Real Man

Chapter 105

The reason why Yoo-hyun chose Kim Hyunmin as the manager.

First.

He looked like a team leader at first glance.

He was a manager, but he was old enough to be a director, so it was easy for him to match the level of the president.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Yun Minhan.”

“I’m Kim Hyunmin, the manager. Nice to meet you, Mr. President.”

“Haha, please sit down. Kim, bring some coffee.”

Thanks to him, it was a much better picture than having two young employees face the president.

And second.

He had a sense of ease that came from experience.

It was not something that anyone could do to face the group leader and the person in charge with bare hands.

He had to have guts, of course, and he had to read the numbers in the conversation that was full of anger.

Kim Hyunmin had been doing this difficult task naturally for a long time.

Yun Minhan, the president of Semi Electronics, opened the door first.

“…To be honest, there is no benefit for us to make a mockup. We don’t make money and we don’t have any results left.”

“Yes. I know. Frankly, making a mockup is like killing a chicken with a knife for a skill like Semi Electronics.”

That was why he could talk without trembling in front of the president.

“It’s not because I’m hesitant about the weight of the work. It’s just…”

“But it would be different if we make a proper mockup, wouldn’t it?”

“In what way?”

“If Semi Electronics has the skill, they will be respected by the development team, and if they are used by the development team, they will naturally become a partner company.”

“Of course we can do that much. Haha.”

He also had the ability to catch the core and make the other person smile.

Finally, third.

It was a position where he could bet without looking back.

Kim Hyunmin had a gambler’s spirit.

He had pushed away all the other tasks of Part 3 and made them focus on the contest.

Yun Minhan, the president of Semi Electronics, hesitated and trailed off.

“The problem is the schedule…”

“Can’t you help us with that, Mr. President?”

“Do you think it will work if I push it? I compared it and it takes at least three months at our level.”

“It’s not an easy schedule. It’s hard enough to make a mockup, but we are considering touch localization as well.”

“Really? Which company are you using?”

Kim Hyunmin smiled as he saw Yun Minhan flinch and drank his tea.

-We received Semi Electronics’ portfolio, and there is a touch component made in Korea. The evaluation value is higher than most foreign companies.

Then he winked at Yoo-hyun.

Yoo-hyun shook his head vigorously when he put more chips on the betting board.

“We are deciding now. We should have decided this before we went into the mockup, but since it’s going to be in mass production products, we had no choice but to be careful.”

“Of course. Of course. You have to be careful. Oh, I think we can try to speed up the mockup schedule as much as possible. Isn’t our motto to make it happen if it doesn’t work? Hahaha.”

And his bet hit exactly.

The moment Semi Electronics’ touch component went into Hansung LCD, its impact exceeded imagination.

It was incomparable to making a few mockups or something like that.

“You are amazing, Mr. President. I think I found a good partner.”

“It’s good for our country if Hansung Electronics does well. We will support you as much as we can. Hahaha.”

He got everything he could get from one opportunity.

There was no part for Yoo-hyun to step in.

That meant Kim Hyunmin did a good job.

Yoo-hyun realized clearly through this meeting.

‘He is really capable.’

Leadership and insight, and negotiation skills that he showed now.

He just couldn’t show them because he was trapped in an egg, but once he broke out of it, he had enough qualities to be a leader.

That’s how the meeting ended.

After Yoo-hyun and his party left Semi Electronics building,

President Yun Minhan called Lim Hanseop assistant manager.

“Good job. The touch component was your idea, right?”

“Yes.”

“I see. You knew what you were doing. If you do well, you might be able to supply Hansung too. Of course, if that happens, you will get all the credit for it.”

“Yes. I hope that happens.”

Yun Minhan smiled and asked.

“Oh, what was the name of the young employee next to you? The one with a small and handsome face.”

“His name is Han Yoo-hyun.”

“Right. Right. He looked smart. He led the atmosphere of the meeting with minimal words. Anyway, he was impressive.”

Lim Hanseop recalled Yoo-hyun’s appearance during the meeting.

He didn’t talk much.

Most of the time, Kim Hyunmin spoke, and he was in a listening position.

That meant he had nothing to appeal.

But what did the president see in Yoo-hyun?

The president was also a person with a good sense, so he trusted his words.

The president asked again.

“Does he have some experience? Is he an assistant manager? He doesn’t look like a section chief.”

“He’s an employee.”

“Oh, I see. I must have mistaken him.”

Yun Minhan picked up the business card on the table and nodded.

Then he muttered to himself.

“He doesn’t seem to be promoted slowly… He must be an employee who has been working for four years.”

Lim Hanseop couldn’t tell Yun Minhan that Yoo-hyun was a new employee who had just joined.

He heard some good news in the midst of his busy schedule.

Kim Hyunsu’s mother’s surgery went well.

It wasn’t cured, but this surgery removed most of the hidden dangers.

That meant she could be discharged soon.

She still had to undergo long-term hospital treatment, though.

Yoo-hyun went to the hospital after a month and met Kim Hyunsu.

“I’m glad. Really.”

“Thanks to you. Thank you.”

“Don’t say that. You would have had surgery even if I didn’t lend you money. That’s all that matters.”

“…Yeah.”

Kim Hyunsu bit his lip and just agreed.

Would he have been able to schedule surgery right away without Yoo-hyun’s help?

His mother was against it, so he might have chosen to avoid surgery by looking for a cheaper hospital.

What if he had done that?

Kim Hyunsu felt dizzy at the thought of his mother going wrong.

Yoo-hyun changed the subject appropriately as he saw Kim Hyunsu’s trembling fingers.

He didn’t want to hear him say thank you anymore.

“Junki is late. When is he coming?”

“Oh, he’s on his way.”

“What about Junseok?”

“He’s in Ulsan. I told him to come next time. He said he couldn’t see his mom.”

“So he kept asking me when I could come.”

Yoo-hyun chuckled as he remembered the phone call with Hajunseok the day before yesterday.

He felt good seeing everyone care about their friend’s parents being sick.

His heart ached.

He was the only one who lived selfishly without caring about anyone around him.

They were all living with a human scent.

Then Kim Hyunsu cautiously opened his mouth.

“Yoo-hyun, you know…”

He licked his lips as if he had something important to say.

I didn’t need to hear it.

“Hey, it’s okay.”

“That’s not what I mean…”

“Oh, Junki is here. Junki!”

I pushed Kim Hyunsu’s words aside and raised my hand.

Kang Junki, who was panting and looking around, ran over to us again.

“Huff, huff, am I too late?”

“Yeah, you’re late.”

He pretended to be sorry because he was late.

It was obvious that he was trying to act cute.

“Sorry. They wouldn’t let me go at work. Because of someone.”

“Who?”

He glanced at me once.

He was trying to shift the blame to someone else.

He was good at socializing.

“Ask him.”

“Yoo-hyun?”

Kang Junki sat down next to me and nodded toward Yoo-hyun.

Kim Hyunsu looked confused, not knowing the details.

Their companies were different, so what did it have to do with being late?

“Just finish your work faster.”

“Hey! How can I finish faster when you guys are so bossy?”

I remembered Lim Hanseop’s thick voice from Semi Electronics.

-Junki is pretty good at electronic circuits. I want to put him on the mockup project. What do you think?

-Ah, senior. That’s up to you. I don’t care. Just work hard.

-Okay. I’ll make sure to grow him well.

Kim Hyunmin had no idea about the relationship between Lim Hanseop and Yoo-hyun.

He only found out when he talked to Lee Chanho from Hansung Electronics who came on a business trip.

“You don’t have to be so grateful.”

“Are you crazy? What do you mean grateful? I was totally embarrassed because of you.”

“Really?”

“Oh! You have no idea how picky he was. He tackled everything. I thought I was being inspected by a corps commander.”

Kang Junki kept venting his anger without catching his breath.

Working well in a large company meant that the management of the contractors was thorough.

They had to support a lot from below in order to achieve results in a short period of time.

In that sense, Choi Minhee was a good worker.

“You’ve heard it, so get up. There’s not much time left for the visit.”

“Sigh… Okay. Let’s go. I’ve been babbling too much.”

Kang Junki fixed his clothes at Yoo-hyun’s words.

But Kim Hyunsu still looked like he had something to say.

“Hyunsu, let’s go.”

“…Okay.”

He looked at Yoo-hyun and licked his lips, but eventually sighed and got up from his seat.

Kim Hyunsu’s mother looked pale but her eyes were alive.

She looked healthy for someone who had just had a major surgery.

Maybe it was because they had overcome a big crisis, but they looked affectionate as they looked at each other.

Did they avoid the crisis with this?

I don’t know.

But at least they prevented the worst case scenario that could have happened if they hadn’t had surgery.

The rest was up to luck.

‘I hope you live long.’

I sincerely hoped for a different outcome than the past.

I couldn’t think of any other way to repay Kim Hyunsu for his debt of gratitude.

After saying goodbye and leaving, Kang Junki asked me.

“Was the surgery that expensive?”

“It’s not just the surgery fee. Hyunsu’s car center couldn’t operate for a while. And there will be a lot of outpatient treatment fees.”

“So that’s why you talked about investing. How did you get the money?”

“I don’t know.”

I didn’t bother to tell him the truth.

‘Maybe that’s why he hesitated.’

He must have felt sorry for borrowing money from his friend, so he didn’t say it out loud.

Then Kang Junki glanced around and asked me.

“Are you going to the reunion?”

“What reunion?”

“You know, the reunion of our classmates from middle school. You said you got a call too.”

Kang Junki was talking about the reunion of the same class from the third year of middle school.

It wasn’t an official reunion, but it was organized by Lee Yongoh, who had been powerful back then.

“I don’t know. Do I really have to go?”

“Come on, let’s go together.”

“Why? You said you hated Lee Yongoh.”

“It would be nice to see our old friends. Don’t you think?”

“Not really.”

I shook my head indifferently.

It was 10 years ago for Kang Junki, but it was 30 years ago for me.

I couldn’t remember the faces of the kids I never contacted after I entered society.

Even if I tried to recall, the only happy memories were with Kim Hyunsu, Kang Junki, and Ha Junseok.