Real Man

Chapter 124:

Chapter 124

How did that guy become the branch manager?

Yoo-hyun pushed aside the rising doubt and took out his phone.

He saw the message that Kim Hyunsu had sent him after their call yesterday.

-Thank you, Yoo-hyun.

Maybe Kim Hyunsu already knew what Yoo-hyun had only realized after 20 years.

That he should be grateful for what he received, and that he should give more to the precious person in his life.

Yoo-hyun was thankful that Kim Hyunsu had shown him that his current resolve, his direction in life, and his vision for the future were not wrong.

That he had pointed out the way that would surely make things better.

That he was his friend.

He was so thankful for that.

“Thank you, Hyunsu.”

He felt happy, even though he owed him a bigger debt.

How wonderful it was to have such a valuable friend to whom he could repay more.

He planned to pay him back with interest over the long years ahead.

A few days later.

The office looked no different from before.

If anything, the atmosphere around Oh Jaehwan, the team leader, had darkened.

It was right when the submission period for the contest had begun.

“Park, come here for a moment.”

“Yes, sir.”

“How many times have I told you not to prepare for the contest like this?”

He called Park Seungwoo more frequently.

And then he grilled him over the contest content, claiming that he had reviewed it belatedly.

The team members frowned at this.

“Why is he doing that?”

“I don’t know.”

Yoo-hyun shrugged at Ichanho’s question, but he knew why.

He was clearly conscious of Kim Hyunmin, the Manager.

Kim Hyunmin’s promotion had been delayed, but they were only a year apart in seniority.

He could become a team leader right away without any problem.

And recently, Kim Hyunmin’s momentum was unstoppable.

The contract with Hyunil Automobiles, the response to the Apple issue, the preparation for the contest.

All the things that were recognized by Jo Chanyoung, the Executive Director, in the product planning team came from the third part.

Of course, this was Yoo-hyun’s perspective.

Oh Jaehwan wasn’t skilled enough in politics to think that far.

But why did he react like this?

It was clear that Lee Kyunghoon, the director, had a hand in it.

From his position of wanting to bring down Jo Chanyoung, this contest matter must have been troublesome.

Then a loud voice came from the team leader’s seat.

“What do you mean by going out like this? How are you going to handle it if something goes wrong? Are you going to say it was a lie then?”

“That’s not what I meant…”

“What do you mean by that? You have to cut these parts and send them. Write what you can take responsibility for.”

Park Seungwoo looked embarrassed.

Jo Chanyoung had contacted the relevant departments and got new schedules.

Of course, there could be exceptions, but it wasn’t unreasonable.

“Park, why are you making that face? This is all for your own good. It’s not about how many pages you have. Don’t you know how to simplify the core?”

“I’m sorry.”

‘He means to make the core clear.’

But only on the first page.

In Hansung Electronics’ reporting culture, more pages meant more power.

It wasn’t just Hansung Electronics’ problem.

If the content was well organized and there was a lot of it, anyone would think they worked hard.

The problem was the people who would decide whether they passed or failed.

They had to make a good impression from the start with the busy executives of the mobile phone division.

Oh Jaehwan made one last remark.

“Anyway, if you don’t take proper action, I won’t approve it. So remember that!”

“…Yes. I’ll prepare.”

The problem was that he needed the team leader’s approval to submit it to the contest.

‘He’s so blatant.’

Yoo-hyun bit his tongue.

At the same time, various alternatives came to his mind.

This kind of problem would be solved eventually, but the noise that would happen in the meantime was the issue.

He was still the team leader after all.

He would surely interfere more with his future work.

Then Kim Hyunmin entered the office and walked briskly towards them.

He had already clashed with Oh Jaehwan several times over this matter.

“Are they going at it again?”

As Ichanho said, the team members perked up their ears as if they were expecting something.

Everyone knew that watching a fight was the most fun.

“Sir, this is just going out as it is. Why are you doing this again?”

“Manager, why are you picking on me again? This is our team’s work. I have to take responsibility for it.”

“Hey, the Executive Director confirmed it. He said it was okay. Do you want me to ask him?”

Kim Hyunmin responded in a standard way, unlike his usual light-hearted personality.

Oh Jaehwan’s Achilles’ heel was Jo Chanyoung, the Executive Director.

Since he had approved it, Oh Jaehwan’s words had no power.

Was that why?

Oh Jaehwan became more emotional.

“Oh, really. Manager Kim, you’ve been praised by the Executive Director lately. Aren’t you too arrogant?”

“We’re not kids. Why are you jealous of that?”

“Jealous? You bastard, do you think you can get promoted and take the team leader’s position by doing that?”

When he became emotional, he eventually made a mistake.

He revealed his dark intentions himself, and the atmosphere suddenly sank.

Kim Hyunmin hid his usual smiling face and spoke quietly.

“I don’t need a promotion, and I don’t want the team leader’s position. Just let Park make his own decision.”

-I was crazy. My wife was on her last journey, and I was working overtime then. I didn’t even go home because I was close to getting promoted.

-I never want to force him. That’s not right. I can’t make another person like me.

-In the end, he has to make his own decision. If something goes wrong because he does what his superior tells him to do, how can he bear the resentment?

Yoo-hyun remembered the words that he had uttered with suppressed sadness a while ago.

He always seemed like a joke and light-hearted, but he was heavier than anyone else.

He was like a contrabass that held the center of gravity of the orchestra.

Now he couldn’t hide his true self anymore.

At that, Team Leader Oh Jaehwan lowered his tail slightly.

“…Let’s see what you’ve revised.”

“I’ll just submit it. I’ll take responsibility if there’s any problem.”

Manager Kim Hyunmin seemed determined to wrap things up.

It was the moment when Team Leader Oh’s eyes were darting around.

Ziing.

The phone on his desk rang.

He picked it up as if it was his savior, but his expression couldn’t help but crumple.

It was because of the name that popped up as the caller.

Team Leader Oh turned his body and answered the phone.

“Uh, Mr. Kim. About the panel for Channel Phone. Yeah. Yeah. Right. The report for the Channel meeting? Of course I’m preparing it. Okay. The manager will also attend.”

He could tell who the caller was by the mention of Channel Phone.

It was Kim Sungdeuk, the team leader of Product Planning in the Mobile Business Division.

He was also the person that Yoo Hyun wanted to meet again.

But.

“What? Laura Parker is looking for Yoo Hyun?”

Kim Sungdeuk was rather looking for Yoo Hyun.

Not Shin Chanyong, the manager in charge, but Yoo Hyun, who was nothing more than a new employee.

And it was a request from Laura Parker, the VVIP of the company.

At the same time, everyone’s eyes turned to Yoo Hyun.

A space with a tempting atmosphere.

A cat with white fur, blue eyes, and a proud and haughty expression walked on the golden carpet and suddenly blinked its eyes.

Meow!

Then it ran to the sofa and started to lick the candy on the floor greedily.

Chap chap chap chap chap chap chap.

It didn’t look luxurious at all, but the woman sitting on the sofa only found the cat adorable.

She leaned her body forward and a thick German accent came out of her mouth.

“Spet, is that so delicious?”

The cat, Spet, ignored its owner’s words and focused on eating.

Still, the woman smiled contentedly.

Until recently, it had been unhealthy because it was too picky about food.

But now it had completely changed.

“This candy really suits you.”

Its eating habits had improved completely by eating candy.

-A small gift. I hope you like it.

A few days ago, a neat man from Korea handed her a small box after finishing the meeting.

She threw away all the gifts that the executives gave her behind her back into the trash can.

But she wanted to open the gift she received from him, who was only an employee.

It was because she was curious about the word ‘child’.

The only child that Laura Parker called was her cat Spet.

She would have been offended if someone else had said that, but strangely enough, he felt different.

He knew about Spet’s existence and kindly wrote down the ingredients of the candy in German.

Even his handwriting was good.

“How did Mr. Han know you would like this?”

His outfit, posture, tone of voice, and German accent were all flawless.

He was a man who didn’t bother her at all.

“Or how did he know I’m raising you?”

He seemed to perfectly understand and act according to her taste even though they hadn’t met for long.

That was something that even her secretary and Spet’s nanny couldn’t match.

Meow.

Then Spet looked back and made a noise.

It seemed to respond to Laura Parker’s words.

“Are you curious too?”

Meow.

“Yes. I’m curious too. I’ll go to Korea and see for myself. I’ll buy you more candy there.”

Meow!

Spet’s expression looked happy and Laura Parker’s lips curled up.

She would buy candy for Spet and go see Yoo Hyun.

That was Laura Parker’s purpose of going to Korea.

A few days later, in front of Hansung Tower lobby.

Middle-aged men in suits were standing side by side as if waiting for someone.

In the center of them, Hong Ilseop, the head of promotion in Mobile Business Division, grumbled with a joke mixed in his words.

“I don’t understand why he has to come and check himself. Right, Group Leader?”

“Heh heh, maybe he wanted to see for himself.”

“Anyway, please be careful. This is an official visit. He seems to have something in mind.”

An Junghong, executive director of Mobile Group in LCD Business Division, felt embarrassed by Hong Ilseop’s thinning eyesight.

It was because Laura Parker’s official visit request was related to LCD panel schedule.

The head of mobile sales marketing Cho Chanyoung swallowed his saliva nervously next to him.

Creak!

Soon a black limousine arrived and Laura Parker got off gracefully.

“Welcome. Please come this way.”

“Thank you.”

Laura Parker’s calm response followed.

Hong Ilseop personally escorted her to the VIP conference room.

Seven executives attended.

A total of 15 people, including related employees, attended the meeting to provide customized guidance to Laura Parker.

In the conference room, Laura Parker listened to the concept and main schedule of Channel Phone 2 with a blunt expression throughout.

“Here…”

“Wait a minute.”

Cho Chanyoung, the head of sales marketing, tried to report on the LCD panel schedule, but he was buried by Laura Parker’s snort.

It meant that he should just deliver it according to the schedule since he had already decided to use it.

After a short report.

On the screen, there were three concepts that Channel had proposed and Mobile Business Division had supplemented.

“As you suggested, it is difficult to make it ultra-slim with metal material at the current level. First of all, the battery is a problem and also the heat and weight…”

“So what are you going to do?”

Kim Sungdeuk, the team leader of Mobile Business Division, swallowed his saliva at Laura Parker’s cold words.

‘Why did I have to see the LCD panel mockup then…’

He had successfully regained the Channel Phone 2 contract that was about to be cut off because of the LCD panel schedule, but the aftermath was a problem.

He couldn’t meet Laura Parker’s eyes that had risen as high as possible.

Several meetings had all failed.

This was also a strong message that this was the last time he mobilized all the executives.

If it ended like this?

Not only Kim Sungdeuk, the team leader in charge, but also the executives here and Hansung Electronics’ image would be inevitable.

“We propose direction B. We want to keep the luxury with metal material and attach a QWERTY keyboard in a slide format to soften the thick part emotionally.”

Kim Sungdeuk, who spoke with force in his stomach, waited for Laura Parker’s answer with a tense heart.