Chapter 175
Chapter 175
Episode 175. Unpleasant Contact (3)
A few days later.
Shinwoo attended the department head meeting he had postponed due to the police station incident. And as he had expected, they had not gathered for a good reason.
“I believe the Performance Evaluation System the CEO is planning to introduce is premature. It will cause resentment among other employees, including those who were already slated for promotion under the existing evaluation.”
“That’s right. It would be easiest to proceed with promotions according to the existing evaluation for now.”
The existing department heads had been disciplined and dismissed for misconduct. Therefore, most of the people present were deputy department heads or managers who were acting as department heads.
Shinwoo stared at them from his seat in the center of the conference room and said in a heavy voice,
“If you’re going to conduct performance evaluations, shouldn’t there be at least a minimum level of sincerity?”
“What are you talking about?”
The ones who kept questioning him belonged to the Operations Department. Because they were also involved with the logistics center, they spoke up due to the issues arising from that area.
“When I established the new Finance Headquarters, what was the first thing I did?”
“……?”
Everyone seemed to be at a loss.
Shinwoo looked at them as if they were pathetic and signaled Jang Jin-ho. Then, the personal details of the promotion candidates in question appeared on the screen in the center of the conference room.
Receipts were included alongside their records.
“What are these receipts used for outside of work hours, and why are the work logs missing for the days you claimed to be on business trips? Furthermore, for the Member Free Skill Assessment, the evaluator was marked as being on leave.”
The last one, Member Free Skill Assessment, was a system where colleagues were randomly selected to evaluate an employee’s work attitude.
However, at the center, they had colluded and fabricated evaluations in an absurd manner. This was done even under the names of people who hadn’t worked that day.
“Can you still say the same things after looking at this?”
“…….”
All the mouths that had been chattering shut tight.
Shinwoo let out a sigh and sharply retorted,
“I have a mountain of work to do as CEO, and I don’t have enough time because of you all having me create this data! So where does your confidence in talking about evaluations and promotions come from?!”
Shinwoo’s voice boomed, filling the conference room.
“My nickname at the company these days is the Grinder, right? Shall we start grinding properly from now on? Of course, I don’t know how many of you here today will remain at the end of it.”
“That’s…”
A few people hastily tried to exclaim something but stopped.
It felt as if any word spoken would make them Shinwoo’s target.
“Executive selections and future promotions will be determined by the newly introduced Performance Evaluation System until the first half of this year. If you are dissatisfied with this decision, you may file a complaint. Of course, be prepared to have your wrongdoings thoroughly examined along with the review of your complaints.”
No one had expected Shinwoo to have checked the details displayed on the screen. Especially since the data was from the logistics center, not the headquarters, no one could predict what other issues might surface.
“…….”
“If you have nothing further to say, we will proceed as just decided.”
Shinwoo said that and left the conference room.
Meian, Rick, and Mark were waiting by the door. As they were heading to the CEO’s office, Shinwoo spotted Kim Jae-min walking towards them from the opposite direction.
He seemed to be on his way to an HR meeting.
Their eyes met, and Kim Jae-min gave a slight grimace before bowing his head to Shinwoo and passing by.
Then, Shinwoo noticed the dark bruise on Kim Jae-min’s left eyebrow.
“What’s wrong with his face?”
As he muttered, Shinwoo’s gaze shifted to Meian, who was following behind. He recalled Meian’s previous threat to deal with Kim Jae-min.
“…I don’t know anything about it.”
The question wasn’t really directed at Meian.
But Meian, perhaps feeling guilty, immediately denied it.
“What did I say?!”
“Cough—! I didn’t leave any trace. He probably didn’t even see me.”
Even if Kim Jae-min had known about Meian, there was nothing he could have done.
“I thought you’d forgotten after coming back from France.”
“I tried not to care, but that guy keeps badmouthing the CEO.”
“Badmouthing? What did he say?”
“That the CEO was… what was it? Lame? Lame…?”
Meian repeated strange words, perhaps due to his imperfect Korean.
“Could it be, ‘loser’?”
“Ah! Right. That. The kid said that.”
It seemed Kim Jae-min hadn’t learned his lesson even after being humiliated in the hallway last time.
“What a scoundrel. Well, in his current state, he won’t be able to stick around for long.”
“Isn’t he going to be fired?”
MH Distribution had undergone several personnel changes due to incidents. Even so, Kim Jae-min wasn’t fired and even ended up working under the HR department, which had absorbed the General Affairs Department.
“He’s too insignificant. He hasn’t even been involved in any company corruption. Given his personality, even those committing corruption at higher levels would have found him inconvenient to include.”
“Tsk—! I don’t want to see that kid’s face.”
“He might leave on his own after some time, unable to endure it.”
They chatted like that as they got into the elevator.
However, Jang Jin-ho, who was standing next to Shinwoo, received a call and said cautiously to Shinwoo,
“CEO. We have a guest on the first floor.”
“…Who is it?”
“He says he’s Bastian Marchion, the French branch manager of TSF Investment.”
Shinwoo’s expression hardened as soon as he heard the name.
At the same time, Rick and Meian, standing on either side of Shinwoo, also knew who he was, and the atmosphere grew tense.
“Have Secretary Jang go down and escort him up.”
Only Jang Jin-ho remained in the elevator as everyone else got off.
On the way back to the office, Shinwoo received a question from Rick in Code.
“Captain. Do you think Bastian came here knowing something? If there’s a possibility, I’ll prepare the team members right away.”
Meanwhile, Shinwoo was also thinking rapidly.
There were no traces left in France. Moreover, what happened there was an incident that TSF could not reveal.
They would be cautious about investigating externally, as that could also leave traces.
“It probably won’t go that far. Just inform the others and tell them to focus on their work.”
“Understood.”
With that reply, Rick also returned to his office.
Shinwoo sat in his office, and then heard a knock and saw the door open.
A well-dressed middle-aged Caucasian man with dark brown hair and eyes entered. It was Bastian Marchion, the French branch manager of TSF Investment.
Shinwoo introduced himself in English upon seeing him.
“I am Baek Shin-woo, CEO of MH Future Security.”
“My name is Bastian Marchion. I apologize if my sudden visit is an imposition.”
He replied in English as well.
His tone was friendly, but Shinwoo knew from the start that he had come with ill intentions.
“I’m not busy, so it’s fine. Would you like some coffee?”
“I’d prefer an iced americano, if possible.”
Jang Jin-ho, who had entered with them, left after receiving a nod from Shinwoo and returned with the coffee shortly after.
“What brings the TSF France Branch Manager all the way to Korea?”
To this question, Bastian took a sip of coffee, smiled, and said,
“Business. I also have something to hand over here.”
“I see.”
“Of course, meeting CEO Baek Shin-woo is also for business.”
Shinwoo tilted his head slightly.
“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it have been sufficient to convey the message through Branch Manager Kwak Chi-young instead of you coming in person?”
“Hahaha! I’m also in a position where I receive instructions.”
“Are you referring to Chairman James Cannon of TSF?”
Shinwoo assumed that the person giving instructions to Bastian would be the Chairman of TSF headquarters.
“The instructions come from there, but the actual business partner for this task is Harpas Industries.”
Shinwoo’s expression subtly stiffened upon hearing that name.
Harpas Industries. It was known as one of the top five defense contractors in the United States.
“Does an American defense contractor have any business with us? If it’s about the R2ED technology patent, perhaps you should be going to MH Tech or the Republic of Korea Defense Acquisition Program Administration instead of me.”
The R2ED technology, announced through MH Tech, was planned for export to the United States in cooperation with the Republic of Korea Defense Acquisition Program Administration.
It could amplify existing radar emission functions without equipment replacement, and Korea could leverage that to foster cooperation in a way that benefited the U.S., making it a win-win situation for both.
“That technology is already out of your hands. What Harpas wants is technology to develop together with them.”
No matter how great MH Future Security was, it was an affiliate under the MH Group, like MH Tech.
Therefore, it was absurd for a U.S. defense contractor like Harpas to suddenly show up wanting to discuss defense technology with MH Future Security.
“I don’t think that’s something I should be discussing.”
“I understand that it’s a sensitive matter internally. But can information truly be contained by force?”
Shinwoo could guess what Bastian knew.
“You’ve come because of the technician we are collaborating with at MH Tech, haven’t you?”
Only then did Bastian offer a deeper smile and reply,
“Actually, we tried to contact him separately, but MH Future Security and KITE are guarding him so thoroughly.”
The person Bastian was referring to was Jang Man-soo. Just as Jang Man-soo’s name had circulated internally for his R2ED development and reached Kwak Chi-young’s ears, it had also reached Bastian.
‘Did Kwak Chi-young pass on Jang Man-soo’s information? I wouldn’t have expected him to share it so easily, unless it was for exclusive rights.’
Shinwoo stared at Bastian and replied,
“I’m sorry, but we have no intention of sharing our technology with other defense contractors.”
“What Harpas wants is not sharing, but exclusivity. Of course, we will provide appropriate compensation and treatment. Therefore, I would like to meet him in person and explain. I implore you.”
At that moment, a chilling aura emanated from Bastian’s expression.
It was a calm and quiet request, but the weight behind it was considerable.
However, it was an unreasonable request. What kind of person would directly approach the CEO of another company to meet a key figure involved in defense technology?
This was not just audacious; it was an absurd situation.
“What will happen if I refuse?”
“Frankly, in such a situation, we would have no choice but to take extreme measures. Of course, there might be some noise.”
It was practically a threat.
Shinwoo looked at Bastian and said lightly,
“Well, it’s not impossible.”
Shinwoo shrugged and pressed the internal phone next to the sofa.
Beep—
“Manager Jang Man-soo. We have a guest, could you please come to my office for a moment?”
[Ok.]
With that reply, the door connecting to the adjacent office opened a short while later.
Today, Jang Man-soo was wearing a suit set with a pineapple pattern on a purple background, and underneath, a Hawaiian shirt with palm trees printed on it.
At the sight of Jang Man-soo entering, Bastian’s jaw dropped involuntarily.
“…….”
Jang Man-soo approached the sofa and, feigning ignorance, looked at Shinwoo and asked,
“What is it, CEO?”
“…….”
The problem was that Shinwoo was also dumbfounded.
He hadn’t seen Jang Man-soo today because he had gone to work separately for external duties early in the morning and then immediately attended the department head meeting.
“CEO?”
To Jang Man-soo’s repeated question, Shinwoo barely managed to regain his composure.
“Ah, Manager Jang Man-soo. This is Bastian Marchion, the French branch manager of TSF.”
“Oh! Bonjour. Je suis Jang Mansoo. (Oh! Hello. I am Jang Man-soo.)”
As Jang Man-soo greeted him fluently in French, Bastian looked surprised.
“You speak French.”
“A little. But why did you call me?”
To Jang Man-soo’s nonchalant question, Bastian let out a sigh and was about to speak.