Offered a Proposal

Ding.

It was the morning commute.

I had just stepped out of the officetel right in front of the company and was about to cross the street when the smartphone in my pocket vibrated. The moment I checked the screen, I nearly let out a dry laugh in the middle of the road.

What the hell... how many zeros was that, anyway?

I rubbed my eyes and looked back at the screen.

Three hundred million won.

Not long ago, I had been handed early retirement papers and trembled with anger. Now, in a single morning, I had received a bonus equal to several years of other people’s salaries.

Maybe that was why.

A grin slipped out before I could stop it.

So this was what it felt like to win the lottery.

But after about five minutes, once the excitement had settled, my brain started doing the arithmetic again.

Three hundred million won was a huge sum. No question about that. It wasn’t the kind of money you could casually lay hands on.

But how much budget had I saved by twisting the leash around those Kanksa bastards yesterday?

How much had I already saved over the years while working on composite armor, the automatic loading system, and the power-pack transmission?

“A little stingy.”

If they were going to do this, they might as well not have said I could look forward to it.

I had barely slept all night, wondering how much the bonus would be, and this was the amount?

Of course it was better than getting nothing, but I couldn’t help feeling a little let down.

I let out a quiet laugh to myself and headed into the company lobby.

“Good morning, Director Baek.”

“Good morning, Director.”

As soon as I passed through the gate, employees from other departments I ran into greeted me warmly.

Back when I was still one of the early-retirement candidates, they had avoided my eyes with faces full of guilt.

Now they were meeting my gaze directly and greeting me with enthusiasm.

I returned the greetings with an awkward nod, then tilted my head.

“What’s this? Did they just call me director?”

I had heard yesterday, during the meeting, that they’d submitted the approval for a special promotion to department head.

But in a large corporation, it was common knowledge that going through the personnel committee took at least a week.

The mystery was solved the moment I passed through the hallway and saw a red notice the size of a full sheet of paper pinned to the company bulletin board.

Apparently it had really been processed in a single day.

No matter how much the executive director had approved it, personnel review was still supposed to be required. Even at top speed, it should have taken a few days.

I had no idea what in the world was going on.

Still, it was a good feeling.

This was the promotion to department head I had wanted so badly.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Smiling with satisfaction, I stared at the notice, then opened the door to Design Team 1’s office.

I had thought the day’s surprises would end there.

But there was still something left to shock me.

“...Oh?”

That was my desk.

Director Song, the team lead, and Executive Director Choi, head of the Ground Systems Division, had come in early and were waiting for me at my seat.

Executive Director Choi, who had been chatting over coffee with a pleased expression, turned his gaze toward me.

“Hey, Manager Baek’s here. No, wait, it’s Department Head Baek now, isn’t it?”

“E-executive director?”

“So, how does it feel? First day coming in as a department head. Pretty good, huh?”

Director Song burst out laughing as he followed that up.

Both of them were looking thoroughly amused.

“No, when did you two even get here? And why are you sitting at my desk, Executive Director?”

“This is your first day coming in as a department head. We came to see your face. You’re the big shot in Ground Systems now, so we thought we’d better come early and make sure we got our faces noticed. Isn’t that right?”

“Haha, of course. We’ll have to make a good impression on Department Head Baek if we want any future projects to go smoothly, won’t we?”

Director Song laughed again.

So did Executive Director Choi.

“If you keep teasing me like that, I’ll hold it against you.”

“Oh dear, can’t have that. We went to all this trouble to make a good impression, and if we offend you now, we’re in trouble, aren’t we?”

“I didn’t say I was going that far, but now you’re the one in trouble, Executive Director.”

“Fair enough.”

“It’s fine to mess with me, but when you’re done, put me back where you found me.”

As I said that, I reached into my drawer and pulled out two packs of red ginseng extract, offering them to Executive Director Choi and Director Song.

“You beat me up together, and this is what comes out. Is this spoils of war?”

“I’ll enjoy it.”

They both grinned and slurped down the extract.

Tch. My blood-soaked supplements.

Then Executive Director Choi lowered his voice just enough for only me and Director Song to hear.

“You saw the bonus this morning, right?”

“Ah. Yes, Executive Director. I checked it.”

“You’re not disappointed that the amount was too small, are you?”

“...Hah, hah. How could I be?”

I was a little disappointed, but there was no way I could show that.

As I waved a hand as if dismissing the thought, Executive Director Choi continued with a look that said he knew everything.

“If that were all there was, of course you’d be disappointed. I would’ve been, too, if I were you. But listen, Department Head Baek. That isn’t the end of it.”

“...Yes?”

Not the end?

There was more?

I had been promoted to department head and given a three-hundred-million-won bonus, and there was still more after that?

“Department Head Baek. Why do you think the executive director came all the way here first thing in the morning?”

“Well, because he’s in a good mood... no, that can’t be it. Hmm.”

I thought it over for a moment, but nothing came to mind.

Why had he really come?

As I looked puzzled, Executive Director Choi said cheerfully, “There’s someone who has to go to Hanyang today, so we volunteered to be his escort. Put your bag down.”

“Huh? Where?”

At my question, Executive Director Choi pointed up at the ceiling.

“The very top floor. The chairman wants to see you.”

“What?”

The chairman?

As I swallowed hard, Executive Director Choi draped an arm over my shoulder and led the way.

That was how I ended up boarding the VIP elevator, which I had only ever used a few times.

Thirty-five floors.

Toward the chairman’s office, the heart of Hanseo Defense.

Even though I had been with this company for more than ten years, this was the first time I had ever been inside the chairman’s office.

We passed security and the executive secretary staff, and when we finally arrived at the door, the enormous, heavy thing opened slowly.

What lay beyond looked more like a museum than an office.

Display cases lined every wall of the chairman’s office, showcasing scale models of the countless weapons systems Hanseo Defense had developed over the years.

Tanks and armored vehicles, self-propelled artillery and field guns, followed by an array of missiles and radars, as well as drones of all shapes and sizes and shells of every caliber.

I found myself staring at them in admiration when a deep voice rang out.

“Come in.”

An old man seated at the head of the room rose from his chair.

Sharp eyes, neatly combed white hair.

Even in his seventies, Chairman Cho Seunghyun still had the fire of the field in his gaze.

I bowed with Executive Director Choi toward him.

“Baek Gunwoo, Department Head of the Ground Systems Division.”

“Yes, I’ve heard quite a lot about you. Sit. Let’s talk once you’re seated.”

With that, Chairman Cho gestured toward the sofa.

Director Kang, who stood beside him, guided me and Executive Director Choi to the reception sofa.

Both Executive Director Choi and I sat there politely.

Neither of us leaned back. We just angled our upper bodies slightly forward, somewhere between tense and attentive.

Chairman Cho sat naturally in the seat ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of honor and said, “I’ve heard the report. When your data blew up the Germans’ simulator, they must have looked priceless.”

The chairman studied me with a satisfied gaze, then slowly pushed a luxurious leather approval folder across the table between the sofas.

“Take a look.”

I opened the folder carefully.

And the moment I saw the number written inside, I stopped breathing altogether.

At the bottom of the document, Chairman Cho’s red seal was stamped clearly and decisively.

“You got the pocket money Executive Director Choi arranged for you, right? That was from the division. This is the company properly taking care of you.”

I swallowed dryly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and forced my trembling hands to stay still.

The three hundred million I’d received this morning had already been a huge sum, but two billion was on an entirely different level.

The chairman smiled as if he knew exactly what I was thinking and continued, “Taxes are going to be a headache, so think it over and talk to Director Kang. He’ll handle it for you.”

“Taxes, you mean?”

“Yes. If you take the whole amount at once, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you’ll lose at least nine hundred million in taxes out of the two billion. If you spread it over two or three years, the tax burden will drop a lot.”

“Ah...”

I hadn’t even considered that.

Nine hundred million in taxes on a two-billion-won lump sum.

That was monstrous.

As I thought that and looked back down at the figure written in the folder, Chairman Cho went on.

“So, how is the work? I hear you’ve been taking on more lately.”

At that, I thought for a moment.

Being recognized like this now was definitely gratifying.

But before I earned that recognition, the company had treated me like an early-retirement case.

How was I supposed to act here?

While I was still thinking it over, Chairman Cho spoke again.

“That Yoon Taejin bastard put you on the early-retirement list, didn’t he?”

At his first words on the matter, I jerked and looked up.

I knew he must have been briefed, but I never expected him to bring it up himself.

Even as I was thinking that, Chairman Cho clicked his tongue and frowned.

“A bunch of fools who only know numbers. They nearly threw away the talent that grabbed the leash on those German bastards worth hundreds of billions, just to save a few pennies on a salary line in Excel. Tsk. The organization’s in terrible shape.”

And then he kept talking.

Listening to him, I let out a small, very small sigh.

I hadn’t been expecting an apology in the first place.

I never thought a chairman would apologize for the personnel decision of a mere manager.

So I had only been wondering what I was supposed to say when I met him.

But after hearing that additional bonus of two billion, and then this acknowledgment heavier than any apology, the knot in my chest loosened a little.

It felt like something that had been pressing against my solar plexus finally slipped down, naturally and without resistance, leaving me strangely at ease.

“This young man has had a very hard time of it. Still, hearing the chairman say that, I think he can breathe a little easier now. Thank you, Chairman.”

Executive Director Choi, who had been listening to the two of us talk from the side, finally spoke.

Chairman Cho shook his head.

“This happened because I failed to manage the company properly. Offering comfort is only natural. There’s no need to thank me, Executive Director Choi.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

Executive Director Choi bowed his head toward him.

All the while, I continued to study Chairman Cho in silence.

Until now, my goal had been simple: prove my abilities and make the company recognize me again.

After that, I had planned to use Ground Systems as a base and take revenge on the finance line that had caused all this in the first place.

And Chairman Cho?

I had only seen him as a chairman slowly losing ground in a power struggle against outside investors.

But now I was interested.

This was a man who had started his career as an engineer and built a giant corporation like this one from the ground up.

And right now, he was showing interest in me.

More than that, he was voicing his dissatisfaction with the finance line.

Which meant...

Could I join hands with this man?

If I proved my value to him even further, maybe he would support me with more resources and give me the power to tear down Director Yoon’s faction.

No, he would.

The chairman’s camp had already been at war with the finance line, which had the backing of outside private equity capital, for several years now.

As that thought reached its end, Chairman Cho took a quiet breath and said, “I don’t want this company ruined in the hands of money gamblers. A weapons company should be led by men who understand machines.”

It was as if he had seen straight through my head.

“The center of a company like ours has to be technology, and nothing else. Not money gamblers. You agree, don’t you?”

“Yes, Chairman. Absolutely.”

“That’s why I’m going to take a special measure. So that talented people like you won’t have to keep looking over their shoulders at the finance line.”

“A measure, sir?”

Chairman Cho rose from his seat.

His gaze shifted to Director Kang, who stood beside me.

Director Kang bowed to Chairman Cho, then said, “Soon, I’ll be gathering all the TF leaders in one place. The target will be the departments that have poured in massive budgets over several years and still have nothing to show for it.”

“I see. So you want me to review their data?”

“It won’t be a simple review. Department Head Baek will speak with the heads of those departments and choose, among them, the ones you think you can personally join to help bring their development to completion.”

At Director Kang’s polite explanation, I narrowed my eyes.

Help them? Those stagnant projects in other departments?

Then Chairman Cho cut in, interrupting Director Kang’s words.

“You’re putting it too politely. It’s not helping.”

Chairman Cho laughed heartily and went on, “I’m going to create a technical audit team directly under me.”

“A technical... audit team?”

“Yes. One that will go charging into every research center without caring whether it’s land, sea, or air, whip the fake technicians who’ve gotten lost in number games back into line, and uncover the real defects. I’ll give you my seal, so your job will be to play the grim reaper.”

Then Chairman Cho looked at me with an expression that seemed to ask what I thought.

Looking at him, I couldn’t help feeling my heart start to pound.

A thought was rising in my head.

Maybe taking down the finance line would be even easier than I’d expected.