Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Chapter 33 Newcomer (3)

-Screech.

A luxury sedan came to a stop in the lobby of Daechun Group headquarters.

Before the chauffeur could even open the door from inside, the person who opened it first and stepped out was Chairman Joo Manho, the head of Daechun Group.

“I’m only going up for a moment, so don’t follow me.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

It was late in the evening, long past not only the start of work but even the end of the workday.

One of Chairman Joo Manho’s peculiar hobbies was returning to the company late at night like this and wandering the offices alone.

The company he had built from nothing after coming down from the North only truly felt like his own when he walked through it late at night, sweeping and touching things with his own hands.

But today, he was not alone.

“Good evening, Chairman. I’m Kim Jinseong, a new employee on the Portal Site Development Team.”

‘Hm?’

At the polite greeting from behind him, Chairman Joo Manho reflexively nodded.

Had he even been here a full year yet? He was a tall, handsome rookie employee who still looked every bit like someone fresh out of university.

And after finishing his greeting, that handsome new employee simply started walking again as though nothing had happened.

In exactly the same direction as the Chairman.

-Step, step.

An awkward walk together between two people separated by an enormous gap in rank.

‘But why does this brat look so comfortable?’

He should have been uncomfortable. This was not a difference of one or two ranks.

There were occasionally new employees with enough cheerful bravado to greet him loudly and ask to be remembered.

But most of them hurriedly fled down another path afterward, or froze stiff until he passed.

This new employee was different.

Far from being nervous, he had greeted him as though he were merely the man next door, and now calmly walked beside him while flipping through a bundle of documents.

Even the board members would not dare behave like this beside him.

“Doesn’t walking beside me like this make you uncomfortable?”

“I’m fine. If you’re uncomfortable, Chairman, I can take another route.”

“No, I was just asking. Keep going where you were going.”

With a single exchange, their positions had completely reversed.

They continued walking in silence for quite some time, until the one who found the awkward silence uncomfortable finally spoke first.

“Anything difficult about work?”

“I’m still unfamiliar with the job, so everything is difficult.”

“I-Is that so?”

‘Why are all his answers so different?’

It was not the answer he had expected.

“I’m not having any trouble!” or “My team members take good care of me, so I’m doing fine!” were the usual answers he heard from employees with that little seniority.

A formulaic answer suited to a stale question.

And that was usually where Chairman Joo Manho’s conversations with new employees ended.

He would chuckle, tell them to keep up the good work, pat them lightly on the shoulder, and they would reach a fork in the corridor.

But this audacious new employee was far too honest.

“Then what is the hardest thing among all that?”

“The hardest part is that I’m still unable to contribute much to the team.”

“That’s only natural when you’ve just joined! What brat is good at everything from the very beginning? I mean something else that’s difficult. You know, commuting, benefits, things like that.”

It was a persistent question prompted by how unusually candid and relaxed Jinseong was compared to other new employees.

“The hardest thing is that the artificial intelligence project Daechun Solutions was working on was discontinued. A lot of people on the team worked very hard on it.”

“Is that so?”

Chairman Joo Manho, who had been ready to tease him if he slipped up, stiffened.

The eyes staring directly at him almost seemed to carry a faint blue glow.

‘This little bastard doesn’t look like he’s ignorant of the situation...’

The cancellation of the artificial intelligence project had been his own unilateral decision as Chairman.

Daechun Group’s capture of the domestic portal market, which had been wide open, was practically a miracle.

But miracles did not happen twice.

With the international situation as unstable as it was these days, he did not have the confidence to shoulder astronomical costs while reducing the company’s cash reserves.

It was the exact opposite of the “future growth engines” and “spirit of challenge” he constantly preached to the executives.

But no one had dared oppose his decision or even show displeasure.

No one except this audacious new employee.

“If failing there could shake the company, is it really worth regretting so much? Wouldn’t it be better to focus on the safer construction side?”

“I was taught that the only road that is comfortable and safe is one going downhill.”

“Ha!”

The winner of the verbal riddle had been decided.

Because Chairman Joo Manho could no longer find anything to say in rebuttal.

The phrase, “The only road that is comfortable and safe is one going downhill,” was none other than the line he himself had written as the closing sentence of his autobiography.

‘Where the hell did this brat come from?’

He had even managed to slip a lesson into an answer he would never have given unless pressed.

To a man who was nearly sixty years old, no less.

Of course, he was not going to decide the direction of the company based on the words of a mere new employee.

Daechun Group was hardly some corner shop that could change course so easily.

Still, a small ripple had formed in his heart.

“Then, I’ll be going in. Have a good evening.”

“Hm? We’re already here. It’s late, so finish up quickly and go home.”

It was a farewell that left him strangely regretful that their brief encounter had ended.

‘He’d be perfect as a teacher for my son studying abroad.’

The guts to remain composed even when meeting the Chairman himself, the politeness that never crossed into disrespect, and a depth of thought impossible to measure from just a few exchanges.

Every one of them was something he wished his reckless son would learn.

Unfortunately, though, the new employee who had pleased him so much lacked seniority.

‘That’s right. Why didn’t I think of that? If I need a teacher, I can just raise the teacher first!’

And Chairman Joo Manho had the power to do exactly that.

“Director Shin, did I wake you? Ah, it’s nothing serious. That kid named Kim Jinseong over in Portal—if you can send him to Strategic Planning starting tomorrow, do it.”

It was the moment the first button was fastened on a hundred-year plan meant to shape the future of Daechun Group.

‘If only my son grew to be half as much like you.’

____________

Seven years later, at an upscale bar in Gangnam.

Located beneath a hotel without even a sign outside, the bar was a place where access was strictly controlled by two guards from the moment one approached the entrance.

A secretive venue reserved for VIPs who thought nothing of spending several million won in a single night.

But in truth, the drinking parties held there were filthier than those in the shabbiest street tent bar.

“Drink! Nobody leaves until we finish all this and it’s morning! Hey! What is this booze? Bring another bottle of this for each person!”

The man pointing at the waiter and calling him “hey” shook a bottle of liquor.

“As expected of our Dohyeok. A real man among men!”

“Real man, my ass.”

“You’re getting transferred tomorrow, right? You’ll become manager on the way over, deputy general manager next year, then general manager, and only three years until executive director.”

“Exactly! WK Group promoted someone to executive director in three years and then straight to vice president. Our MBA graduate Dohyeok will be even faster!”

“Studying abroad really does make a difference.”

The man who seemed to be the guest of honor was apparently named Dohyeok.

He was a broad-featured young man, nearly 190 centimeters tall, with such a solid build that his leather jacket looked ready to burst.

Even without sitting at the head of the table, he naturally drew everyone’s attention.

Had he been born a little earlier, in another era, people would probably have said he had the face and physique of a general.

Perhaps because of that,

his personality did not seem very different from his appearance.

“Would you like me to reset the glasses as well?”

“Didn’t you hear me say to bring the bottles? Just put them all down.”

“...Yes.”

“Isn’t this insanely expensive liquor?”

“About a million per bottle, I think.”

“Are you serious? Then how much is all of this? One, two, three...”

“How embarrassing. Why are you counting something like that? Don’t you know who I am? I’m Joo Dohyeok.”

The liquor bottles placed back on the table numbered one per person.

There were more than ten people seated around the long table, so over ten million won had been spent in a single moment.

“Damn. Do you have to be this bold to become the head of a conglomerate? Or are business instincts just in the blood?”

-Click.

The man sitting to Dohyeok’s right personally took out a cigarette, placed it between Dohyeok’s lips, and lit it with both hands as he spoke.

The series of motions was so excessively deferential compared to his casual tone that it might have seemed strange.

But at least at the drinking party Dohyeok had created, it was perfectly natural.

Everyone differed only in degree, but all were busy watching Dohyeok’s mood from the head seat and constantly chiming in.

“Some people are simply born with it. Look at the kids from Samjeong or Lude. They don’t even come to drinking parties like this.”

“This is all part of social life and building connections, you know.”

The people gathered at the party were in their late twenties at most.

They were still young enough that even discussing corporate life was premature, let alone business.

Yet they spoke as though they were chairmen running major corporations.

“Hmph. They’re just bookish idiots who think a company will grow if they sit still.”

-Gulp, gulp.

Dohyeok snorted and drank straight from the bottle.

The other young men sitting beside him hurriedly lifted their bottles as well, following his example.

“Cough! Ugh.”

“Blegh! What proof is this?”

Groans erupted here and there.

It was the aftermath of drinking strong liquor directly from the bottle, something difficult enough even when taken straight by the glass.

“Dohyeok, are you okay?”

“Dohyeok can always drink like a fish. I’ve never seen him drunk.”

“If you drink while keeping your head straight, you’ll be fine.”

“That just means you’re amazing. We’ll die if we finish all of this. Forget it, I’ll take mine home later.”

“Hey, why would you take a bottle you’ve already put your mouth on? That’s filthy. Are you a beggar?”

“Huh? S-Sorry.”

At Dohyeok’s sharp remark, the noisy drinking party froze.

-Pat, pat.

“Idiot.”

Dohyeok ruffled the hair of the young man who had said he would take the liquor home.

“You think I’d let you take home a filthy bottle you already drank from? Hey! When these guys leave, give each of them another bottle. No, two bottles!”

“What are you all doing? Not clapping? You’re getting expensive liquor like this and you’re just going to sit there?”

The young man who had lit Dohyeok’s cigarette moments earlier immediately revived the mood.

-Clap clap clap clap.

The reluctant applause that began soon turned into an enthusiastic standing ovation.

A drinking party that swung between heaven and hell depending on one man’s mood was the banquet of a dictator.

Yet for everyone except Dohyeok, there was no reason to refuse such an uncomfortable gathering.

As long as they humored him appropriately, they could walk away with expensive liquor that would easily fetch a million won if sold secondhand.

The upscale bars, golf outings, and overseas trips they enjoyed almost every day on Dohyeok’s dime were experiences they could never imitate with their own incomes and spending power.

“By the way, once you go there, won’t you get too busy to see us? I heard managing new employees and all that is no joke.”

“Hey, I’m Joo Dohyeok. One day there and I’ll have the whole place figured out. Quit talking nonsense and keep this time open next week too. The weather’s warming up, so let’s go play a round.”

The schedule of Joo Dohyeok, Daechun Group’s sole heir, was no different from that of any other third-generation chaebol.

The personnel transfer notice that had served as the excuse for today’s gathering was already so stained with spilled snacks and liquor on the table that its original form was barely recognizable.

And so the happy drinking party, with Dohyeok having no idea whom he would meet tomorrow as his senior mentor, became his last supper.