People turned on their monitors.
Sipped their coffee.
Exchanged the same greetings as yesterday.
And that was exactly how Favez knew—
Today was not the same as yesterday.
The night before, he had made a decision.
He couldn’t endure this alone anymore.
Favez stood up and walked toward Mina’s desk.
He didn’t get too close.
He stopped about two steps away.
“Yesterday… were you okay?”
His Korean was still awkward,
but the meaning was clear.
Mina stopped typing.
She didn’t look up right away.
She saved the file, checked it once more,
and only then turned toward him.
Dark shadows sat beneath her eyes.
“I’m fine.”
The answer came too fast.
A reply that didn’t allow time to think.
Favez knew it wasn’t true.
Because he had been giving the same answer himself.
“I also got the same email. About the salary—”
“Favez.”
The professor’s voice cut into the room.
He was standing at the doorway.
No one knew how long he’d been there.
“Let’s talk for a moment.”
It sounded like a suggestion.
It wasn’t.
Mina lowered her head.
She didn’t meet Favez’s eyes.
The door wasn’t fully closed.
“This isn’t something everyone needs to hear,”
the professor said, leaving it half shut.
Close enough to hear.
Far enough to pretend nothing was said.
“The lab’s been a bit sensitive lately.”
He didn’t sit down.
He leaned against the desk, looking out the window.
“If people start talking too much, it just gets tiring for everyone.”
Favez nodded without realizing it.
He didn’t know how else to respond.
“Especially,”
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the professor paused,
“external personnel need to be mindful of their position.”
Favez’s eyes flickered.
“Disrupting the atmosphere doesn’t help anyone.”
The professor smiled.
The same smile.
Still unfamiliar.
“You know how it is.
If you want to work here, you need recommendations.
And visa extensions.”
Favez clenched his fist.
“When you have family,”
the professor added casually,
“you need to be even more careful.”
When the door opened, the lab returned to normal.
Mina was already seated at her desk.
She briefly looked up as Favez passed,
then turned back to her screen.
Someone laughed.
Someone talked about lunch.
In that calmness,
Favez sat down, lifted his hand off the mouse,
and closed his eyes.
A notification appeared on the corner of the monitor.
[Notice]
To strengthen research data security,
external personnel must report to the supervising professor
before accessing any data.
No one read it aloud.
Still, everyone saw it.
Favez read the words external personnel twice.
This notice was meant for him.
It hadn’t even been thirty minutes
since he spoke to Mina.
The response came faster than expected.
As the meeting ended, the professor said—
“Favez, stay for a moment.”
This time, the door closed completely.
“That earlier conversation surprised you, didn’t it?”
It sounded like concern.
“I didn’t want to burden you unnecessarily.”
Favez didn’t answer.
The professor leaned against the desk again.
“But you need to understand where the lines are.
This is a lab. It’s connected to the company.”
He placed a sheet of paper on the desk.
This month’s pay statement.
“This month is… a bit unclear.”
He said it like an explanation.
It was a condition.
“If things get complicated,
it becomes difficult for me—
and for you.”
Favez’s hands stiffened on his knees.
“You have family,”
the professor said lightly.
“Being far away makes you worry more, doesn’t it?”
The professor finished speaking and opened the door.
That was always how he ended conversations.
It meant: Leave.
Favez walked out of the lab.
As he waited for the elevator, footsteps approached from behind.
Mina.
They didn’t speak.
The elevator arrived.
Ding.
The doors opened.
Mina stepped in first.
Favez followed.
As the doors closed, Mina spoke.
“What did he say… to you today?”
Favez hesitated.
“He told me to be careful.”
Mina nodded.
“Me too.”
The elevator descended quietly.
Third floor.
Second.
First.
Just before the doors opened, Mina took out her phone
and showed him the screen.
Migrant Workers Support Center (Ministry of Employment and Labor)
Phone: 1644-0644
Free legal consultation / interpretation support / unpaid wage reports
“This place helps foreign researchers protect their rights.”
Favez’s eyes widened.
“They offer anonymous consultations.
And interpretation.”
The doors opened.
Mina put her phone away.
“I looked it up,” she said softly.
“Because I didn’t think you could do this alone.”
She looked straight at him.
For the first time.
“Do you want to look into it together?”
Favez couldn’t answer.
His throat tightened.
Mina stepped out of the elevator.
Favez followed.
In the hallway, she added—
“You don’t have to decide right away.
Think about it.”
Then, carefully—
“Favez… when does your visa expire?”
“Two months.”
Mina’s expression hardened.
“Then… there isn’t much time.”
Favez nodded.
“My graduation review is next month.”
Neither of them smiled.
They couldn’t.
But for the first time—
They weren’t alone.
Favez opened the link Mina had sent again.
Migrant Workers Support Center
Available languages: English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, and 16 others
He stared at the screen, then opened a memo.
Is salary withholding illegal?
Can I report without renewing my visa?
Will the professor be notified if I report?
His hands trembled.
But this time, it wasn’t from helplessness.
For the first time,
there was something he could do.
For himself.
For his family.
It took longer than expected to make the call.
But the moment the line connected,
he knew—
There was no turning back.
He redraws boundaries.
Labels people.
Withholds access.
Uses “procedure” as a weapon.
They don’t confront anyone.
is no longer survivable alone.
Staying quiet costs even more.
What it does next will be far less polite.