Series: The All-Rounder Employee Becomes a Legend
Chapter: 35
Title: Kim Taeseok ㅡ.ㅡ
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Taeseok was adjusting well to the company.
“Could I try handling the draft for the consolidated annual leave requests?”
“You want to?”
Kim Jungmi thought to herself.
Normally, she wouldn't have entrusted this task to him so quickly.
She would have given him more time to adjust, observed him, and then taught him little by little.
But these two new employees were adapting exceptionally well.
They checked everything meticulously and made no mistakes.
A level of detail rarely seen in men.
And they were fast, too.
Taeseok, in particular, was even better.
It was only natural.
After all, he could identify errors in documents or on a computer screen just by seeing them in a different color.
“Oh? Senior! I think this was dated for yesterday. The internal email says the vacation starts today, but the drafted document says it started yesterday. I’ll check and correct it.”
“Oh? Was it? Okay. Give them a call.”
“Yes.”
After correcting the document, he also called the payroll team to inform them.
“Yes. Ms. Hui-yeon, this is Kim Taeseok, a new employee in the HR team. There was a mistake on the part of the Strategic Planning Team, so we’ve reissued the order. Please confirm and process it as one less day of annual leave taken.”
- Yes. Thank you for checking.
“Not at all.”
Taeseok was good at his work, and he was good at handling visitors.
“How may I help you?”
“Ah! I’m Kim Seong-dong from Seoul University’s Career Support Team. I’m here to discuss a collaboration. Where can I find Team Leader Kang Minyul?”
“Ah, yes. The Team Leader is out right now. Would you mind taking a seat and waiting for a moment?”
“Yes. I will.”
And?
He was also good at making coffee.
“We have coffee and green tea. Which would you prefer?”
“Ah… coffee, please.”
“Yes. Just a moment.”
He was so natural at making coffee, and he did it well.
Kim Jungmi smiled.
These were all tasks she used to do herself.
She had been wondering when to start assigning them, but he did them on his own without being told, which brought a smile to her face.
Of course, Taeseok’s intentions weren’t entirely pure.
[Side Quest: Make coffee 15 times in place of employee Kim Jungmi]
Kim Jungmi hates making coffee for the men in the office more than anything. Step up and make coffee to raise her affinity for you.
[Reward: 6 Points, Increased affinity with employee Kim Jungmi]
Just then, the Team Leader walked in.
He smiled upon seeing Kim Seong-dong from Seoul University waiting.
“Team Leader Kim Seong-dong, why did you come all the way here? You could have just called.”
“Hey, you’re the one with the upper hand, and I’m the one making the request. Of course I should be the one to visit.”
“Haha, what upper hand?”
“Enough with the jokes. When are you planning the career fair this time?”
“I’m sorry. We have to schedule it during the vacation period. It’s a bit awkward, isn’t it? Our recruitment for the second half of the year starts at the end of August, so we need to start promoting it now.”
“Not at all. This is El Sung Group, the best in the country. Do you think students will care about it being vacation time? They have to accommodate the company. It’s a given if they want to get a job.”
Team Leader Kang Minyul smiled and replied.
“It’ll probably be about an hour. Who else are we doing it with?”
“Ah, for now, we’ve arranged the date with KTT Communications Group. Is that okay?”
“Yes. Are we going first?”
“That’s how it turned out. El Sung will present at 2 PM, and KTT will follow.”
“Understood. Ah, we’re thinking of giving out pens as promotional gifts. That should be fine, right?”
“Really? You don’t have to give out gifts.”
“Come on, we have a corporate image to maintain. We have to invest at least a little to attract good talent.”
Taeseok listened intently to their conversation.
Every word was a valuable lesson.
Just then, the Team Leader received a phone call.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
“Yes. Go ahead and take the call.”
The Team Leader answered the phone.
Even though it was an internal call, the caller’s name appeared, so the Team Leader addressed him by his title.
“Chief of Staff, this is Team Leader Kang Minyul.”
- Ah, Team Leader Kang, you’re working hard.
“Yes. How can I help you?”
- I heard you’ve booked the plane tickets. Please send them up right away. Has the personnel order been approved by the Chairman?
“Yes. I’ve confirmed it’s been processed. I’ll send them up immediately.”
And then.
The Team Leader, with a troubled expression, called out to Taeseok, who was right in front of him.
“Taeseok!”
“Yes, Team Leader.”
“Take this up to the Chief of Staff.”
“Yes. I’ll go right up.”
Kim Taeseok received the plane tickets, which were in a document holder.
He got on the elevator to go up to the executive office.
Next to the emergency staircase of the company building.
It was a dedicated elevator for the top floor, connecting to the Chief of Staff's office, the Chairman's office, and the President's office.
Taeseok was riding an elevator that regular employees rarely had a reason to use.
The elevator was like something out of a hotel.
Gold trim, a red carpet—the epitome of luxury.
[19th Floor.]
As Taeseok arrived on the top floor of the group’s headquarters, a female employee at the reception desk spoke first.
“How may I help you?”
“I’m Kim Taeseok from the HR Team. The Chief of Staff asked me to bring up some tickets.”
“Ah, he’s inside. You can go in.”
“Yes. Understood.”
He opened the door and entered the Chief of Staff’s office.
But contrary to what the employee had said, no one was there.
So Taeseok called out for him.
“Chief of Staff? Chief of Staff?!”
But surprisingly, there was another door inside the room.
Taeseok directed his voice toward the open door.
“Chief of Staff? Are you in there?”
But… his eyes met with four people.
The Chairman, the Chief of Staff, the Vice Chairman, and the chaebol grandson, Kim Taeseok.
Startled to see them, Taeseok bowed his head in a silent greeting.
The Chairman responded.
“Are those the plane tickets?”
“Yes. I’ve brought them.”
It was natural for the Chairman to be there.
That door was a separate entrance connecting the Chief of Staff’s office directly to the Chairman’s office.
“Give them here.”
Chairman Kim Changmo instructed Taeseok.
“Yes.”
Taeseok handed the plane tickets directly to the Chairman.
Just then, the guy he knew suddenly dropped to his knees and begged the Chairman.
“Grandfather, I was wrong. Please forgive me. Please?”
“Grandfather! Is this the time to appeal to my emotions?”
The chaebol grandson Kim Taeseok then clasped his hands together, pleading for forgiveness.
“Chairman, I was wrong. Please forgive me just this once. Please… please.”
The Vice Chairman bowed his head deeply and added his own plea.
“Chairman, I ask for your leniency.”
“……”
The Chairman remained silent.
Frankly, he was annoyed.
If he forgave him, he would just cause trouble again, and again, and again.
Still, this was the child he had taken in.
Though not of his blood, he was the child he had raised as his own, along with his son.
The bond between a parent and child… truly.
Forty-eight years ago, in 1970, the Chairman and his wife had lost their only four-year-old son at Seoul Station.
After searching for the missing child for over five years without success, the Chairman, in consultation with his wife who could no longer have children, decided to adopt the current Vice Chairman, who was the same age as their lost son.
From that day on, a smile began to grace his wife’s perpetually gloomy face. They even changed the boy’s name to Kim Jintae, the name of their biological son, and raised him to be respectable, just like their own.
The Vice Chairman was the child his wife had doted on, crying and making a fuss whenever he was ill-mannered or went astray.
And his grandson, Kim Taeseok, was the spitting image of the Vice Chairman.
His wife’s last words before she died.
『They may cause trouble, but at their core, they’re good kids. I’m fine with you remarrying, but please take good care of Jintae and our grandson Taeseok even when I’m gone. Alright?』
『Is that something a dying person should say? What about me?』
『You’re good at taking care of yourself.』
In a way, they didn't share a single drop of his blood.
Children who, genetically, could never resemble him.
Still, he wanted them to get their act together and become responsible adults, just as his late wife had wished. But whether they knew his feelings or not, they just kept causing trouble, and it was endlessly frustrating.
So he reprimanded him.
“Kim Taeseok.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“Yes, Grandfather.”
But two people answered. The Chairman, with a flustered look, spoke to Taeseok.
“Ah, you may go.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“No, wait. You.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You were number one among the new employees, weren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Alright. You may leave.”
“Understood.”
After Taeseok left, the Chairman turned his anger on his grandson, Taeseok.
“Taeseok.”
“Yes, Grandfather.”
“What do you think when you see that young man?”
“I don’t think anything.”
“You just think he’s a kid who’s good at studying?”
“……”
“He must be working incredibly hard. He’s probably the type to cut back on sleep because he’s envious of you, wants to catch up to you, and wants to succeed. That’s why he sang in front of people, studied, and even became a Team Leader, I heard. And that’s why he got first place.”
“…Yes.”
“That young man’s name is also Kim Taeseok, and your name is Kim Taeseok, so why can’t you do it? Have you ever thought about why he came to the HR team to get into the Strategic Planning Office by placing first, while you, with your rock-bottom skills, ended up in sales?”
“…I’m sorry.”
The chaebol Kim Taeseok clenched his fists.
Was that why? For the first time, he became conscious of the other Kim Taeseok.
‘I have to get chewed out because of some piece of trash?’
But he quickly relaxed his hands.
Right now, changing the Chairman’s mind was the priority.
“Grandfather, no, Chairman, I was truly wrong. Please give me one more chance. I’ll do really well. I promise I’ll do well.”
“……”
And the Vice Chairman also defended his son.
“Chairman, please be lenient with my son just this once, and give him a chance. Please give Taeseok a chance to get into the Strategic Planning Office. I will also do my best. I will make a man out of him.”
“……”
Chairman Kim Changmo hung his head low.
Then he went back and sat in his seat.
Deliberation.
And a conclusion.
“I'll give you a chance, so work hard.”
“Thank you! Thank you, Chairman!”
“Ah, not at El Sung Life! You've already caused trouble there. If you go back, it'll just kill employee morale. Maintain security, and I'm sending you to the Home Appliances Division.”
“The Home Appliances Division, you mean….”
“That's right. Sales. You'll be on the ground, selling TVs, microwaves, and cell phones directly to customers.”
At that, Kim Taeseok clenched his fists again.
“Thank you for giving me this chance.”
A short while later, the chaebol Kim Taeseok entered the HR department.
The Team Leader and employee Kim Jungmi stared at him blankly.
They had heard the rumors, but this was the first time they had seen him.
So, not knowing what was going on, they just watched.
But he spoke to Kim Taeseok, who belonged to the HR department.
“Mr. Kim Taeseok.”
“Yes. Go ahead.”
“You know who I am, right?”
“Yes. I do.”
“I heard you applied for the Strategic Planning Office? Looks like we're in the same boat now. Let's get along.”
“Yes. Likewise.”
“Could you process my transfer order?”
“Where should I make it out to?”
“The Chairman said to go to the El Sung Electronics Home Appliances Division.”
“Understood.”
After that,.Kim Taeseok finished speaking and left, Kim Taeseok reported to employee Kim Jungmi.
“That guy is the Chairman's grandson.”
“Really? He looks perfectly normal. Didn't seem like the type to cause trouble.”
“I'll file the personnel order. I'll write it up for the El Sung Electronics Home Appliances Division right away.”
“Okay. Do that.”
The chaebol Kim Taeseok had ultimately achieved his immediate objective: not being sent abroad.
And he made a phone call.
“Father!”
- Yes. Taeseok, you did very well in front of the Chairman today. You didn't get emotional; you controlled yourself well in front of your grandfather. Did you go and get the order processed?
“But Father, there's something.”
- Go on. You can say it.
“Kim Taeseok, the guy with the same name as me, send him overseas. If he's around, Grandfather will keep comparing us. So send him somewhere out of my sight, somewhere tough and grueling, somewhere he can't be compared to me.”
- Alright. Dad will take care of that. So when you get to the home appliances department, don't cause any trouble and do a good job. Got it?
“Yes. I'll do well, Father. I'll work hard.”
And the next day.
A new message appeared in the chat room for the four from the Strategic Planning Office.
Seo Yoonji: Ah, that psycho is here.
Choi Jinyoung: ?? What's up with Yoonji? Starting a chat first and everything.
Seo Yoonji: Kim Taeseok, that psycho, he came to our department. LOL.
Kim Taeseok: That's unpleasant to hear.
Seo Yoonji: I wasn't talking about you, sorry.
Kim Taeseok: Yeah; what trouble did he cause?
Seo Yoonji: Well. Some middle-aged woman and man spent 30 minutes flipping through TV channels, then sat on the sofa watching a movie, being a real pain. But he couldn't stand it, and Kim Taeseok told the lady and the man “If you're not going to buy it, get lost.”. So now they're down at the 1st-floor center complaining, and we've all been summoned in 10 minutes because our basic new employee training is lacking. Looks like all the staff are getting a lecture on manners because we have no etiquette.
Kim Hyeonsu: LOL. Just watch. Last time, that guy got pissed off during training, ran off by himself, and didn't show up for work the next day.
Seo Yoonji: Yep. I'll check and let you know.
And 20 minutes later.
Seo Yoonji: LOL. That punk Kim Taeseok slipped out alone during the lecture, saying he had to go to the bathroom. So the people who worked with him are having a meltdown. I work on the 2nd floor, and the people on the 1st and 3rd floors didn't know anything, but they seem pissed now that they've heard what happened.
Kim Taeseok: Could you not add 'punk' after Kim Taeseok? ㅡ.ㅡ
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