How Much Do You Know?
Kim Woojin’s voice was lower than usual, weighed down with gravity.
Deputy General Manager Yoon, who had been reviewing documents, removed his glasses and set them on the desk before fixing his gaze directly on Woojin. A chilly tension settled over the deputy’s office.
“This doesn’t seem like official business. What is it?”
Woojin couldn’t bring himself to speak right away. Deputy General Manager Yoon didn’t rush him; he simply endured the heavy silence without a word. After a long hesitation, Woojin finally lifted his head as if he’d made up his mind.
“Please help me. Because of Assistant Manager Choi, I don’t think I can keep working here anymore.”
Instead of answering, Deputy General Manager Yoon lifted his teacup and took a sip of coffee. The sharp clink of cup against saucer broke the quiet.
Clink.
He set the cup down and began tapping his fingers on the desk in a steady rhythm. Tap. Tap.
“So you’re asking me to use the harassment of Employee Kim as an excuse… to fire Assistant Manager Choi. Is that it?”
Woojin hesitated for a moment, then nodded with firm resolve. At the sight, Deputy General Manager Yoon let out a brief, dry chuckle and asked,
“Do you really think a mere deputy general manager like me has the authority to fire an assistant manager?”
“If you were an ordinary deputy, it would be impossible.”
At Woojin’s reply, Yoon’s fingers stopped moving. His eyes narrowed, whether in amusement or because he was thinking of the person standing behind Woojin.
“How much do you know?”
Deputy General Manager Yoon’s voice dropped low. Woojin didn’t back down and answered head-on.
“Even about your younger sister.”
The word ‘younger sister’ instantly froze the air inside the deputy’s office. For a split second, Yoon flinched, unable to hide the tremor in his pupils. Then, as if the situation were absurd, he burst into hollow laughter and spun his chair around. An eerie chill radiated from his back as he stared out the window.
“That’s not the kind of information you can just dig up easily… Was it Seo Ihwa?”
“What? Why is Employee Seo Ihwa coming up here? What’s your relationship with her?”
“……”
Deputy General Manager Yoon clamped his mouth shut, realizing he’d slipped up. His eyes, reflected in the window, swirled with complicated emotion.
So it hasn’t happened yet.
There was a reason behind Deputy General Manager Yoon’s attitude—he clearly knew about Seo Ihwa’s family background.
“As I said, there are limits to what I can tell you. Where did you hear that information?”
Deputy General Manager Yoon turned his chair back to face Woojin. The laughter was gone; only sharp wariness remained.
Woojin quickly replayed his conversation with Jimin from the other night in his head.
It had been the evening he met Yumin. The streets still carried the lingering haze of alcohol. Jimin had shouted at Woojin’s retreating back as he tried to leave.
“Go meet up with the guys! Aren’t you acting too high and mighty these days?”
“It’s not an act. I really am high-maintenance.”
Jimin grinned at Woojin’s joke and opened the car door. This time, Woojin called out to stop her.
“Let’s grab a meal tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow, this noona has plans.”
“What plans?”
Jimin paused, then let out a deep sigh. With a distant look in her eyes, she spoke.
“The company colleague I mentioned before—the one who died. Tomorrow is the anniversary.”
“Ah… Her name was Yoon Seoyeon, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right. Seoyeon.”
At that moment, a name flashed through Woojin’s mind like lightning.
Yoon. The surname wasn’t rare, but he remembered the cold look in the man’s eyes when he’d warned him to be careful of Ihwa’s family. The concern had run far deeper than the usual meddling of a superior. Sometimes a person’s gut feeling was more reliable than any evidence.
“Did she have an older brother or younger brother?”
Jimin frowned, puzzled by the sudden question about the deceased’s family, but she answered readily enough.
“She had one older brother. Seoyeon adored him.”
“What’s his name?”
Jimin thought hard for a moment, then spoke.
“Um… Oh, I think it was Yoon Seongmin.”
It was confirmation. Woojin felt goosebumps rise across his skin. Having always trusted his instincts and acted decisively, he knew this was an opportunity he couldn’t miss.
“He’s the deputy general manager of our department.”
Jimin’s eyes widened. She closed the car door she had just opened and walked over to Woojin.
“That oppa is your department’s deputy? What a small world.”
“Yeah. But I have some questions for him. About his younger sister—would it be okay if I asked what happened?”
Jimin scratched the back of her head, lost in thought for a moment. Then, as if she’d decided, she jerked her chin toward the car.
“Get in. I’ll tell you everything.”
“A friend of mine was best friends with Deputy General Manager Yoon’s younger sister.”
At Woojin’s words, Deputy General Manager Yoon let out a hollow laugh.
“To think there was such a connection. The world really is small.”
He fell silent for a long time, as if reflecting on the past. What flickered in his eyes as he stared out the window was closer to cold fury than sorrow. Soon, Yoon looked at Woojin with a grave expression and spoke.
“I won’t fabricate a crime and throw Assistant Manager Choi into a pit. But I can make sure he crawls into that pit on his own two feet. However, Employee Kim will have to suffer quite a bit in the process. Are you okay with that?”
All the humiliations he had endured from Assistant Manager Choi and the shame Ihwa had been forced to bear flashed through Woojin’s mind. He clenched his fists tightly and answered in a steady voice.
“Yes. I’ll do it.”
After Woojin left, only silence remained in the deputy’s office. Deputy General Manager Yoon stood alone. He rose from his seat, gazed out the window, and finally dialed the number he had saved long ago—Seo Taek.
The other party picked up before the ringtone could even sound a few times.
“...It’s been a while. Have you been well?”
Deputy General Manager Yoon gave a bitter smile and replied,
“Thanks to you. I’m sorry for calling out of the blue, but may I ask you for a favor?”
“If it’s a request from you, Deputy, anything is possible. Please speak freely.”
Two weeks later, the plan was set in motion.
In the meantime, Woojin and Ihwa barely exchanged glances at the company, limiting their interactions to strictly work-related conversation. The rumors spread faster and more viciously than expected. From claims that the two had fought and broken up spectacularly, to whispers that Woojin had been the one dumped from the start. Perhaps because of the gossip, the number of men approaching Ihwa noticeably increased.
Watching the scene, Woojin keenly realized just how many men had been badmouthing them and eyeing Ihwa from the shadows all this time. He was worried about Ihwa, who despised that kind of attention, but right now, cutting off Assistant Manager Choi’s breath took priority.
The conference room where the entire department had gathered. It was the kickoff meeting for a major project that the headquarters was staking its reputation on. The stage Deputy General Manager Yoon had prepared was set.
“The PM for this project will be Assistant Manager Choi.”
At Deputy General Manager Yoon’s announcement, the conference room stirred. Those who knew Assistant Manager Choi’s usual work performance and personality exchanged worried glances. Then, an employee known for being a strict rule-follower raised his hand with a concerned expression and asked Deputy General Manager Yoon a question.
“Deputy, isn’t it customary for someone of your level to take on the PM role for a project of this scale? Even at the very least, the person in charge of practical execution should be at the senior staff level or higher…”
A strange tension filled the conference room. The employee’s words weren’t wrong. The weight of this project was far too heavy for an assistant manager like Choi to handle as PM. But Deputy General Manager Yoon didn’t falter. He offered his usual kind smile and answered with ease.
“Originally, I planned to handle it myself. However, the higher-ups have given me an urgent matter that must be resolved first. As much as I’d like to join immediately, I’ve decided to trust Assistant Manager Choi with it for now.”
Deputy General Manager Yoon’s gaze turned toward Assistant Manager Choi.
“Once this is wrapped up, I’ll join right away. Until then, Assistant Manager Choi, please demonstrate our department’s full capabilities. I have high expectations.”
At those words, Assistant Manager Choi’s shoulders squared with pride. The mention of ‘instructions from above’ left the other employees unable to protest further. But Woojin knew the truth. The ‘urgent matter that must be resolved first’ Deputy General Manager Yoon spoke of was none other than the blueprint for Assistant Manager Choi’s destruction.
Only Woojin noticed the cold blade hidden behind Yoon’s smile. Meanwhile, Assistant Manager Choi shot up from his seat with an expression of disbelief and overwhelming gratitude.
“I will give it my absolute best! Thank you for trusting me, Deputy!”
The chaotic atmosphere was filled with Assistant Manager Choi’s excessive ambition and the sound of applause.
Once the project began, Woojin’s department became as noisy as the eve of a storm. Knowing how much the higher-ups were expecting from this project, Assistant Manager Choi was practically manic. If he pulled this off perfectly, a promotion was all but guaranteed. Drunk on power, he began berating and pressuring employees over even the smallest mistakes, without regard for rank or reason. Oblivious to how deep the pit he was digging for himself truly was, he grew increasingly arrogant.
And the very next day.
“Hey! Kim Woojin! Are you doing this properly?? If you can’t even handle something this simple, what the hell are you doing in this company?!”