Real Man

“We need to set the direction now. Junsik, bring the whiteboard.”

“Yes, sir.”

Jang Junsik quickly got up and dragged the whiteboard that was mounted on a movable stand.

It was a gift from Lee Chanho, the deputy who stayed with the team.

Kwon Se-jung, the deputy who stood next to the whiteboard, grabbed a board marker.

He nodded his head after thinking for a while, and then started to summarize the content without hesitation.

“What we need to urgently prepare for the TF launch ceremony is…”

The tasks to be done were written on the whiteboard.

The list was divided by priority.

The most urgent ones were separated into what they could do by themselves and what they couldn’t.

Among them, he circled two items that had high priority but were hard to do by themselves.

-Future Product Research Lab, Shinwa Semiconductor

Kwon Se-jung emphasized these two words by tapping them with the marker.

“As I said before, we have to get these two on our side.”

“Why?”

“First of all, the Future Product Research Lab has the core technology based on semiconductor display. If we can’t get it, we’ll have to spend all our time developing it.”

“Do you think they’ll willingly transfer their technology?”

Yoo-hyun asked somewhat coldly, but Kwon Se-jung didn’t waver.

He rather pushed his opinion more aggressively.

“Of course not. That’s why we need evidence that it can be commercialized.”

“You mean the production infrastructure?”

“We have to set the direction now. Junsik, bring the whiteboard.”

“Yes, sir.”

Jang Junsik quickly got up and dragged the whiteboard that was mounted on a movable stand.

It was a gift from Lee Chanho, the deputy who stayed with the team.

Kwon Se-jung, the deputy who stood next to the whiteboard, grabbed a board marker.

He nodded his head after thinking for a while, and then started to summarize the content without hesitation.

“What we need to urgently prepare for the TF launch ceremony is…”

The tasks to be done were written on the whiteboard.

The list was divided by priority.

The most urgent ones were separated into what they could do by themselves and what they couldn’t.

Among them, he circled two items that had high priority but were hard to do by themselves.

-Future Product Research Lab, Shinwa Semiconductor

Kwon Se-jung emphasized these two words by tapping them with the marker.

“As I said before, we have to get these two on our side.”

“Why?”

“First of all, the Future Product Research Lab has the core technology based on semiconductor display. If we can’t get it, we’ll have to spend all our time developing it.”

“Do you think they’ll willingly transfer their technology?”

Yoo-hyun asked somewhat coldly, but Kwon Se-jung didn’t waver.

He rather pushed his opinion more aggressively.

“Of course not. That’s why we need evidence that it can be commercialized.”

“You mean the production infrastructure?”

“That’s right. And that’s why Shinwa Semiconductor is important. If we can use their production line, we can mass-produce it.”

“So we have to persuade Shinwa Semiconductor?”

“We have to persuade Shinwa Semiconductor, but they won’t just give us their line. We have to at least have a reason to request the board fabrication.”

Jang Junsik, who had been listening quietly, asked.

“To persuade Shinwa Semiconductor, we have to move the Future Product Research Lab first, right?”

“But the problem is that to move the Future Product Research Lab, Shinwa Semiconductor has to step up first.”

The core of the matter was in the exchange between Jang Junsik and Kwon Se-jung.

“So, what are we going to do?”

Yoo-hyun nodded his head and threw a question, and Kwon Se-jung answered first.

“I think we should focus on the Future Product Research Lab first. Since the group leader gave us a foothold, the possibility is higher.”

“Then we have to contact Shinwa Semiconductor as well.”

Jang Junsik volunteered and Kwon Se-jung agreed.

“That’s right. And we also have to know the internal situation of the Future Product Research Lab. We have to know the opponent to persuade them.”

“Oh, is that why you mentioned the CTO staff earlier?”

“Yes, yes. They have people who collaborated with the Future Product Research Lab staff until recently. They also have someone who reviewed the semiconductor display.”

Yoo-hyun had no chance to intervene as the two found the answers on their own.

He smiled contentedly as he watched them and readily agreed.

“That’s a good idea. Let’s do as Se-jung says.”

“No way. The ship has sailed.”

“Why?”

“They must be furious because of our provocation. Do you think they’ll help us? They’ll rather try to stop us in any way.”

Yoo-hyun gave a puzzled look, and Kwon Se-jung muttered in frustration.

Yoo-hyun chuckled and cut him off.

“You don’t have to be on the same side to get help.”

“Then?”

“Sometimes you can get more from your enemies.”

“What are you talking about?”

Kwon Se-jung blinked his eyes at Yoo-hyun, who spat out a mysterious word.

In this case, it was better to show than to tell.

Yoo-hyun winked at Jang Junsik.

“Junsik, let’s send an email.”

“Who are the recipients?”

“The CTO staff who worked with the Future Product Research Lab.”

“Wow. What are you trying to do?”

“You’ll see.”

Yoo-hyun smiled slyly at Kwon Se-jung, who was flustered.

There was a reason why the CTO staff were sensitive to the Future Technology TF.

It was because Lim Jun-pyo, the president, was attending the TF launch ceremony.

What if the power shifted to the Future Technology TF then?

The related organizations within the CTO might be absorbed into the Future Technology TF.

That sense of crisis pressured the CTO, especially the practitioners who worked on the semiconductor display.

Click.

Shin Jaeho, the head of the New Technology Convergence Team, who was reading the email now, was one of those practitioners.

He received a technical inquiry email from the Future Technology TF a few days ago.

To prevent this, Shin Jaeho sent a rebuttal email, but more and more specific contents flew in.

They even used the report he wrote as evidence, so he couldn’t refute them with technology.

But Shin Jaeho didn’t feel any crisis at all.

‘It takes one or two years to set up the infrastructure, how can they commercialize it?’

He had experienced the semiconductor display and saw through its weakness.

Click.

His eyes widened as he saw the next page.

“What? They’re going to get the core technology from the Future Product Research Lab?”

It was an absurd story.

But what if it really happened?

The possibility made him anxious.

“I have to stop them somehow.”

Shin Jaeho picked up his phone.

A moment later, his voice echoed through the car speaker.

-I know better than anyone because I worked with the Future Product Research Lab…

Yoo-hyun, who was sitting in the passenger seat, listened to his excited words until the end, and then calmly replied.

“Isn’t it just a matter of getting the infrastructure from the Future Product Research Lab?”

-That’s nonsense. They’re very arrogant. You’ll be ignored as a component supplier.

“It’s okay to be treated badly if we can get help. We’re working together.”

-It’s a technology that you decided it was impossible to mass-produce. Why would they help you?

“Your data shows that it’s not completely impossible, right?”

Shin Jaeho bit the bait as Yoo-hyun asked.

-That’s when Shinwa Semiconductor supplied the semiconductor board. That’s impossible.

“Why?”

-I tried to contact them when I worked with the Future Product Research Lab, but…

Jang Jae-ho, the manager, gave a long speech, spitting saliva as if he wanted to stop it somehow.

Swoosh.

Kwon Se-jung, the deputy who was sitting in the back seat, wrote down his words in a notebook, and Jang Jun-sik, who was holding the steering wheel, flicked his ears.

“I understand what you mean. I just need to try again.”

-You’re not getting through to him. Mr. Kim Hak-il, the team leader there, is not the type to cling to something that won’t work. He won’t budge at all.

“I heard he’s very clear about work and personal matters.”

Jang Jae-ho’s voice grew louder as Yoo-hyun said a word.

-Work and personal matters my ass. Talk some sense. How much does he disregard people?

“Is that so?”

-He’s not the only problem. How arrogant is Lim Chae-yeol, the manager below him…

Jang Jae-ho, who had been telling the inside story of the Future Product Research Institute, now recited the characteristics of the related staff.

“I see. I’ll have to think about it again.”

-There’s nothing to think about. Just give up quickly. Don’t make a fool of yourself.

“Yes. Can I ask you again if I need anything?”

-I know the Future Product Research Institute well because I worked with them. Ask me anything. I’ll explain to you a hundred reasons why it won’t work.

“Thank you for your great help. I’ll contact you again.”

The call was cut off with Yoo-hyun’s formal greeting.

As the message of call termination appeared on the cell phone, Yoo-hyun lifted the corner of his mouth.

“He knows well. It would be perfect to use it when I take over later.”

Kwon Se-jung, the deputy who saw that, was dumbfounded.

“Are you Kang-tae-gong, or what?”

“Who’s Kang-tae-gong?”

“How do you hook people so well? Now you even get the personalities of the Future Product Research Institute people.”

“What are you talking about? I already checked with the other CTO staff.”

Yoo-hyun said casually, and Kwon Se-jung nodded his head.

“It wasn’t this detailed. But seeing everyone sticking out their tongues, the Future Product Research Institute people must be really tough.”

“They deserve it. They are superiors to the researchers.”

As Yoo-hyun said, the Future Product Research Institute was superior to Hansung Display’s CTO.

Most of the CTO projects would fly away without the help of the Future Product Research Institute.

That’s how absolute the Future Product Research Institute was in terms of technology.

“True. The LCD and OLED we’re working on are all from the Future Product Research Institute. They have a reason to be arrogant.”

Kwon Se-jung nodded his head as if he agreed, and Jang Jun-sik made a curious voice.

“But it’s strange. They were very kind when I exchanged emails with them.”

“True. Is it because it’s an email?”

“No. Text messages too.”

Yoo-hyun turned on the phone screen and showed it to Kwon Se-jung, who was behind him.

-You can come to the conference room on the 2nd floor of the Future Product Research Institute building, the New Function Display Team. We have prepared a simple demo. Kim Hak-il.

Kwon Se-jung was puzzled by the kind reply of the notorious Kim Hak-il.

“It’s too different from what I heard. Why is he like this?”

“There must have been a misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding?”

Kwon Se-jung blinked his eyes as he saw Yoo-hyun laughing.

Vroom.

The car carrying the three people slid along the road.

Yoo-hyun arrived at the Future Product Research Institute not long after that.

Since it was a weekday morning, there was no traffic jam, so he arrived quite comfortably.

Even so, there were people waiting in the conference room on the 2nd floor.

The drinks and snacks on the table, and the demo products placed on one side showed how much they cared about this visit.

Yoo-hyun greeted Kim Hak-il, the team leader who led all this.

“Hello, team leader. I’m Yoo-hyun, the manager.”

“Hey, you’re the manager?”

Kim Hak-il’s eyes widened under his horn-rimmed glasses.

The wrinkles on his wide forehead were very impressive.

“Yes. I’m in charge of the Future Technology TF under Mr. Hong Il-seop, the executive director.”

“…”

Kim Hak-il, the team leader, lost his words as he watched Yoo-hyun answer leisurely.

It was understandable, because the manager’s position was usually above the team leader.

Especially in departments like the Future Product Research Institute that do various projects, it was a course to go through the manager by taking charge of the TF before the executive.

Kim Hak-il, the team leader, tried to be kind to him, considering that he was a subordinate with a rank and a request from Hong Il-seop, the executive director.

But what the hell?

‘I bowed to that green bastard.’

Kim Hak-il, who realized the situation belatedly, turned red and blue.

The team members who knew the team leader’s personality were stiff, but Yoo-hyun was relaxed.

He gestured to his colleagues who came with him after scanning the demo product.

“Deputy Kwon, Mr. Jang, come here and take a look at this.”

“Yes, manager.”

Kwon Se-jung and Jang Jun-sik, who were behind him, came over, and Yoo-hyun pointed to the spec sheet on the table.

“If you look here, to protect against pixel problems…”

“Yes. As the manager said, we put extra pixels on each of the 2 million pixels…”

“In my opinion, we should prioritize productivity over resolution…”

The three of them were immersed in serious discussions, ignoring the surrounding eyes.

Kim Hak-il, who saw that, bit his tongue.

“Damn it. How ridiculous.”

He was looking around like he was at home, while the other Hansung Display employees were crawling on the floor.

Ugh, Kim Hak-il clenched his teeth and approached the young manager who had lost his fear.

“Hey…”

He was about to yell out in anger, but at that moment.

Yoo-hyun’s question cut into his breath exquisitely.

“Team leader, why isn’t there a 0.9-inch ultra-small panel? I wanted to see that, but I don’t see it.”

“What? What are you talking about…”

Yoo-hyun handed him a second card as Kim Hak-il was still angry.

“I have something to report to our president. I can’t help it if it’s not there.”

“President? What are you talking about?”

“Please sit down. I have something to tell you.”

He gestured with a serious expression, and Kim Hak-il had no choice but to follow him.