A Clean Finish
Young-hoon swung his feet lazily.
He had left the office around ten and headed up to Marketing Team 3 on the 25th floor of LK Electronics in Yeouido.
He had worked there for nearly six years, and now that he was about to quit, the feeling was strangely bittersweet. Still, it was a workplace where he'd accumulated both resentments and fondness alike, so a wave of nostalgia was only natural.
Director Kim Jong-seok and Assistant Manager Kim Jin-man had already arrived and packed up their personal belongings; only Team Leader Park was still gathering his things.
Team Leader Park greeted Young-hoon warmly.
"Welcome, President Kim. You're a bit late, aren't you?"
"It's Friday, so the traffic was terrible. You're all packed already?"
"There's not much to pack. A few books and you're done."
"Where are the Director and Assistant Manager Kim?"
"They said hanging around here felt awkward, so they're holed up in the conference room."
As Young-hoon packed up his personal things, he found himself wondering about the results of the supply audit. He had a pretty good idea of how it would turn out, but he wanted to make absolutely sure there wasn't some unexpected outcome.
"By the way, how did the supply audit go? Heard anything?"
"We can't talk about that out here. Come to the conference room and I'll fill you in."
"You got it."
Before long, everyone leaving LK Electronics, Young-hoon included, gathered in the conference room. Thinking that today would be the last time they used it, the room felt newly poignant.
Self-styled Detective Park relayed what he knew about the audit results.
"It came out exactly as expected. Deputy Head Cho and Deputy Hong resigned of their own accord, and Team Leader Gyeong and the person in charge got six-month suspensions as a major disciplinary action."
"What about the Director?"
"No fault assigned. In other words, innocent. But the two dealerships that dumped the phones into the electronics market got hit with six-month shipment suspensions. So President Jung of Kyungin Distribution apparently went to the audit office and turned it into a war zone."
"That bastard had the nerve to storm the audit office and raise hell? What for?"
"He claims he only did what head office told him to. Deputy Head Cho even thoughtfully wrote him a memorandum to that effect. President Jung took that memo and filed a formal petition with the group audit team. So right now, the sparks are flying every which way."
"What does that mean? Explain in detail."
"Well, Deputy Head Cho, the one who wrote the memo, has fled overseas. In a word, completely unreachable. So President Jung has sunk his teeth into Managing Director Kim, and I hear the audit team has formally requested a prosecution investigation into him. Apparently he raked in kickbacks from other dealerships besides Kyungin Distribution too."
"Really? How much did he pocket?"
"I only know through the grapevine, but they say it's at least two billion won. The whole Domestic Marketing Division is in an uproar. And early next year they're conducting a total audit of every department's supply contracts. In a word, they're screwed from the very start of the year."
"So the main culprits of this whole affair are going down like that."
"Exactly. Live by wrongdoing, and someday the reckoning comes."
"What about Deputy Hong, that son of a bitch?"
"Also unreachable. Looks like he bolted overseas together with Deputy Head Cho."
"So the boss gets reported to the prosecutors while the enforcer and the lackey flee abroad?"
"My guess is Deputy Hong's family smuggled him out of the country. Once things quiet down, he'll slink back in. Either way, our paths will never cross again, so let's not waste energy on it."
While Young-hoon was holding his last meeting at LK Electronics, Deputy Hong and Deputy Head Cho were engrossed in casino games at a hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Deputy Head Cho had resolved to submit his resignation to LK Electronics the Friday before last, and had agonized endlessly over how to live the rest of his life. That was when Deputy Hong called him. His mother, Chairman Gu Hae-ran of LK Distribution Group, wanted to see him.
Cho had a rough idea of what she wanted, but with his own future hanging in uncertainty, he couldn't simply bend to Deputy Hong's demands. The fact that Chairman Gu herself was requesting the meeting, however, suggested she had already decided to grant at least some of his conditions.
At the meeting with Chairman Gu, he was asked to take the fall for everything. In exchange, she promised that once the company settled down, her distribution group would bring him on board. In the meantime, she asked him to spend a couple of months abroad keeping her son company — which was how he came to be lounging in a Las Vegas hotel, enjoying a vacation that wasn't quite a vacation.
Deputy Hong knew the fake delivery scandal had put his career management in crisis, and so he had schemed to make Deputy Head Cho shoulder all the blame. But Cho turned the tables and counter-proposed: he would take the fall if they gave him firm assurances about his future. Even Deputy Hong had to admit Cho was a capable man. He had even caught himself thinking he might keep him around someday, when he himself became a chief executive.
When Deputy Hong relayed Cho's proposal to his mother, she said she'd meet him once, and so the meeting took place. There, Chairman Gu readily accepted Cho's terms, and it was decided that the two of them would play abroad until the storm blew over. And so the pair now idled away their days at the Las Vegas casino, enjoying a holiday in everything but name.
Young-hoon and the others collected their personal belongings and left LK Electronics. With that, six years of life at the company came to a complete close. But human connections, after all, have a way of continuing somewhere, somehow, when no one can predict it.
The four men of the former Marketing Team 3 moved over to Girin Entertainment. President Lee Jae-man was out, his desk empty, and the office still felt unsettled, as though it hadn't quite found its footing.
Young-hoon called a brief meeting, partly to announce his upcoming business trip to the United States.
"You'll have your hands full, Director Kim, but I think stabilizing the atmosphere here is the most important thing right now."
"We've been with the company less than a week, so if you give us a little time, we'll take measures to get everything settled quickly."
"Yes. Please spread the know-how you learned at LK Electronics as fast as you can. And work with President Lee Jae-man to come up with ways to get our girls' name out there widely. The domestic market matters, but I'd especially like you to research strategies for building their overseas profile."
"I've actually already discussed that with President Lee. He wants to produce music videos and upload them to Mutube. He's probably in a meeting with a video production company as we speak."
"It's not as if company funds are tight, so make full use of it."
"Understood. I'll see to it."
"Who's trailing Five Girls right now?"
"Section Chief Heo Kyung-hwan is with them."
"Then call Director Heo and ask him to film footage of Five Girls' performances and send it to my email. It might come in handy on the trip to the States."
"I'll make sure it's in your hands no later than Monday of next week."
"And are domestic contract matters your responsibility, Team Leader Park?"
"Yes, I'm handling those."
"Our company currently has a running-guarantee OST contract with Sinabro Production. Get the contract documents from President Lee Jae-man, review them thoroughly, and make absolutely certain we secure our share."
"I was just about to mention it — I received the contracts this past Tuesday. I've already pinned down our company's share for the two exports to China and for the ratings of this week's broadcast of Love After Separation."
"Good. One more thing — I'm scheduled to be in the United States for a week starting next week. I plan to meet with buyers there, and at the same time check whether our girls might have a shot at breaking into the American market."
"I heard about that from my father. But why is my father going along?"
Team Leader Park had no idea why the man was bringing up his own father mid-meeting. He seemed suspicious of something, but Young-hoon figured the best move was to answer calmly and without flinching.
"As I understand it, he's accompanying them in his capacity as personal physician to Chairman Choi and Chairman Jang. I don't know the details beyond that. Also, President Wang Mimi of China may come to Korea the week after next. If she does, Director Kim, I'd like you to handle the reception."
"Understood. I'm in constant contact with President Wang Mimi as it is, so you needn't worry."
"Then let's end the meeting here."
Afterward, Team Leader Park pulled Young-hoon aside.
"President Kim, what's the real reason my father is going to America? He used to hate overseas trips more than anything, but ever since the China trip he's been practically giddy. Something about this smells fishy."
"It's exactly what I said. If you're that suspicious, why not ask your father directly?"
"Really? Well, Detective Park has been quite active lately, so I'll crack the case soon enough. If you know anything, feed me some intel, will you?"
"You bet your sweet bippy. I've got to head back to my office now, so let's talk when I'm back from the States."
"Sure. Have a safe trip."
Young-hoon couldn't quite bring himself to tell Team Leader Park that his father was flying to America to ride a white horse. He exchanged farewells with the staff and practically fled back to his own office, where he printed out a copy of Love Met Again, the drama script he'd recently completed, to prepare for the trip. Just in case, he also packed five USB drives loaded with Five Girls' songs.
Once he'd prepared enough, he spent his remaining hours transcribing the screenplay and clocked out right on time.
When he got home, Su-jin didn't seem to be back from work yet. The cleaning lady had done such a thorough job that there wasn't a speck of dust anywhere in the apartment.
Before long, Su-jin came home.
"Well, this is a first, Big Brother. Home by six sharp on a Friday night? Did something happen?"
"Says the one walking in at this hour. Don't you have a boyfriend?"
"I told you before — the doctors at my hospital keep hitting on me and I'm not accepting any of them."
"Stop fibbing. What are we doing for dinner?"
"Should we go mooch off the girls downstairs?"
Young-hoon and Su-jin went down to the lower floor, cadged a dinner off the neighbors, and chattered away before heading back up. Judging by the fact that Ki-jin still wasn't home at that hour, he was probably out knocking back drinks somewhere.
When Young-hoon started packing his travel bag, Su-jin eyed him and piped up.
"Big Brother, another business trip? Where this time?"
"America."
"So they even send a lowly grunt like you to the States? Weren't you in Domestic Marketing, though?"
"Mm-hmm~ It's a reward vacation slash business trip. You have no idea how well I'm doing at the company. I'm quite the talented asset, you know."
"Hilarious. You're a talented asset? You barely scraped into a third-rate college just to land that job. My dinner's about to come back up."
"Keep that up and I'll kick you out of my apartment."
"Hmph, what a petty big brother I have."
"That's why you should be nicer to this oppa."
"Have I ever not been? So when are you leaving and when are you back?"
"Leaving Sunday, back around the weekend after next? I won't know my return schedule until I get there."
"Just so you know, if you come back without presents again, I'm not opening the door."
"Fine, fine. I'll think about it."
With his packing done, Young-hoon retreated to his room and worked on transcribing the drama script until sleep claimed him. And so the Friday night slipped away.
Saturday required no early rising, so Young-hoon deliberately slept in. When he opened his door and stepped into the living room, the apartment was silent — Su-jin was evidently still asleep as well.
Around ten in the morning, a call came from Chairman Choi. Eight billion won for the elixir would be wired that very morning, and they were to meet at Incheon Airport at eleven the next morning.
By the time the call ended, Su-jin finally stirred and came shuffling out to the living room. Helplessly bickering and roughhousing with her, Young-hoon relaxed at home and finished packing his travel things, elixir included. Su-jin had offered to drive him to the airport tomorrow, which took the hassle out of getting there.
But then a problem arose. Young-hoon now owned three cars, and he found himself agonizing over which one to take. He couldn't exactly hand Su-jin the keys to a high-end vehicle and ask her to drive it. In the end, he had no choice but to settle on the compact car.