An Age No One Knows Again

Chapter 8

The team dinner announcement came via messenger.

This Thursday evening we have a team dinner scheduled. Please vote if you can attend.

There were two buttons below.

Attend

Don't Attend

I looked at the screen for a moment.

In the past, we didn't ask if someone could attend a team dinner.

We only told them when it was.

Back then, that was natural, and now this way is natural.

I pressed Attend.

Shortly after, the number went up.

Six out of nine.

One said they had to pick up their child, and one said they already had another commitment.

The youngest developer didn't attend without any explanation.

No one asked why.

By Thursday evening, the six of us went to a restaurant near the company.

It was a Korean BBQ place that the team leader had reserved.

We didn't squeeze people into a long table like before.

We split into two wide tables with three people each.

The team leader said.

"Just eat comfortably today. Only drink if you want to."

Someone ordered beer, and someone ordered cola.

The youngest developer asked for sparkling water.

I considered ordering a bottle of soju but ordered beer instead.

In the old days, the first drink would have been soju for everyone.

Someone would have filled glasses, and a supervisor would have given a toast.

Now, such things were almost gone.

The meat came out, and shortly after, the team leader raised his beer glass.

"Thank you all for your hard work."

People each raised their glasses.

The sparkling water bottle also came up.

Some clinked glasses, and some just held theirs up.

That was it.

At first, we talked about work.

How the recent deployment went, how busy the next sprint would be, or how the new AI tool was better than expected.

Then we naturally moved on to other topics.

Travel. House prices. Games. Stories about children.

One young developer said he was going to Japan next month.

"Where are you going?"

I asked.

"Fukuoka."

"With friends?"

"No. Alone."

"You travel alone a lot."

"It's convenient. I don't have to coordinate schedules."

He said this matter-of-factly.

I nodded.

His generation thought nothing of eating alone, traveling alone, or watching movies alone. In my time, even going into a Korean BBQ place alone seemed a bit odd.

I don't know how that difference relates to development, but

Sometimes it seemed like the reason the way we build relationships at work had also changed was rooted in that.

Around 7:30, the youngest developer checked his phone.

"Could I leave first?"

The team leader said immediately.

"Of course. See you tomorrow."

The youngest got up from his seat.

"I'll head out then."

People said goodbye.

No one made him feel awkward.

I also said.

"Yeah. Go ahead."

He picked up his bag and left.

I glanced toward the door for a moment.

It was a scene you wouldn't have easily seen in the past.

The youngest leaves in the middle of a team dinner.

And his boss lets him go with a smile.

It was a good change.

Definitely.

A little later, another employee got up.

"I need to go put my child to bed, so I'll head out first."

The team leader laughed.

"Go. It's fine."

A little after 8 o'clock, four of us remained.

The team leader said.

"Should we wrap up?"

I looked at my watch.

8:17.

In the old days, this would have been when the first round ended.

Someone would have said, "Where should we go next?"

I laughed to myself.

The team leader asked.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Oh, just thinking of the old days."

"The old days?"

"Back then, at this time we would have already gone to the next place."

The young developer's eyes widened.

"On a weekday?"

"On a weekday."

"When you have to come in the next day?"

"Exactly."

People laughed.

The team leader said.

"I couldn't do that now."

"I couldn't either if you asked me to now."

I said this while taking a sip of beer.

I meant it.

I didn't want to go back to the days of drinking until dawn and coming into work at nine the next morning. I hated when my boss urged me to drink, when I had to go along to a next place I didn't want to visit, when I had to reluctantly shake a tambourine at karaoke.

That culture deserved to disappear.

But strangely, I sometimes remembered that era's people as being closer.

Of course, they had to be close.

We spent twelve hours a day together, ate together, drank together, and even worked on weekends together.

Whether we were close because we liked each other,

or close because there was no time to escape,

I no longer remembered clearly.

The team leader paid with the company card.

As soon as we came out, people went their separate ways.

"I'm going to take the subway."

"I'm taking the bus."

"See you tomorrow."

Within a few minutes, only the team leader and I remained.

The team leader said.

"Where are you heading, senior?"

"I'm taking the subway too."

"Then let's walk together to the station."

We walked slowly.

The team leader was twelve years younger than me.

Walking together outside the office, the age difference felt more pronounced.

The team leader spoke first.

"It seems like young people these days don't really like team dinners."

"Is there a reason to like them?"

"I don't really like them either, honestly."

We both laughed.

"But sometimes I do wish for something."

The team leader said.

"What?"

"At work, we only talk about tasks. I don't really get to know the people."

I was a bit surprised to hear that.

I thought I was the only one who felt that way.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"It is. But..."

The team leader paused to think.

"When managing a team, I want to know what each person does well and what they want to do. But those kinds of conversations don't happen much at work."

I nodded.

"In the old days, we'd talk about it over drinks."

"But I'm not saying we should go back to that."

"Of course not."

We waited for the light at the crosswalk.

The team leader checked his phone.

There were several messenger notifications.

"I can check them tomorrow morning."

I said.

"That's what I'm thinking."

The team leader put his phone back in his pocket.

The light changed.

As I crossed the street, I thought.

In the past, the boundary between work and personal life was blurred.

Now, the line was clear.

After work was personal time, you could skip team dinners if you wanted, and it became awkward for colleagues to contact you on weekends.

It was a good change.

But that same line appeared in relationships too.

We communicated necessary things via messenger, work was tracked in tickets, and after meetings ended, everyone went back to their desks.

Whether or not you knew who people really were didn't greatly hinder work.

Perhaps that made it a more professional organization.

I parted ways with the team leader at the subway entrance.

"See you tomorrow."

"Yeah. Go ahead."

I went down the stairs.

People on the platform were each looking at their phones.

I took out my phone too.

One photo from the team dinner had been posted to the team messenger.

It was a photo of someone grilling meat.

There were several emojis below it.

It was great today!

Thanks for the meal :)

I also clicked on a thumbs-up emoji.