Real Man

It was after the end-of-work song rang out.

Yoo-hyun stepped outside and took out his phone.

Swipe.

On the screen, there was a message from Vice President Shingyeongwook that had arrived a little while ago.

-Can I see your face for a bit?

They hadn’t contacted each other since their confrontation last time.

It wasn’t because they had grown distant.

Yoo-hyun had waited for Shingyeongwook to sort out his thoughts.

He watched his movements from afar, guessing his feelings.

What was he feeling right now?

He had an idea, but he wanted to confirm it himself.

He was more curious about that than the result of today’s executive meeting.

But.

“What’s this, why do you want to see me here?”

He tilted his head as he checked the location in the next message.

The meeting place was a rice soup restaurant located in the food alley of Hansung Tower.

With a round metal table between them, Yoo-hyun faced Shingyeongwook.

He blinked his eyes as he saw him in a rather casual outfit.

“Is it okay for you to come here?”

“What’s wrong with it? Everyone comes here.”

“Still. You didn’t like showing your face to the employees, did you?”

“I didn’t dislike it. I just avoided it because I thought it might make them uncomfortable.”

Shingyeongwook’s words made Yoo-hyun ask again.

“Still, you didn’t want to create any awkward situations, did you?”

“Look around. There’s no one we know here.”

Shingyeongwook lifted his head and scanned the surroundings.

None of the people who filled the place cared about him.

Noisy.

“Our company made a lot of money this year, shouldn’t they have given us something for the end of the year?”

“Give us? That all goes into the owner’s pocket.”

“Don’t talk nonsense, how did your performance evaluation go? Did you get an A this time?”

“If I did, do you think I’d be drinking soju? I’d be drinking whiskey.”

“Come on, don’t be so gloomy. Cheers!”

“Good. I’ll pay for this, so drink up.”

Everyone was drinking and chatting loudly.

Some of them were gossiping about the company.

Did they not recognize Shingyeongwook’s face?

No.

They just couldn’t imagine that he would show up here.

Of course, his hairstyle and outfit, which were different from what he had in the newspaper, contributed to that situation.

Yoo-hyun hid his embarrassment and answered.

“That’s… true.”

“Why? Don’t you like it here?”

“Of course not. It’s my favorite place.”

Shingyeongwook revealed his true feelings to Yoo-hyun, who was waving his hand.

“I just wanted to have a drink with you without any formality, like the other employees.”

“How did you choose this place?”

“Park Manager told me. He said you can get a sharp critique from the restaurant owner here. I wanted to try it once.”

-Park Director, you’re healthy and you’ve been drinking a lot of American water, why don’t you have a girlfriend? Don’t tell me you have a problem somewhere?

The restaurant lady was very straightforward.

She would sometimes join the drinking parties and liven up the atmosphere with her witty comments, like she did to Park Seung-woo Manager a while ago.

That was one of the charms of this restaurant.

How would Shingyeongwook react?

“I’m curious too.”

“Park Manager told me to be prepared.”

“It won’t be that bad.”

Yoo-hyun chuckled at Shingyeongwook’s words.

That’s when the restaurant lady came over and grabbed Yoo-hyun’s hand.

“Yoo-hyun, you said you were in Yeouido, how did you come all the way here?”

“I came to see you, auntie.”

“Ho ho! You’re so good at talking. But who is this? You look familiar…”

As the restaurant lady looked over Shingyeongwook, Yoo-hyun quickly made an excuse.

He couldn’t lie, so he didn’t mention his specific position.

“He’s my boss.”

“Is he higher than your team leader?”

“Yes.”

“I see. He looks like a good person. He’s different from Park Director. He looks wealthy.”

The restaurant lady’s opinion was clear as always.

Yoo-hyun nodded his head with a smile, holding back his laughter.

“You have a good eye, auntie.”

“Of course. I’ve never praised anyone as much as you, Yoo-hyun.”

“Thank you for your kind words.”

It was very warm until Shingyeongwook greeted her.

But the situation turned around when the restaurant lady suddenly pushed a glass towards him.

“You can’t just say it. You have to drink with me.”

“What? Oh, okay.”

It was the first time he had to pour a drink for the restaurant lady.

And she held a large glass.

Shingyeongwook hesitated, and the restaurant lady’s scolding flew at him.

“Tsk tsk. You look good, but you’re timid. You won’t get promoted like that.”

“It’s not a soju glass.”

“You have no sense. Just pour it moderately, moderately. And don’t hold the bottle like that.”

“What?”

“Give it to me. I’ll teach you how to pour. When you pour a drink, you cover the label of the bottle with your palm… Not like that.”

Smack smack.

The restaurant lady hit Shingyeongwook’s shoulder and taught him.

She seemed to have fun with a rare innocent person.

‘Is that okay?’

It wasn’t a good atmosphere to intervene, so Yoo-hyun just looked blankly.

It was after the restaurant lady left.

Shingyeongwook, who had to drink a penalty drink for his poor pouring skills, gave a hollow laugh.

“This is something, I guess I didn’t learn well.”

“That’s a bit harsh for a bottom-up practice.”

“Do they all drink by following these rules?”

“Some people do, but not usually. Auntie was just having fun with your reaction.”

“I see.”

Shingyeongwook’s expression didn’t look very bright as he answered.

He had hardly ever been scolded in his life, so it was understandable that he felt upset after being reprimanded by the restaurant lady out of the blue.

Yoo-hyun wondered if he had offended him.

“Did you feel bad?”

“Not at all. I actually liked it. It was friendly and I learned something new.”

“Really?”

“Just. I remembered a case of employee hardship.”

“What is it?”

Shingyeongwook said something unexpected with a bitter face.

“Do you know what baeju is?”

“Of course. It’s when you cut a pear and put soju in it.”

“Right. I didn’t know, but apparently they drink that every time they get promoted.”

“Yes. I did that in my previous team. There’s quite a lot of alcohol in the pear.”

He was talking about his time in the mobile product planning team.

As Yoo-hyun recalled his old memories, Shingyeongwook asked him.

“What happens if you refuse to drink that?”

“There are some team leaders who think badly of you. They force you to drink it.”

“And you get marked?”

“I guess you won’t hear anything good.”

“That’s how it was. One of the employees couldn’t drink, but he was forced to drink and collapsed and was hospitalized. The company tried to cover it up.”

“That’s terrible.”

“There’s more…”

Shingyeongwook continued to reveal the hardships of the employees that he had ignored.

Forcing them to drink, verbal abuse, and insults were the basics.

There were also cases where they were called frequently at dawn for no reason, or made to work all night without getting overtime pay.

And there were many cases where they were exploited for their achievements, or deliberately manipulated the results.

These things were too common, and it was quite a shock to him.

He didn’t show it on the outside, but it was obvious.

“Why couldn’t the employees speak up?”

“It wasn’t easy. They were the victims.”

“I see. That made me realize what I have to do.”

Yoo-hyun had a feeling what Shingyeongwook was going to say.

He had seen it when he looked down.

He was looking at the same place as his precious colleague.

Yoo-hyun poured him a drink.

“Here, let me pour you one.”

Shingyeongwook looked closely at Yoo-hyun’s hand.

The label of the soju bottle was perfectly hidden.

“You won’t get scolded by the restaurant lady.”

“I have to do this to survive.”

Shingyeongwook chuckled at Yoo-hyun’s wit.

They exchanged drinks with a smile, and the mood became lighter.

They ate delicious food and filled the gap between them.

The topic naturally flowed to the executive meeting that happened today.

“What do you think the result will be?”

Yoo-hyun told him his guess.

“Display will support you, and Electronics and Technique will hold off.”

“Right. It’s not easy to change them.”

“It can’t be helped. They all have their own situations.”

Hansung Electronics and Hansung Technique’s presidents were both loyal to the royal family.

They wouldn’t gamble on Shingyeongwook.

Shingyeongwook looked surprised at Yoo-hyun’s calm reaction.

“I thought you would be disappointed.”

“But you have a solid test bed now.”

“You think they will follow if you change Hansung Display first.”

“That’s what I’m preparing for. If we change one by one, one by one, won’t the whole thing change eventually?”

Shingyeongwook hadn’t met the group operating director yet.

Yoo-hyun seemed to have already made up his mind.

Shingyeongwook gave a hollow laugh.

“You don’t think you can change the whole group at once.”

“It would be nice, but it won’t be easy. But I believe this process itself will have a great meaning in the future.”

“It might.”

“Getting this far is really amazing. Thank you.”

“…”

Shingyeongwook swallowed his words at Yoo-hyun’s sincerity.

He looked thoughtful.

That’s when it happened.

Clang.

A woman opened the door and entered.

She walked briskly towards the kitchen, but stopped when she saw Yoo-hyun.

“Hey, Yoo-hyun oppa!”

“Yeseul, long time no see.”

Yoo-hyun was surprised too.

He didn’t expect to meet Jung Yeseul, the daughter of the restaurant owner and his junior from school.

She was a grown-up woman now, and she smiled brightly and sat down on an empty chair.

“Can I sit here?”

“You already did.”

“I have to sit for a while or mom will catch me. But who is this? Your boss?”

Yeseul ignored Yoo-hyun’s words and looked at Shingyeongwook.

Yoo-hyun nodded and introduced her to him.

“Yeah. This is Jung Yeseul, the daughter of the owner here.”

“She’s beautiful. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too. But you look familiar…”

As Yeseul greeted Shingyeongwook, she made a suspicious face.

Then she suddenly clapped her hands.

“Ah! This is great.”

“Yeseul, why?”

“Oppa, I got my business card today. Wait a minute.”

Business card?

Yeseul left Yoo-hyun behind and rummaged through her handbag.

Soon she took out a stiff business card and handed one to each of them.

“Here, Yoo-hyun oppa first, and your boss too.”

“Our Daily?”

Shingyeongwook said, and Yeseul shrugged her shoulders confidently.

“Yes. I’m an intern. But they said I can join right after I graduate. I think I’ll be in charge of Hansung. I’m studying hard about Hansung.”

“You’re following Reporter Oh Eun-bi?”

Four years ago, when Yoo-hyun showed Yeseul around the school, they met Reporter Oh Eun-bi by chance.

That connection had lasted until now.

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