Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: First Day on the Job
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Thud-!
Lee Dae-hyuk set the supplies box down on his desk.
The box contained ballpoint pens, Post-its, business card holders, file folders, and various other office supplies.
‘Ah, so this is what salarymen use to get work done.’
As he organized the supplies, Lee Dae-hyuk felt a strange sense of novelty wash over him.
This must be what an ordinary life felt like.
‘…….’
He sat down, lost in a bit of sentimentality as he finished sorting the items.
But the moment he turned on the computer...
That sentiment vanished in an instant.
“Deputy Joo Hyo-min, what should I do from now on?”
“Hmm. Hmm. Hmm...”
At Lee Dae-hyuk’s question, Joo Hyo-min crossed her arms.
In truth, Daehan Construction had been suffering defeat after defeat in its competition with Seojin Construction up to now.
All the major large-scale projects had been snatched away by Seojin.
The only things they had built were a few apartment complexes of around 200 units in new city developments.
Seojin Construction had devoured the massive pie that was South Korea.
Daehan Construction was left picking up the scraps.
That was the reality.
And so, the PR team at Daehan Construction, which had been robbed of its core substance, busied itself with tasks like drafting PR strategy plans, selecting and managing external ad agencies, and collaborating with those agencies to produce “promotional materials.”
Promotional materials included online ads, TV spots, print ads, and the like.
The PR team handled devising operating strategies for these and monitoring consumer reactions.
But right now, the PR team had nothing worthwhile to promote.
They spent half the day just idling.
So what task could they assign to a new hire?
Still, they couldn’t just tell him to sit there doing nothing.
Uncle had asked him to teach the newbie properly.
“Hmm...”
As Joo Hyo-min furrowed her brow in thought...
Park Min-chan’s voice suddenly rang out.
“Lee Dae-hyuk, it’s making me drowsy in the afternoon. Go to the break room and brew some coffee.”
“Yes?”
“There’s nothing much to do today—or for the time being, anyway. So you should at least brew coffee to perk up your seniors while they work.”
Lee Dae-hyuk let out a wry chuckle at Park Min-chan’s order.
Brewing coffee wasn’t upsetting him.
In Kim Geon-woo’s life, back in his younger days, he had shouldered all the coffee runs for his “hyungnims.”
The issue was that Park Min-chan’s gaze toward him had changed.
Gone was the courtesy and greed from their first meeting. Now, his eyes were filled only with contempt.
It must have shifted after hearing about his father’s job.
But he wasn’t angry.
For a guy like this, a fitting level of response would suffice.
He already had one weakness in his grasp, after all.
‘Sure. For now, I’ll play along.’
Flashing a meaningful smile, Lee Dae-hyuk stood up.
“Yes. I’ll make it really tasty for you.”
Was it because it reminded them of their own rookie days being bullied by Park Min-chan?
Most of the PR team members looked at Lee Dae-hyuk with pity.
And among them, Joo Hyo-min, who felt the heaviest burden, stood up.
‘It’s not because I pity that parachute kid. It’s for Uncle.’
Making excuses to herself about her uncle Kim Dae-min, Joo Hyo-min approached Lee Dae-hyuk.
“I’ll help you, so let’s go together.”
‘...What help do I need just to brew coffee?’
Though puzzled by Joo Hyo-min’s kindness, Lee Dae-hyuk nodded.
“Thank you.”
.
.
.
A smile crept onto Lee Dae-hyuk’s lips as he entered the break room.
The chairman’s son running coffee errands... What a comedic situation.
Still, aside from one person, these were the precious “talent” leading Daehan Construction.
He could handle this much volunteer work.
A moment later.
“Want to try a cup first?”
Having brewed coffee for everyone, Lee Dae-hyuk offered a cup to Joo Hyo-min.
Joo Hyo-min alternated her gaze between the coffee cup and Lee Dae-hyuk before speaking.
“...Aren’t you mad?”
“If I got mad over something like this, I’d never survive in society.”
Joo Hyo-min shook her head at Lee Dae-hyuk’s nonchalant reply.
“You’re more unique than I thought.”
“The coffee should still taste good, though.”
Lee Dae-hyuk smiled at Joo Hyo-min, who was looking at him curiously.
In fact, perhaps influenced by her earlier advice...
Her eyes now held a mix of goodwill and curiosity.
If Uncle had gone out of his way to request this, he couldn’t really be just the son of a neighborhood mart owner.
Yet he was suffering this “humiliation” from Team Leader Park Min-chan simply for being the mart owner’s son.
“First time seeing a parachute brewing coffee.”
Lee Dae-hyuk shrugged at Joo Hyo-min’s teasing.
“A rookie’s gotta brew coffee. That’s part of what makes life fun, right? Here, have some.”
“I’ll enjoy it.”
Joo Hyo-min nodded to Lee Dae-hyuk and brought the cup to her lips.
And then...
‘Huh? It’s delicious?’
Joo Hyo-min’s eyes widened.
It was just instant mix coffee.
Yet, thanks to the perfect water ratio, the coffee’s true flavor lingered in her mouth.
“It’s, it’s delicious! How do you get this taste out of instant coffee?”
“It’s a skill.”
“There’s a skill to brewing instant coffee?”
Lee Dae-hyuk beamed proudly.
“Yeah. A very advanced skill. I’ll teach you later.”
***
The coffee Lee Dae-hyuk brewed earned rave reviews not just from Park Min-chan but from the other staff too.
“Wow, this coffee’s spot on. From now on, Dae-hyuk’s in charge of coffee. Got it?”
“Yes. I’ll do my best.”
Even hearing Park Min-chan assign him permanent coffee duty, Lee Dae-hyuk just smiled.
Some discipline might be needed, but if Park Min-chan was someone helpful to the company and competent...
He’d watch him until his own identity came to light.
But if he fell short of expectations?
‘I’ll cut him out.’
For the company’s sake, he’d prune the rotten leaves.
Whether he knew Lee Dae-hyuk’s thoughts or not, Park Min-chan smirked while tapping at his keyboard.
Probably just surfing the web to kill time.
While Park Min-chan smirked away, Lee Dae-hyuk spent the next half hour or so learning various tasks from Joo Hyo-min.
Nothing particularly difficult.
Things like how to access the company intranet, standard formats for proposals, sorting ad expenses in Excel—small stuff like that.
And here, Lee Dae-hyuk was inwardly surprised.
Even though it was his first time handling a computer and paperwork, it felt surprisingly familiar.
It seemed the original Lee Dae-hyuk’s abilities and knowledge were naturally surfacing.
In fact, his dream in the past had been to become a journalist.
Even while battling depression, he’d kept up basic studies for a career.
‘I studied a lot in this area, huh. Thanks.’
Living in the shadows, he’d wanted to be a journalist who brought truth to light.
That’s why he’d majored in journalism, written small articles for the school paper, and chased his dream.
In the end, suicide had kept him from achieving it...
‘I’ll make your dream come true, no matter what.’
Lee Dae-hyuk made a quiet promise to the man who’d ended his life so pitifully and alone.
Of course.
‘After the revenge is all done...’
“What’s wrong, Lee Dae-hyuk?”
Joo Hyo-min, sitting beside him, spoke cautiously.
His face had suddenly hardened.
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
“Then manage your expressions while working. You’re scaring the person next to you.”
“Sorry.”
“For today, just read through some proposals. Check out the model house blueprints we’re prepping too. For now, it’s better to get a feel for things like this rather than diving into real work.”
Lee Dae-hyuk nodded at Joo Hyo-min’s words and turned to his monitor.
Gazing at the various photos and documents on the screen, he exuded enthusiasm.
‘…….’
Joo Hyo-min quietly observed his face.
His earlier behavior, and now this passionate gaze...
Lee Dae-hyuk definitely didn’t seem like the parachutes she’d seen before.
And.
‘He’s... kinda cute.’
Deep, bold eyes. Sharp nose. Distinct features and slim lips.
Paired with his strikingly pale skin, it oddly stirred protective instincts.
But Joo Hyo-min quickly dismissed the thought.
If he was a “parachute” via her uncle, he was at least from a well-off family.
Different from her, raised in an orphanage under Uncle Kim Dae-min’s support—a total “pauper.”
‘Snap out of it, Joo Hyo-min!’
Putting it aside, she started typing up an ad proposal.
Tap-. Tap tap tap-. Tap-!
***
Time flew by, and it was lunchtime.
Like other companies, Daehan Construction had an in-house cafeteria.
Using it was optional, of course.
But as part of employee welfare, everyone got thirty free meal tickets per month, and the food was decent, so most staff used the basement level 1 cafeteria.
“Lee Dae-hyuk, coffee right after lunch. Got it?”
Park Min-chan, at the same table, gave him another pointed look.
He was completely ignoring Lee Dae-hyuk.
‘That jerk’s at it again.’
‘Sigh, really makes me wanna curse. Damn it.’
The other staff shot glares and checked Lee Dae-hyuk’s reaction with their eyes.
But Lee Dae-hyuk remained unfazed.
In Kim Geon-woo’s life, he’d endured all sorts of humiliations and crossed life-and-death lines multiple times.
This level of disdain? Just laugh it off.
“Yessir.”
His brief reply sent his gaze toward the other staff.
He’d gotten a rough read on personalities: Park Min-chan, the absent Lim Soon-chul, and Joo Hyo-min.
‘Park Min-chan’s the type who abuses his position without restraint.’
‘Deputy Lim Soon-chul seems like the friendly, people-pleasing sort.’
‘Joo Hyo-min’s a workaholic old-school type despite her pretty looks—kinda slow on the uptake.’
The rest seemed unremarkable, steady folks without standout traits.
The problem was the young punk in the blue shirt to his left.
“Junior’s got a nice baby face. Total chick magnet vibe.”
The kid, catching Lee Dae-hyuk’s eye, suddenly started flirting.
“Yes?”
“Calling you junior’s fine, right? It’s been two weeks for me, but I came in first. So I’m senior, you’re junior.”
“Ah, got it.”
“I’m Kang Dong-chul. Dong-chul Steel? My name’s Kang Dong-chul, company’s Dong-chul Steel. Matches perfectly, huh?”
“......”
“No shock there. Haha. What’s great about seniors? Need an intro? Or wanna chug some cognac? Hit me up.”
Kang Dong-chul deliberately hammed it up with a grin.
But Lee Dae-hyuk pitied him.
Bragging money to the Daehan Group’s youngest son.
Of course, not knowing his identity made it forgivable.
But Kang Dong-chul’s real issue was elsewhere.
His lecherous eyes.
The same eyes furtively glancing at the intern girl across from him.
‘He’s gonna cause trouble soon... Now I get what HR said.’
In broad daylight. In the company cafeteria, no less.
Lee Dae-hyuk had a bad feeling Kang Dong-chul would screw up soon.
‘Gotta clean house together.’
Spies aside, to change Daehan Construction, he’d have to oust all these parachutes.
‘How to clean him out...’
Oblivious to Lee Dae-hyuk plotting his removal, Kang Dong-chul boomed with laughter.
“Let’s get along from now on. Haha.”
“Yes, Senior.”
***
A pork belly joint near Daehan Construction.
Lee Dae-hyuk and the PR team were having a small company dinner there.
Sizzle-!
Pour pour-!
The sound of meat cooking on the grill.
The sound of filling soju and beer glasses.
Sitting amid those sounds, Lee Dae-hyuk inwardly shook his head.
In a normal company dinner, he’d have ignored it and gone home.
But this was for his sake—he couldn’t snub it and leave.
Having a meal and beer among the staff, he felt puzzled.
“Is it always this quiet?”
Normal dinners were usually rowdy.
Yet the PR team ate with solemn faces, as if at a funeral, chopsticks moving silently.
Naturally, Lee Dae-hyuk had to wonder.
“Eat quietly.”
Joo Hyo-min snapped irritably from beside him, leaving him no choice but to focus on his food.
‘They wanna eat fast and bounce?’
Boss, Become a Chaebol