NOVEL NEXT Chapter 11
Chapter 11
Park Joon-hyung called Hwang Dae-hoon, who was almost out of his mind, as soon as he returned from the rooftop.
“Newbie. Follow me.”
At the words of Manager Park Joon-hyung, Hwang Dae-hoon quickly came to his senses, got up, and followed Park Joon-hyung into the counseling room.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry.”
“If you’ve been hit, you should prepare to counterattack!”
“I’m sorry, Manager-nim.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Newly……”
At Hwang Dae-hoon’s words, Park Joon-hyung slammed his hand on the counseling room desk.
“What do you mean newly?!”
“I’m sorry, Manager-nim.”
“Go with it as it is.”
‘If he presents that as it is, I’ll be the only one embarrassed.’
“Then it will become a copy of mine.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Huh?”
“Hwang, you don’t know how to work in society, do you? Why do you think it’s a copy? Two people can present on the same topic at the same time.”
‘Anyway, we didn’t interfere with the newcomer presentation. He’ll take all the blame, but I just need to get promoted.’
“Th-then.”
Park Joon-hyung immediately cut off Hwang Dae-hoon’s words.
“Just push through with it. You know what happens if you disobey me, right? I’ll make sure you experience firsthand how miserable your work life can be.”
“Ah. No. I understand. Manager-nim.”
Hwang Dae-hoon nodded reluctantly.
‘Ah. Fuck.’
******
A hotel Japanese restaurant specializing in fresh sashimi.
Ahn Jeong-gyu bowed deeply when he saw Managing Director Choi Young-joon.
“Please have a seat.”
“Yes, Managing Director-nim.”
As soon as Ahn Jeong-gyu sat down, he naturally filled the glasses with alcohol.
They clinked glasses and each had a drink.
“Sales Team 5 is doing well without any accidents these days.”
“Yes. It’s all thanks to you, Managing Director-nim, for looking after us.”
“What have I done for you? Team Leader Ahn, you’re the one leading them well.”
“No, Managing Director-nim.”
“You know, I don’t know much about this line of work. I’m just here to learn for a while thanks to the Chairman’s consideration.”
Ahn Jeong-gyu felt a pang of sadness at the mention of being there temporarily to learn.
“However, with someone like Team Leader Ahn, I’d like to stay longer and observe.”
At those words, Ahn Jeong-gyu smiled brightly.
“The actual work is done by the subordinates. If you make the right management decisions, you will surely lead the company well.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, it is.”
Choi Young-joon nodded inwardly, seeing Ahn Jeong-gyu treating him with consistent respect.
‘He’s a decent person.’
“How’s the 6-Sigma presentation going?”
Choi Young-joon asked, popping a piece of sashimi into his mouth and chewing thoughtfully.
He didn’t have high expectations.
Not from the new employee who was brought in as a prank by the HR department to mess with Team Leader Ahn.
But a glimmer of hope remained that if Team Leader Ahn guided him well, there might be a decent outcome.
“It’s going better than expected.”
“Better than expected?”
At Ahn Jeong-gyu’s hopeful words, Choi Young-joon paused his chewing and focused on him.
“I’ve been observing him for a month, and he’s the best new employee I’ve ever had.”
‘To hear such praise from Ahn Jeong-gyu, who rarely compliments his subordinates……’
Choi Young-joon put down his chopsticks and concentrated on Ahn Jeong-gyu.
“That’s surprising. I heard his training center grades were at the bottom.”
“Yes. I also saw his personnel card and thought he wouldn’t last a year.”
“I thought the same.”
“However, I think there will be a surprise at this 6-Sigma presentation.”
“A surprise? Is it that good?”
Ahn Jeong-gyu had put considerable effort into searching for Kim Chul-soo’s presentation materials.
But there wasn’t even a thesis on that topic.
Meaning, Kim Chul-soo created it himself.
He couldn’t understand how a new employee could have the same questions that came from observing the sales team for a long time, but it was happening right before his eyes.
“Either the HR team misjudged our team’s new employee, or the new employee is deliberately hiding his abilities.”
“Both are interesting stories. Ultimately, it means that a remarkable new employee has joined under Team Leader Ahn.”
“Yes, that’s right. So, I think this bet is worth making. However……”
As Ahn Jeong-gyu trailed off, Choi Young-joon gulped.
“There will be a surprise at the presentation, but I don’t know how much impact it will have on the score.”
“Score?”
“Yes. The evaluation is done by people. The majority of the executives support President Yoo Ji-hoon.”
“Ah. I see. You mean the company’s system is the problem.”
“Yes, Managing Director-nim.”
Ahn Jeong-gyu finished speaking and poured alcohol into Choi Young-joon’s empty glass.
Choi Young-joon pondered for a moment, then raised his glass and spoke.
“I have a good idea.”
“What do you mean by a good idea?”
“Assuming the new employee’s presentation materials and delivery are truly excellent.”
“I can guarantee that.”
Choi Young-joon smiled, seeing the confident look on Ahn Jeong-gyu’s face.
“Let’s have a drink.”
Ahn Jeong-gyu raised his glass.
“In our company, there’s someone who values ability above all else.”
As Ahn Jeong-gyu clinked glasses with Choi Young-joon, he realized what Choi Young-joon was thinking.
‘The Chairman, huh? It’s not a bad choice if it’s possible, Managing Director-nim.’
“I’ll trust your judgment, Managing Director-nim!”
I held back because of you, really.
6-Sigma Presentation D-1
“Assistant Manager Lee Jun-hak.”
“Yes, Team Leader-nim.”
“From today, work with Kim Chul-soo.”
Section Chief Pyo Il-soo, who was listening nearby, widened his eyes.
“Already?”
“Then how long are you going to make him do chores? He needs to do proper work for the pay he receives.”
Assistant Manager Lee Jun-hak nodded and replied.
“Yes, Team Leader-nim!”
As soon as work started, Assistant Manager Lee Jun-hak handed Kim Chul-soo a file folder and a contact list.
“This is a project that was transferred here from Sales Team 1 due to lack of personnel. It’s a small company that manufactures medium-sized machinery. They can’t compete with other large companies domestically, but their unit price is low, so it could be profitable if exported to Africa. Visit them, check the product specifications in the catalog against the actual equipment, and get to know them. Just find out their actual production volume and inventory levels. I’ll call them beforehand.”
“Yes, I understand, Assistant Manager Lee-nim.”
When connecting a domestic exporter to an overseas importer, it was the manual for a sales representative to visit and reciprocate the visit.
Usually, they wouldn’t go to such lengths, but Assistant Manager Lee Jun-hak was meticulous about such things.
He was known for rarely making mistakes due to his diligence.
“You know how to drive, right?”
“Yes, Assistant Manager Lee-nim.”
“Go to the Business Support Team and use a company car.”
Kim Chul-soo received the keys from the Business Support Team and got into the car.
It was a Sephia, a car he hadn’t seen in a long time.
“Let’s see.”
Kim Chul-soo quickly scanned the documents handed to him by Assistant Manager Lee Jun-hak.
━Gadeok Machinery.
It was a small and medium-sized enterprise that produced agricultural machinery, specifically tractors and rice transplanters.
They had the capacity to produce 150 tractors and 80 rice transplanters per year, but looking at the sales figures, they had dropped significantly and recorded their first deficit last year.
After skimming through the documents and using his intuition, Kim Chul-soo felt that this deal wouldn’t go through.
******
As Kim Chul-soo parked the car at the Gadeok Machinery factory in Siheung and got out, a middle-aged man with graying hair and a friendly face rushed out to greet him.
“Are you from Han-Young?”
“Yes, I’m Kim Chul-soo.”
“Oh, you’ve come a long way. Please come in.”
Kim Chul-soo followed the middle-aged man, observing the surroundings.
There were people sitting outside the factory, and there weren’t many sounds of metal being cut or machines being assembled.
It meant there were no orders.
“I’m Son Jong-ho, the president of Gadeok Machinery.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Kim Chul-soo and Son Jong-ho exchanged business cards and talked over coffee prepared by the accounting clerk.
“What’s the current inventory level?”
“We have 21 tractors and 18 rice transplanters.”
“How many units can you actually produce in a year?”
“As stated in the catalog.”
Kim Chul-soo firmly cut off Son Jong-ho’s words.
“It seems like you’ve let go of some of your workforce. You know that if you can’t meet the quantity, you’ll receive claims and damage claims from our side, right? Even if you hire new personnel, they won’t be as skilled, and if you force production to meet the quantity, it could lead to assembly quality issues, which would be very troublesome for us. If you’re going to be careless, this contract could fall apart.”
Son Jong-ho was momentarily speechless, staring at Kim Chul-soo with a dumbfounded expression.
He had thought he could take advantage of the new employee, but his eyes and voice were like someone who had done this many times before.
There were no domestic orders, so they couldn’t survive without securing overseas sales channels. This put Han-Young in the position of power and Gadeok Machinery at a disadvantage.
“Ah.”
“And who did you use your connections with? It doesn’t seem like a deal our sales team would intentionally pursue.”
“……Well, that is……”
Son Jong-ho stammered for a moment, flustered. Kim Chul-soo observed his expression and spoke again.
“It doesn’t really matter who you used your connections with, but understanding the situation on the ground is a very important task for me. So, could you please tell me accurately, without embellishment or fabrication?”
Only then did Son Jong-ho realize he had been outsmarted by this young man and let out a hearty laugh.
It seemed like he wasn’t planning to completely scrap the deal.
“Let’s do that.”
For about an hour, Kim Chul-soo followed Son Jong-ho around, meticulously filling out the checklist in the file folder.
“Are you sure? Don’t speculate.”
“Ah…… Yes……”
‘He’s not an ordinary guy. I’ll be in trouble if I don’t stay sharp when he’s around.’
After finishing the site explanation, Son Jong-ho sighed deeply and poured water from the water purifier for Kim Chul-soo. Kim Chul-soo smiled and accepted it politely.
“Thank you. I’ll drink well.”
Son Jong-ho thought to himself, imprinting Kim Chul-soo’s image in his mind.
‘He’s prickly, but not a bad guy.’
While drinking water to quench his thirst, Kim Chul-soo pointed to a machine displayed on one side.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a popcorn machine.”
“Ah, this is that. You made these kinds of machines too?”
“Yes, we used to make them until recently, but it wasn’t profitable, so we don’t anymore. But it’s the machine that allowed Gadeok Machinery to start.”
“It’s a machine with a lot of memories.”
Son Jong-ho nodded.
“How much is the unit cost for making one of these?”
“About…… 300,000 won, I think.”
“I see. How much did you sell them for before?”
Son Jong-ho answered clearly when Kim Chul-soo asked with curious eyes.
There was no reason to produce them in Korea since no one was looking for them.
“We sold them for about 500,000 won.”
“If the factory were to operate at full capacity to produce these, how many could you make?”
“Hmm. About 3,000 a year.”
“I see. Alright. Thank you for the explanation.”
As Kim Chul-soo packed his briefcase, Son Jong-ho bowed and offered a handshake.
“Please do your best for us.”
“I’ll contact you later.”
Son Jong-ho saw Kim Chul-soo off after the exchange of greetings and turned around as the car disappeared.
‘I thought he would ask for something, but he’s clean. But why did he ask about the popcorn machine?’