Episode 54: Storm 5.
Hyunwoo was truly startled.
It was because Min Jeong-ae had suddenly offered to scout him.
And as head of the planning office, no less...
The head of the planning office at the headquarters of Mancheon Department Store, which owned department stores, marts, hotels, and countless resorts, was a position that could wield tremendous influence.
And she was offering it now to a mere new employee.
He wasn’t sure if this was really all right.
No matter how much she was Chairman Min Yang-hong’s child, if it had been anyone else, they absolutely wouldn’t have done this.
This was simply because President Min Jeong-ae was unusual.
If she took a liking to someone, she backed them without limit; if not, she cut them off on the spot with a single stroke. That sort of personality.
That was that, but when receiving such a huge offer, one had to be cautious and think it through carefully.
After thinking for a moment, Hyunwoo’s conclusion was, ‘I can’t accept.’
It was because Mancheon Trading, where Noh Hyeon-cheol—the man holding the key to the management succession—had said he would raise him, and where there was Kim Byeong-jun, whose growth was still unknown, was far more valuable than Min Jeong-ae’s favor.
Now that he had reached that conclusion, the problem was how to refuse.
Refusals were always something that required care.
Hyunwoo bowed politely and opened his mouth.
“Thank you very much for looking favorably upon me, President. However, I believe I still lack too much to sit in the position of head of the planning office, and it would be difficult to earn the recognition of those around me. I’m truly grateful for your offer, President, but I think right now is the time for me to build more ability and experience in my current position.”
A strange smile settled on Min Jeong-ae’s face.
“So you’re refusing. You won’t regret it? Once I back someone, I back them to the end.”
“Of course I’ll have regrets, but I believe moving too quickly would actually be poison for me as well.”
“Hmm... If that’s what you think, then it can’t be helped. All right. You may go now.”
[What a shame. He’s got something about him. Well, it wouldn’t be bad to let him gain a bit more experience and bring him over later. It might actually be better to bring him in and raise him once he’s around assistant manager level. That kid is going to grow a lot from here on. My instincts aren’t wrong, after all. There’s no need to rush. Who would recognize his true value? Our siblings aren’t even at Mancheon Trading...]
After hearing those inner thoughts of hers, Hyunwoo bowed, turned around, and left.
* * *
Jang Dong-yeop, the division head who had been kicked out of Mancheon Apparel, stood blankly staring at the Discovery store in the Jamsil branch, packed full of people.
He had heard about it from an acquaintance and come to see just how big a hit it was, but this wasn’t just a hit—it was an absolute jackpot.
Creating an outdoor brand from a documentary channel. It was truly a groundbreaking idea.
As he stared vacantly like that, he flinched.
Originally, when it came to content, once someone started something new, the person who quickly copied it was the one who gained the greatest profit.
Because it had already been proven, one could draw up a business plan with stability.
He hurried to the car he had parked in the parking lot and searched on his phone.
‘National Geographic Korea, 02-XXXX-9402’
He immediately made the call.
[Yes, this is National Geographic Korea.]
“I’m calling about the trademark rights for apparel and miscellaneous goods.”
[Ah, that? We’ve received several calls about it today as well, but the trademark rights have already been contracted. We were wondering what was going on all of a sudden, too...]
“No, that’s all right. Sorry to bother you.”
He was one step too late.
When there was a frontrunner with a jackpot like this, people were bound to follow immediately, and it seemed there were plenty of such people.
Just in case, he also called Animal Planet, but the result was the same.
Smacking his lips in hollow disappointment, he drove his car out of the parking lot.
For some reason, he felt as though he had missed out on something huge.
* * *
The rooftop of Mancheon Apparel...
Hyunwoo stood before the railing, quietly gazing at the distant mountains.
It had only been a short period of about a month, but it had been an extraordinarily meaningful experience, and a time in which he had gained a great deal.
Enormous results, the trust of Noh Hyeon-cheol and Min Jeong-ae, experience as a leader—and even then, one more big thing still remained.
That was the trophy he would obtain only after returning to headquarters.
Leaning against the railing and thinking this and that, Hyunwoo let out a white puff of breath and turned around.
It was time to go say farewell to the project team members he had grown attached to during this time.
With the members of the Discovery project team seated around the table, Hyunwoo quietly opened his mouth.
“This is the end now.”
The eyes of the team members looking at him wavered.
Their gazes seemed filled with many thoughts and emotions.
When he met their eyes, he felt pointlessly choked up.
“Phew...”
Perhaps because the atmosphere had become a little like that, Choi Won-hyo said a word.
“What do you mean, the end? Once you go back to headquarters, are you not going to see us? You’re in charge of our company, so you’ll come by sometimes. And if we think of each other, we can meet outside and have a drink of soju.”
Eom Yo-seop added a word as well.
“That’s right. Just because the project is over doesn’t mean it’s the end. Everything we did during this time is still vivid in my head. I don’t think I’ll be able to forget it, either.”
They had spoken to lighten the mood, but it made him feel even more choked up.
Hyunwoo, whose eyes had reddened slightly, looked at the team members and quietly opened his mouth.
“As you know, Discovery has signed an exclusive contract with Mancheon Department Store. Discovery has been positioned as a high-priced brand for which too many stores would actually be poison, so Mancheon Department Store and a few street shops should be enough. I believe the exclusive contract will give you more advantages in department store commissions and store locations.”
“...”
“What you need to do from now on is use the success of this pilot store as a foothold to successfully carry out the official S/S launch. I truly hope you achieve even greater success. And...”
After pausing briefly and looking around at the team members, Hyunwoo opened his mouth again.
“As originally planned, please do your utmost to launch National Geographic in the F/W season as well. And in next year’s S/S season, launch Animal Planet, too.”
“...”
“Once all three brands are launched like this, Mancheon Apparel will completely dominate the outdoor market.”
It was something they had already heard from Hyunwoo, but even hearing it again, it was enough to make them gulp dryly.
On the first day they met in this temporary office, Hyunwoo had shown them three documentary logos printed on blank paper and said this.
“Choose whichever one you like, whether it’s Discovery, National Geographic, or Animal Planet. In the end, we’re going to launch all three of these brands anyway. The first brand we launch will be high-priced, the second mid-to-high-priced, and the third mid-to-low-priced. If we do that, I think we’ll be able to sweep the outdoor market completely.”
And so, after much deliberation, they had chosen Discovery.
They had judged that National Geographic had a strong urban and youthful sensibility, making it suitable for mid-to-high pricing, while Animal Planet had an elephant logo, so it would be difficult to make it a high-priced brand.
After they decided on Discovery like that, Jeong Hun-seok, who was in charge of planning, had asked Hyunwoo this question.
“Hyunwoo, you’re really ruthless and meticulous. How did you think to register all three of these trademarks? If it were me, I would’ve been busy enough doing just one.”
This question was, in fact, the same question Yang Gyeong-hun had asked.
Hyunwoo gave Jeong Hun-seok the same answer he had given Yang Gyeong-hun.
“There’s no meaning in registering only one. Someone will follow soon enough. When you take the first step down a road no one has taken, the first thing you have to think about is making sure the second person who follows can’t set foot there.”
This was Hyunwoo’s grand plan.
To make it so no one could chase him, and to take first, second, and third place all for himself...
Hyunwoo bowed politely toward the team members.
It was time for him to step down from project leader and return to being a new employee at headquarters.
“Manager Choi Won-hyo, Assistant Manager Eom Yo-seop, Senior Staff Jeong Hun-seok, Designer Choi Mi-jin, you’ve all worked truly hard during this time. Thank you.”
Hyunwoo was someone whose heart was always as calm as a clear mirror, but strangely enough, his chest tightened.
“Then I’ll be going now. Good work.”
As Hyunwoo moved his feet, everyone stood up.
As he stepped out the door, Choi Mi-jin’s voice came to him.
“Wait a moment, Hyeonu.”
She went over to the rack where the samples were displayed and brought back a black padded jacket.
“Here, Hyeonu. This was the first sample we made after starting the project. Since it’s a sample, it might not fit perfectly, but I thought it was only right that you take it.”
Hyeonu raised the corners of his mouth and took the padded jacket, putting it on.
It wasn’t uncomfortable, and the warm feeling of it covering his whole body was incredibly nice.
And he liked the Discovery logo stamped on the chest most of all.
“Thank you, Mijin.”
“Not at all······. I’m the one who’s grateful.”
He shook hands with each of them, one by one, and said goodbye.
Two of them shed tears as they shook his hand.
They were not crying out of sadness.
They were tears born from the overwhelming emotion of having challenged themselves, suffered, overcome themselves, and finally achieved success.
Success was truly wonderful like that.
Wonderful enough to bring tears to one’s eyes.
And beneath that success, there had been an excellent leader and team members who had followed well.
* * *
Hyeonu had returned after finishing an enormous project, but he greeted everyone as casually as if he had merely come back from an outside errand.
“I’m back.”
Yang Gyeonghun, who seemed to be on the phone with an angry expression because some problem had occurred, merely gave a nod and shouted into the receiver.
“How long has it been since the goods arrived at the CY—the container yard—and you’re still leaving them there? You have to move them to the logistics warehouse first! (······) No, that’s not what I mean, they’re sensitive to temperature······.”
Since it was an everyday sort of scene, Hyeonu pretended not to hear and greeted Kim Byeongjun and Song Gaeun as well.
“I’m back.”
“You’re back for good now, right?”
“Yes. I wrapped it up completely.”
“Wow—thank goodness. It was so hard with you gone, Hyeonu.”
“You went through a lot, didn’t you?”
“No. It was a good experience.”
“The sales teams are all buzzing about how huge your project was.”
“Ah······.”
Song Gaeun smiled and said,
“You’ll feel it soon enough. Just how popular you’ve become, Hyeonu.”
“Pardon?”
Just then, the manager of Sales Team 10, who had been in the partition right next to them, smoothly appeared.
“Hello, Team Manager.”
“Hello, sir.”
“Oh, right.”
His gaze turned toward Hyeonu, who was just about to sit down.
“You worked hard, didn’t you?”
“Me? Ah, yes.”
“Right, right. You really worked hard.”
“······.”
“It’s nothing else, you see. Do you think I could buy one of those white Discovery padded jackets? My kid says he really wants to wear one. I even wrote down the style number······.”
He took out his phone and read what he had written down.
“DKWPA4201U. Is there anything you can do about this? With the employee discount applied.”
“Ah, that one? I’ll call the person in charge and check.”
“Right, right. Thanks. But you know, there was also a vest that looked pretty good······.”
Just then, Yang Gyeonghun, who had hung up the phone, shouted at him.
“What do you think you’re doing? To a kid who’s already been through enough and just got back.”
“No, that’s not it. I’m trying to help sell the clothes, aren’t I?”
“Why are you buying something we don’t even have enough of to sell to customers?”
“Oh, come on, why be like that? The more good things, the better.”
“Go on, hurry up. Don’t bother him.”
The manager of Sales Team 10 turned away and winked.
“I’m counting on you.”
As Hyeonu sat down, not knowing what to do, Yang Gyeonghun said to him,
“Don’t agree to requests like that. You do a good job, and then people at our affiliates end up cursing you over things like this. Got it?”
“Yes, understood.”
Just then, Song Gaeun got up from her seat and approached Hyeonu.
“I’m going to get coffee. Should I bring one for you too, Hyeonu?”
“Pardon?”
“You like Americano, right? Then I’ll be back.”
“I’ll go with you, Ms. Song.”
Song Gaeun lightly pressed down on Hyeonu’s shoulder.
“It’s fine. Just sit there. It’s a gift for all your hard work.”
Hyeonu watched Song Gaeun’s back as she walked away, his face bewildered.
In his hand, he was holding a single Post-it note.
‘Just one DKWJA9203U in size 85, please. One of the defective ones at the factory. That’s free, right?’
Hyeonu was simply astonished.
Because he had no idea how it had ended up in his hand.
She had definitely only pressed lightly on his shoulder.
Just then, along with Yang Gyeonghun’s voice, he heard the sound of his footsteps.
“She went and did something weird again, didn’t she?”
Yang Gyeonghun hurried over and examined Hyeonu’s desk.
“Huh? There should be something. She’s not the type to just bring someone coffee. The timing was exactly right.”
Yang Gyeonghun looked around here and there, then saw Hyeonu’s tightly clenched fist.
“Open that hand.”
“Ah, there’s nothing in it.”
“I said open that hand!”
Hyeonu thought that Song Gaeun was one thing, but Yang Gyeonghun was truly something else as well.