Manager Byeong-ju Jeong, packing his things, kept tilting his head over and over.
Because even though he was doing it since the order had come down from above, the thought of whether this was right kept circling in his mind.
“Say, Assistant Manager Kim.”
Deciding he’d never find an answer on his own, Byeong-ju Jeong stopped gathering his things and turned to Seong-ho Kim.
And he asked Seong-ho Kim, who, like him, was gathering his things off the desk,
“This… is this really the right call?”
“The right call? What do you mean?”
“No, I mean…”
Manager Byeong-ju Jeong paused for a moment and looked around.
Then he said to Seong-ho Kim in a low voice,
“I mean, is going to Ilhyeon Watch really the right move?”
Even though he’d spoken quietly, Manager Byeong-ju Jeong apparently still didn’t feel safe, so he took a step closer to Seong-ho Kim and opened his mouth again.
“Ilhyeon Watch is a place that’s already entered the wind-down stage. A place like that… why are we going there? No — even if I fully accept a hundred times over that you’re going, what about me? Why am I going?”
Since Seong-ho Kim was Tak-hyeon Lee’s son-in-law, whether he went to Ilhyeon Watch or somewhere even worse had nothing to do with Byeong-ju Jeong.
‘Surely they wouldn’t cast out a son-in-law just for failing to produce results.’
But Byeong-ju Jeong figured his own case was different.
Byeong-ju Jeong grabbed Seong-ho Kim’s sleeve and said again in a low voice,
“Look, don’t do this — go talk to Deputy Head Gyeong-deuk Lee… no, he’s Chief now. Talk to Chief Gyeong-deuk Lee for me. Tell him not to send me.”
“I told Chief Gyeong-deuk Lee that I wanted to go with you, though?”
“What? You said you wanted to go with me?”
Byeong-ju Jeong, who’d been holding his sleeve, let go and took a step back.
“Why? Why on earth? Why are you taking me there?”
“Aren’t you my mentor, Manager? So naturally we should go together.”
“Assistant Manager Kim…”
Byeong-ju Jeong came toward Seong-ho Kim with a face on the verge of tears.
And in a pleading voice, he said,
“I’ve got a family to feed, and a lot of loans to pay back going forward. Why are you trying to drag someone like me into a swamp…”
“Because it’s a land of opportunity.”
Seong-ho Kim answered simply and lifted a box.
Then, smiling at Byeong-ju Jeong, he said,
“I’m not dragging you into a swamp, Manager. If anything, I’m giving you an opportunity.”
“Opportunity? Ilhyeon Watch is an opportunity?”
“Yes.”
Having spoken in a tone full of certainty, Seong-ho Kim turned and said,
“So finish up and come quickly. Ilhyeon Watch, the land of opportunity, is waiting for us.”
Realizing that talking further would do no good, Byeong-ju Jeong followed after Seong-ho Kim with a face full of worry.
As they were about to leave the Strategic Planning Office with their boxes, Director Gyeong-deuk Lee — now moved into the chief’s seat — came over.
“Assistant Manager Kim. Contact me anytime you need help. I’ll mobilize every resource in Strategic Planning to support you.”
Director Gyeong-deuk Lee believed that his rise to the chief’s seat he’d dreamed of was all thanks to Seong-ho Kim.
He thought it was because Seong-ho Kim had cleared his blocked meridians twice over that he’d been able to rise into the vacant Strategic Planning chief’s seat.
On top of that, it weighed on Gyeong-deuk Lee that Seong-ho Kim — despite having earned merit — was, far from being promoted, headed to the so-called swamp of Ilhyeon Watch.
So he’d made up his mind that if Seong-ho Kim ever asked for help, he’d help him to whatever extent he could.
Seong-ho Kim smiled at Director Gyeong-deuk Lee and said,
“The offer alone means a great deal, thank you. The fact that I still belong to Strategic Planning doesn’t change, so I’ll get Ilhyeon Watch back to normal quickly and return.”
“Right. I’ll leave your seat as it is and wait, so take care and come back safely.”
As if a dear friend were leaving, Gyeong-deuk Lee came all the way down to the lobby to see Seong-ho Kim off.
Since the Ilhyeon Watch head office was located close enough to walk to, Seong-ho Kim and Byeong-ju Jeong, having left the building, walked slowly toward Taepyeong-ro, where the Ilhyeon Watch head office stood.
The two of them, boxes in hand, headed to the Ilhyeon Watch head office on foot.
Walking along with his box, Seong-ho Kim spoke as if he’d just remembered something he’d forgotten.
“Oh, right. I forgot to mention something.”
“Huh? What is it…? What did you forget?”
Byeong-ju Jeong, still beset by worry despite the “land of opportunity” talk, asked uneasily, eyes gone round at Seong-ho Kim’s “I forgot.”
Seong-ho Kim said to him with a smiling face,
“Are you all right with working in the provinces, by any chance?”
“Provincial work? Provincial work — what do you mean by that?”
“It seems like we’ll have to do some provincial work going forward.”
“Huh? We have to work in the provinces? When the head office is in Seoul?”
Byeong-ju Jeong wore an expression that said he couldn’t understand Seong-ho Kim’s words.
The Ilhyeon Watch head office stood on Taepyeong-ro, in Jung-gu, right in the center of Seoul.
When a man saying he’d restructure a company whose head office was in Seoul brought up provincial work out of nowhere, Byeong-ju Jeong’s anxiety couldn’t help but grow.
Seong-ho Kim smiled at Byeong-ju Jeong, who wore a face asking what on earth he was talking about, and said,
“It’s not as though we’re heading down today or tomorrow, so let your family know. We won’t be relocating entirely, so there’s no need for your family to move down too — I think just you going should do it.”
“No, Assistant Manager Kim. So what in the world does that even—”
Byeong-ju Jeong, about to question Seong-ho Kim because he couldn’t fathom what he meant, could say no more once they arrived in front of the Ilhyeon Watch head office building.
Because at the sight of the Ilhyeon Watch executives who’d come out and were waiting in a row in front of the head office, he couldn’t think of anything at all for a moment.
“A familiar sight, isn’t it?”
Just then, Seong-ho Kim gestured with his chin at the executives standing in a row and said,
“How they’re all so unfailingly consistent…”
Reminding Byeong-ju Jeong of what had happened at Jisan Cement, Seong-ho Kim walked forward.
Only then, finally collecting himself, Byeong-ju Jeong nodded and quickly came up beside Seong-ho Kim, saying,
“Come to think of it, they did the same thing back then. But Jisan Cement had to make a good impression on us, whereas Ilhyeon Watch doesn’t — so why have they come out like this? It’s not as though we’re here to cut people, anyway.”
Seong-ho Kim laughed lightly at his words.
‘Well, this is still an era where “a job for life” is a familiar phrase.’
This was an era in which the notion that once you joined a company, you stayed there until retirement was widespread — where switching jobs was something only traitors did, and quitting was for people leaving to start their own business, an idea that saturated everything.
As such, restructuring in the present amounted to little more than the role of finding where a company was leaking money and locking it up so it didn’t seep out — so the executives had no need to make a good impression on Seong-ho Kim and Byeong-ju Jeong, who’d come saying they’d restructure.
“That’s why I said Ilhyeon Watch is a land of opportunity.”
“So that’s why it’s a land of opportunity? What does that mean?”
“Because if I’m the first to do what no one has done, the effect will show that much more dramatically. So it’s a land of opportunity.”
“Because it’s a first, the effect is dramatic? I have no idea what you’re…”
Just as Byeong-ju Jeong was about to say he couldn’t understand at all, the Ilhyeon Watch executives came over to where he and Seong-ho Kim were.
With bright faces, they greeted Seong-ho Kim and welcomed him to Ilhyeon Watch.
Byeong-ju Jeong could only stand behind Seong-ho Kim, who exchanged smiling greetings with the Ilhyeon Watch executives, sending him a look that said he didn’t get it.
“Well, this is… I never imagined we’d meet like this. The chairman’s youngest son-in-law, coming to our company as an officer — and a restructuring officer, at that.”
The president of Ilhyeon Watch laughed as if amused and held out a glass of water to Seong-ho Kim.
And, handing a glass to the seated Byeong-ju Jeong as well, he said as he sat across from them,
“It’ll be more comfortable to rest here than at the head office. Rest up plenty here and then head back. I’ll take care of the rest myself, so if you’ve got business somewhere, feel free to attend to it without separate reports… If you want to travel with the young miss, that’s fine too… In any case, you can do as you please.”
Do Eun-cheol, the president of Ilhyeon Watch, went on speaking to Seong-ho Kim without letting his smile drop.
“To put it bluntly, there’s no place better for you than here. You can stay a little removed from the group’s center and live like a man of leisure — how fine is that? Isn’t that right, Manager Jeong?”
At Do Eun-cheol’s question, Byeong-ju Jeong, who’d been drinking water, hastily took his lips from the cup and nodded awkwardly.
“Yes, well… If we’re talking about resting, there’s no place like here, sure. But…”
Since no matter how he looked at it, Seong-ho Kim didn’t seem to have come with any intention of resting, Byeong-ju Jeong trailed off.
But Do Eun-cheol, not knowing Seong-ho Kim’s thinking, only kept telling Seong-ho Kim to make himself comfortable.
Seong-ho Kim set down his empty water cup and said to Do Eun-cheol,
“Then would you show us the office we’ll be using now? And introduce the staff who’ll be working with us, too.”
“Office?”
Do Eun-cheol was puzzled by Seong-ho Kim’s request to be shown to an office even after being told to rest, but he called in the secretary waiting outside.
“Is anyone out there? Show Assistant Manager Kim here to the office prepared for him.”
Soon a secretary who couldn’t wipe a reluctant expression from his face came in.
“Yes. Understood. Please follow me.”
At the secretary’s offer to show him the office, Seong-ho Kim bowed his head to President Do Eun-cheol.
“Then I’ll begin work as soon as I’ve checked the office. And I’ll let you know if there’s anything I need.”
“Sure. Well… do that.”
Do Eun-cheol thought, what could he possibly need, but given who the other party was, he answered that he understood while only wearing a smile.
Before leaving the office, Seong-ho Kim said one last thing to Do Eun-cheol.
“And here, I’m not an assistant manager but an officer. Going forward, I’d appreciate it if you’d address me that way.”
With those words, Seong-ho Kim gave his greeting and followed the secretary out of the office.
Not long after Seong-ho Kim left the office, the Ilhyeon Watch executives came to see Do Eun-cheol through the door Seong-ho Kim had gone out of.
“President. What did he say?”
Executive Director Ju-gyeol Bang, Managing Director Seong-su Ju, and several other directors threw questions at President Do Eun-cheol.
President Do Eun-cheol tilted his head and, looking at the door Seong-ho Kim had left through, said,
“He seemed to have come genuinely intending to restructure?”
“Genuinely?”
At Do Eun-cheol’s words, Executive Director Ju-gyeol Bang asked back as if startled.
“He really means it?”
Do Eun-cheol looked around at Ju-gyeol Bang, who’d asked, as well as the executives gazing at him with curious faces, and snorted.
“Hmph. That’s what he says.”
“Then what do we do?”
“Do about what?”
“No, I mean — what if he happens to…”
“Happens to what?”
Do Eun-cheol pressed Ju-gyeol Bang with a face asking what he was trying to say.
At that, Ju-gyeol Bang couldn’t quite bring himself to ask what they’d do if they got caught taking rebate money from business partners.
Rebates that weren’t recorded in the books.
Do Eun-cheol knew what he was talking about, so, looking at the Ju-gyeol Bang who could neither speak nor stay silent, he snorted a laugh and, turning to the executives present, said,
“Don’t worry. In the end, he’s nothing but a live-in son-in-law with no backing. And don’t forget where some of the money we take flows to. There’s no way we could ever go wrong.”
Do Eun-cheol wore a confident expression and gazed quietly at the office door Seong-ho Kim had left through.
(End of Chapter 22)