New Employee Kim Chul-soo

Chapter 31

In the evening, Kim Chul-soo left the company and headed to Blue House. Seeing Choi Hye-na, whose atmosphere had completely changed, he greeted her first.

“Did something happen?”

Choi Hye-na answered, enduring the discomfort of the suit clinging tightly to her body.

“How is it? Does it suit me?”

She usually wore free bohemian-style clothes, but wearing a tight-fitting suit seemed awkward and uncomfortable to move in.

Especially the decadent hairstyle……

Kim Chul-soo knew that when women suddenly changed their atmosphere, something big must have happened.

He remembered rejecting her proposal yesterday.

‘It can’t be because of me, can it?’

“You look good in anything, CEO-nim.”

Choi Hye-na smiled brightly at his words.

“Actually, I used to dress like this. I just tried a change, and it’s okay, right?”

“Yes. It’s really nice.”

As Kim Chul-soo nodded and smiled, Choi Hye-na’s heart felt warm.

‘As expected, he liked this style. While talking…… He’s smiling after a long time. This person.’

Choi Hye-na was satisfied with this level of conversation.

Just because there’s a goalkeeper doesn’t mean a goal won’t be scored, but clinging to someone with a girlfriend was something her pride would never allow.

And she vowed that one day, she would make Kim Chul-soo confess his feelings for her.

“But you seem a little uncomfortable.”

“It’s because I’ve been wearing comfortable clothes for so long. I need to get used to it.”

“I see.”

Kim Chul-soo sighed lightly inwardly.

It seemed it wasn’t because of what happened yesterday.

Perhaps a light deviation?

“Sit down. I’ll fix your hair. There’s bellflower root tea in the thermos in front of you. They say it’s good for protecting your throat.”

“Ah. Thank you.”

******

Sunday evening.

Lee Jun-hak quickly dealt with calls from clients and buyers and approached Jang Hye-young, who was buying popcorn.

His parents-in-law had come over to look after Ji-hoon, and Lee Jun-hak had decided to watch a movie with his wife after a long time.

“That phone never rests. You work so hard.”

“Well, that’s how it is.”

“If it rings during the movie, you’ll have to go out again, right?”

“You know it.”

Jang Hye-young paid as Lee Jun-hak handed her the popcorn.

“Is it certain you’ll be able to go overseas this time?”

“Probably.”

“We should teach Ji-hoon English diligently.”

“He can barely speak Korean, let alone English.”

“You survived the IMF crisis because you were good at English, oppa. The world Ji-hoon will live in will be even harsher than now. So, he needs to be at least fluent in English.”

Unlike his initial worries, thanks to Kim Chul-soo working like crazy, there was no need to yell at the office anymore, and he could be more gentle with his wife and Ji-hoon at home.

Since Kim Chul-soo, who came to the office even on weekends, handled most of the team’s tasks, Lee Jun-hak, who had free time on weekends, was realizing how precious it was to spend time with his family.

Then, Lee Jun-hak, remembering the topic of a ‘goose father’ that Kim Chul-soo had brought up, answered.

“Let’s go out together and come back together.”

Jang Hye-young’s eyes widened as if she didn’t understand what he meant.

“Can’t you just stay there as an overseas resident?”

“According to company regulations, you can’t stay for more than three years.”

In fact, it was possible to stay for up to five years, but if he was away from the main stage, it would become uncertain whether he could climb up to the position of president.

He was thinking of having a short and impactful overseas assignment and using the connections he made there to carry out large projects and quickly rise to the executive level.

“Three years is short. Ji-hoon will be seven years old. I heard that if he goes to an international school, he can be educated systematically. Can’t you just stay there after your assignment is over, oppa? I’ll stay there and support Ji-hoon’s education. I think that would be the best for Ji-hoon’s life.”

“Hye-young-ah. Our life isn’t just about Ji-hoon, is it? If we have two households, we’ll spend more money, and no matter how much we earn, it will be difficult to prepare for retirement.”

“So you’re saying you’re going to give up on Ji-hoon’s education, oppa?”

“We can do it in Korea too, can’t we? I’ve never been abroad until I entered university. But I’m doing this well, right?”

“You don’t know, oppa. That was possible for our generation. These days, everyone sends their children abroad to study. And I know better about this than you, who’s always tied to the company. Don’t you think so?”

Jang Hye-young started to whine with aegyo, and Lee Jun-hak, who loved her so much, couldn’t refute and just burst into a hearty laugh.

“Let’s think about it slowly.”

Jang Hye-young, having received a satisfactory answer, linked her arm with Lee Jun-hak’s and snuggled up to him.

He might be flying high and mighty at the company……

But at home, she was the Tripitaka Master and Lee Jun-hak was the Monkey King.

******

In the Sales Department office, there were two angel managers.

One was Manager Pyo Il-soo of Team 5.

The other was Manager Cha Sang-hyun of Team 4.

But today, a curse word popped out of the angel manager’s mouth.

“Hey! Assistant Manager Shin! What’s wrong with you today? Why isn’t what we talked about this morning taken care of? Are you crazy?”

Shin Dong-hyun, though a bit sly, was usually decent at handling work. However, for the past few days, unlike usual, he had been bothering Lee Jung-seok with nonsensical tasks, and now he hadn’t even properly handled the work requested this morning. He spent most of his time spacing out as if he had lost his mind due to something.

“Ah, I apologize, Manager-nim. I’ll take care of it right away.”

“Damn it. What’s wrong with you lately? Follow me.”

Cha Sang-hyun spoke harshly and went outside, and Shin Dong-hyun, with his head down, followed him.

Cha Sang-hyun, who went to a corner of the Sky Garden, took out a cigarette and offered one to Shin Dong-hyun. Shin Dong-hyun hesitated but accepted the cigarette.

“What? What’s going on?”

Cha Sang-hyun was aware that Shin Dong-hyun’s attitude towards Lee Jung-seok had completely changed since the first half performance announcement.

He thought it was a nerve war between a mentor and a mentee, but Shin Dong-hyun’s appearance today went beyond that.

As Shin Dong-hyun took a deep drag of the cigarette, he felt his anxious feelings subside slightly.

Cha Sang-hyun, seeing Shin Dong-hyun, who had been refusing cigarettes because he quit, now smoking, thought he resembled Manager Song who had been stripped of his clothes due to corruption, and changed his gaze to a worried one.

“Is something wrong?”

At Cha Sang-hyun’s question, Shin Dong-hyun looked at him for a long time.

It had only been three days, but it felt like three years.

Lee Jung-seok was adamant that he couldn’t withdraw his position, and Shin Dong-hyun felt he couldn’t hold on any longer, mentally exhausted.

‘If it’s Manager Cha……’

Shin Dong-hyun nodded heavily.

“Something terrible has happened.”

“What is it?”

“I received the work that Manager Song was doing again……”

Shin Dong-hyun explained what had happened, and Cha Sang-hyun sighed deeply, puffing away at his cigarette.

“So you’re going to take all the blame?”

“I don’t know. For now, I’ll either endure…… or take responsibility……”

Six years of working with Shin Dong-hyun flashed through Cha Sang-hyun’s mind like a revolving lantern.

“You…… idiot.”

At Cha Sang-hyun’s words, Shin Dong-hyun lowered his head and exhaled a puff of cigarette smoke.

“Dong-hyun-ah.”

“Yes, Manager-nim.”

“If you leave things like this, your successor will go through the same thing. And what happened to Manager Song?”

“I know.”

“Then why are you trying to do the same thing?”

“……”

“This time, finish this matter with your own hands.”

Shin Dong-hyun raised his head, not understanding exactly what Cha Sang-hyun meant.

Cha Sang-hyun stared into Shin Dong-hyun’s eyes for a long time, taking deep drags of his cigarette before speaking.

“I’m saying you should take down Senior Managing Director Jeong Se-yang yourself.”

Shin Dong-hyun’s eyes widened as he looked at Cha Sang-hyun.

“That……”

“Go to the Ethics Management Department and voluntarily report it. You know what kind of person Team Leader Bae is, right? If Jung-seok reports it tomorrow, he’ll run to the Ethics Management Department anyway. He’s the kind of person who won’t take even the slightest responsibility for things that aren’t related to him.”

Shin Dong-hyun’s face darkened.

“I’ll talk to Manager Pyo appropriately. So, go and report it.”

“Manager Pyo-nim?”

“There’s something like that. So, listen to me and take responsibility for this incident and settle it. You probably won’t be able to stay at the headquarters, but you’ll be able to stay with the company.”

“……Yes.”

Talking to a manager from another department meant that this incident would be brought to light.

******

━A glass of cola?

The team atmosphere had become endlessly cold since right after Manager Cha Sang-hyun dragged Assistant Manager Shin Dong-hyun out.

Lee Jeong-seok felt like he was suffocating, thinking that Assistant Manager Shin might have told Manager Cha about him.

He typed on the keyboard, not even recognizing what he was typing on the Excel file that didn’t even catch his eye, and then let out a short sigh that seemed to pierce through his stifled breath at the message that popped up on his phone.

━Yes.

━Let’s go out first.

Kim Chul-soo gathered his documents and stood up.

“I’ll be going to the General Affairs Department.”

“Okay.”

Lee Jun-hak waved his hand as if telling him to go and come back quickly.

A few minutes after Kim Chul-soo left, Lee Jeong-seok stood up.

“I’ll be going to the restroom for a moment.”

Assistant Manager Shin Dong-hyun didn’t react at all, and Manager Cha Sang-hyun nodded.

“Okay. Go ahead.”

Lee Jun-hak, who was checking the secret shipment confirmation email from the Australian resident representative and writing a reply, watched Lee Jeong-seok quietly leave with his eyes open.

For the past two weeks, Lee Jeong-seok had always followed Kim Chul-soo whenever he left.

It was a bit suspicious, but Lee Jun-hak turned his gaze back to the monitor.

For Lee Jeong-seok, who was treated almost like an invisible man, Kim Chul-soo, who was good at his work and had a good reputation, would be a reliable colleague to lean on.

He would want to depend on him.

Since he wasn’t on good terms with his mentor, he would want to get various advice as well.

And in any organization, having many followers meant having power.

‘You’re doing well, kid. Your office life.’

Lee Jeong-seok, escaping the stuffy office, ran up to the Sky Garden.

As he reached the Sky Garden, Kim Chul-soo handed him a cola.

“It’s tough, isn’t it?”

“I can’t say it’s not.”

“We’re almost there.”

Lee Jeong-seok nodded at Kim Chul-soo’s words and imagined Team Leader Bae, who would be coming tomorrow.

“It would be better to talk with the recorded evidence so far, right?”

Kim Chul-soo smiled faintly at his words and took a sip of his coffee.

He didn’t know what Assistant Manager Shin Dong-hyun had been up to with Manager Cha Sang-hyun, but the anxiety that had been on his face just moments ago had disappeared.

“Do you know the Kübler-Ross model?”

Lee Jeong-seok shook his head with an expression that said he’d never heard of it.

“It’s a model that explains the five stages of grief. At first, they deny the corruption. Then, when that doesn’t work, they threaten.”

Lee Jeong-seok recalled what had happened on Friday and nodded vigorously.

“Then they try to compromise.”

“That’s right. He kept asking me to turn a blind eye just this once.”

“When that doesn’t work, they become anxious. They can’t think of a solution, and they don’t know what to do.”

“Ah.”

“Assistant Manager Shin, who just entered the office, looked very relaxed.”

“Does that mean……?”

“It means he confessed to Manager Cha. It’s the final stage of grief, acceptance.”

At those words, Lee Jeong-seok asked with a worried look.

“Then, what if he also talked about me?”

“He probably did, but Jeong-seok-ssi won’t be harmed. You didn’t do anything wrong, and you didn’t report it, did you?”

“Phew……”

Lee Jeong-seok sighed, relieved.

“And you don’t have to tell Team Leader-nim tomorrow either.”

“What?”

“Assistant Manager Shin will confess.”

Because that’s how the stage was set.

It would be better to cover it up

After enjoying a delicious lunch of sundubu jjigae (soft tofu stew), Manager Pyo Il-soo sat on a bench near the company with Team Leader Ahn Jeong-gyu.

“What do you want to talk about?”

“There’s Assistant Manager Shin Dong-hyun in Team 4, right?”

“Yes.”

“He seems to have taken over the project that Manager Song, who was fired for corruption, was working on.”

Manager Song Ji-cheol.

He was also Ahn Jeong-gyu’s colleague from when they joined the company.

“Isn’t that the project that was scrapped after Manager Song took all the blame and was fired?”

“It seems it wasn’t scrapped and continued. It seems there’s a connection higher up.”

“How do you know that?”

Ahn Jeong-gyu glared at Manager Pyo.

“Manager Cha told me. He said Assistant Manager Shin is very worried about it.”

“Who’s the higher-up?”

“Senior Managing Director Jeong Se-yang in the Planning Office.”

“What?”

“I thought about it, and it seems like a very big incident.”

Indeed, Assistant Manager Shin’s voice had gotten louder in Team 4 since Friday.

And his attitude of trying to devour Lee Jeong-seok, unlike usual.

‘So, the new employee in Team 4 saw Assistant Manager Shin’s corruption. Knowing Team Leader Bae’s personality, he’ll definitely report it to the Ethics Management Department if he finds out. But Senior Managing Director Jeong is on Managing Director Yoo’s side……’

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Manager Cha asked me a favor. He wants to save Assistant Manager Shin.”

“If he took bribes, he should be punished.”

“Come on, Team Leader-nim. Didn’t you hear? Assistant Manager Shin’s wife is due in November.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“Come on, please help him.”

“No way.”

Ahn Jeong-gyu jumped to his feet, and Pyo Il-soo clicked his tongue with a bitter expression and stood up.

‘He’s not the type to help out of sympathy.’

But Ahn Jeong-gyu suddenly turned around and spoke to Pyo Il-soo.

“Are you dating?”

Pyo Il-soo was startled inwardly but put on an expression as if he didn’t understand what he was talking about.

“What are you talking about? No, I’m not.”

But Ahn Jeong-gyu sniffed the air and said.

“You don’t use perfume, do you?”