Conjecture

Illustration: Phan Nhan

Nearly five years after graduating, Khuê had changed jobs several times, but after a while, she always quit. Some jobs overlapped with work outside her field, requiring a lot of overtime for meager pay; others suited her abilities but had organizational problems and conflicts with colleagues. Places offering stable income required working in a field unrelated to her major, driving her crazy. This time, Khuê was determined to apply for a job at the renowned fashion company Woman Shin, hoping to work in her field of communication to unleash her creativity. On the morning of her interview, her father called to encourage her, but also to threaten her:

- If you can't find a stable job this time, go back to your hometown and apply for a job at the district office. At worst, you can join your older siblings in farming and farming; it'll be hard work, but it'll be a lot of fun, so don't worry.

- Don't worry, Dad, if I don't find a good job by the end of this year, I'll listen to you.

Khue told her father not to mix up unrelated matters, as it would only confuse him further. After ending the call, she quickly made her way to the company, feeling a mix of excitement and nervousness as she anticipated the stressful interview. This was one of the five branch companies of the Fashion Shine group, employing tens of thousands of people in various departments, including executive offices and production and sales teams – just hearing about its scale was enough to tell. As she walked, glancing around the vast grounds, Khue didn't notice a woman also walking, slinging her phone between her shoulder and ear, rummaging through her handbag. The sudden collision caused Khue to lose her balance and almost fall, her file bag flying into the landscaped garden and rockery in the courtyard in front of the administrative building. She quickly retrieved the bag from the water, but it was completely soaked. Seeing the woman's simple attire, and guessing she was also there to apply for a job, Khue angrily snapped:

Hey, lady, aren't you looking where you're going?

"Oh come on, you weren't even looking, so why are you blaming others?" the woman retorted defiantly.

- You like arguing so much, huh? Do you think I won't scratch your face off?

- Okay, okay, alright, I'm so scared of you. Please forgive me, it's nothing.

Hearing the woman lower her voice submissively, Khue realized she had been too hasty. Looking at the clock, it was almost time for her interview, so she threw the wet file into the trash can and hurried into the elevator, completely unaware that the incident between them had been inadvertently witnessed by the HR secretary from the upper floor.

Khue interviewed him without a resume. The head of HR looked disappointed.

Where is your job application?

- I… I dropped it on the way, so… so I don't have it – Khue stammered.

- This attitude is unacceptable. So careless, so sloppy. What's the point of an interview if you don't have the necessary documents? Please leave.

Having decided that this time she would either go back to her hometown to work in the garden, pond, and livestock, or become a low-paid office worker, Khue blurted out:

- Do you guys prioritize resumes over qualifications and abilities when hiring? I don't have a resume, why don't you try asking me directly and hear my answer? Fine, I don't need this lousy company anyway!

Having said that, Khue stood up abruptly and strode out of the room. Just as the door opened, the HR secretary rushed in. It's unclear what they discussed, but before Khue had even reached the end of the hallway, the head of HR had caught up to her.

Hey, miss. Wait a minute. You… you’ve been hired. You can start working tomorrow.

- You're not kidding me, are you? No resume, no interview, and I... I got hired?

- Yes, yes… The supplementary documents can be submitted later.

Khue was overjoyed, profusely thanked him, and left. The head of human resources turned to the secretary and said:

- Luckily she informed me in time, otherwise I wouldn't know what to say when the CEO asked about it.

- Which room should we assign her to now?

- Marketing Department.

But that room is already full, isn't it?

Then find an excuse to fire the intern.

***

On her first day at work, after getting acquainted with her colleagues, Khue was immediately assigned the task of writing a commercial for a new shirt design. Having landed the position she wanted, she was very excited about this assignment. She received product information from her team leader and was about to start working on her computer when Dung from the marketing department approached her and said:

Hey, new employee, could you go downstairs and buy me a glass of orange juice?

But I…

- But wait, hurry up, I'm very busy. I'll help you later if needed. Go quickly.

Khue hesitated, looking around at everyone, noticing they were all focused on their work and oblivious to everything else. She thought, "This is going to be a case of the old guard bullying the new one." But as a newcomer, arguing or being unreasonable would be difficult, so she decided to just go along with it for now to maintain peace. She could talk back later when she got used to the work. While waiting for the elevator, Khue encountered the HR secretary. The secretary asked her:

- Where are you going during working hours?

Yes, I'll go buy Ms. Dung a glass of orange juice.

"Um..." The secretary nodded and gestured for her to leave.

When Khue returned with the water, she heard a commotion in the office. Upon inquiring, she learned that Dung had just been fired. Everyone was huddled together, whispering amongst themselves. Khue didn't dare say anything, silently placing her glass of water on Dung's desk as she packed up her belongings. After work, the Marketing Manager struck up a conversation with Khue, telling her to share any difficulties she had at work, and he would do everything he could to help. From that day on, all her colleagues in the office were friendly and welcoming, treating her like a benefactor. They frequently invited her out for meals after work, and Khue always had someone to assist her with everything from A to Z. As a result, Khue's work was effortless; she never had to rack her brains thinking of solutions or worry about reporting plans. Documents submitted were always approved and praised. Khue didn't think much of it, simply feeling that she had been blessed by good fortune in this job application. She was certain that her straightforward personality and self-confidence would have earned her the job during the interview. When she learned that Dung had been fired for asking her to buy water, Khue thought the company wanted to use it as an example, a lesson for employees to avoid discrimination between new and old staff, bullying, and oppression. Regarding her work, Khue simply believed that support and assistance from colleagues created collective strength. She and everyone in the department received such support. Ultimately, everyone helped her because the Marketing Department was known for its capable and resourceful employees, highly trusted by the company's leadership. They couldn't afford to let anyone in the department make any mistakes. She was new, so everyone sharing the workload and helping her wasn't unreasonable.

A month after Khue started working there, she heard that the CEO would be coming to inspect the Marketing Department's progress in preparing to launch a series of new product samples. Employees worked overtime to arrange the office, and promotional plans, advertising scripts, and marketing activities were quickly completed. When the CEO arrived, Khue had just finished printing her documents and brought them to him. The two met, and Khue was extremely surprised to realize that the CEO was the same person who had accidentally spilled her resume during her interview.

- Oh, is that…is that you, ma'am?

- Oh, it's you. I'm so sorry about that day. I was in such a hurry, I was on the phone and looking for my car keys at the same time, so I didn't see you.

- Yes, I was also quite rude that day. I apologize to you as well.

***

The inspection went quickly. Seeing that Khue was highly respected and showed no suspicious behavior, the CEO breathed a sigh of relief. She recalled that morning, while preparing to go out to discuss and sign a production contract, she received a call from a friend who worked at the corporation's law office, informing her that the higher ups had secretly sent someone to infiltrate and gather evidence if they discovered any wrongdoing at the branch company. Because they were close friends for many years, they had made an exception to inform her. Meeting Khue again today, she was certain that she was the person sent by the corporation. If she wasn't someone with "connections," how could she have dared to speak so arrogantly to her that day?

Three years passed in the blink of an eye. Although Khue didn't get promoted much at the company, seeing that everyone from top to bottom treated her with deference, she easily rose to the position of Deputy Marketing Manager, wielding power over dozens of people. As a result, Khue became increasingly delusional and arrogant, looking down on everyone. She demanded that everyone serve her, pampering and spoiling her like a precious treasure. Receiving complaints from employees, the CEO was somewhat fed up with this "supervisor." However, to avoid exposing fraudulent practices regarding fabric quality and production contract quotations, she often turned a blind eye to Khue's negative comments.

While still unsure how to resolve Khuê's situation smoothly, she received a call from an old friend at the law office, informing her that the corporation would be sending people down to monitor the situation again next month. She was taken aback and bewildered:

- What... what? A new supervisor? They've already sent someone new before the old one even left?

What are you talking about? That supervisor left three years ago! I heard she was fired because she asked a new employee to buy water. The corporation claims that your company's actions demonstrate a very good, fair, and honest work environment, so they no longer need supervision.

After the call ended, the CEO sat there stunned. She convened a closed-door meeting with key personnel from the Human Resources and Marketing departments. It was then that the truth came out. It turned out that the HR secretary, having witnessed the argument between the CEO and Khue after the collision, assumed they were close friends. Therefore, during the interview, she had relayed the information to the Head of Human Resources. Afraid of offending the CEO's acquaintance, the Head of Human Resources hired Khue instead. The order to fire Dung, simply to make room for Khue, was then speculated by Marketing staff to be a nepotist, someone who could be easily manipulated and get rid of if they "offended" her. If Khue wasn't so "special," how could she have caused a colleague's dismissal on her very first day of work?

Oh, what a convoluted story, fueled by subjective, vague, and baseless speculation. So, for the past few years, simply because of a single "look" from above by the secretary, everyone here has automatically revolved around Khue like puppets. Hearing the full story, everyone sat motionless like statues, their faces a messed-up mess, neither smiling nor frowning.

Source: http://baolamdong.vn/van-hoa-nghe-thuat/202411/loi-phong-doan-d502b68/