Chapter 35. Something Is Strange About the Commercial District Analysis Team (7)
I headed toward the division director’s office while thinking about the diary entry.
Red text had appeared for the first time in a while.
It showed a horrifying version of myself.
The ideal employee.
[Sunday, June 28.
So this is what it feels like to be ground into dust.
I haven’t rested a single day throughout June.
I became intoxicated by the satisfaction of being recognized after the new business briefing and swallowed the bait before I realized what I was doing.
Work overload.
I can’t even pay attention to commercial district analysis anymore because I’m buried in new business planning.
I want to go back.
Back to before I took responsibility for new business planning.
If only I had known then what I know now.
I only needed to support the work from a distance, yet I personally ran onto the battlefield and bought suffering with my own hands.
At this rate, when am I supposed to construct my building?
I may need to move up my resignation date.
Tch.]
The photo attached to the diary was terrifying too.
Document folders were stacked dangerously high like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Beyond them stood my team members.
They looked like zombies.
I had to stop it.
I already had countless things to prepare.
That future absolutely could not happen.
Fortunately, I was currently standing at the exact point where future me wanted to return.
I thought carefully about what was about to happen and entered the division director’s office.
One sentence from the diary remained deeply engraved in my mind.
I only needed to support them from a distance.
“Oh! Team Leader Kang, you’re here?”
President Baek Kangjin.
A man who should have been sitting in the president’s office was smiling brightly as he welcomed me.
Apparently this would be a two-against-one battle.
“Good afternoon, President.”
“Come and sit down. You worked hard, didn’t you? That briefing was extraordinary. Is there anything you can’t do?”
President Baek began praising me the moment he saw me and gestured toward the seat opposite him.
This was uncomfortable.
Apparently this kind of atmosphere had been what turned future me into an idiot.
I hesitated before sitting.
Division Director Choi Taesik, who was sitting across from me, slowly opened his mouth.
“We were talking about you just before you arrived. That really was an excellent proposal.”
More praise.
I didn’t feel happy at all.
Please.
Enough already.
No matter how delicious the bait looked, I wasn’t even opening my mouth.
Still, I decided to thank them properly.
I really was grateful.
“It was only possible because you supported us so generously, President. You must have been curious about what we were doing for the past month, but you trusted us without interfering. I sincerely appreciate it.”
They had supported everything.
Contracts for the test locations.
Equipment.
Materials.
According to Senior Staff Choi Iseul, the division director had even said they shouldn’t spend a single won of their own money.
That included drinks during meetings.
As far as I knew, it had definitely been his personal card.
That alone showed how strongly our division director had supported us.
But why?
The director suddenly remembered something and his face turned red.
“Are you all right, Director?”
“What? Ah... yes. Ahem. I’m fine. Supporting you was obviously the correct decision. You produced an excellent result.”
His words and expression didn’t match very well.
I decided not to dig further.
The important thing was avoiding the disaster approaching me.
“We called you here because we wanted to thank you and discuss what happens next.”
A sweet word came from the director.
Discuss.
Not order.
That meant my answer could influence the result.
“How was the new business planning work? It was your first time, so wasn’t it burdensome? I imagine there was considerable stress.”
That wasn’t dangerous yet.
So I answered honestly.
“There was pressure because we wanted to make the plan as complete as possible, but it was also an enjoyable experience. Creative Village was a project we had planned from the beginning.”
“I see. And what about the workload? You handled your regular responsibilities while preparing this too.”
There it was.
The first step toward the red future I already knew.
I couldn’t make it look easy.
If I did, they would simply dump new business planning on me permanently.
“We didn’t handle everything. We only prioritized urgent matters. From now on, we need to focus on the work that piled up. As you know, the Commercial District Analysis Team is short on manpower.”
Fortunately, nobody had filled the team’s vacant positions.
Most companies were like that.
Even when a position became empty, nobody seriously considered replacing the person until something went wrong.
Seongun Development was no different.
The former team leader had transferred one year ago.
Kim Seokhun had resigned.
Two positions were empty.
Still, nobody had seriously discussed expanding the Commercial District Analysis Team.
The reason was obvious.
Whenever a department head was asked whether the team could handle it, they gave idiotic answers such as,
We’re fine. We’ll keep working hard.
But I made it clear.
We had no room for more work.
New business planning had been fun.
That didn’t mean I had any intention of delaying my dream so I could devote myself to the company.
“I-I see. I suppose I judged only by appearances and assumed you were handling everything comfortably. Ahem.”
The director failed to move directly into the main topic.
Instead, he looked toward the president for help.
Anyone could recognize the obvious SOS.
“Haha. Of course. Compared to the other departments, the Commercial District Analysis Team has fewer people. Even if everything looked fine from outside, the actual workers were probably surviving by grinding themselves down. We should consider expanding the team.”
As expected, the president was much more experienced than the director.
He first revealed that the team might receive more employees.
Then he naturally moved toward the new business topic.
“I’ll ask directly. After seeing today’s briefing, we decided commercial district analysis and new business planning should operate together. In other words, we intend to bring the new business planning function previously handled by headquarters into Seongun Development. What do you think?”
There it was.
The first moment when I could erase the red diary entry.
“Are you saying you want to create a New Business Planning Team and put me in charge?”
“Exactly. This project proved there is nobody more suitable than you.”
Anyone else would have accepted without hesitation.
It meant the company recognized my ability.
It was obviously an excellent opportunity to climb another level.
The problem was that I had absolutely no intention of doing that.
“May I answer honestly?”
“Haha. When you say it like that, it sounds frightening. What is it? Speak freely. I won’t misunderstand.”
“I agree that commercial district analysis can help with new business planning. But I think that contribution is only one small part.”
“One small part?”
“Yes. Not only our team. The Store Development Team, Space Design Team, and Franchise Operations Team all have different kinds of field experience and expertise.”
President Baek Kangjin’s eyes immediately brightened.
“You want to form a project team whenever a new business appears, like headquarters did?”
“Exactly. Just like the members of my own team, everyone has different strengths. I think we should choose the most suitable employees depending on the project. It would also help improve each person’s individual skills.”
“Hmm. That does make sense. What do you think, Director?”
The conversation seemed to be flowing in a good direction.
But apparently the director had another objective.
“I don’t think it’s a bad idea, as long as Team Leader Kang leads those project teams.”
That burdensome gaze again.
Being too good at company work really was exhausting.
“Is there a reason it absolutely has to be me?”
“Ahem. Part of it is because you did too well. But the more important issue is justification. If we want to move work from the Future Strategy Office into Seongun Development, we need convincing grounds for the executives. If the person who planned the Creative Village new businesses leads the new project organization, there is no better justification. You may not know this, Team Leader Kang, but your reputation at headquarters is extremely strong because of the Étoile and Baristers cases.”
I truly hadn’t known.
I didn’t realize people at headquarters even knew my name.
It was a premium-level compliment.
Something almost anyone would have happily swallowed.
But I deliberately lowered my head and put on a serious expression.
The director asked in concern.
I needed to escape this situation without making things too obvious.
“...Is there a problem? Your expression doesn’t look good.”
“It isn’t exactly a problem. I simply think even the person leading each project should be chosen according to the situation. The best leader could be different depending on the project.”
“...That’s true, but...”
The director’s voice faded.
Of course he couldn’t understand.
He had no idea why I was avoiding such a good opportunity.
“For now, I’d also like to focus on the Commercial District Analysis Team. I can’t abandon my primary responsibilities to take on something else.”
This time, I made the rejection clearer.
What could they say?
The Commercial District Analysis Team Leader was declaring that he wanted to work hard on commercial district analysis.
Silence settled over the office.
President Baek was the first to speak.
“I understand your position. We’ll discuss the future direction of new business planning further among ourselves.”
Thank goodness.
Unlike the director, the president seemed to understand that I had no intention of accepting the job.
I bowed ninety degrees with complete sincerity.
“Thank you, President.”
“Hm? Thank you?”
Was that not what he meant?
The president looked openly confused.
“Ah... I mean, thank you for understanding how I feel.”
“Ahem. All right. You can return to your team.”
I bowed once more and stood.
The red text had completely vanished.
For the time being, I really should do nothing.
A stone that is too round rolls around far too easily.
After Jinhyeok left...
Kangjin remained lost in thought for a long time.
Then he shook his head with a hollow laugh.
“Huh... This is troublesome. Creating a team with that man at the center isn’t going to be easy.”
Taesik repeatedly rubbed his face in frustration.
“Can we persuade the chairman and headquarters executives without Team Leader Kang?”
“Hmm. If we only want to bring the new business function here, showing them today’s briefing should probably be enough. And Team Leader Kang’s suggestion of forming project teams from employees across the different departments should be received positively too.”
Taesik clicked his tongue in disappointment.
“The real problem comes after that. I naturally assumed Team Leader Kang would accept. I never imagined he would react like this. Does he not understand that this is an opportunity to climb even higher?”
“He understands. He simply considers his current work more important. You read the field reports he submitted over the years too, didn’t you? You won’t easily pull a man like that away from his work.”
Silence filled the office.
Then Kangjin suddenly made a quiet sound of realization.
“Ah. We may have been too impatient.”
“What do you mean?”
“We didn’t even think about rewarding him for this project before trying to immediately give him another one. From Team Leader Kang’s perspective, that could kill his motivation.”
“Ah! I didn’t think of that either. That was my mistake. Rewarding strong performance should be obvious.”
Taesik immediately asked,
“What kind of reward would be appropriate?”
“Hmm. Promoting him to executive immediately would be difficult. What about executive-level treatment? We could provide him with a company vehicle.”
“Ahem. You haven’t heard yet, have you? That man apparently drives a car worth three hundred million won.”
“...H-He does?”
Baek Kangjin couldn’t hide his surprise at Jinhyeok’s unexpected wealth.
The atmosphere became slightly awkward.
Taesik quickly proposed another idea.
“First, I’ll review the manpower expansion we discussed earlier. They’ve handled a great deal of work lately, and the team genuinely is understaffed.”
“That benefits the team. It doesn’t sound like a reward for Jinhyeok personally.”
Taesik’s thoughts moved quickly.
A reward was most effective when it gave the recipient what they actually wanted.
From what Taesik had seen, Jinhyeok cared about his team members more than anyone.
“Then how about this? Along with a significant increase in staff, we give the entire Commercial District Analysis Team special leave. Around one week, with every expense paid by the company.”
“What about how the other teams will react?”
“Couldn’t we package it as a workshop? And I think we should continue the changed operating philosophy we showed through the earlier special promotions. If someone creates exceptional results, the company responds with exceptional rewards.”
Kangjin rubbed his chin with satisfaction.
“Not bad. Giving exceptional treatment to people who produce exceptional performance will also encourage the other teams to work harder in the long run.”
Now that the perfect reward plan had been created, Kangjin smiled warmly and gave his instruction.
“Prepare it properly. Our job is to create the perfect environment so Team Leader Kang can keep displaying his abilities without interruption.”
“I’ll remember that, President.”
Taesik answered with a solemn expression.
It was an utterly useless thing to remember.
