Episode 12. It’s Not My Fault You Fell Flat on Your Face 5.
Kim Byeongjun hung up and took a sip of his latte.
“Will he come?”
Hyeonu answered.
“He won’t be able not to. He won’t be able to reach the Sales Team 11 manager, either.”
“Heh, I suppose not.”
As he brought the coffee cup to his mouth, he was saying many things inwardly.
All of them were about Hyeonu.
With an indifferent expression, Hyeonu simply listened to what Kim Byeongjun thought of him.
A moment later, a man wearing horn-rimmed glasses opened the door and came in, looking around.
When Kim Byeongjun raised his hand, the man walked over quickly.
“What do you want from me?”
What do you want from me?
The fact that he said that right off the bat meant he had grasped the situation.
Since Jin Seonghun wasn’t answering his phone, he must have assumed Jin had been called to the Audit Office and was in no position to pick up.
And seeing as the person who asked to meet him here wasn’t from the Audit Office but a sales employee, he must have judged there was another reason.
Kim Byeongjun crossed his legs and answered leisurely.
“I’m trying to untangle a mess that’s gotten unpleasantly twisted.”
“I haven’t done anything.”
[I haven’t even received any money yet!]
Kim Byeongjun couldn’t hear such inner thoughts, but perhaps he inferred as much from the man’s words, because he replied with ease.
“Well, I suppose not. You haven’t received the money yet. But now that Team Manager Jin Seonghun has confessed, there’s no helping the fact that your head will roll too. The company may even file a damages suit against you.”
“That’s what he said. There’s no evidence anywhere that I colluded with him.”
That damned evidence. Hyeonu was sick and tired of it.
Kim Byeongjun seemed to be as well. He frowned and spoke in an irritated tone.
“Evidence? Say things like that to your company’s Audit Office staff. Or go say it in court.”
“……”
“You seem so cornered you’re flailing around and barking up the wrong tree, but that isn’t what you should be curious about. You should be wondering why I came instead of someone from the Audit Office.”
Kim Yeongho swept his sharp eyes behind his horn-rimmed glasses over Hyeonu and Kim Byeongjun, then asked,
“And why did you come?”
Kim Byeongjun took a sip of his latte, licked the foam from the corner of his mouth, and said,
“That proposal was originally mine. Team Manager Jin Seonghun and his subordinate stole it.”
Kim Yeongho’s lower eyelids twitched, his face asking what nonsense this was.
“If this collusion case proceeds by the book, everyone involved will lose their jobs. Then the proposal I made will go down with them.”
“Th-then……”
“Yes. We’re saying we’ll end this as an internal issue within Mancheon Mulsan. In return, you must proceed with this matter exactly as planned. Of course, the rebate you were supposed to receive from Dami Food is gone. It’s not a bad offer, is it?”
A bad offer? It was an offer so good that even bowing down in gratitude wouldn’t be enough.
“I-is that all I have to do?”
“That’s all. Make sure the contract doesn’t fall through and is carried out as is.”
After thinking for a moment, he opened his mouth again.
“I’m only asking out of concern, but that is also the company’s position, correct?”
“Rather than the company’s position, it’s the higher-ups’ position. This benefits the company more than punishing you. As for punishment, we only need to punish the vermin inside our own company. Well, in any case, isn’t that something you don’t need to concern yourself with? You know very well that a mere assistant manager couldn’t say something like this on his own. I’m simply moving according to orders.”
Kim Yeongho thought for a moment, then lowered his head slightly.
“Understood. Then I’ll proceed with the contract with Dami Food as planned.”
“Not proceed. You must make it happen, no matter what. Otherwise, there would be no point in us doing this. You understand what I mean, don’t you? If the board gets flipped, you’ll be gone too, Chief.”
“……Yes. I’ll make sure the contract goes through, no matter what.”
“Good. Then let’s meet next time with smiles on our faces. I’m sure you’re busy, so you should head back up now.”
After he left, Kim Byeongjun immediately took out his cell phone.
“Yes, Team Manager. Things went according to plan on this end. (……) Yes. Then I’ll see you at the company.”
Kim Byeongjun hung up, took a sip of his latte, and grinned.
“It really went exactly according to your plan. You’re seriously amazing.”
“No, sir. It’s because you handled the negotiation well, Assistant Manager.”
“Heh, acting all modest…… Honestly, this was something you could have handled alone. From getting the information to making the plan, you did it all. Man, I can’t believe it. A new hire who’s only been here three days……”
That wasn’t entirely true.
They had been able to obtain the information because Song Gaeun had bravely spoken up after storming into Sales Team 11, and Yang Gyeonghun had ultimately persuaded the head of Sales Division 3.
And Kim Byeongjun, who sat in front of him, had handled the negotiation brilliantly like this.
As Hyeonu was thinking that, he heard Kim Byeongjun’s inner voice.
[What is this, The Wizard of Oz? A frail scarecrow who wants a brain, a lion who has lost his courage, and a tin woodman who wants a heart.]
The frail scarecrow who wanted a brain seemed to refer to Song Gaeun, the lion who had lost his courage to Yang Gyeonghun, and the tin woodman who wanted a heart to himself.
But why had he used such an expression for himself?
Was he comparing it to his own indifferent personality?
Then Kim Byeongjun’s inner voice came to him again.
[Could this guy really put a heart in me and make me try again at something I’d given up on? Tch, what am I even thinking…… That’s not something that can happen……]
Kim Byeongjun rose from his seat.
“Let’s go, newbie. The work’s all done.”
As Kim Byeongjun walked ahead, his heart was pounding.
It had been a very long time since his heart had beaten like that.
* * *
The department head’s office at Mancheon Food Distribution……
The president of Dami Food was reading the contract.
However, someone from Mancheon Mulsan headquarters was sitting together with Jeong Sucheol, the department head of Mancheon Food Distribution.
It bothered him slightly, but he simply thought nothing of it.
Mancheon Mulsan was Mancheon Food Distribution’s parent company, after all.
When the president of Dami Food put the contract down, Jeong Sucheol asked,
“There are no issues, correct?”
It was exactly as he had agreed with Jin Seonghun.
“Yes.”
“Then shall we stamp them now?”
As the president of Dami Food took his seal out of his pouch, Yang Gyeonghun’s cell phone rang.
“Oh, Assistant Manager Kim. (……) Good work. We’ll proceed on this end too, so I’ll see you at the company.”
Yang Gyeonghun hung up and gave the president of Dami Food a broad grin.
“Excuse me, Mr. President.”
Sensing something strange in the atmosphere, the president of Dami Food furrowed his brow.
“There’s a double contract involved in this matter, isn’t there?”
“Pardon?”
“With our company’s Team Manager Jin Seonghun and SHS’s Chief Kim Yeongho.”
The president of Dami Food froze.
“You’ve been caught.”
“Wh-what are you……”
“I’m saying you were caught scheming with those two in exchange for the contract to operate SHS’s in-house cafeteria.”
“……”
“You don’t want this to go to court, do you? And you’d like going to the police station even less.”
Yang Gyeonghun grinned broadly once more.
The president of Dami Food stamped the contract.
There were two contracts.
One was a food ingredient supply contract, and the other was a service contract regarding the operation of SHS Group’s in-house cafeteria.
It was a contract in which Mancheon Food Distribution would receive the supply of food ingredients and even be entrusted with operating the cafeteria. In other words, Dami Food was no different from a paper company, and the actual operations and profits would all be taken by Mancheon Food Distribution.
In the end, it had gone exactly according to Kim Byeongjun’s proposal.
After stamping the contracts, the president of Dami Food left the office looking dispirited, and Department Head Jeong Sucheol was extremely pleased.
It was because Mancheon Food Distribution’s external expansion business was proceeding exactly as originally expected.
* * *
After returning to the company, Yang Gyeonghun headed straight to the office of the head of Sales Division 3.
When he opened the door, he saw Kim Inseop and Jin Seonghun sitting on the sofa.
“Knock first······.”
Yang Gyeonghun knocked against the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Man, shit. I’m tired of even saying it now.”
Yang Gyeonghun knocked again.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Just come in, you bastard! Stop messing around.”
Yang Gyeonghun walked over to Jin Seonghun, a full smile spread across his face.
Seeing him sitting stiffly without even making eye contact, it felt like a decade’s worth of indigestion was finally clearing up.
“Hand over the contract.”
He held out the contract with Damifood.
Kim Inseop nodded after seeing the contract.
“This way, we won’t take any losses.”
“Yes, Chief. I’ve reclaimed the money going into those rats’ pockets and put it back into our results, hahaha.”
“You bastard······ so insolent······ Anyway, good work. I’m going to see the Managing Director, so wait here for a bit. Don’t let Jin Seonghun here go anywhere.”
Yang Gyeonghun gave an exaggerated 90-degree bow.
“Yes! Understood. Have a safe trip!”
“Bastard······.”
Though he said that, Kim Inseop patted Yang Gyeonghun’s shoulder.
It was his way of saying he had done well.
Kim Inseop left, leaving only Yang Gyeonghun and Jin Seonghun.
Yang Gyeonghun’s mouth was stretched from ear to ear.
“What are you going to do now? You’re fucked.”
“······.”
“It was nice when you were doing well stealing other people’s stuff, wasn’t it?”
“······.”
“Do you resent me?”
Jin Seonghun’s cheek twitched.
Shamelessly, it really seemed that way.
“No, you idiot. The reason you ended up like this is all your fault. Your dirty nature made you crumble. Got it?”
Shortly after, an audit team employee took Jin Seonghun away.
After being investigated until late at night, he was kicked out of the company with even his work phone confiscated, unable to carry so much as a ballpoint pen.
He had been ordered to wait at home until a decision was made.
And Sales Team 9 drank so much that their noses were crooked, today as well as yesterday.
* * *
The next day······.
Kim Inseop, Chief of Sales Division 3, knocked on the president’s office door.
[Come in.]
President Noh Hyeoncheol was sitting on the sofa drinking traditional tea.
“Sit.”
“Yes, President.”
Noh Hyeoncheol poured him a cup of tea.
“Drink.”
“Thank you.”
He nearly died after taking one sip.
It was because he had poured the hot tea into his mouth out of nervousness.
“Ugh!”
“Are you okay?”
“Ah, yes. I’m fine.”
Watching Kim Inseop lick his stinging lips repeatedly, Noh Hyeoncheol opened his mouth.
“Did you decide how to handle that matter?”
“No. Sales Team 9 handled it, I simply reported it to the Sales Management Managing Director, and handed it over to the audit team.”
“Hmm······ maintaining results while punishing the insider who committed fraud······ It must have been a difficult decision to make as a team leader. Quite bold.”
“I’m sorry. I should have managed it, but it was such an urgent matter that it ended up happening that way.”
“No, no. You did well. It was a wise decision. I prefer our employees to be that proactive.”
Kim Inseop, who had been anxious wondering if he would be scolded, finally let out a sigh of relief.
“Um, but regarding what you told me to report back then······.”
“What?”
“About the cursing and fighting in the sales team.”
“Ah, that? You said that guy was the Sales Team 9 leader, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct. Actually, the person who drafted the proposal for this matter was Deputy Kim Byeongjun of Sales Team 9, but it seems Deputy Park Seokhun of Sales Team 11 stole it. And the Sales Team 11 leader used it. That’s why he cursed like that, apparently.”
“Oh, really? Then that Park Seokhun fellow needs to be disciplined too.”
“······.”
“Anything else to report?”
“No.”
“Then go. Tell the Sales Team 9 leader to come in.”
* * *
Song Gaeun and Hyeonu stood in front of Sales Team 11.
People’s eyes naturally gathered on the two.
Why are those two standing there like that again? Are they going to cause another commotion?
Seeing them, Maldaegari pretended not to notice and kept his head down.
Song Gaeun crossed her arms and opened her mouth.
“Hey, Maldaegari.”
“······.”
“Can’t hear me?”
“······.”
“Hey.”
“······.”
“Hey.”
“God damn it!”
Maldaegari slammed his desk. He stood up, brushed past Song Gaeun’s shoulder, and strode out.
“Oh my! Oh my, oh my, oh my, oh my, oh my! Why is he acting like that?”
Hyeonu said with a deep smile.
“Let’s go, Chief.”
“No, if someone talks to you, you should answer. Where is he going?”
“He seems to have gone home. Stop worrying about a guy like that. I don’t think he’ll come back again.”
While people were muttering at the strange atmosphere, Yang Gyeonghun suddenly popped out from the Sales Team 9 partition.
“Where are you going, Team Leader?”
“Huh? Uh, uh. T-to the President’s office.”
His eyes wide, Yang Gyeonghun hurriedly ran out of the office.