Chapter 3: Interview Day 3
Translator: - - Editor: - -
Junhyuk got on the subway and soon felt exhausted. Everyone's attention was fixated on him, and a few people offered him their seats.
"Please, have a seat."
"Thank you."
He took a seat and saw a group of female high-school students looking at him and talking to each other.
"Isn't that the guy?"
"He might be?"
Junhyuk could hear the whispers about him, but paid no attention. Even though he used a disinfectant on his wounds, it did not mean his wounds were healed. He wasn't immune to pain.
Junhyuk had his head down when a female student approached him.
"Hello, mister?"
Junhyuk was grimacing a little when he lifted his head.
"We're right!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Watch this. This is you, right?"
Junhyuk looked at the video where he rescued people on the bus and laughed a little.
"That's right."
"Whoa, mister! Jackpot!"
"What jackpot? Anybody in the same situation would've done the same."
The students talked amongst themselves and one of them said:
"Mister, take pictures with us."
"I am not in the mood."
"Please, don't be like that."
They completely ignored Junhyuk's injuries and began taking pictures with him on the background. Then, they became busy posting everything on SNS (a social media app). Junhyuk just smiled at the situation and leaned back on his seat.
"Do as you please."
Beginning with the high school students, many other people began taking pictures with him on the background. They were showering him with the clicks of cameras while he rested on his seat.
--
In the front of a twelve-floor building, there was a capsule-shaped model. Junhyuk had an interview appointment with ST Capsule that day. ST Capsule made various medical products. Because of the incidents of abnormal narcolepsy and group coma, the company got very busy. They were trying to make capsules to support everything patients who were in a coma might need.
So far, all medical products were combined to make a new capsule that was available to ordinary people. Of course, the price was very high, but its effectiveness was proven, and W.A.N.C.S. selected the capsule as an official product.
Hospitals could no longer take in patients because there were too many, making the capsule even more popular. The capsule enabled people to take care of coma patients from their houses.
Because of it, ST Capsule became a major corporation. Unlike when they had started, now the company made all components of its medical equipment, and profits skyrocketed, turning ST Capsule into the 3rd major company in Korea and putting it within the top 100 companies in the world.
It took him a certain amount of guts to submit an application to ST Capsule. He had graduated from a university in Seoul, but it was not a reputable university. He paid attention to his grades, but many other people had similar credentials.
After was walking inside the lobby of the building, he got an interview number and a name tag with his picture and hung it on his neck. Junhyuk went inside the lobby, and a woman standing there glanced over to him and asked:
"Are you here for an interview?"
"Yes, where should I go?"
"3rd floor."
"Thank you."
Junhyuk tried to go past her, but she called to him:
"The interview began ten minutes ago. You should hurry!"
"Thank you."
He couldn't hurry even if he had wanted to. He was lucky not to drag his legs. After he got on an elevator, he saw his reflection on the elevator door and thought he should wash his face. It did not look so good.
He couldn't do anything about the wound on his leg, but his face was covered with soot from the explosion. He didn't think it was polite to show for an interview like that.
The elevator stopped on the 3rd floor, and the door opened. Junhyuk got out in a hurry. He went to a restroom and took off his suit jacket and hastily washed his face. After his face was clean, he combed his hair and saw the band-aid with a cartoon on his forehead. He pictured Jisun's face for a moment and smiled a little. He put his jacket back on and went out.
"Number thirty-five. Is Mr. Junhyuk Lee here?"
"I'm here."
He replied quickly. The woman who called out his name looked surprised after looking at him. She thought he should have gone to a hospital rather than come to an interview. but Junhyuk thought he might do well on the interview. He might gain additional points since he gained valuable experience on people with abnormal narcolepsy and group coma.
Junhyuk opened the door to the interview room and felt everyone's attention was focused on him.
Inside the interview room, there were three interviewers and four interviewees facing them, getting ready to start the interviews. Junhyuk found an empty seat and walked toward it and sat. One of the interviewers lifted her glasses and said:
"Number thirty-three, Dahae Kim?"
"Yes."
Junhyuk was getting everyone's attention, but the woman questioned another interviewee. Junhyuk sat on his seat with his back straightened waiting for his turn.
She asked different types of predicted questions, and the interviewees answered them with expertise. Looking at this, Junhyuk took a deep breath. Soon, it was his turn.
"Number thirty-five, Junhyuk Lee?"
"Yes!"
Junhyuk answered loudly, but the woman did not look at him. She flipped through her papers and asked:
"Why do you think people are afflicted by abnormal narcolepsy?"
He had never thought about it. The reason for abnormal narcolepsy's existence was still a question scholars from all over the world were trying to answer.
"Nothing certain has been discovered yet."
The woman slowly lifted her head, and her eyes met his.
"I want to know your own opinion."
Junhyuk was a little surprised. In fact, his clothes were dirty, and he had expected to be asked about them. Then, he would tell them what had happened that day, which would give them a good impression of him.
Nevertheless, she did not show any interest in his clothing and questioned him with the coldest eyes.
Junhyuk collected himself and answered:
"It always happens on a certain day and time. Considering this point it might be somebody doing it deliberately. That's what I think."
"Somebody's causing it? Are you insisting it's a conspiracy?"
More than 100,000 abnormal narcolepsy patients caused accidents injuring more than 500,000 people. At the moment, they knew abnormal narcolepsy cases showed up on Fridays and took measures to prevent further damages. However, in the beginning, there were countless accidents.
If it all happened because of someone's plan, it was not a small problem.
Junhyuk swallowed hard and continued to answer:
"It happens regularly, and that's why it is suspicious."
The woman looked at Junhyuk for a moment and nodded her head.
"So, that's your opinion."
She looked as though she no longer had any more questions for him, and questioned another interviewee.
"Number thirty-six, Giltae Kim?"
Junhyuk felt his turn went away poorly. They were asking the predicted, job-related questions to the other candidates. Why had she asked him something he couldn't really answer? He had answered to the best of his ability, but no one noticed.
Junhyuk tilted his head and looked over his clothing. Anybody would have asked him what had happened. They just did not have any feelings.
Soon, the questioning was over, and the woman spoke again:
"Everybody did great. Successful applicants will receive individual messages, so take care of your phones."
Junhyuk got up from his seat and was about to leave the room when the woman called for him.
"Number thirty-five, Mr. Junhyuk Lee."
He turned around, and she spoke to him calmly.
"If you are as hurt as you look, you should go to a hospital first. How can someone who doesn't take care of his own body sell medical equipment that helps other people?"
He bit his lip. She did not point out anything that wasn't right.
"You may leave."
Junhyuk nodded slightly and went out.
That day had been filled with endless suspense. It had been spent in a blur. Junhyuk grabbed his ribs and walked out.
"OK. I should go to a hospital."
The interview did not go well because of abnormal narcolepsy. ST Capsule is related to abnormal narcolepsy. He had thought, wrongly, that maybe they would hire him.
Junhyuk walked towards the subway without any energy. On days like that, he shouldn't even take a taxi.
--
After Junhyuk left, the interviewers were taking a break when a man entered the room. As the man entered, the interviewers got up from their seats and greeted him.
The man lifted his hand slightly and said:
"Please, leave the room for a moment."
As the interviewers left the room, the man plopped on an empty seat.
"General Manager Eunseo Kim."
"Please speak, Director Kim."
The man who was called Director Kim let out a laugh and said:
"It's okay, Eunseo."
"We are in the company, big brother."
"I know that."
Director of ST Capsule, Sukhoon Kim looked for Junhyuk's application among the stacked papers.
"This guy came to the interview, right?"
"He doesn't have the basics, and he has lousy credentials."
Sukhoon replied calmly to Eunseo's biting answer:
"Hire him."
"What?"
Sukhoon did not pay any attention and replied:
"I thought we were in the company building?"
"Director, do you maybe know this man?"
Sukhoon made a paper model plane out of Junhyuk's application and threw it at Eunseo. Eunseo's eyes became cold, and Sukhoon spoke again:
"If he doesn't have the right credentials, you shouldn't give him a good position, but you should hire him."
"May I know why?"
Sukhoon nodded his head and pulled out his smartphone and handed it to Eunseo. It was a video of a bus with a car stuck in middle of it.
Soon, a window broke, and a guy showed up. The familiar-looking guy was breaking the window and placing his suit jacket over frame and helping elderlies get out of the bus.
Eunseo was watching the video when she heard Sukhoon's voice.
"It has been about 30 minutes since the video was uploaded, and it's getting an explosive number of hits. The hero of our time?"
Eunseo looked at Junhyuk rescuing the elderlies and all the people in the bus, including the driver stuck in the car in middle of the bus, and Junhyuk rolling on the ground as the bus exploded.
"So, that's why he showed up in that abysmal appearance to the interview." She thought she had figured out why he should up that way.
In response to her cold remark, Sukhoon smiled.
"Isn't he cute?"
Eunseo looked at Sukhoon as if she were looking at a loathsome insect. Sukhoon looked a bit wounded by her and got up from his seat.
"That's that. Hire him. The publicity from it will be great."
"So... we should."
She did not like the situation, but she had no reason not to hire him. Just giving him a position in the company was not hard for her to do. Also, ST Capsule would gain a lot of publicity by hiring him. Thinking about it that way, it was right to hire him.
Sukhoon got up.
"Well, back to work."
After Sukhoon left, Eunseo looked at the paper plane on her seat. It was made out of Junhyuk's application. Eunseo laughed.
"I can see right through him, but he's still cute."
Junhyuk came to the interview hoping to pick up extra points for being at the explosion, but it was still great that he saved a lot of people. He did not care for his own safety. Instead, he was willing to risk himself to rescue other people.
Abnormal narcolepsy was creating an aura of fear among people, and the companies that made money treating group coma patients were not well-received by people. From the company's position, Junhyuk's hire was a big deal.