Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: How to Scout Talent (2)
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Ammunition Group headquarters, top floor.
Not that the chairman's office doubled as the cafeteria, but Kim Won-cheol always made a point to drop by and grab some dessert after his reports.
Today's snack menu was Earl Grey tea paired with salty caramel cookies.
"Kyah. This is seriously mind-blowing. Sweet on the inside with just the right salty kick—perfect balance."
"I picked something a bit saltier on purpose. Heard you got an earful from Grandma the other day too."
A snort escaped as red tea dribbled from between his lower lip.
Kim Won-cheol wiped his mouth sloppily with a napkin and replied with a straight face.
"Heh heh heh. You heard I got chewed out by that hag... er, Director Seo? Must've swung by Pyeongchang-dong."
"Gotta play the dutiful grandson every now and then. Plus, I had something to ask her."
Grandma had stepped back from day-to-day management and no longer meddled directly in group affairs.
But having spent her life as the lady of the Han family in the Ammunition Group, she still offered informal advice from time to time.
Especially on matters that couldn't be solved with intuition or skill alone—things that demanded experience.
"Something to ask? What'd you wanna know?"
"Yeah. Well, it was about..."
* * * *
Pyeongchang-dong family home.
Grandma had cleared the outer hallway of any passersby.
From the second-floor study, my voice leaked through the door crack, lamenting the current issues at Ammunition Electronics.
'Ammunition Group's corporate culture reform.'
'What do you think?'
'Looking at foreign firms, it's clearly necessary. Your father—the late chairman—worried over it too.'
My eyes widened slightly at the mention that even Dad had agonized over it.
Unexpected.
Dad had been pretty gruff, authoritarian in his way.
Which was exactly why the corporate culture needed a complete overhaul.
'But the problem is.'
Her eyes gleamed coldly behind her metal-rimmed glasses. With a rare steely gaze, Grandma continued.
'The executives' resistance won't be easy. Especially that President Lee Tae-gyu, right? The guy in that office doing those weird salute-like gestures. Electronics under him will be even worse.'
'...I feel that deeply too.'
Deeply didn't even cover it.
Ninety percent of my recent migraines were thanks to President Lee Tae-gyu.
'And in this tech race, hiring outsiders from competitors is tough. Better to promote from within—faster that way.'
'I've thought of that, but even the executive directors are all loose screws. It's a headache.'
'Sometimes the tributaries hold the big fish, not the main river.'
Ammunition Electronics flowed like polluted industrial wastewater.
She pulled out the group org chart from a drawer.
Grandma pointed with her finger.
It was a clean stream where trout-like talents swam.
-[Ammunition Electronics Future Business Division]
'This place...'
'Even the old fogeys picked the soft-headed ones and stuck 'em here separately. Even the lazy nosey types hold up better in this org.'
* * * *
"Ahh, so that's why you had me report on the Future Business Division."
"From a fisherman's view, any big fish worth reeling in?"
"Hmm..."
Kim Won-cheol stroked his chin like a pro Go player, deep in thought.
I'd hoped for an optimistic answer, but what came out was a vague triangle.
"These folks? No political savvy. Probably purebred engineers obsessed with tech dev."
"Engineers without politics..."
"Yeah, so under the current structure, they won't achieve squat. Gotta flip from execs to mid-managers."
Ammunition Electronics Future Business Division.
The new-tech dev department Dad—the late chairman—had created.
Even in the military-culture-heavy Ammunition Group, this place was the exception.
No epic bomb-shot drinking sessions from Saturday afternoon to Sunday dawn. No group seminars or workshops disguised as special forces boot camps.
Which made sense why controlling the stifling overall org seemed hopeless.
But...
"Then the conclusion's clear."
Crack. My interlocked fingers stretched upward.
In a tangerine box where most were rotten and only a few fresh? Answer's simple.
Dump the whole box if needed, cull the rot, and stock up on fresh ones fast.
"Gonna have to smash Ammunition Electronics Silicon Valley-style and rebuild."
"Heh heh heh. Knew you'd say that."
"Let's do a fiery reform. Switched finance to <Cocoa>, so IT gets a revamped Ammunition Electronics."
Shift from rigid pyramid military hierarchy to flexible matrix org.
Strip out useless nonsense, go pure performance-based.
Org management from top IT firms I'd seen pre-regression.
I canceled my next schedule and brainstormed with Kim Won-cheol for a while.
'...so basically, no fixed departments—total flexibility.'
"Ah, like teaming up and disbanding per project?"
A rare passionate session.
Problem was, that fiery passion wasn't confined to this room.
As a slightly ominous chill crept up my spine, an urgent knock echoed.
"Ch-Chairman! Big trouble!"
"Yoo Se-na, my aide?"
Sweat beaded on her forehead.
Had she run here?
And Kim Won-cheol, casually cracking jokes regardless.
"Man, you eat the same snacks as me but never gain weight. If you're on some diet herb meds, hook me up..."
"During Ammunition Electronics' training session, a Future Business Division employee fell into a coma!"
"......!"
A bolt-from-the-blue bombshell.
No time for jokes, apparently.
"Uh, uh, the herbs—we'll share later..."
"Get the site status and report from the responsible party! No, wait."
I halted mid-order.
This had warning signs multiple times, even pre-warnings issued. No overlooking it now.
Can't handle it with the usual fixes.
I stood, straightened my tie, and headed out.
"I'll go to the site myself. Right now!"
* * * *
Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province—Ammunition Electronics Future Business Division lab.
Beyond the glass, a man in comfy clothes and slippers strolled the hall leisurely. Senior researcher Michel.
This late-40s Frenchman roamed the lab freely with his hefty build.
Beaming smile, he lived a donut-sweet daily life.
"Good morning, Dr. Kim. Read that paper you recommended. Semiconductors really change day by day."
"W-well, secondary batteries gotta catch up fast, right? Power demands'll spike."
Ten years ago, he'd stumbled into unfamiliar Korea with his wife.
Now, his Korean and grasp of culture were native-level.
He could even handle his dialect-heavy colleague.
"New Materials team says results soon—worth watching."
"Sigh, those guys—classic engineers. No hobbies beyond research."
Environment for passionate tech pursuit. Flat relationships.
Michel was as content here as in home France.
Save for one worrisome thing.
"But... headquarters. Ammunition Electronics. Heard weird rumors from folks who went frontline."
"Ah, that soul-selling crap? Lord... President Lee Tae-gyu's a total nut. Playing soldier in a company?!"
Dr. Kim had heard the rumors too.
Michel's face ahead of him stiffened at "soldier play."
Dr. Kim picked up Michel's dropped donut absentmindedly, adding,
"Sigh, at least we're safe here. Different chain of command—headquarters can't touch us even if they're nuts."
"Hope so..."
"Sigh, even scary late chairman left Future Business spots to just research. Don't worry too much."
Michel's face finally brightened.
He exhaled in relief.
"Fair enough. Oh, got time later? Lunch and chat sensor experiments..."
-Hoo, hoo. Ahh.
Suddenly, heavy breathing from the ceiling speaker.
In army-reject-four-times Dr. Kim's mind, unpleasant memories replayed.
That one-way blast from the admin squad during mass screw-ups.
Civil defense done, but his gut was spot-on. The bad way.
-Announcement to all Future Business Division employees. Emergency—report to the parade ground... er, lawn immediately. Over.
Hall buzzed with employee voices post-announcement. First time since joining Future Business.
"What... is it? Fire?"
"No alarm... but let's check. Could be safety."
Researchers set aside work, ambling to the main building lawn.
Physically neglected engineer uncles spotted... faded camouflage uniforms.
"What the hell? Army gear? Combat boots too? Haven't seen in like ten years..."
"Ah, attention all!"
Jeeps unloaded instructor-lookalikes.
The headquarters boss with mysterious 'Ammunition Training Captain' armband gripped a red megaphone.
"Headquarters training starts now! Change into combat uniforms in front, reassemble in 10 minutes!"
"What is this? Dragging researchers out for army games?!"
Training captain's face darkened. He yelled at the protester up close.
"Fail training—disciplinary action and retrain! Fail retrain—recommended resignation! Signed the no-rehire-in-industry pledge when you joined, yes or no?"
"What kind of...!"
"Direct order from Ammunition Electronics HQ president! Move it—10 minutes to change!"
Researchers grabbed gear, dashed to changing rooms.
Michel, stunned by the brutality he'd never seen, lost balance amid the crowded stairs.
His hefty frame wobbled big, missed the railing—last thing he heard was Dr. Kim nearby.
Darkness closing in.
"Michel! Michel! Lord, open your eyes! W-what're you doing? Call 119 already!"