Real Man

Chapter 38

Yoo-hyun met Park Seung Woo’s eyes.

He wanted to see what kind of person he would become when he was given a proper opportunity and a chance to improve his skills.

That was why he came back.

“I’ll put my greed aside for now. I’m still struggling to follow your footsteps, mentor.”

“Hahaha, well, you’re under my wing, so you don’t have to worry about anything. Just live without thinking too much.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Kid, come on, let’s have a drink.”

Park Seung Woo smiled and offered him a glass.

Clang.

The glasses collided and the clear liquid swayed.

They had a pleasant conversation for a while, with the background noise of the bustling crowd.

He kept recalling the nostalgia of the past from Park Seung Woo’s words, even though they were nothing special.

He thought he didn’t care, but he must have wanted to meet this moment again.

He shrugged his shoulders to suppress the sudden surge of emotion.

Park Seung Woo asked with a worried expression.

“What? Did you drink too much?”

“No. I’m just happy.”

“Hahaha, you met a good senior. Good for you. Let’s go to the second round. I’ll treat you today.”

Yoo-hyun smirked and gave him a thumbs up.

A good senior?

That was an understatement.

He was an amazing person who was hard to find again in life.

He had missed him in the past, but now it was different.

Yoo-hyun made a firm resolution in his heart.

…

Several days passed by in a blur after that.

There was nothing special for a new employee to do at the company.

He helped Park Seung Woo, who was busy preparing reports, and answered the calls from various places.

It felt very new to look at the ground instead of looking down from above.

When he had power, he didn’t need to care about others.

But now he had to pay attention to every subtle change.

It was natural to follow the seniors who asked him to have a coffee or join them.

He had to do things that he thought were unnecessary.

Of course, it wasn’t bad either.

It was a great opportunity to get along with his co-workers.

He could think about what he had missed by listening to their complaints and stories.

-This is crazy. Why is the team leader like that?

-Why are there so many meetings? Does this make things work?

-What’s the point of reporting? They already know everything. Sigh. They just want us to work overtime again.

-There’s nothing interesting here. You should go to the main branch. Don’t stay in this place.

Especially, his view on the people who grumbled changed.

If it was the old Yoo-hyun, he would have looked down on them with contempt.

He thought only people who lacked ability complained.

He thought they should quit if they didn’t like their job that they were paid for.

He always sided with the company as if he was the president himself.

But when he looked inside, there were things that couldn’t be helped.

Like the PDA project that Park Seung Woo received.

It was the fault of his boss who pushed him into an impossible task and an unrealistic deadline.

Of course, it was also a problem of the system that made it inevitable.

-Director Kim, this is not a matter of possible or impossible. This is something that has to be done. Think about your subordinates’ position again. What’s better? To suffer a little bit now? Or to get a sweet reward after finishing it? Their lives depend on your judgment.

Yoo-hyun remembered the words he had coldly spat out at Kim Sang Bum, the director who had requested a schedule change due to an unreasonable deadline when he was on secondment.

He used his strong sense of responsibility to push him to the edge of the cliff.

He didn’t need to see how Kim Sang Bum, who had left with a scared face, treated his subordinates.

He must have demanded them to do it no matter what with an impossible deadline.

In the end, only the lower-level employees suffered from this structure.

Yoo-hyun knew that even though he made unreasonable demands himself.

He thought it would make things faster.

He believed that they had to work hard and sacrifice themselves to catch up with others.

That was how Hansung grew based on such efforts and sacrifices.

If they thought it was unreasonable, why didn’t they just quit?

Yoo-hyun knew better than anyone why they couldn’t do that.

The problem was not the quantitative evaluation but the qualitative evaluation.

They gave more points to the people who worked all night than the ones who finished their work quickly.

They naturally took care of the people who worked hard and paid with their bodies.

They claimed to aim for the global number one, but the way they worked and evaluated was old-fashioned.

That was the same when Yoo-hyun became the president.

He had to admit it.

He had to change it.

To do that, he had to change himself first.

That was why he tried to leave work on time and make a personal life for himself, even if it was forced.

On a weekend evening.

Yoo-hyun received a phone call.

It was from his junior Jung Hyun Woo, who was sent to the Ulsan factory.

-I’m dying. It’s so hard.

“Why?”

What could be so hard in a week?

He wouldn’t have listened to him if it was before.

But he had heard so many complaints at the company that he became used to it.

Yoo-hyun silently listened to him.

-The team leader threw his phone yesterday. Ugh, this place is worse than a construction site.

“Really?”

-It’s no joke. They have a dinner every day, and they drink and come back at night and work.

“You’re having a hard time.”

-Really…

Yoo-hyun agreed with him and Jung Hyun Woo poured out his story for a long time.

He must have had other friends, but he contacted Yoo-hyun because he thought of him specially.

Maybe he trusted Yoo-hyun more and opened up his bottled-up story.

Yoo-hyun suddenly thought of the people he worked with when he was on secondment.

When he searched them on the company intranet, they were still there.

They were the people he would meet again in a year.

The only difference was that Jung Hyun Woo was also there with them.

When his long rant was over, Yoo-hyun said.

“You did well.”

-No, I have to do well. I just wanted to whine to you for a bit. I thought you would listen to me.

“You can do that anytime.”

-Ah, come on. I’m already grateful that you got me accepted here.

“Stop saying that.”

Who got him accepted?

He just gave him some advice during the interview.

He was too thankful for that.

Jung Hyun Woo’s voice came again.

-Oh, Eun Ah got a tutoring job and she’s very happy. She said the pay is good too.

“Really? She sounded very annoyed when she talked to me.”

-Hehe, she must be trying to get a free meal from you. She’s a bit cunning.

His voice sounded slightly excited.

Was this a good sign?

Ringing.

His phone rang then.

“Hyunwoo, just a moment.”

-Thank you for introducing me to such a nice person. I’ll treat you well when you come to the restaurant^^

It was a text from the lady who owned the rice soup shop.

She also used a smiley face when she sent the text.

She looked like his mother in that way.

It was a good thing anyway.

He had said it was no big deal to connect her with a tutor, but it was not an easy task.

He had to satisfy both parties and inevitably keep in touch with them.

He realized once again that helping someone was not simple.

As long as everyone was happy with the outcome, he could put an end to this matter.

“Phew.”

-Yes?

“No, nothing.”

-Brother, let’s meet when you come to Seoul. I have so much to talk to you about.

Has it been a year since he last saw him?

He realized that this guy talked the most.

“Okay, call me when you come.”

He was a charming guy who made him smile nonetheless.

The next day at 5:30 a.m.

Even though he opened his eyes, he still saw the memories of his past when he only looked ahead.

He sighed with relief after seeing his mother’s gentle text on his phone.

He felt confident that he could change everything like his new morning routine.

His posture in front of the mirror made him look like a model.

As always, his straight back and slightly lifted chin were impressive.

It couldn’t be helped.

He had taken care of himself thoroughly for 20 years.

He had never gained weight and maintained the same weight.

He went to a speech academy to improve his voice and a modeling academy to correct his posture.

It was his hidden effort as he ran forward without looking back.

He looked more muscular lately as he went to the gym after work.

His condition was perfect thanks to his morning runs.

Han Yoo-hyun, the president, looked at Han Yoo-hyun, the new employee in 2007, in the mirror.

He didn’t look much different from the past Yoo-hyun who only looked ahead.

Yoo-hyun lowered his head and widened his gaze.

Then he saw the scenery in his room next to his reflection in the mirror.

On the ivory-colored wallpaper, he saw the faces of many people he had stepped on along the way.

They were invisible to Yoo-hyun who only ran forward.

Yoo-hyun knew what he had to do.

And he was confident that he could do it.

“Are you ready?”

He asked the young Yoo-hyun in the mirror.

“Of course. That’s why I’m starting over.”

The Yoo-hyun in the mirror smiled and turned around quickly.

On the wall, he saw the people he had connected with and those he had only taken from.

He put aside his guilt and regret for now.

He would pay them back for sure.

And he would make things better for them for sure.

Yoo-hyun faced them without avoiding them.

His eyes shone brightly with experience and youthfulness.

That’s how a new week began.

“I’ll be back from a meeting.”

“Okay.”

Park Seungwoo, an assistant manager, was busy from Monday morning.

He had to prepare for a report and a development department meeting at the same time.

Yoo-hyun decided to watch him for now as he felt frustrated.

If he wasn’t careful, Park Seungwoo’s end could come sooner than expected.

He couldn’t remember exactly when things went wrong, so he had to be more careful.

He couldn’t see the big picture yet, so he wondered if he should cut off what he saw first.

If he made a mistake, he might have to step forward himself unwillingly.

That wasn’t it.

He had to make them work together instead of alone.

The people he wanted to help should be the center rather than the immediate results.

He had to make them rise up by themselves instead of falling down because of his mistakes or lack of consideration.

He was sitting at his desk, organizing his thoughts and spinning his pen, when someone came looking for him.

It was Shin Chanyong, a section chief.

“Do you want to have a cup of tea?”

“Yes, sure.”

He had no reason to avoid him, so Yoo-hyun got up from his seat.

He remembered that Shin Chanyong was not the type to approach new employees first to help them.

He must have wanted something from him.

Shin Chanyong, who was walking ahead of him, stopped in front of the conference room next to him.

“Look here.”

“Here?”

He turned his head following his gaze and saw the inside of the conference room through the gap of the opaque glass window.

There was Park Seungwoo, the assistant manager, in there.

He looked like he was breaking down surrounded by people with higher positions.

Yoo-hyun chuckled.

Shin Chanyong’s intention was too childish.

Was he that low?

He thought that maybe he had overestimated him too much.

As if to confirm and kill Yoo-hyun’s thoughts, Shin Chanyong said.

“Tsk tsk, Assistant Manager Park, that guy is breaking down again, breaking down again.”

“…”

He pretended not to know even though he knew.

“Newbie, don’t go and break down like that. It’s embarrassing.”

You’re the one who’s more embarrassing.

Yoo-hyun swallowed the words that came up to his throat and looked at Shin Chanyong.

It wasn’t because of the difference in rank that he endured it.

He wanted to see how far he would go.