Episode 26: Let’s Just Bypass Them and Go 3.
Gim Inseop furrowed his brows and opened his mouth.
“Are you really saying we should bypass Executive Choi and go directly to the President?”
Yang Gyeonghun answered without a moment’s hesitation.
“Yes, Manager.”
Judging by his eyes, this was no ordinary resolve.
It seemed the pent-up frustration of all this time had finally burst through with this incident.
“If it comes to that, you know what kind of relationship we’ll have with Executive Choi, right? We’ll become complete enemies. Starting tomorrow, he’ll be out to get us, trying to kill us.”
Yang Gyeonghun’s lips quivered as he replied.
“Then isn’t he an enemy now? Just because he hasn’t said he’ll kill us doesn’t mean this isn’t practically an act of killing. Isn’t it?”
“······.”
“This isn’t the first time our rice bowls have been snatched away. He hits us again because we just take it lying down. Even a stray dog will fight for its life in front of its food bowl. Don’t you want to escape this filthy, sickening situation? I can’t take it anymore! I won’t endure it, not anymore.”
Yang Gyeonghun, who had barked in a burst of anger, lowered his voice again.
“Manager.”
“······.”
“If we have to fight Executive Choi, now is the chance. If we miss this opportunity, there won’t be another one. You and I, we’ll be completely crushed.”
Gim Inseop, who had been quietly meeting eyes with Yang Gyeonghun, let out a sigh.
“Whew... They said to beware of people this year... I thought I’d made it through safely, but I got caught right at the year-end. Damn it...”
After muttering to himself as if complaining, he immediately picked up the receiver.
“This is Sales Team 3 Manager. Is the President in? (······) Please tell him it’s a very... very urgent matter and that I need to see him right away.”
When Gim Inseop hung up the phone, Yang Gyeonghun bowed his head.
“Thank you, Manager.”
“Forget it, punk. I felt like shit too. Since it’s come to this, might as well throw a stone once in office life, right?”
“······.”
Hyeonu’s face suddenly came into Gim Inseop’s eyes.
Sure enough, it was a calm and stable face.
Unchanging.
Whether it was because he didn’t know how a company organization worked, or because he knew and was still like that.
For some reason, it got on his nerves.
His heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would kill him...
“Listen, you know I’m throwing the last stone of my life by listening to you guys, right?”
“I know.”
“Whew... You punks are so bold I’ve got nothing to say.”
“But M-Biotech was something you brought in from the start, Manager.”
“What?”
“Isn’t that right? I told you to bring in Yangwoo Bio, but you were reeled in by Executive Choi and brought this instead.”
Gim Inseop’s face turned red.
It was from anger and embarrassment. There was also a slightly resentful side to it.
“You little—! Damn it, hitting right where it hurts...”
Just then, the phone rang.
“Yes, this is Sales Team 3 Manager.”
[The President will see you now.]
“...Got it.”
Gim Inseop set down the receiver and stood up from his seat.
“I’m going to the President’s office, so you two stay put right here. You might get called in too.”
“Yes, Manager.”
“Then I’ll be back.”
Yang Gyeonghun and Hyeonu stood up from their seats and bowed at the waist.
“Please go and return safely, Manager.”
“Ahem.”
Looking at Yang Gyeonghun with his head bowed, Gim Inseop said these words internally.
[You, I said I’m your only line, right? Fine, I’ll be your line. There’s no one else who follows me as loyally as you. If this goes well, you and I will ride the President’s line, just as that little brat drew it up.]
Gim Inseop, who had thought this, turned his head toward Hyeonu.
Still a calm face.
For some reason, he suddenly felt that those black eyes of his were seeing straight through him.
[You monstrous punk, you’re in the same boat too. You’re on my line now, too...]
Gim Inseop, wobbling like an amoeba, walked out of the office.
Judging by his inner thoughts about riding the President’s line, he seemed to know well what the crux of this current action was.
That was different from Yang Gyeonghun, who was merely looking to throw a decisive gamble on this matter.
The inner words Gim Byeongjun had once said suddenly came to mind.
[What is this, it’s like The Wizard of Oz, isn’t it? The feeble Scarecrow who wanted a brain, the Cowardly Lion who had lost his courage, the Tin Woodman who wanted a heart.]
Sales Team 9 Leader Yang Gyeonghun...
At any rate, it seemed the Cowardly Lion had finally shown courage befitting courage for the first time.
* * *
Gim Inseop, who had firmly steeled his heart before entering the President’s office, had to grind ink the moment he went in.
No Hyeoncheol happened to be preparing for calligraphy at that moment, and Gim Inseop was caught right in it.
No Hyeoncheol, having taken a sip of traditional tea, asked with a languid face.
“So what is this very... very urgent matter?”
Gim Inseop answered while diligently grinding ink with both hands.
“It’s about M-Biotech, a bio company listed on KOSDAQ in which we hold an 8% stake. However, one of our employees looked into it and discovered circumstances suggesting that the experiment report for a new drug under development is false.”
“M-Biotech?”
“Yes, President.”
If it was M-Biotech, it was the company on the document that Executive Choi Jeonggeun had personally brought just moments ago.
It was similarly an approval for disposal of shares.
However, there was a difference.
“Wasn’t that being sold because of that company’s CEO’s misconduct?”
Gim Inseop opened his eyes wide as if surprised.
It was an act.
And then he soon put on a gloomy expression.
“As expected...”
“Why? What’s wrong? Why are you reacting so suspiciously?”
“It’s just that...”
Gim Inseop, having finished his story, concluded with a troubled face.
“...It’s merely a heavy heart.”
Swish, swish, swish.
The sound of grinding ink.
No Hyeoncheol glanced at Gim Inseop’s hand, which did not stop grinding even as he spoke, and opened his mouth.
“So what you’re saying is you got backstabbed by Executive Choi, right? You couldn’t trust him, so you brought this directly to me.”
“From my perspective, Executive Choi snatched away Yangwoo Bio, stripped M-Biotech of everything worthwhile, and is merely making me clean up the aftermath.”
“So? You feel wronged and want me to do something about Executive Choi?”
Facing No Hyeoncheol’s languid yet somehow sharp eyes, he felt suffocated, on the verge of dizziness.
The living history of Mancheon Group.
The number one person respected by South Korean office workers.
He could not act recklessly in front of him.
He had even heard that he was someone who saw through to the bottom of one’s heart like a psychic.
If he spoke evasively and clumsily, it would be worse than not speaking at all.
Yet he could not reveal his inner feelings openly either.
Nothing was as disgusting as cheap-looking loyalty.
He had to hide nothing of the facts yet package his true feelings well before showing them.
Desperately reining in his pounding heart, he faced No Hyeoncheol’s subtle yet sharp eyes.
“To be honest, it is true that I’ve felt wronged many times in the past, but I am not asking you to do something about Executive Choi. I came to see you solely to handle the disposal of M-Biotech’s shares as quickly as possible.”
As he spoke, No Hyeoncheol’s eyes fell again on Gim Inseop’s hand grinding the ink diligently.
Swish, swish, swish.
It’s true that I’ve felt wronged many times in the past, but I came for the company...
It was all nonsense, a complaint that Executive Choi’s tyranny was too severe.
He was snitching.
Asking him to do something about Executive Choi’s self-preservation and company politics.
However, it was rather difficult to intervene in such matters.
Because all one had to do was deny it, as it was just office politics and looking out for one’s own rice bowl.
There were countless excuses, making it difficult to call out.
Even if it became a problem and they cracked down fiercely, it was also a phenomenon that would grow back like weeds as if nothing had happened.
Work that yielded little compared to the effort put in.
In truth, No Hyeoncheol had a rough idea that Choe Jeonggeun was far too focused on this sort of office politicking.
And this political bent of his was sure to grow even worse from here on.
The fight over management succession was about to begin, and he was part of Min Byeongsu’s line.
This excessive guarding of his own rice bowl must have come from that situation as well.
He would have needed to build up his influence even a little.
At this point, there was a need to press him down at least once.
Scrape, scrape, scrape.
Lost in thought, his focus, which had gone slightly hazy, returned to the sound of ink being ground.
He took a sip of tea and quietly opened his mouth.
“You actually want to push Director Choe aside, don’t you?”
Kim Inseop’s hand, which had been grinding the ink, paused for a moment before it began moving again.
Scrape, scrape, scrape.
Then he answered quietly and politely.
“No, sir. Absolutely not. I merely want to ensure that the efforts of my subordinates, who have worked so hard, do not go to waste. My subordinates and I want nothing but to be loyal to the company.”
Scrape, scrape, scrape.
No Hyeoncheol lifted the corners of his mouth and gave a faint snort.
It was because even as he said such things, he kept grinding the ink.
The fierce denial when asked whether he wanted to push Choe Jeonggeun aside was not his true mind.
As the saying went, if you wanted to know what was in a person’s heart, do not look at his mouth, but at his hands; his actions were completely different from his words.
The man’s actions amounted to nothing more than stepping over Choe Jeonggeun to come here and tattle.
That was all.
Then what was his true goal?
Saying that he and his subordinates would be loyal to the company meant he would be loyal to me, and grinding the ink without rest was an expression of how diligently and steadfastly he intended to serve.
‘He’s saying he’ll give me his loyalty, so he wants me to take him in as one of my close aides? Hmm... If he’s going this far, there must have been some kind of trigger. He must have come here with even his resignation in mind because he couldn’t take it anymore. Determined to stake his life on it. Heh, how cute. Kim Inseop, that is.’
Scrape, scrape, scrape.
Suddenly, the sound of the ink being ground grated on his ears.
“Stop grinding.”
“Yes, sir.”
Kim Inseop set down the inkstick and straightened his posture.
“Do you have anything else to say?”
He had said everything he needed to say. All that remained was to await his disposition.
“No, sir.”
“Then go.”
His heart dropped.
What? That’s it? Without any conclusion?
“......”
“What are you doing? Why aren’t you leaving?”
Kim Inseop rose, bowed at the waist, and turned around.
With a stricken face, he squeezed his eyes shut, then barely managed to take a step.
Because his final gamble in his company life had ended like this, with nothing.
From now on, all that remained was to be tormented by Choe Jeonggeun and live like a beaten dog, or to throw in his resignation.
He swallowed bitterly and took a few steps when No Hyeoncheol’s voice came from behind him.
“Was Sales Team 9 the one that handled this? Like last time.”
“Pardon?”
Kim Inseop’s eyes flew open, and he whirled around.
“Ah! Yes. Th-that’s right. Team Leader Yang Gyeonghun, whom you summoned separately last time, and the new employee who resolved the SHS case then are in charge.”
A faint smile, barely visible, appeared on No Hyeoncheol’s face.
“Tell Sales Team 9 to submit the M Biotech documents. I’ll have the performance credited to them. And what did you say earlier? That there was one more bio company.”
“Yangwoo Bio, sir.”
“You people handle that one too.”
Kim Inseop’s eyes went round, and he bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle.
“Thank you, sir. I will serve you with all my loyalty.”
“Don’t pull that cheap-ass bullshit. Just do your job properly. And if you come here for no reason and spout nonsense again, consider yourself dead.”
“Yes, understood, sir.”
No Hyeoncheol dipped his brush into the ink Kim Inseop had ground and gauged its thickness, then spoke again.
“But if you don’t report something that needs to be reported, you’ll be even more dead.”
“Pardon?”
Kim Inseop rolled his eyes in a daze, thought it over, and only then understood what he meant before answering loudly.
He meant to think carefully and report only important matters.
“Yes! I understand. I will be utterly loyal.”
“I told you not to pull that bullshit... Go.”
* * *
Yang Gyeonghun was extremely anxious.
He had been squeezed and squeezed until, as if he had gone mad, he finally blurted it out.
He wondered if he had even been in his right mind just now.
The thought of Director Choe finding out that he had gone over his head and straight to the president was horrifying.
‘Haah... This really has to go well...’
His palms were drenched in sweat, while his mouth, in contrast, was bone-dry.
His heart was trembling so much he thought he might die, when suddenly the new employee’s voice came to him.
“Shall I get you a glass of water?”
“Huh? Y-yeah.”
The new employee picked up a bottle of mineral water from the shelf, poured some into a paper cup, and brought it over.
“Here you are, Team Leader.”
“Thanks.”
He gulped down the water.
It was incredibly refreshing.
“Could you give me one more?”
“Yes, Team Leader.”
The man brought him another cup, and he drank that down as well.
Only then did the cool sensation bring him back to his senses, and the new employee’s face came into view.
The same calm face as always...
“Aren’t you nervous?”
“Not really.”
[Even if he does have backing, how can his face be like that even at a moment like this? He’s not some wooden block.]
“You’re here, Team Leader.”
“What?”
“You told me earlier to step away from the project because you were trying to protect me. And the department head went to the president for our sake too. With people like that here, what do I have to be afraid of?”
“Hey, newbie...”
Yang Gyeonghun’s eyes reddened slightly.
[What is this kid doing, suddenly moving me like this? Until just a little while ago, all I was thinking about was riding on your coattails... How embarrassing.]
But then the guy added one more thing.
“I think you really are a good person, Team Leader. Good enough that I can simply trust and follow you.”
“......”
At Hyeonu’s words, Yang Gyeonghun’s heart welled up, and tears sprang to his eyes.
Those words were Hyeonu’s true feelings.
He had tried to take the whole bomb onto himself and protect his subordinate.
Whether such a person was competent or not, how could one not trust and follow him?
Just then, the door opened, and Hyeonu turned his head.
Thinking it was fortunate that the tears gathering at the corners of his eyes had not been seen, Yang Gyeonghun quickly wiped them away.