Chapter 21
I’m translating the chapter directly into the required HTML format and preserving the series terminology consistently. The passage has a mix of narration and phone dialogue, so I’m shaping it into novel-style paragraphs and keeping the in-story call/text content in styled blocks only where it’s actually special content.CHAPTER_TITLE: Advance, Part 4
Taesung Apparel headquarters, executive conference room, morning.
“I’ll now report on the outlook for the upcoming summer golfwear market and our preparations.”
The presentation prepared by Park Jin-su, team leader of the Golf Division product planning team under the Brand Strategy Headquarters, began.
The screen displayed the large heading, VEANT Summer 2025.
“This season’s keyword is ‘lightness and sophistication.’ As the golf demographic gets younger, more consumers are looking for bright pastel tones and neon accents. VEANT will reflect that shift by pairing soft pastel tops with stable, toned-down bottoms to strengthen a modern, casual golf look.”
A few more design mockups passed across the screen.
Women’s golfwear in mint, lavender, and coral; a men’s line accented with calm beige and khaki.
Several executives nodded and took notes.
The team leader pointed to part of the slide with a finger.
“Our goal is to make these colors and silhouettes work for the current ‘outdoor lifestyle’ trend as well. We want them to feel natural not just on the golf course, but in everyday life too. Of course, with midsummer temperatures rising this much, functional materials become even more important.”
At that, Executive Director Kim Ho-yeol cut in expressionlessly.
“What’s the status on materials? Standard polyester alone doesn’t seem differentiated enough.”
As Park Jin-su changed the slide, the screen now showed VEANT ActiveCool.
“Yes. That’s why we’re moving ahead with the ActiveCool project. We’re adding quick-dry, cooling coatings to polyester-based fabrics to minimize body-heat buildup, and we’ve also raised elasticity slightly so the swing motion feels easier. We’re also researching lines blended in part with cotton or Tencel, but we haven’t found the optimal ratio yet.”
Kim Ho-yeol rested his chin in his hand and studied the slide slowly.
“Push it further. From what I’ve seen in the market lately, Hanil Global is bringing out cotton blends. They’ve added functionality too... We can’t afford to lose. In any case, put all your effort into upgrading VEANT.”
“Yes, sir.”
Park Jin-su wrapped up the report with a brief mention of the target demographic and the expected marketing strategy on the final slide.
After the meeting, Kim Ho-yeol hurried back to his office and gave orders to his secretary.
“Tell Deputy Manager Lee Sang-moo and Quality Control Team Lead Noh Chae-sang to come up and wait for a moment.”
Shortly after, Deputy Manager Lee Sang-moo came in with a dazed look on his face.
The injuries from the beating Kim Ho-yeol had given him a few days earlier still hadn’t fully healed, so some places remained swollen while others were bruised a dark blue.
“Deputy Manager Lee.”
“Yes, Executive Director.”
“Because of you, we paid out 1.9 billion won in compensation, and there’s even a recording on file. Honestly, it’s a mess, but you’ve worked for this company for more than ten years, so I won’t be taking legal action against you.”
Lee Sang-moo trembled with a mix of betrayal and helplessness.
Who was all of this for?
Who had he been playing the villain for, pushing Haesol Textile down like that? It wasn’t as if Kim Ho-yeol hadn’t ordered every last bit of it.
And yet all the blame had landed on him alone. The injustice of it was almost unbearable.
“Tell me. You tried to shake up Haesol Textile, got hit back, and even after that you couldn’t cleanly take responsibility. In the end, all we did was burn through money. So I’m done using you.”
“Then... what am I supposed to do...?”
“None of my concern. You’re on standby. Clear out your office. Run off somewhere for all I care.”
Lee Sang-moo’s throat tightened so badly no words would come out.
It looked as though he might burst into tears any second.
“The fact that I’m not firing you on the spot is already generous. I’ll tell you your reassignment within a month. Maybe if you endure a few years at the factory, I might bring you back to headquarters. Naturally, your rank will be dropped to assistant manager until then, so keep that in mind.”
“Thank you.”
In the end, Lee Sang-moo had no choice but to bow his head.
With his rank cut down to assistant manager, he thought of the salary drop and felt like throwing himself into the Han River and dying on the spot, but thinking of his wife and children made that impossible, and that only deepened his misery.
“Get out.”
“Yes...”
After Lee Sang-moo left with his shoulders utterly slumped, a middle-aged man in his midforties came in right away. He had a broad face and a large build.
Wiping sweat from his shaggy hair, he bowed his head.
“You called for me?”
“About Haesol Textile.”
“Yes? Yes...”
“You know how things are going between us, right?”
He hesitated, then answered.
“I do. I heard they said they wouldn’t continue trading with us...”
“I’m a bit narrow-minded. So when I hear that kind of thing, it twists my gut. What do you think?”
There wasn’t a company man alive with the nerve to say, “Honestly, I think you’re narrow-minded.”
“I was shocked too when I heard Haesol Textile said that. Unless they’ve lost their minds, how do they even get the words out of their mouth? I think they need to be taught a proper lesson.”
Team Lead Noh Chae-sang thought that was an answer close to perfect.
“Right? But how exactly do you expect to do that?”
He knew that if he showed the same kind of expression here, as though he were seriously pondering the absence of a method, he’d turn a hundred-point answer into a failing grade.
“Well...”
“There isn’t one, is there?”
“There is one way, though.”
“Really? What is it?”
“If we were to push in only C-grade or lower yarn imported from China, that would probably cause them serious trouble.”
Kim Ho-yeol, who had briefly lifted the corners of his mouth, frowned again.
“As if that would go the way you want. If they get C-grade yarn, they’ll just buy A-grade again.”
“There isn’t that much yarn circulating in the market right now. If our supplier side unilaterally controls the yarn, Hanil Global or the big trading companies would have to source it elsewhere, but because it isn’t arriving in ample supply, it’ll take time to secure enough volume. And since it’s urgent stock, they’ll have to pay a premium too.”
“Is that so? Anyway, it’s irritating. How’s work these days?”
Kim Ho-yeol abruptly changed the subject.
“Yes, we’re pouring everything into supporting each brand ahead of the summer season.”
“Good. I’m counting on you. You can go.”
With no further instruction at all, he simply sent him away. Team Lead Noh Chae-sang left, sweating nervously and bowing his head, but he knew exactly what his assigned task was.
Hoo... this is why you can’t get on a conglomerate’s bad side...
He went down the elevator, lamenting Haesol Textile’s future.
He had urgent instructions to pass along.
*
A week later, at Haesol Textile.
Seung-hyun and Factory Manager Park Han-soo smiled brightly at each other after checking the official document that had arrived at the company.
An additional order from Daeryung Sangsa: 3,000 more yards of high-density silk blend.
It wasn’t a huge amount, but the company had secured steady work, and being recognized for quality by Daeryung Sangsa could only be good news.
With a substantial order in hand before taking on the premium golfwear project with Hanil Global, they could keep the factory running instead of letting it sit idle.
“This really is a relief. With a large-scale contract finally in place, the company can breathe again.”
“Exactly. We need to get the production line moving right away. Delivery is due by the end of the month after next, so we’ve got enough time, but if we keep quality locked down, that’ll restore trust in us too.”
Just as the two of them were talking with bright smiles in the president’s office, the accounting manager knocked and came in.
“President, the yarn has arrived. It’s being moved to the materials warehouse now, so we should be able to start the machines in sequence soon.”
“Good.”
Everything was moving along smoothly.
The company that had been so anxious after his father’s death was gone now.
Buzz.
At that moment, a call came in from Jang So-hee.
[Oppa, you weren’t planning to come to my graduation exhibition?]
Seung-hyun answered with a much lighter heart and stepped out of the president’s office.
“What would I even do by going?”
[In-hyuk oppa is receiving his diploma as class representative. And this time, the graduation piece he brought in looks completely different from that weird thing he showed us before... He must’ve gotten it from some designer.]
It was exactly the sort of thing he had always been, so even hearing it did not surprise him.
“Let him get it, then.”
[I’m furious just hearing about it. And from what I heard, he’s launching some brand of his own this time. I mean, even if he studied in Italy all those years when he was little, does it make sense that he can just graduate from a Korean arts university design department and launch a brand right away? Honestly, I almost feel like rich families just get to do whatever they want.]
As Seung-hyun walked along at an unhurried pace while talking, he saw the yarn being moved to the materials warehouse.
Without thinking, he changed direction and headed there.
“It doesn’t matter anyway, since he won’t be designing anything himself. He’ll probably hire a lead designer. And however he wants to live, well...”
Then, the moment he casually touched the yarn,
!!
Information rushed in through his fingertips.
His brow furrowed sharply.
Place of Origin = China
Quality Grade = C
Supplier = Dongil Sangsa
“Can we pause for a second?”
After ending the call, Seung-hyun asked the approaching Factory Manager Park Han-soo.
“Isn’t this yarn A-grade?”
“It is. There was a problem before, so I was told they’ve been managing it from their side since then...”
That was when it happened.
Factory Manager Park Han-soo answered a suddenly incoming call.
Not long after, his face also stiffened completely.
“What are you saying right now! What do you mean, all of a sudden? How are we supposed to deal with this? No... how can you even think this can be solved by saying it was a mistake? President! President...”
When the call ended, Park Han-soo turned to Seung-hyun in confusion.
“President, this...”
“This came from Dongil Sangsa, right?”
The yarn supplier he had first visited after inheriting the company from his father.
Remembering Kim, the manager who had once been close with his father and had apologized at the time, Seung-hyun bit his lip.
“That’s right.”
“They’re all C-grade... What did they say?”
Park Han-soo was greatly startled inside at the sight of the young president, who instantly knew the yarn was C-grade, and said,
“They said it was sent by mistake, but the problem is they say there isn’t any A-grade yarn left in stock right now. They say it’s entirely their fault and that they’ll take responsibility, but whether they can secure more yarn in the near future...”
Seung-hyun swept a hand through his hair and ran quickly back into the president’s office, with Park Han-soo following behind him.
“There has to be a place with A-grade yarn.”
“Yes, sir.”
Seung-hyun refused to give up and started calling every yarn supplier he could reach.
But...
[We’re sorry, but all A-grade yarn has already been cleaned out...]
[A-grade, you say? Hmm... that might be difficult. Let me check, and if there’s any, I’ll contact you.]
[We do have lower grades, but A-grade is difficult. We’re honestly quite troubled by this situation ourselves.]
Every company he called gave him the same answer: there was no A-grade yarn available.
“I’m going out for a moment.”
“Where to...?”
“I need to explain the situation to Daeryung Sangsa. Please tell Dongil Sangsa to take back all of this C-grade yarn.”
“Understood.”
Seung-hyun hurried off in the company car toward Daeryung Sangsa.
He happened to catch Director Choi Jin-a in the office and went over to greet her, only to find Brian from Lime Design, whom he had seen at the exhibition, sitting beside her.
“Oh my, President Jung. What brings you here all of a sudden?”
“Ah, you’re the president who supplied the exclusive fabric back then. Good to see you.”
Seung-hyun exchanged greetings for the moment, but his face remained stiff as he wondered how he should possibly apologize.
“I’ll get you some tea first. Please have a seat for a moment...”
“Yes, thank you.”
With Brian from Lime Design here as well, it was hard to say anything here about not being able to fulfill the order.
The moment he admitted that the contracted quantity would be difficult to deliver on time, he felt like he’d be remembered as a third-rate fabric manufacturer.
But in front of Brian sat a furniture brochure from some brand, printed in English.
“This is...”
“This is one of the furniture items our Lime Design sells in Europe. Thanks to the fabric you provided, our lineup has become much more varied. Thank you.”
“Not at all. We’re just doing what we should be doing. But this is...”
When Seung-hyun pointed at one section of the brochure, Brian answered.
“Ah, this is Art Fabric. It’s difficult to find fabrics like this in Korea. That’s why we mainly source them from Europe or Japan...”
...
Seung-hyun stared at it intently for a long time.
Then,
Wait. Could this mean...
“Just a second. I’m sorry. One moment...”
He sprang up from his seat, excused himself to Brian, hurried out through the front entrance of Daeryung Sangsa, and made a call.
The recipient was Factory Manager Park Han-soo.
[Yes, President.]
“Did Dongil Sangsa take back the C-grade yarn?”
[No. They’re saying it’s on the way right now...]
Seung-hyun shouted.
“Stop it!”
[Pardon?]
“Tell them there’s no need to take it back. No... can you ask whether they have any more C-grade yarn?”
[Huh?]