Is This Not My Job?
We held regular team meetings.
It was a meeting where everyone was expected to keep track of what each person was working on, and how far each project had progressed.
“We’re planning to create an MA Team.”
So I used the team meeting to explain the changes that were coming to our company.
“What’s an MA Team?”
“It stands for Medical Affairs. Think of it as a team made up of medical experts.”
“Then do we need to recruit doctors?”
“That’s probably how it’ll go. We’ll need at least one doctor who can handle communication with the outside world on equal footing with other doctors, and internally we’ll need someone who can check whether we’re actually doing things to medical experts’ standards.”
In keeping with the peaceful atmosphere at our company, everyone just nodded along.
They trusted that I had a reason for saying this, even if they didn’t know what it was.
“So I’m planning to make an offer to Director Son Boyoon, whom I introduced to you last time. That means Juwon, you and I will probably visit her sometime this week.”
But the moment I said that, Jae-yoon and Hyung Seong-hoon both raised their hands at once.
“Yes? Go ahead.”
“Am I not going?”
“Why are you visiting with Juwon?”
It was obvious what they were asking: why was marketing and sales being left out while PM was the one going?
Honestly, it wasn’t completely unexpected.
Sales probably wanted to meet the doctor too, since it was sales, and marketing had recently gone out to do market research with customers, so they must have assumed this would be the same.
They probably didn’t understand why the PM would be taking their place at this stage.
“This time, we’re not going to recommend our product. We’re going to invite her to join our company in the future. That’s why I’m going with Juwon, who’ll be involved in the most work.”
But my answer didn’t seem sufficient for either of them.
Seong-hoon especially didn’t seem to get it.
“I’m the one setting the marketing direction for the product, so shouldn’t I go too?”
“We need to check first whether the product development direction is even right. It would be better if Juwon, as PM, met her first. And it wouldn’t be good to show up in a crowd of three when we meet the director.”
“Why not?”
“It might feel too burdensome.”
But what had seemed like a conversation that would end there went on even longer.
“Wait a second. Isn’t planning the marketing direction actually PM work?”
It was because of Ha Juwon’s question.
The instant Juwon finished speaking, Seong-hoon’s eyes widened fiercely.
“What? What do you mean? Marketers plan marketing direction.”
“‘Marketing’ covers a broad range. The PM figures out the product’s core message, and marketing carries out activities that fit that message and the target audience, don’t they?”
“Then what, I’m just supposed to execute the PM’s plans?”
“Hold on, hold on.”
Startled by the sudden change in tone, I stopped the two of them.
They both went quiet, but they still couldn’t completely hide the hostility in their eyes toward each other.
“This sounds like an R&R issue, so let’s talk about it separately after the meeting.”
What was even more surprising was that none of the other team members seemed shocked by the two of them.
Apparently, this kind of thing between them wasn’t new.
I had no idea when or how this tension had grown between them.
But regardless of how long it had been there, conflicts like this had to be corrected as quickly as possible.
“I’ll move on to the next agenda item.”
For the rest of the meeting, Seong-hoon and Juwon both wore dark expressions.
Even when they tried to act normal, it showed.
No matter how I looked at it, this didn’t seem like something that had started only today.
“All right, that’s it for the weekly meeting. Seong-hoon and Juwon, talk it through together a little more.”
“Good work.”
“Good work.”
The moment the other members filed out, the expressions on the two of them grew even darker.
They didn’t seem to have any intention of hiding how they felt.
“Shall we talk about it?”
At my words, both of them stared straight at me.
“Have the two of you had conflicts before today?”
No answer.
But even that silence was an answer, and I knew it.
“It would help if you told me what happened.”
I opened the laptop I’d closed earlier so I could check the details more specifically.
Then Badugi popped up again.
Tell them you’ll talk to each one separately. Get one of them out first.
Ah. Right. That made sense.
“I’ll talk with Seong-hoon first. Juwon, please use this time to prepare for the meeting with Director Son Boyoon.”
“Yes.”
Ha Juwon left without hesitation, and I quietly looked at the laptop screen.
I felt a little like a teacher trying to calm down children, but these weren’t children. They were adults on my level.
And the Seong-hoon sitting in front of me was older than I was.
What was I supposed to do with this?
Say that complaints between team members should go through you.
Fortunately, Badugi decided what I should say first.
“Seong-hoon.”
“Yes.”
“Has there been a conflict between you and Juwon before?”
At my question, Seong-hoon quietly nodded.
“If you could tell me what the conflict was, that would help.”
He said nothing. It looked like he wanted to speak, but was holding back. So I closed the laptop, which was starting to feel too rigid and formal, and looked him in the eye.
“Seong-hoon.”
“Yes.”
“I hope you’re not staying quiet just because I’ve known Juwon longer.”
He looked away for a moment, as if embarrassed by my words.
“I don’t judge people by things like that.”
I spoke evenly, and only after a long silence did he finally open his mouth in a very small voice.
“I feel like Juwon doesn’t respect my work.”
I nodded quietly without saying anything else. I could roughly guess what was going on.
“You may not believe it, but I think Juwon doesn’t respect marketers all that much.”
I believed it. Even in my previous life, Juwon had clashed with marketers. In fact, she’d often clashed with developers too. She was a PM who could program better than most developers, and she wasn’t completely free of pride in that title.
“You heard her earlier too, but she seems to think that because PM means Product Managing, she should be the one to devise every strategy herself. So she believes marketing planning should also be handled by PMs from the ground up.”
Yes. That was exactly it.
“For now, I think both PMs and marketers have their own roles. I see marketing planning as the marketer’s job.”
First, I tried to calm Seong-hoon down. If I’d been in his position, I would have been angry too.
“But I’d rather you told me when something like this happens, instead of showing the conflict in front of everyone.”
Still, I had to say what needed to be said. In a startup this small, with only a handful of people, two people fighting could make the whole office atmosphere turn sour.
“Two adults are fighting; they should just fight it out and fix it themselves.”
“No.”
“She’s fine when she’s drinking. Just a little weird at work.”
“That’s exactly why she can’t act like that at work.”
To the muttering Seong-hoon, who seemed embarrassed by the whole thing, I took a firm stance.
“When there’s a visible conflict inside the team, the whole team starts walking on eggshells.”
That seemed to surprise him. I don’t think he’d expected me to be this firm.
“So don’t argue in front of other people. Bring it to me, and let’s narrow the gap in your opinions through me.”
Seong-hoon closed his mouth again, looking as if he had a lot more he wanted to say.
“I’m honestly very attached to this company right now. If you can’t trust me, then at least trust that I want to protect it.”
Only then did his expression shift a little, and he looked at me with a slightly different expression. After a moment of thought, he let out a long sigh. It seemed he’d made up his mind.
“At first I thought I was just upset because I wanted to be treated with some seniority, you know?”
“Yes.”
“But once I realized my job was being dismissed, after that I just couldn’t keep my face under control.”
“That makes sense.”
Fortunately, Seong-hoon believed I was sincere about TA Medical. So he told me everything he’d been worried and upset about without holding anything back.
“I don’t think marketing is just about making promotional materials.”
“I think so too.”
“It’d be good if we could sit down and really sort out the R&R.”
“I’ll set up a meeting for that sometime this week.”
Of course, as he talked, his emotions did flare up again. But as the conversation went on, he gradually found his calm again.
“Anyway, I know she doesn’t mean anything by it, but I still hate it. I just hope things like this don’t happen again.”
“Understood. Thanks for telling me.”
“Should I go call Juwon back in?”
“No, I’ll call her. You go ahead first.”
“All right.”
Only after Seong-hoon left did I let out the sigh I’d been holding in and open my laptop again. I needed to look at the only thing I could really complain to when there was nowhere else to vent.
Managing people is always the hardest part.
Badugi displayed a speech bubble before I could even say anything.
“Juwon is really good at actual work. But I don’t know why she’s like this.”
Because she’s drunk on her own brilliance.
“I’ve talked to her every which way in my past life too, but it didn’t get through. There were people who literally quit because of Ha Juwon, you know?”
Then she’s bad at work. Company work.
At Badugi’s cold answer, I fell silent. I hadn’t been looking for comfort, but it felt like it had just dug up thoughts I’d been keeping buried.
Juwon was deeply attached to TA Medical too. That was why she kept wanting to take over other people’s work and do it herself. The results were usually good, but it was still the kind of behavior that could damage the company’s stability.
Think of it this way. A lot of companies struggle because of people trying to coast without doing any work, but here, everyone’s only angry because they want to work.
That was true too. Looking at it positively was better for my mental health anyway.
“Right. Juwon just loves our company too much, that’s all.”
Badugi, who had heard my mutter, smiled and popped up another speech bubble.
Then use that fact.
＊＊＊
“Ah. Juwon.”
The moment I messaged her through the company messenger, Ha Juwon opened the conference room door. Her bangs were completely flipped up, so she must have run over.
“Did Seong-hoon talk a lot of trash about me?”
She was speaking in a sharp, clipped way, which meant she probably knew she was at least a little in the wrong.
I kept my tone as calm as possible.
“He didn’t badmouth you.”
“Liar.”
“If you start by assuming I’m lying, talking becomes difficult.”
Ha Juwon also faltered slightly at my firm tone. Looking at her frozen expression, I gave her a gentle smile.
“Sit down. Let’s talk. Honestly, both of you.”
I wasn’t planning to scold her. It would have been pointless. Juwon was the kind of person who would quit in a fit of anger, but she wasn’t the type to reflect or change just because she’d been scolded.
“Just say whatever you want, comfortably. Don’t filter yourself.”
For now, I’d listen to everything, and then slowly work her over from there.