Manager Kim Hyun-min hugged Yoo-hyun and expressed his affection.
“My child. You know I love you, right?”
‘Of course, I won’t follow you anyway.’
Yoo-hyun didn’t bother to say the unnecessary words.
Instead, he quietly pushed his arm away.
Nevertheless, Manager Kim Hyun-min couldn’t hide his excited mood.
“Shall we eat lobster today? With some liquor?”
“Are you buying me this because of the transfer?”
“Is it the group leader’s card?”
“What does it matter if it’s a card or not? The important thing is to treat you well.”
He would have felt a bit embarrassed if it wasn’t the group leader’s card.
Yoo-hyun felt relieved and gestured with his hand.
“Then that’s good. Let’s go.”
“Haha. I really appreciate you.”
Manager Kim Hyun-min was laughing happily.
The news of the spin-off delivered by the CEO’s email caused a huge wave.
The office, the smoking room, the coffee shop, everywhere was buzzing with the spin-off issue.
The employees sitting at the corner table of the 10th floor lounge were no different.
“Isn’t it too negative to take off the name of Hansung Electronics?”
“The name Hansung is still attached. And they are the world number one in their field. They will get recognition.”
“Nah, I don’t think so. Only the old people know Hansung Electronics, they don’t care about the other subsidiaries.”
“Don’t worry. It’s a project led by the crown prince. Who would dare to say anything?”
The biggest interest among them was, of course, money.
The man who was listening asked with an expectant voice.
“How much do you think we’ll get? It would be awesome if it overlaps with the bonus.”
“I think it’s at least 500 percent. Maybe even 1,000 percent if we’re lucky.”
The man clapped his hands and smiled, and the next table also brought up the same topic.
As if yawning was contagious, soon the lounge was filled with bonus talk.
Everyone’s face had a smile on it, as if it was a good situation.
Yoo-hyun looked at them quietly with his chin on his palm, and the deputy Kwon Se-jung sitting across from him asked.
“What are you thinking about so much?”
“Just. Old memories?”
“Yeah. A very long time ago.”
It was four years ago from now, but it was a very long time ago in Yoo-hyun’s experience.
He also heard people murmuring at a similar place back then.
But the atmosphere was very different from now.
-We made so much money for Electronics, but now they’re completely abandoning us because they’re losing money.
-Honestly, it was the higher-ups who leaked the technology to China. Why do we have to take the blame?
-What about the restructuring? It looks like we’re going to get kicked out without getting any money.
The stories were not accurate, but there were a lot of negative talks among the people.
It was understandable, because the spin-off that took place at that time was more for the purpose of getting rid of the business than growing it.
The company had to reduce the budget as much as possible, and the process was not easy.
The one who took the lead and pushed it forward was Yoo-hyun himself, who belonged to the Group Strategy Office.
And one of the people who suffered directly from it was Deputy Kwon Se-jung.
Yoo-hyun, who was lost in his thoughts for a moment, was awakened by Deputy Kwon Se-jung’s gesture.
“Hey, you’re not like yourself. Why are you spacing out? Is the milk tea bad?”
Yoo-hyun looked at the milk tea can in his hand and spat out a laugh.
“Yeah. Why did you buy me this?”
“I thought it would be good. Let’s try something else next time.”
“You seem to have a spirit of challenge lately?”
Deputy Kwon Se-jung winked at Yoo-hyun’s question.
“It’s because I’ve been doing all kinds of things with you.”
“What kind of things?”
“Going to see a play, getting a massage, doing yoga, rock climbing. Need I say more?”
As Deputy Kwon Se-jung listed the past activities, Yoo-hyun shrugged his shoulders and handed him the can.
“Haha. Thanks for joining me.”
Deputy Kwon Se-jung tapped the can with one eye closed, and Yoo-hyun drank the milk tea with a good mood.
There was a bland taste in his mouth, but somehow his lips kept curling up.
There are memories that linger like afterimages, even if you try to shake them off.
The day he was called a traitor by his old colleagues for the first time, and the day he cruelly threw them away.
That was one of those kinds of memories.
The moment that Yoo-hyun wanted to correct so badly unfolded again like a lie a few days later.
The place was the same as before, the first floor auditorium of Hansung Tower.
-Hansung Electronics LCD Business Unit Spin-off Briefing
On the wall above the stage, there was the same banner as before, and the people from the LCD business unit were seated in the audience.
So far, it was the same as the old memory, but there was something different.
First of all, Yoo-hyun’s position was different.
At that time, Yoo-hyun was in front of the podium on the stage, swinging his sword mercilessly at his old colleagues.
He mentioned the mass layoffs, and blamed all the faults on his colleagues.
He also ruthlessly crushed the colleagues who argued back with logic.
Yoo-hyun, who had done that, was now sitting in the audience, looking at the empty stage.
What did he go up there for?
Yoo-hyun smiled bitterly as he recalled the old memory.
Manager Kim Young-gil, who was sitting next to him, laughed out loud, and Yoo-hyun asked him why.
“No, it’s just that Saet-byul keeps taking selfies with weird expressions.”
Jung Saet-byul, who was sitting in front of Manager Kim Young-gil, turned around and said.
“Hey, don’t do that and let’s take a picture together. It’s a historic day.”
“Yeah, yeah. Come on.”
Team Leader Choi Min-hee also joined in, and people gathered behind Jung Saet-byul’s camera.
Yoo-hyun was one of them.
The smiling faces of the team members were captured with the shutter sound.
Soon, the picture was sent to the team group chat.
“Haha. Why is this deputy opening his nostrils so wide?”
Manager Kim Young-gil, who saw the picture, sniped at Deputy Lee Chan Ho, and a counterattack came right away.
“What about you, Manager Kim? Why are you making a V sign upside down? Are you doing hip-hop?”
The people who were listening all laughed and made jokes.
The ticklish laughter covered up the gloomy atmosphere that Yoo-hyun remembered.
Yoo-hyun lifted the corners of his mouth and looked at the stage where the protagonist had changed.
The lights on the stage came on, and Shin Kyung-wook, the executive director, took his place on the podium.
At the same time, cheers erupted from here and there.
“Wow. He’s handsome.”
“Director Shin. You’re awesome.”
Shin Kyung-wook, the executive director, waved his hand as he received the cheers of the employees.
He had been in the Group Strategy Office with Yoo-hyun before, and he strongly opposed the spin-off that was meant to get rid of the business.
Now he was smiling as the spin-off evangelist.
Manager Kim Young-gil, who was next to Yoo-hyun, whispered to him.
“Isn’t Director Shin amazing?”
“When we met him at the design exhibition, he looked really difficult and scary. How could I have known he was such a nice person?”
“It’s because you did well and made a good result, so the higher-ups can be nice too.”
The reason why Shin Kyung-wook, the executive director, could act differently was because the employees below supported him well.
Yoo-hyun’s words, based on his vivid experience, were returned by Manager Kim Young-gil.
“Hey, it’s not just me, other people worked harder. Especially Deputy Han.”
Yoo-hyun shrugged his shoulders and turned his head to look at Shin Kyung-wook, the executive director.
He smiled brightly and spat out confident words through the microphone.
His every word corrected the twisted situation of the past at a fast speed.
Bright colors were painted over Yoo-hyun’s painful memories that remained like afterimages.
Yoo-hyun’s heart beat fiercely in front of the unusual and surprising experience.
The spin-off briefing was very good.
Shin Kyung-wook, the executive director, gave a brief explanation of the name and logo of the spin-off company, and the organizational operation.