OWWHM 05
The Office Worker Who Hears Memories – Episode 5
6. You Are a Sleeping Dragon
“It’s up to the Team Leader to decide which side you want to align with.”
“Then, could you give me some multiple-choice options?”
To my playful question, Section Chief Ma Seong-geun replied with a serious expression.
“The first is the BO Food side, which is the holding company for our commerce platform. In commerce, you have Executive Director Kim Ji-young, the Chairman’s daughter, and under her are the Accounting Team and the HR Team. However, the all-important MD Division lacks a direct line, so you can see it as having a presence without substance.”
“What’s the second?”
“That would be the side of CEO Jung Geun-young, who was formerly an Executive Managing Director at BO Food. You know that Team Leader Jung Jin-taek of the Fresh Food Team is the CEO’s son, right?”
Team Leader Jung Jin-taek of the Fresh Food Team.
I don’t recall him.
I was too distracted on the first day and just briefly greeted everyone.
“No, I didn’t know. But isn’t CEO Jung’s side too small?”
“No. You can consider the Logistics and CS Teams to be entirely on CEO Jung’s side. And the third is Executive Director Choi Gu-yeol. You know him well without me saying much, right? All the members of the Strategic Planning Team are aligned with him, and in the MD Division, Team Leaders Kim Tae-ha, Jang Seon-yeong, and Kim Min-jeong are the members who worked with him in the US.”
“And the rest are from Chain Market?”
“Yes, that’s right. Department Manager Cha Gi-young brought over half of the MD Division, the Design Team, and the Development Team.”
“Then the Chain Market people must be considered to be on the CEO’s side.”
CEO Jung Geun-young was the one who insisted on acquiring Chain Market.
The simple-minded Department Manager Cha Gi-young would naturally have aligned himself with CEO Jung.
But Section Chief Ma shook his head.
“No.”
“Then what?”
“Department Manager Cha… that man is playing the bat game between the Chairman and the CEO. That’s why he’s currently the hottest person in the company.”
Department Manager Cha Gi-young is?
No. This must be a misunderstanding.
Department Manager Cha is absolutely not smart enough to pull off something like that.
“That’s surprising. But do you trust me, Section Chief?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Why?”
“Although your influence within the company is small, you have a good reputation in the industry and a proven track record of success, so I believe you will overcome this well. And after seeing Executive Director Kim call you today, I became certain that you will become a new Sleeping Dragon.”
“A Sleeping Dragon? Section Chief, you really can’t judge people well.”
“No. My judgment has always been accurate. The executives I served when I was at BO Food—Executive Director Choi Tae-hyeong, Executive Director Park Chang-yeon, and Department Manager Kim Jae-won—were all recognized.”
“…”
“I believe I am placing my bet on a clear Sleeping Dragon again this time. As long as the Team Leader doesn’t abandon me… I will surely get my opportunity too.”
What could be more interesting than company politics?
All the team members, who had been drinking, listened intently to his words.
Section Chief Ma Seong-geun looked around at the team members and took a sip of his drink. Then he spoke in a low voice.
“Assistant Manager Dae-seong, who voluntarily transferred to the Special Sales Team, and Assistant Manager Kim, who transferred without complaint despite the sudden order, both feel the same way I do.”
Assistant Manager Kim Gyeong-il silently nodded, and Kim Dae-seong put down his chopsticks and spoke.
“I’ve always wanted to work under Team Leader Won.”
“Well, that’s the same thing. In that sense, Yeon-doo-ssi is very lucky. To be in the team with a Sleeping Dragon… And this spy bastard, Lee Woo-jin! You better hurry back to Chain World!”
Provoked by Section Chief Ma, Lee Woo-jin shouted in a tearful voice.
“I’m not a spy! I haven’t even had a private meeting with Department Manager Cha!”
“Oh yes, you are.”
“Ah, really!”
“Watch out. I’m keeping an eye on you until the end!”
About an hour later.
We sent Lee Woo-jin, who had been constantly harassed by Section Chief Ma, and Ha Yeon-doo, who was weak to alcohol, home first. Then, I, Assistant Manager Kim Gyeong-il, Kim Dae-seong, and Section Chief Ma Seong-geun headed to a nearby pub. As soon as Section Chief Ma sat down, he drank beer like crazy, calling it a palate cleanser.
I should have stopped him…
In the end, completely drunk and unconscious, he fell face down on the table and started snoring.
“I’ll take Section Chief Ma home. You two go on ahead.”
Assistant Manager Kim Gyeong-il tried to push me off.
Normally, I would have just let them, but ever since reading Section Chief Ma’s memories and thoughts, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
“I’ll take him home.”
“No, you shouldn’t. It’s your first day at work today, go home and rest a bit.”
“It’s really fine. It’s only 10 o’clock. And it will take Assistant Manager Kim a long time to drop off Section Chief Ma and go home.”
Assistant Manager Kim Gyeong-il lives in Seongsu-dong, and Kim Dae-seong lives in Guri, Gyeonggi-do.
Both of them would have to go an hour out of their way to drop off Section Chief Ma, who lives in Sillim-dong.
“That may be true, but…”
I smiled slightly and put the limp arm of the unconscious Section Chief Ma over my shoulder.
.
.
Sillim-dong, an old 5-story apartment.
Section Chief Ma’s apartment happened to be on the very top floor. I supported the unconscious man and climbed the stairs.
I was drenched in sweat from head to toe on the steep staircase.
“Third round! Let’s go for the third round! Ugh, uck.”
Section Chief Ma, completely inebriated, kept mumbling.
He had already blacked out.
If I had known this, I would have just let Assistant Manager Kim go…
Ding-dong, ding-dong!
When I rang the bell, a woman in her 40s, wearing a worn-out cardigan, rushed out barefoot. Taking Section Chief Ma, who was leaning on my shoulder, from me, she said with an apologetic look.
“Oh dear, this man again… You went through so much trouble. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s nothing. Well then…”
“Hold on a moment, please.”
“Yes?”
“I’ll get you a towel. Wipe off your sweat before you go.”
She roughly laid Section Chief Ma down in the room and came back with a soft, clean towel.
I took the towel, casually wiped my head, and smiled. Then, she forcefully put something she was gripping tightly into my hand.
“You went to all that trouble, so please take a taxi home.”
I opened my hand.
A neatly folded green 10,000 won bill caught my eye.
“It’s okay. My house is nearby, so I’ll be home quickly.”
“Oh, don’t be like that… Just put it away.”
She must have thought I was Section Chief Ma’s subordinate.
Well, given that I’m young and brought him home, that’s a natural assumption.
I put the 10,000 won bill in my pocket and slightly bowed my head.
“Thank you, Ma’am.”
“Aish, ‘Ma’am’ is too much… You look much younger than him. How old are you this year?”
“I’m twenty-nine.”
“That’s the perfect age. He was quite handsome when he was your age, like a bachelor…”
“No way. You’re joking, right?”
“Hahaha, no, I’m not. Go safely today, and thank you so much.”
“Yes. Please rest well.”
.
.
The next day.
Section Chief Ma, who had arrived at work before me, approached me and bowed deeply.
“Team Leader, about me, perhaps…”
“Your wife is a beautiful woman, isn’t she?”
At my single sentence, Section Chief Ma bowed 90 degrees.
“I am truly sorry. I heard my wife talk and thought, ‘no way,’ but…”
I quickly helped Section Chief Ma to stand up.
“Section Chief, please, I beg you, stop doing this.”
“Not at all. Did my wife make any other mistakes?”
“There was one.”
“Yes?”
Section Chief Ma looked startled.
I gently patted his back and smiled brightly.
“The taxi fare home was 12,000 won. You can buy me a 2,000 won coffee later.”
Hearing my words, Section Chief Ma sighed in relief and gave a faint smile.
2:00 PM in the conference room.
Department Manager Cha Gi-young looked around at the MD Division Team Leaders and spoke.
“The launch is now two weeks away. Is everyone preparing well?”
“Yes!”
Lee Jin-seong of the Home Appliances Team and Choi Chung-yeon of the Health Food Team answered loudly.
Team Leader Jung Jin-taek, who was sitting with his legs crossed and rocking his chair from side to side.
He slightly raised one hand, with an arrogant expression fitting his position as the CEO’s son.
“Excuse me… Department Manager Cha.”
“Yes?”
“About importing the sweet potato cubes from Vietnam this time.”
“What about them?”
“I received a product sample, and it seems quite good. How about we purchase the entire stock?”
“Ah… Really? How much is it?”
“Eight tons.”
Eight tons is too much.
Due to the nature of sweet potato cubes, they can’t be stored for more than a week without freezing.
However.
“If Team Leader Jung thinks it’s good, then of course it’s fine.”
Department Manager Cha must know that fact well…
He truly is this kind of person.
Someone who is weak to the strong and relentlessly strong to the weak.
With a cold expression, Department Manager Cha turned his head and called Kim Tae-ha.
“Team Leader Kim Tae-ha, did you check the list of frozen food items that came over from BO Food?”
“Yes, I checked it.”
“How many items are there?”
“A total of 27 items came over, including dumplings, pizza, and cheese sticks.”
“Did you bring the list?”
Kim Tae-ha handed the file in front of him to Department Manager Cha.
Department Manager Cha slowly flipped through the file, confirmed it, and then passed it to Assistant Manager Park Dae-young. Assistant Manager Park looked at it, then suddenly pointed to one side of the document and made a displeased face.
“Team Leader Kim. Let’s remove the Tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patties).”
“Why?”
“Do you think this will sell? We put it on Chain Market before, and the response was almost non-existent.”
“It will be fine if it’s properly exposed. When it went onto the shelves of offline marts, sales skyrocketed…”
“Ah, stop. If I say remove it, then remove it.”
Department Manager Cha and Assistant Manager Park opposed the suggestions of the team leaders brought in by Executive Director Choi, using subjective and weak excuses.
They pressured Team Leader Kim Min-jeong of the Infant/Kids Team to lower the sales price even further.
They picked a needless fight with Team Leader Jang Seon-yeong of the Beverage/Coffee Team, saying they didn’t like the product description page.
And finally.
“How are preparations going for Team Leader Won’s side?”
“Yes. They’re going well enough.”
“You heard we’re running a Naver Display Ad on the launch day, right?”
No, I hadn’t heard.
No one had told me anything like that.
“No.”
“You didn’t hear? We decided to run the Naver Main Time Board DA (Display Ad) for 12 hours!”
Naver’s Time Board ad is exposed in the most visible location for one hour.
And it’s a fixed placement, not random…
The advertising cost is about 30 million won during low-traffic hours and well over 50 million during high-traffic hours.
For 12 hours, that would be roughly 500 million won…
Kim Tae-ha, with a look of disbelief, challenged Department Manager Cha.
“When? This is the first I’m hearing of this!”
If Kim Tae-ha didn’t know, it meant the other Team Leaders didn’t know either.
I quickly understood what was happening.
They were using the expensive ad to force us to quickly prepare products.
This was a way to pressure me…
But I already knew they would pull a stunt like this.
“That’s great news. The DA will be on mobile too, right?”
Department Manager Cha paused briefly at my answer.
He must not have expected me to react this way.
“Uh… I suppose so?”
“How much budget should we allocate for purchasing the stock?”
“Purchasing budget?”
“If we’re running an ad with that much exposure, we obviously need purchased products to push.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“I plan to sell the product for 100 won to the first 10,000 people every hour. Only with high-quality products, of course.”
This is a common tactic used by commerce platforms.
Most consumers are drawn in by the product, and if the response is good, it can even dominate real-time search rankings. Of course, the products sold over the 12 hours need to be attractive, and two weeks is a very tight deadline for preparation.
“That’s 120,000 units in total. Can you manage it?”
“Of course. Just allocate over 1.2 billion won for the purchasing budget.”
“Budget… Just bring me a rough list first. We can talk about it again then.”
“Sounds good.”
After the meeting, a worried-looking Kim Tae-ha came over to me.
“Can you do it? We only have two weeks until launch.”
“Yeah. I can secure a few things quickly. There are a few factories these days with low operating rates.”
“If there’s anything I can help with, just let me know anytime.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
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