Real Man

Yoo-hyun pressed on that point.

“Isn’t it your style to break through such things with your ability, Director Na?”

“Who says that’s my style?”

“I just said it because you have such a great drive.”

Even with Yoo-hyun’s compliment, Na Do Yeon didn’t budge.

“Well, that’s a nice thing to say, but I wonder if I should go and break it.”

“Then what?”

“Soon, Director Shin Kyung-soo will be back, right? Do I really have to choose Vice President Shin Kyung-wook now?”

At the mention of Shin Kyung-soo’s name, Yoo-hyun’s eyes sank.

They didn’t know Shin Kyung-soo’s true nature at all.

“Do you believe that the Group Strategy Office will be revived then?”

“Most people think so. That’s why they probably won’t move.”

“It won’t be. If it was, he would have contacted us sooner.”

“True. Maybe it’ll be a duck egg in the Nakdong River. But still, I don’t feel like going to the Innovation Strategy Office.”

It was an honest statement.

Na Do Yeon had joined the company as a Group Strategy Office employee and had been loyal to that place ever since.

It wasn’t easy for her to move her nest.

Yoo-hyun didn’t try to force her, but instead offered her a realistic option.

“Do you know what the easiest way to choose is in this situation?”

“What is it?”

“Look at the conditions and judge. Go to the place that truly values your worth. Or you can just stay where you are.”

“What if I get marked by one side?”

“What do you think? You can either give them a hard time, or just kick them out.”

Snicker.

Na Do Yeon, who lifted the corners of her mouth, uttered an unexpected word.

“That good idea, why don’t you tell it to Deputy Shin Nak Kyun?”

“Deputy Shin? Why?”

“He seems hesitant. He’s probably waiting for a call from a certain director.”

“From me?”

Surprised, Na Do Yeon calmly added a word.

“Yes. Since a long time ago.”

“…”

Yoo-hyun blinked his eyes at the unexpected words.

After sending Na Do Yeon away, Yoo-hyun fiddled with his phone.

On the screen, Deputy Shin Nak Kyun’s name was displayed.

‘He’s waiting for my call?’

His relationship with him, who had been vicious to Yoo-hyun in the past, had changed a lot.

The initiative was in Yoo-hyun’s hands, and Deputy Shin Nak Kyun’s head was bowed.

But that didn’t mean he followed Yoo-hyun with his heart.

The Deputy Shin Nak Kyun that Yoo-hyun knew was not a person who would move without any gain.

He had helped Yoo-hyun move to Hansung Display for that reason.

-Thanks to the project that Director Han gave me, I’m doing well and getting recognized for my performance.

Yoo-hyun recalled the call he had with Deputy Shin Nak Kyun to ask about the Shinwa Semiconductor case.

He had something to gain from his position, but now everything was gone.

But was there still a connection left?

He was self-centered and had a tendency to speak recklessly, but he was very good at doing what he was told.

His skills in dealing with people from group affiliates and his language skills were not bad either.

Especially, his practical experience with various companies was too precious to throw away.

“Hmm.”

Yoo-hyun swallowed a sigh and pressed the call button, but then opened the message window.

He couldn’t think of anything to say on the phone.

-I’m going to move to the Innovation Strategy Office. If you have any thoughts, let’s work together.

He left out the polite words and only conveyed the core.

It was his judgment that this would be better for his picky personality.

What kind of answer would come back?

While he was thinking, a concise message came in.

-I’ll think about it.

With just one line of text, he could picture the stiff-faced guy.

A chuckle escaped from Yoo-hyun’s mouth.

“He’s just like himself.”

It seemed difficult to bring him over easily.

Yoo-hyun consoled himself and got up from his seat.

At that moment, in an office of the Group Operations Headquarters.

Park Geun Deok, the deputy director, asked Deputy Shin Nak Kyun, who was fiddling with his phone.

“Deputy Shin, what are you looking at and smiling like that?”

“When did I smile?”

“Sure, what is it? Did you get a call from somewhere nice?”

Deputy Shin Nak Kyun frowned at Park Geun Deok, who clung to him.

They weren’t even that close, but he looked like he wanted to get something out of him.

He was a person with amazing survival skills.

“It’s not that. Just go on your way.”

“Hey, what is it? What’s going on? If you tell me, I’ll tell you some good information too.”

“It’s not information.”

“Then what?”

“Just… I got a message from a close senior.”

It was a hasty excuse, but a ridiculous one.

In the meantime, Deputy Shin Nak Kyun’s mouth was curved up.

He was thinking about the message from Yoo-hyun.

He didn’t reply to him after saying he would think about it.

Na Do Yeon also postponed her answer for now.

In the end, what moved them was not Yoo-hyun’s sweet words, but the realistic conditions.

Yoo-hyun didn’t intend to do anything more than that.

Instead, he focused on what he could do now.

That was to establish an internal innovation plan for Hansung Display before the executive meeting.

He had already set up a framework, so it didn’t take much time.

Yoo-hyun and his Future Technology TF colleagues communicated with the staff who were gathered by Oh Joo Hwan, the executive director, and supported them to make the final product.

“When changing the personnel system according to the Innovation Strategy Office’s opinion…”

“Yes. We considered that and…”

They added the opinion of the Innovation Strategy Office’s short-term TF and limited the scope of what the company could do internally.

The plan that was collected like this would soon be delivered to President Lim Jun Pyo.

After finishing the meeting with the staff, Oh Joo Hwan approached Yoo-hyun.

He felt more friendly after having a few deep conversations with him because of this matter.

Yoo-hyun, who briefly reviewed the final summary, asked him casually.

“Are you nervous about the executive meeting?”

“What do I have to be nervous about? The president is taking care of it himself.”

“But you were worried that it would hurt the company if it went wrong.”

He was right.

Hansung Display was not touched by the breath of the royal family.

It had no ties with the Banggye bloodline, which had been the backbone of the Han Group in the past.

It meant that it had no special line within the group.

This could be seen as independent, but also as having many enemies in the group.

What would happen if they opposed the mainstream opinion of the group in this state?

Executive Director Oh Joo Hwan, who had been worried about this part before, shrugged his shoulders.

“Come to think of it, there won’t be much problem.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Vice President Shin Kyung-wook is our major shareholder, right? We just follow the direction he goes, who’s going to say anything? Even if they do, we can just say we had no choice.”

It wasn’t like they did anything wrong, but they didn’t have to be blamed either.

If someone tried to pick a fight, this was a way to pass it off as ignorant.

“That’s true. Does the president think the same?”

“The president made up his mind a long time ago. Thanks to what you said.”

“What did I say?”

“You said it, didn’t you? It’s an opportunity to show off to the employees without spending my money.”

The day Yoo-hyun came to see Executive Director Oh Joo Hwan with the internal innovation plan.

He had said something similar to him, who was surprised by the ‘performance distribution system’ explanation.

-Let’s give the money that’s piled up in the company to the hard-working employees. Think about who they will praise then.

“That’s right.”

As Yoo-hyun nodded, Executive Director Oh Joo Hwan added an explanation.

“The president must have had some ambition in his old age.”

“What kind of ambition?”

“He’s always been interfered by the group, right? He probably wants to do whatever he wants with this chance.”

“He must have felt frustrated.”

“Everyone has a dream of doing their own business. I understand that feeling.”

Executive Director Oh Joo Hwan was not a president, but a person who handled the company system.

He had received the most interference from the group, so it was natural for him to sympathize.

As someone who had experienced both the role of Executive Director Oh Joo Hwan and President Lim Jun Pyo, Yoo-hyun felt more empathetic.

“I understand too.”

“Do you feel like you’ve experienced it?”

“Aren’t I indirectly experiencing it?”

As Yoo-hyun spoke casually, Executive Director Oh Joo Hwan lowered his head as if he had lost.

“Wow, you’re really tough. In that sense, when should we have a drink?”

“Sure.”

“Okay. Let’s make a reservation before you leave.”

“…”

Did he know he was leaving?

Yoo-hyun blinked his eyes as Executive Director Oh Joo Hwan smiled.

The executive meeting proceeded as planned.

No one knew if President Lim Jun Pyo would change his mind at the last minute, or stick to his plan.

He just believed that he would do well, since he had done his best to support him from behind.

It was when Yoo-hyun was walking around the office and thinking.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Jang Jun Sik was lifting and dropping his hands on the keyboard.

Yoo-hyun tilted his head at the unusual sight.

“Jun Sik, what are you doing?”

“Huh? Oh, nothing.”

As Jang Jun Sik waved his hand, Deputy Kwon Se-jung next to him answered.

“Jun Sik has nothing to do. It’s the early symptom of workaholism.”

“Come on, you’ve been working hard until now.”

“We didn’t really do anything. The management support staff did everything.”

Deputy Kwon Se-jung explained to Yoo-hyun, who looked incredulous.

Before he knew it, Jung Hyun-woo and Jang Jun Sik each added a word.

“The other thing was controlled by the Innovation Strategy Office’s short-term TF.”

“Actually, I didn’t do much either.”

“You didn’t do much. We mediated everything. We brought it here. That’s amazing.”

Yoo-hyun looked dumbfounded, and Deputy Kwon Se-jung asked.

“Don’t you feel a bit empty?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve been wandering around for no reason since a while ago. We’re doing the work, but they’re doing everything else.”

Everyone else was busy, but only Yoo-hyun was relaxed.

But that didn’t mean he was restless.

He had already passed the stage where he was so anxious.

Rather, there was another reason that made Yoo-hyun uneasy.

“It’s not that.”

“Then what?”

“Just, a little… No. It’s nothing.”

Yoo-hyun, who was about to answer, lowered his hand.

He couldn’t find the words to apologize to Vice President Shin Kyung-wook, who was in charge of the work and struggling alone.

Surely, what he was doing now would work well for him, but he couldn’t help but worry about the conflict.

Was it because Yoo-hyun’s expression didn’t look so bright?

Jung Hyun-woo, who was quick-witted, cut in.

“Don’t do this and let’s go for a drink.”

“Oh, Hyun-woo, how many places are left in the Yeouido gourmet course?”

Deputy Kwon Se-jung asked, and Jung Hyun-woo proudly held up three fingers.

“There are only three places left. You have to finish it before you leave.”

“You’ve been around so much already. It was really delicious.”

Jang Jun Sik, who had been restless because he had nothing to do, sparkled his eyes.

He liked the food talk.

“Jun Sik likes food so much.”

“Yes. I feel like I’ve opened my eyes to a new hobby.”

“Eating is a good hobby. Yoo-hyun, what do you think? Call?”

As Deputy Kwon Se-jung suggested, Yoo-hyun was about to answer.

Beep.

A message popped up on Yoo-hyun’s phone.

His expression became serious as he checked the content.

“I can’t do it today. You guys go ahead.”

“Why? Do you have something important?”

“Yes. Very important.”

Yoo-hyun nodded his head as he looked at the screen that hadn’t gone off yet.