Real Man

Chapter 513:

There was no window to check the inside.

What should he do?

He wanted to see the interior to confirm if Shin Kyung-soo had visited, but he had no choice.

Instead of forcing his way in, Yoo-hyun made sure to memorize the surrounding geography.

‘After I talk to Director Lee Jun-il here…’

Thanks to that, the situation of the upcoming banquet became more concrete in Yoo-hyun’s head.

He was retracing his steps slowly when he heard it.

Clack clack clack.

The sound of heels came loudly through the gap of the open door.

He wondered what was going on and opened the door to enter. A chandelier hanging from the third floor ceiling was in front of him.

This place, with a hollow center, was the main hall that he had seen while walking on the first floor corridor.

Yoo-hyun approached the second floor railing and looked down at the corner where the sound came from.

There were mannequins and clothes displayed as if they had moved a department store section.

The clothes had a unique design that gave a hanbok vibe. They seemed to be a collection of works by a famous domestic designer who had an exclusive launch at Hansung Department Store a while ago.

As the designs were praised by overseas luxury designers, they looked perfect to give as gifts to the Spanish royalty.

Among the busy staff, there was one person who coordinated everything.

Yoo-hyun looked at the woman who was sitting and gesturing silently.

She was Shin Mi-kyung, the president of Hansung Department Store and the second of the four children of Chairman Shin Hyun-ho.

Her sharp nose, crescent eyebrows, and eyelids without double eyelids looked like her mother Hong Jin-hee. Her personality was also closer to her mother than her father.

Her right hand moved and the accessory display moved.

Rumble.

She stretched out her palm and raised the display. Then she waved her hand sideways and changed the arrangement of the exhibits.

With her left hand, she changed the order of the clothes behind the mannequins.

She was moving the staff like an orchestra conductor.

Then it happened.

Clang clang.

A female employee who was organizing the clothes knocked over a mannequin.

“I’m, I’m sorry.”

“…”

The female employee bowed her waist, but Shin Mi-kyung was silent.

She looked at the staff who were setting up the mannequin as if nothing had happened.

It seemed like she was just letting it go, but it was not.

Yoo-hyun noticed her gesture of pressing her temples with both thumbs.

‘She’s about to explode.’

He could tell by how quickly she reached the final stage.

It was not just because she knocked over the mannequin.

Something about the female employee’s appearance must have irritated her.

Another staff member who had seen this situation more than Yoo-hyun jumped out like a bullet.

“President, I’m sorry. We had to hire some inexperienced staff in a hurry.”

“No, Team Leader. Experience is what makes you skilled.”

Her words were gentle, but Shin Mi-kyung’s fingers did not leave her temples.

The team leader, who knew her hysterical side better than anyone, answered.

“Experience comes after self-management. I will make sure she loses weight to eliminate her sloppy behavior.”

“Hmm.”

“I will exclude her from this event and make her lose 10 kilograms by the next design product launch. If she fails, I will transfer her to the warehouse cleaning department so she can learn again.”

It was after the team leader’s voice echoed quickly.

Shin Mi-kyung finally took her hand off her temples and nodded.

“It’s your job to manage the staff, so do as you please. But don’t push them too hard.”

“Yes, President. I will also train the staff to prevent such mistakes. Don’t say anything bad to lower their morale, and have a meal or something. You can spend as much money as you want.”

The team leader bowed his head and left with the staff.

Yoo-hyun snorted as he watched.

“How hypocritical.”

She clearly knew how the team leader would handle the staff, but she never said anything bad herself.

She pretended to be dignified in every way.

But why did the staff follow her anyway?

Because she shook them up behind the scenes.

How come these trashy people in this family were all different on the outside and inside?

Yoo-hyun was speechless when a man came from where the staff had left.

The man with large ears that matched his wide jaw was Shin Kang-ho, the youngest brother of Chairman Shin Hyun-ho.

The president of Hansung Hotel smiled at Shin Mi-kyung.

“Why is our niece so angry?”

There was no one around, so Shin Mi-kyung took off her mask and blurted out something absurd.

“It’s all because of the orchestra that little dad invited.”

“Orchestra? What’s wrong with the orchestra?”

“The violin sound doesn’t match the viola sound. And the oboe is off sometimes.”

Why did the orchestra suddenly come up?

They were just practicing and the sound was barely audible here.

It was not a bother at all.

But as if that didn’t matter, Shin Kang-ho snapped.

“That’s not good. It shouldn’t bother our niece’s nerves. I got it. I’ll take care of it, so relax.”

“Ugh. I’ll bear with it for little dad.”

Yoo-hyun lost his words at Shin Mi-kyung, who pouted like a child.

“…”

Did she know?

That she had thrown a stone carelessly and made the innocent orchestra go away?

Shin Kang-ho, who accepted it, was also ridiculous.

These garbage-like people were holding on as presidents, and the staff below them couldn’t show their abilities.

Crack.

Yoo-hyun clenched his fist as he confirmed the disgusting true colors of the royal family.

He then handed the detailed schedule to Deputy Director Park Do-gwon and quietly left the annex.

The long day was getting dark.

The evening air was cool despite the hot weather, but his heart was empty.

He had gotten everything he wanted, but his steps felt very heavy.

Yoo-hyun walked quietly and picked up his phone.

After the call was connected, he heard the voice of Deputy Director Shin Kyung-wook.

-You said you wanted to see me after the banquet, what’s up?

“I just thought of you, Deputy Director.”

-You must be thirsty for alcohol already.

He heard a noisy background sound from Deputy Director Shin Kyung-wook.

“Are you having a dinner meeting?”

“Ha ha! You’re complaining that you’re tired because Manager Park gave you some work?”

“Manager Park Seung-woo?”

-Yeah. We’re drinking soju together. Do you want to join us?

He really wanted to join them, but he had to be careful right now.

He was about to refuse when he heard a voice.

-Yoo-hyun? Yoo-hyun, come on. We ordered a lot of food.

-Manager Park. The vice president is calling. What are you doing?

After Manager Park Seung-woo’s cheerful voice, he heard the flustered voice of Vice President Yeo Tae-sik.

He couldn’t imagine what expression the always calm man had on his face.

Then he heard the laughter of Deputy Manager Park Doo-sik.

-Heh heh heh. Vice President, just leave him alone. The vice president is also staying quiet.

“…”

Yoo-hyun just listened to the noisy commotion without a word.

-Yoo-hyun, hurry up and come. I’ll pay for the taxi.

He wanted to go as well, just like Manager Park Seung-woo’s enthusiastic words.

But he couldn’t go in this situation.

‘If I go, I might get caught.’

He didn’t know how far Director Lee Joon-il’s information network reached. He had to be careful even with the stepping stones.

He shook his head and answered.

“No, you guys enjoy yourselves.”

-Okay. See you next time.

As if he expected it, Vice President Shin Kyung-wook didn’t ask any more.

“Yes, vice president. Have a good time.”

Yoo-hyun also didn’t push any further and hung up the phone.

He acted as if nothing happened, but his mind was filled with the words that Vice President Shin Kyung-wook had said.

He wasn’t wrong if he thought about it.

He hadn’t had a proper drink with his good colleagues for months.

He hadn’t seen the people who moved to Hansung Display.

He had seen some people passing by, but he pretended not to know them so that he wouldn’t be caught by Director Lee Joon-il.

He was so busy being careful that he missed the important things.

And what did he do?

He only confirmed the dirty deeds of Royal Family.

He clenched his phone in his hand.

“What am I doing right now?”

He had a feeling that something was wrong. He stopped walking.

He heard the wind blowing in the evening.

He recalled his actions as he felt the wind.

His phone rang and he remembered the message from Kang Joon-ki.

-Are you alive or dead? I haven’t seen you for so long that I forgot your face.

If it was before he met Royal Family, he might have just passed it off as usual.

But his mind was not like that now.

He immediately replied.

-Do you want to have a drink now?

-Sure. I have liquor. Come to my place.

-Deal.

The place was quickly decided for a very plausible reason.

Soon after, Yoo-hyun entered Kang Joon-ki’s studio with his hands full of snacks.

It was as messy as ever.

Now he even had a soldering iron on his desk.

He put the food on the plate he had laid out and pointed to the desk.

“What’s that?”

“Oh, I left it here to work at home.”

“Why do you work at home?”

Kang Joon-ki shrugged at Yoo-hyun’s question.

“You have to be proactive when you’re a deputy.”

“What’s that? You’re not supposed to bring company stuff home.”

“Of course not. I fixed the stuff they threw away and used it.”

He opened the bottle and casually said.

He took the glass from him and exclaimed.

“You’re really thrifty.”

“Say I’m saving the environment. I even use eco-bags when I go grocery shopping.”

“Heh heh. Yeah, our country survives thanks to you.”

Maybe it was because of the silly conversation they had for the first time in a long time.

His shoulders relaxed and his expression softened.

Kang Joon-ki was still talkative.

He had been promoted to deputy and became more active in expressing his complaints.

“Our company may look fine on the outside, but there are so many rotten things. The way they do personal evaluations is…”

He was serious, but it was too trivial for Yoo-hyun.

The words of his ordinary and trivial life kept calling for alcohol.

He drank and drank and the bottle was already empty.

He quickly brought a new bottle and asked bluntly.

“Hey, don’t just drink, answer me. Did I do something wrong?”

“You did a sloppy job, what else?”

Yoo-hyun answered sullenly and Kang Joon-ki’s voice got louder.

“I’m sure he saw me working hard. Ugh. The guy who’s supposed to be my mentor is worse.”

“You said you were in sync with him at the karaoke.”

“That’s only when we sing. Do you know what he says to me when we come back after having fun?”

“What does he say?”

“He calls me a loser. A loser. That’s a fart, you know.”

His grumbling reminded Yoo-hyun of his old memories.

-Okay. I’ll personally help you get your loser certificate. This is a rare opportunity that you won’t find anywhere else. You know that, right?

He always had fun with Kim Hyun-min, the manager, no, the executive who had been promoted.

They did a lot of absurd things and got into trouble, but they were all happy memories for Yoo-hyun.

‘Thanks to him, I really became a loser.’

He remembered his days at Yeontae Electronics and chuckled.