New Employee Kim Chul-soo

Chapter 7

Jang Yoo-mi was clutching the unresponsive copier, feeling like she was about to burst into tears.

“Why does this only happen when I’m trying to make copies?!”

If you were to pick the scariest superior on the second floor, where the sales department was located, it would undoubtedly be Assistant Manager Park Dong-jin.

Not only did he have a gruff appearance, but he also had a quick temper, and having heard the rumor that he used to be an amateur boxer, Jang Yoo-mi shuddered with fear when the copier malfunctioned.

She already felt like she was on the verge of hysteria due to Park Dong-jin finding fault with everything and yelling at her.

‘No! If it takes any longer, I’ll be dragged into the conference room and yelled at again! I can’t let that happen.’

The only thing that came to Jang Yoo-mi’s mind was to ask Kim Chul-soo, who had fixed the copier without any hesitation, for help.

As soon as Jang Yoo-mi stepped out of the copy room, she started running like a 100m sprinter, heading towards Sales Team 5 at the opposite end.

“Kim….”

Jang Yoo-mi was about to call out to Kim Chul-soo when she heard him on the phone, speaking fluent Russian with a buyer.

‘Huh? What?’

As a Russian language major, Jang Yoo-mi could clearly hear Kim Chul-soo’s flawless Russian.

Was he even more fluent in Russian than she was?

“….So you’re saying there’s a scheduled bulk wheat shipment on April 5th in Vladivostok? There might be a waiting time for the vessel, so please call again on April 1st to confirm. And please send a confirmation email. Communication might get complicated if we only rely on phone calls. Yes, please send an email. Please!”

Kim Chul-soo hung up the receiver after ending the call with “Spasibo.”

He had to answer the phone because no one was in Teams 4 or 6.

But then he saw Jang Yoo-mi staring at him with wide eyes.

‘Uh oh!’

As Jang Yoo-mi made eye contact with Kim Chul-soo, she remembered why she had come.

“Um, the copier isn’t working, could you help me with it?”

“Of course. I’ll help you.”

Kim Chul-soo followed Jang Yoo-mi to the copy room and examined the copier.

It wasn’t a paper jam, but a message indicating that the toner needed to be replaced.

He opened the copier, took out the toner, shook it vigorously up and down a few times, and then put it back in. The copier started working normally again.

“It’s done.”

“Thank you.”

As Kim Chul-soo was about to return to his office, Jang Yoo-mi asked,

“Why were you hiding it?”

“I wasn’t trying to hide it, but it just happened that way. You’ve been helped by me twice, so could you keep quiet about today?”

“….Yes.”

“I’m the only one in the office. See you later.”

Kim Chul-soo left the copy room, and Jang Yoo-mi looked at the papers being copied, feeling puzzled.

His skills were good enough to be considered a native speaker.

With such proficiency in Russian, he would be much better suited for Team 2, which handles minerals, rather than Sales Team 5.

Suddenly filled with curiosity about Kim Chul-soo, Jang Yoo-mi was startled by Assistant Manager Park Dong-jin’s shout.

“Hey! Jang Yoo-mi! Are you taking a dump in the copy room?!”

‘Oh… I hate this… so much.’

******

The next day.

Ahn Jeong-gyu quietly read the document that Pyo Il-soo had printed.

It was organized so clearly that even someone seeing it for the first time could easily understand it.

He didn’t know if Pyo Il-soo had reorganized it or if Kim Chul-soo had created it this way, but it was flawlessly crafted, leaving no room for criticism.

“So, you’re saying 6-Sigma is a management technique used to improve business processes or quality control?”

“Yes, Team Leader.”

“But what is DMAIC?”

“It stands for define, measure, analyze, improvement, and control.”

“I understand that, but what does each of those mean?”

“I haven’t prepared for that yet.”

“Then make a report by tomorrow.”

“I have a business trip tomorrow, Team Leader.”

“So you’re saying you can’t do it?”

“No, Team Leader.”

“By tomorrow. If you can’t give a presentation, at least prepare the materials and send them to me.”

“Yes! I understand, Team Leader. I’ll definitely do it.”

“Okay. I’ll be going to the team leaders’ meeting, so make sure there are no disruptions in your work.”

“Yes! Team Leader.”

As soon as Ahn Jeong-gyu left, Pyo Il-soo called Kim Chul-soo.

“Yes! Section Chief Pyo.”

“Sigh. This is driving me crazy. You heard our conversation, right?”

“Yes! I heard everything.”

“Then, I need your help again today.”

“Yes! Section Chief Pyo.”

“Just do it like you did today.”

“I’ll do my best, Section Chief Pyo!”

Pyo Il-soo was very pleased with Kim Chul-soo, who always looked nervous but did his best.

“Okay.”

Meanwhile, as Ahn Jeong-gyu was heading to the main conference room for the team leaders’ meeting, Park Joon-hyung approached him.

“Ahn, you can’t cheat.”

Ahn Jeong-gyu glared at Park Joon-hyung’s words.

“What? Cheat?”

“Isn’t training a new employee in 6-Sigma during work hours considered cheating?”

“Do you have any proof that I ordered it?”

“I can find it if I look for it.”

“Go ahead and look. See if you can find it.”

“This bastard, how dare you talk back to a manager?”

“Then why are you, who’s not even a team leader, talking back to a team leader?”

“What? This bastard!”

As Park Joon-hyung grabbed Ahn Jeong-gyu by the collar, Ahn Jeong-gyu grabbed Park Joon-hyung’s collar as well.

“Hey! What are you doing there?”

Senior Managing Director Byeon Sang-wook from the Management Support Team shouted at them, and they slowly released each other’s collars.

“It’s nothing. We were just hugging each other because we were happy to see each other.”

Park Joon-hyung quickly changed to a sweet voice and ran to Senior Managing Director Byeon, flattering him.

Ahn Jeong-gyu also wiggled his hips and approached Senior Managing Director Byeon with a bright smile.

“Oh… these creepy bastards. Stop fighting, will you!”

The heron is watching from behind.

The last Sunday of March.

Finally, Kim Chul-soo’s family moved out of the hillside slum that seemed to touch the clouds.

A 28-year-old house where they wouldn’t experience any new house syndrome!

It was a 21-pyeong (approximately 700 sq ft), one-story detached house with two rooms, a small living room, and a separate kitchen, rented on a jeonse (long-term deposit lease) basis!

After gathering every penny, including the 3 million won deposit from their previous monthly rent place, they managed to negotiate the price down from 25 million won to 23 million won and secured a two-year lease.

This was possible because housing prices and jeonse deposits were at rock bottom due to the lingering effects of the IMF crisis.

On Saturday, they finished cleaning and wallpapering the new house, and an internet technician came and installed the famous ADSL.

And from Sunday morning, they started moving their belongings.

Since the hillside slum was inaccessible by car, they had to use handcarts and carry everything themselves.

Exhausted from carrying the furniture up and down the stairs countless times, Chul-soo and Young-soo collapsed on the floor of the organized room.

“Jajangmyeon is here!”

Yoon Jin-sook had ordered jajangmyeon (black bean noodles) and tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork), which Chul-soo and Young-soo had loved since childhood, and Young-soo, who had been groaning in his room, suddenly opened his eyes. His eyes, adorned with fluffy mustache-like fuzz, twitched as if they were vibrating.

“Yes!!!!!”

He immediately responded and dashed out of the room, making Chul-soo laugh.

Although the current Kim Chul-soo didn’t particularly enjoy jajangmyeon, seeing Young-soo’s wide-eyed, expectant expression as he ran out made his mouth water involuntarily.

And he realized that despite the hardships, these simple situations brought him happiness.

A beautiful wife.

A good house.

A nice car.

A high salary could never provide this.

Simple happiness.

“Oh no! The TOEIC test!”

While Yoon Jin-sook and Kim Young-soo were preparing a late dinner, Kim Chul-soo quickly registered for the TOEIC test online.

******

At the company, 6-Sigma training for new employees began on weekdays from 1 pm to 3 pm.

Kim Chul-soo gathered his writing utensils and notebooks and told Team Leader Ahn Jeong-gyu,

“Team Leader, I’ll be attending the training.”

“There will be a presentation after the training, and Kim Chul-soo-ssi, your performance evaluation will heavily depend on your results.”

“Yes, I’ll do my best.”

“Yes, you really need to do your best.”

When he arrived at the training room on the fourth floor, his colleagues were already gathered.

They were already divided into four groups, chatting amongst themselves.

Kim Chul-soo, who had never attended a colleague gathering before, found an empty seat and sat down, as if he wasn’t interested in them.

A while later, the door opened again, and Jang Yoo-mi, the only female new employee from the headquarters, entered.

“Yoo-mi-ssi! Over here!”

His colleagues waved and called out to her, and Jang Yoo-mi greeted each of them individually.

However, she refused the invitations from several colleagues to sit next to them and instead chose the seat next to Kim Chul-soo.

“Hello.”

“Yes, hello.”

After a brief greeting, Kim Chul-soo immersed himself in writing something in his diary, and Jang Yoo-mi asked,

“Is Chul-soo-ssi always like this?”

“Huh?”

“You should come to the colleague gatherings and socialize.”

“Ah.”

At Jang Yoo-mi’s words, Kim Chul-soo looked up and glanced at his colleagues, who were now staring at him with displeasure, forming a circle with their eyes.

“You know how my colleagues think of me, Yoo-mi-ssi, right? You can’t leave the temple just because you dislike the monks.”

“Maybe they just don’t know you well enough, Chul-soo-ssi.”

“If they get to know me better, they’ll probably dislike me even more.”

“Why are you so negative?”

“Your perspective is unique, Yoo-mi-ssi.”

Hwang Dae-hoon, who had been quietly observing their conversation, approached them.

“Hello, Kim Chul-soo-ssi.”

“How have you been, Hwang Dae-hoon-ssi?”

“You seem busy?”

“Of course. I’m struggling to keep up with the work.”

“I hear that Deputy General Manager Lee Jun-hak has quite a temper…”

“He’s a very competent person.”

“You’re quite positive.”

Hwang Dae-hoon turned his gaze to Jang Yoo-mi.

“Yoo-mi-ssi, are you managing okay?”

“Of course!”

“Working in HR, I’ve heard stories about both deputy general managers. I hope our colleagues can survive this. To survive in this harsh company, shouldn’t we stick together?”

Jang Yoo-mi nodded at Hwang Dae-hoon’s words.

“That’s right.”

“Kim Chul-soo-ssi, if you have time on Tuesday evenings, come to the colleague gathering. We can exchange information, build connections, and get to know each other better.”

Kim Chul-soo smiled and nodded.

“I’ll definitely attend if I have time.”

“Okay. But, Yoo-mi-ssi?”

Jang Yoo-mi looked at Hwang Dae-hoon.

“If you sit too far back, you might lose focus. Come to the front. I’ve saved you a seat.”

“It’s okay.”

Hwang Dae-hoon tilted his head in confusion.

He didn’t know what Team Leader Ahn Jeong-gyu, Section Chief Pyo Il-soo, or Deputy General Manager Lee Jun-hak thought of Kim Chul-soo, but he was ostracized among his colleagues and viewed negatively by other teams.

Why was Jang Yoo-mi, who had impressive qualifications, spoke fluent Russian and English, and had an outstanding appearance that attracted the attention of all the single men in the company, trying to sit next to Kim Chul-soo?

However, Hwang Dae-hoon knew the personalities, family backgrounds, and qualifications of his colleagues like the back of his hand.

He also knew Jang Yoo-mi’s personality very well.

“I heard from the training department that the company is paying special attention to us. If we get good results in the presentation to the executives and team leaders after this 6-Sigma training, it will be quite advantageous for promotion.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes. And Cha Soo-young, the assistant manager in charge of this training, is a senior from our university department. I hear that the 6-Sigma instructor is close to Assistant Manager Cha.”

Jang Yoo-mi’s eyes wavered at Hwang Dae-hoon’s words.

Jang Yoo-mi, who couldn’t sleep unless she was number one, looked at Kim Chul-soo for a moment and thought.

‘6-Sigma is a new management technique that hasn’t been adopted by many companies in Korea. No matter how much Kim Chul-soo-ssi is hiding his skills, he wouldn’t know about 6-Sigma. In that case, Hwang Dae-hoon-ssi would be more advantageous for obtaining information, wouldn’t he?’

Hwang Dae-hoon, seeing Jang Yoo-mi’s wavering eyes, delivered the final blow.

“We’re having dinner with Assistant Manager Cha and the instructor this Friday evening. Are you interested, Jang Yoo-mi-ssi?”

Kim Chul-soo spoke up.

“It might be difficult to focus in the back, so Yoo-mi-ssi, you should go to the front. I need to do some other work for the team in the back.”

“Oh, okay…? Then I’ll go to the front. Chul-soo-ssi.”

“Okay.”

As Jang Yoo-mi packed her things and moved to the front, Hwang Dae-hoon followed her.

Then, he turned around and looked at Kim Chul-soo, who was once again focused on something, and gave him a scornful smile.

‘You think you can compete with me? You’re no match for me.’

As Hwang Dae-hoon turned back and walked forward, Kim Chul-soo chuckled.

‘Run as hard as you can, little sparrows.’

The heron is watching from behind.

The instructor invited by the company gave a lecture on 6-Sigma, and Kim Chul-soo, sitting at the very back, listened quietly and then turned his attention to his diary.

The word “sigma” comes from statistics, specifically the concept of normal distribution, and it refers to standard deviation.

6-Sigma, which aims for a defect rate of 3.4 per million, originated at Motorola in 1987 and was adopted by GE in 1995, leading to remarkable results.

It later spread to Korea, and the 6-Sigma of the 2020s has become much more sophisticated.

The basic concept of 6-Sigma that the instructor was talking about…

‘Now that I hear it, it seems like the instructor doesn’t know much about 6-Sigma either.’

Kim Chul-soo looked at his diary again.

━2003.

━When Korea began to see active trade after overcoming the aftermath of the IMF crisis.

━The stocks to buy are shipping and shipbuilding stocks.