Time Mansour - Chapter 71
Only Noblemtl
Episode 71: A Summer Like Winter
“If there had been even a little bit of blood mixed in, my face wouldn’t have looked like this, right?”
“No, you’re uglier than me.”
At my words, Sohyun shook her head strongly from side to side.
He jumps around and shows his dislike openly.
At that sight, Manager Chae covered his mouth and laughed.
“Then who is this guy?”
I asked the normal question again.
“I gave you a lecture before. Didn’t I say something?”
“Ah! So you’re the student that the director taught back then. Nice to meet you.”
While doing so, he lightly pats So-Hyeon’s head. So-Hyeon also smiles brightly and looks up at Manager Chae, as if she doesn’t mind.
But he tries his best to make cute expressions.
To be honest, it wasn’t that cute.
“Hello. Where is your sister? Are you your uncle’s girlfriend?”
“no”
“Then who is it?”
“Huh? So to speak, a former coworker?”
“Oh! Then you’re a developer too?”
The moment Sohyun asked the question, countless assumptions flashed through my head.
Manager Chae is not a developer.
But the moment you say no, it’s obvious that the questions will just keep coming.
so.
“no.”
“that’s right.”
Different answers came out of my mouth and that of Manager Chae at the same time.
Sohyun opens her eyes wide and looks at me and Manager Chae alternately.
“Excuse me? Sir? Why am I a developer?”
“Let’s just leave it like that. It’s annoying. This will just cause more trouble.”
I tried to prevent the story from getting too long in advance.
“Sir! What is it? Why are you picking a fight again? I’m just holding it in for my sister’s sake. Huh? And what is this? This…”
Unfortunately, it failed.
As this creaked, the hem of my clothes stretched.
I hold the clothes down and shake them. Oh, this is annoying. I think I’ll get more tired if I try to pull them off with force.
“Okay, okay. But let me ask you a question. Why am I the uncle and Manager Chae is the older sister?”
I changed the subject. To be honest, I was really curious.
“Of course. That’s just how it looks.”
In response to my question, Sohyun runs her hand up and down her face.
Oh my. I’m also someone who hears noises whenever I go somewhere.
I looked at Manager Chae in disbelief.
Meanwhile, Manager Chae was secretly nodding his head.
“Okay. More importantly, what are you doing here, Manager Chae?”
“I stopped by for a bit and came in because I saw you, Director. Where are you, Director?”
“The kid is clinging to me.”
Sohyun pointed to her head with her thumb.
Sohyun pouting and frowning.
Even that appearance is cute, and Manager Chae pats her head again.
While stroking Sohyun’s head like that.
“Oh. It’s a math workbook.”
“He spots a math workbook on the table and turns his head to look at me.”
“Sir, do you also tutor math?”
“Oh. Right. I forgot. Just sit down.”
I hit the chair next to me a couple of times.
Sit down quickly. I’m in a hurry right now. When I urged him, Manager Chae sat down without even knowing what was going on.
**
I was a software optimization expert, so I learned only what was necessary for optimization while working.
In other words, I wasn’t interested in things that weren’t necessary. I first found out three months ago that Ulleungdo was in the East Sea.
While I was ordering and getting my drink.
Manager Chae finished explaining the math problem.
“Do you know? When I worked at that company, Director Jeong seemed really great.”
“I always said, I don’t know anything.”
“At the time, I thought he was just joking… I thought he was a real perfectionist. But he actually has some unexpectedly sloppy aspects.”
Manager Chae drinks coffee while smiling.
“Sir. Sir. My sister is smart. Why don’t you know anything?”
Sohyun looks at me. Then she tilts her head to one side.
“Mr. Chae is your older sister. I’m your older brother.”
I couldn’t help but blurt out the words. As they dragged on, I continued to mumble until the very end.
“It’s been a long time since I graduated from school. Really.”
The agent snickered at my words.
There’s a three or four year age difference between us.
To be honest, I’m just ignorant.
I’ll try my best to make an excuse.
Do you feel sorry for me like that?
“Sir, what did you eat for dinner?”
This time, Manager Chae changed the subject.
“No. I haven’t eaten yet.”
“Good. Is there anything you’d like to eat?”
Clearly, Manager Chae looked at me and asked.
So the moment I was about to open my mouth to answer Agent Chae’s question.
suddenly.
“It’s Jjajangmyeon. I like Jjajangmyeon.”
Sohyun raised her hand.
“···”
Even that clueless look of Manager Chae is cute.
“Okay. Let’s go. I’ll buy it for you.”
He strokes my head again.
***
“I will live.”
After choosing the menu, Manager Chae takes out his wallet.
“Okay. I’ll buy it.”
“No, I was planning on treating you to a meal anyway.”
“Why? Did you get a bonus?”
“No. I think I’ll be promoted within a few months.”
Even though it is something to celebrate, his expression is not good. Instead, he is smiling bitterly. No, he is no longer Assistant Manager Chae.
“So are you Manager Chae now?”
“Yes. Well… that’s what happened.”
“But why is your expression like that?”
I tilted my head and asked.
You should be happy when you get promoted.
It didn’t look all that good.
“They’re throwing resignation letters one after another over me.”
“Are you getting laid off?”
“Yes, that’s true. Thanks to that, the atmosphere has been really messed up lately.”
“I’d like some sweet and sour pork. Please order some sweet and sour pork too.”
Sohyun raises her hand and shouts for tangsuyuk.
While having a serious conversation, Manager Chae bursts into laughter.
“Two Jjajang, one Jjamppong, and a small Tangsuyuk. Right?”
“A large one is fine.”
At So-Hyeon’s confident answer, Manager Chae thinks it’s a joke and orders So-Jja.
This guy can really digest big things. He eats really well for his small body.
“But that’s strange. There’s no particular reason to lay off employees, right? I don’t think there are any internal issues.”
“This is Executive Director Kim’s line. We’re starting to organize from the bottom up.”
“Really? I think Director Kim has more power than I thought. Normally, it’s standard to start with the head.”
Because it’s much easier to hit the arms and legs after blowing the head off.
So, usually when we do layoffs, we start by cutting executives.
“No, that’s not it. Maybe it’s because of you, sir?”
“Me?”
“I guess there’s no one to replace the head. Even if we try to promote internally, all the high-ranking positions are people of Executive Director Kim.”
I tilted my head.
I still don’t understand.
“What does that have to do with me?”
“Regardless of whether Director Jeong is suitable for the position, if he is put in charge, there will be no talk behind his back. After all, he is famous.”
“Is that the only reason?”
Oh, right. Enough with that kid. How else should I pour it? Chae asked me, pointing to the sweet and sour pork sauce.
“Do as you please.”
“I don’t mind either. I eat everything well.”
When I nodded, Sohyun also raised her hand.
The agent’s hand, which had been going to the source of our answer, returned to its original position.
So Hyun started putting black soybean paste in her mouth.
He pushes the noodles into his mouth with his small hands.
You really eat well. Well, I say that all the time.
Still, it’s not bad to see the kids eating well.
He looked at Sohyun with a proud expression and put a whole piece of tangsuyuk into his mouth.
“Director, don’t you want to dip your food in sauce? Is it because you’re far away? Should we move over there?”
“No. I don’t normally take pictures. It’s annoying.”
“Ah… Now that I think about it, it seems like you just ate it when you had the CEO’s meal.”
“That’s annoying too.”
To capture the source, I had to perform the action one more time.
It was a hassle to go all the way to the sauce container.
So let me just use my chopsticks like it’s no big deal.
That hasn’t changed. Manager Chae snickered again.
**
I came home and lay down on the bed.
‘I guess I’ll have to take care of myself for a while.’
A situation where a strong wind is blowing.
Representative Ive started to dance with a sword.
Because I never want to get involved in something like this.
With that thought in mind, I opened my phone.
“···”
A message had already been sent to this director.
-Just six months. Can you do it for a short period of time?”
-I’ve never managed that guy before. You know him well. He’s just a repairman.”
-That’s because there’s no one I can trust inside. So… is there anyone you can recommend?”
-I’m sorry. How many people can you trust while working together? Especially if they’re higher ups.
After sending the reply, I covered my phone.
It’s really difficult. It’s difficult. I thought that the world we live in is simple yet complicated.
It seemed like the representative wanted to put his own people in.
I guess Manager Chae’s promotion was similar. If he was on my side, I think he thought he was on my line.
“Oh. What should I do? The economy is tough these days.”
It was summer, but it was winter. No matter where I went, I heard it was difficult. And layoffs at this time.
Well, I won’t be leaving right away, but it won’t be easy to find a satisfactory job within two or three months.
It was such a cold summer now.
I just wish everyone could live well, but I feel sorry for those people whose faces I don’t even know.
I was looking at my phone in such a depressed mood.
-Director Jeong. What are you doing these days?
This time, a message came to Director Chun.
I got a lot of messages today. They asked if I was thinking of coming back. I knew what they would say if I answered, so I just tried to ignore them.
That’s what it was.
The next message was so shocking.
I ended up replying without realizing it.
-Okay, I’m fine. I’ll see you at your convenience, Director Chun.
**
Whitesoft was acquired by a manufacturing company called Welcome Comfort. It was already known. It was just delayed due to legal procedures in the EU and China branches. The acquisition was already completed two years ago.
So, once the acquisition was finalized, it was also expected that there would be a reduction in personnel.
A free software company from Silicon Valley has been acquired by a conservative manufacturing company from Singapore.
Naturally, the tone will change a lot. There will be a lot of people leaving the company, and personnel reduction was also a planned procedure.
Still, I didn’t expect this.
“Mr. Cheon Sangmu?”
“Yes. I used up all my remaining vacation days and rented the room right away.”
I guess that’s the difference between Korean companies and foreign companies.
Korean companies tend to be unique, friendly, and affectionate.
If you do a layoff, you are given at least some leeway to find a new job before you are laid off.
There was no such thing in foreign companies. If you received a letter on Friday, you had to vacate the room on Monday. That was the original rule.
“Why on earth?”
“It’s just… I’m not good at drawing.”
I just couldn’t understand it. There’s no reason for him to be on the layoff list.
I received a work call on the day of my sister’s funeral.
Anyone can see that this is an excessive action.
But the reason I didn’t hate Director Chun that much is…
‘If Director Chun were in that situation, he wouldn’t have gone to his sister’s funeral.’
He was just a workaholic. Since he was working so hard, I had no choice but to follow suit.
If I had to save just one person from the Korean branch, I would save Director Chun.
He was a nobleman whose only ability was certain.
“The Singaporeans won’t know the internal situation of the branch. They’ll just look at the numbers anyway, right?”
“That number was printed wrong.”
“Huh? That’s possible. How much did Director Chun sell it for?”
“I was acquired before I was promoted. There’s not much that I can say about my performance.”
“ah!”
A sound came out of my mouth without me knowing.
There was a vacancy in the Korean branch for a managing director position in the software and cloud sector.
The second-in-command position right under the branch manager. The person appointed as the second-in-command was Executive Director Chun.
So, I tried to get contracts for products that I wasn’t in charge of.
Since they were employees who would come under him anyway, he thought that they would all be judged by his own performance.
But, right before I was promoted, I was taken over.
It seems like you’ve worked hard to provide good things for others.
“Have you decided on your destination?”
“No. I’m going to find out now.”
Director Chun smiles awkwardly. I don’t know what expression I should make right now.
“I will follow.”
I just grabbed a bottle of soju.
How would it feel to try your best more than anyone else and then be the first to be abandoned?
A bitter taste comes out of the awkward smile.
‘No one to recommend?’
For a moment, the words the director had said flashed through my mind.
‘No. I can never trust him.’
I shook my head. Although his abilities were certain, he was not someone I could absolutely trust.
“I just regret it. I said I was working hard, but I wondered what I had been doing all this time. When I looked at the phone numbers, the only person I could ask to have a drink was Director Jeong.”
It’s funny. Then, Director Chun poured himself a glass of soju. He frowned. His smile was half-mixed with restrained emotions and half-unruly emotions.
Director Chun just thought it was a robot.
But I never thought I would feel pity for that person.
For the first time, Director Chun looked pitiful.