Lee Hyun-woo looks at Lee Jung-woo’s face and reaffirms his resolve.
“And if I’m going to do it, I should be the best.”
“The best? You mean you want to be number one in the country?”
“Isn’t that the only way other chaebols will benchmark our corporate culture? Right?”
“Hyung, you sound like an idealist. You’re different from the person I knew.”
Hearing the surprise in his younger brother’s voice, Lee Hyun-woo smiles subtly.
“It’s because I’m living my life for the second time.”
That’s right.
In the past years, all he did was work.
What he gained was an ultra-fast promotion and becoming the youngest executive.
He seemed to have also grasped a level of wealth and honor that others would envy.
But what use is all that when you die?
“Wealth and honor are meant to be enjoyed.”
He would enjoy it while he’s younger.
It doesn’t mean he would live a decadent life.
Already knowing the future, Lee Hyun-woo had the ability to follow the formula for success no matter what he did.
If he does his best at work and enjoys himself while aiming for the top, maybe he could change the strange organizational culture of Korean society.
The moment he shifts from a thorough realist to an idealist, a bright smile spreads across his face.
“Seems like my past life was really tough.”
How about finding a proper balance in this life?
With these thoughts, Lee Hyun-woo finishes his conversation with his younger brother and heads to see Kim Yoon-soo of One Computer.
He wanted to spread this corporate culture to the place that had grown together with him.
Especially now, One Computer was so busy that they had implemented shift work.
Kim Yoon-soo, who was both the president and factory manager, had completely buried the concept of having evenings off.
Lee Hyun-woo felt a twinge of guilt, thinking it might have been his fault.
Seeing Kim Yoon-soo looking older than the last time he saw him only amplified that guilt.
“President, I’m here.”
“Oh, Mr. Lee, you’re here?”
Kim Yoon-soo, who was moving some items, turns around and brightens up at hearing Lee Hyun-woo’s voice.
Without any preamble, Lee Hyun-woo asks for his time.
“How about a drink tonight? It’s been a while.”
“Tonight? I’m busy tonight.”
“Then tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow too. I can’t for a while.”
“As expected, you’re too busy. I guess weekends are out too?”
“These days, I don’t even have weekends. We have to row while the tide is in. As you know, since we started selling online, word has spread, and we’re getting orders from several small to medium-sized companies and even some public institutions. We’re hiring more people and working in two shifts.”
“Then you should also be on shift work, President.”
“I’d like to, but how can I?”
“Why can’t you?”
“Hmm?”
“Is it that you don’t have anyone around you that you can trust?”
Absolutely not. The characteristic of a gullible ear is that he trusts people easily.
Knowing this, Lee Hyun-woo probes further.
“I heard you found a few smart employees.”
“That’s right.”
“They made the workflow more efficient, didn’t they?”
“That’s correct.”
“Did you teach them how to do that?”
“Hmm?”
“They probably did it on their own, right?”
“Well…”
“Then give them the freedom to keep finding solutions on their own. That’s how the factory can run better.”
“……”
“But you also need to give them responsibility and authority. Promote those smart employees you mentioned and give them higher salaries. It means you should delegate some of your responsibilities and authority.”
When you’re constantly working, you don’t have the time to organize the team.
But it’s an essential quality of a leader.
“I’m pretty good at this, right?”
“Tsk.”
“You trust that you’ll succeed if you listen to me, right?”
“You’re annoyingly arrogant, but everything you’re saying is correct.”
“So, how about it? I’ll give you more advice over drinks tonight…”
When Lee Hyun-woo makes a drinking motion with his right hand, Kim Yoon-soo, wearing an exasperated expression, smirks.
He then nods and says,
“Fine, you win. I’ll make time later.”
Having gotten a positive answer, Lee Hyun-woo spends that evening drinking with Kim Yoon-soo.
Later, after finishing work, they enter a pork belly restaurant.
The loud noise fills their ears.
As they sit down and try to talk over the noise, Lee Hyun-woo’s voice gets louder.
“One bottle of soju, please!”
“I’m in the mood for makgeolli today.”
“Auntie, makgeolli! We’ll switch to makgeolli!”
“And mung bean pancakes.”
“That’s expensive.”
“So what? You’re not going to buy it?”
“You make more money than me. Alright. Auntie, mung bean pancakes, please! And also clam soup.”
“Clam soup too? The CEO of Jungle is different.”
“Again, you make more money than me.”
“No, think about the scale. Which one is more valuable? My dad wasn’t wrong when he said he wanted to invest in Jungle.”
Hearing this, Lee Hyun-woo smirks.
Come to think of it, this guy’s father had asked to meet for an investment, but Lee Hyun-woo had gently turned him down.
“You haven’t changed your mind, right?”
“Yes, I still want to try on my own.”
“You’re amazing.”
By this time, the makgeolli arrives.
Their conversation pauses for a moment, and their glasses are filled with makgeolli.
Then, cheers!
“Ah!”
“Ah!”
“Let’s have another glass.”
“Aren’t we going a bit too fast?”
“Two glasses are fine.”
“This is makgeolli. It hits you quickly.”
“I’m telling you, it’s fine.”
Today, Lee Hyun-woo is being stubborn.
Kim Yoon-soo has no choice but to go along with it.
So, another glass goes down their throats and into their stomachs.
Their stomachs feel warm, even hot.
Should he say they’re already feeling tipsy?
Maybe it’s the atmosphere, but Lee Hyun-woo makes an unintended confession.
“I really like you, President.”
“Why are you being so cheesy?”
“I’m serious. And I really respect you. Anyone can come up with a strategy that determines a company’s success or failure, but not everyone can make people like them the way you do.”
“You’re wrong. Not everyone can come up with such a strategy. So thinking people like me is a mistake. You may know the depths of water, but how can you know the depths of a person’s heart?”
“I also like how you always say proverbs when we meet. And your humility. That’s why I’ll definitely help you become a great entrepreneur.”
“Oh, here we go again with the arrogance.”
He was sincere.
In a country lacking natural resources, countless human resources abound.
Lee Hyun-woo hadn’t seen many entrepreneurs in his past life who utilized them properly.
Most of them treated their employees like mere parts of a machine.
With this mindset, success was possible, but wealth was not shared, and respected entrepreneurs were rare.
But Kim Yoon-soo was different.
He listened to people and was considerate and generous.
Because of this, he often lost out.
In society, such people are called incompetent or pushovers.
But what if such a person succeeded?
“Wouldn’t it change the standards?”
Today, his second life goals, which had been somewhat vague, keep popping up.
Lee Hyun-woo, who was competent in his past life, knew that it was only a matter of time before he seized everything, knowing the future.
The issue was the attitude he adopted while taking each step.
If he lived like a thorough realist as he did in his past life, it would only reinforce the perception that only such people succeed in this world.
Even when Lee Hyun-woo reached the pinnacle, he wouldn’t be able to rest.
Is that happiness?
“Absolutely not.”
No one lives to be unhappy.
Especially Lee Hyun-woo, who desperately seeks a happy life in his second life.
That doesn’t mean he would live with the mindset of “enjoy while you’re young.”
Being a workaholic, he also loves working.
Thus, a balance between work and a joyful life was needed for his second life.
“Come on, one more drink!”
“Oh, we’re really going to go overboard at this rate.”
“Sometimes it’s okay to let loose!”
“I have to go to work early tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow’s sun will rise, and we’ll think about it then.”
“Mr. Lee, I didn’t see this side of you. Your life is so haphazard.”
“Yes, I plan to live without a plan. Hahaha.”
In his past life, he would never have heard such words.
But he was sincere.
Sometimes you need to take risks without a plan.
Aren’t you curious about what will happen if you do?
That, he thought, was the privilege of living a second life.
“Ah!”
So today, to enjoy the moment to the fullest, he pours makgeolli down his throat.
Tomorrow, his head will ache, and his body will feel like a waterbed from the hangover, but he’ll deal with that then.
“I should make a list of things I didn’t do in my past life.”
But surprisingly, he’s not getting drunk today.
Moreover, when Kim Yoon-soo, a bit later, wants to wrap up the drinking session early, he has no choice but to end it prematurely.
Thus, Lee Hyun-woo, who was awkwardly tipsy, heads home.
“Well, since it’s come to this, should I do what I just decided?”
He goes into his room, takes out a notebook, and starts listing things he missed out on in his past life.
A passionate romance? He had a lukewarm relationship with his ex-wife and got married when the time was right.
Cultural activities? As he got closer to work, he distanced himself from cultural content.
Personal relationships? He deliberately stayed close to people who were beneficial for his career.
Sports? He thought he should, but he was always too busy with work.
As he lists them one by one, everything boils down to being a “workaholic.”
So, what if he lived the opposite way?
Experience a passionate romance that he wouldn’t be ashamed of in his life.
Enjoy a variety of cultural contents, from mainstream to subculture, like dramas, movies, plays, games, and comics.
Meet many people from various backgrounds that have nothing to do with his career.
Exercise regularly for his health.
As he writes this down, a smile naturally forms on his lips.
The final conclusion is this:
Become the top super-rich of this era while enjoying life.
Two days later.
The concert venue he went to with his employees was the first cultural content he enjoyed since his return.
Maybe that’s why he was so excited.
Also, was it because he had a different mindset?
Whenever Shin Sung-hoon’s voice reached his ears,
“Don’t make me cry~”
“Don’t make me cry!”
He sang along out loud.
In his past life, Lee Hyun-woo had never been to a concert.
For a moment, he worried that his employees might think he’s crazy, but strangely, he felt his mental energy recharging.
For the first time in both his past and current life, he vividly felt what it meant to balance work and a joyful life.
So he sang along once more.
“Don’t make me cryyyyy!”
His stress melts away.
