Real Man

A news report flashed on the screen.

Gerard Kim was a famous journalist overseas, as well as an IT expert.

He was a highly valued talent, but that was not the reason why he made the news.

It meant that Gerard Kim had deliberately used the media to his advantage.

Yoo-hyun’s guess was not wrong, as he could see from the following news.

The internet news section was heated up by the return of Shinkyungsoo.

It was not just the internet news.

The impact was so great that the related news scrolled across the TV screen.

Yoo-hyun watched this scene with Yetaesik, the executive director, in his office.

“Even the CEOs of large corporations don’t get this much attention.”

“That’s how well he laid out the red carpet.”

Yetaesik nodded at Yoo-hyun’s words.

“That’s right. And the one who laid it out, Gerard Kim, decided to join Hansung in the end.”

“And he cleverly broke the news this morning. Just in time to attract attention.”

“He must have intended to link himself with Director Shinkyungsoo, right?”

“Yes. Director Shinkyungsoo has no intention of coming forward. He will just wear a mask and smile, and let the media write the results he wants.”

No matter how much of a war situation it was, Shinkyungsoo was not the type to get his hands dirty.

Rather, he would extend his hand to the other side and emphasize harmony.

While hiding a knife behind his back.

Mass layoffs, indiscriminate wage cuts, cooking the books, technology leaks, etc.

He had done all kinds of unethical things that shook the social foundation.

He maintained his hypocritical smile until the end, shifting the blame to others.

-It’s all about image. People only believe what they see.

Just like Shinkyungsoo used to say, he made good use of the media.

Thanks to that, he did not suffer any damage even when Hansung was slowly sinking.

It was all the result of his manipulation.

Yoo-hyun was recalling the past when he heard.

“He’s here.”

Yetaesik’s words snapped Yoo-hyun out of his thoughts and he looked at the TV.

A man with long, double-lidless eyes behind silver glasses appeared on the screen.

Shinkyungsoo, who was dressed neatly and had an inscrutable expression on his face.

He did not flinch at all in the face of the camera.

It felt like he had calculated all this.

A reporter asked a question.

-Mr. Director, I heard that you are appointed as the head of the Planning and Coordination Office. It seems that you will inevitably compete with Director Shinkyungwook of the Innovation Strategy Office. What do you think?

Shinkyungsoo was recognized for his Wall Street experience and joined the company as a director.

It was a decision made by the Group Operations Headquarters.

Shinkyungsoo answered in a soft voice that did not suit him.

-Competition is not the right word, strictly speaking. Because my brother and I have different domains. We both plan to do our best to grow Hansung in our respective areas.

As he said, the Innovation Strategy Office and the Planning and Coordination Office had different management areas.

The Innovation Strategy Office was in charge of four electronics-related subsidiaries, including Hansung Electronics, Hansung Display, Hansung Technic, and Hansung Precision.

The Planning and Coordination Office took care of the rest of the group’s subsidiaries.

It meant that the two organizations divided the group’s market capitalization ratio by 50 to 50.

If you look at it this way, Shinkyungsoo’s answer was close to the standard.

The reporter added a more aggressive question.

-Don’t you have to produce better results for the sake of selecting the successor of Hansung Group?

-Not for the successor selection, but for the future of Hansung. My only interest is a better Hansung.

Click. Click.

Shinkyungsoo maintained his hypocritical expression in front of the camera.

“He’s having fun.”

Yoo-hyun spat out a sneer and looked at Shinkyungsoo’s masked face.

It was the same as the shameless face he remembered.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Then he wondered.

What if Chairman Shin Hyun-ho was still healthy?

Shinkyungsoo would not have come forward like this.

He would have hidden behind and caused trouble with all kinds of dirty tricks.

It was not a simple guess, but something that had happened in the past.

In that sense, the current situation was not bad.

He could clearly see the opponent’s movements.

Yoo-hyun already had the next move in his mind.

As the interview continued, Shinkyungsoo’s attitude changed subtly.

He praised Director Shinkyungwook, but drew a line on his strategy.

On the other hand, he agreed with what Gerard Kim had mentioned.

He did not say it directly, but he made his position clear.

The final question was added.

-What do you think about Hansung’s falling smartphone? There are rumors that it was because of Director Shinkyungwook’s wrong choice.

-I wasn’t in the company at the time, so I don’t know the exact situation.

Shinkyungsoo shrugged and ended the press conference.

It looked like a smooth statement without any rough edges.

But the related news that came up were quite different from the atmosphere of the press conference.

Yoo-hyun browsed the news on his phone.

The direction of the articles was consistent.

They tried to push the situation into a successor rivalry.

This was all according to Shinkyungsoo’s intention.

He gave the prey to the jackals, while securing his legitimacy.

As a result, the public’s reaction was also favorable.

-Shinkyungsoo comes in as a director right away, and starts picking a fight with his brother.

-He didn’t say anything like that in the video. It’s all the media’s fabrication.

-Shinkyungsoo will take over Hansung. His eyes and tone, he’s not a Wall Street big shot for nothing.

-Wasn’t Shinkyungwook doing pretty well too? My friend who works at Hansung says he’s a good person.

-That’s a rumor on the internet. He’s famous for messing up on smartphones.

-That’s an exaggeration. Shinkyungwook still set the direction well.

The reaction to Director Shinkyungwook was not too bad either.

It was thanks to the positive image he had built up over time.

The other side had to be more aggressive to overcome this.

Yoo-hyun smiled as he skimmed through the comments.

“It’s going to be fun.”

“Do you think they don’t know that we’re behind the smartphone news?”

“They don’t. They must think that no one would deliberately expose their weakness.”

Maybe they’ll think it’s right and attack sooner?

Yoo-hyun thought of the obvious trap of the opponent and smiled meaningfully.

At that moment, a man was sitting in the Planning and Coordination Office on the 32nd floor of Hansung Tower.

The man who was fiddling with a chess piece out of habit was Choi Jaegi, the senior manager.

“The smartphone mention came out naturally. It seems like there’s no need to wait for the mood.”

-Do you mean to move the media faster?

Choi Jaegi nodded at Gerard Kim’s question.

“Yes. Please. Let’s choke them in one breath.”

-Okay. I’ll take the lead.

“Thank you.”

Choi Jaegi put down the piece he was holding on the chessboard.

Thud.

He had already drawn the whole board in his mind and lifted the corners of his mouth.

***

Shinkyungsoo made a noisy appearance, but the company atmosphere was surprisingly calm.

The Planning and Coordination Office quietly finished the organizational restructuring during that time.

Shinkyungsoo did not even show his face in front of the employees.

It was as if he deliberately kept his distance.

Meanwhile, the MWC exhibition in Barcelona was approaching.

Yoo-hyun felt that fact from the message sent by Jang Junsik, the assistant manager.

-Director, I have finished organizing the Hansung booth. I plan to check the technology of small and medium-sized companies as soon as the exhibition starts. And I also send you the proof shot as you instructed.

Yoo-hyun, who had just arrived at work, chuckled.

His junior was standing in front of the Sagrada Familia with an awkward expression.

“You should smile more brightly.”

Yoo-hyun sent a message of appreciation and sat down in front of the computer.

The internet was already full of MWC exhibition articles.

There were unusually many news articles, considering that the exhibition had not started yet.

The content was mostly criticism of Hansung smartphone.

This would put pressure on the people in charge of Hansung mobile phone.

Especially, wouldn’t Nadoyeon, the team leader, feel heavy on her shoulders?

Even if she expected it, reality was a different story.

With a bit of worry, he looked over the news and Nadoyeon came up to him.

“What are you looking at so fun?”

“Our articles are quite popular.”

She glanced at the monitor and waved her hand as if it didn’t matter.

“Don’t look at useless things and get ready to attend the meeting right away.”

“Already?”

“They moved up the time from the Management Strategy Department. They do whatever they want. Damn.”

She sounded a bit annoyed.

It was understandable, but the Management Strategy Department did not make an unreasonable request.

From their point of view, checking whether the direction of the work was properly set was the priority, regardless of what kind of organizational restructuring they supported.

That was obviously the responsibility of the leader, Nadoyeon, and she proved her direction by convincing the marketing director.

She deserved a hundred praises for that.

“You did well, though.”

“It’s thanks to the team members who made it well. I just went and fought.”

“That’s the hardest part. If you did it wrong, you would have messed it all up.”

“Why would I do it wrong? I thought it would work from the beginning. I wouldn’t have taken this job if I had considered failure.”

It was a typical Nadoyeon-like remark.

Thanks to her unwavering pursuit of her original goal, she was able to make the impossible possible.

There was no room for the organizational integration plan to interfere.

Neither Yoo-hyun nor the Management Strategy Department mentioned it, and there was a reason behind it.

Yoo-hyun knew about the integrated organization plan, but Nadoyeon did not.

On the other hand, the Management Strategy Department was preparing for the integrated organization plan, but they did not know that Yoo-hyun was behind it.

There was a story behind this somewhat twisted relationship.

Thump thump.

Nadoyeon, who was walking, asked.

“Do you know what the Management Strategy Department asked us to do as a preliminary work for the organizational restructuring?”

“Isn’t it to get the approval of the marketing director for the mobile phone business improvement plan?”

“Right. Because the mobile phone business department and the marketing department’s organizations are intertwined, they told us to untangle them first. They didn’t even give us a proper schedule.”

Nadoyeon sounded a bit irritated.

It was understandable, but the Management Strategy Department did not make an unreasonable request.

From their point of view, checking whether the direction of the work was properly set was the priority, regardless of what kind of organizational restructuring they supported.

That was obviously the responsibility of the leader, Nadoyeon, and she proved her direction by convincing the marketing director.

She deserved a hundred praises for that.

Yoo-hyun asked Nadoyeon casually.

“Who’s in charge on the other side?”

“There’s a guy named Yuseokwon, who came from the Group Strategy Office, Human Resources Support.”

“You must have some connection with him.”

“Not a good one. He’s a person who asks a lot of useless things, so just deal with him moderately.”

A person who asks a lot of useless things.

It was a very timely expression and Yoo-hyun chuckled.