Chapter 8

"Why are these bills so small?"

"And a 50,000 won bill?"

"Is this really money?"

"Of course. Hahaha…."

"There's a 50,000 won bill."

Of course, the wallet was even more densely packed with checks.

Really… I'm amazed, I'm really amazed.

When I took out all the checks in the wallet and checked them, the amount was a staggering 11,550,000 won.

"Now that I know where the house is, it's fine. It's already past 3 PM, let's go to the company."

"Yes, but just in case, take a look around slowly."

"What's there to look around? I'm not here to tour the house, I just need to know where it is."

"But you don't even know how to start the car or how to open the front door, so take a slow look around and ask me if you have any questions."

"No, that's fine. Here, take this."

I took out all the 1,000,000 won checks from Jung-hoon's wallet, set one aside, and handed the ten checks to Jung Da-ri as promised.

"But I don't know if I can really accept this."

"Take it. A promise is a promise. And I don't know what will happen in the future, but I think I'll need your help continuously until my situation changes."

"……"

Jung Da-ri looked at the checks I offered for a moment, took a deep breath, and then reached out his hand.

"Yes, then I'll accept it gratefully."

I slowly looked around the house, which was a mess just five minutes before, and then said to Jung Da-ri.

"First, if we go to the company now, was it Kim Won-ho, the section chief?"

"Yes."

"Starting with him, there will be people I need to pretend to know. I need to recognize his face, and you need to tell me without others noticing."

"You don't necessarily have to pretend to know them."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Don't worry too much. No one will approach you first before you speak to them."

"Why? I exceeded lunchtime like this, how can that be?"

"Well, you are returning to the company today, right?"

"What?"

"Since you often go out for lunch and then go straight home…."

"You mean you just go out for lunch and then leave whenever you want?"

"…Yes."

What a bunch of scoundrels.

Jung-hoon, and this guy's father, Hong Jun!

My blood is boiling.

I'm so angry, I feel like I could scream.

How did I build this company? How did I establish my position in this company? I entrusted the company to Jang Tae-san, giving up on seeing Jung Yeop's face and giving up on dealing with people, and these guys are planning to ruin it!

"Section Chief. Section Chief?"

"…Yes? Ah, yes."

"Are you okay?"

I'm not okay.

I'm not okay anymore.

I don't think I can be okay anymore.

I'm so angry, I can't control it, and I really want to shout at something.

"Am I… a spoiled brat?"

"What? What do you mean?"

"Please be honest. Was I a spoiled brat at the company?"

"……"

Jung Da-ri's silence and his avoiding my gaze answered for him.

"Was there no one in the company who could discipline me, a spoiled brat, and lead me sincerely?"

"……"

"Not even one? Did even the head office executive and the chairman just watch me act like a spoiled brat?"

"……"

I found myself nodding.

I had a rough idea of what was going on.

Holding the back of the dining chair, I stood there silently with my head bowed for a long time. Jung Da-ri took a step closer and said,

"These are photos taken at the HR department's dinner."

"Really?"

When I heard it was a photo from the HR department's dinner, I looked up, but there was no photo. Instead, Jung Da-ri was holding out his smartphone to me.

"Where?"

"Here. This one."

There was a photo on the smartphone?

There really was.

I don't know how it's possible, but there was a photo in the smartphone.

And it wasn't just one photo. As Jung Da-ri swiped his finger across the screen, new photos kept appearing. Even more surprisingly, when he pinched and spread his fingers on the screen, the photo would zoom in and out.

"This is the manager. And this is the section chief, and here's me, and here's Park Section Chief from HRD, Min Da-ri, here's Kim Joo-im, and Moon Hyun-jeong…."

Looking at the photo, I still didn't understand.

"Is this a photo from the entire HR department's dinner?"

"Yes, the manager usually doesn't attend unless it's the entire department's dinner. The photo from our HRM department's dinner is… let me see. Where is it…."

"But why am I not in the photo from the entire department's dinner?"

"……"

"Did I not attend the departmental dinners?"

"We didn't try to keep you away…."

"No, I mean, did I not attend them?"

"…No, you didn't."

I bit my lower lip and focused on the photo again.

"This is the manager, and this is the section chief, right?"

"Yes."

"But they are quite young. How old is the manager?"

"The manager is… yes, he will be 51 this year."

"51?"

What? How can everyone look so young, like they could pass for teenagers?

"Then how about the section chief?"

"The section chief is 44."

Maybe it's because of the advancements in medicine, or fashion and hairstyles, but compared to the office workers when I was running the company and dominating the field, they all look at least 10 years younger.

"Does Jung Da-ri often get comments that you look younger than your age?"

"Me? No, I wish I could hear that. People usually think I look a few years older than my actual age."

"Then do I look younger than my age?"

"Section Chief… I'm not sure. You look exactly your age. In fact, the watch you wear, your shoes, your car… these things might make you look older than you are."

I guess I need to understand that people's average appearance has become much younger compared to 30 years ago.

It's not surprising.

Everything has developed to the point where I can't adapt, so it's natural that people's youth has also developed.

This is one thing I like.

"Does my smartphone have a photo viewing function?"

"Of course. All smartphones have it. There are no smartphones without a photo function."

"How do I use it?"

I need to check.

I need to understand what kind of person Jung-hoon is and what he records in his life.

I hastily learned how to view the photo album.

Since it was too late, I decided to check Jung-hoon's personal life after work and headed to the company.

In the end, Jung Da-ri drove the car to the company.

Thirty years have passed, but fortunately, the main building of Jae Kyung Mojeok is still in its original location.

However, while the location remained the same, the building had undergone significant renovations.

And the interior was so different that I couldn't recognize it at all.

Especially, the office looked like I had entered a completely different world.

It was a different world.

It was, but even acknowledging that, it was hard to adapt.

First, there was no smell of cigarettes in the office.

And no one was smoking while working.

And everyone had a television on their desk, but before Jung Da-ri told me it was a computer, I thought it was just a TV and never considered it could be a computer monitor.

* * *

Surprisingly, Jung Da-ri was right.

I returned to the company well past 4 PM after using my lunch break so freely.

Yet, no one, not even my departmental superiors, came to scold or reprimand Jung-hoon.

No one even asked for an explanation.

Just a nod or a glance to acknowledge my presence?

Even that seemed to be done out of obligation.

"Da-ri."

While I was observing the office atmosphere next to Jung Da-ri, a female employee approached him, looking at me cautiously.

Through their brief conversation, I learned that she was Hong Jae-hee, a team leader in the HRM department.

"Team Leader, while you were away, Cha Jun-young, the team leader from the sales department, came by."

"Jun-young? Why did he come?"

"He asked about his severance pay."

"Severance pay…."

"This…."

Jung Da-ri took the envelope from Hong Team Leader, his mouth half-open, blinking in surprise.

"Since Jo Yun-woo was also not in his seat, I didn't know what to do, so I just took it and said I would pass it on when you returned."

"Why would Jun-young, who had no problems, suddenly…?"

"I don't know. I was curious and thought about consulting, but since you and Jo Yun-woo were not here, I didn't think it was right for me to handle the resignation consultation, so I just took it."

"Good job. Good job. What's going on today? Why is everything going wrong?"

After saying this, Jung Da-ri's eyes met mine. Perhaps embarrassed that I had seen his inner thoughts, he cleared his throat.

A moment later, Hong Jae-hee returned to her seat, and I looked at Jung Da-ri, who was holding someone's resignation letter, and asked,

"Why? Who is it?"

Regaining his composure, Jung Da-ri said,

"Cha Jun-young, a team leader in his third year. He has a good reputation and good personal performance. It's really a loss. His evaluation scores are good, and I personally expected him to be the first among his peers to be promoted to Da-ri…."

The personnel system of Jae Kyung Group that I knew had changed significantly.

I had just heard about the position of "team leader" for the first time.

It was a position that didn't exist 30 years ago.

When I asked what kind of position it was, Jung Da-ri explained that it was a position between team leader and Da-ri, a step before being promoted to Da-ri.

"Each company is a bit different."

Of course, that makes sense.

"Some companies insert the position of team leader between team leader and Da-ri, and some between Da-ri and Section Chief."

"Why do companies insert such a position in the middle?"

"Because it's the most concentrated level of personnel."

"The most concentrated level of personnel?"

"Yes, from new employees to Section Chiefs. That's the range where the company's personnel are most concentrated."

After hearing the explanation, I was even more confused.

If the personnel are most concentrated in that range, wouldn't it be more normal to simplify the ranks and promote them faster?

When you think about it, the position of team leader itself doesn't have much significance.