OWWHM 04
The Office Worker Who Hears Memories – Episode 4
5. Choose Your Side
Executive Director Kim Ji-young took a sip of her coffee and leaned back on the sofa.
“How do you like the company? Have you met your team members?”
“Yes. They all seem great.”
“That’s a relief. But why did you come to BO?”
At first, it was because of the money.
But after a few days, a new goal was born, something beyond money.
“With the support from a major corporation like BO Food, I wanted to try and build the number one commerce platform in South Korea. I just had to try.”
Pleased with my answer, Executive Director Kim Ji-young smiled brightly and nodded.
“Right. That’s the spirit. A man should have a dream like that.”
“What about you, Executive Director?”
“I’m similar. I initially came because of the Chairman’s directive, but now I genuinely want to make this work. Which is why, Ji-hoon… no, Team Leader Won.”
“Yes?”
“Can you help me?”
I picked up my water glass and met Executive Director Kim Ji-young’s gaze. I could feel from her intense stare that she had a lot more to say.
“We’re in the same boat now, so of course I should help. How can I assist you?”
“The lifeblood of a commerce company is the MD (Merchandise) Division. But half of the MD Division is composed of people from Chain Market, and the other half are people brought in by Executive Director Choi Gu-yeol.”
“But you have Tae-ha, Executive Director.”
“Tae-ha? Didn’t you know? He’s one of Executive Director Choi’s people. He refused to go to the university he was supposed to, saying he wanted to try commerce, and immediately went to the US.”
Kim Tae-ha was one of Executive Director Choi Gu-yeol’s people?
Is that why he said he couldn’t call Executive Director Kim Ji-young his sister (Noona)?
“Did Tae-ha work at Groupon?”
“Yes. As soon as he came back to Korea, all he would talk about was Executive Director Choi… I still remember it vividly.”
“So that’s why.”
“Why what?”
Executive Director Kim Ji-young asked back, her eyes wide.
I shook my head, not wanting to get any further involved in a family matter.
“It’s nothing. Then what about the Chain Market people?”
“Don’t even get me started on those batards. I dislike all of them, starting with Section Chief Cha Gi-young. I was against the acquisition, but CEO Jung forcefully pushed it through. He probably needed his own people.”
“’Batards’… that seems like an appropriate term.”
“There are over fifty people who came from Chain Market. There must be more than twenty just in the MD Division, too.”
Even when I ran One Small, my relationship with Chain Market wasn’t good. They copied our product compositions and events outright, and even secretly diverted goods from factories we were trading with.
“…”
“In a typical company, how long does it take for a Team Leader to become a Section Chief, a Section Chief to become a Department Manager, and a Department Manager to become an Executive Director?”
“I don’t know. About 10 years?”
“Right. That’s probably it. But it’s a bit different here. Many organizations have merged, and because of that, they’re fighting every day, each claiming they’re the best. The person who wins that fight will be able to rise quickly. Smart guys like you and Tae-ha must have known this when you joined the company. Am I wrong?”
Honestly, she was right.
A new commerce platform with 30 billion won invested.
With various factions gathered here, it was practically a masterless mountain—a place of opportunity.
“I’ll think about it.”
“Good. Team Leader Won is smart, so you’ve understood what I mean. Let’s meet again soon.”
Back in the office.
I organized the supplies on my desk, and my team members were busy trying to read my expression.
Just then.
“Hey! Team Leader Won! Long time no see!”
Department Manager Cha Gi-young and his right-hand man, Assistant Manager Park Dae-young, approached me.
The founding members of Chain Market.
They are about 10 years older than me in age and experience.
“Yes, Department Manager Cha. It has been a while.”
“Right. How’s the desk? I specially told them to pay attention to your spot, Team Leader Won. Hahaha.”
Nothing has changed about them.
They are the kind of people who act friendly and laugh to your face but pull all sorts of stunts behind your back.
“By the way, Department Manager.”
“Yes?”
“Were we that close? I don’t recall us being on informal terms like this.”
“Ah… were we not?”
Department Manager Cha Gi-young’s face flushed crimson.
And as if he found that amusing, Kim Tae-ha’s shoulders were shaking from where he was sitting behind the partition.
“Don’t you remember three months ago? When you were caught trying to secretly import the Halal food that One Small had an exclusive contract for. You told us during the meeting not to take it to court.”
“Was… was that it? Hahaha, Team Leader Won is young and has a good memory. Remembering every little thing.”
“You flatter me.”
“Oh, right! I almost forgot. See you at the Team Leader meeting tomorrow morning!”
He’ll be grinding his teeth now.
But it’s fine. No matter what they do, they’re in the palm of my hand.
Department Manager Cha Gi-young patted my shoulder and gave an awkward smile.
As he left, Kim Tae-ha, from behind the partition, covered his mouth and whispered quietly.
“That wasn’t a jab, it was an uppercut! Classic Won Ji-hoon.”
“Go away.”
“Hahaha.”
I pushed Kim Tae-ha’s face away and sat down. Then I called out to Section Chief Ma Seong-geun, who was watching me nervously.
“Section Chief Ma!”
“Yes, Team Leader!”
Ma Seong-geun quickly ran over, setting down his mouse.
It was quite burdensome to have him, someone 15 years my senior, acting this way.
“You can come slowly.”
“No, sir!”
Ma Seong-geun stood at attention and shouted loudly.
His voice was so loud that I felt the eyes of all the MD Division employees on us.
“Please lower your voice. People might think this is the military.”
“Ah… Yes. Did you have something to say?”
“Please summarize the tasks your team members are currently working on.”
“Yes, understood. Within 10 minutes…”
“No. Not 10 minutes. Please have it ready by tomorrow morning. I’m giving you the time to thoroughly check if anything has been missed. Understood?”
“Yes!”
“And for those who don’t have plans today, let’s grab a simple dinner.”
“Understood. I will ensure all team members attend.”
“No. Everyone doesn’t need to come. I just want to say hello, so don’t feel too pressured…”
“If the Team Leader calls, of course we must attend!”
This is genuinely stressful.
Perhaps because Section Chief Ma Seong-geun is from the vertical structure of BO Food, he bows his head whenever I speak.
I stood up, helped the bowing Section Chief Ma Seong-geun to his feet, and gently turned him around to make him go back to his seat.
“Team Leader Won is cracking the whip as soon as he arrives?”
Kim Tae-ha peeked his head over the partition and spoke again.
“Do you remember?”
“Remember what?”
“When we went to the girls’ high school festival in our final year of high school…”
Before I could finish, Kim Tae-ha quickly jumped up from his seat.
“Hey! Why would you bring that up?”
“Should I pick out a few good photos and upload them to the employee bulletin board?”
“You still have those?”
“Of course. If you don’t believe me, check the company bulletin board tomorrow morning.”
“Fine. I said fine!”
6:00 PM.
I took the team members to a large nearby Wagyu beef restaurant. Perhaps due to Section Chief Ma Seong-geun’s insistence, all five of them followed, with no one excused.
“Isn’t this place expensive?”
Section Chief Ma Seong-geun’s eyes widened as we entered the restaurant.
“You’ve taken time out of your busy schedule, so I should treat you to something expensive.”
It was a Wagyu place I occasionally visited in Gangnam, costing 30,000 won per serving.
The beautiful marbling on the chuck roll, resembling white snowflakes.
Everyone couldn’t take their eyes off the raw meat.
The meat was placed on the grill.
Section Chief Ma Seong-geun picked up a piece of meat that wasn’t even cooked through yet.
“Thanks to the Team Leader, I get to eat such high-class beef. Hahaha.”
He was praising it without even chewing.
He’s clearly a man whose body is steeped in flattery.
“Eat slowly. Dae-seong-ssi, how is it?”
“I like mine well-done.”
At his words, the Wagyu employee grilling the meat shook his head.
“Eat it now.”
“Ahem… Is that so?”
“Yes. If it cooks longer, it will get tough. Also, would you like to try a little wasabi on it?”
Kim Dae-seong put the meat in his mouth as the employee suggested, and his eyes widened.
“It’s delicious, right?”
He simply nodded at the employee’s question.
I called out to Assistant Manager Kim Gyeong-il, who was silently pouring drinks at the end of the table.
“Assistant Manager Gyeong-il, you worked with Executive Director Choi in the US, right? So you must speak English well?”
“No, I don’t speak it well.”
“Ah, right, Team Leader Kim Tae-ha was also at Groupon, wasn’t he?”
“Yes. He was a founding member of Groupon.”
“But why did you come to my team? Why not Team Leader Kim Tae-ha’s team?”
“I’m not sure about that myself. The Executive Director must have had a reason.”
Assistant Manager Kim Gyeong-il.
He spoke little and showed almost no change in expression.
I was curious about his inscrutable thoughts.
A normal person would try to probe him using the excuse of alcohol, but I am different.
I stretched out my right hand and lightly touched the bag on his chair.
<…>
The bag contained no thoughts.
I touched the cellphone placed on the table.
I even lightly touched the shirt he was wearing.
<I definitely have to call my mom tomorrow.>
<When was Dad’s birthday?>
<I should call Ye-won.>
Only memories of family and acquaintances.
There were no thoughts about the company or work.
About an hour passed like that.
Section Chief Ma Seong-geun thrust his flushed face close to mine.
“Team Leader Won! Our Team Leader Won!”
“Yes?”
“Do you know how happy I was when I heard you were coming? Hahaha.”
His tongue was already slurring.
He had only had one bottle of soju.
“Why?”
“You just met with Executive Director Kim Ji-young, right?”
“How did you know?”
“Who do you think I am? I’ve been at BO Food for 15 years! The head secretary to Executive Director Kim is my classmate, you see. Hahaha.”
Section Chief Ma Seong-geun laughed loudly, then suddenly turned his head and glared at Lee Woo-jin, who was sitting next to him.
“Get away from me, you spy bastard!”
“What is it now? Why are you doing this?”
“Hurry up and go back to your Chain World!”
Lee Woo-jin sighed deeply and shook his head.
“The Section Chief is always like this when he drinks. He keeps calling me a spy just because I came from Chain Market. I only worked there for one month, actually…”
As Executive Director Kim Ji-young said, many organizations had merged.
Which is why even within one team, they were fighting over factions like this.
I shook my head and grabbed the lapel of Section Chief Ma Seong-geun’s jacket as he was raising his glass.
At that moment, I heard his thoughts.
<She wants to send the kids to more after-school academies?>
<How much money should I give my mother-in-law for her birthday?>
<How much is left on the credit loan?>
<Why can’t money just fall from the sky?>
<Right, the lottery… The lottery is the only way.>
<This is really the last time. If I fail this time, I’ll quit everything and open a fried chicken restaurant.>
Section Chief Ma Seong-geun, a perennial Section Chief in his 40s.
The weight on his shoulders was unimaginable to me.
I understood a little why he was so obsessed with taking sides. The corporate structure of a big company like BO Food must have been one where one could not advance on ability alone.
A bitter smile formed on my lips.
“You should stop drinking now.”
“Wow… Is our Team Leader looking out for me? Hahahaha, when you took down Department Manager Cha earlier, it felt so refreshing! I bet everyone felt that way, except for this spy bastard, right?”
Section Chief Ma Seong-geun pouted and looked around at the team members.
Lee Woo-jin put down the tongs he was using to grill the meat and quickly threw back a shot of soju.
Section Chief Ma Seong-geun scooted closer to me, grinning widely.
“Is the Team Leader part of the Chairman’s side?”
“The Chairman?”
“Yes, Chairman Kim Sang-min of BO Food. Isn’t that why you met with Executive Director Kim Ji-young?”
“Sides… Since you’ve been at BO for a long time, let me ask you: Whose side should I be on?”
I asked it as a joke.
I had never once considered siding with anyone.
But Section Chief Ma Seong-geun was serious.
He gulped down some iced water, shook his head, and then spoke slowly, with a serious expression.
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