Chapter 231
Chapter 231
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 231
Chapter Title: Deputy Noh's Ordeal
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Trrring!
The phone bell rang right by her ear. Just hearing it sent chills down her spine, as if her hair was standing on end.
Noh Se-hee hesitated before picking up the receiver.
"Yes, this is Deputy Noh Se-hee from Hyunmu Franchise Headquarters."
- Is this Deputy Noh?
"Yes, Owner Choi. What brings you to call?"
- Is this the right price for the raw materials this time? I feel like something's wrong.
Noh Se-hee squeezed her eyes shut, sensing the flood of emotions about to pour forth.
"Ah... The price I sent is correct."
- It's correct? This?
Sure enough, excitement began to seep into the voice on the other end of the line.
- How can you spring this on us overnight without any proper explanation! Our sales are barely scraping by, and if you jack up the material costs like this, how are we supposed to eat? Huh? I really...
"I'm sorry. It's the policy."
While Noh Se-hee wrestled with the receiver, a notification popped up on her computer screen for a new email.
She checked it—it was from the team leader.
'This quarter's performance report...'
Just seeing the subject line plunged her mood into gloom. The team leader's voice, forever cracking the whip over her, seemed to echo in her ears.
- Next quarter's goal is a 30% increase. Everyone, pull together!
- Deputy Noh, failed to hit it again? If you keep this up, I can't give you a good evaluation. You know that, right?
- No excuses about the franchise owners. Isn't pushing them to boost sales your job, Deputy Noh?
She didn't need to look to know the results were abysmal. Noh Se-hee just wanted to close her eyes and shut it all out.
"Owner. I'll compile everything you said today and report it up the chain. If you have any other concerns, feel free to call anytime. Yes~. Yes, thank you."
With a promise that would never be kept, Noh Se-hee finally managed to hang up. Her ear burned hot from how long she'd been pinned to it.
Before she could even catch her breath, the stack of papers on her desk caught her eye. They were reports compiling complaints and requests from the franchise owners under her watch.
'One more piled on.'
Thinking she'd have to revise them, she turned her gaze back to the screen.
The black was letters, the white was blank paper. Her scattered thoughts made the text blur together unreadably.
'Tired.'
The word drifted unbidden through her mind.
'How long do I have to keep this up? The constant arguments are exhausting enough.'
Until retirement? The mere thought was horrifying.
'Even when I push them relentlessly, inspections always show the same old stagnation. They kick up a fuss over every single price hike. And my input doesn't even factor into headquarters' decisions anyway.'
Caught in the middle, Noh Se-hee was the only one left gasping for air.
"Hoo."
She let out a deep sigh and was about to dive back into work.
Trrring!
The phone rang again. Noh Se-hee picked it up with sluggish movements.
"Yes. Hyunmu Franchise Headquarters, Deputy Noh Se-hee."
- Ah, yes. About this quarter's penalty...
A flustered middle-aged woman's voice came through. A wave of fatigue crashed over Noh Se-hee.
- I know you have to pay a penalty if sales targets aren't met. But could you let it slide just this once? Please?
"Owner. We'd love to turn a blind eye, but it's not up to our discretion."
It was one of the measures to drive sales. No idea whose brainchild it was, but it left underperforming stores trembling under monthly pressure.
To Noh Se-hee, though, it was just another task on the pile.
-Please. Huh? I just don't have the strength to keep going anymore.
The same old desperate plea, every time.
'Did they all take the same training seminar or something?'
The franchise owners parroted the exact same lines like trained parrots—it was starting to feel eerie.
Noh Se-hee replied woodenly.
"If you give me your name and branch, I'll compile what you said and try reporting it upward."
-Oh! Really? Thank you! Thank you so much.
Sniffling sounds came through the receiver.
-I really thought I was done for...
She barely registered it. Just the usual script.
Noh Se-hee hung up and forgot the conversation entirely less than thirty seconds later.
Ding!
A new email had arrived.
'Submit a performance analysis report for the upcoming meeting?'
That meant a public dressing-down for her dismal numbers. There had been countless meetings and performance reviews before, but never one demanding a breakdown of a single person's results.
'I'm screwed. What about my evaluation? Promotion's toast? My peers are already up for review. Why did I get stuck here of all places...'
The resentment was fleeting. With nowhere else to go, the anger turned inward, gnawing at her.
'It's all because I'm incompetent. I should've been tougher, cut no slack, hounded the owners for sales. What was I thinking—my weakness caused this mess.'
The thought of the humiliation awaiting her at the meeting set her hands and feet trembling.
The countless stares that would bore into her, the whispers, the brand of incompetence.
Her head throbbed.
She was too frantic just clearing the tasks right in front of her. Her vision narrowed to the edge of her desk—nothing else registered.
That's why she didn't notice.
Not until death came knocking at her door.
"...Yes?"
Noh Se-hee repeated in disbelief.
"It's not... a system error?"
"Yes. I told you, it's not."
"Then what is it?"
A nonchalant reply came back to her question.
"They said she died. That person."
"...."
"Couldn't handle the debt, apparently. Everyone's hushing it up so it doesn't hit the news. That's why you didn't know. Don't go blabbing about it."
"...."
"Deputy Noh, you get it?"
Her superior's voice sounded distant and fuzzy. She could hardly remember making it back to her seat. Only the sensation remained of the ground vanishing beneath her feet, of tumbling endlessly into the abyss.
Noh Se-hee sat there blankly for a long while, staring at her computer monitor.
Somehow, it didn't feel real.
"Oh, right. Deputy Noh."
The team leader poked his head out from across the room.
"Pay your respects later. The company's sending condolence goods and a contribution. Deliver them for us."
"M-me?"
"You're the one who handled her, aren't you? Who else would go?"
"...."
"Anyway, head over. If timing's tight afterward, just clock out."
Noh Se-hee barely managed to squeeze out a reply.
"Y-yes."
The sunset stretched behind Noh Se-hee's back. Red light draped the twilight haze across her face, casting shadows.
Her expression was impossible to make out clearly.
"I got shoved into going to the funeral home on impulse. I remember rushing out to buy black socks."
"...."
"I knew before I even stepped inside. A wreath with the company name had been toppled over."
Noh Se-hee continued steadily. It was impossible to guess how many times she'd replayed and regretted it all to speak of it so calmly now.
"They refused the condolence goods stamped with the Hyunmu logo. Even turned down the contribution. Said they didn't want so much as a single grain of rice from us."
The wretched scene floated vividly before her eyes.
"No husband, raising her son all alone. A young man—just barely an adult—stood there in mourning clothes."
"...."
"I barely remember the relatives who rushed me when they heard I was from Hyunmu, or the hands grabbing my collar, the curses. But..."
Noh Se-hee squeezed her eyes shut and pressed on.
"That young mourner's gaze... I can never forget it."
There was an odd power in Noh Se-hee's quiet telling. Jo Yi-ruk and I watched her without a word.
"After that, I got hastily transferred to another department. Probably not out of concern for my mental health—more likely just to shuffle the poor performance elsewhere."
Noh Se-hee gave a bitter smile. It was as if I could faintly feel the stretch of time she'd endured there.
"I buried it deep in a corner of my heart. Thought I'd carry it forever... Until today, before seeing the meeting you led, CEO."
I gave a small smile.
"No need to make it sound so grand."
"No. It's incredible."
Noh Se-hee cut in firmly. Then she bowed deeply at the waist.
"Once more, thank you. CEO."
"I told you, no need."
I'd done it as much for my own sake. What was there to boast about, getting thanks like this?
"Thank you."
Drip.
A water drop hit the floor. Noh Se-hee remained bowed, head down.
"...Thank you."
I no longer tried to force her upright.
Ting-a-ling!
The bell on the door chimed brightly. A few familiar faces sat inside the empty space.
I grinned and called out.
"Drinking without me?"
"Woo-yeon's here?"
Han Mi-ae greeted me with a delighted face. The person seated across from her was...
"Uncle?"
At my call, Kim Jong-chun flinched.
His back was to me—he didn't even turn around. Hmm. What was this about?
"Someone's here, and no hello?"
"Wha?! It's not like that...!"
Kim Jong-chun whipped around in alarm, then caught my amused expression and made a face like he'd been had.
"What's this? You stared me down so boldly earlier—can't manage it now?"
"I-I didn't stare boldly! How many times have I been watching your every mood!"
"No need for that."
I shrugged.
"Told you. Public and private stay strictly separate. In the meeting room, we stick to our positions. Here, we keep the personal friendship."
"That's easier said than done..."
What was so hard about it? I had zero qualms, but Kim Jong-chun must have felt like being friends while representing the franchise owners was some kind of betrayal.
'No real reason to.'
In the end, for headquarters and franchises to thrive together, open dialogue was essential. It wasn't about one side winning and the other losing—compromises were key.
'And it's not a bad deal for me either.'