana’s place, she would definitely interrupt him, and \ he wouldn’t get any studying done.

He just wanted to rest in her arms. He couldn’t let go of the comfort he found in being at Hana’s place.

He knew he should be studying, just like others who worked hard and still found time to study, and eventually got into good universities and companies.

As Dowon chewed on the inside of his cheek, his phone rang. He almost ignored it but then looked at the screen.

It was Dahye. He couldn’t ignore a call from her. Cautiously, he answered.

“…Hello?”

Dahye’s slightly excited voice came through.

“I found a part-time job, want to try it out?”

Dowon blinked slowly. Dahye was giving him a job offer.

“…What kind of job?”

“A part-time job at Hanban Bank. All you do is sit, put stuff into envelopes, and send them out. It’s super easy, and you’ll get plenty of free time to do whatever else you want. They’ll even pay well. You could do it for about six months.”

It sounded too good to be true. It was far too good a job for someone like him, and coming from someone like Dahye, who had been so hostile to him, it was suspiciously generous.

“…Um…”

He couldn’t figure out Dahye’s intentions. He definitely didn’t believe she was offering this job out of pure goodwill. There was no way.

If he accepted this job, he was certain Dahye had some plan to humiliate him. His past experiences told him as much.

“It’s a really… good position.”

It wasn’t a lie. From what he knew, even a part-time job at Hanban Bank was one of those dream jobs—highly competitive and only available to a select few. The fact that she was offering it to him roused his paranoia.

“Dowon, when are you planning to pay me back? I told you I need it back as soon as possible. Do you think I’m offering you this job for your benefit? I’m doing this because I need my money back.”

“Uh…”

Dahye’s voice grew impatient. “You should be grateful I’m even offering. Do you think you’ll be able to pay me back with just your factory job? Do you have all the time in the world to earn my money back? Should I just not bother helping you out? Can you pay me back tomorrow then?”

Feeling desperate, Dowon finally answered, “I—I’ll do it. Thank you, Dahye. Thank you.”

Dowon knew that Dahye had some deeper motive at play here. He knew he shouldn’t accept the job, but he couldn’t bring himself to refuse.

The 3 million won he borrowed from Dahye, the 1 million sent to his father, and his mother’s ongoing hospital bills—they all made him repeatedly thank her rather than refuse her.

***

There were a handful of people around, probably a few more than ten. Dahye separated them and then subtly approached Dowon.

“All you have to do is pack things, and prepare them for shipping. Easy, right?”

She looked down at him where he was seated at the table.

“It’s just simple labor. In your free time, you can do whatever you want—study, play on your phone…”

The position Dahye had gotten for him was a delivery worker for Hanban Bank. It involved packaging items according to a set schedule, and once that was done, there was plenty of free time. On top of that, the job provided meals from the cafeteria, and for someone preparing for employment, they even allowed time off to attend interviews. It was a relatively relaxed position.

“You can do this for about six months, so work hard and make some money, Dowon. This job had tough competition and two rounds of interviews, but I pulled some strings for you.”

Dowon didn’t feel resentment toward her for this. The fact that he had finally gotten into the place he’d once dreamed of working at, even if it was just for a temporary job, couldn’t feel humiliating.

In fact, he felt grateful. A job where he could work, still have time to study, and earn extra income—it was almost enough to bring him to tears.

“Thank you, Dahye.”

“Just don’t embarrass me. Everyone here knows you’re a friend of mine.”

He took those words to heart and worked diligently. He finished his tasks much faster than the others.

During his free time, he would glance over to where Dahye was working.

He had expected her to come over and bother him now and then. He had accepted the job assuming he’d have to endure her harassment, but it would be worth it.

“Dahye, could you come over for a minute?”

“Yes!”

But Dahye was far too busy to even look over at him. It made sense, he supposed.

Dahye was a new hire at Hanban Bank, one of the most competitive companies to get into, known for being tough even after you got in. Seeing her dressed like a true professional, and working hard, made Dowon face the reality in front of him.

He had never stepped foot inside a company’s door, even at his age. In fact, there were probably many people around his age who had never crossed the threshold of a company.

For a good job, it made sense to invest some time, and that time would eventually become the qualifications that helped you land a job like that. People said that new hires were accepted well into their 30s.

So it wasn’t fair to say his situation was entirely hopeless.

Dahye, who had actually graduated from university, quickly prepared for exams, joined Hanban Bank, and worked hard as a well-recognized new employee in the company.

While Dowon, after ruining his university grades and his life in general, didn’t even try to overcome it quickly. Instead, he spent his time locked in a mental hospital, wasting away. When he finally thought he was getting better, he was too busy comforting himself with other people in the same situation. And even when things seemed to improve a bit, he found himself giving all his earnings to his parents, leaving no time to study, while working at the factory every day.

This was his reality. Dowon felt like he was about to lose his mind from the crushing sense of inferiority.

“Ouch.”

The paper he was handling sliced through his skin, and his finger started bleeding.

“Are you okay? Here, take this.” Another employee who had been watching from nearby handed Dowon a bandage, smiling kindly.

“Ah, thank… you.”

“You’ve been working really hard. Take a little break.”

The employee gave Dowon an encouraging smile.

The people at Hanban Bank must have been excellent students, attending prestigious universities. They seemed like good-natured people, kind even to someone like Dowon, a part-timer they’d hardly spoken to.

Dowon fiddled with the bandage for a moment, wondering if he deserved to use it.

“Dowon, would you like to join us for lunch?”

At that moment, a group of others approached him, and among them, Dahye was smiling.

“Since you’re a friend of Dahye’s, we’ll treat you. Come eat with us.”

With uneasiness in his eyes, Dowon followed them.

***

“What would you like, Dowon? The salmon rice bowl is the best.”

“Then… I’ll have that.”

Seated with Dahye on his left, Dowon couldn’t tell if he was drinking the water with his mouth or nose. He felt so uncomfortable. Did he even deserve to be sitting here?

“Dowon, you work really fast, don’t you?”

His fellow employees smiled and praised him for his menial work. All he had done was simple labor—packing items into envelopes. That was it. Yet his new coworkers were generous with their compliments.

Or perhaps, that was all they could find to compliment him on. Before his anxiety levels could rise any higher, Dahye spoke up.

“That’s right, Dowon’s really amazing.” She placed her hand on his shoulder and gave him a sly smile. “He graduated from Seoyeon University. He majored in economics.”

“Wow, really?”

“There must be a lot of alumni from your school here too.”

Dowon felt his whole face heat up. What were the others thinking of him now? Were they wondering why someone with the same background as them was now stuck drifting from one temp job to another? He wanted to stop Dahye’s mouth from moving.

“He was also the top student in his high school. Ranked first all three years.”

“Wow, that’s really impressive.”

His coworkers continued to heap praise on him, while Dowon bit his tongue, wishing he could disappear.

The people who had managed to get into the highly competitive Hanban Bank were now praising the humble fact that he had been at the top of his high school class. Even now, they were celebrating achievements that felt like crumbling sandcastles.

Dowon wanted to cry from shame.

“Top of your class and from Seoyeon University? You must have been a total elite.”

Even as they said this, he could see pity seeping into their expressions. It wasn’t his imagination or some paranoia.

They really saw him as someone in need of their sympathy.

How could someone who had been doing so well fall so far? What was wrong with him? What must have happened? Maybe he was just lazy. Maybe he was too arrogant and overconfident in himself. How pitiful. How pathetic. What a fool.

“I hope things work out for Dowon. He’s sure to succeed someday.”

Dahye smiled shrewdly and patted his shoulder. The others echoed her sentiment, saying they were sure he’d succeed.

He wanted to die.