DMSD | Chapter 5

Was it obvious? From where? I just thought, “Oh, his face is quite neat,” and that was it. Was there something strange in my expression? Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned occasionally doing face masks at home? Or is it because I rarely join gatherings with other guys? But, seriously, why should I even be there when the only topics they discuss are stocks, investing, real estate, sports, golf, baseball, and women? Why do I need to be part of that just to have stories like, “Oh, yeah, I went to a hostess bar”? I’ve never even been to one! Is it considered normal to go there?! That ignorant guy can’t even get his grammar right! The same guy who dumps all the work on me!

“Hey, Assistant Manager Go, have some appetizers.”

“Oh, sure.”

Hearing Section Chief Yang’s calm voice, Myeongeun quickly put a piece of meat in his mouth. The moment he took a bite, the anger he felt toward Kim Junyoung slowly started to dissipate.

“I should have received Junyoung’s paycheck instead.”

“Want me to go to HR and raise hell to get it for you?”

Section Chief Yang squinted, making it seem like he was serious, causing Myeongeun to shake his head quickly.

“I heard that Kim Junyoung has connections in the HR Department.”

After drinking, Assistant Manager Kim asked, “Guess who?”

Both Section Chief Yang and Myeongeun shook their heads at the same time.

“I heard it at an alumni meeting—apparently, he’s linked to the HR Manager.”

“What?”

Section Chief Yang frowned and, while ordering “Two more servings of meat and a bottle of soju” from a passing staff member, frowned again. Then he turned to them with a question.

“If he’s got the HR Manager connection, what does that mean?”

“He’s tied to Executive Director Kwon.”

Assistant Manager Kim answered Section Chief Yang’s question right away.

Myeongeun had heard before that the HR Manager often dined with Kwon Jinseok, the Executive Director.

Executive Director Kwon was the eldest son of Kwon Jingu, the Vice Chairman of Gaon Group, and also served as the Executive Director of Gaon Food, Gaon’s largest production affiliate. His characteristics? He was greedy and, well, a fool. Not just any fool, but the only one in the family who liked to play factional games.

“Dirt is dirty, so just avoid it.”

Section Chief Yang filled Myeongeun’s glass, advising him, “Keep your distance from Kim Junyoung and just ignore him.”

“That’s what I should do.”

They clinked glasses.

“If only Executive Director Kwon were half as capable as Director Kwon.”

Assistant Manager Kim snickered at Section Chief Yang’s comment.

“Or even a quarter, maybe.”

Director Kwon Myeonghee. She was the Vice Chairman’s daughter and Executive Director Kwon’s younger sister, working as a Director at Gaon Group and Gaon Food, and also serving as Vice President of Gaon City, the shopping mall and mart affiliate of Gaon. Her traits? Competent, sensible, and a person who hated fools.

“Director Kwon is really amazing.”

When Myeongeun said this, Section Chief Yang grinned mischievously.

“Are you interested?”

“Nah, she’s way out of my league.”

While he genuinely admired her, he wasn’t interested romantically.

“I’m more interested in the Deputy Team Leader.”

At Assistant Manager Kim’s sudden comment, Myeongeun looked over at him.

“Kwon the Lawyer?”

Assistant Manager Kim nodded.

“Interesting. Most women seem to prefer Section Chief Kwon.”

“Section Chief Kwon is great, too. He’s kind, polite, and gentle, with a subtly masculine image. But I prefer a sportier style like Deputy Team Leader Kwon. He’s got that fresh, untarnished, healthy look, which is really cool.”

Section Chief Yang tutted.

“Trying to pick a favorite between the two is a fool’s errand.”

Both Myeongeun and Assistant Manager Kim had to nod.

Kwon Jinhyeok, the Deputy Team Leader from the Legal Team, and Kwon Jinhyeon, the Section Chief from the Management Support Department, were well-known around the company as the “handsome brothers” since Myeongeun’s new hire orientation. Section Chief Kwon had welcomed them at the orientation, and Deputy Team Leader Kwon had even shown up briefly during training.

Both men were tall with impressive physiques, probably at least 186 cm tall, and shared similar sharp, almond-shaped eyes, a chiseled nose, and a strong jawline. However, their overall impressions were quite different. Kwon Jinhyeok had a more refreshing, upbeat vibe, while Section Chief Kwon, with his natural cool demeanor, always kept a slight smile to soften his cold appearance. Even their outfits were distinct; Kwon Jinhyeok preferred a casual no-tie look, whereas Kwon Jinhyeon frequently wore a three-piece suit complete with a vest.

Their physique was inherited from their father, President Kwon Jinho. The President of Gaon Group and Gaon Food, as well as Vice Chairman Kwon’s younger brother, was still exceptionally tall and broad-shouldered in his sixties, looking no older than his early fifties.

President Kwon had rescued Gaon Construction from financial distress around 15 years ago when the company had hit a rough patch. Gaon Construction was the historical foundation of Gaon, first established by the late Kwon Jincheol, the honorary chairman, and held deep significance for the family. About seven years ago, President Kwon passed its management rights to his uncle and cousin, who now run it along with Gaon Furniture, Gaon’s furniture manufacturing and distribution affiliate.

Since its foundation in the 1950s, Gaon Group, run by the Kwon family, started appointing in-house employees as executives five years ago. Now, Gaon Food’s Vice President and Gaon City’s President were both promoted from within.

“Seeing how Executive Director Kwon acts is probably what made them realize the limits of family-run management,” Section Chief Yang said, chewing on pork skin.

“The company’s founding spirit emphasizes mutual support and community, with plenty of corporate donations and profit-sharing. But just look at Executive Director Kwon.”

Compared to other similar-scale company heads, the Gaon family had notably less personal wealth—except for one person.

“Executive Director Kwon is on par with the wealthiest of the wealthy,” Myeongeun commented while refilling Assistant Manager Kim’s glass.

“Yeah, he’s way beyond average,” Assistant Manager Kim added, joining in. “Six years ago, he was even investigated by prosecutors on suspicions of tax evasion and stock manipulation. They started promoting a Vice President at Gaon Food right after that, clearly trying to end the family-run management because of him. Just listen to the speech President Kwon gave at the Vice President’s inauguration—it was practically aimed straight at Executive Director Kwon.”

Though Myeongeun hadn’t been working there at the time, he had heard about it. During the Vice President’s inauguration, President Kwon had reportedly said, “Any employee dedicated to the company’s founding spirit deserves a role in management. However, if a manager strays from that ethos, they must step down, and I promise to make it clear to you all that the family does not hold absolute power.”

“Yeah, it was aimed straight at him,” Section Chief Yang nodded. “President Kwon has the trust of the employees and even kept his own sons from reaching executive positions, insisting they handle fieldwork instead. He was like a sniper with 200% accuracy.”

After more back-and-forth about Executive Director Kwon under the guise of “company talk,” they were finally ready to leave once they ran out of food and drinks.

“By the way, have you guys heard that rumor?” Assistant Manager Kim asked, handing them coffees from the vending machine.

“You mean about President Kwon having three sons, not two?”

“There’s a whole lot of talk about that,” Section Chief Yang said, pulling his coat out of the garment bag. “Some say there are three sons, others say four, or that there’s a hidden son, a love child hidden in a mental hospital—it’s just people looking to tear him down.”

“But still.” Section Chief Yang continued, “Probably not. One of the accounting department managers attended President Kwon’s wife’s funeral ten years ago and only saw Deputy Team Leader Kwon and Section Chief Kwon. If he had three sons, all of them would’ve been there. I mean, it was their mother’s funeral.”

◆

After that day, when I started assigning real work to Kim Junyoung, he began to show his true slacker colors, just like now.

While pulling a jammed copy paper from the photocopier in the PR Office, Myeongeun thought about this. Back then, he’d brushed it off, but honestly, even now, seeing Kim Junyoung sometimes made the back of his head tingle with irritation.

“Assistant Manager, the light in Meeting Room 2 is out.”

“Got it; I’ll replace it this afternoon.”

After getting a go-ahead from the PR staff, Myeongeun tossed the torn copy paper and jotted down “Meeting Room 2 Light” in a memo on his phone. After setting a reminder, he swung by Director Park’s office, playfully calling, “Directorrrr,” even giving a few shoulder rubs. Only when Director Park’s frown slightly relaxed did he leave the PR office.

Returning to the office, he replenished himself with various vitamins before attending the year-end strategy meeting. Afterward, he checked his emails and sent out all necessary replies. He also sent out an email for recruiting replacements on the head office shuttle bus, and looked into Christmas trees and decorations for the lobby to put up in a week, keeping busy as usual.

At five in the afternoon, he was checking an order delivered by the stationery vendor when he discovered that Kim Junyoung had made a mistake with the quantities on two items.

If only this were the climax of the tragedy.

Silently hoping, he ordered Kim Junyoung to fix it immediately, keeping a close eye on him to make sure he didn’t mess up again.

Then, as the office’s automatic doors opened, two tall men walked in. If someone not on the General Affairs Team entered without ringing the bell but used an access card instead…

“Ah, our Lawyer Kwon! And Section Chief Kwon, too!”