The S-Class Chairman Who Does It All Himself, Episode 42
WH Entertainment.
“Boss.”
“Yeah?”
“This is... my office?”
Jang Junha’s eyes were so wide they looked ready to pop as he wandered from one corner of the room to the other like a kid seeing an amusement park for the first time. A broad desk. A state-of-the-art computer with two monitors. A cushioned office chair that looked fit for executives rather than ordinary staff. Even the small table and the sofa in the middle of the room looked so comfortable they made the whole place feel warm just to look at.
Late-afternoon sunlight slipped softly through the windows with the sky-blue blinds drawn partway, and beside them sat a compact refrigerator, a microwave, and even a water purifier.
“Do you like it?”
“……”
At Shin Gilwoo’s question, Jang Junha couldn’t say a word. Just a month ago, he had been running himself ragged as a road manager at a small entertainment agency, hardly sleeping at night.
And yet here he was, his whole life turned upside down like some modern-day Cinderella. Was it really all right for things to change this much?
“Hm? You don’t like it after all?”
“N-no, not at all. I’d be crazy to say I don’t like it. It’s far too much for someone like me.”
“Good. That’s a relief.”
I understood how he felt better than anyone. Not long ago, I’d been a soldier myself, and nobody had expected that the moment I was discharged, I’d end up as the CEO of a giant company called WH Entertainment.
So the wonder he was feeling didn’t feel like someone else’s problem at all.
“Don’t just stand there looking awkward. Sit down.”
“Pardon?”
“What do you mean, ‘pardon’? You’ll be working here from now on. And don’t worry about my chair being better. Sit down already. I want to see how it suits you.”
At Shin Gilwoo’s urging, Jang Junha tried to hide his delight and sat down politely. Being in the same room as Shin Gilwoo, the CEO of WH Entertainment, made it impossible for him to look relaxed. If anything, he sat there with every line of his body locked in place, like a fresh recruit who had just arrived at a new unit after assignment.
“Now then, let’s see if it suits you.”
Shin Gilwoo picked up something long and narrow that had been left in a corner of the office and walked over to him. After peeling away the layers of black and clear plastic wrap one by one, he finally set a desk nameplate down squarely in the center of Jang Junha’s desk.
WH Entertainment Manager
“M-manager?!”
“Want me to bump you higher?”
“N-no, of course not. I thought I’d start as a regular staff member, but a manager? And a sign like this doesn’t suit someone like me.”
“What’s wrong with someone like a manager?”
“I’m not smart, I haven’t learned much, and it’s not like I’m exceptionally good at anything either. I wasn’t much help at my old company, so they let me go.”
“You weren’t let go because you weren’t useful. You were let go because you said the right thing, weren’t you? The entertainers who worked with Manager Jang—young and old, men and women alike—wanted to keep working with you.”
“That’s because they were good people. Anyone could have gotten along with them, not just me.”
“Which is exactly why you quit. Your old boss sounded like a real piece of trash. He was notorious among the female entertainers, too, and you got marked by that bastard, so you had no choice but to leave.”
“Even so, manager is still too much for me.”
“Why?”
“I may be a bit older, but I don’t think my abilities are at manager level.”
“So that’s why Jaehyun liked him...”
“Pardon?”
“Just talking to myself.”
Somewhere along the line, Shin Gilwoo’s tone had naturally shifted into the rough cadence he used back in his military days, but neither of them noticed.
“I don’t care about anything else. Your age and your experience are more than enough. Look at me.”
“The boss?”
“Even a green kid like me can be a CEO, and the one coming in now...”
As if on cue, the office door opened and a man came in holding a small potted orchid to his chest.
“Assistant Manager Choi Hwangyeol was just promoted to Executive Director this time. What exactly is the problem? Right, Director Choi?”
“That’s right, Representative.”
Choi Hwangyeol set the orchid down on Jang Junha’s broad desk and smiled.
“Manager Jang Junha.”
“Yes? Yes, Director.”
“Your corporate card came through. Use this from now on. Meals, lodging, fuel, tolls—anything work-related at all, don’t ever use your own money. Use this. And...”
Choi Hwangyeol handed Jang Junha a thick white envelope along with the corporate card.
“This is for business and sales promotion expenses. If you need cash for something unavoidable, use this. Later on, if you submit receipts—or if it’s a place where receipts can’t be issued—just send a brief note on the use and purpose to the management support office.”
“W-what on earth...”
“It’s ten million won. If it’s not enough, say the word anytime.”
Like Alice in Wonderland, Jang Junha couldn’t make sense of what was happening. Even if this was a dream, it was too much; the whole thing was absurdly unreal.
“I’ve got high hopes for you, Manager Jang. Director Choi, I’m heading out now.”
“Yes, Representative.”
“Wait, hold on. Hold on, Representative.”
Jang Junha, who had been staring blankly at the corporate card and the envelope of cash, shot to his feet in a hurry, almost knocking his chair back.
“Why are you being so good to me? What am I supposed to be, that you’d go this far...”
“Well... maybe because you saved a country in a past life?”
“Pardon?”
“Or maybe not a country—just one person’s life. Not mine, though. I only did what Jaehyun told me to do. So you don’t have to be so grateful to me.”
Shin Gilwoo smiled faintly, then walked out of the office without looking back, just like Do Jaehyun always did, waving as he went.
“Director Choi. The car Jaehyun told me to arrange the last time showed up. They told me to pick between an RV and a minibus, so after thinking about it, I just took both. The car for Jaehyun and Manager Jang is here too.”
“Yes, I’ll check it together with Manager Jang.”
“Then I’m really off now~.”
For a brief moment, silence settled over Jang Junha’s office after Shin Gilwoo left.
“Executive Director Choi Hwangyeol.”
“Yes?”
“What exactly does the company want from me? No matter how much I think about it, I just don’t understand.”
“It seems that Chairman Do Jaehyun and Representative Shin Gilwoo both have high expectations for Manager Jang. I was originally planning to explain this slowly, but...”
“It’s fine. I’ll do anything I can. Please tell me honestly.”
“Manager Jang Junha, you’re famous in this field for being a real connector, aren’t you?”
“I just... like drinking, so I ended up getting friendly with one person after another.”
“Then keep drinking often.”
“Pardon?”
“Alcohol. I’d be glad to drink with you too. Should we go have a drink right now?”
Executive Director Choi twirled Jang Junha’s corporate card between his fingers, smiling as if it were all a game.
“Entertainers who are taking a break from activities right now would be good, and those who are still active would be even better. And people trapped in unfair contracts at their agencies are welcome too.”
“Then... what exactly am I supposed to do?”
“Mostly the same kind of manager work you’ve been doing. This time, Chairman Do Jaehyun has taken an interest in a student named An Chanhyeon. He’ll probably build something around that kid, but in addition to that, he’s told Representative Shin Gilwoo to seriously expand the entertainment business. And for that, isn’t there anyone more suited than Manager Jang Junha?”
“Do you think... I can really do well?”
Executive Director Choi held out his hand.
“Let’s work hard together. Chairman Do Jaehyun said that what you were lacking was opportunity and money. Luckily, those are things Chairman Do can provide as much of as you need.”
“...Thank you.”
“You worked hard, Jaehyun. Go on out first.”
Jeong Taeyang shot me a wink. Yeah, I knew what that was supposed to be. Even so, why did it still manage to irritate me?
“You lot, follow Jaehyun out too. Shit reason or not, since we’re all gathered here, let’s have a drink together tonight.”
“Yes, Big Boss!”
“Chairman! You bastards, Chairman!”
“Yes, Chairman!”
With a booming chorus of answers, Jeong Taeyang’s men left the fourth floor with me.
“Director Cheon Subeom.”
“Yes, Chairman Jeong.”
“What a relief, isn’t it?”
“......”
“Right? It’s a relief that there’s only one reckless idiot here acting up like this...”
Jeong Taeyang brought his foot down with all his strength on the wrist of Kim Yoonjae, leader of Security Team 3, who still had the silver teaspoon Jaehyun had thrown embedded in it. As the spoon bent under the pressure, it drove into Kim Yoonjae’s arm in a grotesque angle.
“Aaaagh!”
“Quit whining, you bastard.”
“A-ahhh! Ahhh...”
Under Jeong Taeyang’s vicious, grinding stomp—like he was trying to crush the wrist into the floor—Team Leader Kim Yoonjae finally blacked out from shock right there on the spot.
“And it’s a relief that our Director Cheon didn’t do anything. Right?”
“Chairman Jeong, that’s a misunderstanding. We...”
“Of course it’s a misunderstanding. There’s no way our Director Cheon would do something like that. You’re not some gangster like me, and you’re not even a half-breed like Director Kang Inmuk over there. You’re just a company man. A company man.”
“......”
Every word he said seemed to needle Director Cheon Subeom’s nerves in exactly the worst way, but in this situation, he had so little to say that even if he had ten mouths, he couldn’t have defended himself.
“And...”
Jeong Taeyang turned his head and looked down at Kang Inmuk, who was sitting on the sofa.
“You said I made a mistake a little while ago, did you, Director Kang Inmuk?”
“You’re still making one.”
“Yeah, I guess I did make one.”
Smack!
“Gah?!”
“Director!”
With a bright, sharp crack, Jeong Taeyang’s huge palm lashed across Kang Inmuk’s left cheek. The blow was so heavy it snapped his head around a full one hundred and eighty degrees.
“Tch.”
Kang Inmuk worked blood and phlegm into his mouth, then spat a wad of it into Jeong Taeyang’s face. But Jeong Taeyang, as if he had expected it, blocked the spit with the same hand he’d used to strike him.
“Damn it. Filthy.”
And then...
Smack, smack, smack!
Jeong Taeyang grabbed Kang Inmuk by the collar and, with the hand now slick with blood and spit, slapped him across the face three more times in quick succession.
“What are you idiots standing there for? Protect the director!”
At first, I’d been stunned. I couldn’t believe there was anyone besides Chairman Han Gangho who could actually slap Kang Inmuk, the security chief of Johwa Group, across the face. But when that happened again and again, the deputy leader of Security Team 3 finally came to his senses and shouted at the men under him.
Crack.
The security staff who had seemed ready to rush Jeong Taeyang any second froze dead in place at the sound of a bone-breaking snap.
“Kraaaagh! Ughhh... Aaaagh!”
Jeong Taeyang stomped down with all his strength on the arm of the unconscious Kim Yoonjae, and the awful pain jolted the man awake with a scream. Unable to bear it, he rolled around on the floor in agony.
“The first bastard who walks in loses one eye. The next bastard loses a leg. And I’ll turn your arms into something just like this bastard’s.”
Under the sheer pressure of Jeong Taeyang’s violence, the air froze over in an instant.
“...I could say that, but.”
Jeong Taeyang grinned, let go of Kang Inmuk’s collar, and spoke in a tone that was almost playful.
“We’re going to back off here out of respect for Director Cheon’s face. We’ll do the job properly, so don’t worry. Ah, and...”
He smoothed out Kang Inmuk’s wrinkled shirt and collar with surprising courtesy, then patted Kang Inmuk’s cheek lightly as though they were old friends.
“See you again, buddy.”