The Surprise Appearance in Doowon's Forest
For that entire week, he had a mountain of things to process. Oh, and the sleeping in? It wasn't that he had suddenly turned into a diligent person overnight. She might not have known because she was fast asleep, but after she told him to go to bed early and pretended to drift off, he would carefully sneak out to the study, open his laptop, and study business-related matters until at least 3:00 AM as a rule. If he had only learned business administration in school, he had to learn the ropes of the field out in the real world. Since he was already being criticized for his young age, he had to grasp things at least three or four times faster than everyone else.
Given the sheer scale of the company, there was so much to learn, and he had to master it in a short time to apply it to practical work. He did oil refining, heavy industry and shipbuilding, construction and semiconductors, and trade. At that time, he couldn't even touch the financial divisions. Everything was English acronyms, figures, valuations—his head felt like it was going to explode. Even so, he endured it in an effort to be recognized by her, to be recognized by his father, and to make up for his past failures and mistakes.
Why didn't he tell her? Because it was like the military.
But he had to endure. He had to change himself through bone-grinding effort. He had to become an adult, and he tried to become someone she would like. Even if she was a wife who didn't have a shred of affection for him, he thought of her as someone he was responsible for feeding and supporting. And so, one day, while he was studying so hard, he heard this:
"Let's stop. I can't live like this."
"How can you do it three times a day? I can't keep up with that. Let's get a divorce."
Furthermore, that day had been exhausting at the office. An employee had committed a small embezzlement through a specific project, and he was the one who had signed off on the approval. It was a case that required a very deep dive to even confirm if it was embezzlement or not, and the company's commission set as Plan B was higher than the standard percentage, but it happened to be written in very small print in the middle of the document, not even on the very last page. It was the day he had finally cleared up the misunderstanding by explaining it to the audit team, wondering how to handle it. Even then, it was resolved well because the employees already felt favorably toward him. A few months had passed, and while things had become a bit more comfortable lately, he used to walk around with his nerves on edge. He was branded with labels like "parachute hire," "failed at something," and "caused losses to the company." In short, he was a problem employee. But if he had explained himself to every little thing, he would have looked even more pathetic. So, he kept his mouth shut.
In the beginning, he endured it with her love and support. And after that disappeared, he just found strength on his own by looking at her. The moment he felt he couldn't endure it any longer, he got a divorce.
Anyway, back to work, around lunchtime.
"Hmm..."
"Director, it seems the lunch box only came once."
"Eh, well. It's a bit burdensome. But why?"
"Ah, I just wish I'd told you I wanted to try it back then," the secretary says, devoid of any playfulness, sounding regretful.
Should he tell her not to eat it if it comes again, just in case it was poisoned? Just as he was thinking that,
"I think there's going to be a personnel reshuffle, and it looks like I'm going somewhere else."
"Eh? Really? Ah... now I have to call you 'hyung-nim'. Hyung-nim."
"No, it's nothing. I think I'm going to the Strategy Team 2 of the Planning Office."
In this company, secretaries didn't just stay in the secretarial track. Once they reached the assistant manager level, they would select outstanding male and female employees and place them in the secretary's office. Then, the secretary watches over the executive's shoulder to see what kind of work they do, observing the process. And it goes without saying that if they are then rotated into practical work, their efficiency increases. It's the realization that, 'The executive I served handled work this way, so if I do it like this in the field, it'll be handled more quickly.' And now, the secretary who had served him for two years was going to another department.
"Hey... isn't that a key position? That's great, isn't it?"
"I heard rumors that it's brutal. Overtime is mandatory. Did you hear anything, Director?"
"The team leader there—I mean, the Vice President—is from a life insurance background, that's about it? That's why Strategy Team 2 usually handles finance-related work."
"But when I joined the company, my track was in financial accounting..."
People usually think it's a demotion if the job is different from their track. He wondered if someone had mocked him and sent him to a strange place, but,
"Nah. I didn't send you. And the Planning Office itself is where finance experts usually go."
"Ah... is that... so?"
"I heard there are 30 finance experts in Team 1. I think they're taking you because of manpower requirements there, too."
"Ah..."
"Don't worry. The HR Director doesn't really do demotions. He's the type to just lay you off if he doesn't like you."
He chuckled and patted the secretary's arm a few times, telling him to do well. The secretary bowed respectfully and said that he had enjoyed his time and learned a lot while by his side.
"What could you have learned from a young kid like me? I'm just..."
"You're a superstar. I learned a lot about how to deal with people. Your work style is both quick and thorough..."
"Drink some water and then give me the compliments. Haha."
Anyway, then who is coming as the next secretary? He hoped it would be someone decent.
He logged into the company intranet and kept refreshing the received messages window, impatient to know.
After that, he went out for lunch. As he got on the elevator, other employees greeted him, and when the elevator stopped on the way down,
"Director! I was actually thinking of going up to see you, is lunch okay for you?"
"Yep, that's great. I was going to eat alone, so this is nice."
"Let's go to the 2nd-floor food court."
After getting off on the 11th floor, an employee bowed to him and suggested they have lunch. He didn't have any particular plans, so he agreed. After entering the restaurant with the employee and another staff member, the three of them sat down, greeting other employees who bowed to him along the way. It might seem a bit strange to bring a child of a wealthy family to a noisy place like this, but he and the employees who knew him didn't care one bit. This person was,
"It's noisy."
"It's always like this. I heard the pork cutlet here is really good."
"Oh, I'm going to have that too. It looks like it's ready. Let's go get it."
They brought three pork cutlets side by side and sat down. The employee sitting in front of him was Team Leader Jeon Yuhan, someone with whom he had a good relationship and was close—no, as the Support Division, they had no choice but to be close—he was the Team 1 Leader of the Purchasing Department. Purchasing Team 1 was mainly responsible for supplying steel, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and construction materials. When the company's demand plan was handed down, their job was to receive it, contact pre-listed companies, and then supply the necessary products to each department. That was the job of the purchasing department. And he was also a somewhat distant senior from his alma mater. The employee next to him looked like a new recruit.
"Who is that next to you?"
"Ah, yes! This is new recruit Hwang Seong-ju! He's learning about silicon supply-related work in Purchasing Team 1..."
"You don't have to be like that. He's a nice guy. He won't bully you."
"Ah... yes..."
He and the Team Leader chuckled and started eating, watching the new recruit who was stiff with military-like discipline. It was a predictable conversation. When asked if he could contact a supplier directly because something wasn't being supplied well,
"Hmm. I'll make arrangements so that a member of our division can contact them."
"Yep. Thank you."
"You're a senior anyway, so you can speak comfortably..."
"How could I do that?"
"I heard you drank a lot with our advisor too..."
"He usually called me at 10:00 PM. Does he do that to you too, Director?"
He chuckled and said,
"Even if you're a chaebol, you can't avoid that. That position, I mean."
Then he asked the Team Leader,
"So, what's the occasion for this lunch?"
"Ah, I just wanted to see your face. And I was going to thank you for that oil-related thing last Friday..."
"Umm... thanking me... with pork cutlet... and with my employee ID..."
"No, ah. Why are you like that? Later, I'll... sushi..."
"I'm just joking."
Then the Team Leader said what he had originally intended to say.
"One of our team members was appointed as your secretary, Director."
"Ah, really? I was curious, so I was going to look at the personnel data. How are they?"
"It's a woman."
Eh? Why?
"No, for a male executive, a male secretary..."
"Right. It's strange. Even if I ask, they don't say anything. But that friend is a decent person. Very smart, and same school, same major as you and me."
The vibe was ominous.
"Age..."
"Two years younger than you, so 26?"
The vibe was extremely ominous.
"Hey, why are you making that face... But she really works well. I heard she graduated early? Graduated high school a year early, and university a year early. But this is the first time I've heard there's an early graduation system for Industrial Engineering."
"Ah... it was created a year before I entered. But I didn't take the liberal arts courses..."
"Really? Oh... Anyway, she joined the company right after graduation, and her entrance grades were good. I remember she had high grades on her personnel record card, too. She's a new recruit who joined right after I became a Team Leader, so I remember."
Whether she had ruined her grades or done well, he didn't know. He had almost no interest after that.
"So she was promoted to Assistant Manager this time."
"Still, it seems she wasn't acquainted with me. If I didn't even know her after working for so long..."
"How could she send a message to you, Director? Even I'm comfortable now, but in the past, my hands would shake before I pressed send, so I had to calm down. I checked for typos several times before hitting enter."
Then, the meal ended, and after telling the new recruit that they would likely see each other often and suggesting they eat together again next time, he went back up. And then, as soon as he opened the door to his office,
"So, usually when the Director handles this kind of case..."
"Yes!"
"Here, and about here. These approval documents come up once a month. It's a matter that needs constant management. So, check if the signature is here, and check if there are any changes from last month, then submit it. The department designation is Art Media... Ah, Director."
...? Ah, he knew the vibe was ominous.
"I thought I should train the successor right away, so I was checking the documents and teaching her..."
No, seriously. You... why are you popping up here again...
"Hello!"
Ah, that same tone...
"From now on, I will be working as the Director's secretary, Eun! Byeol! Nice to meet you!"