The Bottom of a Large Company Does a Good Job - Chapter 259



Only Noblemtl

Episode 259. Family Meeting (2)

While some chaebol family was talking about someone’s future, that someone was also having a family meeting.

Since there was no dining table, the living room automatically became the meeting place, and the small family of three sat comfortably and chatted away.

The conversation was mainly between the young man and his mother, while his father sat with his back against the wall, watching them from afar.

The young man’s mother also turned her gaze to his father to elicit a response, but each time his father only gave short replies such as “hmm” or “yes.”

“You’ve been so busy lately, but have you gotten some free time now?”

My mother said gently.

He was the only one in this house who showed pure emotions.

That is why it was also a bridge connecting the two awkward rich people.

“Yeah. I just finished a big project that took a few months. But I still have a lot of work to do. I’ll take a few days off and then I’ll be busy again.”

The young man didn’t often have these conversations with his family.

I go to work early in the morning and leave work late in the evening.

When I got home, I used to spend time alone because I was tired.

The only time the three families got together was during dinner.

It was a very ordinary 21st century nuclear family, and the parents had no intention of blaming the young man.

If we could just meet like this and talk sometimes, that would be enough.

Of course, among my parents, only my mother was honest about it.

“Do I have to work overtime?”

“Well, I don’t think so.”

The young man scratched awkwardly, and his mother looked at him with a worried expression.

It’s always been like that.

My father didn’t ask many questions and my mother didn’t delve into things I didn’t say.

On the surface, they seemed to be considerate of each other, but in some ways, it seemed like they were keeping their distance.

‘I can’t help it.’

The young man wanted to get over the wall, but he didn’t want to.

Because getting over the wall would require bringing up the subject this family most dislikes.

They say that painful memories will one day become memories.

When that memory no longer hurts you.

But for this family, that incident was not a memory.

It was a vivid memory that I could immediately recall if I put my mind to it.

That’s why, even in a rare, comfortable gathering of family members, no one mentioned the incident.

The three of them were trying hard to ignore it.

“So? Why did you come all the way to my room?”

My father asked, a little bluntly, but in his usual way.

“It’s not like I can’t come to the living room, so what’s the big deal? Kyung-jun is already busy, so it’s hard to even see his face.”

My mother scolded me, but I knew that it was actually my father’s way of asking questions.

The young man thought about it for a moment.

Actually, I had something else I wanted to say.

-This time, I ran into something while building the future. It wasn’t entangled, just a passing thing.

The young man looked straight at his father and had a silent conversation.

-I got screwed by the eldest son of Mirae Group. But then I found out that I was being used by the second son. Did your dad do this too?

Even now, I have a hard time fully understanding my father’s decision.

I didn’t even want to understand.

But I could tell that the misery and discomfort I felt now were nothing compared to what I felt then.

-The guy who cut off my father must have been like that too. Using and trampling on others.

Father was waiting for an answer.

-I will never do that. I will destroy them all. This is not revenge. This is for my future.

The young man swallowed the words rising to his throat and opened his mouth.

“I got a lot of bonuses this time.”

“Oh, a bonus?”

My mother clapped her hands.

“Well done, well done. I heard that big companies have clear company rules? I guess my son is doing a good job.”

I was happy about receiving the bonus itself, not the amount.

My father said it as if it was no big deal, but he couldn’t help but twitch the corners of his lips.

“Why are you bringing that up? You should definitely receive that much. What are you talking about? Are you talking about the holiday bonus?”

Even though my father said that, he seemed to be expecting it.

He was a former executive.

What I mean is, I would like it to be a special performance bonus, not given to everyone like a holiday bonus.

His mother scolded him with her eyes, but the young man looked at his father as if it was nothing.

People usually tell us not to reveal how much we earn.

This also applies to family and friends.

But the young man started to speak coolly.

“I got 5 thousand.”

For a moment, my parents’ bodies froze.

In my mother’s case, the amount was so much larger than she had expected that she was at a loss as to what to do, but my father was different.

“5 thousand as performance bonus?”

My father’s expression hardened.

Even though it’s been decades since he was fired, he was a former executive at a large corporation.

Big companies know how to treat people and spend money.

When you give five thousand dollars, it means there was something more to it.

The father quickly narrowed the awkward distance between father and son that he had maintained on his own.

“What the hell did you do? What did the company make you do?”

The father came over to the young man in an instant while still sitting and placed his hands on both of his shoulders.

The young man stared blankly at the hand and answered with an unreadable expression.

“I got what I deserved. No, the company said they were sorry that they gave me less than I deserved.”

Father felt his insides burning.

They say that there is nothing they can do since it is something they have already done, but there is no way that these big corporations would have paid such a huge amount of money for nothing.

“Ever since you said you were going to be the team leader in your second year, something has been off. What the hell are you doing?”

Team leader with 1 year of experience.

He received 50 million won in performance bonus all at once.

It was clear that something huge had happened.

And the son has a big stake in it too.

My father grabbed my shoulders tightly and shook me back and forth.

“When you said you wanted to go to a big company, I didn’t stop you because there wasn’t much you could do there. Is it really that hard to live an ordinary life as an ordinary employee, build up some experience, and then come out with a retirement allowance?”

The young man frowned as if his shoulder was sore from being grabbed by his father.

But I didn’t take it off on purpose.

Although he didn’t want to understand, the young man was now beginning to understand his father’s feelings.

“I don’t like that. Working an ordinary job and just getting a severance pay and leaving. To me, that means I’m a loser.”

The mother, who had been listening quietly from the side, took a deep breath.

I was just contemplating whether or not I should stop this situation.

But the moment the mother heard her son’s words, she sat back down.

Can’t be stopped.

It must not be dried.

It was bound to happen someday.

Just because time passes and it becomes the past doesn’t mean it’ll be okay.

Because for two, no, three, it was a memory that they each carried on their backs and lived with different meanings.

“Do you know what that means now? The company never loses. The employees… … .”

“It’s a part. What’s wrong with that? Everyone is selfish. It’s only natural that a company that creates a person through law and calls itself a corporation is selfish.”

The hand holding his son’s shoulder was trembling.

I didn’t know because we’ve never talked about that old story before.

My son’s way of thinking and what he is trying to do.

“Even if you don’t know what you’re going to do, quit. It’s not too late. No, quit the company. Give up on the big company, work at a tax accounting firm, and then open an office somewhere… … .”

“dad.”

My son called softly.

The voice was small, but my father couldn’t help but listen.

For the first time, my son is speaking his mind.

“You should have said that when I said I was going to be the team leader in my second year. You guessed it then. You knew it and just left it alone.”

My father’s face was distorted.

I knew it, but I ignored it.

Because we didn’t want to break down each other’s walls.

Even if the peace was created, it was good.

Because we could eat together, greet each other on the way to and from work, and admonish each other while laughing with each other.

“My father doesn’t know what I’ve done since I joined the company. As you probably know, the company doesn’t want to suffer losses. They don’t hire a high school graduate with nothing and put him in the position of team leader at a major affiliate.”

My father was speechless.

Yeah, it’s already too late.

He was always a good son who knew how to do things on his own, so I left him alone, thinking he would figure it out.

I didn’t think anything would change much even if I joined a large company.

At least I had experienced it when I was young, so I was confident that I wouldn’t follow in his footsteps.

That was wrong.

“So what if the company is selfish? I will live selfishly, too. I will take what I can get from it and use what I can use. That’s how I will rise to the top.”

“no.”

My father’s voice came out cracking.

I wanted to stop.

I wanted to scream at him, asking if he wanted to be like his incompetent father.

But my mouth wouldn’t open properly.

That’s because it was also like digging into one’s own wounds.

“I will prove myself like that and become the person Taesung needs. No one can replace me. No one will be able to touch me.”

My son’s thoughts, heard for the first time.

But I couldn’t stop it because I felt so desperately the process through which this result was reached.

He must have made up his mind after seeing his father abandoned as a scapegoat.

Let’s become more important than anyone else.

Let’s become irreplaceable beings that no one dares to sacrifice.

It’s okay to be a little selfish in the process.

Thinking about it that way, my father realized something.

2nd year team leader and special performance bonus.

There’s no way I would have given it to you for nothing.

“What did you do this time?”

It was a similar but different question than before.

The young man was now clear enough to understand the intent of the question without explanation.

“Are construction companies struggling these days?”

“no way.”

“I did.”

The strength left the hand holding my shoulder.

My son felt like a stranger.

The image of my son, who was a bit stubborn but listened well and sometimes whispered to his mother, just didn’t overlap.

The son in front of me looked awfully like someone from my past.

I haven’t met him much, but he is the head of a certain company who clearly reveals his personality through his instructions.

“Do you know what you did?”

“Yeah. I don’t feel guilty about that. If they had the chance, they would have done the same. I’m desperate to survive and move up. I don’t have the luxury of taking care of strangers.”

It’s unfamiliar.

However, the father could understand his son’s thoughts so desperately that he just let go of his shoulder.

“It’s not that Dad did anything wrong. If you really want to be the victim, Dad. Don’t worry. I won’t be the victim. I’m just trying desperately to avoid that.”

How can I stop it?

Children learn by watching their parents.

He himself has been a great example to his son.

He had hoped that his son would not live like him, but he was truly declaring that he would not live like his father.

“What’s left to do that?”

The young man answered as if it were a given.

“I will stay.”

Father looked into space.

I just couldn’t bring myself to look my son in the eye.

“So one day, I will collide with the future. By then, I will have the great power of Taesung. I will be able to fight the future.”

A small crack appeared on my son’s face, which had never had a visible expression.

Even through that small gap, you could tell how much passion was swirling around.

The young man’s voice trembled slightly.

“Then we too will be able to preserve that memory as a recollection.”

He referred to it as ‘we’ and not ‘I’.

What parent wouldn’t be able to read the words contained therein?

Mother closed her eyes tightly.

My father jumped up from his seat.

He was holding a pack of cigarettes in his hand.