Real Man

Only one month left until the new employee training.

Yoo-hyun packed up his studio apartment and went back to his hometown.

He helped out at his father’s factory once in a while, and took over the housework instead of his mother.

He also prepared meals for them sometimes.

“Wow, Yoo-hyun. Is this really made by you? It’s so delicious.”

“I’m glad you like it, mom.”

“Seriously. Wow, this is the best spaghetti I’ve ever had.”

His mother’s praises were a bit exaggerated, but he had lived alone for a long time, so he knew how to cook decently.

Not only that, he also helped his friends who were busy with their job hunting.

He did it with the mindset of doing volunteer work.

He thought he had paid back enough for his past regrets.

‘Well, anyway.’

Thanks to him, Ha Jun Seok, who majored in architecture, got accepted by several construction companies in the countryside.

Another friend, Kang Jun Ki, had an interview with a small company in Seoul.

Even Kim Hyun Soo, who inherited his father’s car center, was ready to step into society.

And one more thing,

Yoo-hyun started to learn art, which he had always been interested in.

He had often dreamed of climbing up a mountain with a canvas and painting with oil paints.

He wondered why he had such a thought without any experience, but he realized it when he saw the old awards piled up in his home.

He remembered that he liked art and was quite good at it when he was young.

But he had never learned anything, so he didn’t know how to start.

But surprisingly, there was a teacher who could help Yoo-hyun nearby.

His younger sister, Han Jae Hee, was that teacher.

She was majoring in art at a national university in the countryside, and she had nothing special to do during the vacation.

She used to ignore him for not caring about his own future, but not anymore.

Yoo-hyun made a proposal to Han Jae Hee, who pouted her lips.

“Brother, are you really going to buy me a gift?”

“Of course. I’ll buy you the first thing with my first salary.”

“I don’t like cheap things.”

“I know, I know.”

Han Jae Hee seemed to like Yoo-hyun’s eagerness to learn, so she helped him out.

She talked non-stop about technical terms that made his head hurt, but he loved seeing something drawn on the white paper.

He started with pencils and went through various drawing tools until he reached oil paints.

As time passed, Han Jae Hee’s surprise grew bigger and bigger.

“Huh? How did you do that? It’s not easy to paint like this.”

“I just followed what you did.”

“You can do that after seeing it once?”

Han Jae Hee widened her eyes in disbelief.

That’s how he discovered an unexpected talent.

Martial arts and art.

Two hobbies that didn’t seem to match at all came to Yoo-hyun.

…

Time flew by like an arrow.

July 20th, 2007.

Finally, the day of HanSung Group’s new employee training came.

The suit that he wore after a long time fit him as if he always wore it.

The slightly tight tie felt good on him.

He was looking forward to starting his company life again.

Hangsung was not just a company for Yoo-hyun.

It was a place that gave him wealth and fame, and also a place that made him reach out to the world.

He regretted the way he climbed up the ladder, but he didn’t deny everything he did at Hangsung.

He wanted to experience everything again.

And he wanted to see it clearly with his own eyes.

What would be the end if he lived differently?

“I’ll be back soon.”

Yoo-hyun said goodbye to his parents and got on the bus with his luggage.

His destination was Hyuk Shin Won, located on the ridge of Baekhwa Mountain where Hangsung Bong was located.

It was the place where Hangsung Group conducted training for new employees and promotions for major education programs.

It was quite far from the metropolitan area and had poor transportation access.

But because of its recognition as the root of Hangsung Group, it maintained its role as a training center for educating Hangsung spirit even after 20 years.

‘Well, they have Il Sung too.’

Il Sung Group, Hangsung’s rival and the top business group in Korea, also had a training center called Mi Rae Won not far from there.

The two groups fought for 20 years to decide who was the only star in the sky.

And Yoo-hyun was at the center of that fight.

He suddenly remembered his old days and naturally thought of Kwon Se Jung, his colleague.

He was sure he would meet him this time.

He got off the bus and walked a bit, and saw a long line of training center buses at the foot of the mountain.

People his age in suits were waiting in line to get on the bus.

You could tell what they were feeling by their tense expressions and tightly closed lips.

Screech.

The training center bus climbed up the mountain and stopped in front of Hyuk Shin Won.

The red brick building stood impressively in the lush forest, creating a mysterious atmosphere.

“Please follow me this way.”

They were guided to the central hall where the test was held.

It was a large hall that could accommodate 2,000 people, and this was where the entrance test took place.

The test consisted of three subjects: Hangsung spirit, marketing, and accounting. 

If they had only looked at the pre-study materials, it was not a problem to score over 70 points.

But the funny thing was that there were people who actually failed here.

Along with a notice of cancellation of employment.

It was less than one percent, but the penalty of cancellation was enough to make the new employees nervous.

They should have been excited to be in a place with good mountains, water, and air, but they all sat in the corner with stiff faces and studied.

30 minutes before the test started.

Yoo-hyun walked around the hall looking for Kwon Se Jung.

He must have changed a lot in 20 years, but his white skin and thick seagull eyebrows would still be the same.

He saw Jung Hyun Woo’s face among hundreds of people.

He didn’t bother to acknowledge him since he was also studying hard.

Yoo-hyun looked around for a while and came out to the lobby in front of the hall.

There were snacks and coffee prepared in the corner of the lobby for people who wanted to take a break.

He checked their names and faces and saw some familiar people.

He was glad to see them, but he had to find Kwon Se Jung first.

“Where the hell is he? He didn’t quit, did he?”

He felt a slight anxiety when he heard a loud noise from the lobby entrance.

The new employees’ eyes naturally turned that way.

He pushed through the crowd and saw a familiar face.

White skin and thick eyebrows. He wore glasses, but his face was recognizable.

“Kwon Se…”

Yoo-hyun was about to greet him with joy when he heard a rough voice from behind the blocked view.

“You bastard, where are you running off to!”

“Ah, no.”

Then he saw Kwon Se Jung bowing his head.

“Where are you from, who are you? Who are you to drive like that?”

“I’m s-sorry.”

Kwon Se Jung must have just arrived. 

He didn’t have a name tag around his neck, so it was obvious.

It seemed like Kwon Se Jung had made a mistake while driving from the mention of a car.

It wasn’t a car accident.

He wouldn’t have made it here if it was.

It was more likely that he had made a sudden stop on the uphill road or something like that.

‘Kwon Se Jung ran away because he was scared.’

He roughly guessed the situation.

The problem was that the man on the other side didn’t seem to be easygoing.

He came all the way here to scold him in front of everyone, which meant he had a high rank.

He was probably a team leader or an executive course participant.

What should he do?

If it were the old Yoo-hyun, he would never intervene in this situation.

It was their problem, and there was no point in getting involved as a chick who wasn’t even an official employee yet. It would only make things worse.

But he couldn’t just leave it alone either.

If he caught the eye of half of his seniors or course managers, he would be marked for sure.

They were also company employees who had to bow their heads to rank.

“Oh ho, a new employee? You have some nerve. You’re starting like this and you think you can do well in your company life? No way. Come here.”

“I’m sorry. Please give me one chance.”

“It’s too late. You should have apologized earlier.”

The situation was quickly heading towards disaster.

It might not end with just being marked at the training center.

For a moment, Yoo-hyun remembered his days as a new employee with Kwon Se Jung.

He had good academic background and passion, but he was strangely not appreciated by others.

He was always compared to Yoo-hyun who entered the company with him.

He didn’t care much back then, but he realized it was here.

The first button that went wrong from the beginning could have followed him throughout his company life like a scarlet letter.

He thought about it as he pushed through the crowd and faced the man on the other side. 

He couldn’t help but widen his eyes when he recognized him.

The interviewer?

The tanned skin and the bandage on his wrist.

He was wearing business casual instead of a suit, but his fierce eyes were the same.

‘He was called Chief Choi, right?’

He didn’t know his name, but he knew his rank and surname.

He didn’t know which department he belonged to, but he was likely to be a team leader if he came to the interview as a chief.

It was a situation where he couldn’t hesitate any longer.

He thought it was rather lucky.

Yoo-hyun greeted the man loudly.

“Chief Choi, hello.”

“…”

All eyes were on Yoo-hyun, who suddenly popped out, and the angry man relaxed his face slightly and looked at Yoo-hyun.

He sounded like he knew him.

He examined his face, but he seemed to have trouble remembering.

Kwon Se Jung looked flustered.

He should have said anything to avoid the situation here.

“Do you remember me? I’m Han Yoo-hyun. Thank you so much for hiring me at the interview.”

“…”

It didn’t matter if he remembered or not.

He revealed his name and showed respect.

He even thanked him, so he couldn’t get angry in front of him.

He would think of him as a clueless new employee at most.

But he seemed to be more angry than he thought, and Chief Choi’s expression didn’t soften easily.

Yoo-hyun decided to go a little further.

He had some guts that he gained from meeting people around him.

“Are you okay with your golf elbow? I was worried because it looked bad. Can I check it for you if you’re okay?”

“Ah, that applicant. Hmm, you’re fine.”

He did it.

Some people might misunderstand Yoo-hyun for this situation.

They might see him as a flatterer who tried to please his superior by any means.

But he didn’t have time to care about that.

He could clear up the misunderstanding later.

The atmosphere was awkward, so it was hard to get angry again.

If he yelled again here, it would mean that he had a really bad personality.

No one who had worked in a company for a long time would do that easily.

Especially if he was going to be an executive.

Ding dong dang dong.

Then a message came through the speaker announcing the new employee test.

“All new employees should…”

The people gathered started to enter the hall with murmurs.

Chief Choi straightened his clothes and looked at Kwon Se Jung with a fierce expression.

“I won’t let this go. Your name is Kwon Se Jung, right?”

“Yes, yes.”

“Watch out.”

“I’m really sorry.”

He thought he had backed off, but he was a stubborn guy.

He might have been really hurt, or he might have done it because of his pride since he had already done something wrong.

It was more likely the latter, but if it was true that Kwon Se Jung had been marked from above in the past, he couldn’t rule out the possibility that he was a petty person.

He had to tie up the loose ends somehow.

“Chief Choi, please be careful.”

Yoo-hyun bowed politely to Chief Choi who was about to turn around.

He paused for a moment and looked at Yoo-hyun with a strange look, then turned his head.

Judging by his expression, he had a lot of complaints about Yoo-hyun, but it was awkward to say anything.

“That wasn’t easy.”

Yoo-hyun scratched his head and muttered as he watched Chief Choi’s back disappear.

He wanted to talk more with Kwon Se Jung, but the test was imminent and he couldn’t do that.

He just ended it with a word of thanks from him.

He still looked nervous, as if he was worried about his future life.

‘Don’t worry, buddy. I’ll take care of it.’

He had a plan in mind.

But he didn’t know if he would follow him exactly.

He had no choice but to try again.