Real Man

The human resources department was a powerful organization within the group strategy office.

They had the authority to appoint the key executives of the entire group, and they also handled the hospitality of the royal family, which gave them a lot of influence.

How would the head of such an organization feel if he lost his main duties and had to take on a task that was not even related to his strategy role?

Yoo-hyun had a chance to guess his feelings a few days later at the Future Products Research Institute in Gwacheon.

He bowed slightly to Ju Jae-oh, the executive director whom he met after a long time, in the hallway in front of the first floor conference room.

“Hello, Director Ju Jae-oh.”

“…”

Ju Jae-oh seemed to be surprised by Yoo-hyun’s appearance and narrowed his eyes for a moment.

Yoo-hyun approached him friendly, who had once sent him a love call.

“Do I look like I’m doing well?”

“Did I offend you?”

“Not at all. Do what you came for.”

Ju Jae-oh, who had short curly hair and thick eyebrows, spoke stiffly and turned away.

Kwon Se-jung, the assistant, looked at him curiously.

“Weren’t you close?”

“Yeah. He’s just going through some trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?”

“It’s complicated. Remember what I told you?”

Yoo-hyun reminded him of the plan they had discussed before, and Kwon Se-jung showed a determined look.

“Of course. I’ve prepared everything thoroughly. The group leader knows too.”

“I see. Don’t mind Director Ju’s attitude and follow the plan. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Okay. I’ll go set things up first.”

“Alright. Good luck.”

Yoo-hyun cheered him on and Kwon Se-jung hurried into the conference room.

The presentation was in the next time slot, but he wanted to check everything thoroughly.

That’s how important this meeting was.

Yoo-hyun, who entered through the back door, scanned the scene inside the conference room.

There were Hansung Electronics executives, including the head of the Future Products Research Institute, the promotion manager, and the mobile new product development manager.

They were all prominent people, and since they were the dominant company, Hong Il-seop, the executive director, had to sit in the corner.

The one who sat in the highest seat was Ju Jae-oh.

Yoo-hyun, who took a seat near the back door, looked closely at Ju Jae-oh’s face.

The presentation began with the promotion manager.

“Starting with Google Glass, we predict that the market for smart products using semiconductor displays will grow significantly…”

He seemed to have already agreed with the foreign executives, as there was no negative content.

According to the presentation, it was possible for smart glasses and other smart products to catch up with the smartphone market.

That’s how overly optimistic the content was.

The next presenter was Kim Hak-il, the team leader.

“The technology we are preparing at the Future Products Research Institute is for VR, AR…”

Specific technologies came and went, but everyone was focused because of the high interest.

Of course, except for Ju Jae-oh.

He looked bored and kept rubbing his ears, showing no interest.

What made him so annoyed?

Lee Jun-il, the director, was not the type to make enemies recklessly.

He had used Shin Kyung-soo to expand his position, and he must have used Yoon Ju-tak, the vice president, to press down on Ju Jae-oh.

In other words, the most likely target of Ju Jae-oh’s resentment was Yoon Ju-tak.

‘He must be more bitter since he was pushed back when he was eyeing the head position.’

Yoo-hyun was thinking about Ju Jae-oh’s situation for a moment.

“If there are no more questions, we will take a 20-minute break and meet again.”

Kim Hak-il’s presentation ended and it was time for a break.

Creak.

Ju Jae-oh got up from his seat and Yoo-hyun followed suit.

He could tell from his expression and attitude that things were going as he had expected.

There was no reason to hesitate any longer, so Yoo-hyun walked toward Ju Jae-oh.

Thud thud.

Yoo-hyun, who stepped out into the hallway, followed Ju Jae-oh.

Fortunately, there were no staff members around him.

Yoo-hyun got close to him and Ju Jae-oh looked at him coldly, feeling his presence.

“Do you have something to say to me?”

“Yes. I have something to tell you.”

“Then spit it out. We have different paths to take now.”

Ju Jae-oh turned his head sharply and walked away.

He seemed to have no intention of dealing with Yoo-hyun, and his big steps showed his strong will.

But he had to stop when Yoo-hyun uttered his words.

“It’s about Vice President Yoon Ju-tak.”

“What did you say?”

“I’ll tell you why I left the group strategy office.”

When he heard Yoo-hyun’s words, he even came closer.

“Are you saying that this has something to do with the head?”

“Yes. It does. And this is something you need to know, Director.”

Yoo-hyun emphasized to Ju Jae-oh, who had dropped the honorific from the head’s title.

Ju Jae-oh looked at Yoo-hyun with his thin eyes.

He reminded him of his reaction when Yoo-hyun first presented him the ‘Spanish royal family hospitality scenario’.

He retraced Yoo-hyun’s steps in the group strategy office and slightly lifted the corners of his mouth.

“I was bored with the presentation anyway.”

“I wasn’t a presenter either, so I didn’t have to attend.”

Yoo-hyun also responded with a light smile.

Ju Jae-oh, who had entrusted the main role to his team leader, came out of the building.

He seemed to think that Yoo-hyun had something important to say, so he was careful with his ears.

Yoo-hyun asked Kwon Se-jung, the assistant, to take care of the presentation and followed Ju Jae-oh.

The inside of the conference room was busy, but the outside was quiet.

The building was surrounded by a garden, so there were many places to sit around.

Thump.

Ju Jae-oh, who sat on a quiet bench, sighed.

“Then let’s hear that story first.”

“Yes. But you have to keep it a secret.”

“Who would believe a word from a subsidiary employee?”

He looked at Yoo-hyun with a precise gaze.

Yoo-hyun, who had left the group strategy office, was nothing more than a subsidiary employee.

But Yoo-hyun’s aura, who had done big things in the group strategy office, made him focus.

Yoo-hyun recited the past story in the place where the sun shone.

“Ten years ago, when Hansung Group built a large cluster in Russia…”

In 1990, Hansung Group, which first entered Russia, invested heavily in 2001 and established its position in Russia.

The starting point was the Russia Hansung Cluster.

There were six subsidiaries and 14 factory buildings, including Hansung Electronics.

The site, which was built near the capital Moscow, was also enormous.

Ju Jae-oh frowned as he listened to the story he already knew.

“Isn’t that obvious? What does that have to do with you leaving?”

“I happened to find out a secret about it.”

“A secret?”

“Yes. It’s about the embezzlement of tens of billions of won that happened then.”

“Tens of billions? The person in charge then…”

“You’re probably thinking of the right person.”

The Russia Hansung Cluster project was led by a team of Vice President Yoon Ju-tak and Director Song Hyun-seung.

Yoon Ju-tak, who was the main person, used his hands and feet to launder the royal family’s money.

In the process, he stole a lot of money.

The one who helped him was Heo Jeong-ro, a member of parliament who worked at the Russian embassy at the time.

The reason why Yoo-hyun knew this information was simple.

He had used this fact to drive out Yoon Ju-tak when Ju Jae-oh tried to do so.

At that time, Yoo-hyun followed Ju Jae-oh’s orders and investigated Yoon Ju-tak’s weaknesses.

Ju Jae-oh rolled his eyes and asked Yoo-hyun casually.

“Where is the data you found?”

“I can’t give it to you right now.”

“Why not?”

“Don’t you trust me 100 percent?”

“Of course not. How can a former strategy officer who doesn’t even have access rights find such data?”

The strategy officer could only see a very small part of the group strategy office data.

He asked a reasonable question, and Yoo-hyun gave him a plausible answer.

Of course, it was something he could never verify.

“When I was supporting the sisterhood event, I got a master access for a moment. Through Director Lee Jun-il.”

“Damn.”

“I found it by accident. But Vice President Yoon noticed me transferring the data to my personal computer.”

“The head manages personal data too?”

“That’s not all. He monitored me after he found out.”

“What?”

Ju Jae-oh’s eyes widened at Yoo-hyun’s shocking revelation.

The truth was that Lee Jun-il, the director, was the culprit.

But now, the truth was not important.

It was more important to create a misunderstanding.

Yoo-hyun laid the groundwork for Ju Jae-oh to doubt Yoon Ju-tak.

“I had to leave as if I was kicked out. I wanted to tell the truth, but I had no power. I was scared too.”

“Could it be that he…”

“Do you have any suspicions?”

“No. It’s nothing.”

Ju Jae-oh quickly managed his expression at Yoo-hyun’s probing question.

He could tell that the seed of doubt had been planted deep in his heart by his shaky eyes.

He calmed down his excitement and looked at Yoo-hyun.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“I think you deserve the head position, Director.”

“Have you seen me a few times?”

“Didn’t you recommend me for a reward?”

Ju Jae-oh asked incredulously at Yoo-hyun’s absurd words.

“What? Just for that reason?”

“I was very grateful then.”

When Yoo-hyun had a successful exhibition for Princess Maria Carlos, Ju Jae-oh had actively recommended him.

But Ju Jae-oh was not the kind of person who would accept such an emotional reason.

He spat out the answer he had come up with himself.

“It must be because of your grudge against the head.”

“I can’t deny that.”

“Hmm.”

Ju Jae-oh paused at Yoo-hyun’s frank expression.

He looked very impressive as he rolled his eyes and spread his wings of imagination.

Maybe he was already occupying the head position in his mind.

After thinking for a while, Ju Jae-oh said to Yoo-hyun.

“It would be better to keep today’s matter a secret, as I said before.”

“Yes. I understand.”

“And when I can verify what you said, can I contact you again?”

“Of course. I’ll be waiting.”

“Alright. I’ll give you a decent reward then.”

As a human resources manager who had handled a lot of money, he was clear about give and take.

He liked Yoo-hyun’s offer, and his eyes were already excited.

It was exactly the situation he wanted, so Yoo-hyun agreed happily.

Of course, he hid his joy on the surface.

“Thank you for your consideration.”

“Sure. Shall we go back then?”

“Yes. Let’s go.”

Yoo-hyun, who answered, followed Ju Jae-oh who got up.

Somehow, Ju Jae-oh’s steps seemed lighter.

As they entered the building, Yoo-hyun followed Ju Jae-oh down the hallway.

When they saw the two, the staff who had been waiting outside the back door of the conference room bowed their heads and opened the door.

Squeak.

As Ju Jae-oh entered, Kwon Se-jung, the assistant who was presenting, stopped.

At the same time, the people who turned their eyes bowed their heads to Ju Jae-oh.

It was a glimpse of Ju Jae-oh’s influence.

“Oh, go on. Don’t mind me.”

Ju Jae-oh waved his hand casually and sat down.

Yoo-hyun, who followed him in, sent an okay sign to Kwon Se-jung, the assistant, who met his eyes.

Kwon Se-jung nodded slightly and continued his presentation naturally.

“Then I’ll continue to tell you about the expected CAPA (production capacity) of Hansung Display for the first half of next year. First, the 0.9-inch panel is…”

It was worth listening to.

There was no fluff in the report, which had been reviewed several times by Hong Il-seop, the executive director.

With Kwon Se-jung’s unique smooth progress, the presentation flowed like water.

It was good enough that Yoo-hyun, who analyzed sharply, had nothing to complain about.

Thanks to that, the complex numbers mentioned were stuck in the audience’s brains.