Real Man

Chapter 115:

Chapter 115

At that moment, I saw a message that my younger sister Han Jae-hee had sent me a while ago.

She was complaining about how hard it was to do the work that Yoo-hyun had requested.

Come to think of it, the deadline I had asked for was almost up.

Was she doing well?

That was the moment Yoo-hyun thought of her.

Ring.

My phone rang and, as if it were a lie, Han Jae-hee’s name appeared on the screen.

-Check your email.

Then, before I could reply, she called me.

Ring. Ring.

Why is she in such a hurry?

-Oppa, did you see it?

“Hey, I just saw your message.”

-Then check your email quickly.

“Ugh, fine.”

Yoo-hyun sighed and turned on his computer.

Han Jae-hee kept talking about how hard she had worked.

-You have no idea how much I suffered…

“You did well.”

Yoo-hyun nodded along as he opened his email.

The attached file contained the character backgrounds and icons that matched them that Yoo-hyun had requested.

She had followed the format of the reference material I had sent her last time.

The quality wasn’t too bad either.

But it didn’t meet Yoo-hyun’s expectations.

It was impossible from the start.

-Are you silent? Is it crappy?

“No. It’s not bad, but…”

-Be honest. Is it bad? I didn’t know what to do because I was working alone.

“Of course it’s not easy.”

-I followed the guide you gave me, but I couldn’t really picture what it would look like when I put it on my phone.

“That’s easy. We just have to test it on our mockup.”

-Then what? Are the characters bad? I’m weak at characters because I’m into modern art. I like drawing, but drawing well is another story.

She didn’t say much, but she was good at talking to herself.

It showed how much she loved her work.

She seemed to be quite nervous too.

That attitude was enough.

“No. You did well. You did very well, but it would be nice if you could bring out the characters more, like you said.”

-Really? What should I do?

What should I do?

A memory from the past flashed in my mind.

-Boss, isn’t it natural to ask an expert if you don’t know? I think you should get help and produce results instead of struggling by yourself.

Yoo-hyun, who had been lost in thought for a moment, muttered to himself.

“Ask an expert…”

A thought crossed his mind.

Maybe he had found a way to help Kim Young-gil properly.

Then Han Jae-hee’s voice rang out through the phone speaker.

-Oppa! What do you think I should do?

“Huh?”

Oh, right. 

It was about Han Jae-hee first.

-Is it weird? Should I just redo it? Should I just throw it away?

“No. It’s fine. It’s fine, but it needs a little polishing. Don’t you have any experts around you who can help you? Like a school or a club.”

He had gone off track for a moment, but the answer was the same.

If you’re having trouble by yourself, just get help from an expert.

No, it’s better to get help and make something awesome than to hold on to something foolishly by yourself.

That would be good for Yoo-hyun, but also a great asset for Han Jae-hee.

-It costs money.

“I’ll pay for it. Take this opportunity to improve your skills. Then I’ll take care of you more.”

-Really? You know you’ll die if you lie.

Geez, I tried to help her and this is what I get from my sister.

“Hey, is that what you say to your brother?”

-Anyway, I’ll look around and contact you later.

She hung up the phone because she felt disadvantaged.

Anyway, Han Jae-hee’s case was settled for now.

There was still time, so he would watch and help her when needed.

There was something more important than that right now.

What should I do?

Yoo-hyun pulled out the Kim Young-gil problem that he had pushed aside earlier.

The Apple case would be resolved soon as it should be.

Then he could put out the fire right away.

But that was not a fundamental solution to the problem.

The Apple case was just a manifestation of Kim Young-gil’s problem on the surface.

He needed English to be recognized as he wanted in the future.

Why did Kim Young-gil, who was working hard at a language school, suffer from English at work?

The lack of skill was the biggest reason, but the bigger problem was that he missed the point.

A language school teacher who had never worked in a company properly could not teach business English properly.

He needed proper expert help to improve his skills in a short time.

And who to choose as that expert.

And how to connect them.

He seemed to have found the answer to his dilemma.

Yoo-hyun did not hesitate to flip through his phone contacts.

‘I’m sure I saved it…’

-James.

There it was.

The name of Yoo-hyun’s college English teacher and the person who would be a fate for Kim Young-gil.

A few days later.

“I’ll go ahead and take a look.”

“Okay. Good job.”

Kim Hyun-min, who received Kim Young-gil’s greeting, tilted his head.

It was because he saw Kim Young-gil leave work on time for once.

He quietly approached Park Seung-woo, who was talking with Yoo-hyun, and asked him.

“Park, did Kim have something good happen?”

“Why?”

“No, just. He looked depressed for a while, but he looks happy now. Did he get a girlfriend or something?”

“Hey, no way.”

“Then is it because Apple has been quiet lately?”

Kim Hyun-min tilted his head and Park Seung-woo quickly answered.

“That’s not it either.”

“Hey, what is it then? Tell me.”

Kim Hyun-min leaned in with curiosity.

Park Seung-woo sighed softly and looked at Yoo-hyun.

“Ask this guy.”

“Huh? Why Yoo-hyun?”

Geez.

He got mad over that.

Yoo-hyun sighed inwardly and said.

“I introduced someone I know to Kim.”

“Not a girl, you said.”

“Not a girlfriend, a billiards friend. Kim is good at billiards, so I connected them.”

“Hey! My nickname is Park Three-cue. How can I be worse than Kim?”

Park Seung-woo flared up at Yoo-hyun’s words.

He had been like that ever since Yoo-hyun brought up billiards in front of Kim Young-gil and Park Seung-woo a few days ago.

Kim Hyun-min ignored Park Seung-woo’s words lightly.

“Oh, really? That’s amazing. He’s not a girl, but a guy, and Kim goes out to play billiards with him? That workaholic?”

“He seems to like it very much.”

Kim Young-gil did love and play billiards well.

But that didn’t mean he would play games with strangers he didn’t know.

He was that busy of a person.

But Kim Hyun-min soon agreed.

“Well. Park hasn’t been able to match his level for a while.”

“Manager!”

Park Seung-woo shouted.

Yoo-hyun chuckled and moved aside slightly.

It was nice to watch their bickering, but he had to answer the phone that had just come in.

Ring.

Yoo-hyun walked down the office corridor and pressed the call button.

At the same time, English came out of the speaker.

It was James’s voice, Yoo-hyun’s college English teacher.

-Steve, how are you today? Are you doing well at work?

“No. I have to go home now. Did you meet Daniel?”

-Not yet. I wanted to ask you something before that. What part should we focus on more today?

“Are you going to do it after billiards?”

Yoo-hyun asked and James’s cheerful voice came out.

-Of course. It’s fun playing billiards with Daniel. He seems to be at your level?

“Hey, he’s better than me. Hold on.”

Yoo-hyun quickened his pace.

He sat down on the makeshift chair in the corner of the hallway and asked.

“What did you do so far?”

-I fixed his tone a bit to suit the business style. And he had a habit of frowning when he spoke English. I told him not to do that.

“He listens well to James.”

-He pays for the food and the game fee. He has to pay for that value. Hehe.

The price James was talking about meant English coaching.

To be precise, it was business English tailored for Daniel, or Kim Young-gil, an assistant manager.

Yoo-hyun caught the target’s characteristics.

“Nice job. Now try it this way.”

-Talk. I’m listening.

The other person was Mark Harrison, the head of Apple’s display division.

He had an unusual career path, going through a Japanese company before joining Apple. 

He was familiar with Eastern etiquette.

But in a bad way.

He felt ignored by the other person if they didn’t bow their head or speak politely in front of him.

Of course, this only applied to Asians.

“When you greet him or do a presentation, use some Eastern manners. It sounds like you’re too formal.”

-Ah, so he cares about that stuff. Well, some people do pay attention to unnecessary things when dealing with Asians.

As expected. James understood the situation right away, maybe because he had experience.

If Daniel had some spare time and tact, he would have naturally adapted to that style.

But he was too busy with English to do anything but follow the textbook style.

That must have annoyed Mark Harrison.

Considering his skills and efforts that Yoo-hyun heard from James, this was a more reasonable guess.

“And one more thing…”

-Okay. This should be fun.

He thought for a moment.

How did James feel?

No matter how fluent he was in English, it wouldn’t be easy to play pool, eat, and teach English like a friend with a stranger.

But he gladly agreed to help.

Yoo-hyun appreciated James for that.

“Thanks for making time for me.”

-Don’t mention it. I’m happy to make a good friend, you know. And I should thank you for getting me into your company.

“No, you got in because you’re good.”

James had worked for a fairly large company in Canada and had experience supporting corporate presentations in Korea.

And he was still working as an English teacher at Inhyun University, so his status was clear.

Hansung Electronics had no reason to refuse him.

-Anyway, thanks to you I got a nice side job. I’ll keep my promise. I’ll buy you dinner sometime.

It wasn’t really a promise.

It was just a casual remark.

Of course, there was Yoo-hyun’s effort to turn that casual remark into a new relationship.

-Hansung Electronics is a good company. Congratulations on graduating and getting hired, Steve. You’ll take care of me later, right?

He remembered James’ joking words when they met at the graduation ceremony a while ago.

He also made an effort to find James and greet him then.

He even played pool with James, which he hated, just to improve his English a little bit in the past.

It was all Yoo-hyun’s doing.

“Then let’s have Daniel pay for the meal.”

That seemed fair enough for getting a meal out of him, right?

When Yoo-hyun answered with a smile, he heard laughter from the other side of the phone.

-Hehe. Okay. Oh, Daniel must be here. Let’s talk later.

‘I should thank him too.’

Yoo-hyun hung up and thought of sending a text message to Byun Jae-seung, his colleague in the Global HRD team.

He was able to move James thanks to him.

Ziiing.

As he fiddled with his phone, it vibrated.

-Yoo-hyun, thank you. I got a good teacher thanks to you. I’ll buy you dinner later.

It was a message from Kim Young-gil.

This is ridiculous…

He was the one who asked for help, but they all said they would buy him dinner.

It started as a favor for Kim Young-gil, an assistant manager who needed help with English.

But James and Kim Young-gil were grateful to him for introducing them and finding them a place.

Everyone was happy with the people he introduced them to, so he couldn’t help but feel good too.

Maybe this is why people become matchmakers.

A smile formed on Yoo-hyun’s lips.