Chapter 23 - Factory Worker Working As A Bookkeeper (4)
“I wonder what kind of company this is.”
Gun-Ho was heading to Asan for the job interview, filled with expectations and worries.
“What kind of person is the owner? Would he be a power-trip type of person?”
His car was making loud noises while he was driving because he didn’t get the muffler fixed yet.
He was passing a town called Yuyangg when he stopped to put some gas in his car before continuing his trip.
“It will be a long trip to Asan. I’d better fill up the tank!”
After he filled his car, Gun-Ho opened Ole navigation application on his smartphone.
“So the company is located at Dunpo Town, Asan City. Let me enter the destination to the app. Uh? It’s not that far. It’s close to Cheonan City? I will stop by the rest area; I left home so early this morning I didn’t have a chance to have breakfast. I think I have time to eat a udong (a noodle soup) and drink a cup of coffee.”
Gun-Ho passed Yangju City Hall and entered the automobile-only road.
“It is nice to see not many cars here because it is still early morning.”
Gun-Ho’s old Avante well passed Uijeongbu IC, making a rattling noise and headed to Namyangju City.
“So many toll roads on the way. F*uck!”
Gun-Ho entered Gyeongbu Highway from Pangyo after passing Han River Bridge.
“Is this Pangyo? Byung-Tae Hwang who was ranked number one in my class is working in a research facility somewhere here in Pangyo. That dude graduated from KAIST. Of course, he seems to be doing very well as expected.”
Gun-Ho had a udong at Giheung Rest Area and a coffee from a vending machine. He, then, called into work with the excuse he made up.
“Boss? I’m Goo Jooim. My father in Incheon got sick and I have to take him to a hospital. I will come to work this afternoon.”
“Wow, he is amazingly handsome. He looks like a TV celebrity.”
The president was not only handsome, but he was also dressed sophisticated and chic. The president didn’t say anything; he was just looking at the file the manager handed to him. He, then, raised his head and asked the candidate sitting in the first chair.
“Ms. Ji-Hae Choi, are you married?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Then how do you take care of your child while you are at work?”
“My mother is living close to mine, and she helps me a lot to take care of my child.”
“Ms. Hwa-Young Kim. You graduated school this year?”
“Yes, I did.”
Gun-Ho turned his head to look at her. She looked younger than 20 years old, but her face was covered with a thick layer of makeup with long eyelashes and red lipstick.
“Did you graduate from Cheonan Women’s Commercial High School?”
“It’s Information Technology High School.”
“Hmmm…”
The president continued looking at the file. He didn’t ask about any certificates or other qualifications at all.
“What does your father do for a living?”
“He is working in an elementary school administration.”
“Hmmm…”
The president glanced at all three candidates, then looked at the file again.
“Mr. Gun-Ho Goo, are you currently working at Bangil Gas?”
“Yes, I have to move to Cheonan for personal reasons, so I will soon resign from the company.”
The president didn’t ask why Gun-Ho had to move to Cheonan.
“Did you complete your military service?”
“Yes, I had fully completed the military service.”
“Hmmm… Ok. This is it. You can all leave the room. Next group.”
The president asked a few simple questions and then called the next group in. Gun-Ho thought the interview was too short and simple.
The next group entered the room. There were eight interviewees in total, so the last group consisted of two candidates. That group took about twenty minutes for the interview as well. After all candidates were interviewed, the manager came out of the interview room and said with a broad smile on her face, “Thank you all for coming today. It would be really nice if we could hire all of you, but we only have one open position. It will be a difficult decision for us. We will contact you by next Tuesday at the 10th. Please take these envelopes with you. These are from our president appreciating your time to come here, hoping to help your transportation expense for today’s interview.”
The manager distributed a white envelope to each candidate.
“I came this far but didn’t do much for the interview. Do they have someone already for the position in their mind?”
Gun-Ho suspected. Giving the money for the transportation cost to the candidates was a sensible move, Gun-Ho thought.
“Whatever.”
Gun-Ho headed back to Yangju City. He opened the white envelope in his car; there was 30,000 won in it.