Real Man

At the table next to Yoo-hyun, the popular Park Seung-woo was sitting.

“Hahaha! It’s been a long time since we met, so let me pour you a drink… Huh?”

He picked up a bottle of liquor as soon as he sat down, but he paused when he saw the man across from him.

Jang Junsik greeted him politely as their eyes met.

“Hello, Manager.”

“Junsik, you were here. Come on, take the glass from your mentor’s mentor.”

Park Seung-woo smiled and filled Jang Junsik’s empty glass.

Glug glug.

“…”

He watched Jang Junsik silently accept the glass and teased him.

“Junsik, you seem to have a different attitude from when you were in the Innovation Strategy Office.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Come on, you used to challenge your heavenly mentor all the time. And you gave him a lot of hints.”

“I never did that.”

Jang Junsik denied it, but Park Seung-woo narrowed his eyes.

“Hey, should I ask my mentee? He’s right there.”

“No, no. Manager, let’s drink.”

Clank.

Jang Junsik hurriedly clinked his glass and drank.

He looked flustered, unlike his usual calm demeanor.

On the other hand, Park Seung-woo seemed very pleased.

Yoo-hyun looked at the two contrasting men and tilted his head.

“What’s going on? Why are they like that?”

“I told you. It’s fun to watch them together.”

Kwon Se-jung, who knew the backstory well, chuckled.

“What do you mean…”

Yoo-hyun was about to ask more when Park Seung-woo winked at him.

“Yoo-hyun, do you know how hopeless your mentee is?”

“Hopeless? Junsik is not like that.”

“You should know his true colors. How he treated his heavenly senior…”

Park Seung-woo was about to spill the beans with a playful face, but Jang Junsik stopped him with a wave of his hand.

“Director, no. It’s because Manager always came late to our appointments.”

“Appointments?”

Yoo-hyun couldn’t get a word in as Park Seung-woo snapped.

“Appointments, what? Did I ever run away after saying I’d buy you food?”

“You ran away when we went to check the factory of the Home Appliance Division.”

“Hey, that’s because you didn’t give me time to go to the bathroom.”

“Didn’t you waste all the time at the rest area doing something else? We were already short on time, and you asked me to park the car on the shoulder. How does that make sense?”

Jang Junsik was very strict about time and rules, and he wouldn’t tolerate such exceptions.

He got angry as he remembered the situation, and Park Seung-woo, a free spirit, retorted.

“It’s because you kept giving me pressure and my stomach acted up. It’s all your fault.”

“Do you think I was comfortable? I was worried that you would do something in the car.”

“Wow! Look at this guy. Yoo-hyun, did you see that? He’s driving me crazy.”

“This is ridiculous.”

Yoo-hyun had nothing to say in this situation, and Jang Junsik brought up the past.

“Director, this is not the first time. When we went to a meeting together, Manager made a weird joke and ruined the mood.”

“Hey, tell the truth. I was trying to lighten up the atmosphere with humor, but you ruined it by being so serious.”

Park Seung-woo was very excited, but he poured the liquor well.

Glug glug.

Jang Junsik took the glass as if it was natural and answered stiffly.

“That’s why you should separate work and play.”

“Ha! You rigid kid. Nothing works out when I’m with you.”

“Just follow the rules properly.”

Jang Junsik drew a clear line and filled Park Seung-woo’s glass.

He was very polite in holding the bottle.

Just by looking at him, one could easily guess their relationship.

‘They secretly care for each other.’

They didn’t match in style, but they seemed to have built a friendship through hardships.

Yoo-hyun smiled and Park Seung-woo asked him indignantly.

“Yoo-hyun, what should I do with this kid?”

“Come on, Manager, you seem to like him, don’t you?”

“Me? Him?”

Park Seung-woo jumped up.

Kim Hyun-min, who was facing him, clicked his tongue.

“Geez, they’re so childish. I can’t stand it.”

“They’re better than the guy who flips coins.”

“What did you say?”

Park Seung-woo glared at him, but Jang Junsik rebutted for him.

“Manager, didn’t you always ask Park Manager to bet on heads or tails?”

“When did I?”

“When we had lunch in Gwacheon. And that night too.”

Jang Junsik’s words were the fuse.

“Hey, why do you keep biting me? That’s a habit I got from Kim Young-gil Manager…”

“It wasn’t me, it was Lee Deputy and Hwang Deputy…”

Park Seung-woo blamed Kim Young-gil, and Kim Young-gil blamed Lee Chanho and Hwang Dongsik.

It started as a bet, but it turned into a confession session and spread to the people around.

“No, it was Team Leader Choi and Yu Manager…”

“Jo Deputy took Saetbyeol and Yoonsoo…”

“That was Team Leader’s…”

Thanks to that, all kinds of stories popped up everywhere.

They were childish and trivial stories, but they made Yoo-hyun laugh.

“Hahaha!”

“What’s so funny?”

Choi Min-hee asked, and Yoo-hyun looked around the people and answered.

“I just thought, we had a lot of fun.”

“It was dynamic. Somehow, I think today’s dinner will be more dynamic.”

“Yes. I think I’ll be able to hear Team Leader’s shouting at the karaoke again.”

“Shouting? What are you talking about? People might misunderstand.”

Choi Min-hee pretended not to care and held out her glass.

Clank.

She smiled with her eyes as she put down her glass.

The dinner was as dynamic as Choi Min-hee predicted.

The people who had eaten well at the first round naturally headed to the second round at a pub.

They devoured all kinds of drinks and snacks and chatted non-stop, but they still seemed unsatisfied.

Even though it was past midnight, they all casually went to the karaoke.

“Choi Min-hee! Choi Min-hee!”

As soon as they entered the karaoke, the shouts for Choi Min-hee, the team leader, began.

She transformed as soon as she grabbed the microphone, as if to meet their expectations.

“Future Technology TF! Make some noise!”

She roared, leading the enthusiastic atmosphere, and the excited people jumped around and enjoyed the mood.

“Oooooh!”

Among them was Yoo-hyun, who had a tie on his head.

He had to go all out when he was having fun.

The heated dinner ended at the fourth round at a food cart.

The next morning, both organizations had a day off.

They had no guilt in resting, since Hong Ilseop, the executive director, had allowed it.

Yoo-hyun, who had relaxed with his colleagues at the sauna, had lunch and went up to the office.

Clank.

The office, which was always empty, welcomed Yoo-hyun as usual.

“Doesn’t it feel like coming home?”

“Haha! It’s comfortable because we’re the only ones using it.”

“It’s nice because it’s spacious.”

The office was cozy enough for Kwon Se-jung, the deputy, and Jang Junsik to agree.

“Well, then, shall we start the day leisurely?”

Yoo-hyun clapped his hands and made a capsule coffee.

Sssss.

He held a warm cup of coffee and enjoyed the view of the Han River in the afternoon.

Kwon Se-jung sat next to Yoo-hyun and whistled as he watered the grass doll.

“Look, it grew again. It’s fun to grow this.”

“You’ll become a gardener at this rate.”

“Haha! If I buy about ten thousand grass dolls, I can make a garden.”

Kwon Se-jung and Yoo-hyun exchanged silly conversations.

Tap tap tap.

Jang Junsik, who was always focused, raised his hand.

“Director.”

“What?”

“There’s a briefing for the future products in Anyang tomorrow.”

“What? They just mentioned it yesterday, and they’re already having a briefing?”

Kwon Se-jung, who was surprised, quickly approached Jang Junsik.

‘Hyun-woo, he’s already moving.’

Yoo-hyun smiled and remembered what Jeong Hyun-woo had said this morning.

-Brother, we need to move fast if we want to reorganize the new organization. I’ll get permission from the group leader and proceed right away.

Hong Ilseop, the executive director, had helped Jeong Hyun-woo’s transfer, but they weren’t close.

Nevertheless, Jeong Hyun-woo didn’t hesitate to use Hong Ilseop’s name and acted on it.

The result was on Jang Junsik’s monitor.

“Yes. It seems like the conversation is over, since the group leader is also referenced.”

“Wow! How did so many emails go back and forth?”

Kwon Se-jung, who was looking at the email thread, asked and Jang Junsik explained.

“All the staff and team leaders are included as recipients.”

“Who sent this?”

“I’ll check it right away.”

Scroll scroll.

Jang Junsik scrolled the mouse wheel and quickly found the first email.

Kwon Se-jung blinked his eyes when he saw the sender’s affiliation.

“Huh? Future Technology TF?”

“They must have changed their organization.”

Yoo-hyun answered calmly, and Kwon Se-jung asked in surprise.

“Is this person the expert you mentioned, Yoo-hyun?”

“Yes.”

“Jeong Hyun-woo? I’ve heard that name a lot…”

Kwon Se-jung tried to remember, and Jang Junsik searched out of curiosity.

He could check the profile right away through the Hansung Display internal system.

Click.

He pressed the button, and a man’s face appeared, with horn-rimmed glasses and gentle eyes.

He looked like a model student, but also delicate.

Kwon Se-jung clapped his hands.

“Ah! Jeong Hyun-woo! He’s our classmate.”

“You know him too?”

“Yeah. I greeted him a few times during the company training. He seemed younger than us.”

“Yeah. He’s a year younger.”

Jang Junsik’s eyebrows twitched as he heard Yoo-hyun’s answer.

He stared at Jeong Hyun-woo’s profile.

“Is he joining our team?”

“Yes. He’ll come up after the handover with his previous team. He’ll probably be a big help.”

“I see.”

Jang Junsik didn’t look very happy, unlike his words.

Kwon Se-jung also looked worried.

“Hmm, I wonder if he’ll be okay.”

“Why?”

“He was only nice as far as I remember.”

“He’s been working for five years now. He’s completely different from when he was a newbie.”

“He seems quick, judging by the emails he sent…”

Sending group emails to coordinate work was only one of Jeong Hyun-woo’s strengths.

-You’re the director, so you can move the group leader, right? If not, I’ll find another way.

As he had asked Yoo-hyun, Jeong Hyun-woo didn’t hesitate to use his superiors to get results.

He learned how to work with the highest efficiency while dealing with the development department leaders and executives.

Yoo-hyun briefly explained Jeong Hyun-woo’s detailed profile before sharing it.

“Hyun-woo was in the Mobile Development Planning Team, and what he did was…”

“He’s perfect for managing.”

“…”

Kwon Se-jung agreed positively, but he seemed uneasy.

Jang Junsik didn’t look very happy either.

Yoo-hyun knew that.

“Junsik, are you unhappy?”

“How, how could I be?”

He could have pretended otherwise, but Jang Junsik was not the type to lie.

“Is it because his rank is an employee?”

“…”

“Junsik, drop that prejudice. He just got promoted late because he was in a department that didn’t shine.”

“I’m sorry.”