The Dignity of the Chaebol

After a moment, Cha Jun-young forced a strained smile and opened his mouth to speak.

The lines forming around his lips as he smiled caught my attention once again.

“I want to stop pouring water into a bottomless jar.”

A bottomless jar?

I tilted my head, trying to deduce the hidden meaning behind those words, but Manager Jeong, sitting next to me, repeated the phrase and asked directly what he meant.

“This is my current situation,” Jun-young explained. “I’ve been tirelessly fetching water and diligently filling the jar, but whenever I look inside to see how full it is, the water I worked so hard to gather has somehow evaporated.”

Eventually, Manager Jeong put down the pen he had been holding and shifted his focus entirely to the conversation, leaving the “counseling” pretense behind.

“When I tried to figure out why, I realized too late that the jar’s bottom is missing. I can’t patch it up, and I can’t keep pouring water into it endlessly either.”

“I think I understand how stifled you must feel,” Jeong said, clasping his hands on the desk, “but I still don’t fully grasp what you mean. Could you explain in simpler terms?”

“My younger sister is in her final year of university,” Jun-young began, “and she wants to take a year off to study abroad in Canada.”

I couldn’t immediately see why that would be a reason for resignation, but Jeong seemed to get an inkling.

Frowning slightly, Jeong asked cautiously, “Does that mean you have to help pay for her study abroad expenses?”

“That’s how the situation at home is shaping up,” Jun-young replied. “It’s gotten to the point where I feel like I can’t breathe.”

“…”

“The water I’ve worked so hard to gather—I can’t even take a sip of it, no matter how thirsty I get.”

“Jun-young,” Jeong interjected, “hold on a moment. The department head here doesn’t fully understand your circumstances. Would it be okay if I summarized them briefly for him?”

“I’ll explain,” Jun-young said. “It’s not like there’s anyone in HR who doesn’t already know my situation anyway.”

After briefly moistening his lips with his tongue, Jun-young continued.

“I’m the second of three siblings. I have an older brother who is two years my senior and a younger sister who is seven years younger than me. My brother graduated from university but couldn’t find a job, so he spent two years preparing for the level-9 civil service exam. When that didn’t work out, he gave up and opened a dessert café last year with a close friend.”

“At that time, Jun-young took out a company loan through HR,” Jeong added, interjecting to make it easier for me to follow the context.

“So the funds for your brother’s business were provided by you?” I asked.

Jun-young nodded once, while Jeong pressed his lips together as if he had something to say but couldn’t bring himself to say it.

“Yes. There was no other source of money in our household except for me. Originally, I was going to use the company loan for a deposit on my own place when I moved out, but I ended up using it for my brother instead.”

“And it didn’t go well, did it?”

“No, it didn’t. We couldn’t recover the principal at all, and instead, we ended up with more debt.”

“And now your younger sister wants to study abroad in Canada, and it seems like she can only do that with your financial support.”

“I completely understand her desire. These days, studying abroad isn’t even considered extraordinary—it’s practically expected. Not having that kind of experience can even be a disadvantage.”

I quickly skimmed through Jun-young’s resume.

“But Jun-young,” I said, “you’ve never studied abroad yourself, have you?”

“No,” he replied quietly.

I didn’t press further. Instead, I handed the reins of the conversation back to Manager Jeong and stepped back to observe.

“It seems like the best thing to do is to break that jar entirely. If I don’t break it now, I’ll probably continue living like this for the rest of my life—at least until my parents pass away.”

“…”

“That’s just the way things are at home. Unlike at work, I’m the obedient, good son when I’m at home.”

He already seemed like a good person to me.

“I didn’t create this household, but I’ve been sharing the role of head of the family with my father for far too long. If things continue like this, I’ll probably have to take care of my parents when they’re older too.”

“Hmm…”

“Sorry for going on about my boring family situation. But that’s the reason I’m planning to quit.”

“You’re saying you don’t want to shoulder all the family responsibilities alone anymore?”

Manager Jeong cautiously asked, watching for Cha Jun-young’s reaction. Jun-young nodded resolutely, as if his decision had already been made.

“You must think it’s ridiculous, right? Quitting a stable job for such a reason.”

“In today’s world, there aren’t many people like you who are stuck living as their family’s doormat…”

What was that supposed to mean?

He’s talking about quitting a job he worked hard to get—a job he’s excelling at—for a reason like this, and instead of stopping him, Jeong was sympathizing?

But as Jeong went on, expressing even deeper empathy, I started to see that this might be reflective of the times we’re living in.

“For someone who’s working so hard, I’ve often felt—just as an outsider—that you don’t seem to do much for yourself, Jun-young. Maybe it’s because I’ve heard about your situation while preparing those loan documents for you, but honestly, it made me feel stifled too. I can’t imagine how much worse it must’ve been for you.”

“…”

“But Jun-young, I’m a little worried. I don’t know what you’re planning to do after quitting, but is it really something you need to leave such a stable job for? Especially with a promotion to assistant manager just around the corner? Why not keep the job and gradually start changing things around you?”

“I’m planning to leave everything behind for a couple of months and take a trip to Europe,” Jun-young replied. “I haven’t accepted any offers, but there are a few companies that have reached out to me. After the trip, I plan to prepare for reemployment.”

I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t even sigh. But once again, Jeong was nodding along, empathizing with Jun-young’s decision.

“This is something I really wanted to do when I was in university. For me, it wasn’t about studying abroad—I just wanted to take a meaningful trip to Europe before graduating. I even saved a lot of money during my military service and worked part-time jobs after returning to school. But one day, I realized all that money had disappeared into the bottomless jar, leaving no trace behind. It’s been delayed, but I want to take that trip now and escape from this stifling life, even if just for a while.”

“…”

“Right now, I think I need to give myself a gift. I’ve been living like a doormat for my family for so long that I’ve started feeling pity for myself. I even feel sorry for myself.”

That part, I could understand.

“I think I brainwashed myself into believing that taking care of my family was a source of happiness. As a result, I ended up forcing myself into this role. If I don’t set clear boundaries now, things will never change. This is my chance to give myself the gift I’ve long neglected, while also ensuring my family stops expecting so much from me. I want to reset everything back to zero.”

“What do you mean by ‘reset everything to zero’?”

I quietly asked Jeong, lowering my voice.

“It means going back to a state where there’s nothing,” Jeong explained.

Jun-young spoke again.

“To be honest, work has been exhausting too. Considering everything, I think I’m at a point where I need to hit refresh.”

“There’s that saying about ‘the 3-year, 6-year, and 9-year slumps,’” Jeong began, attempting to persuade him. But before he could continue, I placed my hand lightly on Jeong’s thigh under the desk.

Jeong turned his head slightly to look at me, and I ignored him, addressing Jun-young instead.

“Mr. Cha Jun-young.”

“Yes, department head?”

“You might want to work on expressing yourself more effectively.”

“Yes?”

I said.

“Isn’t it true that for salespeople, words are everything, especially at a crucial moment like this?”

“What do you mean…?”

“Maybe it’s due to a lack of experience, but your choice of words is quite awkward. In this situation, calling it ‘running away’ is not the right expression.”

“…..?”

“Jun-young, you haven’t done anything wrong. No one is coming to catch you. You made a choice with courage. The responsibility for that decision rests solely on your shoulders. You made a great decision to live a different life, so why are you calling it running away? I don’t understand.”

Manager Jeong blinked, looking at me with a puzzled expression.

“I roughly understand your situation. You’re saying you’ll leave by the end of this month, right? Ah, I see. That’s exactly three years, isn’t it? Yeah, if you’re going, you should make sure you get your severance pay.”

Manager Jeong was staring at me, looking like I was being too harsh, but I didn’t pay it much attention and spoke directly to Jun-young.

“However, we should have another one-on-one meeting later. I need to check a few things before then.”

“…..”

“Don’t worry. I’m not saying I want to hold on to you, but it would be a waste to let go of someone who’s been awarded Employee of the Month twice.”

“Manager Jeong.”

“Yes, department head?”

“I’ll personally take care of Jun-young’s resignation request from now on.”

“But…”

“I’ll take care of it personally.”

“…Okay.”

“Jun-young, thank you for making time. You can go back to your work now.”

“Yes.”

When Jun-young left the meeting room, I gave an order to Manager Jeong.

“Manager Jeong, who was it you mentioned earlier? Was it Manager Oh?”

“Yes, Manager Oh Pil-kyo from Sales Team 2.”

“I think I need to talk to him as well, so please arrange a meeting.”

“What are you going to do?”

“What do you mean, what am I going to do? I just want to hear his opinion on Jun-young.”

“…..”

“I trust you, Manager Jeong, but that doesn’t mean I trust your judgment about people completely. I should hear someone else’s opinion too.”

“Are you sure you’re okay, department head?”

“Of course. Why?”

“You’re really confusing people lately.”

“What do you mean?”

“How is it possible that you’ve lost your memory?”

“Do you want me to go back to how I was before?”

“No! That’s not what I meant!”

“Geez, are you shouting at me?”

“…Sorry.”

“Quickly arrange a meeting with Manager Oh… and one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“Bring me the company’s organizational chart.”

“The organizational chart?”

“Yes, I need to see how the current organization of Jaegyeong Mojeok is structured.”

“…..”

“What are you waiting for? Get it ready.”

***

Principles are important, right?

I didn’t leave the meeting room.

I was looking over the organizational chart of Jaegyeong Mojeok that Manager Jeong had brought, waiting for Manager Oh from Sales Team 2 to come down.

“But what’s this?”

I quickly asked before Manager Jeong left.

“What are you referring to?”

“The Saint-Étienne branch.”

“Oh, the Paris branch? I haven’t been there myself, but Jaegyeong Mojeok has an overseas branch in Paris. It’s listed as the Saint-Étienne branch in the organizational chart.”

“What kind of work is handled by the Saint-Étienne branch?”

“MD work. It manages the imported brands Jaegyeong Mojeok handles, and it deals with the brand headquarters for orders, contracts, and maintaining relationships.”

“Is it only in Paris?”

An overseas branch.

It was something I created.

But the overseas branch I created wasn’t in Paris—it was in Milan.

That Milan Criante branch wasn’t visible in this organizational chart.

“I was told that before I joined, there was one branch each in Paris and Milan.”

“Of course.”

“But they expanded and merged the branches into the Saint-Étienne branch. Overseas branches have to hire local employees, but in reality, the people who split tasks with the headquarters are all expats or seconded staff, so the labor and maintenance costs are substantial.”

“That makes sense.”

“The Saint-Étienne branch is now established, and it covers not only Milan but also London.”

“So it’s running smoothly?”

“Yes.”

“Got it. Thanks. When will Manager Oh come down?”

“He’s in a meeting, but it’s almost finished, so he should be here soon.”

After Manager Jeong left, I spent another 20 minutes going through the organizational chart.

The sound of a knock was heard, and Manager Oh from Sales Team 2 entered with Manager Jeong.

Manager Jeong asked Manager Oh if he wanted a drink, and while I exchanged brief greetings with Manager Oh, he brought a bottle of water for me.

“How is Jun-young as an employee?”

At first, Manager Oh had been wary of me, possibly due to the perception of being the second son of the chairman. But once the conversation turned to Jun-young, he began to relax his guard.

“He’s a grateful subordinate, and at the same time, hmm… a somewhat regretful subordinate, I’d say.”

He looked at least ten years older than the person I was temporarily filling in for, Jeong Hoon.

He seemed to be around the same age as Deputy Manager Kim Won-ho.