Episode 50: Storm 1.
Park Gwangseok, executive director of Planning and Sales Management, knocked on the president’s office door with an approval folder in hand.
[Come in.]
He opened the door, stepped inside, bowed at the waist, and sat down in front of Noh Hyeoncheol, who was seated on the sofa drinking traditional tea.
“So, how does it look?”
Park Gwangseok opened the approval folder and placed it before Noh Hyeoncheol.
‘DISCOVERY Pilot Store Overall Schedule Management Chart’
It was the schedule management chart Sales Team 9 received from Hyeonu every morning.
“According to the schedule management chart, there don’t seem to be any major issues. If there is anything slightly off schedule, it would be the securing of store space.”
Noh Hyeoncheol looked over the section marked “securing store space.”
The goal and schedule for securing store space were clear and simple.
Mancheon Department Store’s Myeong-dong main branch, Gangnam branch, and Jamsil branch.
As of now, all three should have been confirmed for opening, but only one had been secured.
A sales achievement rate of 33%.
Noh Hyeoncheol’s gaze drifted to the far right end of the schedule management chart.
‘Jamsil branch opening confirmed for December 30, Myeong-dong main branch undecided, Gangnam undecided’
The first opening was on December 30, and there were only thirteen days left.
It was fair to say the remaining two branches were impossible.
Even if they succeeded in making the sale, there was a high chance it would have nothing to do with the winter season.
They had utterly failed in sales.
After looking over the schedule management chart, Noh Hyeoncheol raised his head.
“Securing store space is going to be a problem, isn’t it?”
“I think it’s because the timeline is far too tight. On top of that, it’s the middle of the season.”
“Then how did the Jamsil branch get opened?”
“I asked the Sales Department 3 manager earlier as well, and he said they decided to pull out a store with sluggish sales and take its place.”
“Hmm… So you’re saying it’s hard to secure store space unless there’s a variable like that.”
“Apparently stores with poor sales are occasionally withdrawn at each department store, and it seems they’re aiming for that, but it doesn’t look easy.”
“…We’re providing funding support without any issues, right?”
“Yes, we’re doing it through Mancheon Apparel, and we’ve also issued them a corporate card.”
“All right. You may go.”
“Yes, Mr. President. Then, if you’ll excuse me.”
Listening to the sound of the door opening and closing, he took a sip of tea.
A bitter sensation lingered at the tip of his tongue.
The fact that sales were not going smoothly was a major problem.
At a glance, there did not seem to be any particular breakthrough either.
But there was a way to resolve it.
It was extremely simple.
All he had to do was pick up the receiver and say one word to Min Jeongae.
After pondering for a moment, Noh Hyeoncheol ultimately decided not to intervene.
Business, by its nature, usually did not flow according to one’s wishes.
When work became tangled like that and unexpected situations arose, watching how one unraveled them was how true business capability could be evaluated.
If those above resolved everything for him, they would not be able to see Hyeonu’s ability to respond in such situations.
And if one truly wanted to raise a person, one had to know how to throw them into a crisis.
Just as an eagle pushes its young out of a nest on a cliff so they learn to fly on their own.
* * *
After finishing all his routine duties, Hyeonu rose from his seat and went over to Yang Gyeonghun.
“Team Leader.”
“Are you going to Mancheon Apparel?”
“Yes.”
“Go ahead. Call me if it looks like you can’t come back.”
“Yes. Then I’ll be off.”
After saying goodbye to Kim Byeongjun and Song Gaeun as well, Hyeonu left the office.
Ever since the pilot store opening project began, Hyeonu went to Mancheon Apparel every day around three o’clock.
For a project of this scale, he could have devoted himself to it full-time, but since the actual work was being handled by professionals in the field, there was not much Hyeonu could properly do.
At most, what Hyeonu could do was lend a hand where manpower was lacking, provide support where needed, and encourage team members who were so exhausted they might collapse, so they could keep moving forward.
In other words, it was simply what the leader of an organization did.
* * *
The pilot store project team had set up an entire room for themselves and worked day and night.
The only person in the office right now was Hyeonu.
Choi Wonhyo, in charge of production, was making rounds to manufacturers all day, and Jeong Hunseok, in charge of planning, was working on boards by product style in the wide space that had been used as the product evaluation room.
And Eom Yoseop, in charge of sales, had stopped by the interior company and the mannequin company, then went out with the corporate card, saying he would have dinner with the outdoor MD of Mancheon Department Store’s Gangnam branch.
As for designer Choi Mijin, she had been here just a moment ago, but now she was nowhere to be seen.
While he was checking the schedule management chart, Choi Wonhyo came in carrying two boxes and set them on the floor.
“Where’s Mijin?”
“I think she stepped out for a bit.”
“These are the final samples, so tell Mijin when she comes back. I have to head out again.”
“Where are you going?”
“Seongil Trading. The button maker. They were supposed to bring samples by three, but they haven’t, and I can’t get them on the phone. I’m going to go turn the place upside down.”
Until now, he had been rushing off to vendors almost every day, saying he would turn the place upside down.
Yet strangely enough, whenever he did turn things upside down, the issue got resolved.
What kind of magic was he performing over there?
“Yes, drive safely.”
“Yeah. When Mijin comes, tell her to check the samples quickly. As soon as we get confirmation, we have to push them straight into production.”
“Yes.”
After Choi Wonhyo left, Hyeonu rose from his seat.
He brought over the boxes, took out the parkas inside, placed them on the table, and pulled the sample confirmation sheet from the file.
Then he fetched a tape measure, checked the sizes, and began filling them in on the sample confirmation sheet.
He worked with practiced ease, as if he had done this quite often, then finished the remaining three pieces before heading to the pantry.
When Hyeonu stepped inside, he let out a faint laugh.
Choi Mijin was sleeping curled up on the floor, her head resting on the backs of her folded hands.
She had been pulling all-nighters for three days now.
It was because, given the nature of pushing the work forward in such a rush, the workload inevitably had to pile excessively onto the designer.
She had to make all the sample instructions and work orders for that many products, and handle every draft and confirmation for all materials on her own.
Of course, the other team members helped her, but when it came to the product—the clothes—nothing could proceed without her decisions and confirmations, so there was no helping it.
He approached carefully and woke her.
If it were up to him, he would have liked to let her sleep a little longer, but she would get even angrier if he did not wake her.
“Mijin.”
At that single word, Choi Mijin’s eyes flew open like a private’s, and she sprang upright.
That was how tense she was.
“Oh! What is it? Did the samples come in?”
She even guessed that the samples had arrived.
“Yes. The samples came in.”
“Which samples?”
“The ones we requested from Yujin Apparel.”
Choi Mijin immediately moved, brushing past Hyeonu.
As she strode forward, undoing the hair tie that held her hair and tying it again, she looked rather impressive.
Choi Mijin checked once more the sample confirmation sheet Hyeonu had filled out.
Normally, she would have had to check carefully two or three times, but since Hyeonu had done the first round, measuring the dimensions once was enough, saving time.
After finishing that confirmation, she called in the youngest member of the design office and had her try the clothes on for another check.
Then she immediately wrote up the work order, sent it to the vendor by email, and finished that chunk of work by calling them to explain the points they had to be careful about.
Seeing her sitting there blankly, as if her mind had gone completely white, Hyeonu said,
“Would you like a cup of coffee?”
“Thanks. I think I need to drink a strong cup of coffee and come to my senses. No, should we drink it on the rooftop? We can get some cold air while we’re at it.”
“Sure.”
Hyeonu and Choi Mijin sat on a rooftop bench, warm coffee in hand.
“Aren’t you cold?”
“That’s how I’ll wake up.”
“…Should I request support for one more designer?”
“No. They’re extremely busy right now too. I already feel bad enough for slipping out right after the evaluation meeting. They’ll be dividing up and handling all the work I’m supposed to do.”
“Still, you look like you’re having such a hard time.”
“······I’m not.”
Holding the coffee in both hands, she gazed into the air for a moment with weary eyes, then opened her mouth.
“Actually, I was going to quit being a designer. I couldn’t see a future. But after all the suffering I’d been through, it felt like too much of a waste, so I was hesitating. That was when I heard about your project and applied, Hyeonu. I thought of it as my last chance.”
“······.”
Choe Mijin turned her head toward Hyeonu.
“For me, this really is the last time. I’d rather just work myself to death.”
[Because even if I die, as long as the launch succeeds, I won’t have any regrets.]
At the cold wind that suddenly blew in, she frowned.
Hyeonu rose from the bench.
“Let’s go inside. You’ll catch a cold.”
“······Yes.”
There are times like that.
Times when you can do well if someone simply takes your hand.
Times when you can get back up with only the smallest catalyst.
He found himself hoping this project would become that kind of catalyst for her.
* * *
Sitting in the consultation room at Mancheon Department Store’s Gangnam branch, the project’s sales manager, Eom Yoseop, felt heavy-hearted.
It was because the team members were struggling so much while he alone was floundering.
When the project had first begun, he had boasted loudly that he would secure at least three stores no matter what, yet he had only managed to secure one.
Hyeonu had told him that, with even one store, they had achieved their initial goal, so he shouldn’t be too impatient. But how could a person’s heart work that way?
The designer hadn’t slept properly for days.
Still, there was some good news.
He had received a call from the outdoor team leader saying that one store would be withdrawing today.
The fact that he had called meant there was a chance they might be given that space.
As he took another deep breath, the door opened and the outdoor team leader came in.
But his expression didn’t look very good.
Forcing down the ominous feeling inside, Eom Yoseop greeted him with a bright face.
“Hello, Team Leader. Shall we head straight to dinner?”
“No. Forget it.”
It seemed something really had gone wrong.
He was even canceling their dinner appointment······.
“······Why?”
“I submitted the approval request to replace the withdrawing store with your brand, Assistant Manager Eom, but the department head just blocked it.”
“······With what?”
“Wild Zone.”
It was the new brand from the company that had made Black Face.
“Looks like they pushed in through the department head. In my view, your brand has far more potential. I really think it could be a huge hit, but since the department head went and did that, there’s nothing I can do.”
“······.”
He spoke with a regretful expression.
“I’m sorry, Assistant Manager Eom. For S/S, I’ll definitely make room for your brand. And if a space opens up before then, I’ll make sure to put you in.”
Eom Yoseop, who had been lowering his head, raised it.
His face was smiling brightly.
“There’s no need to be sorry. It can’t be helped. That’s that, and let’s go eat.”
“No. I don’t think I can because I’ll be busy with Wild Zone. I’ll buy you a meal next time.”
“No, but······.”
“I really do believe in your brand, so if I get the chance, I’ll truly push it for you. Hang in there. I mean it, hang in there.”
He patted Eom Yoseop on the shoulder and turned around.
“Then I’m off.”
Eom Yoseop bowed to the outdoor team leader as he walked away.
“I’ll come again.”
After he left, the consultation room, with Eom Yoseop alone in it, felt terribly empty.
* * *
After leaving Mancheon Department Store’s Gangnam branch, he was driving along when his phone rang.
Hyeonu······.
He pressed the hands-free button.
His heart was heavy and troubled, but he didn’t let it show.
“Yes, Hyeonu.”
[Where are you?]
“Ah, I’m on my way to the Myeongdong main store right now.”
[The main store?]
“Yes. You have to keep visiting them. That way, when a store opens up, your chances of getting it go up.”
A brief silence passed before Hyeonu’s voice came through.
[Should I go there too?]
“Here? Why?”
[I suddenly felt like having a glass of soju. Everyone else is busy, ha.]
“······All right. I’ll call you after my meeting.”
[Okay. See you in a bit.]
* * *
He had been sitting in the consultation room for thirty minutes.
In the end, when he called over the intercom, the man said he was coming now, but only arrived after another fifteen minutes had passed.
“Hello, Team Leader.”
“You waited a long time, didn’t you?”
“Not at all. I was busy enough making calls here and there.”
The man looked at him indifferently, then opened his mouth.
“So why did you come without even making an appointment?”
After leaving the Gangnam branch, he simply hadn’t been able to return empty-handed, so he had come here without a plan.
“I was passing by and stopped in. Since I’m here, I should at least see your face before I go.”
“You want a store for that Discoverin or whatever it’s called?”
“I’d be grateful if you gave us one, hehe.”
“I told you it won’t work, didn’t I?”
“Ah, why not? The team leaders at the other branches all say it’s going to be a hit.”
The outdoor team leader frowned as if annoyed.
“This is the main store. The best location in all of Korea. How am I supposed to put in a brand that doesn’t even have a proper lineup?”
“Our brand isn’t about having a lineup. It’s more ori than the origi······.”
He cut him off.
“Enough. If you really want to enter, go prove yourself somewhere else first. Then I’ll put you in. I’m leaving. I barely made time to come while I was in the middle of something else.”
“······.”
After the outdoor team leader left, Eom Yoseop collapsed into a chair.
His strength had drained away.
He had waited forty-five minutes, and the time they spent talking was barely one minute······.
He felt as if tears would burst out all at once.
Then Eom Yoseop flinched.
“Ah!”
It was because he remembered Hyeonu, who might be waiting for him.
He immediately called him.
[Yes, Assistant Manager.]
“Where are you right now?”
[At a jokbal place. It’s called Myeongdong Jokbal, about five minutes away on foot. Jokbal is okay, right? I was going to go to a chicken place, but I thought it might get cold if I ordered it ahead.]
“······.”
[Assistant Manager?]
“Jokbal sounds great. I’ll run over right now.”
Eom Yoseop wiped away the tears flowing at the corners of his eyes and rose from his seat.
* * *
He saw Hyeonu sitting at a table.
He had ordered jokbal and soju, and was waiting without having touched a single bite.
“Welcome.”
As soon as Eom Yoseop sat down, Hyeonu poured him soju.
“You worked hard. Let’s have a drink.”
They clinked glasses and emptied them in one go.
He dipped a piece of jokbal in salted shrimp and put it in his mouth.
He felt like he was stuck in a swamp, but strangely, it tasted incredibly good.
As he was devouring it like that, something suddenly occurred to him, and he asked.
“By the way, aren’t you going to ask what happened with the store?”
Only then did Hyeonu ask.
“What happened?”
“······It didn’t go well.”
With a smile at the corners of his eyes, Hyeonu spoke calmly.
“Still, it’s a relief we secured the Jamsil branch first. Even with just one, there won’t be any problem.”
“Even so······.”
[That’s not how it is for me.]
Hyeonu lifted his soju glass.
“Let’s have a drink.”
After clinking glasses, Eom Yo-seop downed his drink in one go again and spoke, breathing out the fumes of alcohol.
“Haa······ Today really feels kind of rough.”
“What does?”
“Honestly, at the main store, I waited forty-five minutes, talked for one minute, and left. Damn it······.”
[Team Leader Jang Ji-hun, just you wait. One day, I’ll definitely pay you back.]
As if it were no big deal, Hyeonu grinned and picked up the soju bottle.
“The person who made you wait, Assistant Manager, will regret it later. They’ll be thinking, ‘I should have recognized him back then.’”
* * *
And so, in the end, with no stores secured except for Mancheon Department Store’s Jamsil branch, opening day drew near.
It was the day the storm called Discovery began to blow.