New Employee Kim Chul-soo

Chapter 3

After the orientation ended, Assistant Manager Go Dong-jin called Kim Chul-soo aside.

“Kim Chul-soo-ssi.”

“Yes.”

“Please wait a moment.”

At Go Dong-jin’s words, the other new employees looked at Kim Chul-soo with curiosity.

“Alright, the rest of you can now move to your respective departments.”

Kim Chul-soo knew.

Why Assistant Manager Go Dong-jin had called him.

After all the other new employees had left, Go Dong-jin spoke to Kim Chul-soo.

“Follow me.”

“Yes.”

The place Go Dong-jin led him to was a conference room, and there sat a person very familiar to Kim Chul-soo.

It was Manager Park Joon-hyung.

Above You

“Employee Kim Chul-soo?”

“Yes.”

“Come and sit here.”

Kim Chul-soo slowly walked towards the chair.

A gentle impression with a nice curly hairstyle.

A well-built frame that suits the neat yet unique attire.

A likable voice and confident eyes.

When you first see him, this is what you think.

‘He’s a great person.’

Promoted to Assistant Manager after 3 years, Manager after another 3 years, Deputy General Manager after 4 years, and Manager after 2 years.

He was an elite who joined as an ordinary employee and became a Manager in his late 30s.

Despite numerous rumors of infidelity, Manager Park Joon-hyung was always ranked number one as the most popular boss among female employees.

And in his fourth year as a Manager, he was promoted to an executive position and rose to the rank of Senior Managing Director. He was considered a legendary figure within the company.

“I’m Manager Park Joon-hyung. It’s our first time meeting, right?”

Kim Chul-soo answered with a relaxed and controlled expression.

“Yes.”

“Seeing you nervous reminds me of what it’s like to be a new employee.”

He started speaking in a very soft voice.

“No, sir.”

“You must be a little surprised. To come to the headquarters, which is completely different from your desired department.”

“Yes, Manager-nim.”

“Actually, I pulled some strings.”

Kim Chul-soo bowed his head with a surprised expression.

“Thank you so much, Manager-nim.”

“I was impressed by the fact that you memorized the entire HYMS during the interview. Han-Young Corporation operates based on that manual. How much you must have wanted to come here to memorize the entire 55-page manual! I was truly touched.”

Manager Park Joon-hyung’s skillful words charmed the new employee’s heart.

Kim Chul-soo also managed his expression and responded enthusiastically to Manager Park Joon-hyung.

Thinking that he had sufficiently warmed Kim Chul-soo up, Manager Park Joon-hyung slowly began to reveal his true intentions.

Kim Chul-soo was also putting on an impressed expression, but his true feelings were completely different.

“So, I have a favor to ask.”

“Yes.”

“If you notice anything strange happening in Sales Team 5, I’d appreciate it if you could report it to me.”

“May I ask why?”

“When employees stay in one position for decades, corruption and irregularities can occur. So, the HR department is sending people to each team to check the situation. You can think of yourself as the person in charge of Sales Team 5. Can you do it?”

It was a situation where refusal would lead to being marked.

“It wouldn’t be right to refuse after you’ve been so kind to me.”

At Kim Chul-soo’s words, Park Joon-hyung smiled with satisfaction and thought.

‘He’s stupid, perfect to use.’

“Then I’ll look forward to it. I’ll be watching. Getting close to the HR department will be beneficial for you in the future.”

“I’ll do my best! Manager-nim. Thank you for your guidance.”

“Good.”

As Kim Chul-soo left the conference room, he glared at the door with cold eyes.

Office Politics.

There is no thesis on office politics.

Companies don’t take it seriously either.

It’s a secret topic discussed at company dinners or private gatherings and falls under the dark shadow of work life.

Nevertheless, office politics is the beginning and the end of work life.

Who you eat with on your first day of work determines whether you’ll be laid off.

New employees who have even a slight sense of office politics run around trying to get any information before their first day.

18 years ago, Kim Chul-soo was tricked by Park Joon-hyung and ended up making a decisive contribution to the resignation of Team Leader Ahn Jeong-gyu.

Lee Jun-hak, who longed for success, moved departments, and Kim Chul-soo became like a chick that lost its mother.

He ruined himself.

‘This time, things won’t go as you planned, Senior Managing Director Park.’

******

After briefly finishing the morning meeting, Deputy General Manager Ahn Jeong-gyu, rubbing his stomach that felt as if it was being pierced by an awl, spoke to Lee Jun-hak.

“Jun-hak, do you have anything to drink?”

At his words, Lee Jun-hak quickly searched the refrigerator, but there was nothing.

“I’ll go out and buy some.”

“No, it’s alright. By the way, when is our youngest coming? It seems like all the other teams are here already.”

“He’s the last in the training center rankings. Maybe he’s lost because he’s stupid?”

Manager Pyo Il-soo said, exhaling a faint scent of alcohol.

“I wanted to see his face at least before going to the Administration Department.”

As Ahn Jeong-gyu picked up his documents and got up, Kim Chul-soo appeared.

“Hello.”

Everyone turned their attention to Kim Chul-soo at his voice.

“I’m Kim Chul-soo, assigned to Sales Team 5.”

“Oh! He’s a handsome fellow.”

Ahn Jeong-gyu uttered his first words after seeing Kim Chul-soo.

But that was it.

Kim Chul-soo, who had been quietly observing them, spoke.

“My seat is…”

Lee Jun-hak pointed his chin towards a desk and said in a cold voice.

“There.”

“Yes.”

Kim Chul-soo placed his bag on the desk and took out a hangover drink he had bought from the convenience store, placing it on the desks of Deputy General Manager Ahn Jeong-gyu and Manager Pyo Il-soo.

“Ooh!!”

Ahn Jeong-gyu’s eyes widened as he looked at Kim Chul-soo.

Pyo Il-soo also stared at Kim Chul-soo with an expression that seemed to say, “What a stroke of luck!” as if he had been wanting a drink.

Ahn Jeong-gyu opened the drink on his desk, gulped it down, and threw the empty bottle in the trash can.

“You’re more perceptive than I thought, our newbie?”

“I heard a rumor that you were entertaining a buyer yesterday. I brought this just in case.”

At those words, Ahn Jeong-gyu grinned and patted Kim Chul-soo’s shoulder.

“Hey!!! You’re exceeding expectations! Thanks, I enjoyed it.”

Despite Ahn Jeong-gyu’s praise, Kim Chul-soo maintained a nervous expression.

“Lee Assistant Manager, take good care of the new employee. I’m leaving. If you get a call from Saudi Arabia, call me right away, okay?”

“Yes, Team Leader-nim.”

As soon as Deputy General Manager Ahn left, Manager Pyo also drank his hangover drink.

“Jun-hak, I have a meeting!”

“Yes, Manager-nim, please go ahead.”

Manager Pyo also disappeared somewhere, leaving only Assistant Manager Lee Jun-hak and Kim Chul-soo.

Lee Jun-hak seemed uninterested in Kim Chul-soo, staring intently at his monitor.

Kim Chul-soo sat down at his desk and turned on his computer.

He logged into the company intranet as instructed by the HR department, entered his personal information, and started memorizing the internal phone numbers.

Lee Jun-hak glanced at Kim Chul-soo, who was absorbed in his monitor.

New employees usually fell into two categories.

One type was restless and nervous, not knowing what to do.

The other type was eager to be recognized and jumped into tasks with ambition.

But Kim Chul-soo was neither.

He seemed to be memorizing the internal phone numbers.

The first thing a new employee should do when entering a company is to familiarize themselves with people’s faces and names.

Since the internal phone directory included both names and photos, it was the most efficient method. Kim Chul-soo was finding work to do on his own, even though no one told him to.

‘Oh? Look at this?’

Lee Jun-hak spoke, his eyes fixed on the letters in his email.

“Newbie.”

“Yes.”

“Short answers, huh?”

Kim Chul-soo answered curtly on purpose.

Because showing a perfect image from the beginning could make him a target.

“Yes… uh… Assistant Manager Lee Jun-hak-nim.”

“You don’t even know your mentor’s name, and you’re looking at the internal phone directory?”

“I apologize.”

“Have you worked in a company before coming here?”

“No, sir. This is my first job after graduating from college.”

“Then what’s with the drinks?”

“That’s…”

“I can’t stand seeing you sucking up when you can’t even do your job.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Lee Jun-hak threw a stack of documents next to his desk at Kim Chul-soo.

“Make three copies of this.”

“Yes, Assistant Manager Lee Jun-hak-nim. But where’s the copier?”

At Kim Chul-soo’s question, Lee Jun-hak became irritated.

“Can’t you even find that?”

“No, sir.”

Kim Chul-soo quickly got up with the documents and walked towards the copy room.

When a new employee first joins, they are often left alone for two to seven days as a way of “training” them.

So, being assigned copying work as soon as he entered the office was quite fast.

Kim Chul-soo smiled as he headed to the copy room, seeing his colleagues sitting at their desks, facing the wall in contemplation.

Mixing competence and incompetence appropriately resulted in such a situation.

An appropriate situation.

Lee Jun-hak shook his head a few times as he saw Kim Chul-soo enter the copy room.

He had only intended to scold him, but he ended up giving him work.

‘What is this guy?’

Lee Jun-hak turned his head again and looked at the copy room several times.

He realized that he had lost his composure to a new employee.

Lee Jun-hak glanced at his watch.

“Isn’t that too fast, Lee Assistant Manager?”

Manager Cha Sang-hyun from the textile team, sitting opposite him, spoke.

“You’re being led around by a new employee, unlike yourself?”

“What do you mean, Manager Cha Sang-hyun-nim?”

Lee Jun-hak shook his head as if to say absolutely not.

“I’m just changing my methods.”

“Our Lee Assistant Manager is good with words.”

As soon as Kim Chul-soo entered the copy room, he skillfully placed the documents in an unused copier and started making copies.

He glanced at the electronic watch on his wrist.

The page numbers showed a total of 59 pages.

Three copies meant 177 pages.

The copier printed a maximum of 30 pages per minute.

So, if he finished as quickly as possible, it would take 6 minutes.

Sorting and bringing back the copied documents would take about 8 minutes.

However, 8 minutes was a capability that a skilled second-year employee could achieve, and based on experience, new employees often took more than 10 minutes.

Therefore, the appropriate margin line, ambiguous enough to avoid both anger and suspicion, was 9 minutes.

Kim Chul-soo immediately set the alarm and began sorting the copied documents like a machine.

When the alarm rang, signaling 9 minutes, he deliberately folded and unfolded the front of the cover page of one copy and returned to the office with the copies.

As Kim Chul-soo came out of the copy room, Lee Jun-hak looked at his watch.

9 minutes.

It was an ambiguous time, fast for a new employee and slow for an experienced one.

A strange irritation welled up in Lee Jun-hak.

Kim Chul-soo arrived while Lee Jun-hak was replying to a confirmation email from a buyer.

“Assistant Manager Lee Jun-hak-nim, I’ve made the copies.”

“Do you think you’ll be praised for working like a snail?”

“I apologize.”

Lee Jun-hak wanted to say more, but he couldn’t think of anything.

“Put them over there.”

“Yes.”

Just as Kim Chul-soo was about to turn around.

“Wait.”

Lee Jun-hak grabbed Kim Chul-soo’s clothes as if he had discovered something amazing.

And he found the slightly folded part on the first page of the copies.

Finally finding something to nitpick, Lee Jun-hak felt a strange excitement and stood up.

“Kim Chul-soo-ssi?”

“Yes.”

“You’re slow, and if the first page is folded like this, how upset do you think the superiors who see this will be?”

“I apologize.”

“Are you going to work like that?”

“No, sir.”

Although Lee Jun-hak was irritated, Kim Chul-soo answered calmly.

“Put that down and follow me.”

“Yes.”

“Your answers are getting shorter again. Can’t you understand what I’m saying?”

“I apologize, Assistant Manager Lee Jun-hak-nim.”

Lee Jun-hak turned his head slightly as he was leaving the office.

Seeing Kim Chul-soo following him nervously, he turned his head again and smirked.

He didn’t know how poor Kim Chul-soo’s foreign language skills were, but he seemed to be the type suited for office life.

He didn’t change his expression even when being nitpicked and yelled at for trivial matters.

In such a situation, one would usually show all sorts of expressions.

For a salesman who deals with buyers, a poker face is a natural weapon.

‘Did the HR guys misjudge him?’

He was definitely not the type to score last.

I Won’t Be A Tyrant Anymore

Lee Jun-hak, who came out to the Sky Garden on the 16th floor, took out a cigarette and lit it.

Then he checked his pockets and frowned.

Kim Chul-soo skillfully took out the lighter he had bought from the convenience store.

“Here you go, Assistant Manager Lee Jun-hak-nim.”

While Lee Jun-hak lowered his head to light his cigarette, Kim Chul-soo’s gaze was fixed on the lighter bulging from the right pocket of Lee Jun-hak’s slim-fit suit.

Kim Chul-soo had learned all these things from Lee Jun-hak.

How to effectively harass and evaluate subordinates.

“Don’t you smoke?”

For a singer, cigarettes were a harmful vice that ruined the throat.

“It’s okay.”

“A man who can’t even smoke.”

Lee Jun-hak didn’t force him to smoke.

He wanted to quit because of his wife’s nagging and the memory of his father who died of lung disease, but he thought it would be difficult until he left the company.

Lee Jun-hak inhaled the cigarette smoke as if trying to suck out its soul and then exhaled.

“How old are you?”

Corporate cultures are not all the same.

And depending on the personality of the manager, each department is very different.

It’s rare for a company to speak informally to a new employee right away, but this place always followed this method.

Because it was a department where a female employee had never been hired.

Military-style culture.

“I’m 25 years old.”

“What university did you graduate from?”

“I graduated from KD University.”

Lee Jun-hak tilted his head at the unfamiliar name.

“Where is that university?”

“It’s in Gyeonggi Province.”

“Really? What major?”

“I majored in Practical Music.”

“What? Prac… Practical… Music?”

Lee Jun-hak’s calm expression contorted.

‘Sigh. I’m an idiot for expecting anything.’

For a while, only sighs and cigarette smoke escaped from Lee Jun-hak’s mouth.

“Why did you come here instead of pursuing music?”

“I had to get a job because of my family situation.”

“What’s your TOEIC score?”

“705.”

“Just barely passed the document screening. Can you speak English?”

“I’m studying hard.”

“How much do you know about trade?”

“I’m studying hard.”

“Bullshit. Our department needs a newbie who can single-handedly win 3 billion won worth of contracts annually, engage in fierce negotiations with buyers, and handle claims alone. We don’t need a newbie who’s just studying. Why don’t you just quit?”

Lee Jun-hak spoke bluntly.

He was the type to eliminate anything that could hinder him early on.

And if he got disciplined because of a subordinate’s mistake, it would be a big problem.

‘Same. It’s the same. I don’t know how I endured such things.’

Kim Chul-soo laughed inwardly and said with a nervous expression.

“I can’t. I will become the president of this company someday.”

At those words, Lee Jun-hak burst into laughter.

He laughed like crazy, as if his insides were being torn apart.

He was extremely annoyed when he heard that Kim Chul-soo graduated from the Practical Music department of a university he had never even heard of, but his mood slightly improved after laughing uncontrollably at Kim Chul-soo’s bold statement about becoming the president of the company despite the scolding.

KD University Practical Music Department? Fuck.

TOEIC score. Fuck.

Poker face. Okay.

Overflowing ambition. Okay.

The very top, where one can control thousands of employees, including those stationed overseas, with a single finger and a single word, is the ultimate goal that all employees should aim for.

But these days, all the newcomers are worried about how to stay in the company for a long time.

They think they’re civil servants.

“What, president? Does the president seem as easy to reach as a passing dog?”

Lee Jun-hak got angry again.

And looking at his watch, Lee Jun-hak put out his cigarette and said.

“Get your TOEIC score above 900 within two months. If you don’t, I’ll make you understand why company life is called hell.”

“Yes! Assistant Manager Lee Jun-hak-nim!”

“The company is a place to work, not to study. If I see even a TOEIC book, you’re dead.”

“Yes! Assistant Manager Lee Jun-hak-nim!”

“And don’t even touch the phone until I give you permission!”

In this kind of pattern, most new employees would answer “yes” out of habit.

Lee Jun-hak, who was planning to ask what he would do when he was alone,

“What should I do if I’m alone?”

Lee Jun-hak was momentarily speechless because Kim Chul-soo had preempted his question.

‘This guy?’

He felt a slight anticipation towards Kim Chul-soo.

“Ask another team. If you answer a client’s call and relay the information incorrectly, it could lead to a major accident.”

“Understood, Assistant Manager Lee Jun-hak-nim.”

Kim Chul-soo bowed deeply, showing a completely loyal attitude.

While inwardly smirking.

‘TOEIC 900? Ridiculous. Are you kidding me? Senior Managing Director Lee.’

Lee Jun-hak threw the cigarette butt in the trash can and looked at Kim Chul-soo.

“Let’s go.”