84. Neon Thirty Three
two days later.
Yunseong Soft Office.
“Jungho, can we talk outside for a moment?”
I followed Yunseok hyung outside, and he said as he closed the office door.
“Is there a job in the data field, CEO Jung Myung-soo?”
“ah… ! yes.”
“I’ve made up my mind, but I want to talk to you before I make a final decision.”
I nodded, and my brother continued.
“I want to follow the conditions that President Jung suggested, is that okay?”
“Yes, yes.”
Yoon Seok-yi hyung laughed at my answer and said.
“under—! My stake in the director’s management has increased to 20%, so I’m getting a little anxious? What?”
“Brother, be careful. I will be moving over to the CEO position soon.”
“Ha ha ha ha ha—! Finally, we have become such a successful company that we have a fight for control! ha ha ha—!”
When Yoon Seok-hyung’s long laugh stopped, I said to him in a cautious voice.
“Hyung, you have Professor Park Soo-soo, right?”
“Professor Park, what?”
I lowered my voice and said.
“Do you know anything about Professor Park’s family?”
“Well… Why?”
“The other day, I went to Korea University to see Professor Park, but somehow, the story of Professor Park’s family came up.”
Yoon Seok-yi hyung nodded, and I continued talking.
“I asked the professor if he had traveled with his family, and he said if he had heard anything from the major older sister or older brother. But the professor didn’t look good, so I couldn’t ask him directly.”
Yoon Seok-yi hyung said with a look of understanding.
“The professor is single and has no family.”
“ah… ! I see.”
I nodded, but on the other hand, I still wondered why the professor didn’t look good at that time.
“By the way… Is there any reason why you are single?”
“This is a story I heard through my seniors, so I’m not sure, but I heard that the professor came from North Korea during the Korean War.”
“… !”
“At that time, he said that he left a man who promised to marry him in his hometown north of the country. So he said that he hadn’t been married all his life.”
Professor Park’s bitter expression two days ago seemed to make sense only now.
I nodded my head silently, and Yoon Seok-yi continued with a smile.
“In hindsight, our professor is really a romantic.”
We returned to the office again, and Seok-yi Yoon called In-cheol and Deputy Lee to gather.
And he informed me that Datafield CEO Jeong Myung-soo would join Yun Seong Soft as an adjunct director.
Yoon Seok-yi hyung, who reported the news, called CEO Jung, and said to us during the call.
“Do you all have any special plans for this evening? President Jung said we should have dinner together.”
That evening.
Yunseong Soft Office.
Mr. Jeong Myeong-soo looked at me and In-cheol in turn and said.
“Wow! Really? Are you in high school? no wonder! I said it looks a lot younger. ah… ! So that’s great! Good good!”
At the words of President Jung, Yoon Seok-yi hyung asked.
“What made you so good?”
“We can’t drink alcohol today.”
“haha–! You don’t like alcohol, do you?”
President Jung shook his head and said.
“It doesn’t make sense if the sales person doesn’t like alcohol. haha—! I’ve been running for a few days in a row these days and my body is tired. But go… !”
“… ?”
“Then I think we should change our dinner menu?”
President Jung continued looking at me and Incheol in turn.
“Our Chae, Sa-rang, what do you want to eat, Mr. In-cheol?”
“Bulgogi Pizza!”
Oops! one step late
In response to Incheol’s answer, CEO Jung asked me.
“Is pizza okay if I move in?”
So we got together at a pizza restaurant and had dinner, but Mr. Jung looked very different from two days ago.
Despite the fact that he was the eldest of the five of us and the title of president of a well-established mid-sized company, he treated us very casually.
Dinner ended in such a friendly atmosphere, and President Jung said to me.
“Come to the data field to play soon. I’ll give you a tour of the company. Our server room seems quite plausible.”
“Yes I will.”
“When I say this, I think people are just saying hello. Shall we set a date now?”
He continued, checking the small notebook he took out of his pocket.
“How about lunch the day after tomorrow?”
“ah… ! Saturday is the day of the mock exam at school.”
“Then should we meet next week?”
“I’m sorry, but the school starts supplementary classes for summer vacation from next week.”
“Oh yeah? Hmm—!”
After looking at his notebook for a moment, President Jung continued.
“Well then! Let’s meet for lunch tomorrow.”
“Are you okay?”
At my question, Mr. Jung said with a frown on his eyes.
“Sure. It’s not such an important appointment, you just have to cancel it. Then, think carefully about what you want to eat tomorrow.”
When Mr. Jeong Myeong-soo took a taxi and left, Assistant Manager Lee said to Yoon Seok-yi hyung.
“Senior, you seem to like Jung-ho quite a bit, don’t you think?”
“Not quite, but um— you like it!”
Yoon Seok Yi hyung put his arm on my shoulder and continued talking.
“This time, the one who hired President Jung and the contract with the data field, these are all Jungho’s works!”
Deputy Lee gave a thumbs up towards me, and In-cheol said to Yoon-seok-hyung with a serious expression.
“Boss, then, shouldn’t we have to hit Jeong-ho once in a while?”
“Will you rinse? Five… ! That’s a good idea.”
“Senior, but wouldn’t it be a little difficult with the three of us?”
“Is not it? Anyway, I was thinking of hiring a new employee soon, but when the company fills up in the future, let’s get together and start hitting Jeongho. Understand?”
At Yoon Seok-yi’s words, In-cheol and Deputy Lee said together.
“good!”
“Then, the first and immediate goal of Yunseong Soft is to increase the number of employees enough to give Jeong-ho a rinse!”
In-cheol and Deputy Lee raised their voices in response to Yoon Seok-yi’s words.
“yes!”
“Ugh! Really stop.”
Lunch time the next day.
Myeong-soo Jung and I returned to the data field president’s office after eating bulgogi.
“do you want to drink coffee?”
I said to Mr. Jung’s question.
“it’s okay.”
“really? You’ll regret it if you don’t eat it.”
“Regret? Why, why?”
President Jung said with a very proud expression.
“The coffee that I brew at my company is very popular. What did you say? Coffee with a scent of the sea? That’s how it feels.”
I was a little surprised to hear that the boss makes coffee for his employees, but he was also surprised to hear that it was popular.
“Hmm—, then, give me a drink.”
“OK!”
It was a common mixed coffee, but I felt a strange taste that is difficult to express in words, and I don’t know if this is called the scent of the sea, but it was a taste that I would remember again tomorrow.
“What do you think?”
I said to Mr. Jung’s question.
“Five… ! This is amazing. Every time I drink mixed coffee later, I think I will remember this taste. But what did you put in the coffee mix?”
“haha-! That’s a secret. If you want to eat again, please come to our company to play again next time. Jung-ho, you are always welcome.”
Today’s newspaper was laid out on the table in the president’s office, and our conversation naturally led to a story about reporter So-jung, who was photographed on the front page of the newspaper.
President Jung said with a curious expression.
“By the way, what exactly happened in the Yoon Sung Soft interview in the first place?”
I told you what happened at the interview that day, and when my story was over, President Jung patted my shoulder and said:
“You must have suffered a lot.”
“… .”
He smiled and spoke in a soft voice.
“I’m really glad things went well, though.”
With President Jung’s comfort, it feels like a part of my heart is warming.
When the article first came out, I don’t know how sorry Yoon Seok was to hyung.
To be honest, it wasn’t that serious for me to have my photos posted on the Internet and branded as a redneck.
I am well aware from my past life experiences that such things are forgotten by people after just one month.
The most difficult thing was the fact that Yoon Sung Soft was harmed because of me, but now President Jung seems to understand all of my feelings.
It has been less than a week since I first met Mr. Jung.
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Nevertheless, I felt now being comforted by an old friend.
Looking back, it seems that President Jung has a special ability to make others feel comfortable.
President Jung’s words and actions toward me were full of intimacy, and I felt comfortable with him.
“Chief Jung, there is one thing I want to ask you.”
Often, people-to-people work was difficult, so I wanted to hear his advice.
“What?”
“I was talking about an interview with reporter So Su-jeong. If President Jung were me, I wonder what he would have done then.”
President Jung, who is always meeting people and doing sales work, seemed to know how to deal with such a situation and an exemplary answer.
In response to my question, President Jung slowly nodded his head with a serious expression and opened his mouth.
“Hmm… It’s a difficult problem, but I think I would have done it this way.”
“… .”
“First of all, on the spot, I would have said I knew and sent the reporter back. And then, you report it.”
“Are you reporting? Are you a police officer?”
President Jung shook his head.
“no. To report to the police, you need evidence, but there is no evidence. And since journalists are so-called people who live above the law, reporting to the police is likely to make things worse.”
“then… Where are you going to report it?”
“Newspaper Auditor’s Office.”
“… !”
“Even if you are above the law, a company that pays you a salary is a scary law.”
“ah… ! I guess so.”
“And if you look at the reporter’s business card, you see that you are affiliated with it, right? Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Politics, Ministry of Culture, etc.”
“yes.”
“I’m looking for a manager-level reporter in that department. You can find this easily with a little internet search. And I’m contacting him too.”
President Jung continued speaking, pretending to be talking on the phone with his thumb and little finger outstretched.
“hello? I had an interview with some kind of reporter, and I’m trying to send the reporter’s activity expenses that the reporter asked for, but I can’t get in touch. Could you please tell me the reporter’s account number?”
Seeing me nodding my head violently, President Jung smiled and continued.
“But should I do this while watching people?”
“yes?”
He pointed to the newspaper on the table.
To be precise, he pointed to a photo of reporter So-jeong on the front page of a newspaper.
“If it’s a kid like this, it’s the smartest way to just deal with it. Of course, if Silver Castle was your friend, the story would be different. ha ha ha!”
After smiling for a while, CEO Jung changed his expression seriously and opened his mouth.
“What do you think? Did my story help you?”
“Yes, if a similar situation arises in the future, I definitely want to do it. thank you.”
He said raising one eyebrow.
“Only in words?”
“yes?”
“Is there anything really important to people doing business like us?”
“Uh, what… are you?”
“Give and take.”
President Jung smiled and continued.
“Nothing is free in this world. If something goes, something must come. is not it?”