Episode 46. Is This Really Okay? 3.
Jang Dongyeop, the general manager of Mancheon Apparel, was on the phone.
“How’s F&D Apparel doing these days? (······) Hazelnut Island was about ready to fold. Originally, they should’ve shut it down early this year. The president trusted General Manager Bak Jaegwon too much. (······) Chief Bak Jieun? (······) I heard she’s looking into other brands right now. She’s not asking for a huge salary, but apparently she’s asking for a hefty incentive. After making Purple Tree a smash hit, she’s trying to cash in, that’s all. The president of Bycoordi got Bak Jieun cheap when she was still a nobody and used her well. Talk about damn good luck, right? (······) By the way, does that guy still carry around a 007 briefcase? He was famous for filling that 007 briefcase with cash and throwing money around at room salons. As if anyone couldn’t tell he came from Dongdaemun. (······) He still does that? Hahaha. Old habits die hard.”
Sharing industry information as gossip with acquaintances was one of Jang Dongyeop’s important daily routines.
For him, nothing was more important than exchanging information like this and knowing how human resources were flowing.
That way, he could find out which department store or major agency position was opening up, and if the opportunity arose, even scout someone.
And if there was a place urgently in need of a general manager, he could seize the chance to move there himself with the promise of a massive salary and incentives.
Of course, after Jang Dongyeop had secured his position at Mancheon Apparel, he no longer needed to move around like that.
Still, one never knew.
As a general manager in the fashion industry, where one ruined season could decide his fate, he always had to be prepared.
As he was continuing this crude phone call, he heard a knock.
“Who is it?”
The door opened, and that new recruit from yesterday bowed at the waist.
“Good morning, General Manager. I’m Kim Hyeonu from Mulsan Sales Team 9.”
Jang Dongyeop lifted his hand slightly in greeting and spoke into the receiver.
“I’ll have to hang up. Someone’s here.”
After ending the call, he painted a gentle smile onto his face.
“You’re early.”
“I thought I should hurry. About the support personnel you mentioned yesterday...”
“Ah, that? For now, the people you need will be from planning and design, so I’ve already told the relevant departments. Go introduce yourself to the department heads, and they’ll each spare one person for you.”
“Thank you, General Manager. Then I’ll be on my way.”
“Launching a brand isn’t easy, but do your best.”
“Yes, I’ll work hard.”
Watching him raise the corners of his mouth and wear a gentle smile unlike the one from yesterday, Hyeonu closed the door and stepped out.
He approached the planning department head and bowed at the waist.
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Kim Hyeonu from Mulsan Sales Team 9.”
The man turned his head, looked him up and down, and opened his mouth.
“You’re the new recruit who’s supposedly going to launch a brand?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
From the cold smile that spread across his face, Hyeonu could feel that the man was looking down on him and was hostile.
“Team Leader Kim.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Who decided to do what I mentioned yesterday? The person who’ll support his project.”
“Assistant Manager Jeong agreed to do it. Hey, Assistant Manager Jeong.”
One man awkwardly rose from his seat.
Even on his expressionless face, Hyeonu could sense clear reluctance and displeasure.
“You’ll have to put in some effort.”
“······Yes, sir.”
[Why me? Seriously... If they’re going to do this, they should at least take some of my work off my plate. Haah... This is so annoying. I’m already short on time even with overtime, so what the hell is this?]
He was extremely negative.
On top of that, it seemed he was expected to handle his own workload as usual while also providing support.
At this rate, the project would never proceed properly.
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Kim Hyeonu.”
“Yes, I’m Jeong Hunseok.”
“There’s something I’d like to ask. You’ll be working exclusively on this project, correct? Since this is a brand launch, I don’t think it would be feasible for you to keep your usual workload as is while doing this. It would be far too difficult for you as well.”
“Pardon? No, that’s...”
Looking slightly flustered, he turned his head toward the team leader, and the team leader in turn looked at the department head.
It seemed the department head had given the order that way.
“That’s a little difficult... We’re very busy right now, you see. The product evaluation ended the day before yesterday, and once an evaluation ends, our planning team is the busiest department. We don’t have anyone we can assign exclusively right now, so I’d like you to be understanding. A brand launch is all well and good, but we can’t proceed with a project while creating gaps in the brands we’re currently operating, can we?”
He spoke with an impassive face, but Hyeonu could feel the same hostility from before.
And his inner thoughts were like this.
[What kind of insolent new recruit comes in here babbling about launching a brand? As if launching a brand is some child’s play. We’re already at the point where losing even one person hurts.]
It seemed he had never intended to provide proper help from the beginning.
Was this the general manager’s order?
Hyeonu couldn’t understand it.
They knew he had the chairman backing him, so surely they wouldn’t do this.
Without letting any of that show, Hyeonu spoke politely.
“I understand that in matters like this, whether someone is assigned full-time or part-time is decided according to the project’s importance. As far as I know, a brand launch is the most significant type of project a fashion company must handle, so I don’t think part-time support will be enough.”
The man opened his mouth with the same blunt expression.
“That may be true, but what can we do when we’re busy right now? Our planning team is the organization that manages the entire season’s schedule. And the evaluation ended the day before yesterday. If you come to me at a time like this, wouldn’t it put me in a difficult position too? We can’t let six brands suffer holes because of your project, can we?”
In the end, it meant he had no intention of supporting the project because he was busy.
In truth, after exchanging the first few words, Hyeonu had already guessed that nothing would work out.
But Hyeonu couldn’t back down either.
The project could only proceed if there was at least one person from each department.
“I understand very well that what you’re saying is correct, sir. You can’t abandon your actual work to devote yourselves to a project. However, I was promised by the general manager that support personnel would be assigned.”
The man suddenly snapped in anger.
“That’s why I said I’d give you one person!”
[Just get lost already. I’m busy enough to die here. The general manager told us to sort out the evaluations for six brands in just three days, and now he even wants an additional evaluation. How am I supposed to help you?]
Hyeonu’s eyes deepened.
It was because he could roughly picture what was going on.
It was the general manager’s little trick.
He had created an excessive amount of work, making it physically impossible for them to do anything.
In that state, a new recruit from headquarters had come swaggering in, saying he wanted to run a project. How could they possibly take it well?
The plan was for the general manager to quietly step back and use his subordinates to cause trouble.
He really was rotten to the core.
Hyeonu didn’t know what he gained by going this far, but it seemed the man would continue acting this way in the future.
Because this was probably the way he had lived his life.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to him.
‘Was I too naive?’
James Wang had been right.
If he couldn’t overcome this, the project would fail, and in the end, he would be devoured.
There was no point in saying anything more.
“I understand, sir. Then I’ll come see you another time.”
The planning department head watched Hyeonu bow and walk away with a flushed face.
* * *
After taking a sip of coffee, the corners of Jang Dongyeop’s mouth curled up in a sneer.
Yesterday, he had called in the planning department head and the design chief and said this.
“The more I think about this evaluation, the more of a mess it seems. This won’t do. We could ruin the whole season at this rate. Sort out all six brands within three days and let’s take another look. Find out what went wrong, remove what needs to be removed, supplement what’s lacking, and hold one more additional evaluation.”
To the planning department head and the design chief, it was practically a death sentence.
Even sorting out six brands in three days was no ordinary task, yet he wanted to hold an additional evaluation on top of that.
That would throw the entire schedule into disarray, and to make up for it, they would have to suffer for days on end, pulling all-nighters.
And then Jang Dongyeop added one more thing.
“At a time this busy, a new hire from headquarters is apparently going to run a project for a brand launch. I’ve put in a request for personnel support, so do what you can to help him. But that doesn’t mean there can be any disruption to the additional product review. Got it?”
He never actually said not to support Hyeonu.
He had simply created a situation in which support would be impossible, then applied pressure.
In a way that would force the head of planning and the design director to feel hostile toward Hyeonu.
In their eyes, a greenhorn new hire from headquarters would look like nothing more than an ignorant upstart running wild.
The reason Jang Dongyeop had acted so vilely and cunningly, even stabbing his own subordinates in the back, was because of the chairman’s backing.
If anything went wrong, he would have to pin the blame on his subordinates and slip out of it himself.
* * *
Hyeonu took the elevator down and went out to the parking lot.
He had thought things would not go this far, but it was much more serious than he had expected.
He had been naive.
Even so, he was not flustered.
He had prepared for what to do if a situation like this came up.
He had prepared a cheat key that could turn any situation around.
Hyeonu called the cheat key he had kept hidden.
[Yeah, Hyeonu.]
It was Kim Byeongjun.
“Yes, Assistant Manager. Where are you right now?”
[At the office, where else?]
“Ah, perfect timing. Could I possibly ask you for a favor?”
[A favor? Hey… The day comes when you ask me for a favor. I’m honored. What is it?]
“I’m here at Mancheon Apparel, and I don’t think it’ll be easy to get personnel support dedicated to the project.”
[Is that so? Damn it, those rotten bastards. I knew this would happen.]
“So I was wondering if you could say something to the president. It’s not exactly a small project.”
After a brief silence, Kim Byeongjun’s voice came through.
[All right. I’ll go see the president now, so wait a bit.]
“Thank you, Assistant Manager.”
[No need to thank me… You’re the one who made all this possible. Ah! Don’t tell me you helped me for this exact reason?]
“No. I’m asking because I really have no other way.”
[Heh heh, I’m joking. Got it. I’ll see the president and call you.]
“Yes, Assistant Manager.”
The call ended.
Hyeonu sat on the edge of a ventilation duct and looked up at the sky for a moment.
To be honest, it was true that he had helped Kim Byeongjun a great deal.
But the world was give and take.
So if you kept giving, and giving, and giving, then at some point you could take it all back in one shot.
For Hyeonu, that was Kim Byeongjun.
* * *
At the sound of a knock, No Hyeoncheol spoke.
“Come in.”
Kim Byeongjun opened the door, entered, and bowed his head at an appropriate angle.
“Good day, President.”
“What is it?”
“I came to ask you for one favor.”
A faint smile, barely visible, settled on No Hyeoncheol’s face.
“You already have something to ask of me?”
“Our team has something that could become a major achievement, but there’s an obstacle in the way.”
“A major achievement and an obstacle…”
No Hyeoncheol was curious what favor Kim Byeongjun would ask.
The first request from an illegitimate son who had declared he would enter the competition for management succession.
If it was truly a major achievement with an obstacle to match, it would be an opportunity for him to acknowledge Kim Byeongjun once again. If it was the opposite, he would be disappointed.
After all, if he was the sort of person who asked for favors over every trivial matter, No Hyeoncheol would consider him unqualified.
“Tell me.”
Kim Byeongjun quietly began to speak.
“The current outdoor market has expanded to an enormous scale of 5.5 trillion won. And going forward…”
Like someone giving a presentation, he smoothly rattled off the market outlook, market share, Mancheon Apparel’s position, and even the brand awareness strategy using the documentary channel that Hyeonu had mentioned.
At first, No Hyeoncheol had listened out of curiosity about what Kim Byeongjun would say, but as he heard the explanation, he found himself growing serious.
Because he realized it was a business with potential—no, one that could become a massive hit.
To No Hyeoncheol, Kim Byeongjun said,
“However, we are not receiving personnel support from Mancheon Apparel.”
No Hyeoncheol’s brow furrowed sharply.
“Why?”
“Mancheon Apparel is a fossil of an organization where no cooperation between departments happens at all. At this point, they don’t even look at working-level staff sent over from Mulsan.”
No Hyeoncheol thought for a moment with a frown, then asked,
“Is this project something you’re pushing forward?”
Kim Byeongjun hesitated slightly before answering.
It was not because he wanted to claim it as his own achievement.
It was because he was reluctant to expose Hyeonu.
But he could not hide Hyeonu for a reason like that.
He did not want to.
Considering what he had received from Hyeonu, doing so would not be right.
Even if he had to give everything away, he had to avoid damaging the trust between him and Hyeonu.
“No. It is a project being handled independently by a new employee on our team, Kim Hyeonu.”
No Hyeoncheol was startled.
“A project he’s handling independently?”
“Yes.”
“The idea was his, too?”
“Yes.”
After a brief silence, he said,
“All right. You may go.”
“Yes, President.”
Kim Byeongjun bowed his head and left the president’s office.