Achievement Unlocked on the First Try
"...I think someone incredible just joined us."
"If we work like this for a year, won't she stop being a secretary and get promoted to team leader...?"
"I'm scared... I'm going to lose my seat..."
It reached the point where, whenever she tried to head to the administrative support department because the copier was out of toner, a staff member from the support team would intercept her and run to fetch it instead.
"Secretary Eun! It's a call from the CEO of Doowon Energy!"
"Yes, I'm coming!"
"Secretary, where are you? The Executive Director is looking for you urgently."
"I'm in the restroom!"
When she took the CEO's call asking why they were changing shipping companies, she answered clearly and logically in front of the department staff while holding the phone, and the CEO immediately agreed. When the secretary came out and told the purchasing team to place a bulk order for silicone, the staff carried it out without a single question.
After lunch, he stepped out himself and said, "I'm really backed up right now, so Secretary Eun will come out here. Please treat it as if I'm the one giving the instructions and process it."
As soon as he said that and disappeared, everyone clicked their tongues in awe as they looked at her. Yet, she didn't show a hint of arrogance or overconfidence, quietly discussing matters with other staff members to get the work done.
You ask if talking to her wastes time?
"Excuse me, Secretary Eun, what is this task..."
"We're exporting resources processed by the petroleum affiliate through Doowon Trading. We originally used Koryo Shipping, but the total cost including vessel movement, insurance, and freight is 22% more expensive than Maersk. So we decided to go with Maersk. Maersk is also closer since they're in the 7th Mining Zone."
"Ah. Yes. I'll approve it right away."
Because she’s Eunbyul the Rapper.
By the time work was wrapping up, around 4:00 PM, the Business Management Control Director, who rarely came down, appeared and asked, "What is... this? Why is everyone like this? Did a war break out...?"
Then the Planning Office Head came down, and this person was even more spectacular.
"Executive Director? The Support Division seems very busy today. I called because I heard there was a rare earth issue..."
"CEO Cha, don't just stand there, come over here and help me pick up these file folders."
"Ah. Yes, Executive Director. I'll do it right away."
CEO Cha Beomho, who had become the right hand of the Senior Managing Director, was back to acting like a new recruit today, dreaming of a promotion to Vice Chairman. While that was going on, the extension phone showed that a man named Seok Jonghwan, the CEO of Doowon Trading, was calling him.
He gave a nod, and the Planning Office Head immediately picked up the phone.
"No, Executive Director, what is this sudden chaos? The materials division and the new growth division are both exploding, so we're requesting support from other departments..."
"Hey CEO Seok, it's me, Cha Beomho."
".... Di, Director."
"Just do as you're told."
"Ah..."
"You're working overtime today. Do you have time to be making calls? Assistant Manager Seok? Do you want to go back to your overseas sales team days?"
"No, Team Leader—no, CEO—well, I'm a CEO now..."
"Go down there and help the materials side. I'm going to send you a document related to the resource division, so stamp it and bring it up immediately. No, hey!!! Why haven't you said anything about the gallium documents I sent bundled with the rare earths at lunch!!!"
"I apologize. Director. I will process it immediately."
The Planning Office Head shouted at the CEO of the trading company, who was five years his junior, and then carefully hung up the phone. He couldn't treat the next Chairman's phone carelessly. Then, he bowed his head carefully to apologize for the rudeness of shouting, and quickly put the documents into a file folder for safekeeping.
After telling the Director that he had worked hard, he finally sent him back upstairs at 5:30 PM. He felt absolutely no guilt about having someone as high-ranking as the Planning Office Head do his work. If anything, he thought the Director would understand.
-
"Ah, today was really..."
"You've worked hard."
"It's been a long time since we were this busy. Right, everyone?"
He finished his work to some extent and stepped out of his office. Papers were flying over the partitions of the neat Support Division teams, and extension phones were tossed aside, making beeping sounds. Her desk was no different. In just one day, she had imprinted upon everyone that she was no ordinary person.
Then, just before 6:00 PM, the door suddenly opened, and his father, the Chairman of the company, appeared.
"Cha, Chairman."
The atmosphere in the Support Division office turned icy in an instant. Worried about what he might have done wrong, he immediately forgot about the passion he had been burning with and bowed politely as soon as his father approached.
Then, "I heard about today. They say you caused quite a commotion."
"I apologize. It wasn't a big deal..."
"..."
The Chairman signaled to the Chairman's Chief Secretary behind him, and the Chief Secretary began handing out prepared envelopes with names written on them to everyone around. He received one too, and when he checked the contents, it contained a check.
"Chairman, why all of a sudden...?"
"This person is your secretary?"
"Ah... yes. The work today was handled by Secretary Eun..."
"Hmm."
The Chairman looked around at the staff, who were watching him with puzzled expressions, and asked, "Managing Director Han, haven't you seen the news yet?"
"Yes, Fath—no, Chairman. I've had a lot of work today, so I haven't seen the news..."
The Chairman signaled to the Chief Secretary once more, and the Chief Secretary whispered to another staff member nearby to turn on the TV. As soon as they turned on the TV mounted in the corner of the office, they felt their hearts sink.
"I will continue with the breaking news I just reported. At 4:09 PM today, a 225-ton domestic oil tanker that departed from Taiwan collided with a barge and is currently stranded. We attempted to communicate with the tugboat to determine the exact location of the oil tanker, but it is confirmed that there has been no response so far. We are currently trying to confirm whether crude oil is leaking..."
The TV was turned off. Then, everyone got goosebumps and subconsciously clutched their own arms. Especially him, who thought to himself, 'What if Eunbyul hadn't watched the news this morning?' 'What if Eunbyul hadn't reviewed the refinery work?' 'What if Maersk Line hadn't picked up the phone?' 'What if I had just said let's proceed as planned after looking at the schedule?' 'What if I had just brushed off the secretary's words and done other work?'
"It's like a cow catching a mouse while walking backward. ...That's a skill, too. Everyone, go home. You've worked very hard."
"That..."
"I don't need to tell you where it is... I'm sure you all know."
If they had found out that the oil tanker they contracted had run aground on some leisurely day, the Support Division and all the employees of Doowon Energy might have had to give up on going home and do several times the amount of work they did today over the course of several weeks. They would have had to run around trying to find a replacement ship, Doowon Trading would have been getting calls every minute about penalties for contract delays, and not only would the bonus money in their hands be gone, but their ability to leave work would also be wiped out, forcing the entire staff to work overtime.
And that's not all. If an oil spill occurred there, they couldn't even expect the oil tanker to move across the Yellow Sea. They might have had to go all the way around from the East Sea down to near Indonesia. They would have incurred every possible penalty, and transportation costs would have increased significantly.
And as the Chairman quietly left the office, everyone's eyes turned to him and his secretary. Then, while he was preparing to leave work with a dazed expression, the department staff were surprised by the flood of messages while trying to turn off their computers, and they called him and the secretary over.
"It seems we did something big today. Very..."
"..."
It wasn't just messages. On the company intranet bulletin board, there were countless posts praising the Support Division for achieving the great feat of blocking the company's exposure to the media. Naturally, that was to be expected, as the job of the holding company's employees was not just governance, but also checking the work status of all affiliates and acting as the backup person in charge. It was called a role, but they were mostly the kind of existence that blocked things after they exploded.
"Executive Director, someone is asking if we called a shaman to the Support Division, haha..."
"Indeed. Really... does Secretary Eun have a sixth sense..."
To other employees, it could certainly seem strange. Suddenly, the quiet Support Division Head raised issues about affiliate transportation and requested changes, and since the instructions came down, they did it, but they wondered if it was okay to change the previous contract at will just to save costs, only to hear later that the originally contracted ship had run aground. It was no exaggeration to say that someone had known about the accident in advance and dealt with it.
"...For now, we did what we had to do, so let's head home..."
"I think this is the first time in a while we've done real work. Executive Director."
"Hmm."
"That's true. We're always just receiving work from other departments, but we handled this ourselves. Right, Team Leader?"
"That's right. Honestly, it was a hell of a struggle, but it's rewarding. It's fun... Executive Director, it feels like I'm actually working at a company for once."
He nodded slowly and looked at Eunbyul. Even though she was the protagonist of this event, she still stood a step back, quietly watching him. He didn't know what she was thinking.
"You've all... worked hard. Go home. Come in tomorrow and we'll see how the situation..."
He looked around, "...If things go well, let's have a company dinner next week. We got some pocket money, and it's quite nice to buy ourselves some trouble. Don't you all agree?"
The staff cheered.