Real Man

Translator: MarcTempest

Chapter 96

Yoo-hyun took the towel that Park Young Hoon handed him and went to the corner, regardless of what he said.

He took off his headgear and wiped his face, then gulped down some water.

“Ah.”

It was so refreshing.

He felt like the lump in his chest was gone too.

Park Young Hoon blinked his eyes and looked at Yoo-hyun.

He couldn’t believe that this was the same younger brother he knew.

Then Yoo-hyun asked him.

“Pant, pant, phew… Ah, hyung. What did Hyun Soo say earlier?”

“Huh? Oh, no. Nothing.”

What a ridiculous kid.

How could he say that in this situation?

Park Young Hoon couldn’t bring himself to say it.

The crowd around the ring quieted down as the other gym members came up and stopped Kang Dong Shik.

The arrogant Kang Dong Shik picked up his clothes and left the gym in a hurry.

“What a temperamental kid.”

The gym owner shook his head in disbelief.

He had a strong pride, so he must have been furious.

The gym owner turned his head and looked at the ring.

There was his beloved disciple, surrounded by people.

He called out to him in a loud voice.

“Yoo-hyun!”

He smiled brighter than ever.

The joy of victory was a powerful painkiller.

He didn’t feel any pain at all.

Rather, his heart was pounding.

But the next day.

Yoo-hyun felt like dying when he went to work in the morning.

His stomach was churning, and his back was hurting so much.

He finished the morning meeting and went to the medical center in the basement of the company.

The nurse who saw Yoo-hyun’s bare upper body was shocked and asked him.

“Did you get into a car accident?”

“No. I just exercised a bit.”

“Really? You have a nice body… But no. You shouldn’t exercise until you get bruises like this.”

“Yes. I won’t do it again.”

“Wait a minute.”

In the end, Yoo-hyun had to take some painkillers and apply patches all over his abdomen and ribs.

But his back pain was still there.

Assistant Manager Park Seung Woo gave him a worried look as he sat down at his desk.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. I’m fine.”

“What do you mean? It’s written all over your face. Don’t worry, buddy. I’ll work hard for you.”

“Thank you for saying that. But I really have back pain.”

“Really? Where? Let me see.”

There was no need to show him his patch-covered body in the office.

Yoo-hyun moved away from Park Seung Woo, who was approaching him.

“Ugh.”

Then the pain flared up again.

He definitely had to exercise moderately.

At that moment, Manager Choi Min Hee passed by him and looked at him with pity.

She bit her lower lip hard as she walked by.

She looked like she was about to cause trouble.

She must have misunderstood something for sure.

Yoo-hyun approached her first and asked her.

“Manager, do you want a cup of coffee?”

“Sure. Why not?”

Choi Min Hee nodded her head.

The outdoor terrace on the 20th floor.

Yoo-hyun went there with Choi Min Hee.

“This is nice.”

“Right? I come here sometimes with Assistant Manager Park.”

“I see. Is this like a hideout for male employees?”

“Sometimes female employees come here too.”

“Yeah?”

Choi Min Hee shrugged her shoulders and leaned on the railing.

She avoided the smoke as much as possible and went to the corner.

Then she looked at the distance.

She seemed to have a lot on her mind.

Yoo-hyun stood next to her in the same posture and waited for her.

After staring blankly for a while, she opened her mouth.

“They say that the sales team is going to negotiate with HyunIl Automobile directly.”

“Yes. I heard that too.”

“But it probably won’t work. They won’t give up what they’ve decided so easily.”

“Is that so?”

Yoo-hyun asked quietly and Choi Min Hee’s face darkened.

“Yeah. So I feel sorry for you. You worked hard for this.”

“…”

There was nothing to be sorry about.

The person who tried the hardest and felt the most regretful was Choi Min Hee herself.

But seeing her calm expression, he felt bitter inside.

What was the best way for her?

Was it enough to just crush Song Ho Chan, the deputy manager?

Yoo-hyun asked her.

“Manager Choi, do you want to win this contract?”

“…Of course I do.”

“Song Ho Chan interfered with it, right? Manager Kim said that if we expose him properly, we won’t be harmed.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

Choi Min Hee gave a faint smile.

She looked at the Gangnam skyline and said.

“If it was only me, maybe I could do that.”

“Then?”

“The development team that worked hard for me, the team members that trusted me, and you, Yoo-hyun.”

“…”

She turned her head and looked at Yoo-hyun.

“I can’t let them down. Even if I feel sorry for myself, I have to do it.”

“There will be another chance.”

“Next? I don’t know. Maybe…”

She didn’t seem to think so.

Her thin eyelids that trembled slightly told him so.

Yoo-hyun saw that and was sure.

It was not enough to just push down Song Ho Chan, who was temporarily subdued.

First, he had to make this deal a success.

That was the only way for Choi Min Hee to live.

And that was also the way for the third part.

Yoo-hyun took a step closer to her.

“Manager, would you try it if there was a way?”

“A way? To win the HyunIl Automobile deal?”

“Yes.”

“Is there such a thing?”

Choi Min Hee’s eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected words.

Yoo-hyun quickly gave his answer.

“What if we take over the navigation system ourselves?”

“You mean we should sell the navigation system too? Using another company’s product?”

“That’s right.”

“…”

For a moment, her expression showed a hint of disappointment.

She must have thought it was absurd.

But Yoo-hyun was serious.

“Ilsung Electronics’ navigation system won’t suit Hyun Il Automobile’s taste. They didn’t even have any development consultation.”

“That’s true.”

“It must be expensive too. If the conditions are right, why wouldn’t they use an alternative?”

“Even if we persuade the navigation company, it won’t be easy if HyunIl Automobile’s upper management has already agreed on something.”

Choi Min Hee shook her head, but Yoo-hyun didn’t give up.

“Then what if we attach a condition that they can’t refuse?”

“A condition?”

She tilted her head in confusion, and Yoo-hyun smiled.

…

A few days later.

Hyun Il Automobile lobby in Yeouido, Seoul.

Assistant Manager Jo Chi Hoon who had seen off the guests from Hansung Electronics, wiped the sweat on his forehead.

Assistant Manager Kwon Seung Bum who had attended the meeting with him, asked him.

He was talking about the people from Hansung Electronics’ sales team.

“They don’t seem to have any regrets at Hansung, do they? I thought they would argue a lot.”

“They probably want to finish it quickly since the upper management has already agreed on everything.”

“Is that so? To be honest, I didn’t expect them to be so considerate…”

“Stop thinking and sit down.”

Jo Chi Hoon sat down on a chair in the corner of the lobby.

Kwon Seung Bum, who sat across from him, still looked puzzled.

He couldn’t help it.

The place where they had to make excuses had turned into a place where they planned for the future.

People who didn’t know the internal situation couldn’t understand the atmosphere at all.

Kwon Seung Bum looked around and asked.

“But what about the last condition we mentioned?”

“Which one?”

“The one that said Hansung Electronics had to bring the navigation system too if they wanted to get the deal.”

“Oh, what about it?”

Kwon Seung Bum’s question was why Jo Chi Hoon had said that.

“You mentioned it quite specifically.”

“It’s just for making an excuse, what’s wrong with that?”

Even if the upper management had agreed on something, it was a big deal between two companies.

They needed a clear reason to change the contract.

The reason they used was not the navigation panel, but the navigation system itself.

It was a condition that Ilsung could meet, but Hansung couldn’t.

“Really? I was surprised by that.”

“Well, the team leader also agreed with it.”

Actually, it wasn’t Jo Chi Hoon’s idea in the first place.

It was something he heard from Han Yoo-hyun, an employee of Hansung Electronics, a few days ago.

-You said you wanted to make the navigation development a condition. Then you should specify it clearly. So that they can’t say anything else when you bring it later.

It sounded reasonable when he heard it.

It was something that both sides could benefit from, since Hansung could save face and Ilsung could get rid of them easily.

In fact, Hansung’s sales team also agreed without hesitation.

Kwon Seung Bum said with curiosity.

“But isn’t Hansung much better than Ilsung in that case? In terms of price and quality?”

“Of course they are. But can Hansung develop it in such a short time? They can’t even do it if they die and come back to life. That’s why Ilsung Electronics also accepted that condition.”

“What if they bring another company’s product?”

“Assistant Manager Kwon, Ilsung sells everything from parts to panels, but small and medium-sized companies are different. They have more demand than supply.”

In other words, it was impossible.

If it was easy, they wouldn’t have to deal with Ilsung Electronics in the first place.

“Right. We couldn’t do it either when we tried.”

“Yeah. They have no reason to come in with a completely submissive condition to Hyun Il Automobile.”

“Even if they do, they won’t be able to meet the deadline.”

“Exactly.”

Jo Chi Hoon said firmly.

There was no point in using Ilsung Electronics’ product, which was expensive and not up to their standards, if they could do that.

The upper management also agreed with that.

But that was almost impossible.

‘I wasted a good project for nothing.’

Jo Chi Hoon looked at the distance with a bitter expression.

Meanwhile, Yoo-hyun also had a lot of things going on.

Not only did he help Choi Min Hee find a navigation company, but he also had some changes outside of work.

He was feeling very bitter right now.

Assistant Manager Park Seung Woo who was walking down the hallway, snorted when he saw Yoo-hyun.

“Hey, you said you hurt your back, why did you drink?”

“Do I smell like alcohol? I shouldn’t.”

“I was called Dog Nose when I was young. Dog Nose.”

That didn’t seem like a nickname to be proud of.

Yoo-hyun tried to smile at Park Seung Woo.

He was smiling on the outside, but he was a mess inside.

It was all because of Kang Dong Shik, who had joined the gym recently.

-Brother! Let’s have a drink to celebrate our brotherhood. I’ll treat you generously.

-When did we become brothers?

-Didn’t we shake hands as brothers earlier? Come on, don’t refuse and let’s go.

He had changed his attitude towards Yoo-hyun completely.

He not only registered at the gym, but also approached Yoo-hyun first and asked for a handshake.

That was supposed to be a brotherly handshake.

He said he had to be brothers with him because he was the first person to dodge his punch properly.

Anyway, he was so persistent and friendly with his swollen face that Yoo-hyun couldn’t say no.

‘Thanks to him, I had a good time…’

“Ugh.”

His bruised parts still hurt, and his stomach was sour too.

He groaned and held his stomach, and Park Seung Woo clicked his tongue.

“Tsk tsk, come on. I’ll support you.”

Park Seung Woo thought Yoo-hyun had hurt his back from falling.

He offered his shoulder for that reason too.

“I’m fine.”

But he had to decline this.

It wasn’t just because his stomach was upset.

It was a busy office with many people passing by.

He wasn’t unable to walk, so he couldn’t accept such an embarrassing offer.

“Hey, just take it.”

“I’m fine, really.”

They walked while pushing and pulling each other, trying to support or refuse each other.