Real Man

Chapter 467:

Yoo-hyun heard the news of the secret high-level executive meeting first from Shin Nyeong-wook, the executive director.

He heard it second from Park Doo-sik, the assistant manager, and now he received a call from Choi Gyu-tae, the assistant manager, for the third time.

Yoo-hyun, who was on the phone at the outdoor terrace on the 20th floor, asked for permission from Kwon Se-jung, the deputy, and moved his seat.

Choi Gyu-tae’s voice rang through the receiver.

-The chairman personally attended the meeting and said…

He heard everything from the chairman being angry at Elliot’s appearance to Son Tae-beom, the vice president, stepping up.

It was exactly the same as what Yoo-hyun already knew.

Instead of cutting off Choi Gyu-tae’s words, who had bothered to call him, Yoo-hyun sorted out his thoughts again.

As seen from this content, the consulting reports of McKinsey and BCG were buried, and Shin Nyeong-soo disappeared from all conversations.

Behind him was Son Tae-beom, the vice president.

This was the reason why Shin Nyeong-soo could move recklessly, contrary to Yoo-hyun’s prediction.

How did he manage to pull in Son Tae-beom, the vice president, who had been away from the front line?

Regardless of the reason, it was clear that Shin Nyeong-soo was drawing a big picture.

This meant that a huge storm would come sooner than Yoo-hyun expected.

As Yoo-hyun was pondering over the future that would change rapidly, Choi Gyu-tae’s explanation stopped.

-Han, are you listening?

“Yes. Of course. I’m listening well. But why are you telling me this?”

Yoo-hyun had a hunch, but he asked without showing it.

Choi Gyu-tae first gave a conventional reason.

-It’s the result of the BCG project we did together. I thought I should report it to you… No, I thought I should tell you.

“Thank you.”

-You don’t have to thank me. But…

“Yes. Go ahead.”

Finally, Choi Gyu-tae hesitated and revealed the real reason.

-The group strategy office contacted me a while ago.

“Did they investigate the background of the BCG project?”

-Huh? How did you know?

“I just thought there might be someone curious about it.”

Yoo-hyun calmly answered to Choi Gyu-tae, who was flustered.

He had already anticipated that Shin Nyeong-soo would move to track down the background.

Rather, it was strange that he contacted him only now.

-Aren’t you curious what I answered?

“That’s up to you, sir.”

-I’m disappointed. I answered that I didn’t know anything, as we agreed last time. I said I only followed the orders from Shin Nyeong-wook, the executive director.

Yoo-hyun thought that Choi Gyu-tae would have given such an answer even without hearing it.

It was absolutely not because of loyalty or anything like that.

In reality, with the balance of power shifted to Shin Nyeong-wook, the executive director, there was no reason for Choi Gyu-tae to spill everything to the group strategy office.

“You did well.”

Yoo-hyun answered in a routine manner, and Choi Gyu-tae suddenly blurted out his sincerity.

-I’m just telling you this in case you get hurt.

“Are you worried about me?”

-Not exactly. Anyway, we might end up working together.

Yoo-hyun laughed at Choi Gyu-tae’s wavering voice.

He looked grumpy at first, but he had a charm of taking care of others.

Thanks to him, Yoo-hyun’s voice also became more lively.

“Then I’ll definitely go under you, sir.”

-Huh? That’s absolutely not possible.

“Haha. I want to go more because you don’t like it.”

Yoo-hyun laughed, and Choi Gyu-tae changed the subject as if he was embarrassed.

“No, that’s not…”

Is this what it feels like to get attached to someone you see often?

Somehow, he felt that his connection with him would deepen.

Yoo-hyun wrapped up the call with Choi Gyu-tae and approached Kwon Se-jung, the deputy.

He asked his colleague, who was sticking his neck out beyond the railing.

“What are you looking at?”

“Look over there, at the crosswalk.”

Yoo-hyun turned his head in the direction that Kwon Se-jung pointed, and saw Jang Jun-sik.

Jeong Saet-byul and Yang Yoon-soo followed behind him.

“What’s Jun-sik doing? He’s out in the middle of work.”

“He said he’s having a hard time preparing for the exhibition, so he bought lunch and coffee for his juniors.”

“Really?”

Yoo-hyun looked at Jang Jun-sik again with surprise.

He looked like a big chick carrying two little chicks.

Kwon Se-jung muttered as if he had the same thought.

“Jun-sik is doing your role well. He said he’s in charge of everything for the G20 exhibition, right?”

“Yeah. He doesn’t ask me much anymore. He does well on his own.”

“He used to follow you around, but he grew up a lot after becoming a senior.”

“I know. He changed in an instant even though he didn’t change no matter how hard I taught him.”

Yoo-hyun looked at Jang Jun-sik with a pleased smile.

It was then that Kwon Se-jung blurted out his worries.

“What should I do?”

“Are you feeling the autumn?”

“No, just. I think I have to decide before I get separated.”

He was a thoughtful guy, so he was already worried about something far away.

Yoo-hyun wanted to know how deep his thoughts were, so he casually asked.

“Do you think you’ll be separated?”

“The sales of the home appliance division have fallen, so the gap has narrowed a lot. As you said, if we see the effect of the G20 exhibition, we might be able to reverse the sales in the next quarter, right?”

“It would have to be a bigger hit than this time, right?”

“I feel like it’s possible. Oh, of course, it’s just a feeling, a feeling.”

The atmosphere was good, but no one thought that they would reverse it in the next quarter.

But this guy with a good feeling was looking at the same scenery as Yoo-hyun.

Yoo-hyun smiled inwardly and asked him.

“It might be possible. But don’t you want to go to the innovation strategy office?”

“I feel like I’m betraying them if I say it now.”

“What betrayal? You’ve done enough.”

“Is that so?”

Kwon Se-jung didn’t know what to worry about, but Yoo-hyun knew.

But if he really thought about it, it would be better for him to secure his position in advance.

“Right. Contact Park, the assistant manager, once. No, should I do it for you?”

“No. Don’t do that. I have to do it with my own strength.”

“Okay. He’ll probably like it.”

Yoo-hyun imagined how it would be like to work with Park Doo-sik, the deputy manager, and Kwon Se-jung, the assistant manager.

It seemed like a fun picture, especially if Park Seung-woo, the section chief, joined them.

As Yoo-hyun was picturing the future situation, Kwon Se-jung asked him.

“Are you coming too?”

“Well.”

“Why? Do you have any reason to stay in LCD? I’m sure the executive director would want you to come.”

“I guess I will.”

Yoo-hyun nodded his head, and Kwon Se-jung clenched his fist with determination.

“I want to work with you all the way. I’ll do my best.”

“What do you mean by best? Just do it casually.”

“Hey, how can I catch up with you then? I have to keep trying.”

Yoo-hyun was about to say that he was already enough, but he stopped himself.

Instead, he shared his gaze with his colleague, who was looking at the same direction.

The Seoul skyline was unusually clear, maybe because of the good weather.

That day, Yoo-hyun sweated a lot at the gym until late.

When he returned home with a refreshed mood, it was past midnight.

Considering that it was morning in California, Yoo-hyun picked up his phone right away.

The call was to Serena Lian, Paul Graham’s secretary.

Yoo-hyun greeted her warmly and lightly asked how she was doing, then he got to the point.

“Serena, can I check on the thing I asked you last time?”

-Oh, you were looking for someone? I haven’t found him yet.

“I see. Thank you for looking into it.”

-Thank you? Of course I have to do it. I’ll let you know as soon as I get a clue.

It was a very generous response for just giving her an orange tree.

But that was how Serena Lian was. She took good care of the people she liked.

Yoo-hyun appreciated her kindness and continued to chat with her, then he checked the message that just came in.

-Park Seung-woo, mentor: Don’t worry, I just got asked by a senior who came to study at the same school about BCG. I made an excuse about the innovation strategy department. (laugh)

By combining the information he had so far, Yoo-hyun could roughly estimate the range of Shin Kyung-soo’s tracking.

He had confirmed Choi Kyu-tae, the deputy manager, and Park Seung-woo, the section chief, and Serena Lian had not been contacted yet.

That meant he had not guessed that Paul Graham was behind it.

Even if he found that connection, it would take some time to reach Yoo-hyun.

He judged that it would be hard for Shin Kyung-soo to guess, no matter how fast and smart he was.

It was not easy to infer the causal relationship between a Hansung Electronics employee and Paul Graham.

How much time did he have left?

As he thought that, he remembered something from a long time ago.

-Han Sang-moo, it’s foolish to wait until the enemy attacks. If you’re an elite, you should be able to jump into the enemy’s camp and create a reversal.

After hearing Shin Kyung-soo’s words, Yoo-hyun had flown to Russia and finally got what he wanted.

He felt pathetic for doing reckless things for Shin Kyung-soo, not for the company, but he also learned something for sure.

“It’s not a wrong thing to say.”

He chuckled and uttered a meaningful word, then he got up and looked out the window.

He saw the street lights stretched out in the dark night.

In the past, he remembered what he had to give up for success while looking at the same scenery, but it was different now.

He saw the faces of his precious colleagues who he wanted to be with in each light.

-Yoo-hyun, I want to work with you.

Yoo-hyun recalled the words of his mentor and colleague who hoped to move to the innovation strategy department.

Yoo-hyun felt the same way and he had been running with that picture in his mind.

But his thoughts changed slightly to fit the changing situation.

Maybe he wouldn’t be with them for a while?

That day, Yoo-hyun spent quite a long time looking at the street lights and thinking.

Some more time passed, and it was the season when the leaves fell.

The group strategy department was very quiet, unlike before, because of the appearance of Shin Hyun-ho, the chairman, and the return of Son Tae-bum, the vice chairman.

Thanks to that, the innovation strategy department could focus on their work without wasting time on unnecessary things.

It was like the calm before the storm, but Yoo-hyun didn’t care much.

He had more urgent things to deal with in front of him.

Late in the morning, Yoo-hyun got off the subway not at Gangnam Station, but at Samsung Station.

As he came out of the subway station, he saw a big banner.

-G20 5th Summit. November 11-12, Seoul COEX

As he walked, looking at the upcoming schedule, he received a phone call.

It was Kim Hyun-soo, his friend who ran a car center.

-Yoo-hyun, did you hear about Jun-ki?

“You mean the IPO of Semi Electronics?”

-Yeah. But why did it become a G20 theme stock?

“I don’t know. Something about foreign electronic resident cards, but I think it’s just a trick by the forces.”

It was a good thing that his friend’s company’s stock price went up, but this time it was too much.

They made a company that had nothing to do with the theme into a leading stock and inflated the price by more than three times in a short period of time.

-Well, it’s good if it goes well. Jun-ki said he hit a huge jackpot.

“Yeah. Jun-ki talks about it so often that my ears hurt.”

-Haha. He said he would treat us a lot when he comes down after getting promoted.

Kim Hyun-soo’s words reminded Yoo-hyun of Kang Jun-ki, who had been smashed on his back.

“There are a lot of people to treat. Jun-seok also said he would treat us for his successful career change.”

-That’s right. There are a lot of good things.

“How about you?”

-I’m not bad either. I finished the expansion work of the car center.

“How’s your mother’s health?”

A lot of things had changed from the past, and the most changed part was Kim Hyun-soo’s mother’s health.