Chapter 9. Baristers (1)
Wednesday, March 11.
Today, I entered the office holding a hot Americano.
I was almost hoping Kim Seokhun, who had fled early yesterday after being soaked in coffee, would try something again.
But strangely...
Even though I arrived only a little before nine, Kim Seokhun didn't even look at me.
He simply stared at his monitor.
Was yesterday's shock still affecting him?
Even better.
If Kim Seokhun stopped bothering me, my office life would become unbelievably comfortable.
I decided it didn't matter either way and was about to ignore him when Assistant Manager Park Jongil, sitting beside me, stared with huge eyes.
“What?”
“What is that now? Did you get a girlfriend or something?”
“What are you talking about?”
“That tumbler. You bought it downstairs, right? I think it costs over 30,000 won...”
“Why? Want me to buy you one too?”
Jongil's eyes grew even wider.
Was this really that shocking?
If he learned a 1.4-million-won coffee machine was already being delivered to my house, his eyes might actually fall out.
Ding.
His gaze shifted toward the company messenger notification on my screen.
“It's Deputy Manager Kim.”
Did he not even want to speak to me anymore?
He normally avoided the internal messenger because he didn't like leaving evidence behind.
Yet now he had sent a message.
[Come to the director's office by 9:30.]
That was surprisingly sudden.
I hadn't seen him take any calls, and he had left early yesterday.
So this meeting had probably been arranged before then.
Was this how a petty man took revenge?
I didn't care.
I didn't want to talk to him either.
I wanted to ask why the director had called me.
But I had no desire to approach Kim Seokhun for the answer.
Director Baek Kangjin had taken charge of the Integrated Development Division one year ago.
I'd seen him several times.
But I'd never spoken to him personally.
I looked at the message telling me to arrive by 9:30 and checked my smartwatch.
The fact that a director who normally dealt only with department heads had called me felt strange.
But the diary app showed no changes.
Important disasters had always shown up before.
So this probably wasn't anything serious.
Fine.
Let's go.
Everyone was afraid of the director.
But strangely, I wasn't nervous at all.
Wasn't the director ultimately another salaried employee just like me?
It was the kind of thought I never would have dared to have before.
With a relaxed heart, I headed to the director's office.
“Good morning, Director. I'm Kang Jinhyeok.”
“Yes. Sit over there.”
Up close, he felt far more imposing than when I'd seen him from a distance.
But there was no reason to shrink back.
I slowly sat down.
Then I noticed the report on the table.
It was deliberately turned toward me.
The Mullae-dong Commercial District Analysis Report I had written three years ago.
“Why are you staring at it like that? Do you know this report well?”
“Yes. I wrote it when Mullae-dong was being considered as one of the sites for the fashion outlet.”
“As expected. Then this conversation should be easier.”
The director murmured something I couldn't understand and continued.
“Still, this proposal wasn't selected. You clearly put a lot of effort into the report.”
Why was he interested in a Mullae-dong report from so long ago?
Did he somehow know I had become the owner of the Daeyoung Precision building?
Impossible.
I hadn't done anything that would spread rumors.
I had reported the transaction to the Audit Team, but even a director shouldn't casually gain access to private asset information unless a problem was raised.
And even if he did know, it wasn't a major concern.
It could create misunderstandings.
But I hadn't violated any rules.
If they became annoying, I could simply start my own business earlier than planned.
Losing the preparation period would be unfortunate.
But I had no intention of staying at a company while constantly watching everyone's mood.
“Yes. Once we failed to acquire the neighboring building, the location was changed from Mullae-dong to Namyangju.”
“You must have been disappointed. According to the report, you had several alternative plans prepared.”
I remembered.
The report had also included backup plans in case we failed to acquire the Daeyoung Precision site.
One plan was to build an apartment-style factory, move the small metalworking businesses into it, and construct the fashion outlet on the cleared land.
“I wasn't disappointed. My job is analysis. The final decision isn't mine.”
“But weren't you curious why Namyangju was chosen?”
“I was told it offered greater profit. Anything beyond that was outside my responsibility.”
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Was it a habit?
The director's thick finger tapped against the report on the table.
“I want your honest opinion. Do you personally believe the company earned greater profit by choosing Namyangju?”
I couldn't understand the purpose of the question.
But I had never been someone who worried too much about hidden intentions.
If he wanted my honest opinion regarding a report I had personally written, then giving that opinion was my job as a commercial district analyst.
“The Namyangju branch is currently generating good sales. But from a broader and long-term perspective, I'm certain Mullae-dong would have created greater value.”
“A broader and long-term perspective?”
“Yes. If we had gathered the small business owners into an apartment-style factory, the company could have built a positive image. That could have helped us expand into the entire metalworking district of Mullae-dong 4-ga. Most importantly, the plan matched the corporate value our group always emphasizes.”
The director's already sharp eyebrows twitched.
“Mutual growth?”
“Yes.”
“What exactly does mutual growth mean to you?”
“Helping each other.”
“Helping each other... Do you believe those people have the ability to help us?”
I still didn't understand the purpose of his question.
But I had thought about this issue for a long time.
There was no need to hesitate.
“Nobody knows what tomorrow will bring. Didn't Seongun have days like that too?”
It was a story written even in the chairman's autobiography.
I knew the chairman's business philosophy well.
It was one of the biggest reasons I had chosen to join Seongun Group.
“So that's why you thought of the apartment-style factory? You still believe that was the correct approach?”
“My opinion hasn't changed. If we force existing residents and businesses out, resistance will be severe, and people will gradually distance themselves from Seongun. Maybe it sounds idealistic, but I believe goodwill eventually comes back around.”
Had he learned mind reading too?
The director's sharp gaze stayed fixed on my face.
“Interesting. I've heard your opinion. Now let's get to the main point.”
What?
We had already talked quite a bit.
And now he was saying we were finally getting to the main point?
Director Baek Kangjin was impossible to read.
Director Baek Kangjin had first become interested in Jinhyeok because of the Étoile Bakery Sillim branch.
The story of the branch spread online as a "kind-hearted event."
Startup inquiries increased across the country.
Soon, Étoile Bakery locations nationwide began holding events selling croque monsieur at lower prices.
That had caught Kangjin's attention.
No matter how strongly the chairman spoke about mutual growth, it meant nothing if employees refused to follow the principle.
Jinhyeok had stepped forward even while knowing he could be punished.
That was exactly the kind of person Kangjin had hoped to find.
After becoming interested in him, Kangjin spent a week reading every report Jinhyeok had written over the years.
Then he realized something.
Among Seongun's employees, Kang Jinhyeok was one of the people closest to the corporate value of mutual growth that Kangjin and Chairman Choi had established when building the group.
But Kangjin had practically led Seongun for decades.
He wasn't the kind of man who judged someone based only on reports.
He had seen countless people flatter the chairman with beautiful words.
Those people rarely ended well.
Words were easy.
Turning them into actions was difficult.
Kangjin wanted to know whether Jinhyeok truly believed what he said.
The earlier conversation had produced several answers he liked.
But he still wasn't completely certain.
“About Étoile Bakery. Why did you make that decision?”
After a three-year-old Mullae-dong report, they had suddenly moved to the already-finished Étoile incident.
Jinhyeok scratched his head at the director's unpredictable conversation style.
“You mean the croque monsieur event?”
“Yes. What were you thinking when you suggested it?”
“I judged that because the area was filled with exam-prep residents, the store couldn't survive without an event suited to that customer base.”
“Was that all? Even though you knew you could suffer consequences? Strange. It wasn't even a franchise location you personally analyzed.”
Kim Seokhun had planned the Étoile Sillim branch.
On top of that, managing stores already in operation was supposed to be the Franchise Operations Team's responsibility.
Kangjin genuinely wanted to know what Jinhyeok had been thinking.
“I believed the Commercial District Analysis Team had made a bad recommendation, so we needed to take responsibility. More importantly, I could clearly see that the Sillim branch could recover with only a small event.”
“And you didn't care about the damage you might suffer? Even if you didn't expect a disciplinary committee, getting on your team leader's bad side couldn't have been good for you.”
Jinhyeok laughed inwardly.
If that had frightened him, he never would have survived ten years under Kim Seokhun.
He did want to become team leader one day.
But there was something more important.
The reason he had joined Seongun in the first place.
“I don't want to abandon my principles just to get promoted. That won't change in the future either.”
Reading the firmness in Jinhyeok's eyes, Kangjin deliberately frowned.
“Corporate life doesn't always work that way. Your ideas won't always be correct either. What if I gave you an order that went against your principles?”
Jinhyeok answered immediately, as though there was nothing to think about.
“My actions wouldn't change depending on who gave the order. The moment I abandon my principles, I no longer have a reason to do this job.”
For once, Kangjin was left speechless.
Jinhyeok had phrased it indirectly.
But it was essentially a declaration that he would rather resign than abandon his beliefs.
That wasn't something most employees could say in front of a director.
“Haha. In that case, I was thinking of assigning you a task...”
Only then did Jinhyeok understand.
The three-year-old report.
The Étoile incident.
All of it had been leading to this moment.
“May I ask what the task is?”
“There is a store the Franchise Operations Team has already judged impossible to recover. Baristers, Gimpo Janggi Branch. I want you to determine whether there truly is no way to save it.”
This was not a normal assignment.
The director was bypassing the team leader and giving orders directly to a manager.
And not just any order.
He wanted Jinhyeok to investigate a store another team had already declared beyond recovery.
If Jinhyeok found a solution, the Franchise Operations Team would be placed in a very uncomfortable position.
Naturally, their resentment would be aimed at Jinhyeok.
There was no way the director didn't know that.
Jinhyeok fell into thought.
The order had come right after their discussion about mutual growth.
He understood.
This was a test.
“What's wrong? Didn't you say the Commercial District Analysis Team should show responsibility? Surely you're not hesitating because you're afraid of the Franchise Operations Team?”
As expected.
The director was telling him to prove that all his talk about principles hadn't been empty.
Jinhyeok's pride stirred.
Ten years as a commercial district analyst.
He had worked quietly all that time without worrying about other people's opinions.
“Understood. I'll analyze whether there's a way to revive the Baristers Janggi Branch and report back. But I can't guarantee you'll get the answer you want. I'll make my judgment only after seeing the site myself.”
Kangjin smiled with satisfaction.
The more he watched this young man, the more he was reminded of Chairman Choi in his youth.
After Jinhyeok left the director's office, a man rose from the massage chair in the corner.
“Director, you really do have strange hobbies.”
“Did you rest well?”
The man was Choi Taesik, head of Seongun Group Headquarters' Future Strategy Office.
He was the hidden son of Chairman Choi, who was publicly known to have only two sons and three daughters.
“How much did you hear?”
“Everything from the beginning. You told me to sit over there because I looked tired. You wanted me to overhear that conversation, didn't you?”
“Haha. That's a misunderstanding. I was merely worried about you after you stayed up all night. Do you think I'd let just anyone use that chair?”
Taesik laughed helplessly.
This was a man who had built today's Seongun Group alongside his father.
A man who planned even the smallest details.
“Either way, I ended up listening to the whole thing. He's from the Commercial District Analysis Team?”
“Yes. I've been unhappy with the current team leader. That young man might become an alternative.”
Taesik thought back over the conversation.
Baek Kangjin almost never praised anyone.
“I don't think I've ever seen an employee remain that calm in front of you. But he didn't seem interested in impressing you at all. Can someone like that really be useful?”
“We'll find out. And the person he'll be useful to isn't me. It's you.”
“What do you mean?”
“The chairman's order. Depending on the result of this assignment, I think it might be worth letting him work on that project.”
Only a very small number of people knew about Seongun Group's massive project.
The Future Strategy Office had been moving constantly after the chairman ordered them to construct a landmark unique to Seongun.
The problem was that they hadn't produced a proposal Chairman Choi liked.
A luxury shopping mall for the top one percent.
A super-tall skyscraper.
A building with a bizarre geometric shape.
They had created plenty of impressive proposals.
Every single one had been rejected.
Kangjin knew why.
If it was going to become Seongun's landmark, it needed to embody the corporate value of mutual growth.
That was why Kangjin had become interested in Mullae-dong.
