Real Man

Chapter 47

After work, Yoo-hyun went to a gopchang restaurant near his company.

He was there to meet his college junior, Jo Eun Ah.

He couldn’t ignore her, since she had become a tutor for his sister.

As expected, Jo Eun Ah fired her rapid-fire questions at him.

“How can you be so mean? You never contact me unless you need something from me?”

“Thank you.”

“That’s not enough. I’m a busy person too, you know.”

“Oh, really? Is that so?”

Yoo-hyun smiled faintly as he looked at Jo Eun Ah, who was pouting with her arms crossed.

She was still young and didn’t know how to hide her emotions.

“Well… well, I’ll do it for you since it’s a good thing.”

“How’s the tutoring? Is it okay?”

“Yes. Ye Seul is doing well too. Her mother is very nice to me.”

Actually, he had never seen her in person.

He had only heard a lot of stories from the gopchang restaurant owner.

At that moment, the owner came with a large plate.

It had various kinds of sundae, suyuk, and bossam.

It was a lavish menu that wasn’t even on the signboard.

“Oh my, Yoo-hyun, eat a lot. Tutor, please help yourself too.”

At this moment, the owner’s attention was focused on Jo Eun Ah, who had just finished her first lesson.

She was the teacher of her beloved daughter, after all.

Jo Eun Ah was flustered by the attention.

“Oh my, how can I eat all this?”

“Of course. Don’t worry and eat up. There’s more.”

“Wow, thank you so much. I’ll do my best to teach Ye Seul!”

“Ho ho ho, I trust you, teacher.”

The owner seemed to like Jo Eun Ah’s cheerful personality.

There was a bit of hassle in the process, but he felt proud to see them getting along well.

Yoo-hyun shrugged his shoulders and chatted with Jo Eun Ah.

Rather than chatting, it was more like listening to her one-sidedly.

“So I was like…”

In the past, Yoo-hyun only cared about his own world, but now he stepped back and listened to others’ stories.

The awkwardness soon disappeared and he found it fun to chime in with trivial conversations.

“Really? Good job. But why do you want to raise your TOEIC score?”

“So I can get into Hansung Electronics.”

“Your score is enough. They won’t look at it even if it’s higher.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Really.”

“You’re so decisive when it comes to this. Okay. Then I’ll do something else.”

As they talked, he also gave some advice and shared some personal stories.

He wouldn’t have brought them up unless his boss asked him in the past.

Then Jo Eun Ah brought up something else.

“Your younger sister must spend a lot of money going to art school.”

“I guess so. She doesn’t ask for much though.”

“She has a strong sense of independence. But you should take care of her a little. It’s hard to speak up when you’re used to not asking for anything.”

“I’ll take care of her. It’s payday soon anyway.”

It was just a casual remark, but Jo Eun Ah’s eyes sparkled for a moment.

Yoo-hyun quickly picked up his glass.

“Come on, let’s drink.”

“Huh? I also get paid…”

“Auntie!”

It wasn’t hard to take care of his junior on payday.

He just wanted to tease her a bit because her expression was so vivid.

The owner also happened to be standing next to them and peeking at them.

“What?”

“Have a drink with us.”

“Oh my, ho ho. Well then, thank you.”

The owner said and Jo Eun Ah’s eyes widened.

“Huh? Me too?”

“No way. You said you have academy in the evening.”

“Pout.”

Jo Eun Ah looked pitiful.

Regardless, Yoo-hyun enjoyed the drinking session with a good mood.

His college junior and the gopchang restaurant owner.

It was a strange combination that belonged to the same circle of fate.

The owner joined them and the atmosphere became lively in no time.

“That Park Manager bastard came here last night.”

“Really?”

“He talked a lot about Yoo-hyun. And guess what he said? There’s no bad student under a good teacher. What a joke.”

“Hahaha, that’s true.”

“Is it? How is it?”

The owner shook her head as if to deny it.

She seemed to care about him a lot, but she pretended to hide it.

It was endearing to see that.

Then Jo Eun Ah chimed in.

“Who is he?”

“A guy who looks like a bandit.”

“Puhaha, a bandit. A bandit.”

Why was she so excited when she didn’t even drink?

That’s how the story of their company life began with people who didn’t know much about their company.

They even gave some advice.

“A man should be able to shout at his boss confidently. Why is that Park Manager bastard so scared and hesitant when he reports?”

“That’s right. In social life, the person who shouts louder wins.”

Yoo-hyun was speechless at Jo Eun Ah’s words and intervened.

“Where did you hear that?”

“From a drama.”

Yoo-hyun snorted at Jo Eun Ah’s confident answer.

The owner went a step further.

“Park Manager is already wrong, so you should help him from behind, Yoo-hyun.”

“Of course. I was thinking of doing that anyway.”

“If you think it won’t work, just quit and work here. I’ll pay you double the daily wage.”

“Haha, yes. I understand.”

They laughed and talked and joked around.

It might seem ordinary and natural to someone else, but it was special to Yoo-hyun.

He had never had such a long conversation about nothing before.

But.

He liked it.

The next day, when he went to work, Park Seung Woo was busy moving around.

He printed out the PPT report with two pages on one sheet so that the manager could see it. 

He held the paper and repeated the presentation words.

Yoo-hyun watched him and checked the time before asking.

“Do you need help with setting up your laptop?”

“Huh? Really? Thank you.”

Who would refuse his offer to prepare in advance?

Yoo-hyun took Park Seung Woo’s laptop and headed to the manager’s office.

He nodded to Lee Ae Rin and entered the empty office next to hers.

There was a long table inside.

The proper way to sit at a long table for a report was to face the person who was receiving the report.

But when he had to connect his laptop to the TV on the wall and present, it was better to sit closer to the TV.

That way, the person who was receiving the report could see both his face and the screen at the same time.

It was definitely helpful to take care of these small details to improve the quality of the report.

Clank.

When Yoo-hyun finished setting up his laptop, Park Seung Woo came in.

“Is it done?”

“Just a little more.”

He had checked everything on the screen, but Yoo-hyun deliberately delayed it.

He didn’t come in just to help him prepare and leave.

He wanted to read what Executive Director Jo Chan Young wanted exactly and how he would change the direction accordingly.

The important thing was what Executive Director Jo Chan Young would say after the report.

Would it be the same thing over and over again, or would he make a different path?

The direction would be decided by Executive Director Jo Chan Young’s words.

Five minutes before the meeting.

Executive Director Jo Chan Young, who had attended the group work report, came back.

Team Leader Oh Jae Hwan and Director Lee Kyung Hoon followed him.

Yoo-hyun bowed his head and greeted them.

Director Lee Kyung Hoon.

A man with a thin body and sharp eyes.

He didn’t have any wrinkles around his eyes, but his mouth always had a strange smile on his face.

Yoo-hyun knew.

He was not far from pushing Executive Director (Supervisor) Jo Chan Young out and taking over as the next mobile sales marketing manager, as he was directly under the group leader.

He had to stop him no matter what.

Then he heard Director Lee Kyung Hoon’s voice.

“Can I join too?”

“Huh? Oh, sure. Please have a seat.”

Park Seung Woo, who was more afraid of Director Lee Kyung Hoon than anyone else, answered with a trembling voice.

Director Lee Kyung Hoon sat down and scanned Yoo-hyun.

He looked like he was wondering what this was about.

Executive Director Jo Chan Young sat next to him.

Executive Director Jo Chan Young was in a bad mood because he had heard some unpleasant words from the group leader in the previous report.

Then he saw Yoo-hyun’s face, who was preparing to set up his laptop.

He remembered him as an unusual new employee who showed strong passion for the PDA project that he was pushing for in yesterday’s interview.

He calmed down his annoyed mind and looked at Yoo-hyun across from him.

Unlike Park Seung Woo, who was trembling, he looked very relaxed.

Executive Director Jo Chan Young became curious.

Grind.

When Yoo-hyun was about to get up, Executive Director Jo Chan Young opened his mouth.

“Why are you leaving? Since you’re here, listen with us. Right, Team Leader Oh?”

“Yes. That’s right. Yoo-hyun, sit down.”

There was no team leader who would say no when the manager spoke first.

Director Lee Kyung Hoon also nodded as if he agreed with Executive Director Jo Chan Young’s words.

Thanks to that, Yoo-hyun naturally participated in the report session.

He passed the first hurdle.

The next problem was that Executive Director Jo Chan Young’s expression wasn’t very bright.

He was already known for being angry during reports, but if he started like this, the result was obvious without looking at it.

Before the meeting started, Yoo-hyun tried to please Executive Director Jo Chan Young with some flattery.

“Ah, Manager, I was really impressed by you.”

“What did you see?”

A question without explanation makes him ask again.

It makes him focus more on listening.

“I saw your interview in Sabo (a monthly internal publication).”

“Oh, you saw that?”

“Yes. Your words about constantly striving to open new markets were engraved in my heart. I will work hard with that in mind.”

Flattery is more effective when there are people listening and it is exaggerated a bit.

Executive Director Jo Chan Young definitely liked this kind of simple flattery.

“Hehe, you have a good attitude. Right, Team Leader Oh?”

“Yes. That’s right. Hahaha.”

It must have been the first time for Team Leader Oh Jae Hwan to see this kind of atmosphere too.

He could feel some resentment at his excessive flattery, but he was a new employee after all.

He could just dismiss it as passion and move on.

Thanks to that, the tense atmosphere became much brighter.

Yoo-hyun wouldn’t have done this much if it was his own work.

He was confident that he could satisfy his boss without loosening the mood.

But Park Seung Woo was different.

He had to touch these external factors as well to make up for his poor report.

Click.

When Park Seung Woo clicked the wireless mouse button, the screen changed.

Yoo-hyun recalled the memory as he looked at the page on the TV.

The PDA project.

To be precise, it was a project to mass-produce LCD panels with 3.5-inch WVGA resolution (480 X 800, the total number of pixels on the screen) and high-resolution pressure-sensitive touch supplied by HP in the first quarter of 2008.

It was hard to make the panels because they had many differentiating points from the existing ones.

On top of that, they required a high-resolution touch that could draw detailed pictures with a sharp pen.

The biggest issue was that the touch film and touch IC couldn’t meet their deadlines.

It was a problem that he had anticipated, but he had to somehow meet the schedule that the client demanded.

The reason why he pushed so hard?

He could monopolize the supply.

The current contract condition was to monopolize the initial supply and the estimated supply for a year.

The estimated supply was huge, so it would be a jackpot if it matched the experts’ expectations.

It could change the ranking of the industry.

Executive Director Jo Chan Young staked his life on it.

Click.

The report went as expected.

“So, the production of the PDA panel…”

When Executive Director Jo Chan Young listened with his arms crossed, Director Lee Kyung Hoon kept asking piercing questions in between.

“Wait. Let’s make sure about the touch part.”

“Yes. For the touch IC, the manufacturer…”

“Wait. Can you tell me the schedule first?”

“That is…”

He was trying to fix what he had messed up, but the atmosphere was as if all the blame was on Park Seung Woo.

Director Lee Kyung Hoon frowned and hit the nail on the head.

“Can you take responsibility for this?”

That question was the climax.

There was no chance for Team Leader Oh Jae Hwan, who was weak, to make any excuses, and Park Seung Woo’s voice lost more and more confidence.