Episode 16: A Wise Answer 3.
Hyunwoo was thoroughly ostracized by his peers and fellow new employees during the training period.
It was because Lee Minju and Seok Jiyeol had spread rumors that he was a parachute hire who had only been there for a week and hadn't even graduated from university.
Thanks to that, he had so much spare time that he could take naps and look around at his surroundings, so it wasn't too bad.
Time passed like that, and finally, it was time for dinner with the executives.
This occasion was extremely important for the first-year employees with excellent evaluations.
Because if they caught an executive's eye and their name was mentioned, it would be immediately reflected in their personnel performance evaluation.
Moreover, the executive attending today was President Min Byungsoo, the second son of Chairman Min Yanghong, who led Mancheon Group's chemicals and petroleum refining.
He was on a completely different level.
The HR directors from each affiliate approached the nine first-year outstanding employees seated at a large round table.
Goo Hyungjun looked around at Hyunwoo, Lee Minju, and Seok Jiyeol sitting side by side and opened his mouth.
“Don't open your mouth unnecessarily when you haven't even been asked a question. Got it?”
“Yes, I understand.”
“If the president asks you something, be on edge, and never say anything tactless. If something goes wrong, many people could suffer.”
While he was giving various warnings, someone shouted from the entrance.
“The president is arriving.”
Tension instantly filled the air.
“Stand up.”
Everyone stood up from their seats and stood at attention.
A moment later, Min Byungsoo walked through the entrance with his hands stuffed in his pockets.
The three HR directors from each affiliate bowed at 90 degrees, and the employees followed suit, bowing as well.
The HR directors only straightened their backs after Min Byungsoo sat down.
They gestured with their eyes for the employees to sit.
Then they went to sit at the table right beside them and took out their diaries.
It meant they would be evaluating at this occasion.
For some reason, the food came out in a suffocating atmosphere, and Min Byungsoo didn't say a word.
He seemed interested in something else.
In fact, the only thing in his head was the rights to an iron ore mine business in Africa.
It was a rice cake right before his eyes—no matter how much he thought about it, the answer wouldn't come out.
He suddenly wanted to ask the new recruits about this.
Just for fun.
If he happened to hear a good answer he hadn't thought of, that would be great.
When they were about halfway through their meal in silence, he opened his mouth for the first time.
“Hey, chicks.”
Everyone stopped using their chopsticks and straightened their posture.
“You must have all been called geniuses to be here, right? Your ambition must also be far above average.”
“······.”
“Good. To commend you for your efforts in beating out the others and making it here, I'll give you an opportunity.”
“······.”
“It's simple. I'll pose one question, and I'll give a reward to whoever gives an answer I like. For the chemicals and petroleum guys, a promotion to chief. For Trading, there's not much I can do, so a ten million won bonus...... What do you think? A reward that makes you swallow your saliva, right?”
Seeing the employees truly swallowing dryly, Min Byungsoo revealed his canines with a wide grin.
“Alright, then here's the question.”
The employees seated around the table, and even the three HR directors, listened intently and focused.
“Something has happened where a huge vested interest falls into your laps. But to take that vested interest, you have to get your hands dirty with corrupt deeds. On top of that, you have to infringe on your colleague's rice bowl.”
He took a sip of wine and opened his mouth again.
“So, what should you do in this situation? Is there a way to bring in that vested interest without getting a single drop of blood on my body?”
Thinking it was quite a profound business problem, everyone racked their brains.
A few minutes passed like that, and they began stating their answers one by one.
The most plausible answer among them was this:
“If the colleague you mentioned is a fellow employee, I would proceed with the project through consultation, and if it's another affiliate of Mancheon, I would coordinate the vested interests organizationally and then form a consortium.”
“Is that so? It's not a bad answer. But it's too ordinary.”
What he was really thinking inside while saying this was:
[You bastard, that means I'd have to share the vested interest I barely brought in alone with my brothers.]
One by one gave their answers, and it became Lee Minju's turn.
Perhaps because she didn't have a proper answer, she opened her mouth with a trembling voice, visibly flustered.
“If it were me, I wouldn't do such a thing. I think forcing a matter through while engaging in corrupt acts could cause problems later. I'd rather just give that work to my colleague, and like a true Mancheon person......”
Min Byungsoo, who had been listening quietly to whatever she was saying, cut her off.
“Bullshit......”
Lee Minju's eyes went wide.
Min Byungsoo opened his mouth again to her.
“Is this a school? A church? When are you going to make money doing it that way?”
“No, that's......”
“Hey, you've read a lot of autobiographies, haven't you?”
“What? Ah, yes.”
“Do you know why the people in autobiographies are all the same, and all righteous?”
“I-I don't know.”
“It's because they couldn't bring themselves to write the dirty methods they actually used in their books.”
“······.”
“Hey, HR director.”
Goo Hyungjun shot to his feet.
“Yes! President.”
“You're from Mancheon Trading?”
“Yes, that's correct.”
“The way you work...... Calling someone like that an excellent evaluation employee...... If you had been under me, your head would've rolled.”
“I'm sorry, President. I will take another look.”
Goo Hyungjun bowed, and when he raised his head again, his eyes were fierce.
His eyes turned toward Lee Minju, who looked like she would burst into tears at any moment.
[Shit, I warned you so much not to say anything tactless...... You're dead.]
In the atmosphere that froze over in an instant, everyone stiffened rigidly.
Min Byungsoo put a piece of meat in his mouth, chewed toughly, and lit a cigarette.
Then he pointed at Hyunwoo, who was sitting in the last seat, with his chin.
“Hey, you.”
“Yes, President. This is Kim Hyunwoo of Mancheon Trading, Sales Team 9.”
“Kuk, Mancheon Trading...... Are you going to answer? You don't have to if you're not confident. You look like you just want to get up and leave anyway. Hoo......”
Hyunwoo, who had been eating food until just now, wiped his mouth.
“I will answer.”
“Kuk, is that so?”
[Hoo, you're going to eat and even answer in this situation? He's a bold one. Not intimidated by the atmosphere at all.]
“Hoo...... Then let's hear it.”
Hyunwoo met Min Byungsoo's eyes with an expression that was calm yet polite.
“If I could gain a large profit, but political aspects are entangled like that, I would first ask my superior and then move.”
Min Byungsoo's brow furrowed.
“What?”
“When I was young, I had a friend who grew up under a widowed father with many siblings, and he said they fought a lot among brothers whenever something special came up. So he said whenever something special came up, he would get his father's permission first before moving. He said because in the end, Father was the one who put food on the table. He also said that even if he failed after doing so, Father would still feed him. If it were me, I would check my superior's intentions first before moving, just like him.”
Silence flowed.
In this silence, the person who felt like he was going the craziest was Goo Hyungjun.
After Lee Minju, even the crazy parachute bastard had pulled an utterly tactless stunt.
Min Byungsoo stared fixedly at Hyunwoo and exhaled cigarette smoke through his narrowly parted lips.
“Hoo...... Manager Park.”
The secretary sitting at the table with the HR directors answered.
“Yes, President.”
“Bring the checkbook.”
Startled, he quickly ran over, took out a checkbook from a pouch, and held it out.
Min Byungsoo opened the checkbook, wrote something with a fountain pen, and then looked at Hyunwoo.
“Give it to him.”
“Yes, understood.”
A man called Director Park approached, tore off the check, and gave it to Hyunwoo.
On the check was written “Ten Million Won” and Min Byungsoo's handwritten signature.
“Thank you, President.”
Min Byeongsu set down the cigarette, smoke still rising from it, in the ashtray.
“You. What did you say your name was?”
“I’m Kim Hyeonu from Mancheon Corporation’s Sales Team 9.”
“Kim Hyeonu······. Good work.”
Min Byeongsu rose from his seat and immediately left the restaurant.
After he left, everyone was stunned.
They couldn’t understand why Hyeonu’s answer had been so excellent.
But they could tell that President Min Byeongsu had been extremely satisfied with Hyeonu’s answer, and he had even given him a ten-million-won prize on the spot.
Gu Hyeongjun, who had somehow been reduced to a wilted scallion, shuffled over to Hyeonu like an old man.
“Hey, rookie.”
“Yes, Chief.”
“Thank you······. Thank you. You saved me.”
Then he looked at the panicked Lee Minju with venomous eyes and said,
“From that clueless walking disaster.”
Without so much as glancing at Lee Minju, Hyeonu rose from his seat.
“Not at all. I think I was just lucky enough to suit the president’s taste.”
“Rookie.”
“Yes.”
“You’ve got nothing to do right now, do you?”
“No.”
“Then come out with me for a bit.”
“Where to?”
“We came all the way to Sokcho, so we should have some raw fish and soju. I’ll buy you the most expensive stuff today.”
Gu Hyeongjun playfully grabbed Hyeonu by the nape and dragged him out.
As he did, the sound of sobbing reached Hyeonu’s ears.
It sounded like Lee Minju crying.
If he looked at her face, he would be able to hear her inner thoughts through her sobs, but he deliberately did not look.
Because he had no interest in her at all.
Why would flies gather around dung, and why would bees gather around flowers?
They said that if you wanted to know yourself, you should look at the people around you.
They were the sort of people he had no need to make any effort to get close to.
The next day, from the moment he entered the restaurant to have breakfast, the new hires were in an uproar.
It seemed the incident with President Min Byeongsu had already spread as a rumor.
He did think things had become needlessly bothersome, but among them, there was one guy he found rather likable.
* * *
The chairman’s office of Mancheon Group······.
After listening to everything Min Byeongsu had to say, Min Yanghong stroked his chin.
“They’re asking for two hundred million dollars?”
“Yes, Father.”
“In return, looking at it long-term, the profit that falls to us will be dozens of times that.”
“Ahem. The problem isn’t that two hundred million dollars is a large sum. The problem is that the purpose of that money is to prepare a slush fund.”
“That is why I’m telling you, Father. Our affiliate’s African corporation alone can’t handle it. Besides, it also involves Steel and Corporation. There’s no reason to create room for unnecessary misunderstandings.”
Min Yanghong picked up three walnuts and rolled them in his hand.
Click-clack, clack, click-clack······.
He was in an extremely good mood right now.
Because this was something Byeongsu might have tried to handle alone out of greed for results, but instead, he had brought it to him.
He could not have been wiser.
If he had pushed ahead too recklessly on his own, there was a very high chance of trouble later.
On top of that, he was even taking internal politics within the group into account.
‘Is this really Byeongsu? He’s grown a lot.’
“Can I meet the person from the African side?”
“I think that will be difficult. They said they only want to make contact with me.”
He liked that even more.
He even knew how to subtly secure his own share.
“All right, wait for a bit. I’ll talk it over with your elder brother and President No Hyeoncheol.”
“Understood, Father.”
“Then you may go.”
Min Byeongsu stood up, bowed, and turned around.
Since he had said that only he could communicate with the person from the African side, he would not have the initiative in the business taken away by his elder brother Min Byeonggi or by No Hyeoncheol of Mancheon Corporation.
If so, there was only one outcome.
His father would take care of obtaining those two people’s assistance for him.
He could not understand why he had thought of something so easy and effective in such a complicated way.
That guy from Mancheon Corporation’s sales team······. The new employee, Kim Hyeonu······.
Next time, he wanted to make sure to find the time to buy him another meal.
He was such an adorable fellow.