Title DASH - 20 ✅

DASH * Chapter 20 ◆◇◆ On Monday morning, three days after Jaekyoung signed the contract, the news of Kwon Jaekyoung’s agency contract spread rapidly through multiple media outlets.
As soon as the reports were released, the Spoin office was thrown into chaos. The phone lines were flooded with media inquiries seeking confirmation, and the company’s official mailbox and fax machine were inundated with various recruitment requests. At the time when almost all the office employees were busy answering the phone, Jiheon was busy clearing out his desk. He had always tried to keep it tidy, but after three years of using it, he had accumulated many unnecessary items. “Mr. Jeong, are you really leaving? Seriously? Is this for real?” Assistant Manager Nam asked repeatedly, clutching a single stapler (not Jiheon's body, just the stapler) from Jiheon’s drawer, hid it in his chest, and said, “No, you can’t leave!” and staged a ridiculous hostage attack with it. “I don’t want to leave either.” Jiheon replied sincerely. It was the first time since joining the company that he spoke so earnestly, without a single lie, with 100% sincerity. “Lies. You’re getting a promotion. There’s no way you don’t like it. And you get to hang out with Kwon Jaekyoung all the time. Why wouldn’t you like it? Why?” Jiheon couldn’t bring himself to say he didn’t like it.
“I’ll give that to you, Mr. Nam. It’s a parting gift.” Assistant Manager Nam quickly put the stapler back in its place and said, “Oh, no. I don’t need it.” “You don’t have to give it to me—just don’t go.” Seeing Assistant Manager Nam cling to him, Jiheon found it even harder to leave. Assistant Manager Nam was the first friend Jiheon made after joining the company. Though Assistant Manager Nam had been with the company for about half a year before Jiheon, they treated each other with respect due to being of the same age and school year. They confided in each other and didn’t hold back, often venting their frustrations about the company and their boss. Although Assistant Manager Nam usually was the one to talk and Jiheon only listened, Jiheon often felt better just by listening to his swearing. It was also reassuring that he was the only comrade in the company who smoked the same cigarette. “We’ll still see each other often. We’re on the same third floor, after all.” The PR team and the Management team were part of the Strategic Support Office.
The offices might be divided since the PR team belonged to the Marketing Department and Management team belonged to the Planning Department, but even so, if they were on the same floor, they were still within walking distance. When Jiheon said they could probably see each other in the smoking room or the lounge, Assistant Manager Nam grumbled. “Mr. Jeong, if you join the Management team, you’ll almost be out of the office. Will you even work here anymore?” “I don’t think so.” That was precisely why Jiheon didn’t like the idea of leaving. He wanted to go to work every day if possible. No, he just wanted to beg to let him go to work. It was the first time since joining the company that he felt such a strong desire to work. However, for those who didn’t know what was going on, it was just a blessing. Knowing this fact, Jiheon kept his words as low as possible and focused only on packing his stuff. “I will be on my way then. Thank you for everything.” After tidying up his desk, Jiheon bowed to the people in the Marketing department and left the office. As he carried the box with his belongings and moved to the Planning Department office, he couldn’t quite believe it. It had been just last week on Monday when he had laughed at Assistant Manager Nam’s whimsical speculation that, “Our company might