Real Man

Chapter 450:

As they gathered and chatted, old memories came flooding back.

“You pay.”

“No, you’re the guest, sir.”

Yoo-hyun said to Park Seung-woo, the manager, who was shouting loudly.

“You can order anything you want. The company will cover it.”

“What? Really?”

“Yes. Let’s finish the stories we couldn’t tell yesterday.”

“Nice.”

Park Seung-woo, the manager’s face brightened at the word free.

The hotel living room table was filled with steak and fine liquor.

The order was already done before they called for room service.

It was thanks to Shin Kyung-wook, the executive director, who took care of this part as well.

Park Seung-woo, the manager, admired him after hearing that.

“Wow, he’s really a good person. He’s different from what I thought.”

“What did you think?”

“I don’t know, just, he’s the crown prince, so I had some prejudice.”

“He supports me well. He also pushes me hard.”

Yoo-hyun said casually as he ate the steak.

The thick and tender texture enriched his mouth.

Park Seung-woo, the manager, looked at Yoo-hyun, who enjoyed the treat as if it was natural, with curiosity.

It wasn’t just Yoo-hyun, but Kim Young-gil, the manager, also looked very familiar.

He felt like he was the only one out of place.

Park Seung-woo, the manager, sighed.

“I should have stayed in the company if I knew this.”

“Why?”

“I’m just jealous of you and the manager working with Apple confidently, and enjoying this awesome business trip.”

Kim Young-gil, the manager, who was listening, handed him a glass of ice-filled vodka and snorted.

“Don’t talk nonsense and tell me about your MBA. Let me see how great you are.”

Park Seung-woo, the manager, took the glass and made a serious expression.

“MBA is just a master’s degree. It doesn’t make a career by itself. It doesn’t pay either.”

“Huh? That’s different from when you left.”

“I realized when I came here. If MBA graduates were all successful, the business professors would be all rich.”

Park Seung-woo, the manager’s realistic answer made Yoo-hyun chuckle.

“You’ve learned a lot. That’s enough.”

“Kid, you’re teaching me again. Did you forget that I’m your mentor?”

“Of course not. I respect you.”

Yoo-hyun bowed his head, and Park Seung-woo, the manager, shrugged his shoulders and said childishly.

“Who’s first, Steve Jobs or me?”

“Of course, you, mentor.”

Kim Young-gil, the manager, shook his head.

“You guys are really playing.”

“Hahaha. Have a drink.”

Yoo-hyun smiled brightly and offered a glass.

Clang.

The glasses of the three people who made him laugh just by looking at them clashed cheerfully.

Of course, as the bottle emptied, many stories came and went.

“That’s…”

“No, that’s not it.”

The conversation never stopped because they had been apart for a long time.

They reminisced about the memories they had together, and drank liquor with their own stories.

They were not all bright and happy in their current lives.

They were just holding on with one hope for the future.

They also confided their troubles with the help of alcohol.

In this part, Park Seung-woo, the manager, had a lot to say.

“Ha. What’s wrong with Hansung Electronics these days?”

“What? Is there a problem?”

Yoo-hyun asked, and Park Seung-woo, the manager, explained the background.

“Well, I’m doing a corporate consulting project right now.”

“You mean the graduation project?”

“Yeah. But the topic is Hansung Electronics’ business direction. But this…”

Kim Young-gil, the manager, who was blinking his eyes drowsily, interrupted.

“Our company? Isn’t that better?”

“Ugh, don’t say that. It’s harder. The situation has changed so much since Shin Kyung-wook, the executive director, came.”

Yoo-hyun recalled the past conversation with Shin Kyung-wook, the executive director.

At that time, he was looking for people to create the innovation strategy department, and Yoo-hyun introduced Park Seung-woo, the manager, to him.

-Park Seung-woo, the assistant manager? The friend who went to New York University for MBA?

-Yes. He’ll be helpful. He’s passionate, open-minded, and has a good sense.

-Hmm, I’ll have to check him out. By the way, one of the business professors there is my college buddy.

-Really? Then how about giving him a project through the professor?

Yoo-hyun’s suggestion at that time came back to Park Seung-woo, the manager.

Yoo-hyun didn’t give him the project on purpose to test him.

It was mandatory to do a corporate consulting process for MBA graduation, and it was better for his career to deal with Hansung Electronics.

Of course, it was also beneficial for Shin Kyung-wook, the executive director.

He could get an evaluation of the direction he pursued from a third party’s perspective.

Park Seung-woo, the manager, who had no idea of Yoo-hyun’s thoughts, continued to complain.

“I did a lot of research on smartphones, but Shin Kyung-wook, the executive director, postponed the launch date. So I have to do it all over again.”

“Wow. That can happen.”

Kim Young-gil, the manager, nodded his head slowly.

He looked very drunk.

Yoo-hyun brought a sofa pillow and put it on his head, and asked Park Seung-woo, the manager.

“What do you think of that decision? Don’t think of it as a project.”

“Are you asking for my personal opinion?”

“Yes. Objectively, if possible.”

Yoo-hyun’s expression was serious, so Park Seung-woo, the manager, straightened his posture and handed him a glass.

Ting.

He took a sip of the vodka with ice and opened his mouth.

“I think it’s a good decision. Everyone else says no, but you know.”

“Why?”

“Smartphones are different from feature phones. Feature phones, if you make them wrong, you can just make them in a different shape, but smartphones, the shape is not the core, but the UX inside is the core.”

Yoo-hyun felt like he knew what direction he was writing the consulting report in just by hearing this one sentence.

He asked him a question to confirm his growth a little more, pretending not to know.

It was a question for him.

“What does that mean?”

“UX means customer experience. Customer experience follows the multiplication rule, which means that if they like it once, they keep using it, but if they get a zero on one thing, they get a zero on everything. So…”

Park Seung-woo, the manager, answered by applying what he learned at school.

He was a bit drunk and rambling just a while ago, but now he sounded more confident and his eyes sparkled.

It meant that he was sure of himself.

Yoo-hyun smiled and agreed with his senior’s growth.

“That makes sense.”

“There’s still time, so I think there’s a chance for a reversal if we do it right.”

His judgment was also accurate, so Yoo-hyun sincerely filled his glass.

Swish.

“You’re amazing. I respect you.”

“Haha. It feels good to be praised by my mentee.”

Park Seung-woo, the manager, smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

They clinked their glasses again, and another glass was emptied.

Park Seung-woo, the manager, who was in a good mood, seemed to remember something and raised his eyebrows.

“Oh, Yoo-hyun, do you want to hear something interesting?”

“Go ahead.”

“The business professor who gave me the project knows Shin Kyung-wook, the executive director. He talked a lot about him in class.”

“What did he say?”

Yoo-hyun leaned forward with curiosity.

Park Seung-woo, the manager, who was chewing a banana, opened his mouth.

“First of all, he criticized him for returning suddenly. He said it was too reckless.”

“It was a bit bold.”

“Especially, he said it was not good politically to bring up the LCD division spin-off. It’s not my opinion, but the professor’s.”

It sounded plausible, but Yoo-hyun thought differently.

He was able to raise his position at once by throwing a goal that was impossible to achieve.

The benefit he would get when he achieved it would be much greater than the risk he took.

Would Park Seung-woo, the manager, see this picture?

Yoo-hyun asked him out of curiosity.

“Do you think the same, manager?”

“No. I think it’s not bad. It’s extreme, but you can secure the opportunity for sure when you win.”

“That’s true. We think alike.”

Yoo-hyun smiled inwardly and lifted his glass.

He felt like he would work with him for a long time.

Park Seung-woo, the manager, who was drinking with him, suddenly said.

“Oh, the professor also said this. Shin Kyung-wook, the executive director, didn’t make the decision by himself, and there must be someone coaching him behind.”

It was a reasonable inference from a close friend who knew Shin Kyung-wook, the executive director, well.

The previous Shin Kyung-wook, the executive director, was very calm and reserved.

If Yoo-hyun hadn’t been there, he wouldn’t have moved first.

“Really?”

“Yeah. And he also said one more thing.”

“What did he say?”

Yoo-hyun asked without thinking and drank his glass.

The sharp whiskey melted the ice and wetted his mouth.

Then, an unexpected word came out of Park Seung-woo, the manager’s mouth.

“That coach must be a crazy psycho.”

“Pfft.”

Yoo-hyun spat out the liquor he was drinking.

Kim Young-gil, the manager, who was sleeping, woke up with a start.

“What, what’s going on?”

“Nothing, nothing.”

Yoo-hyun quickly got up and wiped his face with a tissue.

Kim Young-gil, the manager, who was still confused, said something else.

“Did I drool?”

“Kkkk. Yes. Why do you drool so much?”

Park Seung-woo, the manager, who was next to him, laughed and said.

“Ha. Really? Oh, sorry.”

“Apologize by drinking one more glass.”

Yoo-hyun came out shamelessly and Park Seung-woo, the manager, finally laughed, holding his stomach.

“Puhahahaha.”

“I’ll drink. Just do it.”

Kim Young-gil, the manager, who didn’t know what was going on, emptied his glass.

The pleasant drinking party that started with laughter continued for a while.

Where there is a meeting, there is a farewell.

The time to say goodbye came to the three people who woke up in the morning and finished the chat they couldn’t finish yesterday.

Yoo-hyun shook hands with Kim Young-gil, the manager, at the San Francisco airport departure hall.

Kim Young-gil, the manager, looked at Yoo-hyun with trust in his eyes.

“I had a good experience thanks to you. See you in Korea.”

“Thank you for your hard work. Have a safe trip.”

“I’ll go. Have fun and come back slowly.”

He gave him a thumbs up with Park Seung-woo, the manager’s influence.

He had a good reason to be happy. The Apple presentation was successful, and he got everything he could.

He smiled as he entered the gate, waving his hand.

Park Seung-woo, the manager, was also happy.

He sat on the airport bench and held up the shirt with Steve Jobs’ signature.

“Should I sell this?”

“No. You should keep it as a souvenir. Who knows? It might be very expensive later.”

“Of course I won’t sell it.”

Park Seung-woo, the manager, smiled and talked more with Yoo-hyun.

They just sat and talked for a while, but time flew by.

The airport speaker announced.

-Customers who are boarding Delta 868 flight to New York, please…

It was time for Park Seung-woo, the manager, to go. He got up and asked.

“Are you going to see a friend?”

“Yes. I have to see him since I came this far.”

“Okay. Have a good time and come back safely. I’ll finish well and return too.”

“You don’t have to graduate. Don’t stress and do it lightly.”

“What?”

Park Seung-woo, the manager, was dumbfounded and Yoo-hyun left him a nice word.

“Your health is more important to me than anything else, mentor.”

“Huh, you cute kid. Let me hug you once.”

Park Seung-woo, the manager, smiled and opened his arms.

Yoo-hyun approached him and his long arms wrapped around him.

Wham.

Yoo-hyun also patted Park Seung-woo, the manager’s back.

He was thin, but his hug was still warm.

“See you soon, mentor.”

“Yeah. See you soon.”

Yoo-hyun said a short goodbye and sent him off.