Thank you and sorry

-...stop writing.

With those words, final exams came to an end. As an engineer I couldn’t feel prouder of myself. Hellish studying years had passed and I was ready for being a professional, or so I thought.

The company I got hired at was SB’s enterprise, which was a pioneer company in the construction field. The interview didn’t last long, as the examiner just made a couple questions about my physical and mental conditions. It didn’t last long, the reason was that my answers had been flawless and accurate. I believed this, though I expected more complex questions. I was elated because right after university I was entering an elite company, so I didn’t pay much attention to the strangely easy examination. One week passed and I was assigned my first project.

“This is the project you’ll be assigned to for the next three months and your provisional contract. If you work well, the contract’s duration will be expanded. Please read them carefully.”, he handed some papers to me.

“I will work as hard as I can so that I exceed your expectations, boss”, despite saying this, I was wondering what was the purpose of some clauses, cause they made no sense at that time. Afterwards, I signed the contract.

“Well done. I expect many things from you.” He said the last part in a humorous tone.

And like this, I received my first work.

<>

“I see everyone is working hard! “

“Of course, boss.“

SB’s CEO. A short-bald expressionless person that only smiled when he made a profitable deal. His greed was so immense that he even fired a worker who asked for a better wage because he was working under poor conditions.

“How is everything going? Can you pull this off?”

“Yes, I think so, boss.”

Why did I say this? He reduced the budget as much as he could! I was working with old equipment and didn’t have enough materials. The building would probably collapse if there was the slightest problem.

My motivation and hope had already vanished after seeing the place I’d be working at for the first time three months ago. I didn’t expect that a pioneer company would be like this. Shabby equipment, exhausted employees and scarce resources. Those three could perfectly define this company’s policies. Those strange contract’s clauses and the unusual interview I had months ago now made sense. It 's a trap.

However, everyone wished that this situation would change someday.

“But… boss, I think it would be better if we had proper equipment.”

“Mmm? What did you say, Luky? Did I hear wrong? Don’t you have enough?”, he had been calling me like that since two months.

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience boss.”, I muttered.

While we were having this conversation, some workers stopped to listen in. At the beginning they had hopeful expressions, but when they heard his response they left with a troubled face. Of course, what did we expect?

During that week I was seriously thinking about leaving the company and searching for something else. It was an easy task because SB enterprise has an uncommon policy which states: “The worker will be on a trial period during the first three months. During this time, it’ll be decided if the worker is capable of fulfilling the minimum requirements to perform well at the company.” I had been working for this company for almost 3 months. Specifically 2 months, 3 weeks and 5 days, so there were 2 days left. Despite this, it was probably granted that I would carry on with the project, so I had to think about the way to leave the company.

After work, I headed home and started to scheme my plan. Hours went by and I didn’t sleep at all, mainly because I had been searching for the solution to this dilemma. My priority was to avoid involving my coworkers in this mess, so with that in mind I thought that the best way would be to accuse that bald-head in front of everyone. Accuse him for being an idiot that only cares about money.

With that, I’d definitely get fired.

“Yo, bald-head!” I arrived late at work on purpose and my phone had been ringing the whole morning.

“...”, expressionless. He didn’t even move. I could feel it. An overwhelming pressure.

“Did I hear wrong, Luky?”, he slightly frowned.

“No, excuse me for that question. I heard that clearly”, he said the last words harshly.

“YEAH! OF COURSE, you … did…”, my voice started to quieten down as I continued.

I had never been a rebel. I was doing this cause I knew the project was not going to end up well. It could even cause many deaths in the future due to a collapse.

“Can I know the reason?”, he calmly said.

He was talking pridefully. I couldn’t stand it anymore. Suddenly, I felt as everything around me disappeared. I could say anything that came to mind.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“You want to know the reason?!”, I yelled at him.

“Yes.”, no reaction at all.

“Cause this company is over and I’m no longer your employee.”

“?”, he frowned.

“Don’t you understand?”, while saying this, I waved my hand.

After this, everyone started to tidy up and quietly leave the office. The only ones left were the two of us. If you are wondering why, it was due to a change of plans.

At first, I thought that by blaming him, everything would be fine, but I realised that there was a much better way. To expose the company’s “secrets” to the competence.

“Why did they leave?!”, he was losing his cool. He began to raise his voice.

“Cause they have been hired by BMB.”, now I was the one talking serenely.

BMB was SB’s opposition. Although SB’s had more influence because it had been active for longer, BMB got the advantage that it had more funds.

“BMB?! How’s that possible?”

“Cause this company no longer exists”, I stated.

He had a troubled expression and immediately checked his phone. His face darkened.

“What have you done? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!”, he shouted with anger.

“I reported you.”

“Huh??!”He was stupefied.

“... thank you and sorry.” They said.

With this, I had all the evidence I needed. I saved a file which contained photos, letters and videos about the company’s situation. We were having a secret conversation in the changing room. All workers of the company were gathered and were expressing their apologies.

“Why are you apologising?”

“Cause it must have been a burden to you.”

I knew why they were saying this. I was the only one without an official contract. This meant I was the only one capable of doing this sort of thing. That is, to take photos. This company doesn’t allow the usage of cameras. The reason is simple, nothing can be leaked, cause if the outer world saw our conditions, the head of the company will roll for sure.

“Don’t worry. I have already contacted the CEO of BMB, he’s agreed to hire you.”

“What about you, Luke?” Seo, a veteran coworker, asked.

“I won’t work again in this field”, I was expressionless.

“Why?!”, everyone shouted.

As the one in charge of the project, which was almost finished, I had to take responsibility till the very end. That’s what BMB’s CEO told me. Although I wanted to continue working, the building’s papers would be sent as evidence and I am the culprit of letting this project happen. I should have declined the offer earlier. Now it’s too late.

“Personal reasons guys. I have to go back to my hometown to take care of some affairs.” I quickly excused myself.

“I see.. I’ll miss you, Luke.” Seo replied pitifully.

With this, everything was ready. My coworkers won’t suffer a loss and this company will disappear. After sending the proof, BMB took care of the report and the rest. I only had to do one thing, inform “him”.

...

“It is true. The government has ordered the company’s closure.”, I emphasized the last word.

He then checked his phone again. Twitter, newspapers and official sites were talking about it. The inhuman conditions of SB’s enterprise. Some photos had been leaked and could be seen publicly. It 's over. He went down on his knees and stopped talking. After this, I left the place.

Some time after, while I was drinking some beer in "The Candles", which is a popular bar near my house, I finally heard what I'd been waiting since days.

“SB’s CEO has been judged and the judge has stated that he’ll have to pay three million dollars, I repeat...”, the reporter's announcement resounded through the whole bar and people started to chat about it.

News about the case was all over the place. The CEO of SB’s enterprise was sentenced, he had lost all his fortune and most of his possessions. During this week I had been looking for a part time job, took several interviews and finally got hired at a nearby supermarket. I thought that after some time I'd be able to enter a company again as an engineer and, with that in mind, I decided to work on this supermarket meanwhile.

Cold breeze entered through the automatic doors. Lots of sounds could be heard, they all came from our customers.

Despite being an engineer, I’m working at a supermarket as a cashier. While organizing a delivery that had just arrived, Josh walked up to me while holding some boxes.

“ How are you doing Luke? “

“ Pfffff, you guess... “, I sighed.

“Another problem rose up? “. He asked with a worried tone.

“Kinda…”

“I’ve never seen you so depressed, though we’ve only been together for a month.”

I was feeling down in the dumps and, to be honest, wanted to be alone. I prefered to spend time alone at the warehouse when this happened so I could blow off some steam.

Josh, who is my coworker, is an easy-going person and is currently attending college while working just to help his family. He always cheers everyone up with his lighthearted tone. Everyone deeply appreciates this. I really do.

"You know the project I was working on one month ago?" I quietly responded to him.

"At SB's? Yeah, you told me about it. Did something happen with it?"

"It seems that, after inspecting the building, it has been predicted that the building will collapse in one year by itself, so the government had to evacuate nearby apartments to take care of it this week."

"Does that affect you in any way?", he was worried, I could tell.

"I got a message saying that I won't be charged for the costs of it, but instead I won't be able to work as an engineer for 5 years."

"Huh?! You did nothing wrong! Aren't you going to complain about it?", he raised his voice, but I know what I did wrong.

"Don't worry Josh. I know what I've done and I think this is the best punishment I could have received.", I firmly said.

After saying that, Josh stopped. I knew he cared about me and was trying to help me, but his kindness sometimes goes overboard and he doesn't think about things thoroughly.

"Well, I'll be leaving first. Good luck with the rest Josh." I grabbed a snack and headed to the changing room.

"Yes..." he said. I was feeling down and thanked him for not saying anything else.

All employees left through the backdoor after changing their clothes. The door led to a narrow alley. Night had fallen and, after opening the door, I saw a small figure in front of me. Without time to react, I heard a "BANG!". I was already on the floor.

My vision was blurry and I was feeling dizzy. At that moment,

"haha... haha... I did it. Now who's over? eh? I can't hear you. ha...ha...", he snorted.

It was him.

After that, the only thing I heard was another "BANG!" and a bald-head fell next to me.

""How pathetic. I'm going to die with this scumbag"" That's what I thought and felt from the bottom of my heart.

Next was darkness. Complete darkness.

"..."

<>