Real Man

Chapter 389:

He was not someone who could get along with Park Seung-woo, a deputy who smelled like a human.

Instead of saying something unnecessary, Yoo-hyun asked how he was doing.

Time flies. Its been over a year since you got your MBA, deputy.

-Ill be there soon. I miss you, man.

Me too. I think Ill have to go to the US soon. Come to San Francisco then. Ill treat you well.

-Okay. I have some free time now, so let me know when you come.

Alright. I will.

Yoo-hyun exchanged a few more words with his mentor and hung up the phone.

Why did his mouth feel so dry after a pleasant conversation?

He felt nervous just by hearing that name.

Yoo-hyun stared at his disconnected phone for a while.

Squeak.

Soon after, a voice came from the car parked in front of the construction site.

Han, get in quickly.

Yes, sir.

Yoo-hyun got in the back seat as Kang Jong-ho, who was sitting in the passenger seat, gestured to him.

Jo Ki-jung, who was sitting in the drivers seat, asked Yoo-hyun.

Han, are you ready?

What do I need to prepare? Were going to spend money, so all we need is money.

True. How about Kang?

Dont worry, I have plenty of cash ready.

Yoo-hyun smiled as he saw Jo Ki-jung taking care of everything.

I didnt know you were so active in helping the villagers, sir.

I owe them a lot. Dont worry. Ill pay the most.

Thanks to the excellent evaluation of the yeast factory, the factory managers bonus was paid immediately.

It wasnt as much as the previous reward, but it was still a lot of money.

The three of them agreed to use that money for the village.

Im going back with you, so Ill pay the same amount.

Kang Jong-ho joined in and Yoo-hyun neatly settled the situation.

Then lets have you two pay more.

Fine by me.

Jo Ki-jung chuckled and stepped on the accelerator.

Vroom.

The car carrying the three of them sped towards Haenam beach.

That evening.

All kinds of seafood were laid out on the wooden platform behind the Chinese restaurant.

It looked quite expensive from the packaging.

Next to the platform, there were gift sets piled up.

The villagers who ran to Yoo-hyuns call were astonished.

Whats going on here?

Oh my. How did you prepare all this?

Can we really accept this?

The surprised villagers were greeted by Jo Ki-jung and Kang Jong-ho one by one.

Were leaving with a lot of gratitude.

Thank you. Well come visit sometimes.

The two of them werent very close to the villagers, but they made sure to take care of them at the last moment.

Yoo-hyun looked at their change with pride.

Lee Young-nam, who was nodding his head, said to the villagers.

Dont be like that, lets bring out what we prepared too.

Yes. We were going to have a feast anyway, but it looks like were overlapping. Haha.

The butcher shop owner laughed heartily.

Soon after, a village feast with fish, meat, and all kinds of rich food began.

The farewell party for Jo Ki-jung and Kang Jong-ho lasted until dawn the next day.

And then the day came for them to leave.

They say Koreans become closest when they part ways?

Thats exactly how the three people standing in front of the construction site looked like.

Jo Ki-jung held Yoo-hyuns hand and smiled brightly.

Han, youre really lucky. Youre still having fun at the factory.

Of course. Im lucky. Ive been with such good people.

I had fun thanks to you. Ill call you when I go to Seoul. Lets meet for sure.

Jo Ki-jung sparkled his eyes and said.

It seemed like it would fade soon, but it looked sincere for now.

Clang.

***

Kang Jong-ho, who suddenly hugged Yoo-hyun, felt the same way.

He poured out all the affection he couldnt give him until the last moment.

This is really something. Thanks to Han, I got a promotion and changed my department. I dont know if I can do well.

Youll do well, sir.

Thank you. Lets see each other again next time. Ill buy you dinner then.

Could he buy him dinner later when he didnt buy it here?

Although it was likely to end with words only, Yoo-hyun decided not to think long.

He was faithful to his emotions at this moment and patted Kang Jong-hos back.

Yes. Take care.

Both of them looked back several times as if they couldnt walk away.

Only after Yoo-hyun waved his arms a few times did they get in the car.

Vroom.

The car that carried the two of them moved along the village road toward the main road.

Watching the car fade away, Yoo-hyun left his last farewell.

Lets all live well.

Then he turned around without regret.

It was time for Yoo-hyun to wrap up his village life.

While Yoo-hyun was quietly making his final preparations.

A cold air circulated in the office of the strategy manager of Hansung Tower Group Strategy Room.

Song Hyun-seung, the executive director, opened his mouth with his chin on his hand with a ring on it.

So youre saying that Han Yoo-hyuns comeback was done by mobilizing the audit team?

Im sorry.

As Kwon Seong-hoe, the director, bowed his head deeply, Song Hyun-seung mocked him with a cold voice.

How amazing did you make him that the vice president himself gave him a letter of appointment? Youre really great, Director Kwon.

Rather than getting angry as usual, Song Hyun-seung treated him as if he were someone else.

Kwon Seong-hoe, who swallowed his saliva, had to say something to survive.

Its strange that the vice president personally pulled up a mere deputy. Let me explain the cause and effect.

Stop. Stop. How can I trust you now? Team leader Kwon.

Yes, sir.

Step down from your team leader position.

It was when Song Hyun-seung opened his mouth.

A subordinate who opened the door and came in gave an urgent voice.

Sir. Mr. Shin Kyung-wook, the executive director. Hes in Korea.

Why is Shin Kyung-wook here?

I dont know why. But he seems to have contacted the media already.

What?

Song Hyun-seung was shocked by the news that sounded like a bolt from the blue.

One weekend afternoon when Yoo-hyuns return was imminent.

The door of Yeontae Factory was closed and the dormitory where many people were crowded was quiet.

The Yeontae Factory workers who finished their work on weekdays went back to their homes on weekends.

There was no need for weekend overtime because the factory productivity had improved.

The environment was good, but the reason why peoples level had improved through auditing was bigger.

The place makes the person.

He thought that the words fit perfectly as he opened his laptop screen.

There was an attachment that Jang Joon-sik sent by email.

It was a document containing the organization chart of the recently changed organization and the change goals and detailed tasks.

Yoo-hyun chuckled as he looked at the name of the changed TF.

You really like innovation.

The integrated TF, which was called by integrating TV, IT, and mobile department personnel, changed to innovation product TF.

At the same time, more personnel from each groups sales and marketing department were added.

Kim Hyun-min, director of innovation product TF, which had grown larger, remained in charge.

Among them, Choi Min-hee, director of mobile team where Yoo-hyun belonged, was in charge of 1st part leader and Kim Young-gil was in charge of manager.

And this time, Kwon Se-jung was assigned to the same part as more personnel were added.

Kim Young-gil and Kwon Se-jungs combination.

Yoo-hyun recalled the memory of a temporary TF that ended in a big failure in the past.

The ambitious project failed and a stigma was stamped on those who worked together.

At that time, only Yoo-hyun escaped from the sinking ship and survived.

It was a regrettable memory, but he didnt care much now.

The nature of the organization and the level of people who worked together were different from then.

And above all, Yoo-hyuns mindset itself was different.

It was when Yoo-hyun was caught in meditation for a while.

Beep.

He got a message from Shin Kyung-wook, the executive director who returned to Korea.

-Im leaving now and Ill be there around dinner time. Im looking forward to your special course.

I wonder if hes really coming.

***

Yoo-hyun smiled and replied right away.

As soon as he sent the message, he got a call from Manager Park Doo-sik. It was obvious why he, a member of the HR team, would call at this point.

When Yoo-hyun answered the phone, he heard exactly what he expected.

-Deputy Han, are you coming back?

Yes. Im on my way.

-What happened? I heard the vice president personally pulled you up.

How did he know that Vice President Shin Myungho had helped him?

Manager Park Doo-sik seemed to have a lot of connections.

Yoo-hyun couldnt tell him the truth, so he dodged the question.

I guess Director Yeo spoke well for me.

-Does that make sense?

Well, isnt it good that you get to see me sooner?

-Yeah. Im dying of curiosity. How did a deputy like you get a commendation from the factory manager on your HR record?

Haha. You heard that too?

-I was shocked when I saw it

Knock knock knock.

While Manager Park Doo-sik was talking, there was a loud knock on the door of his lodging.

Yoo-hyun opened the door with his phone in his hand.

Creak.

In front of him stood Lee Young-nam with a grim expression on his face.

Deputy Han, can I see you for a moment?

Sure. Just a sec.

Yoo-hyun had a bad feeling and quickly wrapped up his call with Manager Park Doo-sik.

Then he followed Lee Young-nam, who was walking ahead with his back turned.

Manager Lee, where are you going?

Just follow me.

Lee Young-nam, who had always been friendly to Yoo-hyun, answered in a stiff voice.

He didnt even look at Yoo-hyuns face.

Did he hear about his return?

He hadnt told anyone in the village yet.

The villagers didnt know either.

There was no leak, so Yoo-hyun was puzzled.

Yoo-hyun followed Lee Young-nam down to the reservoir fishing spot.

Lee Young-nam didnt look back or talk to him all the way.

If it had been before, Yoo-hyun might have been curious about the reason.

But not now.

He didnt bother to dig deeper since he wouldnt get an answer anyway.

He just walked happily, looking at the sprouts that sprang up in the spring breeze and listening to the chirping of birds.

He felt that he had emptied himself more than before he came to Yeontae-ri.

Even in this situation, he smiled at the corners of his mouth.

Thud thud thud.

As he went down the stairs, the fishing spot scenery became clearer to his eyes.

A lot had changed.

Who would believe that this place was full of weeds just a few months ago?

Back then, it was hard to see anyone fishing here.

Yoo-hyun was the only one who enjoyed it by setting up a tent.

The place that had been neglected was now filled with vitality.

There were tents everywhere, and laughter could be heard here and there.

People were fishing, grilling meat, taking pictures.

Many people were having a good time here.

There were new things too.

The fishing spot building that had been collapsing was reinforced with the support of Haenam County.

Thanks to that, it became a fairly large and decent building.

There were also several bathrooms and a parking lot next to the road.

Of course, street lights and signs were installed everywhere.

And there was a log cabin being built.

The log cabin was built right behind where Yoo-hyun used to stay when Jeong Da-hye came a while ago.

It was quite big, with four large platforms attached and a roof on top.

It was still unfinished, so the roof was shabby, but it looked decent when it was done.

Would they rent that out too?