Doing Good Deeds Brings In Money

After Eunbyul got home, her mother greeted her. "You're back, daughter?"

"Yes..."

"Oh my, I saw the news. You must have had such a hard time. Did it go well?"

"Yes... it was good... it turned out well..."

Even though she was the one who suggested it, she couldn't help but feel the exhaustion. She slowly walked into the bathroom and took a long shower. The smell of oil still clung to her hair, and sand was stuck to her face. Her clothes were so dirty they would need to be washed at least twice.

After showering and changing into comfortable clothes, Eunbyul said, "Mom, I'm going to the dermatologist."

"Okay. Oh, right. There are some gift certificates there. Use those. Are you going to sleep there?"

"Yes... I think I have to..."

Her mother, who had been doing the dishes, neatly took off her rubber gloves and quickly went into the master bedroom, returning with three or four gift certificates. Judging by that, it seemed she visited that clinic often.

"Is this your first time sleeping there since you started working?"

"Yes... I only did that back in college..."

"Get some good rest. Get every treatment you can. Sea air is so bad for the skin."

"...Even the smell felt salty..."

Rubbing her forehead, her face still etched with fatigue, she took the gift certificates and headed to the dermatologist. Driving carefully, determined not to drive while drowsy, she barely managed to arrive at the clinic.

"...Hello..."

"Hello! Oh my, it's been a while."

"Yes, I only came for whitening last time..."

"Yes, yes. That's right. You didn't make a reservation, did you?"

"No... can I get some treatments done today and just sleep? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I stayed up all night..."

She decided to get everything she could. She opted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for a level of care almost equivalent to a wedding package, and as she lay down comfortably, various things were applied to her face, stuck on and peeled off. Whether she felt the laser or not, she fell into a deep sleep.

While she and Suhyun were asleep, the company was in an uproar.

"Wait, do we have some connection with Goryeo Shipping?"

"It's strange. Why did he go?"

"...Still, it's true he did a good deed. Whatever the reason."

"True. Honestly, if they told us to go, we'd be lucky if we didn't get seasick."

"How did he drag all that back? It's all our company's ships..."

"He must have come straight back from Geoje to Incheon."

"Wow..."

The employees watched on TV what he had done while they were in dreamland, looking as if they couldn't believe their eyes. Even some who weren't familiar with him and had only heard bad things about his past mistakes changed their tune after seeing him pulling people from the oil tanker to the passenger ship, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gripping their hands tightly one by one.

"I know he's a rare kind of good person, but to that extent..."

"But doesn't he get some kind of reward for that? It's at the point where they should pay him separately."

"My uncle works at the shipyard, and he said he didn't get a dime. He even bought them suits with his own money and sent them off by helicopter. Jeez..."

"Holy crap..."

It was the same at the shipyard. Even though they had stayed up all night, the employees who had napped in the helicopter showed up to work to help their colleagues.

"Why did you come to work?"

"I have to help. There's no one to supervise safety today."

"Why did you come when you could have left that to Hoseok..."

"That's right. Foreman Choi is coming in today and is preparing."

"Hmm..."

One of the employees who helped him muttered that everyone must be tired, but the other employees kept stopping him.

"What about training and deploying the technicians?"

"..."

"Look, man, I can't sleep comfortably at home. When I close my eyes, I think about the site. How can I just leave?"

"Team Leader, still..."

"If we mess up the deployment, everyone's going to end up in the water."

"Ugh, you'll be the first one to splash in, Team Leader. You're not going to fall asleep and collapse while working, are you?"

"Then tie a rope to me... I'm going to check the dock. If you guys want to go home, just go!"

The employees in suits among the workers had sleepy eyes. He had told them it was okay to go home, but instead of going home, they went to a nearby convenience store.

"Give us time to drink coffee while we work."

"Incheon smells like oil, and here it's paint dust... Ugh, I'm gonna puke."

"Give me the bitter one. Black..."

While that was happening, at headquarters, other executives were also very surprised, though they remained quiet since the Chairman hadn't mentioned anything. The Operations Manager, who was having tea with the HR Manager while flipping through a few personnel records, said, "Did you know Director Han flew to Incheon?"

"...Indeed. Why... he doesn't seem like the type to do that..."

"There's something going on. Last time, he even refused a promotion. He said he was lacking."

"Lacking... it's probably because his past is holding him back."

"...."

The Purchasing Team and Planning Office on other floors were also constantly talking about him. Meanwhile, the Compliance Department and the Head of External Cooperation had no time to talk about yesterday's events because:

"We don't know anything either."

"No, I'm not calling about anything bad,"

"...Reporter, I'm telling you, we really don't know! The Director is currently resting at home, and the other employees are on sick leave. There's no one to ask, so if you keep asking, there's nothing I can answer."

"Still, we have to report something new later..."

"We will contact you when we distribute the press release."

"At least the reason he went, whether there was any consultation with Goryeo Shipping..."

"Please inquire with that company. We are also in the process of grasping the situation."

"Jeez..."

"For now, I'll check separately by tomorrow and give you a press release next Monday. For now, please just report the facts confirmed by the Bureau Chief. We can't wake up someone who's sleeping. It's not like the Director did anything wrong."

"But Manager Park! He didn't do anything wrong! That's why we have to report it right away!"

"I'm hanging up, Bureau Chief~"

Only after lunch did the commotion subside. Seeing the phones quiet now, it seemed so. The Support Division might still be struggling, but the other departments had quieted down. Only after catching their breath, the Support Division employees who saw the news around 3 PM asked, "But why on earth did he go?"

"..."

"..."

"Maybe because he's a good person, he couldn't just watch."

"Nah. He's a man whose time is money..."

"That's right. He has such a special relationship with his wife, so leaving the house like that..."

"He even takes care of all our family events. Sometimes he looks foolishly kind. Maybe that's just a foolishly kind meddling habit."

"..."

"That's a positive meddling habit."

While he and the other employees were fast asleep, his image within the company improved by one, no, two levels. If they didn't know the reason why he did it, someone would try to find the reason in his past behavior and appearance. The employees viewed him favorably, created reasons for it, and soon believed it to be true.

Then,

"I think the Director just... went because he could help."

"He's always been that kind of person. A kind person... a fool?"

"Still, calling an executive a fool."

"But it's true. He always buys snacks by himself, and when he comes into the office, he looks around and shares them all, only eating a drink himself."

"And three months ago, when Employee Kim had to take her mother to the hospital, the Director told her to go and stood in front of the copier all day..."

"He's a bit of a smart pushover. That kind of feeling."

Around that time, the regular executive meeting was underway. After discussing various agenda items, the Chairman signed a few documents, closed the folder, and said, "I heard Director Han Suhyun went to Incheon yesterday. Is everyone aware?"

"...Yes."

"Where is the President of Heavy Industries?"

"Yes! Chairman."

"I heard you did something after receiving a call yesterday morning. Thank you for your hard work."

The table was very long, so the only way to find someone was to call them out directly. President Ham Ju-hyun, hearing his name, stood up hurriedly and moved his head toward where the Chairman was sitting.

"Yes. That... regarding yesterday's event, I heard it was something Director Suhyun proceeded with on his own."

"..."

"It's a strange thing. He goes to handle other people's accidents. So anyway,"

The Chairman cleared his throat and called for Heavy Industries again. The President, who had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bowed in response to the "thank you for your hard work" and sat back down, stood up again to answer, then,

"Calculate the fuel costs and ship operation costs from yesterday well and send them to the External Cooperation Department."

"Ah, yes."

"And where is the Head of External Cooperation?"

"Yes! Chairman."

"You submit that to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Send it as soon as you receive it."

As the Chairman finished speaking, the Finance Manager raised his hand slightly, and after the Chairman nodded, he stood up from his seat.

"Well, since you said it was an independent proceeding... even if we request relief from the government for such parts, it won't be accepted..."

"The President said he would give it, so we should submit it."

"...?"

"They say the government will provide all the costs because Director Suhyun did that. Uh, additionally, the Chinese Ministry of Transport also says they will bear the maritime rescue activity costs and environmental liability contributions due to the salvage of the ship."

"....!"

The executives were stirred. To give money for something done without anyone asking.

"The ship accident investigation is underway, and they say it's a mess right now... Incheon Port has been partially closed. When they received the operation permit from China, the captain and shipowner mistakenly reported the amount of crude oil to be transported. It's about 15% of the total..."

"So I thought it wasn't a big deal, but the oil is bursting and leaking there... If that had just been left in the sea, it would have gone to the Taean level."

People looked at related articles on their phones. In fact, in the photo of the inner port inside the Incheon Port lock, oil could be seen leaking onto the ground, and the photo of some officials standing there, looking dumbfounded at the water and oil endlessly coming out through the cracks in the oil tanker, was enough to cause a huge shock.

"They say the government might award medals to those who took related measures..."

There was another stir.

"Anyway, since that's how it turned out, tell everyone in their respective departments not to make too much of a fuss, and since we need to confirm the facts when Director Han arrives, let's not say anything rashly until then. I have to go to the National Assembly tomorrow, so handle it quickly. You two."

"Yes, Chairman."

"We will do so."