Chapter 30

Chapter 30

The final day of third-quarter sales.

The meeting room was always busy.

We held weekly meetings.

Monthly meetings.

And quarterly sales meetings like this one.

So there was nothing unusual about gathering here.

Still...

The atmosphere today was different.

Excitement and tension existed at the same time.

CEO Jeong Seonghan sat at the head of the table.

He smiled with satisfaction while looking through documents.

Around him, the sales managers and assistant managers stared at the screen.

I did the same.

It was finally time for the performance announcement that controlled every employee's future each quarter.

This time...

The result was obvious.

So most people felt anticipation rather than nervousness.

Especially me.

My performance was far too clear.

At least among assistant managers, the A rank was already mine.

Of course I knew it.

Shinwoo Department Store.

The largest food-supply mart in Honam.

And now...

WG Instant Rice.

There was no other assistant manager who could possibly take A rank.

Even Lee Sejun, with all the shortcuts he used, could not beat me this quarter.

Everyone knew that.

Manager Jang Woojin nervously shuffled papers and shook his leg.

Lee Sejun, unlike usual, remained silent and stared at one corner of the monitor.

Click.

The meeting room lights turned off.

Then...

The third-quarter performance grades for assistant managers filled the screen.

[Third-Quarter Sales Performance - Assistant Managers]

Choi Inwoo: A

Lee Sejun: B

Im Sanghyeon: C

Baek Seoyeon: C

Park Dohyeon: D

Kim Jonghyeon: D

The moment the grades appeared...

No one reacted with shock.

Instead, the room erupted into applause and celebration.

All of it was directed at me.

“Wow!”

“Assistant Manager Choi is in a league of his own.”

“Congratulations, Assistant Manager Choi!”

Im Sanghyeon slapped my thigh and cheered like it was his own victory.

“Hey, Inwoo!”

“How long has it been since you took A rank back?”

“Seriously, congratulations.”

“You worked your ass off!”

The other employees applauded too.

The performance graph beside my name...

Was several times higher than the combined results of the other assistant managers.

The miracle of WG Instant Rice...

A small company grabbing the major corporations by the hair and creating a nationwide shortage...

Was now proven in numbers.

CEO Jeong stood with a satisfied smile and patted my shoulder.

“This third quarter was one of the most brilliant periods in WG Food's history.”

“And at the center of it was Assistant Manager Choi Inwoo.”

“He created a miracle through skill and judgment.”

I smiled.

“Thank you, CEO.”

“When you said you'd take responsibility for the instant rice...”

“That decision saved the company.”

CEO Jeong's eyelids trembled slightly.

It felt as though a long-held dream had finally succeeded.

I bowed.

“I was only able to do it because you trusted me with the responsibility.”

“Thank you.”

“I'm the one who should thank you.”

“The quarterly incentive will be paid, of course.”

“And as promised, the year-end special bonus will be at the highest level in the industry.”

He looked around.

“Everyone, let's give Assistant Manager Choi another round of applause.”

Clap, clap, clap!

Cheers and applause filled the room.

I calmly bowed.

Memories flashed through my mind.

The second-quarter results.

The first quarter.

All the times I had remained B rank after losing to Lee Sejun.

I had worked harder and harder to regain A rank.

But every time...

He passed me at the last moment.

I knew it was because of his shortcuts.

But because they were technically only shortcuts...

There had been no easy way to stop him.

All I could do was build performance strong enough that honest work defeated unfair methods.

And now...

I had finally done it.

I had crushed his shortcuts with honest results.

My chest filled with emotion.

Because this was how it was supposed to work.

CEO Jeong continued the meeting.

He tapped his black approval folder against the table.

“Manager Jang Woojin.”

“During the instant rice crisis, Assistant Manager Choi managed to smooth out the logistics and sales problems before they became serious.”

“But the entire sales department needs to stay more alert.”

Manager Jang nodded.

At the same time...

He glanced at me from the corner of his eye.

He clearly hated everything about the situation.

To him...

I had become an obstacle.

“Don't get satisfied with this result.”

“Prepare properly for the fourth-quarter product lineup too.”

“Yes, CEO!”

Everyone answered.

Manager Jang wiped sweat from his forehead.

CEO Jeong then turned toward the second person on the list.

Lee Sejun.

“Assistant Manager Lee also increased the number of new accounts this quarter.”

“Especially the Damyang client, which seems to be your largest recent one.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Lee Sejun immediately stood, assuming he was being praised.

“You've maintained A rank for a long time.”

“This time, you dropped to B.”

“Next quarter, work harder and bring in more high-impact results like Assistant Manager Choi.”

“Then try to climb back to A.”

“...Yes. Understood.”

Lee Sejun lowered his head.

The meeting continued for about another hour with encouragement from CEO Jeong and goals for the fourth quarter.

When it finally ended...

The moment the doors opened, employees congratulated me all over again.

The room filled with applause.

“Assistant Manager Choi, congratulations.”

“Seriously. How did you accomplish all of this in one quarter?”

“Assistant Manager Choi... you're a monster.”

“This is incredible.”

I smiled and bowed.

“Thank you.”

But while I smiled...

My eyes remained fixed on the second line of the screen.

How is Lee Sejun still B rank?

His result made me frown.

Questions began multiplying inside my head.

I had expected him to fall all the way to the bottom.

D rank.

Or maybe C at best.

But he had only fallen to B.

That felt wrong.

While WG Instant Rice exploded...

Lee Sejun's supposedly impressive Damyang food-supply mart contract had disappeared from everyone's attention.

Inside and outside the company, it had become almost invisible.

Even if he had added several new clients...

If his supply prices were that low, his total revenue should have suffered badly.

I turned toward Lee Sejun's back as he returned to his seat.

He did not storm out of the meeting room in anger.

He did not even look particularly upset.

Instead...

One corner of his mouth remained twisted upward.

He looked like someone who still had something to rely on.

Then I remembered the documents I had seen in the shared folder.

He had used his parents' network to sign small marts around the Honam region.

And he had given them near-minimum prices.

Of course those businesses would sign.

The conditions were too good to reject.

Manager Jang had ignored the problem and helped increase Lee Sejun's new-account count.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Inwoo.”

“Choi Inwoo!”

Im Sanghyeon shook me repeatedly.

Only then did I realize everyone else had already left.

The meeting room contained only the two of us.

“Ah...”

“What are you thinking about so seriously?”

The moment I saw the empty room, I shut the door.

“Hey, Sanghyeon.”

“Yeah?”

“Assistant Manager Lee.”

“Our Lee Sejun who dropped to B rank?”

He laughed mockingly.

“Yeah.”

“His performance increased because of his parents' help, right?”

Im Sanghyeon nodded repeatedly.

“Everyone knows that.”

“Rich parents want their son to experience society, so they call around to all their friends.”

“But doesn't something feel strange?”

He tilted his head.

“The number of clients increases, so his results keep building.”

“What's strange?”

“The fact that he still received B rank.”

“You were insanely good this quarter.”

“He finally dropped one grade.”

“What's strange about that?”

Im Sanghyeon was still focused only on the number of new clients.

“I thought the same at first.”

“I assumed he was just using his parents' money to force extra sales into his numbers.”

“And?”

Now Im Sanghyeon's eyes became interested.

He checked the closed door again and moved closer.

“What did you find?”

“Nothing definite yet.”

“But looking at it again... something feels off.”

“Off?”

He rubbed his chin.

“Let's say he's willing to spend money at a loss to sign small marts and food-supply networks around the region.”

“Even someone obsessed with performance can't just keep accepting hundreds of millions of won in pricing losses for no return.”

“Now that you say it... yeah.”

“His actual sales numbers were always lower than you'd expect.”

“Exactly.”

“Because the prices were so low.”

I closed my eyes and recalled his client list.

“Hansarang Mart.”

“Kium Mart.”

“Sunsu Mart.”

“Duri Mart.”

“Choitae Mart...”

“Where are those?”

I opened my eyes.

“You've never even heard of them, right?”

“No.”

“They're around the outskirts of Gwangju.”

“Maybe tiny neighborhood marts.”

“I've never heard those names either.”

“Not even once while doing sales around the area.”

I rested my chin on my hand.

Im Sanghyeon suddenly widened his eyes.

“Oh! Inwoo, I figured it out!”

“What?”

“This is one hundred percent it.”

“Lee Sejun thought he was going to lose A rank.”

“So he cried to his parents.”

“They probably used all their rich landlord friends around Gwangju.”

I tilted my head.

“What?”

“Those friends registered fake mart businesses on the first floors of their buildings.”

“Then they placed fake orders to help Lee Sejun's performance.”

“Does that... really make sense?”

“Of course.”

“That's how rich-family business works.”

He nodded like his theory was obvious.

“Do you really think they used dozens of tiny marts to place fake orders?”

“Even if they're rich, is that realistic?”

“Inwoo.”

“Rich people do things beyond our imagination.”

He clicked his tongue.

“They probably keep those marts alive only on paper.”

“Then the goods sit in warehouses.”

“Later, the family friends divide the products among themselves or sell them slowly.”

“Truly beautiful parent-child love.”

I did not fully believe him.

If Im Sanghyeon's theory was true...

Then Lee Sejun was simply burning money like an idiot.

But the Lee Sejun I knew was not bold enough to lose hundreds of millions of won just for pride with no real benefit.

The smell of something dirty was getting stronger.

Those strange little clients scattered around Gwangju felt too suspicious to dismiss as simple rich-family sales manipulation.

What trap had Lee Sejun created?

What was the real purpose behind those impossible low-price contracts?

I needed to find out.

For myself.

And for WG Food.

From outside the meeting room, I could hear Lee Sejun laughing and talking in the office.

Seeing him that relaxed made me even more certain.

He was planning something.

Now...

It was time not merely to push him down to B rank.

It was time to drag his true face into the light.