Chapter 30. Something Is Strange About the Commercial District Analysis Team (2)
The next morning.
Taesik woke early and checked his smartphone notifications one by one.
“...W-What is this?”
The first thing he saw was his card transaction history.
Japanese restaurant.
Then a beer pub.
Then a business name that looked suspiciously like a karaoke room.
Taesik quickly began calculating.
“One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand... m-million? Weren’t there only four people in the Commercial District Analysis Team?”
Then he noticed a text message that had arrived at one in the morning.
[Thanks for the meal, Oppa. I can return your card slowly, right?]
Taesik’s fingertips trembled after reading it.
“That little brat...”
Taesik hurried to get ready for work.
An old nightmare had returned.
About five years ago, he had given Iseul a card and told her to buy something delicious with her friends.
She spent three million won in one shot.
Two million had been used to replace Taesik’s old watch.
Still, his younger sister’s spending habits were beyond what he could handle.
I left fish with a cat.
What was I thinking?
No. Department Head Kang doesn’t know our relationship. This is definitely Iseul’s scheme. Did she volunteer to return the card personally and steal it? Hurry.
I need to reach her before she begins morning shopping.
Excellent judgment.
Except he needed to be faster.
Manager Park Jongil entered the office while stretching.
“Huh? Why are you here so early?”
At some point, Kang Jinhyeok had started arriving exactly on time.
Yet today he was sitting at his computer reviewing something.
It was 8:20 a.m.
Jongil had assumed he would be first.
Then he noticed the other team members were already sitting at their desks too.
Maybe expensive alcohol doesn’t cause hangovers?
Feeling awkward, Jongil scratched his neck and approached Jinhyeok.
“Team Leader. Is there something urgent?”
“Huh? Manager Park, you’re here?”
Only then did Jinhyeok notice him.
He immediately stood.
“Let’s go.”
“What? W-Where?”
“We’re doing fieldwork starting today. I’ll wait in the parking lot. Bring the team down at nine.”
“...What? Ah... yes. Understood, Team Leader.”
Jongil wanted to ask where they were going.
But Jinhyeok looked urgent, so he held back.
The destination wasn’t important.
What mattered was that something urgent had happened.
Whatever it was, Jongil’s job was to help Jinhyeok as much as possible.
He had decided to give his loyalty to the man who had taken care of his entire team immediately after becoming team leader.
“Everyone heard him, right? Don’t keep the team leader waiting. Let’s head down quickly.”
Jongil’s loyalty, already high from years of following Jinhyeok, seemed to have no limit anymore.
He needed to act like a manager.
Maybe manager wasn’t an incredible position elsewhere.
But to Jongil, the manager of the Commercial District Analysis Team meant something different.
Kang Jinhyeok.
A real commercial district analyst who maintained his principles and worked harder than anyone even while Kim Seokhun constantly harassed him.
Jongil wanted to become someone like that.
Take initiative in everything.
Lead the team in the right direction.
Improve his own analysis ability.
That was what a manager should be.
“Assistant Manager Oh! Hurry. Senior Staff Choi, bring your laptop.”
“Yes! Let’s go!”
The team headed down to the underground parking lot.
Jongil blinked his huge eyes.
“Huh? Where’s the team leader’s car?”
Jinhyeok’s car, which was always parked in the same place, was gone.
“You’re right. It should be around here.”
“Don’t tell me...”
Jongil remembered Jinhyeok driving the same used car for over ten years and bit his lip.
Did it finally break down?
A bad feeling made Jongil walk faster.
After personally seeing Jinhyeok living in a tent in an abandoned factory yard, Jongil had never felt completely comfortable.
Jinhyeok’s salary probably increased after becoming team leader.
But that wouldn’t be enough to repay huge debts.
Jongil wanted to help.
That was why he had cleaned out the storage room in his house last weekend.
To Jongil, Jinhyeok was more than a workplace superior.
He was almost an older brother.
Even while struggling financially, Jinhyeok always prepared gifts for Jongil’s mother during holidays.
When Jongil was hospitalized, Jinhyeok had even contributed to his medical bills.
Thinking Jinhyeok might be somewhere struggling to repair his broken car made Jongil’s eyes grow wet.
Half looking like he was about to cry, Jongil wandered through the underground parking lot.
Then...
A black vehicle parked in a distant corner flashed its headlights at him.
“Ow! That’s bright! Tch!”
Annoyed, Jongil turned his head.
Did someone at our company drive that?
Cadillac Escalade IQ.
A full-size SUV costing well over two hundred million won filled almost the entire parking space.
Under the parking-garage lights, it looked massive.
Slide.
The driver’s window lowered.
Jongil’s jaw lowered too.
“What are you doing?”
His team leader’s voice came from the unfamiliar car.
“T-Team Leader? Why are you in there?”
“Ah. The car is huge, so I decided to park in the deepest corner.”
“No. That isn’t what I mean. Why are you sitting in that thing?”
Jinhyeok smiled at the expected reaction.
He remembered what happened a few days earlier.
“Get in first. I’ll explain while we drive.”
The team members climbed into the vehicle with confused expressions.
The same people who had created countless theories over a thirty-thousand-won tumbler now had brains that refused to function.
A few evenings earlier.
After hearing a terrifying engine noise, Jinhyeok had taken his car to a repair shop.
The mechanic told him scrapping it would make more sense than repairing it.
It is time to let it go.
Jinhyeok returned home without repairs and looked at the odometer.
Over five hundred thousand kilometers.
He made up his mind.
There was one car he had wanted for years.
Cadillac Escalade.
Most people who became rich purchased a luxury sedan.
But Jinhyeok had always wanted that massive SUV.
Long ago, he once calculated the cost of that impossible dream.
Not because he expected to buy it.
He wanted the painful calculation to help him give up.
It worked perfectly.
A vehicle costing almost three hundred million won.
On a sixty-month full installment plan, the monthly payment was higher than his salary.
That wasn’t all.
Interest over five years exceeded fifty million won.
Annual maintenance costs, including insurance, approached twenty million.
Giving up had been easy.
That same Jinhyeok now visited the Cadillac showroom without calculating anything.
“Welcome! Cadillac Korea!”
“Hello. I came to look at the Escalade IQ.”
The senior dealer quickly looked Jinhyeok up and down and began practicing amateur physiognomy.
Unknown-brand suit. Creases on shoes at least a year old.
An office worker who heard there was a new model and came to look around.
The senior dealer hid his expression and guided him.
“This way.”
Following the dealer, Jinhyeok suddenly stopped.
A black Escalade under showroom lighting waited for him in all its massive glory.
Huge.
It was even larger than he imagined.
One concern entered his mind.
Parking.
It filled an entire parking space.
If he parked it in an ordinary apartment parking lot, nobody would be able to use the spaces beside him.
But Jinhyeok’s mind, already stolen by the vehicle, quickly found solutions.
At work, he could use the corner space beside the cleaning supply room.
He could build extra-wide parking spaces in his new building.
Everywhere else, he could use private parking lots.
Money was no longer a problem.
If it became inconvenient, he could simply purchase another sedan for commuting.
He didn’t think it was extravagant.
Far more money would soon enter than leave.
“Ahem. Please look with your eyes only, sir. It is a display vehicle, but it’s practically new. Expensive vehicles are usually handled this way, so please don’t misunderstand. You can sit inside only after paying the deposit.”
It was complete nonsense.
Jinhyeok decided to continue looking anyway.
“Understood. Can I open the door?”
With an annoyed expression, the senior dealer opened the driver’s door.
At that moment, Jinhyeok decided he would definitely purchase the car from a different dealer.
The moment the door opened, a huge interior and clean luxury design filled his vision.
Jinhyeok leaned his head inside and studied it for a long time.
Then he turned around after calming his pounding heart.
“...Huh? Who are you?”
“Ah! I’m sorry. The senior dealer’s appointment arrived, so he asked me to take over. Is that okay?”
Seeing the nervous young dealer, Jinhyeok instantly understood.
The senior dealer judged him by appearance and pushed the troublesome customer onto a subordinate.
There’s always at least one Kim Seokhun no matter where you go.
Repeating one of the strongest insults he knew inside his head, Jinhyeok asked the younger dealer,
“Is there any vehicle available for immediate delivery? I’d like to receive it as soon as possible.”
“What? You want to purchase the IQ? Right now?”
“Yes. I’ve wanted this car for years. I already researched everything about it.”
“Ah... give me just a moment.”
The young dealer hurried to a computer.
After checking something, he quickly returned.
“I’m sorry, sir. The initial shipment that arrived last year is completely sold out. If you sign now, the expected wait is around one year.”
Exactly what Jinhyeok had read online.
But that wouldn’t work.
If he left without buying this car today, his heart might never calm down.
Jinhyeok extended his finger toward the display vehicle.
“What about that one?”
“Ah, the display vehicle? Usually display cars require a full inspection and cleaning before delivery, so around three days. That includes dealer service and vehicle registration.”
“Hmm. That’s good.”
Jinhyeok whispered quietly.
“By the way, do I really need to pay a deposit before I can even sit in it?”
“What? Hahaha! Of course not. It’s fully covered in protective film, so there’s no problem. Sit as much as you like!”
The friendly answer improved Jinhyeok’s mood.
He was just climbing into the driver’s seat when...
“W-Wait a moment, sir. Could you look around comfortably? I need to go to the counter for a moment.”
“...Ah. Sure.”
The young dealer ran toward the counter with a pale face.
Through the huge windshield, Jinhyeok saw the senior dealer, who supposedly had an appointment, scolding him.
Seriously. I can’t ignore this.
Jinhyeok got out and slowly walked toward the counter.
“Is something wrong?”
“N-No, sir. Hahaha. This employee is still inexperienced.”
“Really? Even so, you shouldn’t call someone away while they’re serving a customer.”
The senior dealer frowned at Jinhyeok’s suddenly cold attitude.
How can someone with this mentality call himself a salesperson?
“Isn’t respecting the customer’s time the most basic rule? Let him go. I’ve decided I want that car immediately.”
“What? The display vehicle? Did you hear the price? The IQ is electric, so it’s much more expensive than the standard model...”
Jinhyeok no longer wanted to be dragged around.
He cut him off coldly.
“I’m signing the contract today. As long as you stop interfering.”
“Oh, sir. There seems to be a misunderstanding. When did I ever interfere...?”
“Then we can return to the car, right?”
“Ah! But the contract should be handled by me because I first guided you...”
The more he looked at him, the more he reminded Jinhyeok of Kim Seokhun.
Jinhyeok answered in a voice loud enough for the other dealers in the showroom to hear.
“No. I’ll sign only with this dealer. When you were talking to me, I almost lost all desire to buy it. You probably understand why.”
Watching the senior dealer’s expression become sour, Jinhyeok smiled and returned to the car with the young dealer.
It became the junior dealer’s first sale.
Back inside Jinhyeok’s new car.
While listening to the story, Jongil kept touching the leather seat.
“Team Leader, did you hit the jackpot in crypto or something?”
“Something like that. So stop worrying about me. Like I told you at the Daeyoung Precision yard, I’m not suffering because of debt.”
“Then why were you homeless?”
“That wasn’t homelessness. It was romance. Tch. We’re here. Get out.”
Jongil, who had even cleaned a room to bring Jinhyeok home, pouted as he got out.
They had arrived at the entrance of Creative Village.
Jongil had thought they wouldn’t need to return after finishing the landmark plan.
“Do we still have work here?”
“Yes. From now on, we’re going to develop business concepts that fit this place perfectly. We’re planning new businesses.”
The three team members blinked rapidly.
New business planning.
That was far beyond the Commercial District Analysis Team’s original responsibilities.
“Wasn’t new business planning handled by the Future Strategy Office?”
Assistant Manager Oh Ilman asked cautiously.
Jinhyeok shrugged.
“I think they’re handling this one differently. When it comes to Creative Village, our team knows the area better than anyone. They’re expecting us to produce some unusual ideas. I agree.”
Then Jinhyeok gave his confused team members a mission completely different from the last one.
