New Employee Kim Chul-soo

Chapter 10

Kim Chul-soo finished his meal, went into his room, turned on the computer, and launched the stock trading program.

He earned 1 million won by singing at Blue House for two days.

After spending 400,000 won, he had 600,000 won left.

His new employee salary of 1.7 million won came in this morning.

He opened a stock account during his lunch break and deposited 2 million won.

300,000 won would be enough for his monthly allowance.

He placed pre-orders for Hanjin Shipping, Hyundai Merchant Marine, and STX Shipbuilding.

He knew that the trade volume would grow rapidly, but he didn’t know which stocks would rise or by how much.

He would buy a house when he made money, send Young-soo to college, and this time, he would date and get married.

Kim Chul-soo briefly indulged in a fantasy before closing the stock trading program and opening a PowerPoint window.

He reviewed the completed presentation for the 6-Sigma presentation once more.

The topic was about the impact of the internet on general trading companies and how their business structure should be transformed.

This presentation won the grand prize at the 6-Sigma presentation held for assistant managers and section chiefs the following year.

As many export and import companies around the world established websites and used them to explain their products and businesses, the role of general trading companies began to diminish.

The documents in a trader’s briefcase were no longer top-secret information that was difficult to find but rather trivial information that could be easily found on their website.

Kim Chul-soo added more realistic examples and solutions based on this observation.

He wanted to stimulate the sensitive antennae of the management.

‘But can I really win first place just because the topic is excellent?’

Kim Chul-soo faced a fundamental question.

The company’s decision-making structure was fundamentally a power game.

The reason Hwang Dae-hoon from the HR team could win first place was that he belonged to the HR team, which was under the Chairman’s protection.

However, this didn’t mean that the topic Hwang Dae-hoon presented was bad.

It was a very realistic topic.

‘What if Hwang Dae-hoon’s topic was incomparably worse than mine?’

Kim Chul-soo briefly ran a simulation in his head with that question.

The executives who were not involved in the power game would likely take his place.

However, if a poor topic won first place, those executives would likely raise objections.

After the simulation, Kim Chul-soo nodded.

‘Hmm. Then it should work.’

Kim Chul-soo opened a new window and started creating a PowerPoint presentation at a rapid pace.

******

“You made a bet with President Yoo Ji-hoon?”

Managing Director Choi Young-joon, who briefly visited the Chairman’s office for a performance report, was momentarily surprised by Chairman Choi Kyung-hoon’s words.

‘Is that even reported?’

“Yes, Father.”

“Do you have a chance of winning?”

“I’m doing my best.”

“You made a foolish bet.”

“Father…”

Choi Kyung-hoon looked out the window and then sat on the sofa.

“How many times have I told you to avoid a fight if there’s something you don’t know before you bet on anything? Have you already forgotten?”

“No, sir.”

“But you won a golf bet where the prize was just lunch, and then you made another bet with an employee’s promotion on the line without knowing anything?”

“You never know until you try.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. I put you there to learn from President Yoo, but you ended up in a rivalry. If only I had one son like President Yoo, I would hand over the company in an instant.”

Choi Young-joon clenched his teeth at Choi Kyung-hoon’s words.

“The player on your side is quite incompetent.”

Indeed, it was his mistake to readily agree to the bet without checking Ahn Jeong-gyu’s new employee.

As Choi Young-joon silently lowered his head, Choi Kyung-hoon spoke.

“It seems you know what you did wrong. How’s Hye-na doing?”

“She’s doing alright.”

“I sent her abroad for early education because she was bright since she was young, but what she’s doing is tsk. Still, seeing her as the only one in the family taking care of her youngest brother, you have the best heart. You’ll be in charge of my ancestral rites later.”

Choi Young-joon’s face turned serious at the mention of ancestral rites.

“What are you talking about? You’re still healthy.”

“That’s because you’re the most humane. Wouldn’t some of your brothers want me to die soon?”

“That’s not true, Father.”

“How nice it would be if you had the skills to match your warm heart!”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what? Sorry. Go and learn properly.”

“Yes, sir.”

“If you’re done, you can go.”

“Yes, Father.”

After Choi Young-joon left, Choi Kyung-hoon clicked his tongue.

‘If he were born into an ordinary family, he would have been a great son, but as the son of a chaebol family, he’s not even close. Hey! You punk! Get your act together!’

******

Thursday.

12:50 PM.

“Team Leader, I’ll be attending the training.”

“Okay, listen carefully.”

“Yes, Team Leader.”

“You’ll be in trouble if you answer half-heartedly.”

When Ahn Jeong-gyu glared at him, Kim Chul-soo quickly lowered his head.

“I’ll listen very carefully.”

“I’ll be watching you, Chul-soo.”

“Yes, Team Leader.”

He didn’t expect the Team Leader to be so interested in the new employee training.

‘He must have known I was sitting in the back. I should go to the front and pretend to listen attentively today.’

As he was going out, Jang Yoo-mi called out to him.

“Mr. Kim Chul-soo! Let’s go together.”

“Oh? Yes.”

As Jang Yoo-mi quickly caught up to him, Kim Chul-soo slowed down his pace.

“Have you decided on your topic?”

“Yes, roughly.”

“The presentation is next Friday, right?”

“Yes, that’s what I heard.”

‘Ah, I’m so excited and nervous. What will happen?’

“Judging by your expression, it seems like you’ll win first place, Ms. Jang.”

“Really?”

She smiled as if she was pleased.

“Have you ever been to a place called Blue House?”

Kim Chul-soo’s heart skipped a beat at her question.

‘Did she find out?’

“N……o.”

“Right? There’s no way Kim Chul-soo, who lives for the company, would have gone there. I went there last Friday, and there was someone who sang incredibly well.”

“Someone who sang incredibly well?”

“Yes. I thought a really talented singer had come.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Do you want to go together sometime?”

“Huh?”

When Kim Chul-soo looked surprised, Jang Yoo-mi waved her hands.

“Oh, never mind. I just blurted it out.”

“Ah, okay.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Jang Yoo-mi’s face flushed as she kept talking, and Kim Chul-soo scratched his head, saying he understood.

‘I’m the singer there, so I can’t go with you.’

After the 50-minute lecture.

Break time.

Hwang Dae-hoon approached Kim Chul-soo, who was sitting in the front row.

“Mr. Kim Chul-soo?”

“Yes?”

“How’s it going?”

“I’m working hard.”

“Yes, you have to at least work hard if you don’t know much.”

‘Why did I just realize this jerk is such a prick?’

Thinking that, Kim Chul-soo nodded with a friendly smile.

Hwang Dae-hoon looked at Kim Chul-soo and thought.

‘He’s definitely an idiot. He doesn’t even know I’m insulting him.’

Jang Yoo-mi, who was sitting next to Kim Chul-soo, said.

“Aren’t you being too harsh, Mr. Hwang?”

“Oh, am I? I must have made a mistake.”

Kim Chul-soo shook his head, looking at Hwang Dae-hoon.

“It’s okay.”

Hwang Dae-hoon chuckled inwardly and asked politely.

“Today’s the day we submit our topics for next week’s presentation. What topic are you thinking of?”

Kim Chul-soo took out a stack of printouts from his file folder.

Then, he glared slightly at Hwang Dae-hoon and said.

“Since it’s a free topic…”

“That’s right.”

“It’s about the job rotation system.”

Hwang Dae-hoon’s narrow eyes widened at Kim Chul-soo’s words.

“What? What does that mean?”

Hwang Dae-hoon’s loud voice drew the attention of the people around him to Kim Chul-soo.

“What’s going on?”

Jang Yoo-mi, who was listening nearby, also widened her eyes.

“That seems to be related to HR work.”

Jang Yoo-mi glanced sideways at the stack of printouts Kim Chul-soo was holding.

“That’s right.”

Hwang Dae-hoon, looking bewildered, asked Kim Chul-soo.

“Could I take a look at that?”

“Of course.”

As Kim Chul-soo handed the stack of papers to Hwang Dae-hoon, Hwang Dae-hoon checked the title and quickly flipped through the pages, skimming the content.

As Hwang Dae-hoon frantically looked through the documents, Jang Yoo-mi nudged Kim Chul-soo’s arm.

“Why would you show him that?”

“It’s okay. I have to get my colleagues’ attention somehow.”

Jang Yoo-mi bit her lip and shook her head, looking frustrated at the smiling Kim Chul-soo.

‘Idiot.’

However, Hwang Dae-hoon’s lips were trembling.

It was completely identical to the topic he had been working on for three weeks, meticulously coached by his HR superiors. Even the process improvement suggestions were exactly the same.

He could only conclude that Kim Chul-soo had copied his work.

However, his own work was just scribbles that hadn’t even been organized into a PowerPoint presentation, while Kim Chul-soo’s was a nearly perfect document.

“Did you submit this…?”

Hwang Dae-hoon asked, and Kim Chul-soo nodded.

“I submitted it to the instructor as soon as I arrived at 1 o’clock.”

“Argh!”

Everyone looked at Hwang Dae-hoon as he screamed.

One of his colleagues, holding onto the staggering Hwang Dae-hoon, asked.

“What’s wrong, Dae-hoon?”

“N….nothing….. nothing..”

However, Hwang Dae-hoon stumbled back to his seat.

Since his topic had been stolen, he had to start from scratch, but there wasn’t enough time.

As Hwang Dae-hoon sat blankly, staring at the chalkboard, Jang Yoo-mi asked Kim Chul-soo.

“What’s going on?”

However, Kim Chul-soo shook his head with a clueless expression.

“I don’t know, maybe he’s not feeling well.”

Jang Yoo-mi looked at Hwang Dae-hoon and Kim Chul-soo again and tilted her head.

It was a situation she couldn’t comprehend.

Looking at the file folder on Kim Chul-soo’s desk, Jang Yoo-mi said.

‘Just how good is it?’

“Could I take a quick look too?”

Kim Chul-soo smiled, seeing the competitive fire burning in Jang Yoo-mi’s eyes.

“Of course.”

I have a good move.

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

Ahn Jeong-gyu ended the call and went up to the rooftop.

Park Joon-hyung was already there.

“You’re going to act like this?”

Park Joon-hyung growled as soon as he saw Ahn Jeong-gyu.

“What did I do?”

“You bastard. How could you copy our team’s topic? You stole it, didn’t you? Our data!”

Ahn Jeong-gyu couldn’t understand what Park Joon-hyung was saying.

He had never directly intervened in the new employee training.

What data did he steal?

“Are you picking a fight with me?”

As Ahn Jeong-gyu rolled up his sleeves, Park Joon-hyung took a step back.

They had a history of three fights in the company, and the score was tied at 3-3.

“Hey? What are you doing?”

“Why? You wanna grab my collar? I’ll throw you to the ground.”

As Ahn Jeong-gyu growled, Park Joon-hyung stepped back again.

He realized that this wasn’t inside the company, but on the deserted rooftop.

As Park Joon-hyung retreated once more, Ahn Jeong-gyu continued.

“So, you’re saying our newbie copied your newbie’s topic, and you’re yelling at me about it?”

“Who else would do such a thing if it wasn’t you? Your stupid newbie would never come up with the topic the HR team worked so hard on….”

“What? The topic the HR team worked so hard on? You know that’s a foul, right?”

As Ahn Jeong-gyu grabbed Park Joon-hyung’s collar, Park Joon-hyung shook off Ahn Jeong-gyu’s hand and said.

“Do you have proof?”

“What?”

“Do you have proof?”

Ahn Jeong-gyu was so enraged by Park Joon-hyung’s sly face that he wanted to punch him, but he didn’t.

Even if they fought, using violence meant losing the game.

“Why would a Sales team newbie make a presentation using the HR team’s topic? Does that make any sense?”

“How would I know? I haven’t been paying attention to what he’s doing.”

“Hahaha! Are you playing dumb?”

“What?”

“You bastard. Even without that topic, it’s a piece of cake to beat your idiot newbie. When I get promoted to executive, you’ll be the first one I fire. You scammer!”

As Ahn Jeong-gyu raised his fist, unable to contain his anger, Park Joon-hyung quickly ran away.

“Phew!!!”

Ahn Jeong-gyu shouted a few times, smoked a couple of cigarettes to suppress his boiling anger, and went down from the rooftop.

“Kim Chul-soo.”

Kim Chul-soo involuntarily tensed up and stood up at the low voice.

“Yes, Team Leader.”

“Follow me.”

Kim Chul-soo followed Ahn Jeong-gyu into the conference room.

Ahn Jeong-gyu, after taking a deep breath, asked.

“I heard you copied the topic the HR team newbie was working on. What’s going on?”

The moment he heard Ahn Jeong-gyu’s words, Kim Chul-soo quickly grasped how things had unfolded.

The only person who could spout such nonsense while making Team Leader Ahn this angry was probably Manager Park Joon-hyung.

“It wasn’t copied. The topic was just the same.”

“The topic was the same?”

“Yes. I already finished making the presentation materials and submitted them, but Employee Hwang Dae-hoon hasn’t even started. If it was copied, it would have been the HR team, not me.”

“What? Really?”

“Yes. All my classmates in the training saw it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Team Leader-nim.”

“But why the HR team’s topic? Not the sales team’s topic?”

“It was a free topic, so I was looking for materials online and found a good one, so I made it based on that for now.”

“The materials you made based on the internet are the same as the materials the HR team painstakingly created?”

“Yes. It seems that way.”

Ahn Jeong-gyu chuckled in disbelief at Kim Chul-soo’s words.

“The HR team guys didn’t painstakingly create it, they copied it from the internet. And they submitted that as their interim report?”

“Yes. Team Leader-nim.”

“Chul-soo!”

“Yes. Team Leader-nim.”

“I told you to do it properly! Is copying like that doing it properly? Huh!”

Ahn Jeong-gyu yelled, and Kim Chul-soo immediately replied.

“So, I made a new one.”

“What? You made another one?”

“Yes. Team Leader-nim. That one is made from the sales team’s perspective.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Bring it to me now.”

“Okay.”

“Ah, and the one with the HR team’s topic too.”

“Yes. Team Leader-nim.”

Kim Chul-soo immediately took out his USB, printed one copy each, and quickly entered the meeting room.

Ahn Jeong-gyu snatched the materials Kim Chul-soo handed him and meticulously checked both documents.

‘What? Both of these look good?’

Ahn Jeong-gyu glared at Kim Chul-soo again as if he was about to stab him and then flipped through a few more pages.

Each page clearly conveyed the intended message, and the font size, number of characters, composition, and layout were all ideal.

As always, there were no typos, and it was perfect enough to be taken directly to the Chairman.

Ahn Jeong-gyu looked at Kim Chul-soo with a bewildered look again and then closed the two documents.

“Did you really make this?”

“Yes. Team Leader-nim.”

‘This is the kind of thinking that you would expect from someone at the Assistant Manager level or higher…..’

Manager Pyo Il-soo or Assistant Manager Lee Jun-hak couldn’t have helped him, and he himself had tried not to get caught, so he either copied it directly from the internet or really made it himself.

‘I’ll have to search for the sales team related content online.’

Team Leader Ahn Jeong-gyu organized his thoughts and spoke to Kim Chul-soo.

“The sales team related topic is good too, why did you submit a different one?”

“Well, it was a free topic, and since we can change the topic at any time, I was going to look into the sales team related topic a little more. If Team Leader-nim wants the sales team topic, I’ll go and change the submitted documents right away.”

Ahn Jeong-gyu stared at Kim Chul-soo quietly for the time it took to drink a sip of tea.

‘If Kim Chul-soo changes the topic, the HR team guys will just take it, right? It’s a good topic just by looking at it. I can’t let them have it.’

“No! You said you can change the topic at any time?”

“Yes. Team Leader-nim.”

“Then change it the day before the presentation.”

“Huh?”

Kim Chul-soo’s eyes widened and he was about to ask what he meant, but he had a different thought in his mind.

‘As expected, Team Leader Ahn knows something.’

“Don’t ask why and just do as I say. Those arrogant HR team guys need to suffer a bit.”

Ahn Jeong-gyu continued with a stern expression.

“Yes. I understand.”

“Don’t tell anyone about what we talked about here until the presentation is over.”

“Yes. Team Leader-nim!”

“Alright, you can go now.”

As Kim Chul-soo left the meeting room, Ahn Jeong-gyu chuckled.

‘Joon-hyung, our new recruit is no ordinary guy. I think you’re going to be in trouble this time.’

Ahn Jeong-gyu smiled pleasantly again.

He felt that if Kim Chul-soo could properly present that content, he wouldn’t just beat the HR team’s new recruit, but he could even take first place.

It was that good.

‘Oh! My cute little guy.’