The Secretary's Office Internship
"Unicorn, shall we head over as well?"
"Pardon? Where to?"
"Where else? The base—rather, the chairman's residence. Since you've become an intern in the secretary's office, you should greet the chairman first."
"What! The secretary's office?"
Hong Beom-soo was startled at the mention of the secretary's office. He had assumed he would end up like an outcast as he had during his time at Deokjin Polytechnic University, but the secretary's office? During his second stint in college at Deokjin Polytechnic, he had not been outright bullied, yet fitting in with his classmates had proven difficult. No matter how much he lowered himself and tried to approach them casually, the age gap was simply too vast. Moreover, Deokjin Polytechnic students rarely chose to enlist in the military while still enrolled, thanks to the ID Group employment benefits. The standard route was to complete all four years straight, finish the internship, receive the full-time offer from ID Group, and only then enlist. Though no official directive existed, the Deokjin students had reached an unspoken agreement. Most argued there was no telling how things might change after the two years and six months of service. Everyone acknowledged that military service reset one's mind, a fatal drawback at a school where the paid-leave system operated reliably. Thus, finishing four straight years, securing the ID Group offer, and enlisting afterward made the most sense. As a result, Hong Beom-soo had found no returning students with whom he could reasonably socialize.
"I'll explain in the car. Shall we get going?"
"Ah! Yes, of course!"
At Kim Dae-seok's words, Hong Beom-soo moved at once. The plaza in front of ID Technology headquarters, where the intern MT closing ceremony had been held, adjoined the parking lot, so there was no need to walk far.
"This is the car."
Wow! To Hong Beom-soo's ears, Kim Dae-seok's declaration that this was "the car" brimmed with pride. And why not? A red Ferrari 575M stood before them, a vehicle no ordinary salaryman could ever dream of purchasing. The pride was well-founded, for Kim Dae-seok had not bought the Ferrari with his own money; it had been awarded to him by the company. ID Group was famous for generously rewarding hard work. Not only Kim Dae-seok but hundreds across the group had received sports cars as bonuses. Those like John Carmack, whose projects succeeded one after another, had collected more than five supercars as rewards.
Kim Dae-seok climbed into the driver's seat first, and Hong Beom-soo took the passenger seat. The Ferrari roared to life with a thunderous engine note and sped away, leaving a red afterimage in its wake.
"I thought my assignment was being held because it only said ID Group!"
Hong Beom-soo raised his voice inside the car.
"Ah, you misunderstood because of the name. Well, I suppose it could be confusing at first glance."
Kim Dae-seok nodded without smiling at Hong Beom-soo's mistake.
"It becomes clear once you look at the group organizational chart."
Hong Beom-soo had assumed "ID Group" referred to the entire collection of subsidiaries, but it actually meant the holding company itself. Unlike Korea's chaebols, ID Group maintained an exceptionally clean ownership structure. Whenever a subsidiary went public, Yoo Jae-won contributed the shares necessary to exercise control to the holding company, ID Group, as an in-kind contribution—from Android onward through Technology.
"Then ID Group, the holding company, must be the world's largest unlisted company."
"Well, yes."
Kim Dae-seok's reply again carried unmistakable pride. After all, among large unlisted firms, Cargill was known for its size in grains, and Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company, was another. Valuing Cargill was difficult because much of its assets remained private, but Aramco's value could be estimated relatively easily from its oil fields. Yet calculating the value of ID Group, the holding company, was even simpler. Since it held fifty-one percent of each listed subsidiary, one merely needed to add half the total market capitalization of all affiliates. Even a rough mental calculation by Hong Beom-soo yielded several hundred billion dollars.
"The holding company ID Group is not merely a paper entity. It maintains actual organizations to exercise management rights and support them: the secretary's office, audit office, strategic planning office, security office, and so on. From now on, you will intern in the secretary's office, Hong Beom-soo."
Only after hearing Kim Dae-seok's explanation did Hong Beom-soo finally understand the ID Talk message he had received earlier. When he first saw it, he had hidden his disappointment, yet his heart had ached. Now that feeling seemed like ancient history, replaced by excitement. As the red Ferrari crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and approached the waterfront mansion in Sausalito, tension rose within him.
He had first seen Chairman Yoo Jae-won in person at the start of the intern MT. Back then he had been surrounded by his fellow interns in the auditorium, but now he was going to meet the man face-to-face—an entirely different sensation.
Meanwhile, the red Ferrari demonstrated the full power of its twelve-cylinder engine, climbing the cliffside road and arriving at the mansion in an instant. Even after entering the residence, they passed through several stringent security procedures before finally reaching the study.
One hour. That was how long Hong Beom-soo spent with Yoo Jae-won. The appointment had been scheduled for twenty minutes, but the conversation naturally extended. He felt dazed, as though an hour of his life had simply vanished. Though Hong Beom-soo had considerable social experience in his late thirties, the meeting with Chairman Yoo Jae-won felt completely new.
A few remarks lingered in his memory:
- Your resume is extraordinarily unique; it caught my eye immediately.
- The fact that you've completed military service is also special.
- Returning to student life after already working in society is something not everyone can do.
It had been Chairman Yoo Jae-won himself who personally selected Hong Beom-soo for the secretary's office internship. Hong Beom-soo had worried that his age would be a problem, yet that very age and experience had proven advantageous. He had also feared that his background at Ilseong would work against him, given the well-known rivalry between ID Group and Ilseong in Korea. Yet the chairman he met in person seemed unconcerned by such matters.
- I have high expectations, but you need not overexert yourself.
- You are an intern, after all.
- If you uphold a few principles and handle the basics well, you will have every chance of becoming a full-time employee.
Hong Beom-soo could hardly believe how accurately the man read people's hearts. The mention of the secretary's office had multiplied both his motivation and his sense of pressure a hundredfold. The chairman's advice was precisely what Hong Beom-soo needed as he resolved to do his absolute best. Above all, the dignity evident in the way he treated others as equals left a deep impression.
Hong Beom-soo possessed ample social experience, including encounters with chaebol families. While working at Ilseong SDS, he had once seen a member of the Ilseong royal family. Though the meeting had been brief, it had not been pleasant. Externally, they cultivated an image of gentlemanly refinement, yet internally—toward those who received salaries from Ilseong—they showed no mercy. Basic human respect was out of the question; one was fortunate not to be treated as a slave. The memory alone made him never want to associate with such people again. He had despised them so thoroughly that, upon hearing Deokjin Polytechnic was accepting new students after its founding, he had immediately retaken the college entrance exam and applied.
"Well, this is the secretary's office where you will be working from now on."
While Hong Beom-soo had been lost in thought, the Ferrari driven by Kim Dae-seok arrived in front of a building. It was a stately three-story structure in Sausalito, the fashionable district north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Although Kim Dae-seok commuted to Yoo Jae-won's residence, the secretary's office itself was located in Sausalito, close to the mansion.
"Until last year we were renting space at ID Technology headquarters, but after the chairman instructed us to expand the secretary's office, we moved here."
Sausalito, with its waterfront facing San Francisco Bay, was an affluent, artistic residential area and a tourist destination along the beach, making business buildings feel out of place. Nevertheless, because Yoo Jae-won's mansion stood nearby and ID Group had no financial concerns, purchasing an entire building for the secretary's office had been entirely feasible.
Just as when entering the residence, Hong Beom-soo had to pass through several layers of security—facial recognition, smartphone sealing, and more—before he was finally allowed inside the office.
"Ah, one more thing. The default language inside the office is English. We use Korean when handling Korean-side business, but all other work and conversations among staff are conducted in English."
Kim Dae-seok did not bother asking about Hong Beom-soo's English proficiency. After all, if his English had been insufficient, he could never have graduated from Deokjin Polytechnic, where every major course was taught exclusively in English.
"Understood! No problem at all!"
English had been the subject Hong Beom-soo had struggled with most. Yet through grueling effort he had managed to handle not only daily conversation but also his university lectures. That was how he had graduated without a single paid leave.
"Everyone, gather around."
The moment Kim Dae-seok entered the office with Hong Beom-soo, he called the staff together. Twelve people assembled. They were a diverse group. Only four looked unmistakably Korean; the remaining eight were foreigners of various ethnicities. It was immediately clear why English was required.
"This is intern Hong Beom-soo. As announced yesterday, he will be working with all of you for the next year."
Kim Dae-seok then yielded the floor to Hong Beom-soo. Understanding that he was expected to introduce himself, Hong Beom-soo gave a brief self-introduction—his name, age, future aspirations, and a request for everyone's guidance. Everyone applauded in welcome, though one person wore a gloomy expression: Park Hyun-ah, the youngest member of the secretary's office. She had been delighted at the prospect of no longer being the youngest, only to be confronted with a junior fifteen years her senior.
"Park Hyun-ah, please handle the new-employee registration procedures for Intern Hong Beom-soo—issuing his ID card, registering his account, and so on. Also brief him on the information he will need for his work. Once the registration is complete, Hong Beom-soo, you may go home and prepare yourself. Regular duties begin tomorrow."
Having entrusted Hong Beom-soo to Park Hyun-ah, Kim Dae-seok departed without further ceremony. Escorting the intern to meet the chairman had been Kim Dae-seok's responsibility; handling new-employee registration was well within the scope of the secretary's office's youngest member.
Though Park Hyun-ah's expression remained reluctant, Hong Beom-soo showed her the proper respect due a senior. Despite being a native Korean, he was not the sort to demand deference simply because of his age.
"This will be your seat, Intern Hong Beom-soo."
Thanks to his attitude, Park Hyun-ah spoke to him more gently than at first.
"We have dedicated staff who handle cleaning the office and restrooms, so you don't need to sweep or mop just because you've come to work. Simply keep your own desk tidy. There's no need to clean anyone else's workspace either."
It was practical advice born from Park Hyun-ah's own experience: as a new employee she had once arrived early to clean and organize desks in hopes of impressing her seniors in the secretary's office, only to be severely scolded.
"Ah, and you're aware that you must never connect smartphones or USB memory sticks to company computers, correct? The USB ports are removed at the factory, but I'm mentioning it just in case."
"Yes, we covered that thoroughly during the MT. Security first!"
Among the corporate culture points emphasized most during the intern MT, security awareness had ranked highest. Even if a project failed, there would be another chance, but violating security protocols resulted in immediate action. An incident during the MT itself had driven the point home. After a visit to the ID High Tech research institute, one intern's security sticker—placed over the smartphone camera lens—had been found damaged. The intern claimed the phone had shifted inside his pocket, but photographs taken inside the research institute were discovered on the device, exposing the lie. The consequence was swift: immediate repatriation to Korea and an intensive investigation by the audit office. Naturally, the internship ended then and there.
"Details regarding salary and employee benefits—the matters you're most curious about—will appear as notices the moment you log into the company network with the ID card you received."
"Ah, I see."
"Yes, and because it contains sensitive personal information, please neither show it to others nor ask to see theirs. I doubt you'll find it insufficient."
At Park Hyun-ah's words, a flicker of anticipation stirred in Hong Beom-soo. He was already married with children. The severance pay he had received upon leaving Ilseong SDS was nearly depleted. Compensation was a critical issue.
"All company business is conducted through the work ID Talk account. Only instructions received via ID Talk or the company network are reflected in personnel evaluations and carry official weight. The same applies among colleagues. Even verbal instructions must later be recorded in an ID Talk message to be recognized. If someone gives a verbal order but fails to send the corresponding ID Talk message, report it without hesitation."
This was a universal rule Yoo Jae-won had established throughout ID Group to prevent executives and managers from exploiting subordinates for personal errands. It also served another purpose.
"Lastly, all such digital work is monitored through AI Gold. This was implemented at the chairman's direction; the monitoring data is used to improve the AI's ability to assist with tasks. Therefore, when you first access the company network, you will also see a consent form for providing personal information. If any questions arise, feel free to ask. My desk is over there."
Park Hyun-ah had conveyed only the essential information with clarity.
"Ah, and since you're just starting your internship, you won't be given difficult assignments right away. So, fighting!"
"Yes! Thank you."
Although Park Hyun-ah had been greatly disappointed by Hong Beom-soo's age, she possessed a kind heart and offered encouragement before returning to her own seat.
Hong Beom-soo's workspace was simple: a large, spacious desk, a comfortable mesh chair, and a single computer. Even so, sitting down filled him with emotion. It felt as though the four years of hardship were finally being rewarded.
When he powered on the computer, the familiar Android operating system login screen appeared. After entering the work account he had just received, a welcome message displayed, followed by the desktop and mouse cursor.
Following Park Hyun-ah's instructions, he launched the group business processing program EPS from the desktop, logged in again, and a notice screen appeared.
"Whoa!"
Hong Beom-soo could not help exclaiming as he began reading the notice. The intern salary was listed at 5,500 dollars. In addition, a separate housing allowance of 800 dollars would be provided. Once again he felt sorry for having been unable to contribute much while attending Deokjin Polytechnic. From this point forward, everything would be different.
With his motivation fully recharged, Hong Beom-soo threw himself into life at the secretary's office. The first task assigned to him was market analysis—specifically, evaluating the effectiveness of Ilseong Telecom's domestic marketing campaign surrounding the release of Omnia and gauging Korean public perception of ID Group.
He had been told interns would not receive difficult assignments, yet if this was not considered difficult, he could scarcely imagine what challenges others faced. Fortunately, Hong Beom-soo still retained the practical skills he had honed at Ilseong SDS, so he began working through the task methodically. After five days of strenuous effort, he completed the report and pressed the send button with trembling hands.
One hour later, a summons from the chairman arrived.