What greeted me when I returned to the Philippines was not people.
It was mountains of documents piled high that greeted me first.
“There’s this much backed up?”
And that wasn’t all.
“At nine, you have a meeting regarding the competition. At nine-thirty, a meeting regarding the exhibition is scheduled. At ten, you need to receive the report on the camping tour operation plan, and at ten-twenty, a report on the Gogo Casino update is prepared. After that, you need to attend the integrated resort operations meeting. For lunch, you are scheduled to attend a gathering of the Philippine Hotel Association. As for the afternoon schedule…”
It wasn’t even eight in the morning, but Scott came in and began rattling off today’s schedule.
Should I seriously move accommodations?
When I was in Seoul, no matter how long I lazed around in bed, there was no one to say anything about it.
The moment I came to the Philippines, my schedule started right away.
I missed the hotel in Seoul.
I missed that quiet, peaceful time.
“Can’t we postpone it? I’m not even over the jet lag yet.”
“Everyone has been waiting for you to return, Boss.”
“They can take care of it themselves.”
“No. They need you, Boss.”
“What are you talking about? When I go to meetings, everything’s already prepared. I just sit there nodding and come back, so why do they need me? Everyone can do well enough. Why do they keep clinging to me?”
After hearing me, Scott asked back as if he truly couldn’t believe I didn’t know.
“Do you really not know why, Boss?”
“What? Is there some other reason?”
Scott hesitated a little before answering.
“Everyone thinks of you as a lucky totem, Boss.”
“What?”
At Scott’s words, my jet lag vanished in an instant.
I woke up completely, and my eyes shot open.
My fatigue disappeared from sheer absurdity.
I thought Scott had misspoken.
A lucky totem in the twenty-first century?
What an archaic way of thinking.
A lucky totem was supposed to be a cute doll, or maybe a wooden figurine full of shamanistic meaning, wasn’t it?
Wasn’t it way too weird to make an old guy like me into a lucky totem?
“What are you talking about? A lucky totem?”
“It’s a fairly credible theory.”
“This is credible?”
“Hasn’t everything you’ve done here in the Philippines succeeded, Boss? Even absurd businesses and strange plans succeed once they pass through your hands, don’t they? So I think everyone wants to receive that energy.”
“Hahaha. Now I’m really just laughing out of disbelief.”
“It happened because everything you’ve done has gone well, Boss. Honestly, once you get involved, doesn’t everything turn out well? That’s why they prepare everything and then wait for your final approval. They want to give you the report, receive your approval, and get some of that lucky energy.”
“They’re calling me into meetings like this because they think of me as a totem doll?”
“It’s your business anyway, isn’t it, Boss? It’s good for you to receive reports and confirm things before the business proceeds. And it’s good for the people carrying it out because they can receive the lucky totem’s energy and move forward. It’s also good if you look over any parts that need to be revised or supplemented along the way. You know very well where strength needs to be applied, Boss. Since you’re the lucky totem.”
Rather than getting angry at Scott’s words, I was dumbfounded.
But why was Scott telling me this so proudly?
“Scott. You don’t believe it too, do you?”
“…”
“Seriously?”
“You misunderstand. I do not believe it.”
“Right?”
“I worship it. You are my faith, Boss.”
Oh, my head.
Having this kind of conversation before eight in the morning.
I wished it were a dream.
“Why? Why did you end up doing something so ridiculous?”
“You made me, someone who only knew how to fight, into this. Into a person.”
“What do you mean I made you? You made yourself.”
“No. If you hadn’t been there, Boss, I’d still be brawling around on the streets of Bohol.”
“I wasn’t the one who picked you up. That was Sandro.”
“It’s true that Director Sandro picked me up, but you were the one who taught me about life and gave me a motive—a reason—to learn more, Boss. I will be absolutely loyal to you.”
You don’t have to.
Don’t. Please, I’m begging you.
I just want you to treat me like a neighborhood stray cat.
The kind you’re happy to see once in a while, and worry about a little if you don’t.
Still, Scott really had changed a lot.
At first, he was just a guy who was good at fighting.
He followed me as my bodyguard, but because he was too eager, he ended up making things more uncomfortable for me.
So I taught him some basics of security.
Now, whenever necessary, he followed me around as both bodyguard and secretary.
With Patrick gone, Scott was trying to fill Patrick’s place.
Of course, Scott alone could not replace the void Patrick had left.
Patrick was a general manager.
He couldn’t handle work like a specialist, but he could work specialists hard.
That was why we had run smoothly.
But now that Patrick was gone, the work he used to do had to be divided among several people.
Me, Sandro, Anna, and Scott all took shares of it.
Several people split it up.
In terms of work, Anna took on the most, and when it came to my personal schedule and outside appointments, Scott took on a lot.
Scott wanted to take it on.
He said he wanted to assist me or something.
So if he wanted to follow me around, he had to become my hands and feet.
I told him that not only his security skills, but also his administrative skills needed to support that, and he went and learned.
The reason he was here this morning rattling off my schedule was precisely because of that.
Of course, he was still lacking in many ways, but I liked people who challenged themselves.
That reason alone was enough to keep Scott by my side.
He would improve where he was lacking.
“Fine. Whether they make me a totem, a doll, or roast and eat me, they can do whatever they want. What did you say the first appointment was?”
“A meeting regarding the competition. At nine in the conference room.”
“Got it. I’ll go to the conference room by nine.”
“I’ll come escort you.”
“Don’t come!!! I can go by myself.”
“I’ll come escort you.”
“I said don’t come!!”
.
.
.
The conference room located in one corner of the office.
Im Yuna and a representative from CCAD, the agency in charge of the Bohol Province competition, were there together.
“Boss. These are the competition results. These are the prizewinning works, and these are the works to be made into merchandise.”
Im Yuna showed me the works divided into prizewinning pieces and merchandise pieces.
Once we gave our final confirmation here, the competition would be over.
Looking at the selected works, I thought it had been very wise to separate the prizewinning works from the merchandise selections.
The quality of the works to be made into merchandise was excellent, but the prizewinning works were honestly not great.
Unlike the merchandise, which Im Yuna had selected according to her own standards,
the criteria for the prizewinning works were vague.
There were quite a few pieces that were questionable as prizewinners.
Of course, I knew the reason well.
The governor had either received money, taken someone’s request, or chosen them to show favor.
They must have selected them after looking at names or backgrounds rather than the works themselves.
I was relieved we had set the prizes at twenty winners and total prize money of one million pesos, or twenty-four million won.
If we had decided according to the situation, it would have been troublesome.
The governor would have wanted more prizewinners and more prize money, and I would have found it hard to refuse.
It was already frustrating to spend one million pesos on works like these. How angry would I have been if we spent even more?
It wasn’t that I was angry about spending one million pesos.
I was angry that there must have been better works than these, and those works had been eliminated.
Weren’t they selected as merchandise pieces?
Merchandise pieces were literally works that would be good when made into merchandise.
We weren’t choosing artworks.
So there were quite a few good works that were eliminated.
I felt regret, but it was a part I had given up on from the start anyway.
We had already agreed to give out the prizes, so even if it was disappointing, I shouldn’t dwell on it.
“I’ve checked them. The works are good. I think you can proceed as is.”
“Thank you. Then we will proceed this way.”
“CCAD will handle the award ceremony for the competition, correct?”
“Yes. We plan to hold it at our CCAD main building.”
“Then the competition will be finished once CCAD holds the award ceremony, won’t it? Thank you for your help all this time.”
“Not at all. Through this competition, we learned a great deal as well. We also came to realize that there are many outstanding artists in Bohol. In that sense, may I ask you for one favor?”
“What favor?”
“Could you attend the award ceremony, Boss?”
Why would I go all the way to an award ceremony?
We just needed to give them the prize money.
“Hahaha. Of course I should go. But I have more overseas business trips than you might expect. If you let my secretary know the schedule, I’ll try to match it as much as possible.”
“Thank you. Even if we have to postpone the award ceremony, we will make sure you can attend, Boss.”
How pathetic.
Now lies came out of my mouth whenever I opened it.
I should tell Scott I had about half a year’s worth of overseas business trips planned.
I didn’t want to go all the way there.
It wasn’t as if the works were good.
If possible, I didn’t want to know.
After the CCAD representative, whose business was finished, left, only Im Yuna and I remained in the conference room.
The next meeting was regarding holding an exhibition with the merchandise works.
Manager Gang Jaeho needed to join this meeting, but he had not arrived yet.
With just the two of us in the conference room, a strange atmosphere flowed.
It felt like the temperature was rising.
So I called out to Im Yuna.
“Ms. Im Yuna?”
“Yes? Yes!”
Im Yuna’s face turned bright red as if it might burst.
Why was she like that?
Was she sick somewhere?
Her face turned red just from me calling her name.
Was she born physically weak?
I was worried.
“Are you sick? Your complexion doesn’t look good.”
“No. I’m fine. But didn’t you have something you wanted to say?”
“I was going to ask about the merchandise production, but I’ll ask later. Take it easy.”
“Yes…”
At that moment, Manager Gang Jaeho appeared at the conference room door.
But he didn’t come in and just stood there reading the room.
“I’m allowed to come in, right? I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”
“What are you talking about? We were waiting for you.”
Unlike my reaction, Im Yuna’s expression darkened.
It went from red to dark.
She seemed to have a lot of problems.
I really should have her get a comprehensive medical checkup soon.
Once the exhibition was over, I’d send her to Korea and have her checked at a Korean hospital.
Thinking even about my employees’ health made me seem like quite a decent boss.
“Then shall we begin the meeting?”
“Then I’ll give you a brief report. The exhibition will proceed under the theme ‘Hidden Bohol, As Yet Unseen.’ There will be fifty-four works exhibited. Since the purpose of the exhibition is to select works to be made into merchandise, we’ll make voting possible…”
“Sounds good. Manager Gang Jaeho, how far along are preparations for the exhibition hall?”
“Yes. I think it would be faster to show you rather than explain it verbally. Do you have time now?”
“Of course. Let’s go right away.”
We went down to the basement of Emerald Resort, where the exhibition would be held.
The basement was much bigger and wider than I had expected.
The high ceiling erased the disadvantage of being underground.
If anything, it created an atmosphere where people could focus on the works.
Of course, Manager Gang Jaeho had put a lot of work into it.
“So now all we need to do is hang the works here, right?”
“Yes. Because it was too spacious, we set up temporary walls. We created the flow so that visitors can move in one direction while viewing the exhibition and mark the works they like.”
“Good. Proceed as is. Then when does the exhibition start?”
“It is scheduled to be exhibited for one month starting in fifteen days.”
“Don’t just hang the works and call it finished because it’s a free exhibition. Check on it frequently. If necessary, assign docents or guides, and always have staff stationed here.”
“Yes. Understood.”
When I came out of Emerald Resort, Sandro was waiting.
Come to think of it, Sandro’s eyes looked strange too.
This bastard didn’t believe in that totem stuff too, did he?
“Alex. I’ve been waiting so long.”
“Why me?”
“There’s something I want to show you. Follow me.”
The place I followed Sandro to—no, the place I was dragged to—had dozens of camping cars parked there.
In one corner, camping equipment was neatly arranged.
“What is all that?”
“Don’t you remember? You said we should do camping tours.”
“I did. But weren’t we just going to run it with a few vehicles?”
“I was going to, but when we did a demand survey, there was a lot of demand. So I increased it a bit.”
“Normally, people don’t call a scale like this ‘a bit.’ Can we even operate all of these?”
“It’s fine now.”
“Huh? What do you mean, it’s fine now?”
“You saw it. You confirmed it. So it’s fine now.”
What’s fine?
Nothing is fine.
.
.
.
The day finally came to an end.
The reports were endless, and the people who thought of me as a totem kept dragging me around.
It was work I had been doing anyway, but because I had rested for a few days, it felt new, difficult, and unfamiliar.
To the point that I wondered how I had done this every day.
To wrap up the day, I opened a can of beer and turned on the TV.
Soccer was on.
I turned my brain off and stared blankly at the game.
The commentator was calling the match.
“The players need to work harder, run that extra step.”
“The players can’t focus only on defense. They need to move more.”
“Don’t they say offense is the best defense? Our players need to approach the match more aggressively.”
Sitting on the sofa watching the soccer game, I was startled.
I felt like I had gotten a hint.
That’s right.
Offense was the best defense.
I hadn’t thought about attacking.
Like an idiot, I had only been trying to defend somehow.
They said a hundred policemen couldn’t stop one thief.
No matter how tightly you wrap things up, you can’t stop drugs.
Then we should attack too.
Instead of defending.
What we needed to take wasn’t Seoul, but China.
We had to take China.
Once the goal became clear, I thought of what I had to do.
I picked up my cell phone and contacted Rafei.