She got a text saying that her salary would be paid soon and that she shouldn’t worry. Seeing the vague word ‘soon’, she wanted to ask ‘when,’ but she did not have the courage to respond to a superior’s text. The employee group chat burst into an outrage. They all sent the text message they received and wrote all sorts of insults. If receiving swear words increased lifespan, then the president of Cheonho company would probably live until the day mankind went extinct. Eunhye was also about to chime in but stopped. She thought that the energy to even type was wasteful.

She turned off the notifications for the group chat. If she left them on, it was bound to be noisy throughout the whole night. She glanced at the chat that said that the president-swearing competition was going to be held at a bar on a certain date and that participation was mandatory before flipping the phone over. Drinking? She needed to save every last penny. She gathered her hair behind her and tied it with a rubber hair tie. She then took out a facial mask pack from the fridge and put it on her face. It was cold to the point that it made her shiver, but it soon became cool. It was a free facial pack from the cosmetics store in front of her house, which was holding a celebratory event for its opening. The most welcome word in this world was ‘free.’

Eunhye looked at the calendar...