Real Man

Chapter 480:

After Song Hyun-seung, the executive director, left, Team Leader Shim Byeong-jik looked at Yoo-hyun with a complicated expression. He had just relaxed his back after being scolded by Song.

Deputy Shin Nak-kyun was lost in thought, frozen in his seat.

Ignoring him, Yoo-hyun spoke to Team Leader Shim.

His expression was very relaxed, unlike before when he had shrunk back.

“Team Leader, can I borrow Deputy Shin for a while? I think I need to get a laptop.”

“Uh, sure. Of course, go ahead.”

“Thank you.”

Yoo-hyun smiled and patted Deputy Shin’s shoulder.

“What are you waiting for? Let’s go.”

“…”

“Kid. I’m not going to eat you, okay?”

Yoo-hyun put his arm around Deputy Shin’s shoulder and dragged him away.

For some reason, Deputy Shin’s back looked very pitiful.

In the past, Deputy Shin had removed Yoo-hyun’s rank from his name because he was displeased that they were in the same position.

He also bullied Yoo-hyun in every way possible, trying to make him adapt.

-Hey, Han Yoo-hyun, come here and pick up the trash on the floor. It’s too messy.

Yoo-hyun chuckled at the old memory that suddenly came to his mind. He leaned back on his chair and snapped his fingers, just like he used to do.

“Deputy Shin, come here.”

“…”

Deputy Shin approached him with an annoyed expression.

Whether he liked it or not, Yoo-hyun pointed out what he needed.

“There’s no nameplate on your desk. And no bookshelf. Get them right away, and set up your laptop to access the group strategy room’s network.”

“Why do I have to do that?”

“Do you want me to do it? I just came here today, how would I know?”

Deputy Shin clenched his fist at Yoo-hyun’s words.

Yoo-hyun returned the words that he had said to him in the past.

“If you don’t like it, why don’t you become my boss?”

“…”

“Or just quit. I don’t mind, I can just slack off and do nothing.”

It was a way of saying that he had the backing of Song Hyun-seung, the executive director, and that he should do as he pleased.

Yoo-hyun spun around in his chair, and Deputy Shin turned away with a snort.

He was annoyed, but there was nothing he could do.

Yoo-hyun sat in the office chair and shouted at Deputy Shin, who was moving around.

“Deputy Shin, why are you so slow? You have 10 minutes.”

His voice was loud enough, but no one dared to tackle Yoo-hyun.

The aftermath of Song Hyun-seung’s anger was still lingering in the office.

Bang.

There was a sound of slamming the desk, and Yoo-hyun’s lips curled up.

He called Deputy Shin a few more times after that.

Each time, Deputy Shin showed a defiant attitude.

Yoo-hyun laughed at him.

“You’re going to get wrinkles if you keep doing that, you know.”

“What do you want now?”

“What do you mean, what? Print out the emergency contact list and the internal organization chart of each group affiliate.”

“…”

“Do I have to explain why? No, never mind. It’s too bothersome. Just do it.”

Yoo-hyun waved his hand, and Deputy Shin couldn’t help but snarl.

“Are you kidding me right now?”

“That’s enough. Go get it. You have 5 minutes.”

“…”

“Go on.”

Yoo-hyun widened his eyes, and Deputy Shin flinched and stepped back.

It was a brief moment, but the strong aura that Yoo-hyun exuded was something that Deputy Shin had never experienced before.

Swoosh.

Yoo-hyun gestured with his chin, and Deputy Shin had to move again.

Yoo-hyun watched him walk away with sagging shoulders and chuckled.

“You were much worse, you know.”

It wasn’t just a casual remark. In the past, Deputy Shin had been much more relentless and vicious than Yoo-hyun was now.

But that didn’t mean that Yoo-hyun wanted to become the same as him.

His petty revenge was just for convenience, and he had a bigger purpose of using him as a pawn.

He was blind to reason and profit, which made him perfect for moving behind the scenes.

Yoo-hyun was thinking about that when Deputy Shin came back.

Thud.

“Here it is.”

“You’re 2 minutes and 40 seconds late.”

“…”

“Do it properly next time. Got it?”

“Sigh.”

Deputy Shin sighed, and Yoo-hyun spoke in a stern tone, then changed to a playful expression.

“If you can’t even do this much, you should quit… No, just keep going, keep going. All the way.”

“Ugh.”

Deputy Shin hit his innocent chest and turned away.

No one bothered Yoo-hyun because of Song Hyun-seung’s influence.

Ji Won-ho, the assistant manager who came back from the executive office, avoided his eyes altogether.

In this situation, the team members distanced themselves from Yoo-hyun even more.

They didn’t even greet him, let alone eat with him.

They also excluded Yoo-hyun from their meetings.

There was one person who had a difficult mission in this situation.

“Me? Surveillance?”

Deputy Shin asked, and Team Leader Shim answered.

“Yes. That guy is definitely up to something. He’s probably trying to leak information to the innovation strategy room, by making a phone call or leaving his seat.”

“Why do I have to do that?”

“I’ll help you get your proposal approved if you do a good job and get rid of that guy. Let’s make it a win-win situation.”

“Team Leader.”

Deputy Shin was furious, but it was useless.

Team Leader Shim left without saying anything else, and Deputy Shin had to swallow his anger.

This was not the kind of department where someone would help him.

Yoo-hyun called him again in the meantime.

“Deputy Shin, come here.”

“…”

He reluctantly came over, and Yoo-hyun pointed to the empty chair next to him.

While the others ignored him, he tried to boss him around with his finger.

Deputy Shin Nak-kyun was annoyed, but he sat down on the chair for now, since the team leader had told him to do so.

“What now?”

“Stop talking and grab the mouse.”

“I have work to do. I don’t have time for this.”

“What work? I know you don’t have much to do.”

“Don’t be unreasonable when you don’t even know. I have an urgent matter to deal with.”

He couldn’t stand it anymore and glared at him with narrowed eyes. Yoo-hyun mocked him.

“Oh, the battery factory investment proposal that you couldn’t get approved for three months?”

“What did you say?”

“Do you want me to sort out your work and brief you on the internal data of the group strategy room?”

“What are you talking about…”

Did he know what he was doing?

Deputy Shin looked puzzled.

Yoo-hyun picked up the direct phone to the group strategy room and dialed the number of the strategic planning team of the battery business unit of Hansung Chemical, which was connected to the emergency contact list.

Then he pushed the phone to him.

“Here.”

“What are you doing… Yes, this is Deputy Shin Nak-kyun from the group strategy room. Yes, Director Jang. Yes, yes.”

He took the phone reluctantly and Yoo-hyun snapped his index finger.

He didn’t understand the situation at all, so he had to explain it to him.

“Director, I’ll switch you to our Manager Han.”

Yoo-hyun took the phone back and immediately sold out Song Hyun-seung, the executive director.

“This is Manager Han Yoo-hyun from the group strategy room. I’m calling you on the orders of Director Song Hyun-seung.”

-Huh. Director Song’s orders?

“Yes. It’s about the battery factory investment in China that you’re reviewing. I saw the report and the numbers are too distorted.”

Yoo-hyun blurted out something he had never seen before, and a curse came out of Deputy Shin’s mouth.

“This crazy.”

“Shh.”

Yoo-hyun covered the transmitter with his hand and suppressed Deputy Shin with his eyes.

Soon, a confused voice rang from the phone.

-That can’t be. The numbers we sent to the group strategy room are accurate.

“Come on. The sales of batteries in China dropped sharply last quarter. If you consider the operating profit, the numbers are even worse.”

-That’s because winter is a seasonal low season.

“That’s a fact that you’re falling far short of the expected growth rate. How can you say that you’re going to build more factories in China based on that prediction?”

He was right.

Deputy Shin was pushing for a proposal to build a joint battery factory in China with Hansung Chemical and Hansung Precision.

It was a proposal that could be a new breakthrough for Hansung Chemical, which was struggling with the slump in chemical products.

Yoo-hyun caught the problem of this proposal at a glance, after skimming through the content that was brought up in the morning weekly meeting.

The reason was revealed by Director Jang, who had not even given his name yet.

-If we invest and create economies of scale, then…

“That’s why Director Song is worried. Our group strategy room is not a place to just throw money at you.”

Yoo-hyun cut him off and mentioned Song Hyun-seung’s name again, making Director Jang panic.

-Wait, wait. There seems to be some misunderstanding. The data we sent was based on the sales in Beijing and Shanghai…

“We have the internal review data, don’t lie to us. You have to take responsibility for the investment you receive, don’t you understand? Or do you want me to look into it myself?”

Yoo-hyun pressed him hard, and Director Jang stuttered.

-I, I’ll correct it right away.

“Don’t just correct the numbers, but also include the risk of the Chinese government. The deadline is this afternoon. Send it to Deputy Shin Nak-kyun in the format of the group strategy room report.”

-I understand. I’ll send it to you as soon as possible.

Click.

Yoo-hyun hung up the phone and Deputy Shin snapped at him.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Didn’t you hear? He’s sending the data. It’s already in the internal storage. He lied in the report.”

“I just wrote positive numbers. The point is to get the investment and increase our competitiveness. That’s why I teamed up with Hansung Precision.”

He had just revealed his problem with his words.

No matter how much money the group had, the overseas factory investment issue was sensitive.

He should have been critical, but he kept mentioning positive things for the sake of immediate results.

There was no way that Song Hyun-seung, who had experienced all kinds of ups and downs, wouldn’t notice that.

“Tsk tsk. That’s why your proposal is not getting approved, you know. You’re stupid.”

Yoo-hyun taunted him, and Deputy Shin shook with anger.

His pride was hurt.

“What did you say?”

“You’re so ungrateful. It’ll work out better than you think, so just watch and eat some rice cakes.”

“How can it work out after this? You ruined everything.”

He jumped up from his seat and snarled at Yoo-hyun.

He was angry, but he picked the wrong target.

“Why don’t you go and tell the person in charge that you’ve been sending false data all this time?”

“When did I…”

“Being stupid is a sin, you know. Instead of getting angry, think about how to use this.”

“…”

The words that followed his sarcastic remark made Deputy Shin’s eyebrows furrow.

He thought for a while and took a deep breath, then sat down.

He looked at Yoo-hyun with a calm expression.

“I caught the false data this time. Just say that.”

He meant to shift the blame to Hansung Chemical if the project didn’t go well.

“Free of charge?”

“You’re not going to get any good words for meddling in someone else’s project.”

“Are you trying to bite me and pull me down?”

“Just think of it as a price for letting it go.”

He was still trying to protect himself in this situation, which was admirable.

Yoo-hyun smiled and gestured.

“Okay. Then grab the mouse first.”

“What are we doing?”

He grabbed the mouse with a resigned expression and asked.

“Let’s go to the group strategy room’s data storage first.”

Without even looking at Yoo-hyun, Deputy Shin switched the screen.