Chapter 24
The cramped break room was filled with the sweet smell of instant coffee and the low hum of an old refrigerator.
Manager Jang Woojin raised his paper cup.
Then he noticed Choi Inwoo through the half-open door.
“Assistant Manager Lee, you heard about Choi Inwoo's instant rice idea, right?”
Lee Sejun lowered his cup.
“Yeah.”
“I heard his big idea is just changing the package.”
“Exactly.”
Lee Sejun remembered the meeting from a few days earlier and laughed.
“That day, when Choi Inwoo said, 'I'll take responsibility for the instant rice,' I almost laughed out loud.”
He imitated Choi Inwoo dramatically.
“I thought he was some independence fighter giving a speech.”
Manager Jang smiled.
“Yeah. He was shouting so hard I thought the veins in his eyes would burst.”
“Why is he like that?”
Lee Sejun shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned against the wall arrogantly.
“He joined with me, but honestly, I'm embarrassed.”
“If someone heard him, they'd think he owned the company.”
Manager Jang took a sip of his cooling coffee.
“Responsibility?”
“Damn. He says that word easily.”
“And he's only an assistant manager.”
“Does he think he's some second-generation chaebol?”
“If it fails, does he think he can just hand in a resignation and disappear?”
“This industry is small.”
“A salesperson who talks recklessly can end up hanging himself with his own words.”
Lee Sejun smiled.
His eyes contained amusement rather than worry.
“After he brought in Shinwoo Department Store, CEO Jeong started praising him.”
“Now he thinks he's somebody important.”
“Sejun, think about this logically.”
“Yes?”
“Do you think major corporations use Japanese extracts and Chinese containers because they're stupid?”
Lee Sejun shook his head.
“Of course not.”
“They do it because of cost.”
“Exactly.”
“We're expensive because we insist on domestic materials.”
“And now he's talking about spending even more money on a new package.”
“It's just wasting money.”
“It doesn't matter to him whether the company suffers as long as he gets to push his personal belief.”
Lee Sejun nodded hard.
“That's exactly what I think too.”
“Who buys rice out of patriotism these days?”
“Exactly.”
“Consumers either buy the cheaper product, or if they're spending more, they buy the product they've seen in advertisements.”
“That bastard Choi Inwoo is writing a fantasy novel.”
They only mocked him.
“I heard something from the design team earlier.”
“They're apparently putting a big 0% and 100% on the package.”
“White and black.”
“Looks like a funeral notice.”
“Who's going to buy something that gloomy?”
Manager Jang sighed.
“The design itself isn't even the main problem.”
“What else?”
“The cost of making new printing plates and pushing through an entirely new package run.”
“That's all coming out of our second-half budget.”
“Seriously?”
Manager Jang frowned.
“Yeah.”
“If sales don't appear in September, the CEO won't stay quiet.”
“The people you trust most hurt you the most when they disappoint you.”
Lee Sejun slowly crushed his empty paper cup.
The sound of crumpling paper almost felt like someone's future breaking apart.
“In my opinion, Choi Inwoo finally pushed his luck too far.”
“He had a few lucky wins.”
“Now he's going to destroy all of it with this instant rice.”
Lee Sejun smiled.
“Manager Jang, what happens to Choi Inwoo if the instant rice sales don't improve?”
“I heard the CEO said this was the last chance.”
“That means if it fails this time, he's dead.”
“He basically dug his own grave.”
Lee Sejun looked delighted.
“Just hearing that makes me feel better.”
“He's been walking around with his shoulders up because the CEO trusts him.”
Then a small worry crossed his mind.
“But Manager...”
“Yeah?”
“What if... just hypothetically... something really does happen to the major companies and WG Instant Rice becomes successful?”
Manager Jang burst out laughing.
“Lee Sejun, you've been watching too many movies.”
“What?”
“Which is more likely?”
“OI Food, Uttuk Food, and Rohan Food collapsing?”
“Or WG Instant Rice failing?”
“Well... WG failing is obviously more likely.”
Manager Jang patted his shoulder.
“Exactly.”
“The major corporations aren't going to collapse.”
“And even if something happens to their products, who is going to care about a 0.1% difference?”
“Consumers aren't that careful.”
He tossed his crushed paper cup into the trash.
It landed perfectly.
Then he smiled proudly.
“Choi Inwoo is finished.”
“He'll learn exactly how terrifying the word 'responsibility' is when September closes.”
“He'll learn it with tears in his eyes.”
“That probability is definitely higher.”
“Exactly.”
“We just need popcorn.”
“I'll bring the popcorn.”
Manager Jang chuckled.
“Oh, and pay more attention to that Damyang account.”
“When Choi Inwoo collapses, you need to raise your sales.”
“Then the comparison will be even clearer.”
“Don't worry.”
“I'll do it properly.”
“I'll step on him and take my position back.”
Their ugly laughter filled the cramped break room.
In the distance, Choi Inwoo was holding documents and thinking seriously about the instant rice.
