Real Man

Chapter 57

The LCD business unit was a representative example.

Especially the mobile group, which diversified into mobile phones, navigation, MP3, PDA, game consoles and so on, had the most severe situation.

Chief Choi Min-hee, Assistant Manager Kim Young-gil, and Assistant Manager Park Seung-woo had the same problem.

Yoo-hyun quietly picked up a pen.

On a blank sheet of paper that had nothing decided yet, Yoo-hyun calculated and planned out one schedule after another.

It was not one schedule, but the entire schedule for the three-part project.

He added his imagination to what he had seen and experienced so far.

He boldly discarded what he couldn’t do and focused on what he could do.

The short-term schedule of three months was divided into smaller parts, and the projects that had been playing separately began to connect.

The popularization of full-touch phones, the success story of Apple phones, the popularization of smartphones, and the huge trend of display development switching to OLED were things that Yoo-hyun could do because he had experienced them directly or indirectly.

If he could just hold on to the center and endure, the efforts of the three parts now had to shine.

Yoo-hyun didn’t want much.

He had to make sure that the precious people who worked with him didn’t lose what they had accumulated to the wrong people.

That was enough for him.

Swoosh.

Yoo-hyun circled the word ‘contest’ at the beginning.

One of the roles of the product planning team was to open a contest and collect ideas from the development team.

This time, he had to challenge the opposite way.

And it was a contest held by the mobile phone business unit, not the LCD business unit.

The mobile phone business unit.

It was one of Hansung Electronics’ main business units along with the home appliance business unit.

They were producers who made mobile phones, sellers who sold them to consumers, and major customers of the LCD business unit.

In other words, from the perspective of the LCD business unit, the mobile phone business unit was ‘the boss’.

He actually felt the difference in status when he met them at the conference table.

It was hard to think that they would easily accept an idea from the LCD business unit.

They said anyone from Hanseong Electronics could apply, but there had never been anyone from another business unit who won an award.

But he couldn’t just suck his thumb.

Yoo-hyun thought of the people he knew in the mobile phone business unit.

He knew developers and planners who were growing into core lines, but they still didn’t have much power.

He wanted to use the chaebol family, but it was almost impossible for Yoo-hyun, who had just become a new employee.

He had to pass by his own strength in the end.

His fighting spirit burned more than despair.

“That sounds impossible.”

To be honest, he had something to believe in.

The upcoming European exhibition was at the end of November.

If Yoo-hyun’s memory was correct, ‘that thing’ happened around then.

If he could pass the first round of the contest, there would be enough possibility.

It was close to gambling, but it was absolutely necessary to set a focal point.

‘And another important thing is…’

That’s when it happened.

Assistant Manager Park Seung-woo’s voice scattered Yoo-hyun’s thoughts.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m just organizing my thoughts.”

“Are you doing well with OJT?”

Yoo-hyun leaned his shoulder over the partition and looked at Assistant Manager Park Seung-woo who stuck his face out.

Then Assistant Manager Park Seung-woo looked sorry.

“I’m sorry I can’t take care of you. You don’t have much time left for the seminar.”

“You’re busy. It’s okay. The materials you sent me last time are very helpful.”

“That’s good. And congratulations.”

“What for?”

When Yoo-hyun looked puzzled, Assistant Manager Park Seung-woo smiled broadly.

“Your first paycheck. Didn’t you check it on the site?”

“No. Not yet.”

“Hey, what’s more important than that? Check it out quickly.”

He seemed to be doing something much more important just now?

Yoo-hyun secretly chuckled.

He was working on a schedule that his life depended on. 

There was no way Assistant Manager Park Seung-woo would know that. 

He urged him to go in as if he wanted him to go in quickly.

He didn’t need to check it out, but he thought he should respond to his expectations and checked his salary.

It seemed like two zeros were missing from what he had checked a while ago.

Assistant Manager Park Seung-woo saw Yoo-hyun chuckle and said.

“Feels good, right? What’s there for a company employee? It’s fun to live on the salary you get and spend.”

“That’s right.”

“Did you prepare a gift for your parents?”

Yoo-hyun nodded at Assistant Manager Park Seung-woo’s question.

“Yes. Of course.”

“What is it? Underwear? Money?”

“Well?”

Yoo-hyun smiled quietly at Assistant Manager Park Seung-woo who was curious and nagging.

….

After work, it was the weekend, so he got on the bus and contacted his mother.

“Yes, Mom. I’m leaving now.”

-Be careful. Wear your seat belt. Close your eyes a little. You must be tired.

“I will. See you soon.”

He finished the call with a bright voice.

He put the paper bag he was holding in the overhead storage bin.

It was quite bulky because he packed a lot of things.

It was a gift he bought with his first paycheck.

How would the people who received this react?

He finally gave back the heart he couldn’t take care of in the past.

Yoo-hyun leaned back on his seat with high expectations.

The vibration of the bus felt good.

When he got off the bus, it was already time for the sun to set.

When he arrived in front of his house, he opened the front door.

Creak.

The door hadn’t even opened yet, but he heard his mother’s welcoming voice.

“Oh, Yoo-hyun.”

“Did you have a good time?”

“Of course, I had a good time. How’s work?”

His mother, who came out to greet him in a hurry, asked him how he was doing again, which she had asked several times on the phone.

He felt his mother’s heart that worried about her son.

“It’s fine. The seniors are taking good care of me.”

“Ho ho, I’m glad. Let’s go in. You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”

“No. I ate.”

“Then. Let’s eat a little bit.”

As soon as he stepped on the living room floor, his father came out of his room.

He already knew he was coming, but he pretended to come out at the right time.

Yoo-hyun smiled brightly and said.

“Dad, I’m here.”

“Hmm. Yeah.”

He still answered briefly.

It was still awkward, but it was a huge improvement compared to the past when he couldn’t even face him at all.

“Here you go.”

When Yoo-hyun handed over the paper bag, his mother asked.

“But what is this?”

“It’s a gift for my first paycheck.”

“Didn’t you say you got paid then?”

“That was only part of it. I got the full amount this time. Open it and see.”

“Oh, why did you buy all this? You didn’t have to.”

She said that, but her expression was full of anticipation.

Her hand was already on the paper bag.

When Yoo-hyun chuckled, his father clicked his tongue.

“Geez, what a fuss…”

“Stay still.”

“…”

Huh?

Yoo-hyun tilted his head at the strange atmosphere between them.

His mother snapped at his father, who was domineering.

His father bowed his head meekly as if he had committed a crime.

His father was not the kind of person Yoo-hyun knew.

“Honey.”

“Hmm?”

He answered right away when she called him. 

That was strange too.

“Open your gift yourself.”

“Ugh, give it to me.”

He obediently took the box that his mother handed him. 

That was strange too.

It was definitely different from the past that Yoo-hyun remembered, or even a while ago.

His mother, who had given in to his father a lot, slowly tore off the wrapping.

Squeak.

As soon as she saw the brand logo drawn on the surface of the box, a smile appeared on her lips.

“Oh, it’s clothes. I wonder what kind of sense our Yoo-hyun showed this time?”

“Open it and see.”

“Oh? What is this?”

Her eyes widened as she opened the box.

There were two thin fluorescent-colored hiking jackets wrapped well in the box with ribbons diagonally attached.

Not one, but two.

“They’re the same color.”

“Yes. I matched them for you and dad as a couple.”

He chose them after hearing that they had taken up hiking as a hobby recently.

But his mother’s expression was not good.

“Don’t you like it?”

“Huh? I do. I like it.”

“It may look too bright, but this is the trend these days.”

“Yes. It’s very pretty. Thank you, Yoo-hyun. Ho ho ho.”

But her laughter didn’t sound good either.

His father turned his gaze away.

Was there a problem?

“Then. If you wear them together and go hiking, people will be jealous of you.”

“…”

Suddenly, his mother frowned and glared at his father.

His father seemed to have a lot to say too, but he remained silent.

Then, a whiskey came out of the gift box that his father opened.

It was for his father who liked alcohol.

“I wanted to have a drink with you.”

“Hmm, we should.”

His father’s answer was barely over when his mother’s answer fell.

“No way. Put it back.”

“Ugh.”

At that sound, his father couldn’t say anything back.

Was there something wrong with alcohol?

His mother’s strong attitude and his father’s cowering appearance were awkward.

Ah!

He had a hunch and quickly asked.

“Did you get your health check results?”

“…”

His father answered with silence to Yoo-hyun’s question.

A moment later.

His mother started to complain after sitting down from then on.

“I can’t live, really.”

“Why?”

“Do you know what happened to him because of alcohol?”

His father tried to go out and smoke because he was frustrated, but he got scolded by his mother again.

“Don’t smoke either! Your lungs are not good either.”

“…I know.”

In the end, his father quietly went into his room.

Apparently, his liver function test came out bad in the health checkup.

But could he suddenly shrink like that because of that?

“I told him to drink less so many times.”

“Is it really bad?”

He was relieved to see that it wasn’t serious when he looked at it with a worried heart.

He just had to reduce alcohol a little bit and exercise, and he would be fine enough.

The doctor’s opinion said so too.

It was just that his father dug his own grave by making a bet with his mother.

“But he came home drunk again…”

“Dad did wrong.”

As he listened to his mother’s story, a smile appeared on his lips.

The clear thing was that his mother took over the house after this incident.

The problem was not his mother’s hiking jacket, but the couple’s hiking jacket.

His mother’s complaint didn’t stop there.

“That’s not all. I understand that he drinks often because he’s doing well at work. But it’s not right to drink and black out and have me drag him home. Isn’t it?”

“That happened too?”

He sighed at the fact that he didn’t know.

“Yes. It happened more than once or twice. Ugh… When I went to say something, he yelled at me. He said he was healthy.”

“Then what?”

“Then we made a bet. If it’s bad, he’ll quit drinking. But look at this. It shows clearly in the numbers.”

His mother took out the health checkup result sheet from the corner.

Yoo-hyun looked at it with a worried heart, but fortunately it wasn’t a serious level.

He just had to cut down on alcohol and exercise, and he would be fine enough.

The doctor’s opinion also said so.

It was just that his father dug his own grave by making a bet with his mother.