I’d Rather Live as a Villain

77 The Best Person to Fill the Boss’s Empty Seat

“Have the people from the construction sector been coming here often lately?”

Mr. Nadaeung rushed to the table where President Min Byung-jin and Jeon Chung-heon from the overseas construction division were seated, having heard they visited the store he runs with his son.

“Has anyone else come looking for us here?”

At President Min’s inquiry, Mr. Nadaeung held back his answer.

It was more important to discern the intentions of President Min, who had taken the trouble to come here with Jeon Chung-heon, than to simply reply.

“It doesn’t seem like you’ve come just to eat.”

“Just killing two birds with one stone. We’ve got to eat too.”

Mr. Nadaeung grimaced briefly at the sly President Min and the barely contained laughter of Jeon Chung-heon, then joined in the banter.

“People like you wouldn’t just swipe a corporate card and leave, and even though you’re well-off, our restaurant’s prices aren’t exactly modest for construction folks to have lunch, are they?”

President Min teased again.

“How can a seller worry about the buyer’s wallet while selling? That’s not how business is done.”

“True. Then, shall we go inside?”

“No, isn’t it more expensive inside? I’m not up for that much.”

“You don’t think I’d actually do business with just the two of you, do you? If I sit here, it makes the staff uncomfortable and they can’t work properly. The place gets gloomy too. Let’s go inside.”

Lunch service.

It wasn’t going to be busy anyway.

Mr. Nadaeung led President Min and Jeon Chung-heon to an inner room, which was available due to no prior reservations, and called the manager.

“Prepare three of these and a large bowl for the Caesar salad so we can share it generously.”

President Min felt awkward as Mr. Nadaeung ordered the meal without asking for preferences, but he just watched.

“I need to eat too. We have a new menu item, try it. It’s on the house today.”

Before bringing up the reason for bringing Division Chief Jeon Chung-heon here, President Min asked casually, as if to loosen up.

“The thing you mentioned outside. That the people from the construction sector have been frequenting here. Who else has been here besides us?”

Mr. Nadaeung, tearing the pre-meal bread aimlessly and popping it into his mouth, replied.

“Not long ago, Jaegyu brought Executive Yun here.”

“Jaegyu… Ah! You mean Son Jaegyu, the Deputy Manager from the European Division?”

“Yes.”

“Deputy Manager Son brought Executive Yun here?”

Mr. Nadaeung simply nodded and continued to tear off pieces of the pre-meal bread.

“Deputy Manager Son and Executive Yun. They’ve each come separately once more after that. Last weekend, Executive Yun brought President Kang Mun-jung and bought a bottle of 120-dollar wine.”

“Why did Assistant Director Son come again?”

“You know, the coffee brand that’s currently being distributed. They want to secure products like ＜Tomhas＞ insulated bottles and tumblers as ETC products, but it seems there’s difficulty dealing with Tomhas.”

President Min felt as if he could see the whole picture of how the contract with Tomhas was won over by the European division.

He just wanted to silently confirm his suspicions through the words of Nadaeung.

“So?”

“So what? It’s obviously not a big money-maker, so I asked why they’re interested in that brand, especially since there’s already a licensed company in Korea.”

“And what did they say?”

“Why do you ask as if you don’t know everything? But I was surprised too.”

As if wondering why he hadn’t touched the appetizer bread, Mr. Nadaeung passed a piece directly to Jeon Chunghun, who was sitting across from him.

And he continued.

“Before Tomhas, there was the Marco coffee machine. They’re saying they’re making record sales with that, right?”

“Catching two rabbits at once. The billing turnover of our Mulsan, and the expansion of the Distribution FP division.”

“Exactly. Seeing the big picture designed by Executive Director Yoon through Assistant Director Son, I was impressed. Just like with the Marco machine, this time they’re planning to connect Tomhas products to Black Bean. If that’s the plan, it seems worth trying.”

“Executive Director Yoon. He knows how to do business.”

“He must have seen a lot, living in Pyeongchang-dong.”

President Min Byungjin and Division Head Jeon Chunghun nodded simultaneously.

“Even before he started living in Pyeongchang-dong, when I was in charge of him, his discernment was extraordinary. What’s been bothering me these days is that Park Jedong, that guy…”

In front of the name Park Jedong, even President Min Byungjin couldn’t be free.

“I personally promoted him to director because of the Andalusia farm case, and after watching him as a director, I thought he was good enough to move up, so I even cleared the way for him to become a head director. But in the end, it wasn’t that guy’s doing, it was Executive Director Yoon’s work.”

What’s the use of revisiting past events now?

But it was a clear mistake for the entire Mulsan.

No matter how absolute the presence of Nadaeung, the head of the European division, was to President Min Byungjin at the time, the fact that he promoted Park Jedong rapidly without much suspicion, without separate evaluation, based solely on his recommendation and confidence, ultimately, it was President Min’s own decision to lead the giant organization called Mulsan, so he couldn’t be free from that responsibility.

“I thought I had set everything up perfectly and stepped aside, but it turns out I retired after leaving a mess in that place.”

President Min changed the subject, as if there was no need to delve deeper into the conversation.

“The Tomhas deal. I’ve secured the contract.”

“Wow, that was quick.”

Then Mr. Nadaeung asked President Min with a skeptical expression.

“Don’t tell me Assistant Director Son went all the way to Italy to secure the contract?”

There’s no other way to secure a contract so quickly with those laid-back, carefree Italians.

As if to dispel Mr. Nadaeung’s doubts, President Min Byungjin smiled slyly and nodded.

“I went and picked it up myself.”

“Wow, haha! The kids are more aggressive than when I led them?”

“I’m more curious about the fact that Assistant Manager Son came to you several times to ask about the Thomass matter before clinching the contract.”

Soon, the ordered Caesar salad arrived first, and after dividing it onto three plates, Mr. Nadaeung said to President Min Byung-jin and Vice President Jeon Chung-heon.

“I didn’t say much. Thomass. Just by looking at the materials Assistant Manager Son showed me, the size of the enterprise was apparent. Although there’s a control company currently holding the distribution license in Korea, the distribution board that Assistant Manager Son envisions is entirely different. Under the premise that, in such a situation, Merchandise and Distribution can join hands to launch Thomass as successfully as the Marco coffee machine, there’s no loss for the current license-holding company.”

By President Min Byung-jin’s standards, no one could match Nadaeung’s eye for filtering out at least the minimum viable items and his ability to boost sales; his skills were unparalleled.

“If the two pillars of Daeyoung, Merchandise and Distribution, are determined to promote the brand, it would be foolish for the license company not to give an unconditional okay.”

Certainly, the direction of thought in creating and advancing business is not that of an ordinary person.

A business prodigy.

That’s how Chairman Kang Man-ho had evaluated Nadaeung.

It wasn’t for nothing that President Min Byung-jin had offered Nadaeung the president’s position in Merchandise after he mentioned retirement.

Ordinarily, if a company holding a current license hears that another company wants to enter the same market, they would think to check first, not realizing that someone like Nadaeung might welcome it.

But Nadaeung had thought the exact opposite.

“There’s already a model that’s been a huge success, the Marco machine. I asked if I could see the sales chart. Just at a glance, the distribution board, that is, the department store sales before and after the Marco machine entered the Goldline with ETC products, was markedly different.”

A confident smile was rising on President Min Byung-jin’s face.

Such a business prodigy couldn’t be left to waste in a restaurant like this.

“There are clear facts that models unavailable in Goldline, rather, more high-end models, have started to significantly increase in sales in department stores and duty-free shops compared to before. With that, I told them to go see the current license company distributing Thomass in Korea.”

Then, as if it was nothing, he poked at the Caesar salad with his fork, put it in his mouth, and chewed for a while before saying,

“Convincing Thomass headquarters alone by Merchandise is less effective than creating a partner inside and persuading together with that partner; the effect would be doubled.”

President Min could only laugh.

“Frankly, from Thomass’s perspective, if the company controlling their products in Korea asks to distribute their goods, why would they refuse from a seller’s standpoint? I explained just that much, and then you flew all the way to Italy to sign the contract? Assistant Manager Son, that rascal. If only he had been that proactive when I was around. Well, now that he’s a manager, he must have more eyes on him, so he needs to show some action. Hahaha.”

* * *

The sizzling meat cooking on the scorching hot stone was too hot to touch.

The service staff here began to cut the meat on the stone and placed a piece onto the plates of the three men.

Then, pouring hot oil over the stone, they wished them a pleasant time and left the table.

For a moment, the three men paused their serious conversation to enjoy the meal.

But President Min Byung-jin’s mind was continuously drawing the complete picture of how the Thomass brand was brought over from the European division.

Gradually, with seriousness on his face, President Min Byung-jin said to Mr. Nadaeung,

“Kang Young-jin. He’s confirmed to be promoted to Vice President of Electronics soon.”

At that, Nadaeung nodded, having already heard about such movements through Assistant Manager Son.

Director Yoon Tae-sik came to me and said this.”

“What did he say?”

“It’s a bit unfair.”

“Unfair?”

“He feels that the game is too skewed in favor of Kang Young-jin before he even gets a chance to act, and that there’s no opportunity to make up for it, especially since there’s no such chance on President Kang Moon-jung’s side.”

To that, Na Dae-woong nodded emphatically, then spoke as if he were watching a fire at the neighbor’s house.

“With so many of Kang Young-jin’s people entrenched in the group’s headquarters, especially on the electronics side, there’s not much President Kang Moon-jung can do in the current situation.”

President Min nodded along and then spoke again.

“He asked if I could create that opportunity for him.”

“For the president?”

Soon, Na Dae-woong felt a surge of electricity through his body as he heard the method Director Yoon Tae-sik had come up with from President Min’s lips.

“He’s asking if I can go up to the group’s headquarters.”

“…!”

At that moment, Jeon Chung-heon, the division manager of overseas construction, was reminded of the shock he felt when he first heard that news, seeing the reaction Na Dae-woong was showing.

“He’s suggesting that maybe I could slow down Kang Young-jin’s people’s solo run at the group’s headquarters, even if just a little.”

“Wow!”

“After hearing that, I realized that if I don’t do anything in this succession competition, where even the chairman and the senior chairman are just watching with their arms crossed, there will be no answer.”

“So, are you really going to move up to the group’s headquarters? The chairman has suggested it several times, but you’ve deliberately declined and stayed in the industrial sector.”

“If I start being picky now, it’ll just continue like this.”

Feeling the desperation that President Min was showing, Na Dae-woong could only nod his head.

“Come back to the industrial sector. Take over the president’s office.”

With that, Na Dae-woong waved his hands dismissively.

“How can I go back there? It’s been years since I left the industrial sector. And Chung-heon is here too, why are you asking me?”

“I recommended you to the president as the executive director.”

Division Manager Jeon Chung-heon said.

Although the position no longer existed, Na Dae-woong had been the regional head of Europe when he was in the industrial sector, which was an executive position.

“Who else but you could best fill the president’s vacancy? Throughout the history of the industrial sector, there’s been no one else but you.”