Real Man

Chapter 261:

Chapter 261:

Chapter 261

The knights who had rushed in soon sat down in a circle.

It was nothing much, but they all looked happy.

Looking at them, Yoo-hyun recalled what his driver had said in the past.

-When did you feel the happiest at work? There was a time when an employee came to me and thanked me for always driving safely. That was the most rewarding and satisfying moment for me.

At that time, Yoo-hyun didn’t think much of the driver’s words.

But he realized something clearly after living a different life.

Money wasn’t everything that moved people.

A small gesture of care and recognition could also give a great impression.

It was the same now.

Thanks to a little grease and a bit of sincerity, Yoo-hyun was able to blend in naturally.

The drivers were very talkative, maybe because they were bored of waiting here.

They were all executive drivers, so their words were all high-end information.

“Oh, well, that Kim director is…”

“Really? Wow. That’s really bad.”

When Yoo-hyun reacted actively, the drivers told him more details.

“More than that, the worst one was the former plant manager. He…”

“Wow. You endured that?”

“No way. I hit him once.”

The stories of the uncles were all like that, but there was a bit of bragging mixed in between.

In a fairly friendly atmosphere, Yoo-hyun casually asked.

The other person was Ok Jong-ho, the driver of Lee Tae-ryong, the third director.

“You must have a hard time, Mr. Ok.”

“Why?”

“I heard that the third director keeps changing his schedule. That must be tough for you.”

As Yoo-hyun touched on it lightly, Ok Jong-ho poured out his words as if he had a lot to say.

“Wow, there’s someone here who knows how I feel. That director is…”

“I see. You went to Busan last Friday, right?”

“Yeah. Why did he go on Friday evening? I have to buy chicken for my kids.”

“That’s too bad. You had to wait until late at night.”

Yoo-hyun answered with a hint of what he had predicted in his words.

No one knew why Yoo-hyun was saying this.

They just thought it was part of the conversation.

“Ha. Don’t even mention it. I waited until midnight. He said he’s going again this week.”

“He’s going to the Korean restaurant in Busan again this Friday?”

“Huh? How did you know that?”

Ok Jong-ho was surprised by Yoo-hyun’s question.

Yoo-hyun dodged it.

He also mixed some information he had guessed based on his past memory.

“They say that executives usually go to Korean restaurants when they entertain foreign guests.”

“That’s right. He looked like a Japanese guy.”

“I see. Then you just have to wait for dinner time? It seems like he’ll arrive right at dinner time.”

“Yeah. He insisted on 6 o’clock. Damn. What’s his grudge?”

Ok Jong-ho gave Yoo-hyun the information he wanted.

It all matched Yoo-hyun’s expectations.

Yoo-hyun poured soda into a paper cup and handed it to him.

“You’re really having a hard time. I don’t have anything to give you, but have a drink.”

Ok Jong-ho took the paper cup and sighed.

“Sigh. It feels good to have someone listen to me.”

“Thank you for telling me interesting stories.”

“Oh, come on. Thank you. We’re grateful. Come often.”

It wasn’t just Ok Jong-ho.

The drivers who now knew his face and name treated Yoo-hyun kindly.

“Yeah. Come often. Let’s talk anytime.”

“We’re always open here.”

Yoo-hyun thanked them with a grateful heart.

“Thank you. I’ll bring something bigger next time.”

“No need. It’s fun just talking to you. Hahaha.”

“Hahaha.”

The drivers laughed loudly and Yoo-hyun laughed with them.

He came to find Lee Tae-ryong’s traces and made good connections.

Yoo-hyun was very happy.

Friday, which was today, was exactly his first anniversary of joining the company.

Somehow he knew that, and he got messages from various places since morning.

The owner of the longest message among them was Park Seung-woo, the assistant manager.

-My beloved mentee Yoo-hyun, congratulations on your first year of joining…

Park Seung-woo was good at everything, but he needed to learn how to summarize the main points.

If he went to MBA like this, he would suffer terribly there.

-Congratulations on your first year of joining. To be a senior who is not ashamed of you…

Kim Young-gil, the section chief, also sent a long message.

There were traces of his struggle in that message.

He was the type who worried by himself, as usual.

He didn’t know what was inside, but he seemed to be moving in a good direction.

Yoo-hyun replied to each one and started his day happily.

The office was busy as always.

Especially as the point of completion of the panel mask production approached, the circuit side was on fire.

Maeng Ki-yong, the senior who was in charge of IC production, re-verified the part he had simulated countless times in case something went wrong.

Lee Jin-mok, the chief who had just sent out the FPCB order, went into the touch circuit configuration work without a break.

Min Su-jin, the senior, also sent out the video board order and coded the program that would go into the video chip with Lee Jin-mok.

Yoo-hyun had no room to join them.

But people who needed to rest had to rest.

He came back to his seat after lunch and immediately put on his bag.

Then Maeng Ki-yong came up to him and asked.

“Where are you going with a half-day off in the afternoon?”

“I’m just going to see my friends.”

“Actually, you know, you’re supposed to treat your part to a meal on your first anniversary of joining.”

Maeng Ki-yong tried to tackle Yoo-hyun who was about to leave.

But Yoo-hyun wasn’t one to fall for such a cheap trick.

“I know it’s your 10th anniversary soon, Mr. Maeng.”

“Hmm.”

“I’ll look forward to it. Then I’ll be back.”

“You never lose to your seniors, do you?”

Yoo-hyun lifted the corners of his mouth at the mumbling he heard from behind.

He drove the rented car to Busan.

Before he left, he called his friend Oh Min-jae.

“Hey, Minjae, I’m going to crash at your place tonight.”

-Sure. I cleaned up the room for you, so just come over.

“Cleaning? What for? Fine. I’ll bring some delicious food.”

-Call me when you’re near.

“Got it.”

Oh Minjae was a colleague from the same class and team during the group training. He belonged to the home appliance division.

Since there was a home appliance factory in Busan, he lived alone in a house there.

It was exactly where Yoo-hyun was heading.

And they had planned to have a reunion with their peers there tomorrow.

This trip to Busan was very timely for many reasons.

But before that, Yoo-hyun had something to do.

No, someone to meet.

Vroom.

Yoo-hyun’s car quietly ran on the road.

Friday afternoon at 6 p.m. and Busan were very familiar to Yoo-hyun.

It was because he had accompanied Lee Taeryong, the executive director, several times when he had an appointment.

And there was only one place where Lee Taeryong would go for a Korean set meal at this time of day.

Yoo-hyun arrived in front of the restaurant where he had been with him in the past.

The current time was 4:30 p.m.

He had plenty of time, so Yoo-hyun went up to the coffee shop on the second floor across from the restaurant.

He could see the restaurant and the road in front of it clearly from the window seat.

The coffee shop scenery was exactly as Yoo-hyun remembered it.

Yoo-hyun placed his coffee on the table surrounded by glass windows.

Then he took out dark sunglasses from his pocket and put them on. He sat on a high chair and looked down at the outside.

In the dark scenery, his past memories flashed by like a lantern show.

Of course, among them were things related to Lee Taeryong.

-Section Chief Han, do you think office workers can make ends meet with their salary? Never. That’s why you have to prepare an alternative, an alternative.

It was what Lee Taeryong, who was a boss from another team when Yoo-hyun was in the group strategy room, said.

Yoo-hyun met many people who were hard to see in the company while working with him.

They all had different personalities, but they had one thing in common.

They all made money for Lee Taeryong.

That’s right.

Lee Taeryong was a person who moved only for money.

He also flattered Nam Jongbu and got information from him to speculate for that reason.

What would he think when he was in a pinch?

For example, what method would he choose if he wanted to leak information to defeat his competitor?

Lee Taeryong’s actions were clearly drawn in Yoo-hyun’s head.

He would never risk himself without compensation to bring down his opponent.

He was a person who had to get money even for such trivial things.

The person he would meet frequently by lying that he had a business trip was obvious.

It was an information broker who bought confidential information with money.

Yoo-hyun learned that such a person actually existed through Lee Taeryong.

And today, here, Yoo-hyun was thinking of meeting an old acquaintance.

“It’s time for him to come.”

It was exactly 5 p.m. when the clock pointed at it.

A casually dressed man sat near Yoo-hyun.

There was an empty chair between them, but they were close enough to identify each other’s faces.

He had droopy eyebrows, round eyes with thick eyelids, and a dark but kind-looking skin. He was a man of gentle impression.

Suddenly, Yoo-hyun’s lips twisted viciously.

He got up from his seat and moved to the one next to him.

The man frowned and tried to get up, annoyed by Yoo-hyun’s sudden approach.

That’s when Yoo-hyun uttered the words that stopped him.

“Danaka Yoshihiro.”

“What?”

He asked in awkward Korean, and Yoo-hyun answered in fluent Japanese.

“If you’re curious, sit down first.”

“…”

Yoo-hyun gestured to the chair, and he reluctantly sat down, hiding his expression.

Yoo-hyun knew Danaka’s personality well, so he immediately shook him up.

“Born in 1970, eldest of three siblings. Ah, you’re not interested in this, are you?”

“Who are you?”

“Affiliated with Mizumo. Well, that’s just a name. I’m a freelancer. A kind of information broker, you could say.”

“You…”

“Ah, don’t be surprised yet.”

Yoo-hyun patted the shoulder of Danaka, who was trembling with fear, and quickly continued his words.

He shouldn’t give him time to think at this point.

That way, he could make him move as he wanted.

“Your favorite place is a Japanese restaurant. Your time is Friday at 6 p.m. You have an obsession with arriving an hour earlier than the actual appointment time.”

“H-how did you…”

“It’s espresso double shot, right?”

Yoo-hyun casually asked at that moment.

“Gasp.”

Danaka was so startled that he dropped his cup.

Clank.

Yoo-hyun swiftly caught the cup and said.

“Hey, why are you acting like this among professionals? What if you break this and attract unnecessary attention?”

“What are you?”

“If you want to know, buy it with money.”

“…”

Yoo-hyun showed a bleak smile at the silent Danaka.

He felt amused in a way.

When he met him with Lee Tae-ryong, the director, in the past, he looked really big like a mountain.

He couldn’t read his expression at all.

But the Danaka in front of Yoo-hyun now was different from the past.

He was nothing but an ordinary person who exposed his fear.

Yoo-hyun said to him.

“I don’t have much time, so I’ll get to the point. You’re going to meet Lee Tae-ryong today. Right?”

“…”

“The information is B-grade. Since Apple is involved, maybe B+?”

“H-how did you…”

“You don’t have to tell me. It’s written all over your face.”

Yoo-hyun said nonchalantly, and Danaka, who couldn’t close his mouth in surprise, tried to hide his expression.

It was his rule to manage his expression well no matter what happened.