Boardroom Reckoning
The office was old but fairly spacious. One entire wall was dominated by a massive screen, and written across it was a single title.
Next-Generation A-Line Process Optimization and Cost Reduction Project
Overall Lead: Managing Director Im Seo-jin
“Managing Director Im. I hear you really pulled off something big this time.”
“Man, you really know how to get things done.”
The executives filing into the conference room offered short words of encouragement to Managing Director Im at the podium before taking their seats.
“I’m counting on you. Looking forward to today’s presentation.”
“You flatter me. It’s all thanks to you paving the way so well, Senior Director.”
“Haha. Always so humble. Really, what a good man.”
Managing Director Im answered with a practiced, good-natured smile. To anyone watching, he looked for all the world like the leader who had spearheaded the entire project.
Grind.
Cha Hyun-seok clenched his teeth in fury at that shameless face.
That thieving bastard.
But the moment that disgusting mask would crack was not far off. He wondered whether the man would still look so at ease when it happened.
He regretted ever having truly trusted and followed someone like that, even for a time.
“Oh. Manager Cha, are you helping prepare for the meeting?”
One of the executives spoke to Cha Hyun-seok as he handed out the materials, looking curious as to why he was even there.
“Good morning, sir. Yes. I’m attending on the Managing Director’s instructions.”
Being present in this room—that had been the condition Cha Hyun-seok had set in exchange for yielding the credit for this achievement.
He had claimed he simply wanted to make a good impression on the executives and the president, and Managing Director Im, seeing no reason to refuse, had cheerfully accepted the terms.
Without the faintest inkling of what Cha Hyun-seok was truly planning.
In that moment, Cha Hyun-seok’s eyes met those of Managing Director Im, who was chatting with another executive.
“Manager Cha over there has been a great help to me.”
He pointed at Cha Hyun-seok as he spoke.
“Manager Cha!”
“Good morning, sirs!”
Cha Hyun-seok bowed deeply to them.
“Right.”
The executive waved off the greeting and lowered his voice toward Managing Director Im.
“He does good work, but… he really only knows how to work.”
“Exactly. That’s the real pity. Organizational life isn’t something you can get by on skill alone, is it?”
Managing Director Im chimed in smoothly, pretending to look out for Cha Hyun-seok while cleverly cutting him down.
“That’s right. That’s why I like you, Managing Director Im. You do good work and you know how to play along.”
“Haha. I’ll continue to serve you well.”
“Good. Let’s do this.”
Before long, the appointed hour of eleven o’clock arrived. When the president appeared, the previously noisy conference room fell into silence.
“I will now begin the presentation on the Next-Generation A-Line Process Optimization and Cost Reduction Project.”
Managing Director Im took the microphone and opened with a confident tone.
“For the success of this project, I have devoted myself day and night over the past several months. And at last, I have succeeded in developing a groundbreaking program that will bring enormous profits to the company.”
All of Cha Hyun-seok’s past efforts were being perfectly rewritten as Managing Director Im’s own.
Even so, Managing Director Im continued the presentation without so much as a change in expression. Watching him made Cha Hyun-seok’s blood boil.
“And I have named this program Optimus Ghost. It means it catches even the finest, invisible errors.”
Cha Hyun-seok clenched his fists and forced down his anger, thinking only of the moment of revenge that would soon unfold.
The old him would never have imagined doing something like this. But the weight of being the head of a household had turned him into a fighter.
“Please direct your attention to this graph.”
A large graph comparing results before and after using the program appeared on the screen.
“The numbers prove everything. You can see that the defect rate has dropped by nearly sixty percent.”
Managing Director Im continued smoothly with the lines he had practiced all night.
“Furthermore, productivity rises by one hundred fifty percent while energy costs are actually cut in half. We can dramatically save not only the hundreds of billions that would go into reinstalling equipment, but also the maintenance costs.”
Managing Director Im looked around at the president and executives with a smile of triumph, then spoke with absolute confidence.
“If this is not innovation, then what, exactly, should we call innovation?”
With that assured declaration, Managing Director Im bowed deeply. It was the greeting that signaled the end of the presentation.
Clap clap clap clap!!
Thunderous cheers and applause erupted, loud enough to shake the conference room.
“That’s Managing Director Im for you!”
“He really knows how to get things done! He’s an absolute treasure to our company!”
He lifted his head proudly, savoring the flood of praise.
“Thank you! We will now open the floor for questions. If anyone has something they would like to ask, please feel free to speak.”
As soon as he finished, several executives raised their hands.
“You’ll understand that question more quickly if you look at this page. Just a moment…”
Managing Director Im handled the questions with practiced skill. Before long, no more hands were raised.
“Then that concludes the presentation—”
Just as Managing Director Im was about to wrap things up, a voice cut in.
“I have one question.”
Cha Hyun-seok, who had been listening quietly the entire time, raised his hand.
“A-ah…? Manager Cha?”
Managing Director Im, who had not expected this at all, looked briefly flustered before quickly composing his expression and asking,
“What is it you want to know?”
“First, regarding the productivity and energy savings on page fourteen. Are those figures solid data that you personally verified, sir?”
The warm atmosphere in the conference room began to cool in an instant.
“…Of course. I’m the overall lead, aren’t I? Every bit of it was verified overnight and pulled out of the data.”
“I see. Good. Then could you show us the frictional heat-loss coefficient written at the bottom of page fourteen?”
Managing Director Im thought, Has this guy suddenly lost his mind? but brought the page up on the screen anyway.
“Why does this matter?”
“Doesn’t it strike you as odd? Friction is occurring, yet energy isn’t being lost—it’s being generated. With those numbers, you might as well have created perpetual motion.”
“W-what are you talking about…”
The color slowly drained from Managing Director Im’s face.
“There can be numerical errors, but they’re all within the margin of error.”
“Errors? You just said you verified them yourself. As the ‘overall lead,’ you were certain of every single figure.”
“….”
Coughs and murmurs broke out all around the room.
Cha Hyun-seok rose from his seat and looked around at the assembled faces.
“Those numbers were from a document I filled out incorrectly by mistake. I never expected that mistake to show up exactly as it was. Almost as if…”
“Manager Cha!!”
Managing Director Im cut him off.
“Ha! And you said the defect rate would drop by sixty percent, didn’t you? Nonsense. The sensor’s acceptable error range was also entered wrong. And look—it’s written exactly like that too, isn’t it?”
That was right. The materials he had handed over had been faked from the start. To protect his own achievements, Cha Hyun-seok had dug one more trap.
He had been certain of it. An incompetent man like Managing Director Im would never be able to catch errors buried inside complex formulas.
“You also said manpower could be reduced by thirty percent. Then what will you do if a micro-crack appears that the sensors fail to detect? You’ll stand on the line yourself and take personal responsibility for finding it, right?”
His prediction hit without the slightest error.
That’s what you get for doing nothing but politics and never actually working.
“Manager Cha!! What the hell do you think you’re doing!!”
At last Managing Director Im shouted loud enough to leave the room. The people present frowned at once.
Seeing that, Managing Director Im realized his mistake, but the water was already spilled. All that remained now was to go all-in.
“I’m asking you! What the hell is this stunt!!”
“Be quiet, Managing Director Im.”
“Mr. President!”
“Everyone, please take a look at this.”
Ignoring him, Cha Hyun-seok pulled out a document envelope he had prepared in advance and handed the papers around to the others.
“This is the real report, free of numerical errors. And…”
He glanced once at the fuming Managing Director Im before speaking.
“Please look at the very last page.”
“The last page…?”
One of the executives immediately flipped to the page he had indicated. His eyes widened as if they might tear.
“W-what is this?”
“Crazy…”
“Huh…”
Disbelieving reactions burst from the other executives as well.
“W-what is it?!”
Growing anxious, Managing Director Im snatched the document from the person nearest him.
“…!”
“This is the secret side contract that Managing Director Im signed with Seongchan Hightech.”
“Th-that’s impossible! It’s fabricated, Mr. President!”
“Managing Director Im!!”
Bang!
Unable to hold back any longer, the president slammed the table hard and roared.
“As you can see, this is a side contract in which he agreed to receive three billion won in kickbacks on the condition of awarding the facility reconstruction contract to Seongchan Hightech.”
“Th-three billion?”
“Ha! His guts have really swollen up!”
“It’s fabricated!! It’s just a copy, not even the original…!”
“I also have photographs of the original. Shall I put them up if you wish?”
Cha Hyun-seok smirked as he watched Managing Director Im scream himself hoarse.
“Aaaargh!! Cha Hyun-seok, you son of a bitch!! It’s fake! That bastard is lying right now!”
“Lying, is it?”
Cha Hyun-seok no longer recognized him as a superior.
“Yes! You crazy bastard!!”
“Then open your bank statements right now. Let’s see whether or not the fifty million won you took as an advance is sitting there.”
“U-uwaaaaargh!!!”
Managing Director Im clutched his head and sank to the floor. It was his complete and utter downfall.
“All right. Lucky pouch on. Ready to go.”
He couldn’t simply refuse to go outside just because the Grim Reapers were terrifying. So Park Su-hwan made sure to fasten the lucky pouch tightly at his waist before leaving.
Just as he was about to open the front door, he glanced at the clock.
“It’s today… I wonder if he’ll manage all right.”
Park Su-hwan worried whether that timid-looking man would succeed in bringing Managing Director Im down.
“Tch. He’ll handle it somehow.”
He had given him more than enough warning.
If he succeeded, the man would surely either contact him separately or come back here again.
Shaking off his thoughts about Cha Hyun-seok, he stepped outside.
“Oh. Young man!”
At that exact moment, his eyes met those of the landlady, who was hanging bedding out on the veranda.
In the past he would have pretended not to hear and hurried off. But now that the rent problem had been settled, that was no longer the case.
“Good morning!”
Park Su-hwan greeted her cheerfully.
“Right. Where are you off to?”
“Just heading to the market for a bit.”
“Really? Hold on. Let’s go together. I was about to head to the market myself.”
“Sure. Take your time coming down.”
She hurriedly finished hanging the bedding and dashed back inside. A moment later she reappeared wearing a flashy floral outdoor outfit.
“…You’ve got overflowing fashion sense.”
“Right? That’s why I’m a little popular, you know. Hoho.”
She slapped Park Su-hwan’s shoulder and urged him to hurry. Conversation continued between the two of them the entire way to the market.
“Your walking looks pretty natural now. You worked so hard at it—makes me feel good just watching.”
“Thank you. And your younger brother…”
“Oh my. Well, if it isn’t Han-ul’s mom!”
She suddenly cut him off and began chatting with someone else.
“So then, you know…”
“Han-ul, that kid. He’s so smart…”
Park Su-hwan stood like a roadside statue, waiting for their conversation to end while surveying his surroundings.
He locked eyes with a few people, but no death dates appeared.
Good. No Grim Reapers in sight either.
He never knew when or where they might show up, so he always had to keep his eyes forward and his ears pricked.
He was a fraudulent shaman who couldn’t even see the common spirits rolling around on the roadside. So why he could see the Grim Reapers—beings of a higher order—remained a mystery.
Nothing ever got cleanly resolved, so sighs came naturally.
“Ah! That’s right! Where’s my head today? Young man!”
“Y-yes?”
Park Su-hwan, who had been thinking of something else for a moment, was a little slow to respond.
“This is the benefactor I told you about before.”
“Good heavens…! Really?”
“That’s what I said.”
The landlady suddenly seized Park Su-hwan’s hand.
“Would it be all right if I visited the shrine sometime too? My husband’s been giving me grief lately, and I’d like to ask what on earth that man is up to.”
“Ahh… I’ve been rather busy these days. I’ll take a look for you another time.”
“My, my. That’s a promise, Master.”
“Yes.”
Park Su-hwan had been trying to refuse indirectly, but he forced a smile and nodded.
“By the way, where are the two of you headed?”
“We’re going to buy a few things at the market. Want to come along?”
“I’d love to. That way I can talk with our Master a little too.”
Haa…
He was already starting to feel drained. He should have just said he was going for a walk and come out alone from the start.
“That’s right. Young man. What were we talking about?”
“Ah… I was about to ask how your younger brother is doing.”
“Dong-hyun?”
“Yes. I haven’t seen him around at all lately. Nothing’s wrong, is there?”
“Nah. Nothing special. My sister-in-law’s about to give birth, so he’s at the hospital all day. He said once the baby’s born they’ll all come by to say hello.”
Park Su-hwan shook his head with a faint smile.
“No. Please tell them not to come. Bad things can cling to a baby.”
“Oh my. Really?”
“Yes. As a rule, it’s best not to bring a child near a shrine. That’s also why people say you shouldn’t get many fortune-tellings done when you’re young.”
“I had no idea… Thank you.”
“Not at all. Please tell them I’ll come visit instead.”
“Really? Then that’s perfect. Let’s go to the hospital together later with Auntie.”
“Sure, that works.”
“What were you planning to buy first?”
“I was thinking of grilling some fish for the first time in a while.”
He had indulged freely in rich beef, so now it was time for clean, light seafood.
“I should do the same. Let’s go, let’s go.”
They headed straight for the fish shop. And there, Park Su-hwan came face-to-face with a very familiar face.
“What are you doing here?”
“Oh. Oppa!”
It was none other than Choi Hana, who had been carefully selecting fish with a serious expression.