Series: The All-Rounder Employee Becomes a Legend
Chapter: 34
Title: Kim Taeseok Transferred Overseas
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A phone rang in a luxury home in Hannam-dong, Seoul.
Choi Gyeong-ok, who had just finished preparing dinner and was getting ready to leave, picked up the receiver.
“Hello?”
- Good evening. Is this the residence of Mr. Kim Taeseok? My name is Kim Minseong, an Assistant Manager at the same company as Mr. Kim Taeseok.
“Ah, yes. This is the young master’s house. But he’s not here right now. What is this about?”
- Mr. Kim Taeseok didn’t come to work today. May I ask who is speaking?
“Ah, I’m the housekeeper here.”
- I see. In that case, is there another family member at home I could speak with?
“Just a moment.”
Choi Gyeong-ok had been working at this house for 25 years.
Just then, she saw a man entering the house through the window and walked over with the phone.
Pressing her hand firmly over the mouthpiece to prevent the conversation from being overheard, she approached the entrance.
A professional courtesy honed over 25 years.
She greeted the man with a simple nod and spoke.
“Chairman, would you mind taking this call? They’re looking for a member of the young master’s family.”
“Taeseok?”
“Yes. Please take it.”
“Alright. Thank you for your hard work today, ma’am. You may head home. You always do so much.”
“It’s nothing. You’re the one who always works so hard, Chairman. I’ve set out dinner, so please eat while it’s warm.”
“Yes. I’ll do that.”
After the brief exchange, Chairman Kim Changmo took the cordless phone from Choi Gyeong-ok.
“Yes. This is Taeseok’s grandfather. Who is calling?”
- This is Assistant Manager Kim Minseong from El Sung Life Insurance.
“And?”
- I’m calling because employee Kim Taeseok didn’t come to work today, and we were wondering if something had happened.
“Hmm, I doubt anything happened, but you say he didn’t come to work?”
- Yes. I had to reprimand him for a minor issue yesterday, and I was worried he might not have come in because of that.
“Haha, and what was your name again?”
- Assistant Manager Kim Minseong, from Sales Team 3 at the Yeongdeungpo branch of El Sung Life Insurance.
“Ah, I see. I will look into it and have him call you.”
- Yes. I apologize for the trouble. I’ll hang up now.
“It’s no trouble.”
But then, Kim Minseong made another mistake.
He hadn’t pressed the end call button on his phone.
The branch manager's voice carried through to the chairman.
- Hey! What’d he say?
- They don’t know his whereabouts at home either.
- What the hell is wrong with that bastard? The punk who blew a 200 million won deal yesterday doesn't even show up because I chewed him out for 15 minutes! Shouldn't we fire him right now?
- Branch Manager, please calm down.
- How am I supposed to calm down?
Hearing this, Chairman Kim Changmo’s expression hardened in an instant.
His driver and personal secretary were just coming up after parking the car in the garage.
He saw the chairman’s flushed face as he entered and bowed his head.
“Is something wrong?”
“Secretary Song.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“Call the Vice Chairman and tell him to bring that grandson of mine home within 30 minutes!”
“What should I say is the reason?”
Secretary Song suddenly felt an icy glare.
Just as he expected, the chairman, who was usually gentle and composed, raised his voice.
“Reason? What damn reason? That good-for-nothing! Just get him here now!”
“Yes. Understood.”
Watching the chairman storm up to the second floor with a reddened face, Secretary Song shook his head and thought.
‘When will the young master ever get his act together?’
* * *
Meanwhile, Taeseok, his namesake, was learning about HR tasks at the group headquarters and was keenly feeling his own shortcomings.
English.
‘Why do they use so much English at this company?’
It was an unexpected hurdle.
Fortunately, he had a colleague from the same hiring batch.
It was a question that would make him seem too ignorant if he asked a senior colleague, but he could ask a peer.
“Donghoon, where should I put this ‘Entrance’ sign?”
“Ah, you can put it on the main door. I’ll take care of that.”
Still, it was embarrassing.
So, after that day, he went straight to a bookstore and bought an English vocabulary book.
In his goshiwon, a place where even footsteps had to be muffled, Taeseok wracked his brain to learn the words he didn’t know.
But while current events, economics, and politics came easily to him, foreign languages were a different story.
‘Ah, this is driving me crazy. Why won’t any of this stick?’
Thirty words a day would be 900 in a month.
Theoretically, he could memorize about 3,000 words and idioms in just three months, but in reality, he struggled to achieve even a third of that.
Because he forgot words as quickly as he learned them.
Taeseok had always been weak with foreign languages.
It was as if he’d put all his stat points for linguistic thinking into Korean.
So while he was articulate in front of others, he was hopeless with foreign languages.
‘If the academic credit bank system had required a foreign language proficiency certification, I definitely wouldn’t have graduated.’
The truth was, he never had time to study.
So he hadn’t even touched foreign languages. It was only because his technical certifications were recognized as academic credits that he received his bachelor’s degree at the same age as everyone else.
If not for that, it probably would have taken him another two years to get his degree.
And he wouldn’t have been able to get into El Sung Group.
That’s why he tried to work even harder, but no matter how much he tried to memorize, the words just wouldn’t stick.
‘Ugh, you blockhead! How can you not memorize 15 words in an hour?’
This went on for three days. Then, a miracle occurred.
Of course, it wasn’t that his brain had suddenly improved.
[The Exclusive Shop's sales list has been updated.]
《New Employee Exclusive Shop Sales List / Current Honor Grade 2》
○ Arabic Beginner Package (Point 50 / New)
○ Portuguese Beginner Package (Point 50 / New)
○ Perfume of Fascination (Point 10)
○ Hangul Master 2018 (Point 20 / New)
○ Excel Master 2018 (Point 20 / New)
‘Check remaining points!’
[Current remaining Points: 26.]
‘Huh? What? You can buy foreign languages in the shop? But why isn't there any English?’
[7 days remaining until the next update.]
‘Will an English package show up after the update?’
Seeing the shop list, Taeseok immediately closed his vocabulary book.
‘There's no point in studying. The key to success is to gather points quickly.’
He knew from experience.
He remembered how his skills had skyrocketed with the PPT Master ability.
Each beginner language package was only 50 Points.
‘But haven't the quests been a bit scarce lately?’
As soon as he thought of it, a solution appeared.
《How to Activate Sub-Quests》
- While 'New Employee's Eyes' is active, stare at a person or object for more than 10 seconds. You may discover a sub-quest.
It's not a treasure hunt.
‘Discover,’ he says.
From the next day, Taeseok started looking for sub-quests at work.
But they weren’t easy to find.
They only appeared intermittently, and only from people directly related to him.
And that included some pretty unreasonable ones.
[Sub-Quest: Go somewhere nice with Assistant Manager Kang Minyul]
Assistant Manager Kang Minyul is lonely at night. Raise his affinity by visiting some nice places.
[Reward for increased affinity: 15 Points, a free private drinking session.]
‘This isn't it. What kind of 'nice places'?’
This time, it was Kim Jungmi , a senior by one year.
[Sub-Quest: Reinstall Windows on Senior Kim Jungmi's work computer]
Senior Kim Jungmi's computer is intermittently getting the blue screen of death. After getting her permission, reinstall Windows for her after she leaves work. File backup is essential!
[Reward: 2 Points]
‘Wow, this is basically forced overtime. But I guess I have to do it, right?’
That afternoon, the HR Section Chief, back from his summer vacation, entered the office, and the junior staff greeted him.
“Section Chief, did you have a good vacation?”
“Yes. And who are these two?”
“They’re the new employees who applied for the Strategic Planning Office. Taeseok, Donghoon, come and say hello. This is Section Chief Song Jinwook, who’s in charge of our team and the payroll team.”
At the Team Leader’s introduction, the two new employees greeted Section Chief Song.
“Hello. I’m new employee Kim Taeseok. I’ll do my best.”
“Hello. I’m new employee Jang Donghoon. I’ll do my best, Section Chief.”
Section Chief Song Jinwook replied with a smile.
“Welcome. I’ve been working in HR at El Sung Group for 15 years. You applied for the Strategic Planning Office?”
“Yes!”
“Assistant Manager Kang Minyul and employee Kim Jungmi from our HR team also originally applied for Strategic Planning before deciding to stay in HR. It feels like just yesterday, but so much time has passed. You two should try out HR work here, and if you find it suits your aptitude, let me know. I'll adjust your job assignment so you can stay here.”
“Understood.”
After greeting the new employees, the Section Chief immediately asked the Team Leader.
“Team Leader Kang! Is there anything I need to prepare?”
“No, nothing in particular. Regarding the document screening, we've passed up to twice the number of openings for each affiliate, and the interviews start tomorrow. So if you could just give a call to each of the executives conducting the interviews, that would be great.”
“Is that so? I’ll take care of it.”
“Yes.”
“Make sure the interview rooms are taken care of. I don’t need to check them myself, do I?”
“No, sir. I’ll check them again today, Section Chief.”
Taeseok looked at Section Chief Song Jinwook.
He was wondering if there might be a sub-quest attached to this man he was seeing for the first time.
And…
‘It actually appeared?’
[Sub-Quest: Answer Section Chief Song Jinwook's phone for him]
An important call will come for him during tomorrow's experienced-hire interviews. Answer it in his stead and avert the Section Chief's crisis.
[Reward: 15 Points, increased affinity with Song Jinwook]
‘A crisis? What's that about?’
The quest wasn't very descriptive. But the reward was quite generous. 15 Points.
To get 15 points for a single phone call.
Before leaving work that day, Taeseok noticed that the blue screen of death had appeared on Senior Kim Jungmi's computer.
“Senior?”
“Yes?”
“May I fix your computer for you?”
“Ah… do you know much about computers?”
“Yes. I know a fair bit.”
“What should I do? I have to leave for the day…”
“It's fine. It won't take me long, so you can go ahead and leave.”
“I'll buy you a meal sometime.”
“Don't worry about it. Please, head home. You worked hard today.”
After Kim Jungmi left, Taeseok reinstalled Windows on the computer.
Of course, he had already backed up all the important files.
His colleague from the same batch, Jang Donghoon, stayed with Taeseok, keeping him company and helping with the setup.
“Thanks, hyung.”
“That's what colleagues are for. We help each other out. You've helped me a lot too.”
"Ah…"
"Speaking of which, how about a drink?“
"Again?!"
And the next day.
Senior Kim Jungmi asked Taeseok.
“Did you fix the computer?”
“Yes. Try it out. It should work fine now.”
Unlike yesterday, the computer booted up quickly and ran smoothly without any errors.
“Taeseok! What was the problem?”
“It seems a Windows security patch file was corrupted. I reinstalled it, so you probably won't see the blue screen for a while.”
“Thank you. Let's have lunch tomorrow. My treat.”
“You don't have to, senior.”
“I'll be upset if you refuse again.”
“Ah… alright.”
As soon as he said that, a window popped up.
[You have acquired 2 Points as a reward.]
And so, there was work to be done from the morning on.
The interview hall was bustling with activity.
Taeseok was teamed up with Senior Kim Jungmi.
Their job?
Place some simple snacks on the interviewers' tables.
Turn on the air conditioning in advance to cool the room. And that was it.
"Senior, would it be best to put them here?"
"Yes. Don't put out the drinks and bottled water yet. We'll set them out after lunch so they can have them cold."
"Yes. Understood."
Of course, they weren't the only two working.
Team Leader Kang Minyul, a graduate of an American university, and Jang Donghoon formed another team, in charge of reception on the first floor.
They would guide foreigners who couldn't speak Korean from the main building's first-floor entrance, then hand them over to Taeseok and Kim Jungmi upstairs, who would lead them to a restricted waiting area.
In truth, while the preparations were difficult, the actual work on the day of the interviews wasn't particularly hard.
The General Affairs Manager personally handled the executives serving as interviewers, and with his 15 years of experience in HR, he could resolve any tricky situation, so there were no problems.
In particular, the manager would enter the interview room to provide real-time English interpretation for the foreigners, supporting the executives.
So Taeseok understood.
Why he hadn't been able to answer his phone.
He was attending to the executives. He must have put his phone on silent.
He doubted that someone so competent would have any behavioral issues, but the number of points offered by the sub-quest was substantial, so Taeseok waited in the office for the phone to ring.
Who could it be? An overseas buyer? A foreign researcher? It couldn't be a member of the National Assembly, could it?
Just then, the phone rang.
As Kim Jungmi turned her gaze, Taeseok spoke.
“I'll go get it.”
“Oh? Would you?”
Taeseok immediately went to the manager's desk and picked up the phone.
“El Sung Group, General HR Depart—”
- Hey! I've called several times, why aren't you picking up?
“I apologize. The manager is currently in an interview and cannot take your call. May I ask who's calling?
- Who are you?
“This is Kim Taeseok from the HR team.”
- Oh? Is that so? This is the Chairman…
“Pardon? Yes. Mr. Chairman.”
- New employee Kim Taeseok!
“Yes. That's me.”
- No, not you, my grandson.
“Pardon?”
- Don't be surprised. My grandson has the same name as you. Kim Taeseok. Issue a personnel order in his name.
Taeseok was startled by the call with the Chairman, but he answered calmly.
“Yes, sir.”
- Issue a personnel order transferring him from El Sung Life to El Sung Construction, adjust his duties to construction, and get the approval sent to me immediately. I want him sent away at once.
“Yes. Mr. Chairman, I will process the personnel order and duty adjustment request for the transfer from El Sung Life to El Sung Construction and get it approved.
- Right. Good. It's due today. Tell him to report through the Chief of Staff!
“Yes. Understood.”
After the Chairman's call ended, Taeseok immediately reported to his Team Leader so that the Team Leader could report to the manager.
In the meantime, Taeseok informed Senior Kim Jungmi, drafted the order, and called El Sung Life to obtain the duty adjustment application.
Just then, the manager returned with the Team Leader, breaking out in a cold sweat.
“Ah, stupid me, I missed the Chairman's call three times. He's not picking up now, what am I going to do?”
But Taeseok, with a calm expression, said to the manager.
“Sir, I believe you just need to report to the Chief of Staff's office that the personnel order and duty adjustment application are complete.”
“Really?”
And so, the manager called the Chief of Staff's office.
“Yes. Yes. Yes, so I'm not too late. Chief of Staff? I understand what you mean. I'll book a plane ticket to the UAE (United Arab Emirates) right now in the name of employee Kim Taeseok from El Sung Life. I will immediately submit the one-year overseas dispatch order to the overseas plant site for approval. Yes. Understood. I understand the Chairman's intentions perfectly. Even if we get pressure from the Vice Chairman, I will proceed with sending him unconditionally.”
Overhearing the manager's conversation right beside him, Taeseok thought.
‘So that guy was a chaebol. No wonder he was always causing trouble and acting strangely. Did he finally get on his grandfather's bad side?’
And then, the status window finally appeared.
[You have obtained 15 Points as a reward.]
Before he even had a chance to check it, the manager called out to Taeseok, who had handled the matter so swiftly.
“Employee Kim Taeseok.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good work. Fortunately, everything went smoothly.”
“Not at all, sir. I'm just glad you were able to resolve a major issue.”
“Yeah. It could have been a disaster. Could you get me some water?”
“Yes, sir.”
Taeseok took a paper cup, filled it with water from the dispenser, and gave it to the manager.
He gulped down the water, let out a sigh, and thought.
‘To think the Chairman would send his own grandson to an overseas plant site... The Vice Chairman is in for quite a shock.’
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