Chapter : 06
“Conditions you want.”
It was such a sudden offer that she had not even had time to think about it, but she never expected the executive director to tell a mere fourth-year employee to name whatever conditions she wanted.
Seo-yoon slowly blinked and tightened her grip on the envelope containing the documents. Since this was a contract being offered personally by Executive Director Do Hyun-joon, she could tell without even looking that the terms would be good.
If she had not already decided to quit, she would have gladly accepted.
“Thank you for the generous offer. But I’ve never really considered transferring to another team.”
Unfortunately, Seo-yoon had no intention of staying with the company. She wanted to escape this suffocating situation as soon as possible.
“Are you rejecting it without even looking at the contract?”
At the question tinged with a chilly smile, Seo-yoon’s eyes widened.
Should she have at least said she would think about it? Realizing belatedly that she had answered too hastily, she added,
“There are still many things I need to learn from my current team.”
Hyun-joon let out a short laugh. He laughed aloud as though he had heard something amusing, then raised the corners of his mouth and said meaningfully,
“There must be something you want.”
“……”
“Tell me. I’ll give you whatever you want.”
What did he mean by that?
Seo-yoon looked at Hyun-joon with puzzled eyes. The moment his eyes met hers and curved ever so slightly, several scenes flashed through her mind.
The moment he had caught her trembling with humiliation after witnessing the affair in the rooftop garden.
The moment he had caught her arguing with Jo Dong-min in the parking lot.
And the mocking remark he had made with a crooked smile, telling them to enjoy their private time together.
The clearer those memories became, the more her fingertips began to tremble. Perhaps Executive Director Do Hyun-joon wasn’t talking about ordinary contract conditions at all.
“…I don’t have any conditions I want. I haven’t been with the company for very long, and there are still many things I’m lacking.”
“Are you planning to quit?”
Seo-yoon’s eyes widened.
She had not told anyone that she was planning to resign. Even Seo-yoon herself had only finally made the decision that morning.
“So you really are thinking about it.”
“……”
“For personal reasons, I assume? Something to do with your private life.”
The blunt question left Seo-yoon speechless. Executive Director Do Hyun-joon waited for her answer with a calm expression.
What was she supposed to say?
Feeling strangely tense, she quietly clenched the hands resting on her lap. The gaze fixed on her from across the desk felt almost painful. When she lowered her eyes to avoid it, she heard a faint chuckle.
“Is it because of Jo Dong-min?”
“……”
“I can’t exactly pretend I don’t know. It’s a shame to see Assistant Manager Lee Seo-yoon throw away her career because of Jo Dong-min.”
He was right.
It was a career she had worked desperately hard to build, cutting back on sleep and even working until she got nosebleeds. It was a career she desperately needed.
Even so, she was too embarrassed to raise her head.
It wasn’t her fault, but she had been caught in private situations twice. And there was another fact that Executive Director Do Hyun-joon didn’t know—the fact that she was the person who had belatedly become involved in the affair between Manager Oh Cho-hee and Jo Dong-min.
She wanted to quietly bury all of it.
She wanted no one to know.
“If that’s the problem, I think I can take care of it.”
Seo-yoon’s head shot up.
When she looked at him questioningly, Hyun-joon spoke as though it were nothing important.
“Those two will be fired soon.”
“Fired…?”
“Yes. Fired.”
Hyun-joon answered clearly, as if confirming it for her.
Seo-yoon blinked at him in a daze, and Hyun-joon added,
“You can’t do things like that at a company.”
Ah.
Without realizing it, Seo-yoon’s face flushed red, and Hyun-joon burst out laughing. In a voice still carrying traces of amusement, he continued,
“Think about quitting again. I’ll give you more time to decide.”
“Executive Director, I’ve finished checking the CCTV footage from the rooftop garden.”
Manager Han Ki-yeol of the Strategic Planning Division’s executive office entered through the door as he spoke. Having returned from a business trip to the United States late the previous night, fatigue still showed clearly on his face.
Hyun-joon closed the documents he had been reading and looked up. When their eyes met, Manager Han spoke with an awkward expression.
“It was too dark to make out their faces clearly, but a man and woman who appear to be the same people have been coming to the rooftop garden since last month and…”
Han Ki-yeol paused briefly before lowering his voice.
“…engaging in relations regularly.”
“Regularly?”
There wasn’t even a hint of surprise in Hyun-joon’s voice when he repeated the word. His tone made it sound as though he had expected this, causing Ki-yeol’s eyes to widen before he nodded.
He witnessed it himself.
“Yes.”
“If we leave them alone, they’ll keep doing it, won’t they?”
Ki-yeol could only give an awkward smile.
Was he supposed to answer that?
If he had to, the answer was yes. The man and woman in the CCTV footage had looked far too accustomed to what they were doing, from beginning to end.
“Organize the information and send an email to the heads of Human Resources, Business Support, and Public Relations. Reserve a conference room for tomorrow morning. You must be tired, so go home for today.”
“Yes, Executive Director.”
Ki-yeol bowed his head and turned around. With a haggard expression, he pulled out his phone and checked the time.
It was already past ten at night.
As he left the office, he wondered how many times he had actually gone home on time during the year since Executive Director Do Hyun-joon had taken over as head of the Strategic Planning Division.
At this rate, he really might grow old and die as a bachelor ghost.
The words his friends used to joke about no longer felt like a joke.
The only reason he couldn’t complain about the murderous schedule was that Executive Director Do Hyun-joon always left work even later than he did.
What could a secretary possibly say if he went home before his boss every time?
Fine. He’d become a bachelor ghost if that’s what it took.
They had promised to increase the number of people in the executive office once the Overseas Business Division was established, so he had no choice but to endure it until then.
The chairman was being too much, too.
He wasn’t giving his son even a moment to breathe.
At this rate, he’d work the kid to death.
Ki-yeol shook his head and pressed the elevator button.
Bzzzt.
For several days, Seo-yoon’s phone kept vibrating busily.
Now that Jo Dong-min had revealed his true nature, it seemed he had finally decided to go all out. Whenever he found an opportunity, he sent her threatening messages.
Whenever that happened, Seo-yoon remembered Executive Director Do Hyun-joon’s words.
“It’s a shame to see Assistant Manager Lee Seo-yoon throw away her career because of Jo Dong-min.”
“Those two will be fired soon.”
Hyun-joon hadn’t contacted her again, but Seo-yoon could tell that things were quietly being arranged behind the scenes to fire the two of them.
The atmosphere in the office had subtly changed.
The way Team Leader Park Jae-cheol looked at Manager Oh Cho-hee.
The way he subtly excluded Manager Oh from certain tasks.
Even during tea breaks, Seo-yoon could feel that something about the atmosphere had changed.
“Assistant Manager Lee, go to the funeral of Economic Daily’s Director Joo Seong-guk’s father today. Make sure you deliver the condolence money properly and check that the funeral wreath arrived safely.”
After the morning meeting, Team Leader Park spoke to Seo-yoon as she left the conference room.
Manager Oh Cho-hee asked in confusion,
“Team Leader, Director Joo Seong-guk is my account. I’ll go.”
“No, Manager Oh. You have something else to do. The work Manager Kim Se-young was handling—the data organization. Have that finished by tomorrow.”
“Data organization?”
“Yes. Manager Kim Se-young is taking tomorrow off. Besides, Assistant Manager Lee’s outfit is perfect for attending a funeral.”
Team Leader Park gestured toward Seo-yoon with his chin.
Seo-yoon was wearing a black dress and black stockings. Manager Oh’s eyes swept over her from head to toe, filled with displeasure.
“But he’s my account…”
“Does it matter who goes? Assistant Manager Lee, leave immediately after the afternoon meeting. Make sure you make a good impression.”
“Yes, Team Leader.”
Seo-yoon answered while deliberately pretending not to notice Manager Oh’s gaze.
In fact, Team Leader Park had contacted her that morning.
He had told her to dress formally because she needed to attend an important funeral. He had also added that she would be responsible for Director Joo Seong-guk of Economic Daily for the time being.
Judging from the phrase “for the time being,” it seemed they were already looking for Manager Oh Cho-hee’s replacement.
“Assistant Manager Lee, I heard you received an offer from the Overseas Business Division TF team?”
As Seo-yoon sat down and organized her documents, Team Leader Park approached her.
“Yes.”
“That’s great. Starting next week, right? Then you’ll be completely leaving the PR team… probably around the end of next month?”
So much time had already passed.
She still hadn’t made her decision, but Team Leader Park seemed to assume that Seo-yoon would naturally join the TF team.
It was a great opportunity.
It was obvious that the Overseas Business Division, led by Do Hyun-joon, the second son of Chairman Do Won-seok, would become DoWonSoft’s next core division. Considering her position within the company, there was no reason to reject such an opportunity.
Instead of answering, Seo-yoon merely gave him a faint smile.
She was just about to pick up her laptop and stand when the phone in her hand vibrated.
[Congratulations, Lee Seo-yoon. You have passed the document screening for the Media Relations Team at Seoan Group. For the first-round interview schedule, please click the link below, enter your interview number, and check the details.]
The funeral hall was crowded with mourners.
Reflecting the prestigious status of Economic Daily, countless funeral wreaths were lined up densely around the entrance, leaving barely enough room to walk.
Among the cars filing into the parking lot, Seo-yoon could catch glimpses of prominent figures from the political and business worlds.
Upon hearing that Hyun-joon had arrived, Jang Kyung-min, the CEO of Economic Daily, came all the way to the entrance to greet him.
“Executive Director, I watched the news yesterday.”
With a broad smile, CEO Jang extended his hand and greeted Hyun-joon warmly.
Economic Daily was one of the media companies that maintained a close relationship with DoWonSoft. Since the previous year, it had been working closely with several influential foreign media outlets to expand its influence, making it one of the media organizations Chairman Do Won-seok personally kept an eye on.
“Hello, CEO Jang. I only just returned from the United States, so I haven’t had a chance to properly greet you.”
Hyun-joon lightly bowed his head and shook the rough hand CEO Jang had extended.
“Come on, I know you’re busy, Executive Director. I was so pleased to see you on KBC News yesterday.”
“You saw that? Thank you for understanding.”
“You had such a dazzling aura on screen that I thought you were a movie star.”
“Ahahaha!”
CEO Jang laughed loudly, his narrow eyes curving into long crescents.
Hyun-joon released his hand and said,
“I suppose it’s because you think highly of me, CEO Jang.”
“Is it that obvious?”
CEO Jang laughed loudly once more before leading Hyun-joon deeper into the funeral hall and subtly getting to the point.
“About the quality assurance contract recently signed with HBC Broadcasting. I was wondering if you might write a column about it. Perhaps introduce some good references related to it…”
CEO Jang’s conversation didn’t stop even inside the funeral hall.
Although this was the funeral of Director Joo Seong-guk’s father, CEO Jang clung to Hyun-joon’s side as though he himself were the chief mourner, introducing him to guests and even bringing him food.
In the end, before Hyun-joon left after paying his respects, he had agreed to write a regular column for Economic Daily’s technology section and had even scheduled an interview.
The chairman had specifically told him to pay special attention to this company, so it was actually a good thing.
It would also be useful to promote the new Overseas Business Division ahead of its official launch.
Hyun-joon was walking toward the parking lot, thinking that he had simply acquired a few more troublesome tasks, when he heard a familiar voice nearby.
He turned his head toward the sound.
There stood Lee Seo-yoon, wearing a neat black dress with her hair tied back, surrounded by several men.
She said something with crescent-shaped eyes, and the men around her burst into loud laughter.
What had she said?
Hyun-joon watched them with narrowed eyes and frowned.
Wasn’t laughing like that at a funeral a little inappropriate?
