CH101 | VOC

“It’s quiet today.”

Kim said, and Lee, his colleague and fellow graduate, nodded.

“Yeah, usually the president would have gone on a rampage by now.”

Kim shuddered. “He’s getting worse every day. I should just quit.”

“Quit? And do what? There are no jobs out there. Just endure it. It’s hell out there.”

“Sigh, this is driving me crazy.”

A female colleague approached them. “What are you sighing about?”

“What else? The same old problem.”

She smiled awkwardly. “Ah, the president?”

Kim Min-sik, the “mad dog” who had risen from obscurity to become the bank president, sending shockwaves through the business and political world.

He was considered a ruthless, relentless lunatic, both inside and outside the bank.

The employees, unlike outsiders who could simply avoid him, called him a “crazy bastard” behind his back.

“But he’s unusually quiet today, isn’t he?”

“That’s what we were just talking about. It’s strange. Is he out on a business trip?”

The woman shook her head. “No, his secretary said he’s in his office, quietly.”

“That’s even more unsettling. I hope nothing happens before the end of the workday.”

Kim was anxious. Kim Min-sik, who tormented them daily with his bizarre antics, was being unusually quiet.

“He used to be just an ordinary guy…”

Before his desk was confiscated and he was forced to stand around the office like a scarecrow, Kim Min-sik had been just like them, looking forward to payday and bragging about his children.

He had been an ordinary man, disheartened by his superiors’ reprimands and inviting his colleagues for drinks after work.

“Who awakened that monster inside him?”

“Emergency! Emergency!”

Their team leader burst into the office, his face pale.

“The president is coming! Everyone back to your desks!”

Kim muttered in despair,

“Damn it… how long do we have to endure this?”

The employees scrambled back to their desks, checking for anything that might provoke the president’s wrath. A humming sound, presumably from the president, grew louder.

“Hum hum hum~ Hum hum hum~”

Kim Min-sik entered the office, waving his hand.

“Hello, everyone!”

“Greetings, Mr. President!”

He smiled. “How’s your amazing day going?”

“Great!”

“You must be tired of this boring office life.”

“Not at all!”

“I know how you feel. I’ve been there.”

His usual lines made the employees tense up.

‘What is it today?’

‘Please, not me.’

Kim Min-sik took out a transparent plastic bag and held it up.

“Let’s have some fun today!”

He took out the contents of the bag and started scattering them around the office.

The employees watched in stunned silence as he ran around, behaving erratically. After emptying the bag, he suddenly stopped in the middle of the office and started singing.

“Find the Dragon Balls! The most thrilling secret in the world!”

Kim said to Lee with a dumbfounded expression,

“What is he doing? Isn’t that the Dragon Ball theme song?”

“I think so…”

“What did he scatter? They looked like small beads.”

Kim picked up one of the objects from the floor.

“It’s a BB pellet.”

“A BB pellet?”

“Damn it, what is he doing? It’ll take forever to clean this up… Wait, what’s this?”

He narrowed his eyes.

“There’s a dot on this pellet.”

“A dot?”

“Yeah, two black dots.”

Lee picked up another pellet and said in surprise,

“This one has three dots!”

They looked at each other, their faces turning pale as they realized what was going on.

“Dragon Balls?!”

“Ho, you’ve already found the two-star and three-star balls.”

Kim Min-sik, who had stopped singing, approached them with a smile.

“Just five more to go, and your wish will come true.”

“W-wish?”

“Yes, if you gather all seven Dragon Balls, the dragon god will grant your wish. Unbelievable!”

He looked at the dumbfounded employees and snapped his fingers.

“The higher the number of stars, the rarer the ball. Most of them are one-star to three-star balls. You have to hurry. Well, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have a wish, but it would be a shame.”

He licked his lips and added,

“I was even going to grant promotions.”

The employees, their minds now clear, started scrambling on the floor, examining the BB pellets.

“I found it! The five-star ball!”

“It’s mine! I saw it first!”

“No way! Finders keepers!”

Kim Min-sik watched the chaotic scene with a satisfied smile and started singing again.

“Find the Dragon Balls! The most thrilling secret in the world! Woohoo!”

The bank president singing the Dragon Ball theme song in the middle of the office, while the employees crawled on the floor, checking the dots on BB pellets.

It was pure chaos.

After two hours of searching, five employees claimed to have found all seven Dragon Balls.

Kim Min-sik looked at the employee who handed him seven BB pellets, panting.

“Are you sure you’ve found all seven?”

“Of course… huff… huff…”

“Let me see.”

He examined the pellets closely and clicked his tongue.

“I’m sorry, but this isn’t the seven-star ball.”

The employee said in surprise,

“It’s not? Look, there are seven dots!”

“Look closely. This dot is smaller than the others.” Kim Min-sik pointed at a pellet. “This is the 6.5-star ball I meticulously crafted.”

“6… 6.5-star ball?”

Kim Min-sik patted his shoulder.

“Too bad. You failed to summon the dragon god. Next.”

He looked at the next employee’s pellets and shook his head.

“I’m sorry, this isn’t the six-star ball.”

“That’s impossible! There are six dots, and they’re all the same size!”

Kim Min-sik said with a kind smile,

“Look, the dots on the other Dragon Balls are arranged in a zigzag pattern. But these are arranged in a straight line, three dots each. This isn’t the six-star ball.”

“That’s… that’s impossible. Then what is it?”

“It’s Krillin’s head. Too bad. You can’t even tell the difference between a Dragon Ball and Krillin’s head. Next.”

He continued rejecting the pellets with absurd excuses, and the number of potential dragon god summoners dwindled to one: Kim.

“Let’s see.”

Kim Min-sik frowned as he examined Kim’s pellets.

“What’s this? This can’t be right.”

He looked at Kim.

“Where did you find this seven-star ball?”

“On the floor.”

Kim Min-sik tilted his head.

“That’s impossible. Such a perfect seven-star ball. Did I accidentally mix it in?”

The employees gasped at his unintentional slip of the tongue. He stared at the pellet for a while, his face falling.

“Did you make this yourself?”

Kim shook his head. “No.”

He had spent the entire day meticulously marking the pellets with dots, preparing for this prank.

He hadn’t even created a perfect seven-star ball because he had no intention of granting any wishes. He hadn’t expected anyone to actually find it.

“You said you would grant my wish.”

Kim Min-sik said with a displeased expression,

“Well, I did, but… what’s your wish? Let’s hear it.”

Kim said with a serious expression,

“I wish you would stop playing these childish games.”

The room fell silent. It was an act of defiance, a low-level employee challenging the bank president.

“Childish… games?”

“Yes, I know you’ve been through a lot, and the other employees have been unfair to you. But what power do we have? We had to follow the executives’ orders. We had no choice.”

“I see.”

“Please forgive us. We want the old President Kim Min-sik back. The one who used to have drinks with us after work and talk to us. I’ll get on my knees and apologize for our mistakes.”

Kim knelt before Kim Min-sik, his eyes closed.

“We were wrong. We turned a blind eye to injustice. We could have protested with you, but we were too afraid for ourselves. We could have offered you words of encouragement, but we didn’t. We were afraid of being targeted. Please forgive us.”

The other employees, moved by his words, also bowed their heads.

“We’re sorry, Mr. President. We were wrong. Please forgive us.”

“Please forgive us!”

Kim Min-sik, who had been standing with his eyes closed, said to Kim,

“Is that why you created the seven-star ball?”

“Yes, I wanted to apologize, but I didn’t have the opportunity. I thought you might listen if I did this. I’m sorry.”

Kim Min-sik smiled.

“You’re bringing back memories. I guess there were times like that.”

Kim’s face brightened at his positive response.

“We were all happy back then. You’re not yourself anymore, Mr. President. I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for you to act so tough and ruthless.”

Kim Min-sik nodded.

“So that’s your wish?”

“Yes.”

The atmosphere was heartwarming, with some employees even shedding tears, moved by Kim’s courage.

Kim Min-sik smiled and looked around the room.

“Do you all feel the same way?”

The employees nodded.

“Yes, we should have apologized sooner, but we lacked the courage. Please come back, Mr. President!”

“We’re sorry!”

“I see. I’ve been acting childishly, not realizing how you felt. It’s all my fault. Not yours.”

“No, it’s our fault.”

Kim Min-sik shook his head firmly.

“No, it’s my fault.”

His smile widened.

“I can’t believe I’m still saying such bullshit. I still have a long way to go.”

He looked at the frozen employees and said,

“I’ve been too soft! I’m so pathetic!”

He clutched his head and said with crazed eyes,

“I’m still not ruthless enough! How dare they say such things to me! They must think I’m a pushover!!!!”