Chapter 42

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He was supposed to report to the president directly, but because he hadn’t done it in a timely manner, someone told on him to the president first.

However, he was not embarrassed, for the construction work was going well without the old man. Park rather confidently said, “That old man is a swindler.”

“Swindler?”

Park Daebong looked at him with sharp eyes because he knew what kind of person the old man was. He was far from a swindler. His skill at flooring rooms with flat stones was regarded as one of the best in the field. The only problem was that he had too much self-respect and was too stubborn. That was why he didn’t stay long enough at any company.

“Why do you call him a swindler?”

“Without any reason, he was dragging his feet. Also, he thought as if he was a king there, so we replaced him with a different expert.”

“Another expert? Who is it?”

“It’s assistant manager Jang Hyunwoo from our team.”

Park Daebong pushed the interphone without any hesitation.

Park formed a satisfactory smile. He had never thought that he would bring Hyunwoo in like this.

As if he was staring at Park Youngsu, he said,

“I warn you, don’t open your mouth when assistant manager Jang comes in. Got it?”

“Yes, sir.”

Park Youngsu made a perplexed expression and began to feel regret in his heart.

If I had known that things would work out like this, I would have liked to talk to him first so that I could be on the same page as him. I’m afraid I’ll get scolded by uncle and disgraced before the employees.

A little later, Hyunwoo stepped in the president’s office.

Park asked directly, “Are you the new expert on the yellow clay sauna room construction?”

“Oh, I’m not an expert. I just have some knowledge in the field.”

“Then, why did you drive out that old man, who is an expert in the field? Did you instigate the manager?”

At that moment, Hyunwoo stole a glance at the manager. Park’s expression was not good, and he got nervous because Hyunwoo might come up with replies.

When he heard that the president had called him in, he had a rough feeling about why he had been called in. The only thing the president wanted to see him about was the yellow clay sauna construction.

Also, he could guess what the president and Park had talked about before he came in.

It was evident that Park was being scolded because Park had expelled that old man.

Shaking his head, Hyunwoo said,

“In my opinion the manager didn’t expel him, sir.”

“He didn’t do so? Then, he walked out voluteerily?”

“No, sir. He was not expelled by anybody, nor he walked out on his own. The circumstances drove him to walk out.”

Park Daebong tilted his head as if he could not understand the situation.

Hyunwoo explained what had happened in detail.

“Our company should be run by your direction, and the construction should be done by the supervisor’s order. What the manager Park asked for him was just that, but that old man didn’t want to be interfered with.”

Hyunwoo felt a bit more confident when he saw the president nodding his head.

“In my opinion, one of the two had to make concessions, but the old man made the situation more difficult. Under such a situation, any supervisor would have found it impossible to make any concessions.”

“Why are you saying that?”

“Well, the old man broke the bricks with his own feet in the presence of the dispatched employees as a show of determination that he would not follow anybody’s orders.”

“Hummm…in other words, that old man didn’t leave the place because of Park’s orders, right?”

In fact, it was true that Park had expelled him because he had clearly told the old man to stop working if he would continue behaving like that. In some respect, the old man was to blame, too, because the way he responded went too far.

“The manager never said that. Maybe I talked to him that way,” said Hyunwoo.

“Did you?”

Park’s eyes sparkled as if he had heard this for the first time.

Even Park Youngsu shrugged his shoulder at that. He quickly turned his face to Hyuwnoo with a curious look.

“Yes, that old man treated the manager very badly, so I challenged him roughly by saying that he had been too harsh to the manager. Looking back, I think I gave him an excuse to leave. I’m sorry for that. I think I overstepped my place,” said Hyunwoo, lowering his head.

Park Daebong looked at him with a suspicious look, though.

“I hear from the manager that he is a swindler.”

“I think he misunderstood. The old man told the manager to tear down the bricks that had been incorrectly laid, but the manager might have taken it to mean that he was going to drag his feet while working.”

The president nodded his head as if he could understand the whole situation, and he then looked at Park Youngsu with a calm expression.

“Did thing work out that way?”

Park Yongsu replied, scratching his head,

“Well, uncle, I didn’t want to report that because I felt ashamed about it. I just didn’t know what that old man was talking about when he mentioned ‘goraeduk,’ and when he kicked the bricks, I had no choice but to misunderstand his intentions.”

Hearing his explanation, the president felt that it was the old man who was to blame, not his nephew. He now knew the reason why that old man could not survive long enough at any company despite his excellent skills.

“Anyway, moderate your temper next time. Also, the dispatched staff are having a hard time because of the hot weather. Treat them to a nice dinner one of these days.”

“Yes, sir.”

Park and Hyunwoo walked out of the president’s office.

Park didn’t say anything even outside the office, but he abruptly asked Hyunwoo when they arrived at the construction site, “Why did you lie?”

That was the question Hyunwoo had been waiting for. As the saying goes, a soft answer turns away wrath, and this was the perfect occasion.

“You’re the face of the purchasing team, aren’t you? I think our team members get encouraged when you cheer up.”

Park grinned at that.

“Thanks. I’m beholden to you this time.”

“You don’t have to say that, sir. It’s my duty to do so.”

“Ha ha ha. Now, I’m sure that you are a very good guy,” said Park, patting him on the shoulder.

At that moment, Hyunwoo felt that he had gotten what he had wanted. He seemed to know how to make Park his ally.

After that accident, Park supported Hyunwoo even more. At least, he just okayed whatever ideas Hyunwoo presented. As the saying ‘strike the iron while it’s hot’ goes, Hyunwoo decided that he should win over Park’s mind completely on this occasion. Of course, he would not try to curry favor with him so hard that it would make his team members frown.

As soon as he reported to work, Hyunwoo changed his uniform and headed directly to the construction site. Though he needed to work only one day, it was already the third day he went there because he was the only person who had experience.

When he arrived at the site, he took out a big water bucket, which he brought from home.

“Please drink this.”

The dispatched employees began to gather one by one.

“What is it?”

“Did you have breakfast? This is home-made soybean juice. There is a lot of ice in it, so it’s very cold.”

“Oh, soybean juice?”

“My mother made it for me as a breakfast supplement. When I thought of you having a hard time here, I asked her to make more today. Try it now. That will fill you up.”

Hyunwoo began to hand out the soybean juice to each of them. They were four, including Hyunwoo, so there was enough soybean for them.

“Wow! I feel so refreshed, and it tastes great.”

“Wonderful! I didn’t have breakfast. Can I drink one more cup?”

“Of course.”

At that moment, he heard Park’s voice from behind him.

“What are you doing right now?”

Surprised by Park’s voice, they immediately dispersed to get back to work.

However, Hyunwoo didn’t care. Actually, he had prepared that soybean for him today, for he saw the manager having bread for breakfast every morning. The thing was whether he liked soybean juice or not.

With a bright smile, Hyunwoo offered a paper cup with soybean juice to him.

“Welcome, manager. Please try this.”

“What is this? Soybean juice?”

Fortunately, the manager gladly took it and gulped it down at once.

“Wow, it tastes really good. Much better than the piece of bread I have for breakfast. Where do they sell this?”

“My mother made it for me. I drink this every morning for breakfast, but today, I asked her to make enough.”

“Your mother? Wow, what a great cook! You’re lucky to have such a mother.”

“Can I ask her to make one for you? When she makes it, she could make a little more than now.”

“No, no. I don’t want to give her extra work because of me,” said Park, waving his hand quickly.

“By the way, I think we can floor the rooms with flat stones now. If we roast pork belly on the stones, it tastes really good in hot weather like this. Because our employees had a hard time because of the hot weather, why don’t you treat them to pork belly for dinner tomorrow?”

“Of course I should.”

The following morning.

As soon as he came to the office, he waited for the manager instead of heading to the construction site. He offered a a cup of soybean juice to him.

“Did you have breakfast?”

“Uh? Isn’t this soybean juice? Did you bring it today, too?”

“You seem to like it, so I told my mother about it. She gladly made it for you.”

“Oh, I just feel sorry if she makes it like this…”

Park scratched his head, which was not like him at all. Even other team members, accustomed to Park’s harsh style every day, cast a suspicious look at him.

Of course, Hyunwoo didn’t care. Even though he was a barking shepherd dog to them, he was a tender sheep to Hyunwoo.

“You don’t have to feel sorry. I’ve prepared enough soybean juice for our members to enjoy.”

The team members’ response to the soybean juice was overwhelming. Everyone scrambled around Hyunwoo, asking for one more cup. Some asked if they could continue to enjoy it, grumbling that it was really hard to have breakfast. In particular, Min Suji made a desperate appeal.

“I think this is good for my diet, too. Can I reserve one for tomorrow?”

But only one person made was an exception: Oh Sangho.

“I don’t like it,” said Oh, and he then paid no more attention.

Hyunwoo felt sorry about Oh, though. He had been being absorbed into the purchasing team smoothly until several days ago, but he was going back to his past self little by little.

In particular, Oh had shown this attitude since Hyunwoo went to the construction site recently. Come to think of it, Oh’s change in attitude coincided with Park taking Hyunwoo’s side. Though Oh got along with other team members, he looked at Hyunwoo with unpleasant eyes.

Hyunwoo could roughly figure out the reason, and it was obvious to anybody unless he or she was a fool.

‘Tut, tut. He is jealous of me.”

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