Series: The All-Rounder Employee Becomes a Legend
Chapter: 40
Title: One Step Back for a Leap Forward
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The appearance of the chaebol Kim Taeseok made everyone’s faces stiff.
Whether he knew it or not, he looked at Yoonji and spoke.
“Ms. Yoonji, we meet again. Nice to see you. You were in the Strategic Planning Office?”
“Ah, yes. Mr. Taeseok, you were aiming for the Strategic Planning Office too.”
Yoonji stared at him with a displeased look.
‘What is this guy doing here?’
Everyone’s stiff expressions showed no signs of loosening.
The scoundrel Kim Taeseok saw his colleagues and laughed.
“Why does everyone look so serious? Did someone who shouldn’t be here show up? Let’s all get along. Okay?”
The chairman’s grandson, Kim Taeseok.
Seo Yoonji clearly remembered from her childhood that the chairman’s grandson’s name was Kim Taeseok.
It was the name of the boy who had come with the chairman when she was hospitalized after her surgery and held her hand tightly.
She recalled the memory from her youth.
『Yoonji! You have to get well!』
『Okay! Who are you?』
『My name is Kim Taeseok! Let’s play together when you’re better.』
『Okay!』
Then, Chairman Kim Changmo spoke to his grandson.
『Ho ho- my dear grandson! You want Yoonji to get better quickly, don’t you?』
『Yes, Grandpa!』
『Alright! Let’s pray. That Yoonji’s heart condition will heal quickly.』
That was already twenty years ago.
That kind boy.
But this person is the chairman’s grandson?
No. It can’t be.
Did I make a mistake?
What about the Taeseok here?
He’s the one who got first place. He’s good at studying, good at presenting, good at making PowerPoints…
There’s no way this bastard Kim Taeseok is the chaebol.
‘Was he the one who ranked 6th? So when Jang Donghoon left, he came in as a replacement?’
She had to think this way.
Otherwise, the image she had built up would crumble.
The grown-up version of a smart, polite chaebol grandson.
Watching Taeseok, the leader of Team B, Yoonji had been slowly approaching him with her heart.
A sincere and upright man.
So she tried not to seem too forward.
So she wouldn’t look cheap.
She, who had used their position as colleagues to contact him naturally and dream of a bright future with him.
But her intuition was screaming that the Kim Taeseok who had just walked in was *that* Kim Taeseok.
‘No! It can’t be. No!’
But no matter how much she denied it, there was no room to doubt that he was the chaebol.
The circumstances all pointed to it.
Perhaps that was why a foul expression was plastered on her face.
And there was one other person with the exact same look.
The Head of the Strategic Planning Office.
‘Wow, his first words are, “Why does everyone look so serious?” Is that something you say to your colleagues? This kid has absolutely no manners.’
But he could also understand such behavior.
Because of what the chairman had said.
‘So, this is why the chairman sent him here.’
* * *
Two months ago.
The day the chaebol Kim Taeseok told a customer to get lost.
The chairman received an immediate report on the matter from his aide, Secretary Song.
And naturally?
He summoned his son.
But this time was different from the last.
He did not summon his grandson.
Why? Because words weren’t working.
“Vice Chairman!”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“I heard that punk Taeseok caused trouble again. What are you going to do?”
“I apologize.”
“Will words be enough?”
“Please forgive me.”
“Jintae.”
The chairman thought.
Drastic measures were needed.
Things couldn’t go on like this.
His son was one thing, but he had to fix his grandson’s rotten habits first.
But his son’s face suddenly turned pale.
The adopted son, Kim Jintae, thought.
That the chairman was about to lump him in and get rid of him too.
That’s why he had called him by his name.
He had known since he was a child that his father was not his biological father.
It was inevitable.
He was five years old when he was adopted.
An age where he still had some memories.
So he was always on edge.
He had grown up not knowing when the chairman might abandon him.
Even now, in his mid-fifties, that feeling remained.
Wondering if he might lose his current position in an instant, if the title of Vice Chairman was just an empty shell.
So he was always reading the room, his mind filled with anxious thoughts.
‘Does he really not see me as his son? Am I just a pawn to fill a spot? Not now! I haven’t gathered enough ammunition yet, and I don’t have many allies. I have to endure! I have to hold on and endure until I can take control of the group. To do that, I’ll need Taeseok’s help later. I need to place even one more person on my side. People I can trust!’
One step back for a leap forward.
The Vice Chairman, thinking of the future, bowed his head.
“Chairman, I will take responsibility for teaching my son.”
“How?”
“I will make him start from the very bottom. I will give him tasks just as you taught me. But…”
“But?”
“Please give Taeseok hope. The hope that he can climb to a high position. So that he doesn’t give up halfway… You know he’s not an inherently stupid kid, don’t you, Chairman? He’s a child who will do well if his direction is just slightly adjusted. He is my son, and your grandson. Please trust him.”
At the Vice Chairman’s words, the chairman nodded and asked in a calm tone.
“Tell me. What are you going to do? Specifically.”
“Is there a need to be specific? I will do exactly as you did when you taught me.”
“How?”
At the chairman’s question, the Vice Chairman lowered his head deeply and opened his mouth.
“I’ll put him through the wringer.”
* * *
Back to the present.
The conference room on the 2nd floor of the group’s headquarters.
The Head of Planning, having forgotten to get the performance indicators, heads back to the office.
“Everyone wait here. I’ll get your department assignments sorted out soon.”
『Yes!』
As he left, everyone had the same thought.
And the first person to speak was Choi Jinyoung .
“Looks like it’s not a lottery this time, huh?”
Kim Hyeonsu nodded and replied.
“Seems that way, right? Ah~ where will we go? I wish I could work in the HR team like Taeseok. I hate sales. I really hate it.”
“Haha, me too, the HR team!”
Choi Jinyoung and Kim Hyeonsu continued their conversation.
But seeing Seo Yoonji’s unhappy expression, the kind Kim Taeseok spoke up.
“Yoonji, are you sick? Why the long face?”
Seo Yoonji grabbed Taeseok’s hand and replied.
“Taeseok.”
“Yeah? What is it?”
“Come out for a second.”
“Why?”
“I have something to tell you.”
“……”
As the two left, the other two shook their heads.
“What’s with them? Are they dating?”
“No way~ It wasn’t that kind of vibe.”
“You never know. Maybe they’re seeing each other.”
Outside the conference room.
Yoonji cautiously opened her mouth.
“Taeseok.”
She had started to speak, but the question she wanted to ask was a bit tricky.
‘You’re not the chairman’s grandson, are you? You are, right? It’s you, isn’t it?’
So the words wouldn’t come out.
Just one sentence.
A simple sentence.
Yes, or no. That was the sentence.
But she couldn’t bring herself to say it.
Why?
She pondered.
If he wasn’t the grandson, it wouldn’t matter, but if he really was, she would be admitting that she had approached him with an ulterior motive.
She was confused.
‘Until I came here, I was sure he was the grandson, but now I have no idea who the chairman’s grandson is!’
So she changed the question.
“What do you think about Kim Taeseok?”
“What do you mean, what do I think?”
“I mean, how did he get here?”
She was clever. No, the question she blurted out in her haste brought her a stroke of luck.
“Because he’s a chaebol.”
Taeseok’s single remark.
An answer that negated everything she had been thinking.
Yoonji pretended not to know and asked again, her mind racing.
“Huh?”
“He’s here because he’s a chaebol. That must be it.”
“You knew he was a chaebol?”
“Yeah. I found out by chance. Is that why you called me out here?”
“Ah… yeah.”
“Geez, you could have asked later. It was so obvious you don’t like him. You know you were acting weird just now, right?”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Go back inside. And don’t make it obvious in front of him.”
“Okay.”
Yoonji nodded.
She had confirmed that her hunch was correct.
Regret, and then resolve.
‘I should have been friendly to him. I just bad-mouthed him and acted curtly in front of everyone. No. I’ll do better from now on. That’s all that matters. Because I have to succeed.’
* * *
At the same time.
The Head of the Strategic Planning Office smiled as he reviewed the evaluation forms from each manager.
“Chief Choi!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Is this just the summary of the overall evaluations?”
“Yes. Should I bring the detailed reports as well?”
“No. What’s your take on it?”
“First, it seems employee Kim Taeseok is in a league of his own.”
“Not *that* Taeseok, right?”
“No, sir. Not the chairman’s grandson. He received the worst evaluation. However…”
“However?”
“His academic background and foreign language skills are a bit of a concern. His score on the internal mock TOEIC was only 585.”
“That is pretty bad.”
“Indeed. It seems he’s a beneficiary of this year’s system change. Even though they boldly removed the English requirement, a score this low is still a bit much.”
“Right. Let’s put him through the wringer a bit more before we decide.”
“Yes. Understood.”
“Who’s next?”
“As you can see from the evaluation, employee Seo Yoonji seems to be proficient in English and Spanish, likely from studying in the US. Her overall evaluation is an A-grade, she’s good with languages, and besides, there’s a shortage of female talent everywhere, isn’t there? I think Ms. Seo Yoonji is a good candidate.”
“And the rest?”
“They don’t seem to have any particular outstanding skills yet.”
“Is that so? Alright.”
“Understood.”
The Head nodded as he looked over the summary evaluation one more time.
Then he began assigning the new employees to departments according to his own preferences.
In any case, there were only one or two people here he could actually use.
*Scribble, scribble.*
The Head wrote the department assignments on a sheet of A4 paper with his pen.
He spoke to Chief Choi.
“We’ll assign them like this?”
“Yes, sir. Understood. For confirmation, may I take a picture?”
The Manager returned.
And he announced the departments where each employee would be working next.
“Human Resources Team, Kim Taeseok!”
“Yes.”
“You’re in Sales! Go to El Sung Life Insurance. You’ll be swapping with Kim Hyeonsu.”
“Understood.”
“Kim Hyeonsu!”
“Yes.”
“Human Resources Team! Third floor of this building, starting tomorrow.”
“Thank you!”
Then, the Manager called the next person.
“Seo Yoonji!”
“Yes!”
“Secretarial Office! Top floor of this building.”
“What?”
“The Group’s Secretarial Office! Go work there. It’ll be a great opportunity.”
“Yes! Thank you.”
A super promotion in one fell swoop.
Seo Yoonji, having entered a core department, cheered inwardly.
‘If it’s here… I can too!’
Choi Jinyoung waited for his name to be called.
‘Where will I be assigned?’
The Manager grinned.
“Choi Jinyoung!”
“Yes, Manager.”
“You’re going to El Sung S-Com.”
“……”
“Go and work hard. Catch a lot of bugs! If you get a good evaluation, I’ll send you somewhere nice.”
“Yes. Understood, Manager.”
The chaebol Kim Taeseok smirked at the Manager’s comment about catching bugs.
‘Heh heh heh, telling him to catch bugs. That’s freaking hilarious.’
The Manager, who had just made such an amusing joke, called his name.
“El Sung Electronics, Kim Taeseok!”
“Yes.”
He was expectant.
The Secretarial Office, the HR Team? Anywhere would be fine.
His grandfather and father had promised to back him up.
Isn’t that why he was here in the Strategic Planning Office?
A smile crept onto the Manager’s lips.
“Maritime Sales sounds good, doesn’t it?”
“Excuse me?”
“You’ve been assigned to the Operations Team at El Sung Shipping.”
“The Operations Team?”
“Yes. Congratulations. You’ll be heading to Qatar in three days. Have a good trip overseas. I hope you learn a lot.”
"Could you please check that one more time? I'll call the Chairman."
"Ah, my apologies. The Chairman gave the order himself. The Vice Chairman also mentioned it."
"What?!"
The chaebol Kim Taeseok clenched his fists.
'Father, you said you'd only send me to good places!'
And Yoonji gave a bitter smile.
'So he was the son they'd cast aside, huh?’
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