Chapter 1

Chapter 1. I Can Hear My Voice

Calling poverty romantic is something only people who escaped from hell can afford to do.

Even at this very moment, the giants of the city were growing larger by sucking the blood of the weak.

“Oh, Manager Kang! Why are you only getting here now? I seriously thought I was going to die.”

An alley in Sillim-dong.

The owner, who had opened a premium bakery while dreaming of a bright future, looked ready to cry the moment he saw me.

Behind him was a sign that should never have existed in a place like this.

[Étoile Bakery, Sillim Branch]

It was the name of a premium bakery brand operated by Seongun Development.

The chandelier lights hanging from the ceiling reflected off the expensive marble floor, creating a luxurious atmosphere.

The display case was filled with expensive products, including slices of cake costing 15,000 won and crème brûlée priced at over 20,000 won.

Expensive garbage that would be thrown into a trash bin a few hours later.

Did this make any sense?

A shop that would struggle to survive even in Gangnam had been opened right in the middle of Sillim-dong's exam-prep district.

This mess had been created by Deputy Manager Kim Seokhun.

And once again, I had come here to clean up after my damn team leader.

The owner looked like he might burst into tears at any moment as he voiced his regret.

“I should've listened to you, Manager Kang. I should've opened a Seongun Bakery instead of an Étoile. I got blinded by money and...”

It was always like this.

Most small business owners who rushed into opening a store without enough preparation said similar things afterward.

I was a manager with ten years of experience on the Commercial District Analysis Team.

I hadn't earned that business card for nothing.

“Things have been really difficult, haven't they?”

“You have no idea. Daily sales don't even reach 100,000 won. Every day I open the shop, I just sink deeper into debt. I honestly don't know how much longer I can hold on.”

It was the obvious result.

This commercial district was practically designed to starve a premium brand to death.

“Would you mind if I tried some of your products?”

“What? Ah, no, that's fine, but... You're not doubting my skills, are you?”

“Of course not. I'm not trying to find fault with you. I want to understand what you're good at so we can find a way through this situation.”

After clearing up his misunderstanding, I sampled several kinds of bread and pastries.

“The taste is good.”

Actually, it was excellent.

It seemed he had added his own touches to the recipes provided by headquarters.

Technically, that could earn him disciplinary action.

But I had absolutely no intention of reporting the desperate effort he had made to survive.

That only made it more painful.

How many batches of bread had this man baked and thrown away before reaching this level?

Thinking about the countless hours he must have spent fighting alone reminded me of my father, who had lost everything while running a grilled-rib restaurant.

My stomach tightened.

I had joined the Commercial District Analysis Team because I wanted to prevent things like that from happening.

But the power of a mere manager was painfully limited.

There were bastards everywhere.

People like Deputy Manager Kim Seokhun, who had pushed through the opening of the Sillim branch just to fill his performance numbers.

I had been ordered to stop the shop from closing until after the performance report.

Suppressing the curses rising in my throat, I turned on my tablet.

On the screen was the proposal for Étoile Bakery's first Sillim branch.

It had been written personally by Deputy Manager Kim Seokhun, my direct superior and the leader of the Commercial District Analysis Team.

[Target Analysis: Area with a high concentration of people in their 20s and 30s. Target the dessert consumption habits of the MZ generation.]

He had really left behind one massive pile of crap.

Kim Seokhun had probably looked at a few numbers on his monitor without ever visiting the area himself.

Exam students wearing 5,000-won rubber slippers came outside to eat 4,000-won rice cups.

And he thought people with that kind of budget would casually spend over 10,000 won on a single piece of bread?

Even a passing dog would laugh.

“Didn't you do any market research? I told you to look into things more carefully before making a decision...”

“I know, but that deputy manager told me there was absolutely nothing to worry about...”

I couldn't understand why people who had survived long enough in society suddenly became so innocent the moment they started a business.

No matter what kind of work they had done before, they should have learned by now that people could burn them.

It frustrated me that he had ignored my advice and jumped straight into hell.

Still, I couldn't knowingly leave him to die when I knew a possible way out.

“Can you do exactly what I tell you?”

Maybe my words sounded like salvation.

The owner suddenly grabbed my hand.

His eyes were already moist.

“Of course! I'll do anything you tell me! Please, just help me make things better than they are now! I'll never forget what you've done for me!”

I had been burned by plenty of people myself.

But I decided to trust someone one more time.

The first thing he had to do was fully accept reality.

A dream that could never come true was useless.

“Take down that Le Cordon Bleu certificate hanging on the wall and put it in the storage room.”

Le Cordon Bleu.

One of the world's most famous culinary schools, with more than thirty campuses around the world.

Completing its course was mandatory for anyone opening an Étoile Bakery.

It wasn't a bad idea as part of the brand's premium strategy.

But in many cases, people like this owner ended up poisoned by it.

“Take the certificate down? What do you mean...?”

“I'm telling you to put your pride aside. What the people around here need isn't 20,000-won crème brûlée. They need cheap, delicious food that can take care of one meal.”

He probably knew it himself.

When flies were practically the only visitors in your store, the owner's job was to find some way, any way, to pull in the people walking past.

I picked up a marker and wrote large letters on the back of a cardboard box.

[GOOD LUCK ON YOUR EXAMS!

Fresh Toast + Hand-Brewed Americano, Only 4,000 Won!

Freshly Made in Under 5 Minutes.]

The owner's face turned white.

“...I-Isn't this against headquarters' manual?”

“Is that really what you're worried about right now?”

“No, but if they catch me, I'll have to pay a penalty. Are you telling me to die? How can someone from headquarters suggest something like this?”

I gave a short laugh and shook my head.

Apparently, he still didn't understand the situation.

“Do you know what happens if I follow the manual exactly? I'll pretend to help you just enough to cover myself, while you keep making bread and throwing it away every single day for the rest of your contract. Can you survive until the contract ends? I guarantee you won't recover your premium or anything else.”

I made it clear that the fire burning at his feet was already spreading up his entire body.

Even if you couldn't swim, there were times when jumping into the water was the only way to survive.

There were people like this.

People so afraid that violating something written in a contract would bring down some unimaginable disaster.

“I'm desperate too, but... Can I really sell things like this? Won't this get you into trouble too, Manager Kang...?”

Of course it would.

If Kim Seokhun found out, he would go insane.

He had sent me here to bury a problem, and I would be creating another one instead.

But I couldn't simply ignore it.

There was a reason I worked for Seongun Group.

Part of it was because I wanted to prevent people from going through what my father had suffered.

But honestly, I also enjoyed solving other people's problems.

Maybe it was the thrill of using the strength of a massive corporation to accomplish things I could never achieve alone.

That feeling was powerful enough to make even a villain like Kim Seokhun tolerable.

The Commercial District Analysis Team of Seongun Development's Integrated Development Division.

I had endured ten long years and finally reached manager.

I still had a long way to go.

But I had enough power to help with something like this.

“Do you know what headquarters is most afraid of? Breaking the manual? No. They're most afraid of a store shutting down immediately after opening. You'll probably get a warning, but they won't take away your sign within the first year.”

“...”

The Commercial District Analysis Team was supervised by the Management Assessment Team.

Unlike the Audit Team, which focused on regulations, the Management Assessment Team cared almost entirely about sales.

Convincing an owner who had been considering closure to stay open and turn a profit also matched the chairman's policy of prioritizing mutual growth.

“First, bring in customers. You can't do anything without people. If headquarters complains, just say it was a marketing event.”

“An... event?”

“Yes. Use the event to cover your operating costs first. Once headquarters sees the sales numbers, they'll be too excited to complain. What's the alternative? Keep doing this until you're bankrupt and thrown onto the street? With your skills, the students around here will go crazy even if all you sell is toast.”

I practically lifted the final spoonful and placed it directly in his mouth.

Only then did the owner's expression finally brighten.

“Will toast and coffee really be enough?”

“More than enough. But use the bread and coffee beans supplied by us. You already know they're better and cheaper than what you'd buy yourself. Don't try to squeeze extra profit by cutting ingredient costs. Think about profit after you've brought in customers.”

Had I explained it well enough?

The man, who looked completely different from when I first arrived, kept bowing his head.

“...I don't even know how to thank you...”

“It's fine. If I stop by again someday, just make me a good toast.”

I had learned enough from tasting the products in his display case.

This man would put his full effort even into a single piece of toast.

Before leaving the shop, I gave him one last tip.

“Point the exhaust vent toward the street. There's almost no smell better than freshly baked bread.”

I hoped this store succeeded.

So I could prove once again that the path I had chosen wasn't wrong.

Did Kim Seokhun have a tracking device on me?

The moment I got into my car, he called.

“Yes, Deputy Manager Kim. This is Kang Jinhyeok.”

“How'd it go? Did you succeed?”

His order had been to stop the shop from closing.

He would probably faint if he heard the details, but technically, I had succeeded.

“They've decided to keep going a little longer.”

“Really? How did you convince him? He was screaming that he couldn't take it anymore. So he was exaggerating after all, right?”

Did that man have no conscience at all?

The very person who had recommended a location that was clearly doomed could actually sound this shameless.

“No. I just suggested trying something like an event.”

“Puhahaha! An event? I don't know what you did, but as long as you bought us some time, that's enough. Hehehe. Good work. Drive safely on your way back! And don't forget to buy my lottery ticket. I texted you the location.”

Damn bastard.

Every time I went out on fieldwork, he searched for a supposedly lucky lottery shop nearby and sent me the address.

The most infuriating part was that he had never once given me the money for the ticket.

“Yes, underst...”

The call ended before I could even finish speaking.

After checking the message, I headed to the address he had sent.

Thirteen first-prize winners had bought their tickets there?

A surprisingly long line stood outside the shop with the sign claiming it was a famous lottery hotspot.

“One automatic ticket for 5,000 won.”

I handed over 5,000 won of my own hard-earned money and took Kim Seokhun's lottery ticket.

My work for the day was finished.

On the way back to the office, I opened my diary app out of habit.

My personal emotional trash can.

It was an application that converted my voice into text and saved both the recording and transcript.

I pressed the red record button and poured out the day's anger.

[Tuesday, March 3.

Once again, I cleaned up the mess Kim Seokhun made.

The lunatic opened a premium bakery in the middle of Sillim-dong's exam-student neighborhood.

At least I was able to help before the damage became even worse.

Kim Seokhun's insanity is getting harder and harder to tolerate.

It's been one year since he took over the team.

The Commercial District Analysis Team is rotting away at frightening speed.

I should be sitting in that team leader's chair, not him...

Instead, all I do is clean up his messes.

I've been here ten years and finally became a manager, but without connections or powerful backing, I'm still too weak.

Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.]

That was how I used the app.

Once I poured everything out, I usually felt a little lighter.

Of course, I almost never listened to or reread the entries afterward.

Unlike when I was venting, hearing those emotions again only made me depressed.

It also helped me remember why I had started.

I wanted to become team leader.

I wanted enough authority to carry out my ideas more freely.

For that to happen, Kim Seokhun needed to disappear.

Ironically, for my freedom, I had to hope my enemy got promoted.

I had considered moving to a consulting company before.

But I quickly gave up on that idea.

Villains existed everywhere.

As for starting my own business, my bank balance was always negative.

I wasn't confident I could make money by opening some tiny consulting firm either.

In the end, staying at the company had probably been the right decision.

There was power in a Seongun Group business card.

Even if I was only a manager, that Seongun logo earned the trust of quite a lot of people.

More importantly, Seongun paid slightly better than most companies.

For someone like me, who was still paying off debt together with my father, that mattered a lot.

I was sighing in frustration when...

A diary entry I had never recorded appeared in the app.

Was it a bug?

Today was Tuesday, March 3.

But there were entries dated Friday, March 6, and Monday, March 9.

March 6 was three days from now...

I pulled over to the side of the road and opened the first entry.

[Friday, March 6.

The disciplinary committee met today, and for the first time in my life, my salary was reduced.

All because the owner of the Sillim branch made a phone call he didn't need to make.

A three-month pay cut over something like this?

This is supposed to be a company that claims mutual growth is its highest corporate value?

I want to quit right now.]

It was a very strange entry.

The owner of the Sillim branch appeared in it.

For an app error, it sounded far too much like my own life.

Frowning, I tapped the second line of red text.

[Monday, March 9.

Kim Seokhun won the lottery.

Damn it!

The lottery ticket I bought for him won first prize.

There were only two first-prize winners this draw.

Kim Seokhun told me he would receive eight billion won even after tax, and said he'd buy me pork belly.

I genuinely feel like dying.]

The diary app...

Had gone insane.

Unable to believe what I was seeing, I closed the app and opened it again.

The future entries were still there.

I pressed the speaker icon.

This didn't sound like an error.

It was unmistakably my voice.

A voice trembling with rage.

A pay cut?

And eight billion won?

That lottery ticket was currently sitting inside my wallet.