Episode 42. Old-Timer 2.
A bustling shopping district filled with young people.
Countless people passed by Hyeonu, who stood still.
A high school girl choosing hairpins at an accessory store, a college student rummaging through discounted products at the counter of a cheap cosmetics store, men in their twenties playing claw machines...
Most of them were wearing padded jackets.
And again, most of them were black.
The rest were white, save for a small portion.
He hadn't noticed when he wasn't paying attention, but once he became conscious of it, it was a very strange sight.
Was this what they called a trend?
He slowly began to walk, surveying the stores around him.
Sure enough, what caught his eye were the outdoor stores.
They were overwhelmingly larger than the other stores, and had plenty of customers to match.
There was no doubt that outdoor brands were the prime market.
But he witnessed one strange scene.
There were outdoor stores right next to each other, yet one side was sparse with people while the other seemed ready to burst with customers.
Even among the same outdoor brands, there seemed to be a gap.
He approached to examine the differences between the two.
Hyeonu, alternating his gaze between them, tilted his head.
He couldn't find any notable differences between them.
The store interiors were both simple, befitting outdoor brands, and even their product composition and designs were similar.
Even the logos embroidered on the chest were similar.
Just then, three men who looked to be in their early twenties walked by.
One of them tried to enter the less crowded store, but a friend with him grabbed him.
"Hey. Are you gonna buy Blue Mountain? Didn't you do part-time jobs to buy Black Face padding?"
"Huh? Ah, I got confused."
"I was wondering why you were suddenly going into that dump."
After saying this, the three entered the store packed with customers, and a clerk inside who had been watching this scene smacked his lips forlornly.
Watching this scene, Hyeonu's eyes had deepened before he knew it.
As if he had found the answer.
The answer wasn't in any special place.
It was in the two sentences the kids had just spoken.
"Didn't you do part-time jobs to buy Black Face padding?"
"I was wondering why you were suddenly going into that dump."
This was the core of the entire problem.
Stores with similar interiors, clothes with similar styles.
Yet only one side was swarming with people.
The difference between these two brands was exactly one thing.
Perception.
It was perception.
One was a dump; the other was something you had to work part-time jobs to buy and wear.
Even if it meant working part-time, you had to buy clothes costing hundreds of thousands of won.
For them, there must be a reason they absolutely had to buy this clothing.
An internal factor beyond the external, visible elements like store interiors, clothing styles, and product composition.
This was the key.
"Haah..."
Letting out a deep breath along with a puff of white steam, Hyeonu turned and walked away.
Even though it was still early winter, Christmas carols were already reaching Hyeonu's ears.
He felt he had to move quickly before winter was over.
* * *
As soon as he arrived home, he rushed to turn on his computer.
It was because he had something he wanted to ask James Wang.
His 1:1 English conversation with him was from 9:30 to 10:30.
Right now, it was 10:21.
If he was waiting, they would be able to talk for a short while.
Once the computer booted up, he immediately accessed the site.
Click.
When he entered the open room, Wang smiled deeply.
[What a shame. If you had been five minutes late, I would have pocketed today's lesson fee for free again.]
"Haha, there was something I really wanted to ask you today."
[Go ahead.]
"I think I will have to go work in an organization steeped in inertia and stagnation. My seniors say I won't be able to do anything if I join that organization, so I wanted to ask for your advice."
He furrowed his brow, thought for a moment, and opened his mouth.
[There is no one in the world who likes change. It's comfortable for anyone to move as they've always done, by inertia. If you go in and try to do something, conflict will inevitably occur.]
Hyeonu had expected as much.
But he didn't know how to manage that conflict.
It was the oldest place in the company, and he was a new hire who hadn't been there long.
He opened his mouth again.
[Create a small team. And block interference from external pressure, and produce results. Move like special forces, like you're waging a guerrilla war. Those small results will cause cracks in that organization that's hardened like concrete. Those cracks will grow larger, and eventually, it will collapse.]
Hyeonu thought for a moment and opened his mouth.
"I don't have such grand ambitions as to change the organization. I simply want to succeed in my project and produce results."
[Haha, I agree with that too. But even if you didn't intend it, those results will cause the complacent organization to collapse. Conversely, if that doesn't happen, what you are doing will fail. It means the conflict is unavoidable. Without that resolve, you will eventually be eaten alive.]
Hyeonu chewed over James Wang's words several times.
In truth, he hadn't planned on backing down if conflict arose from the start.
Because through his adolescent experience, he knew all too well that once you start backing down, you don't know where it ends.
There are almost no people in the world who don't do what is right because they don't know it.
They don't do it because it is hard and difficult.
Even in those days surrounded by darkness, he had known what was right.
He hadn't done it because it was scary and hard.
He didn't want to repeat that past.
Hyeonu fell asleep resolving to think of nothing else and only look toward his goal.
* * *
He arrived at the company before the sun had even risen.
That said, it wasn't actually that early.
It was simply because the sun rose late in winter.
Grabbing a cup of coffee and entering the office, Hyeonu didn't open his TOEIC book today.
He had too much to do for his solo project.
After looking into Mancheon Apparel's outdoor brand 'In the Nature' and researching the overall fashion market, before he knew it, it was time for people to come to work.
"It's a bad morning, Hyeonu ssi."
Song Gaeun, whose eyes and face were puffy as if from something she'd eaten yesterday, waved her hand.
"Oh! Why is it such a bad morning?"
Song Gaeun touched her face with a tearful expression.
"Uung~ I guess yesterday's cosmetics didn't agree with my skin."
The smell of alcohol wafted strongly from Song Gaeun's mouth as she said this.
It seemed she had overdone it drinking after mentioning yesterday that she would be having drinks with the manager of the Cartivajak main store.
Song Gaeun took off the padded jacket she was wearing and hung it on her chair.
The brand was... as expected, Black Face.
Now he truly couldn't see anything but the clothes.
And the brand logos attached to them.
Just then, Yang Gyeonghun and Kim Byeongjun came in.
"Bad morning."
"It's a bad morning."
After greeting them, Hyeonu asked Song Gaeun.
"That padded jacket is Black Face, right?"
"This? Yes. I bought one last year."
"That padded jacket costs well over five hundred thousand won. Didn't you feel burdened buying and wearing it?"
"But everyone wears them. I should wear one too."
As expected...
As he nodded, Yang Gyeonghun's voice rang out.
"Hey. That's a knock-off. It's not Black Face."
"Huh?"
"Look closely. On 'Face,' it's a P, not an F. Did you get scammed by some store again?"
"Huh?"
Looking closely, it really wasn't an F, but a P.
When he moved his gaze from the logo and met her eyes, she was smiling strangely again.
"Hehehe."
“Ah… Just looking at it, I really can’t tell at all.”
“Right? Where would I get the money to buy something like that?”
Kim Byeongjun’s voice came from behind.
“Still, the person in charge of luxury brands wearing a knockoff? Chief Song, isn’t that a bit much?”
“Hehehe.”
“Ugh—look at that smile. Ugh—so irritating.”
“It’s not like you smile all that prettily either, Team Leader.”
* * *
By around two in the afternoon, all the routine work was finished.
Normally, it would only be done around four, but they had rushed through it as quickly as possible.
“Um, Team Leader.”
“Yeah?”
“May I step out to Mancheon Apparel for a bit?”
“Mancheon Apparel?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I’d like to give the greetings I couldn’t yesterday.”
After staring intently into Hyeonu’s eyes, he asked again.
“What are you planning to do?”
“There’s something I want to look into.”
“What something?”
“It’s still too vague to explain right now, so I’ll organize it and report to you properly tomorrow.”
“…You haven’t forgotten I said it’s hard to even get a tooth in there, right?”
“Yes, Team Leader. I remember.”
“Hmm… All right. Go on.”
“Thank you. Also, if an investment is needed when pushing forward with a project, what should I do?”
“Investment? Did you say investment?”
“Yes.”
Kim Byeongjun’s head whipped around, and Song Gaeun flinched as well.
Hyeonu was Hyeonu, but even so, a new hire who had only been there a month had not only mentioned an independent project, but even used the word investment.
“You need investment?”
“I think I may need a little.”
After thinking for a moment, Yang Gyeonghun grinned.
“Submit it. As long as the project is good, I’ll get it approved somehow.”
Hyeonu bowed.
“Thank you, Team Leader. Then I’ll be back.”
After Hyeonu left, Yang Gyeonghun said a word.
“Am I the only one who’s really, really looking forward to this?”
Kim Byeongjun rose from his seat.
It was because he suddenly wanted a cigarette.
“I’m looking forward to it, and I’m curious. What he’ll do after going into that stagnant organization…”
Kim Byeongjun was genuinely curious about how Hyeonu would carry out the project.
Whatever Hyeonu did, it simply drew his interest, and he wanted to see it with his own eyes.
He felt very regretful.
Because this time, he wouldn’t be able to watch that side of Hyeonu from right beside him.
* * *
He entered the office of Mancheon Apparel.
Unlike that time, there weren’t all that many empty desks.
The only person he had exchanged greetings with, the manager of Production Management Section 1, came into view.
He approached the man, who was sitting with his legs crossed, rattling his slippered foot as he spoke on the phone.
“No, the delivery date passed days ago, so how can you still be like this? (…) There’s foreign fiber mixed into the fabric? Honestly, did I do that? What do you want me to do about it? That was done by the fabric handling company. (…) Forget it. The head office inspection will come to your side tomorrow evening, so be ready. (…) No, it won’t work. Tomorrow’s inspection schedule is in Busan. We have to handle it all at once on the way back up. You want me to come to Seoul and then go back down again? (…) I don’t care about that, just match at least sixty percent by color and size. At that level, there’ll be no problem getting the goods out into the stores. (…) This is me accommodating you as much as possible. If you can’t even keep this, know that a claim will be filed immediately. (…) Yes. Have them boxed too. It’s a random inspection. (…) Yes, good work.”
He hung up the phone.
“Ugh, damn it… I never see them meet a delivery date properly.”
“Hello, sir.”
“Oh, you’re the one from yesterday…”
“I’m Kim Hyeonu from Sales Team 9.”
“Oh, right. Kim Hyeonu. Why are you here again today?”
“I came to give the greetings I couldn’t yesterday.”
He replied as if he found it bothersome.
“What greetings?”
[It’s not like we’ll ever run into each other. Is the sales team at Mancheon Corporation that free these days?]
He was right. There was no real need to greet him.
After all, Hyeonu didn’t need to deal with all of these people.
But he did need to find the people necessary to push the project forward.
“I just thought I should greet and get to know the people I’ll be collaborating with when proceeding with the project.”
“A project?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“Me.”
“No, I mean, who’s in charge?”
“It’s my independent project.”
He blinked.
It was because he couldn’t understand the idea of a new hire coming in and proceeding with an independent project.
“What kind of project are you going to proceed with?”
“I think it’ll be on the brand-launching side, and I need someone to ask about building up the initial work.”
He blinked again.
Then he laughed.
“Hahaha, you’re really something. Even if you don’t know much because you’re a new hire… I’m letting it slide because you’re new. Just go.”
“…”
Seeing the seriousness in Hyeonu’s eyes, he asked again.
“Are you really saying you’re going to launch a brand all by yourself?”
“I’ll look into it first, and if it seems possible, I’ll formally submit it for approval to my team leader.”
He stared blankly with a look that said, What the hell is this? Then he waved a hand and turned his head away.
“Man, I don’t know. If you’re that determined, go talk to the division director yourself.”
[Is this guy a complete lunatic? What is Mancheon Corporation doing, not keeping someone like him in check?]
Hyeonu bowed.
“Understood. Then I’ll go to the division director.”