Real Man

Hyun Gyeong-yeong’s recommendation was immediately approved by Hong Il-seop, the executive director, who also rewarded him for his work.

He received a lot of praise within the organization.

He couldn’t help but compare it to his past, when he was ignored no matter how hard he tried.

Yoo-hyun smiled warmly at his colleague and junior, who had achieved everything with his own efforts.

“I should take care of you a little.”

-Then I’ll have to work harder.

“You’re doing well enough. It’s a pity that you came up a bit late, though.”

Although work was important, Yoo-hyun was secretly disappointed that Jeong Hyeon-woo couldn’t join them sooner.

But Jeong Hyeon-woo reassured him with a confident remark.

“That’s right. Let’s meet with Hyun Gyeong-yeong after the wedding.”

-He must be staying there. Then I’ll prepare a really nice place for you.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

-You can look forward to it. I’m an expert in this kind of thing.

“Haha! I guess I’ll have to skip a meal.”

Yoo-hyun replied cheerfully to Jeong Hyeon-woo’s playful words and hung up the phone.

Thump.

As soon as Yoo-hyun put his phone on the desk, it rang again.

Ring.

It was a text from Park Du-sik, the section chief, and it was full of determination.

-The preliminary preparations for the acquisition of Shinwa Semiconductor will be finished by next week. It’s time for the final showdown.

-Are you confident?

When Yoo-hyun asked jokingly, Park Du-sik’s answer came right away.

-Of course. Do you know how much preparation we’ve done for this? You can expect a lot.

Just like Jeong Hyeon-woo, Park Du-sik also told him to expect a lot.

‘He must have worked really hard.’

Yoo-hyun chuckled and was about to reply when he heard Kwon Se-jung, the assistant manager, speak loudly from the corner.

“Yoo-hyun, the Future Product Research Center sent us the negotiation results with Google.”

“What’s the content?”

“As expected. They agreed to proceed with the meeting with Shinwa Semiconductor right away.”

“Okay. Good job.”

After Kwon Se-jung, Jang Jun-sik also brought him good news.

“Director, the final approval for the equipment investment has been granted. I’ll inform the Future Product manager of the schedule.”

“Really? Things are going smoothly.”

“Yes. The organization, equipment, technology transfer, and semiconductor substrate infrastructure are all progressing smoothly.”

“Good job. We can finally take a breather.”

The Future Technology TF had been running around and doing all kinds of work.

They didn’t show it on the surface, but it wasn’t easy to do the groundwork from scratch.

Especially Kwon Se-jung, who had a lot of pressure, looked sentimental.

“I didn’t know if we could do all this with just the three, no, four of us.”

“To be precise, there were a lot of people who helped us.”

Jang Jun-sik followed up on Yoo-hyun’s words.

“It’s thanks to your good coordination, director.”

“No. You did especially well, Jun-sik. Of course, Se-jung did a great job too.”

Kwon Se-jung, who felt Yoo-hyun’s gaze, waved his hand awkwardly.

“Enough with the useless compliments. We should start preparing for the next step.”

“The next step?”

Kwon Se-jung’s strength was always looking ahead, and it showed in his words.

“Yeah. Isn’t this the start of the real game now?”

“That’s right. Let’s get started.”

Yoo-hyun answered with a smile on his lips.

Meanwhile, there was someone else who said the same thing as Yoo-hyun.

It was Lee Jun-il, the head of the Group Strategy Office.

“So they’re about to start now.”

“Yes. The Innovation Strategy Office seems to have finished the preliminary preparations for the acquisition of Shinwa Semiconductor.”

Wi Su-hyeok, the deputy head, reported the information he obtained from the additional network without any omission. Lee Jun-il smirked.

“Shin Gyeong-wook is really unique. After having fun with the LCD business division spin-off, he’s now going for a semiconductor company acquisition.”

“It seems like he’s gambling because of the frustrating situation.”

“If he succeeds, he’ll be doing what the chairman failed to do. He really has a talent for attracting attention.”

“Should we get ready to step on him?”

At Wi Su-hyeok’s firm question, Lee Jun-il nodded.

“Of course. How’s the SG Bio case going?”

“We’re preparing for it.”

“Huhu. Let’s show them how to do a corporate acquisition.”

Lee Jun-il finished the data combination and lifted one corner of his mouth.

He thought he had completely figured out his opponent, but he missed something.

It was the existence of Yoo-hyun, who was moving outside his sight.

While Lee Jun-il was confident, Yoo-hyun had finished his own preparations.

He didn’t have to do anything more, since the Future Product manager had a clear destination in mind and was moving towards it.

All he had to do was to check the direction of the ship from a distance.

Even if he just watched, this ship would catch two rabbits: the success of Hansung Display and the acquisition of Shinwa Semiconductor.

Maybe it was because the long preparation was successfully over?

Yoo-hyun felt a lot of ease in his heart.

Thanks to that, he was able to laugh freely at a wedding hall in Ulsan the next day.

“Hahaha! Really?”

“That’s right. When Maeng manager proposed to Ah-reum senior… Huh!”

Lee Jin-mok, the senior who was talking with a funny expression in the hall, was startled.

It was because of Maeng Gi-yong, the manager who suddenly popped his head in.

“Hey, senior, did you come to my wedding to make fun of me?”

“Of course not. I’m just telling the facts.”

“Then please don’t tell Yoo-hyun. It’s embarrassing.”

Yoo-hyun, who was next to him, pretended not to hear and shook his head.

“I didn’t hear anything. I definitely didn’t hear that you called another woman’s name when you proposed.”

“Ha ha. Ha. Ha.”

Maeng Gi-yong glared at Lee Jin-mok, who laughed awkwardly.

“Sigh! It wasn’t another woman, it was my younger sister’s name that slipped out. Anyway, stop it. If she hears that, it’ll be a second war.”

“I won’t say anything. You have to get married peacefully.”

Yoo-hyun kept his promise even though he was teasing.

But Jeong In-wook, the team leader who came up to them, was not that kind of style.

He crossed the line with a serious expression.

“No, maybe it’s better to break up now.”

“Team leader, is that what you should say now?”

Maeng Gi-yong, the manager, looked incredulous at Jeong In-wook, the team leader, who lowered his voice.

“Didn’t I tell you? Eleven years ago, I gave up my seat on the bus and caught my wife’s eye.”

“She said she fell for you because you looked handsome respecting the elderly.”

Maeng Gi-yong nodded, and Jeong In-wook replied with a nostalgic look in his eyes.

“Yeah. I should have never given up my seat then.”

“Hahaha! What are you talking about?”

Yoo-hyun shrugged his shoulders at the absurd remark.

But Jeong In-wook was still serious.

“Think carefully before you enter the hall. Marriage is a man’s grave…”

“Sister-in-law!”

But as soon as Lee Jin-mok, the senior, raised his hand, Jeong In-wook’s mouth shut.

Then he quickly backed away from the woman who came up holding a child.

“Yikes! Hey, forget what I said. Okay? I’m going.”

“Puhahaha!”

Everyone laughed at the ridiculous scene.

They had a lot of reasons to laugh for a while, but they behaved themselves in the hall.

The bride and groom stood side by side in a solemn atmosphere.

The officiant was the professor of the bride and groom, who graduated from the same graduate school.

“The groom, Maeng Gi-yong, and the bride, Jeong Ah-reum, are like water molecules formed by the combination of oxygen and hydrogen. They will create a family…”

As expected of an engineering professor, he gave a speech using molecular formulas instead of clichés.

Yoo-hyun accepted it without any fuss, but the people next to him who were from the science department did not.

The first one to open his mouth was Kim Seon-dong, the senior.

“Isn’t it one oxygen and two hydrogens?”

“That’s right. Two is correct. Does that mean there are two women?”

“Ah-reum senior could be the oxygen.”

Lee Jin-mok followed up with Min Su-jin, the senior.

Yoo-hyun was amazed at the people who were too serious.

“What are you talking about? There are only two people.”

“Right! Maybe Ah-reum senior is pregnant. Ouch!”

At that moment, Jeong In-wook, the team leader who was clapping in the back seat, got hit on the back.

“Lee. You’re the team leader and you can’t say anything decent.”

“It’s not just me.”

“Be quiet.”

“…”

At his wife’s charismatic words, Jeong In-wook bowed his head in a hurry.

The others covered their mouths at the unfamiliar sight of the team leader.

“Hahaha.”

But they couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

Among them, Yoo-hyun’s shoulders shook the most.

Snap.

Yoo-hyun took a group photo with a bright smile and joined the old stories while eating at the restaurant.

“Remember when we went on a picnic…”

“Lee Jin-mok senior fell into the sea…”

“He drank so much…”

They had so many memories together that they had a lot to talk about.

Lee Jin-mok wondered about this part.

“Come to think of it, you’ve only been with us for a year, Yoo-hyun. Why does it feel like you’ve done so much?”

“It’s like the army. You remember a lot, right? That’s why.”

Son Mu-gil, the senior, answered, and Yoo-hyun tilted his head.

“What army?”

“You know. When Han, the director, came and we had a hard time. That’s why you can’t forget.”

“Hahaha! That’s right. Yoo-hyun suffered a lot because of that jerk.”

“Anyone who hears that will misunderstand.”

Yoo-hyun drew a line at Lee Jin-mok’s words.

Then, the bride and groom who finished the pyebaek came out wearing hanbok.

They seemed to have heard everything, as Maeng Gi-yong smiled.

“There’s no misunderstanding. Of course, thanks to you, we’re doing well.”

“That’s right. Our team would have fallen apart without you, Yoo-hyun.”

Jeong Ah-reum, who had her makeup done beautifully, confirmed it.

It was too much, so Yoo-hyun asked back.

“Senior, isn’t falling apart a bit too much?”

“Not at all. You don’t know how grateful I am to you, Yoo-hyun.”

“Why? What did Han, the director, do?”

When Jeong In-wook, the team leader, was curious, Jeong Ah-reum showed him her phone.

“He did something amazing. I can’t even imagine how touched I was…”

“What is it?”

The people got up from their seats and looked at the phone screen.

There were jerky, rice cakes, traditional sweets, pyebaek liquor, chestnuts, and jujube pouches.

“Pyebaek food?”

“Why is it so fancy?”

“The size is no joke either.”

The food in the picture was not the usual pyebaek food level.

The colorful traditional sweets were stacked like a three-tier cake, and the jujubes were arranged in beautiful flower shapes.

The jerky, which was dripping with oil, had colored bands around each piece.

It didn’t look like something prepared by the wedding hall.

Jeong Ah-reum proudly told them.

“Awesome, right? Yoo-hyun’s mother made it for us. My mother-in-law was so touched when she saw it.”

“Right. She was really thankful.”

Maeng Gi-yong also praised Yoo-hyun for once.

Yoo-hyun gave the credit to the person who deserved it.

“It’s not me, it’s my mother. She said she owed you so much, Ah-reum senior, and she really wanted to repay you.”

“I just asked her to send me some traditional sweets as a gift, but I never expected her to do this much for me. Thank you so much. Please tell her for me.”

“Okay. I will. She’ll be very happy.”

“No, I’ll contact her myself. Thank you.”

Jeong Ah-reum thanked him several times and went to another table.

Even after that, she bowed her head whenever she met his eyes.

Maybe it was because he was receiving gratitude on behalf of his mother, but he felt more proud.