There is a skill called the art of reporting.
One common mistake that new employees make is coming out to give a presentation and merely reciting the report as if they were reading from a textbook. Additionally, the abstract words and uncertain tones they use make the audience distrustful.
“Manager Kim, may I ask you something first?”
I closed the documents handed to me by Manager Kim Sang-guk and scanned the faces of the strategic planning team. While Manager Kim’s face was filled with interest, the rest of the employees looked visibly uncomfortable.
It was understandable since they hadn’t seen the heated debates between Manager Kim and me before.
“I assume everyone has already reviewed the content of the report. Therefore, I will speak frankly. Rather than repeatedly explaining the report to you all, I would prefer if you asked me about the points you didn’t understand. The purpose of a presentation is to quickly convey the key points.”
Deputy Manager Oh Tae-seok and the other strategic planning team members looked bewildered and displeased.
Why should I care? There was no need to make an elaborate effort to convince them. After all, I wasn’t really a new employee.
Considering my youthful appearance, which made me look like a mere student, I needed to take decisive action to redefine our relationship.
“Ahem, looking at the report, it seems to include plausible points, but most of it is about predicting an unrealistic future. Honestly, I would applaud a high school student for understanding the international market to this extent, but as you know, this isn’t a club; it’s a place where the company’s fate is at stake. Particularly, the investment value of ADAM Company and the future evaluation of LAS Company seem so unrealistic that they could be considered fiction.”
The middle-aged man looked like someone who had once been involved with the National Security Agency. It was a group of people with extraordinary backgrounds.
If I hadn’t appeared with President Son Il-seon, I would have been kicked out of the company by now.
In the tense atmosphere,
“I don’t think it’s unrealistic fiction at all. If you don’t mind, may I point out the parts you seem to have overlooked?”
“Overlooked parts? Go ahead.”
“First, you gave a failing grade to the investment value of ADAM Company. The reason is probably because you think their main product is just a facade, right? It currently lacks effectiveness and you might view it as merely an extension of a simple promise regarding the signature system. But the future will be different. The signature system for corporate management will become more extensive.”
It was a time when the spread of computers was increasing. A signature was literally just a promise, like a promissory note.
However, as time passed and communication shifted from offline to online, interest in security would inevitably grow.
For instance, in the future, the annual losses due to IT security in the U.S. would exceed billions of dollars.
Proactive companies were already moving towards online security, not offline security.
“Shall we move on to the second point?”
Manager Kim Sang-guk looked at me with curious eyes. The debate continued.
The middle-aged man from the National Security Agency kept questioning me with a determined look, but I wasn’t intimidated by such a gaze. After all, I had dealt with high-ranking officials during my time at the Western Prosecutor’s Office.
Deputy Manager Oh Tae-seok and the others already looked half-dazed.
It was then.
Clap!
With the sound of hands clapping, Manager Kim Sang-guk stood up. It was already lunchtime.
The unknown middle-aged man’s face turned red and blue. It was understandable, given the difficulty of the situation, with numerous eyes watching and a young person like me answering back at every turn.
After all the employees left the meeting room, Manager Kim Sang-guk gave me a thumbs-up.
“I’ve never seen Team Leader Kim, who is usually a poker face, get so shaken. That person is known as the Buddha of the strategic planning team, always sparing his words. Watching him debate with you earlier, it seemed like he was getting drawn into your pace.”
“Did it seem like that?”
“Did you do it on purpose?”
Of course, in my past life at the Western Prosecutor’s Office, I had dealt with numerous high-ranking officials.
In prosecutorial slang, there is a term called “blanket.” It refers to a technique used to make heavy-buttocked suspects follow your pace during interrogation.
“Did that really happen?”
Son Il-seon’s eyebrows twitched.
“Yes, President. It was impressive to see Team Leader Kim get shaken during the meeting. If not for his youthful appearance, one might suspect that he was a seasoned veteran scouted from a rival company. He knew exactly how to navigate unfavorable situations as if he had experienced such scenarios countless times.”
President Son Il-seon’s expression wasn’t pleasant as he listened to Manager Kim Sang-guk’s report.
He knew why his father liked him. After all, his father had been gathering talent under the guise of a Jeil Group scholarship since his youth.
Kang Hyun’s talent was so outstanding that it would be strange not to be captivated by him.
“By the way, President, is the violinist Hyun, who is being talked about in the newspapers, the same person as Kang Hyun?”
“Yes, didn’t you know, Manager Kim?”
“I couldn’t believe it. I’m not a fan of classical music, so I never imagined that the violin prodigy Hyun and Kang Hyun were the same person. I realized it after seeing the photo in the newspaper. The team members probably don’t know yet.”
Indeed, it was hard to believe. In life, you come across many exceptional people. Some are called geniuses, but they often excel in only one field and not in others.
However, Kang Hyun was different. He excelled in everything as if he were a veteran with a hundred battles under his belt.
Even the golden carps in the pond seemed to follow Kang Hyun more than Son Il-seon.
“Alright, you may leave now.”
Shortly after Manager Kim Sang-guk left, the intercom in the president’s office rang, and Son Il-seon’s face lit up as he picked up the receiver.
“Yes, Yooha. Did you arrive in America safely?”
It was his only daughter, who had gone back to her studies abroad after the spring break. Son Il-seon’s voice naturally rose at the sound of his precious only daughter’s voice. However, the voice on the other end was looking for someone other than Son Il-seon.
“Hyun? Hyun is probably in Pyeongchang-dong right now. Or maybe at the gallery…”
Although he was likely having lunch at the company cafeteria, Son Il-seon deliberately diverted the conversation.
Was it out of jealousy for Chairman Wang’s favor? Not at all. After all, Jeil Group was destined to be in his hands. Moreover, if Kang Hyun was such an exceptional talent, he would have favored him regardless of Chairman Wang.
The reason Son Il-seon was not fond of Kang Hyun was simple. His daughter Yooha liked Kang Hyun too much.
“Yes, Yooha. Make sure to call your dad often.”
Son Il-seon couldn’t hide his disappointment at his beloved daughter’s consistent reactions.
Maybe it was because Chobok (the first of the three hottest days of summer) was approaching, but the weather had become very hot.
By lunchtime, the house in Ichon-dong was already filled with the savory smell of boiling samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup).
Since coming to Seoul, it was the first time it had been this hot, so my father and I took off our shirts and scrubbed each other’s backs in the garden.
While my grandfather and mother were watching us with content smiles,
“Hyun, you’ve grown so much.”
An unexpected visitor arrived in Ichon-dong. It was my uncle and aunt.
Surely, they didn’t come because they smelled the samgyetang. It seemed they were here to ask for my grandfather’s forgiveness again after their previous failure.
“Beom-gyeong, why did you come to the mainland from Jeju without your father’s permission?”
“Father, you know I come to the mainland once a month because of my diabetes.”
It seemed they had changed their strategy, as they weren’t immediately begging for forgiveness. My aunt was also looking for the right timing to intervene.
“Ahem, Hyun. Go change your clothes and get ready to go out. Hyun-ja, make sure to pack some samgyetang for Chairman Son.”
But my grandfather wasn’t so easily fooled. When he said he was leaving, my uncle and aunt’s faces twisted in frustration.
No matter how I looked at it, I should suggest sending my uncle to Tsushima Island instead of Jeju. As long as he had enough insulin, he should be fine.
“We have arrived, Chairman.”
We visited Pyeongchang-dong with a thermos full of well-cooked samgyetang. Surely, there were housekeepers in Pyeongchang-dong who could cook samgyetang, and the menu there was always fit for a king.
The reason my grandfather brought me to Pyeongchang-dong was simple. With Director Im Hyera and President Son Il-seon both on overseas business trips, Chairman Wang was probably feeling lonely in the big house.
“Oh my, old man, why did you bring all this?”
“I brought it myself because I was worried you might skip meals. If you’re that healthy, why not remarry?”
“Oh, come on. If you like it so much, why don’t you go first?”
Chairman Wang, dressed in hemp clothes and a straw hat, clapped his hands when he saw the thermos in my hand. At times like this, he seemed like a kind old man from the neighborhood.
We unpacked the bundle my mother had prepared on the spacious dining table. The samgyetang was so well-cooked that the bones and meat fell apart with just a touch of the tongue.
“Hyun, are you still going to Seocho-dong?”
“Yes, grandfather.”
“How many times have you been there?”
It had been two months since I first visited Seocho-dong, so I had been there more than a dozen times. The strategic planning team members, who were initially indifferent, were gradually recognizing me.
After all, I had a sort of power struggle with the team leader in the meeting room on the first day.
“Tell me about the members of the strategic planning team.”
“The members?”
“Yes, tell me what you have observed and felt. You’ve seen their faces enough to have an opinion by now, haven’t you?”
What could I say? It was a place where even among the best and brightest, only the most outstanding were selected.
However, everyone had their strengths and weaknesses.
“Deputy Manager Oh Tae-seok is excellent as an individual but not as a team member. He is more adept at reading sudden changes in charts than the overall market trend. On the other hand, Team Leader Kim Jeong-won is slower to comment on sudden changes but is excellent at reading the overall market trend.”
“So, the deputy manager sees the trees while the team leader sees the forest?”
“Yes. It’s a well-matched combination, like cogs in a machine. One side complements the other’s shortcomings. Should I tell you about the others as well?”
I gradually explained the characteristics of the strategic planning team members. Of course, I excluded any personal feelings and focused on their professional aspects. By the time the conversation ended, the samgyetang bowl was empty.
Chairman Wang put down his spoon and looked at me.
“Who is the most outstanding person among them?”
“It would have to be Manager Kim Sang-guk, as he oversees the strategic planning team.”
“Then, if I were to assign Manager Kim to another position in the future, where do you think he would fit best?”
Manager Kim Sang-guk was a very competent individual. Over the past two months, I had learned much more about him than I had seen in brief glimpses in my previous life.
Manager Kim was highly loyal and always thorough. Given his methodical thinking, it would be a waste to place him in a position like a subsidiary president.
“I think he would fit in well at the Blue House.”
“What? Why do you think that?”
“He seems well-suited for public office. His intellectual and resolute appearance also fits the role.”
Chairman Wang was amazed at my unexpected answer and looked at me with admiration.
Of course, I couldn’t tell him that Manager Kim Sang-guk had become the Prime Minister in my previous life. Perhaps my words now would have a butterfly effect.
