Chapter 16. Deputy Manager, They’re Telling You to Leave
Monday morning.
The large conference room of Seongun Development’s Integrated Development Division.
Sitting among Future Strategy Office Head Choi Taesik, Director Baek Kangjin, and the team leaders of four departments, Jinhyeok had to make a serious effort to remain calm.
The information he had obtained after meeting Reporter Mun Daegi.
Once that bomb went off, the scene would probably become more brutal than a battlefield.
But Mullae-dong wasn’t exactly hopeful either.
Neither location could support the massive mixed-use shopping mall.
That was Jinhyeok’s conclusion.
Director Baek Kangjin was looking at him with eyes full of expectation.
What was a little strange was that Choi Taesik, the Future Strategy Office Head he was meeting for the first time, was looking at him with a similar expression.
Not understanding why, Jinhyeok scratched the back of his neck and turned his attention toward the podium.
The main character of the blue diary entry.
Deputy Manager Kim Seokhun was preparing to dig his first grave.
Jinhyeok had been wondering what Seokhun could possibly do to get demoted, so he listened closely.
“Good morning. I’m Deputy Manager Kim Seokhun of the Commercial District Analysis Team. I’ll now report the results of our cross-verification of Yangjae-dong and Mullae-dong for the mixed-use shopping mall site.”
Seokhun’s voice was full of confidence.
He had brought exactly the result the Future Strategy Office wanted.
The director had openly shown that he preferred Mullae-dong, but that was none of Seokhun’s concern.
Seokhun wanted to be transferred to the Future Strategy Office.
Now that the director had already marked him as a problem, the only way to survive was to impress the head of the Future Strategy Office.
“According to our investigation, Yangjae-dong is unquestionably the optimal location. It can fully absorb the tremendous purchasing power of the Gangnam area.”
“What about the permit issues?”
“The permit issue, which is the only real risk, can be sufficiently offset through negotiations with the local government. There is no location more perfect than this. The moment people see the completed project, everyone will be waiting for its grand opening.”
The concept image of the Yangjae-dong Freight Terminal site displayed on the screen was magnificent.
“Next is the analysis of the surrounding commercial district. Its data is so excellent that Mullae-dong cannot even be compared. Both infrastructure and profitability indicators are nearly perfect.”
After seeing the Store Development Team Leader and the Space Design Team Leader repeatedly nodding, Seokhun glanced toward Choi Taesik.
Is he holding back because the director is sitting here?
That was what Seokhun thought.
But to Taesik, none of this information was new.
He hadn’t attended the briefing to finalize Yangjae-dong as the location.
After speaking with Director Baek Kangjin, Taesik had once again reflected on Seongun’s corporate value of mutual growth.
From that perspective, Seokhun’s presentation felt strange.
It strongly felt as though he were praising Yangjae-dong because he wanted to impress someone.
Since Baek Kangjin had openly admitted he preferred Mullae-dong, the person Seokhun wanted to impress could only be Taesik himself.
Department Head Lee Junseok came from the Commercial District Analysis Team, didn’t he?
Future Strategy Office Department Head Lee Junseok.
A man who had repeatedly shown signs of building his own faction.
The moment Taesik remembered him, suspicion turned into certainty.
Why does he look like that? I heard the Future Strategy Office Head wanted Yangjae-dong too...
Unable to understand Taesik’s expression, Seokhun picked up the microphone again.
It was now time to destroy Mullae-dong so that Yangjae-dong would shine even brighter.
“Next, I’ll begin the report on Mullae-dong.”
The screen showed an old alley in the metalworking district.
Small buildings were packed tightly together, creating an oppressive feeling.
“In contrast, the Mullae-dong site is simply terrible. In particular, after spending the entire weekend investigating the Daeyoung Precision and Seongjin Logistics area that Manager Kang Jinhyeok mentioned in his report three years ago, I discovered an extremely serious issue.”
Jinhyeok, who had been trying hard to remain calm, flinched.
That was because the property he had purchased had just been mentioned.
“The owner of Daeyoung Precision has formed a vicious holdout cartel with the surrounding metalworking-shop owners! They are insisting they won’t sell even for one hundred million won per pyeong. Even setting aside the risk that compensation negotiations could take years, we simply cannot bear land prices that have been maliciously inflated to this level.”
Crazy bastard...
Jinhyeok tightened his throat to stop the curse from escaping.
I formed a holdout cartel? Has this guy completely lost his mind?
Now Jinhyeok finally understood.
This was why Kim Seokhun would get demoted.
He was giving a fake briefing based on something that didn’t even exist.
And he was doing it while staring directly at the owner of Daeyoung Precision.
After Seokhun’s passionate explanation ended, the department leaders clicked their tongues one after another.
“With compensation problems like that, there’s no reason to even consider Mullae-dong further.”
“Exactly. That area was already a headache because the lots were so fragmented. If all the owners have united too, it’ll be even worse.”
Seokhun celebrated inwardly.
In front of everyone, he had created an atmosphere where there was no reason not to select Yangjae-dong.
He had perfectly supported the outcome the Future Strategy Office supposedly wanted.
But why?
Choi Taesik’s face remained dark.
Are you unable to smile because the director is here? Don’t worry. I’ve already created the entire atmosphere for you.
Just as Seokhun was celebrating a victory that hadn’t happened...
Manager Kang Jinhyeok, who had been sitting with an even more serious expression than Taesik, slowly raised his hand.
“Manager Kang Jinhyeok? Do you have something to say?”
“Yes. I think we need to correct something before we continue.”
Jinhyeok slowly stood up.
Seokhun glared at him.
Interrupting a meeting filled with senior executives felt unbelievably arrogant.
“What exactly are you trying to correct?”
Jinhyeok had originally planned to quietly wait for his turn.
But he changed his mind.
The relic issue could wait until his own presentation.
He couldn’t let the Mullae-dong issue pass like this.
This was something that could completely destroy the credibility of the Commercial District Analysis Team.
“There seems to be a serious problem with the Mullae-dong report. A holdout cartel? I honestly don’t understand where that story came from.”
The department leaders stared at Jinhyeok in surprise.
The director was here.
Even the head of the Future Strategy Office was here.
If Jinhyeok was willing to say something that strongly, it meant he was absolutely certain Seokhun’s briefing was wrong.
There wasn’t a single department leader who didn’t know about the recent tension between Seokhun and Jinhyeok.
Jinhyeok had gained Director Baek Kangjin’s trust through Baristers.
Seokhun, on the other hand, had been acting cautiously as though he had committed some major mistake.
Ignoring the worried gazes of the department leaders, Jinhyeok calmly stood his ground.
Director Baek Kangjin stared at him before asking,
“What part do you find difficult to understand?”
“The holdout cartel. According to what I’ve confirmed, something like that absolutely cannot exist.”
