Chapter 323: Hitting Back (3)

Chapter 323: Hitting Back (3)

“Is he still not in a good mood today?”

“Shh! Keep it down, will you? People can hear us!”

“Can you blame me, though? It's too quiet, and that's making me feel weird, you know?”

Jo Gyu-Min heard the hushed muttering coming from nearby and quietly groaned. He had his own office within the Office of the Secretaries but also had a separate desk for his use located outside. Unsurprising, considering a lot of a secretary's work involved cooperation and information-sharing.

Hoping to observe the general mood in the office, Jo Gyu-Min decided to work on the outside desk for a change today. And... In less than five minutes, he began to regret his decision somewhat.

Honestly, though, this was what working in a huge group was like. Since lots of different types of people worked in such a company, one might imagine that various employees wouldn't really have a chance to feel the weight of the same atmosphere. But that was not true. Even a sneeze from the higher-ups was enough to send the temperature plummeting within the company.

The one who suffered the most from this effect was undoubtedly the Office of Secretaries, tasked with serving the Chairman of the Corporation. If Hwang Jeong-Hu fake-coughed for some reason while entering his office, the secretaries would spend the entire morning trying to figure out what could have potentially soured the Chairman's mood.

And no, it wasn't like they would shirk all their duties while figuring that mystery out. They would still perform their duties, all the while intensely thinking about the solution to that problem. But now...

“Just how many days has it been?”

“Yeah. Never saw our Chairman being like that before...”

It was almost like the State of Emergency had been declared among the secretaries.

No matter how bad he was feeling, Hwang Jeon-Hu would never show it on the surface as he didn't want the company morale to suffer. Yet, he was not even bothering to hide how upset he was for the past few days.

Every time he showed up for work in the morning, Hwang Jeong-Hu's expression was stiff and cold. No wonder the mood in the Office of the Secretaries resembled a horror movie.

“I heard the rumor that there will be a restructuring soon.”

“Restructuring? But didn't our Chairman say all employees are like his family and that he'd never personally fire anyone?”

“Hey, man. Just how long ago was that? With the era being what it is, even our Chairman has no choice.”

“Eiii, we're talking about our Chairman here, man.” T/his chapter is updated by nov(ê(l)biin.co/m

“Don't be so sure. Don't forget, he even ruthlessly kicked his own kids to the curb. He probably can throw away some measly employee or two without batting an eyelid.”

“Keuh-huh-hum!” Jo Gyu-Min suddenly cleared his throat, causing a bout of silence to descend in the office.

'Goddamn idiots!'

The ones busy gossiping included Jo Gyu-Min's seniors and even some people ranked higher than him. However, they were all cautiously gauging Jo Gyu-Min's mood right this moment.

Jo Gyu-Min knew he'd instantly create this kind of stiff atmosphere by making his presence known, so he tried to hold himself back, but these people had crossed the line just then.

He scanned his surroundings. “I think that's enough, don't you agree?”

“Y-yes, of course. Let's get back to work, shall we?”

"...Tsk." Jo Gyu-Min clicked his tongue, then got up to head to the stairwell.

The remaining secretaries frowned ever so slightly while watching Jo Gyu-Min wordlessly open the door and leave the office.

“What's gotten into him?”

“Isn't he trying to show off that he's not gonna get fired?”

“Maybe he's getting too full of himself lately because he's in the Chairman's good books. He probably doesn't understand how he'll turn into a kite with its strings cut once the Chairman stops favoring him.”

“Shouldn't you give him a stern warning before long, sir?”

“Why should I give him advice? It's not like I care about him or something anyway.”

***

Jo Gyu-Min sighed while leaning against the door.

'I can hear you, you dumb pricks...'

He wasn't originally intending to eavesdrop, though. He was just leaning on the door to rest his slightly-weary body, and their voices happened to be too loud, that was all.

Jo Gyu-Min shook his head and headed upstairs. The ones back in the office should probably say more crap about him, but he didn't want to hear their nonsense anymore. It was pretty obvious what they would say, anyway. What was the point of staying and listening in that case?

Jo Gyu-Min cautiously, oh-so cautiously, tested the waters. “Sir... Is there something on your mind lately?”

Asking that first to Hwang Jeong-Hu would've been considered disrespectful in any other situation, but Jo Gyu-Min noticed from Hwang Jeong-Hu's attitude how the Chairman of Jaegyeong wanted to unload something from his chest right now.

Hwang Jeong-Hu grinned brightly. "Sometimes, I wonder how great it'd be if you were my son."

“I'm sorry?” Jo Gyu-Min's jaw dropped, his expression paralyzed in shock.

Hwang Jeong-Hu guffawed again while elaborating on what he meant. "Hahaha. I'm not expecting someone on the level of Kang Jin-Ho. It's already tough to deal with that guy, you see? No, not Kang Jin-Ho, but someone on your level, Gyu-Min. If only my kids were as smart as you... How wonderful would it have been? That's what I was thinking about."

"...Chairman, every one of your children is a genius, sir."

"Knowing lots of stuff and being wise aren't the same thing, Gyu-Min. Being intelligent does give you a higher chance of being wise, but that doesn't always mean you will be wise, now does it? Unfortunately, my sons are intelligent but not wise."

Jo Gyu-Min clamped his mouth shut at that. Since ancient times, one should not respond when a parent was criticizing their own kids.

“I don't know if my education has been all wrong or if those idiots were born with bad personalities... Look at you, Gyu-Min. You are admirably doing your job, aren't you? Compared to you...”

"Sir, if I may..." Jo Gyu-Min, who had been seriously weighing the pros and cons up until then, finally decided to say something. "This is my personal opinion, Chairman."

“Mm? Sure, go ahead.”

“If I was born as your son, then... I wouldn't have become this easygoing, sir.”

“Huh? How come?” Hwang Jeong-Hu asked back in surprise.

Jo Gyu-Min had to swallow back his wry grin. “It's because you are you, sir. You are Hwang Jeong-Hu.”

Hwang Jeong-Hu furrowed his brow slightly.

However, Jo Gyu-Min continued to explain anyway. "Chairman, with how you are, you don't know just how incredible the pressure you exert on other people, sir. Being born as your child is a huge luck, yes, but it's also a major misfortune the way I see it, sir. Especially more so... when you are decidedly so much stricter with your children than with anyone else. If I were in your sons' shoes, without a doubt, I would have never survived the pressure."

“...Are you implying that it's my fault?”

“No, sir. It's not your fault. I can't possibly call that. It's... It's simply how things turned out. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Hwang Jeong-Hu dazedly stared at Jo Gyu-Min. “...Look, Gyu-Min.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“Don't you hate my son, Min-Jae? Didn't he almost completely ruin your life?”

“Yes, that did happen.”

“In that case, wouldn't it better for you to play along with me instead of speaking up for them? If I listened to you and give those idiots another chance, it's not gonna be such a good result for you, no?”

“Of course, sir. You're right. However...”

“However?”

Jo Gyu-Min replied while making a slightly refreshed face. "Sir, I can't lie to you and give you a false report even if harm could befall my way. That will be committing a grave sin against you. I won’t make up stuff to advocate for them of course, but I will not hesitate to report on the facts and truths, sir."

"Tsk, tsk. I see that you aren't the type to make it big in life, then. My evaluation of you was wrong."

“It seems that's my nature, sir.”

“What a fool...” Hwang Jeong-Hu shook his head and stared in disapproval at Jo Gyu-Min, but the light in his eyes was warmer, kinder. The opposite of his expression, in other words.

'Huh. I guess... I taught them wrong, then?'

Hwang Jeong-Hu should have taught his kids the value of trust and being faithful before how to pursue profits and avoid losses. However, he didn't do that. He taught them how to avoid making losses since they were little kids.

Things that remained cloudy after talking to Kang Jin-Ho suddenly became a lot clearer with a few words from Jo Gyu-Min. Hwang Jeong-Hu ruefully licked his lips as if he found it all so unfortunate.

“Gyu-Min, is it fine to ask you a question?”

“Chairman, you can ask me anything anytime, sir.”

“Let's stop with that pretense nonsense, okay?”

“Of course, sir. I'll try to be as sincere as possible with my reply.”

Hwang Jeong-Hu seemed hesitant and turned his head to stare at the sky above. He remained quiet for a long time before finally looking straight at Jo Gyu-Min.

Hwang Jeong-Hu, with focus back in his eyes, slowly raised his voice.