Finding Alize – Ch1 Ep1-2
Story by Oldboy101 | Written wih the help of ChatGPT
Inside the company van, Seongmin and Joon are finishing the lunch they never got around to eating.
The van runs quietly in self-driving mode.
Joon is skimming the goshitel dispatch details projected across his AR glasses.
Seongmin bites into a piece of kimbap, then winces.
SEONGMIN
Ouch…
Burned my mouth.
He takes a sip of water and mutters under his breath
SEONGMIN
Thought things had been quiet for a few weeks.
Now they’re running us ragged again,
just like the beginning.
Joon pushes his lunchbox lid aside and swipes through the tablet.
The building’s basic information appears first, followed by a diagram of its network structure..
JOON
Feels like the office has been setting the detection levels way too sensitive lately.
Seongmin picks up another piece of kimbap and lets out a short snort.
SEONGMIN
Right?
It started getting busy again about two weeks ago,
and this week it’s basically back to how it used to be.
At this rate, we might end up busier than we were four months ago.
Back then, at least we got overtime pay.
Now they just pack the whole eight hours nonstop and call it a day.
This damn company’s probably doing everything it can to avoid paying us more.
Seriously…
if they’re going to do this,
they should at least bring the headcount back up.
JOON
Are they… planning to hire more people?
SEONGMIN
Huh?
No idea.
They don’t tell us anything.
Why?
Wouldn’t more people be good?
JOON
I don’t want that.
SEONGMIN
Why?
Why not?
JOON
If they bring more people in…
Then the moment things slow down again,
they’ll cut just as many.
SEONGMIN
That’s… probably true.
JOON
Then it’s back to competition again.
It’s not like the company keeps people out of kindness.
It’s all about skill…
and luck.
SEONGMIN
…Well…
true.
Seongmin falls quiet, realizing how careless he sounded.
For a moment, the van goes silent.
Seongmin glances over at Joon.
Joon’s expression has not changed. He keeps scrolling through the information in his AR glasses.
The goshitel’s building data and network structure sort themselves into place one after another.
Joon has been with NexLink for four months.
He joined when the company created the Field Specialist Department, claiming it needed to quietly check for the “Alize hack”among WNW customers. Since every customer had to be inspected quickly, the company hired a large number of field staff all at once.
NexLink is the ISP division of NextCorp, one of the country’s major corporations, but in the ISP industry, it is still a latecomer.
Most of its service areas are still concentrated outside the major metropolitan regions, and compared to the major providers, its customer base is much smaller.
By then, Seongmin had already been doing field work for four years.
When they asked if he wanted to transfer into the new Field Specialist Department, there was no real reason to hesitate.
He had simply said, “I’ll do it,” and that was that.
The whole thing about the “Alize hack” did not matter much to him.
He already knew the field. The pay would go up a little. And a newly created department did not sound bad.
Joon had been different.
He had just graduated from college with a major in communications technology and was looking for his first job. Because of his field of study, he had been unusually able to enter the department straight away, even as a new hire.
In a way, it is a position that only exists because of the “Alize hack.”
Not many people get to turn their major into a job and live the kind of professional life they once imagined.
That has not changed much, then or now.
Most people only realize it after graduation, when they enter the school of life and learn how the world actually works.
Seongmin has seen it many times in the field.
And lately, it is hard to deny that the rapid advance of AI has made that current even rougher.
Seongmin did not start as a permanent employee either.
When he first joined NexLink, he was on contract.
Only after holding on for three years did he barely manage to become permanent staff.
Joon is only just beginning.
Seongmin chews another bite of kimbap and glances sideways.
Joon is still silently reviewing the information floating in his AR glasses.
JOON
Good thing it’s an old building.
If we cut the external line,
we should be able to contain the building network right away.
SEONGMIN
Oh, yeah?
That’s good.
Joon finishes the rest of his lunch, folds the empty container, and tucks it into his bag.
SEONGMIN
By the way…
Your generation’s usually not big on overtime.
You’re holding up surprisingly well.
JOON
I need the money.
And… they said if I last a year,
there’s a chance I can become permanent staff.
Not many places convert people within a year these days.
SEONGMIN
Yeah…
That’s true.
Seongmin glances out the window and murmurs.
SEONGMIN
Don’t get it…
The world changes this fast,
but somehow jobs and money are still the same damn worry
for my generation and yours.
JOON
Compared to my generation…
Yours was heaven.
Seongmin’s eyes widen as he turns his head.
SEONGMIN
Heaven?
Hey, when I was your age—
JOON
There.
Joon cuts him off.
JOON
That’s the goshitel.
While Seongmin and Joon gather their work bags, the van slows to a stop beside Minjae’s service van in front of the goshitel.
SEONGMIN
I’ll talk to the building manager first.
You check the situation with the field tech,
then stay in the room until I call you.
JOON
Got it.
The two walk to the goshitel entrance, carrying their work bags.
The door opens, and they step inside.
When the door closes behind them, the street in front of the building falls quiet again.
At the end of the alley, the old five-story goshitel stands silently in the afternoon light.
