13. Office Villain (Part 1)

"Assistant Han!"

As I parked my car in the company parking lot and stepped out, someone called me out in a way that was strangely intimidating.

When I turned around, it was Assistant Kim Jung-in from the HR team.

He's my coworker and also the older brother of my four-year-old classmate. Not too long ago, Assistant Kim Young-ha mentioned during a drinking session that he's going to great lengths to secure a promotion to manager.

"Hyung, did you come to work?"

"Yeah. Did you have a good weekend? I played golf a bit and my back is sore from it."

Assistant Kim Jung-in imitated a golf swing motion with empty hands as he spoke.

"Hyung, are you into golf these days too?"

"Yeah. I've been going to the driving range lately. Just recently started picking it up. This weekend, I went to the field with Manager Lim from the management support department. Our team leader and the finance team leader were there too."

Assistant Kim gave a rapid-fire account of things I didn't even ask about.

Assistant Kim Jung-in was always more interested in office politics than actual work at the company.

Who's holding power over whom, who's going to get the promotion... What's a bit amusing is that although he's so well-versed in the company's power dynamics, his own promotion isn't much different from mine.

The reason he's telling me all this was quite obvious.

He's showing off his influence, indicating that he's ahead of me and potentially a competitor for the promotion to manager.

But what should I do since I feel sorry for him?

The position of a manager at Chungshik Motors is as far from my concern as the distance between Earth and Andromeda.

In my eyes, Assistant Kim wasting his precious weekend by hanging out with his superiors was all I could see.

"Jung-in hyung, I hope you get promoted to manager this time. I'll be cheering for you. Fighting!"

"Uh...? Yeah, thanks."

His response, which might have been a mix of gratitude and confusion, made Assistant Kim scratch his head.

"By the way, when will our team's vacancies be filled?"

"Oh, that."

Assistant Kim Jung-in looked around briefly before approaching me and whispering.

"Our team leader and Manager Lim are really at odds."

"Well, that's their issue. What does it have to do with us lower-ranking folks?"

"It's a sin to have made a wrong choice with the team leader. This is a secret, but there's a rumor that Manager Lim is taking under-the-table money from a partner company to inflate profits. Well, if it weren't for the CEO backing him up, he would have been fired a long time ago."

I sighed deeply.

Why would he say something like that for no reason? If a bucket leaks inside, it leaks outside too.

"If that's true, you should confront Manager Lim about it in the conference room."

"What's the point of confronting an old retiree sitting in the gratitude room? Anyway, when we have our meeting today, I'll bring up the topic of filling our team's vacancies again. Just trust me, Hyung. I'll head there first."

Assistant Kim Jung-in gestured with his scorecard and walked into the office ahead of me.

*

"Miss Ye-ri, you're here early."

"Assistant's here?"

As we entered the office, Choi Ye-ri stood up from her seat and greeted me with a nod.

"Yeah, where's everyone else?"

"Manager just stepped out for a smoke, and Manager and Assistant Manager haven't arrived yet."

"I see. Did you have a good weekend?"

"Yes, I rested well. Assistant, did you have a good trip wherever you went?"

"Yeah, I did."

I went to my desk and turned on the computer.

"Um... Assistant."

"Yeah? Ye-ri, why?"

"Did you happen to watch that movie? Part 2 of the Joint Investigation."

"Oh, that movie that's been said to be interesting. I haven't seen it yet. Hasn't it only been out for about a month?"

"Then, did you..."

That's when it happened.

"You need to quit smoking."

"Seriously, Manager? Even with iQOS, you're still not quitting?"

"Hey, that's still smoking, isn't it?"

The office door opened, and Manager Oh and Kim Young-ha walked in.

"Manager, you're here?"

"Hey. Assistant Han's here too?"

"Senior, good morning."

With trivial talk echoing through the office, our attention turned to work preparations.

Typing on keyboards and the sound of printing filled the office.

It was a "strategy meeting" in name, but in reality, the CEO usually just sipped coffee and labeled it a meeting.

The company's structure was lacking, but the CEO's habits from his days in a large corporation remained intact.

No matter how many meetings we had, nothing would change.

The company's culture was always more about stability than challenges.

But what's this?

Something unexpected happened, contrary to my expectations.

"Assistant Manager."

"Yes?"

Why is he calling me again?

"Come over here."

As I approached, Assistant Manager handed me a paper he'd been earnestly looking at.

"Is this viable?"

Curious, I examined the proposal I had submitted.

It was from four months ago, and it was about anticipating the increased use of LED lamps in car headlights due to the growing prevalence of electric vehicles. I had mentioned the need for production expansion and securing cooperative partners.

Assistant Manager had given a lukewarm response back then, but now he was bringing it up again.

"LED lamps have a high unit price. And while the demand for halogen and HID lamps isn't declining, LED is still relatively unpopular. With the rise of electric cars, LED lamps are expected to become more prevalent due to their energy efficiency. I included estimated figures in the report as well."

"Is that so?"

"However, there's a problem."

"A problem? What is it? I don't have much time, so tell me quickly."

"When I was creating the proposal, I reached out to several companies. During that process, I met with Jungsil Electronics for a meeting. Although the company is small, they have a good track record. They need to be carefully considered, but they're confident about their technical prowess, even compared to companies in Japan. While their unit price won't be as low as Chinese products, it seemed reasonable."

"Did you get a kickback from them or something?"

I was rendered speechless.

Please, just mind your own business.

"Uh... It's not just about electric cars, but the entire automotive market is aiming to upgrade even low- to mid-priced vehicles. LED lamp demand will increase predictably. We need to prepare ahead of others. Our main competitors are Japanese companies, and we need to show ourselves as a viable option to OEMs."

Ignoring Assistant Manager's unnecessary words, I said only what was necessary.

"Is that so? Alright, I got it for now. Oh, Manager. I'm going to see the CEO. You guys prepare for the meeting. Prepare one item each to discuss during the meeting. I think Assistant Manager is interested in the LED matter, so he can explore that further. And Ye-ri, gather the sales records for last year and this year."

With

Assistant Manager's instructions in mind, we all began preparing.

The sound of typing on keyboards and the printing of documents filled the office.

This is supposed to be a "strategy meeting," but honestly, the CEO would probably just be having coffee. He was still stuck in his old habits from when he was an executive at a large corporation.

The company's structure was so lacking, yet the CEO still maintained his former executive habits.

No matter how many meetings we had, it seemed like nothing would change.

But then, this happened.

"Assistant Manager, you're here."

It was after some time had passed that Assistant Manager returned to the office.

He wasn't alone. The Sales Director, who was our direct supervisor, was with him.

For some reason, Assistant Manager Oh Hong-bin had a smile on his face.

(To be continued...)