The Dignity of the Chaebol

“Why are these bills so small?”

And this is a 50,000 won bill?

“Is this really money?”

“Of course. Hahaha…”

“There’s a 50,000 won bill here.”

Of course, the wallet was filled with checks, which were much more tightly packed.

It’s… unbelievable.

When I took out the checks to check, the total amount was a whopping 11,550,000 won.

“Well, now that I know where the house is, we’re good. It’s already past 3 PM, so let’s head to the office.”

“Yes, but just in case, should we take a slow look around?”

“Look around? I didn’t come to tour the house, I just need to know where it is.”

“Still, you don’t know how to start the car or open the front door, so take your time and ask me if you have any questions.”

“No, it’s fine. Just take this.”

I took all the 1 million won checks from Jeong Hoon’s wallet, set one aside, and handed 10 of them to Jeong Dae-ri as promised.

“But I’m not sure if I should really accept this.”

“Accept it. A promise is a promise. And although I don’t know how things will turn out in the future, I’ll probably still need your help until there’s a change in my situation.”

“……”

Jeong Dae-ri stared at the check for a moment, took a deep breath, and then reached out.

“Alright, then I’ll accept it with gratitude.”

I slowly surveyed the mess inside the house once more before speaking to Jeong Dae-ri.

“First, when we get to the office, we’ll need to start with Kim Won-ho, the manager you mentioned?”

“Yes.”

“There will be others I need to act familiar with. I should recognize Kim Won-ho’s face, so can you help me out quietly without anyone noticing?”

“You don’t really need to act familiar with anyone.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

“They won’t pay much attention to you. Or rather, no one will approach you before you speak to them first.”

“Why? We’ve already gone over lunch, this isn’t making any sense.”

“Well… Today, at least, you’re returning to the office, right?”

“What?”

“It’s quite common for people to go out for lunch and then just leave for the day right after…”

“They just go for lunch and then leave for the day like that?”

“…Yes.”

How could these bastards be so ridiculous?

Jeong Hoon and that bastard’s father, Hong Jun!

My blood was boiling.

My body was trembling with anger. I felt like I might shout at something or someone.

“What am I… Am I a wild animal?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Please, be honest with me. Was I, Son Jeong-hoon, a wild animal at the company?”

“……”

Jeong Dae-ri closed his lips tightly and avoided my gaze, and that answered for me.

“Was there really no one in the company to scold me and genuinely guide me when I was like this?”

“……”

“Not even one person? Was the managing director at the headquarters just watching me act like a wild animal in the company? Even the chairman?”

“……”

I couldn’t help but nod my head.

I had an idea of what was going on.

Holding the backrest of the chair at the dining table, I stood silently for a long time, then Jeong Dae-ri took a step closer and said.

“This is a photo from an HR department dinner.”

“Huh?”

At the mention of an HR department dinner photo, I looked up, but there was no photo. Instead, Jeong Dae-ri was holding out his smartphone towards me.

“Where?”

“Here, look.”

There was a photo on the smartphone?

It really was there.

I didn’t understand how this was possible, but indeed, there was a photo.

And not just one photo—every time Jeong Dae-ri swiped his finger across the screen, a new photo appeared, and what was even more amazing was that the size of the photos changed as he spread his thumb and index finger apart or pinched them back together.

“This person is the manager, and this one is the deputy manager, here’s me, and here’s Park, the manager of HRD, Min, the deputy, Kim, the assistant, Mun Hyeonjeong…”

Looking at the photos, I still didn’t understand.

“Is this the whole HR department dinner photo?”

“Yes, usually the manager doesn’t attend these dinners unless it’s the whole department dinner. Let me find the photos from our HRM department dinner…”

“But why am I not in this whole department photo?”

“……”

“Do I not attend the department dinners either?”

“We’re not avoiding you, it’s just…”

“No, I mean, do I not attend?”

“…No, you don’t.”

I bit my lower lip and refocused on the photos.

“So this person is the manager, and this one is the deputy manager, right?”

“Yes.”

“But these people are quite young. How old is the manager?”

“The manager is… yes, he’ll be 51 this year.”

“Fifty-one?”

What’s going on? How can everyone look young enough to be considered in their youth?

“Then how about the deputy manager?”

“The deputy manager is 44.”

Has it been the development of medicine or maybe fashion and hairstyles that make them look so youthful? Comparing with the office workers I saw when I was active in the company, even though we’re the same age, they look at least 10 years younger.

“Jeong Dae-ri, do people often say you look younger than your age?”

“Me? No, I wish I heard that. Instead, people usually guess I’m three or four years older than I actually am.”

“Then do I look younger than my age?”

“Well… you look just about your age, Manager. In fact, some people might think you’re older because of the watch, shoes, and car you usually have.”

It seems that, unlike 30 years ago, people’s appearances have generally become younger, and that makes sense.

It’s not surprising.

Everything else has progressed so much that it’s hard for me to keep up, so of course, people’s youthfulness would have progressed too.

This is the one thing I like.

“Does my smartphone also have a photo viewing function?”

“Of course. All smartphones have it. There’s no smartphone without a photo function.”

“How do I view them?”

I need to learn.

I need to figure out what kind of person Jeong Hoon is, and what kind of things he’s documenting in his life.

I quickly learned how to view the photo album.

But time was already running out, so I decided to check on Jeong Hoon’s personal life later, when I had time after work. For now, I headed to the office.

As expected, when we went to the office, Jeong Dae-ri was still the one driving.

Although 30 years had passed, thankfully, the headquarters building of Jaekyung Mojeok was still standing in the same place.

But while the location remained the same, the building had undergone major renovations.

And the inside had changed so much that I couldn’t recognize it.

Especially the office itself—it felt like I had entered a completely different world.

And it was a different world, indeed.

Though I had to admit it, it was so unfamiliar that it was hard to adjust.

First, there was no smell of cigarettes in the office at all.

And no one was smoking while working.

Also, each person had a television on their desk, but I didn’t realize it was a computer monitor until Jeong Dae-ri explained it to me. I had thought they were televisions.

***

Surprisingly, what Jeong Dae-ri said was true.

I returned to the office after lunch, having taken the liberty of spending an extended break, well past 4 PM.

Still, no one—no, actually, it’s not me who should be blamed—there was no department manager who came to scold or point out Jeong Hoon for what happened.

There wasn’t even anyone asking for an explanation.

Just a casual greeting, something along the lines of “You’re back?”

And it was clear that even that was done out of obligation.

“Assistant Manager.”

While I was observing the office atmosphere next to Jeong Dae-ri, a female employee came up to him, glancing at me.

Through the brief conversation between Jeong Dae-ri and her, I realized that the employee was Hong Jae-hee, an assistant in the HRM department.

“Assistant Manager, while you were away, Sales Department’s Cha Jun-young came by.”

“Jun-young? Why did he come?”

“He came to ask about his severance pay.”

“Severance pay? Why…”

Jeong Dae-ri took the envelope Hong Jae-hee handed him, his mouth half-open and blinking in surprise.

“Since Manager Jo Yun-woo wasn’t in the office either, I wasn’t sure what to do, so I just accepted it and told him I’d pass it on when you returned.”

“Why did Jun-young suddenly ask about that?”

“I don’t know either. I was curious, but I thought it wouldn’t be right to handle a resignation inquiry without you or Manager Jo Yun-woo around, so I just accepted it for now.”

“Good job. You did well. What’s going on today? Why does everything keep happening?”

After saying that, Jeong Dae-ri met my gaze. Maybe feeling embarrassed for letting me hear his thoughts, he cleared his throat and awkwardly adjusted his posture.

A moment later, Hong Jae-hee returned to her desk, and I looked at Jeong Dae-ri, who appeared deflated, holding someone’s resignation letter, and asked, “What’s going on? Who is it?”

Jeong Dae-ri quickly snapped back to his senses and answered.

“Cha Jun-young. He’s been with the company for 3 years as a manager. He has a good reputation, and his personal performance is quite impressive. It’s really unfortunate. His performance review scores are good too, and I was personally expecting him to be the first among his peers to be promoted to Assistant Manager…”

The personnel system in Jaekyung Group had clearly changed in many ways from what I knew.

I had just heard about the position of “manager” for the first time.

It wasn’t a position that existed 30 years ago.

When I asked what that position meant, Jeong Dae-ri explained that it’s a middle step between “junior” and “assistant manager.”

“Every company does it a little differently.”

“Of course, some companies have the manager role between junior and assistant manager, while others put it between assistant manager and section chief.”

“Why do companies introduce this kind of intermediate position?”

“Because that’s where the company’s workforce is most concentrated.”

“The area where the workforce is most concentrated?”

“Yes, it’s between the new hires and the section chiefs. That’s the area where the company’s workforce is most concentrated.”

After hearing the explanation, I still didn’t understand.

If the workforce is concentrated in that area, wouldn’t it make more sense to simplify the ranks and promote people quickly to higher positions?

Upon further reflection, the “junior” position seems almost meaningless.