294: commit again (3)
“First, we need to crack down on journalists. It’s not going to end with just one chemical jar when they start rolling their pens.”
“You don’t know what it is, but you have to get insurance first for something like this. First of all, we need to clarify the responsibilities of our side so that noisy things don’t happen later.”
Noisy!
The urgently convened countermeasure meeting turned into a mess from the start. In front of Chairman Kang, the people who couldn’t breathe much started talking as if he was arrogant because he didn’t attend.
Due to the Min-Tae and Ming-Kyu incident, Chairman Kang was unable to take the lead in the company’s affairs. For that reason, Min-seok hosted the meeting as the president’s representative.
However, it has not yet firmly controlled the board of directors. It was a situation in which worn-out old things were checking each other by weighing their own interests.
As soon as he heard the news of the accident, Min-seok ran to the table and drew everyone’s attention. The large horseshoe-shaped conference room was filled with group executives.
“The field…, who is at the field right now?”
“…that’s probably the site director…”
“How long has it been since the fire?”
“I think it was about five hours.”
“Where is Vice President Kang-Ho?”
“It seems they haven’t arrived on the scene yet. You are so old…”
There was a commotion, but nothing was clear. The executives were also fluttering, but there was no one in charge of moving.
‘Take responsibility! Then people will naturally follow. Stop talking about qualifications!’
Min-seok remembered Cheol-woo’s advice he had heard a while ago. Just as he leans on Chul-woo, these pathetic noblemen need a corner to trust.
No one asked for skill or professionalism from him. He is just worrying about his lack of qualifications alone.
The executives in front of him had the skill and expertise he lacked. He was just using it all for something he wasn’t responsible for.
“What exactly is the cause of the fire? Mr. Lee.”
“The exact cause is still unknown. However, it is estimated that the fire spread from an aging NC (naphtha cracking) facility. In the past, there was a request for replacement due to frequent accidents… Hmmmm!”
This manager faltered behind the scenes. In the end, it all happened because of money stolen personally or tied up in stocks.
“Director Park, how much do you think the expected damage will be?”
“I bought 1 trillion won worth of fire insurance through our group’s insurance company. However, it is almost certain that the current loss alone will exceed KRW 1 trillion. According to our estimate, we expect an operating loss of -30% in the first quarter of next year alone. And if more lives are lost, the damage will grow exponentially.”
The manager with gray hair raised his glasses and answered. Again, Director Park had already drawn up the estimated estimate.
“Then how much do you expect the insurance company to lose?”
“Unfortunately, the amount of compensation was so large that we spread the risk among other insurers in the form of reinsurance. However, at least half must be enforced by our insurance company. We will have to tighten our belts next year too.”
Everyone didn’t say anything, but the real problem was different. Everyone here knew that the fire at the chemical plant would not end with the loss of a single chemical company.
The fire affected the organically connected chemical industry and the group’s production network. It took quite a while for them to get back into place.
Companies that will be washing their hands or washing during that time will naturally try to reduce the number of employees to minimize losses. Then, naturally, there will be protests by workers who have been notified of their dismissal, and they will suffer at the group level.
Literally, as the vicious cycle repeats, the recovery rate becomes slower. In the meantime, several affiliates will be blown away in the name of business rationalization.
At the core of this problem were the issues of circular shareholding and cross-shareholding. The reason why it is not easy to organize even if zombie companies arose one after another was that the company could not go bankrupt because of the stake in the group.
“Huh! Secretary Yoon, wait for the car. I will go down to the scene myself.”
“That can’t be! If a responsible executive is witnessed at the scene, obviously the media and bereaved family will try to shift the blame.”
“I will take responsibility! No matter what responsibility you take, a quick response is more important than anything else in the field right now. It would be difficult with only one Vice President. So it’s best for me to go.”
“But you haven’t officially taken office yet…”
“Then, is there anyone who will go to the site instead of me? Who has a better cause than me?”
Minseok looked around the conference room, but no one came out. It was like the students who refused to make eye contact with the teacher who tried to solve the problems written on the blackboard when they were in school.
Minseok smiled involuntarily. The group executives, who only looked tall and tall, suddenly felt similar to themselves not long ago.
“Then the meeting will end with this. Future meetings will be held according to the on-site situation. Everyone, please do your best in your respective places.”
Min-seok, who declared the end of the meeting into the microphone on the table, walked to the door behind the meeting hall. He passed through a door that had always only been entered by Chairman Kang.
“I… Boss! I will accompany you. It seems like you need my advice.”
“Anytime welcome. Mr. Park! See you in the underground parking lot in a little while.”
Director Park, who is a high-ranking executive among executives, declared willingly to accompany him. He was surprised by his behavior as he was close to the dead Min-tae.
Min-seok, who readily agreed to accompany him, started walking again. His gait seemed a little stronger than before.
“Brother, are you okay?”
“Is the news talking about a large-scale protest in Hong Kong?”
“I don’t care. It’s not like there’s a protest in front of my nose.”
Cheol-woo woke up within a few hours of falling asleep. On behalf of the family at breakfast, Ji-eun called him.
“Still, they were just talking about something big on the news…? He said that because of the death of a high-ranking person, the future is very unsettling…”
Ji-eun’s voice is ‘Woong Woong!’ put on The whole family was listening to the conversation on the speakerphone.
“Aren’t you more anxious about your grades?”
“Mr. Lee! Why are you talking about that again all of a sudden? I’m already stressed out.”
“So that’s why I’m cheering you on to overcome it. Go for it! My little brother.”
“Shut up, brother!”
“Your brother said the right thing, but what?”
Soyeon, who had only listened from the side, joined in with Cheolwoo. Even if the world was destroyed, students had to raise their grades first.
“It’s not as serious as I thought it would be. From abroad, even in Korea, protests are held in front of Gwanghwamun every day. It’s just that level. It’s a small town, so it looks a little noisy…”
“But the minister there is dead, isn’t it dangerous?”
“We too, people of that level die out of nowhere.”
“…it’s not like that.”
Jaeyoung asked if it was safe once more, but he immediately agreed. The absence of the mayor of Seoul did not worsen the security of Seoul.
“Miss Director Yang, who came with us, is also addicted to cookies and egg tarts, so it’s so relaxing that we just eat them all night long. Well, since there is a protest today, you can take a day off as a holiday. Do not worry too much. I won’t even go to a dangerous place.”
“What is a cookie, are you talking about ■■Cookie? Huh, great! I’ve been wanting to try it…”
Thanks to the author, who was obsessed with food, the topic of the call flowed in a lighter direction. I don’t know why this is popular among women, but anyway, even the author knew about ■Cookies.
“Is it that famous?”
“then! I brought it in for an event at a famous department store in Gangnam and sold it, but they said it was sold out in just a few days… My dad owns a bakery, but he doesn’t know much about fashion.”
“Cookies, it’s not my specialty…”
When talking about cookies, Jaeyoung showed interest. Since it is a famous restaurant in Hong Kong, my curiosity as a baker was triggered.
“I still bought a lot of cookies. And hopefully, I’ll be able to figure out the recipe for those cookies and egg tarts. Well, it’s not completely detailed, but wouldn’t it be great if we researched it and made it and sold it in our store?”
“a! no matter how···. Even if the recipe looks like a hundred percent, the taste will inevitably change when you cross the water! The weather and the ingredients will be different.”
“You don’t have to make it the same. You just have to refer to it and develop it into a product suitable for your country.”
“I absolutely agree! ■■The person who made the cookie was rumored to be very strict. So he said he couldn’t bring it into the country easily. If your father made something like that, it would be really uplifting the nation’s prestige. I heard that there are a lot of people who travel to Hong Kong to eat cookies…”
The author welcomed them with open arms. There was a shallow intention that if Jae-young made cookies, he would be able to eat them.
“Hmm! Cookies…. Shall we give it a try first…”
Jae-young is also interested in a new job. It felt as if I was given a task I liked in my daily life that was going to get boring.
“Then I will prepare it until I return.”
“When are you coming back?”
“I’m not sure about that yet. I have to save a boat from here…”
“Then it would be hard to stay for a few days.”
“I already told you to save it, so it won’t take very long. Then, I will send cookies by courier first. Recipe will be emailed to you as soon as you get it.”
“What the hell… Anyway, take care. Don’t go to noisy places.”
“yes! I will take care of it.”
“okay. Stop going in!”
drop! Tickle!
After finishing the call, the door inside the room opened. One of the two-room type rooms was occupied by two directors.
He gave me a separate room, but he came over to this room saying that being with Mingyu was suffocating and being alone was boring. Mingyu alone used the room where Yang was staying.
“What are you calling this morning? Ha-am!”
“It’s home.”
Director Yang stretched out loudly and yawned. Her bare forearm and her belly protruding under the white running looked like a middle-aged Korean model.
“It would be good. Some have families who care…”
“Does Mr. Yang have no family?”
“Why not? My mother lives in my brother’s house in the countryside…”
“But what do you envy?”
“If you call me, I get bruised for saying that I didn’t even get married. That’s why I can’t even make calls. At best, if you call, we’ll fight. Ew!”
Scratch Scratch!
Director Yang diligently scratched the flesh that came out of the white running and lamented bitterly. He said that he always takes off his old bachelor’s ticket…
“Oh! You’re on a blind date…”
“Oh, I got another call. babe!”
Noticing where the atmosphere was going, Cheol-woo quickly left the room using the phone call as an excuse. Director Yang, who was about to remind him of the blind date that he had forgotten, rolled his eyes and stared at the back.
Cheol-woo, who received calls from three women one after another, knocked on Zahar’s door. With the doorknob hanging on to prevent intrusion, Irina saw him through the crack in the door.
“Did you eat, bro?”
“yet···! you?”
“Of course I am still. Hi-Hi!”
Zahar greeted him like a gangster in Korean in his exclusive wheelchair that Cheol-woo brought him. He was in the middle of practicing Korean while watching a lot of Korean dramas because he had a dream of going to Korea.
“Then let’s have breakfast together. Before that, I’d like to talk to Irina for a while…”
“I don’t care. There are still a lot of dramas to watch.”
As Zahar concentrated his thoughts, the electric motor moved on its own. It looked like an ordinary wheelchair, but it was loaded with cutting-edge technologies that would surprise the world.
“Sit down!”
Cheol-woo sat down on the sofa first, beckoning her to sit across from him. Hiding her expression, she approached the sofa with her cat-like steps.
Even indoors, she was wearing a long coat and heel boots. She could see in his eyes how many weapons she was hiding inside.