The Dignity of the Chaebol

“…?”

“I know quite a lot of people who are excellent with foreign languages. Some even speak eight languages. But among those multilingual individuals, quite a few are terrible communicators. Being good at foreign languages and being good at communication—real language and interaction—are entirely different matters. Which do you think is more important? Personally, I believe communication is far more critical than foreign language skills.”

“…”

“Of course, foreign language skills are important—very important. But they should not become a barrier that blocks opportunities for employees who have worked hard to get into this company and have proven their abilities.”

“…!”

“According to your logic, Manager Park, employees in our company who don’t speak foreign languages should give up any hope of securing an overseas assignment. But does it make sense to impose such restrictions on employees who went through such intense competition to join us? I’m not saying you’re wrong, but there are ways to address this. Does an overseas assignment have to focus solely on tasks that require foreign language skills? Not at all. There are roles that require communication with headquarters, and that’s arguably the most important part. Plus, languages can be learned. You mentioned earlier the company supports tuition fees for employees’ children and spouses—why didn’t you mention the education support for employees themselves? Isn’t that included too?”

Manager Park exhaled deeply through his nose, then took a long breath before speaking again.

“And Manager Park.”

“Yes?”

“I understand and appreciate your concern for the company’s and HR’s principles, but isn’t avoiding overstepping boundaries also a principle of corporate life? I’m not saying I’m going to push ahead with this. I simply asked the director if we could find a way, and the director said it was possible. I don’t see where this situation involves you at all.”

“…”

“Still, I appreciate your sincere input and concern. Director.”

“Yes, Manager?”

“Could you look into this?”

“Of course! I’ll see what I can do to create a position.”

This was an idea I hadn’t even considered.

After lunch, at 3 p.m., I called Cha Jun-young back to the HR department.

“An overseas assignment to Paris?”

Cha Jun-young was so shocked by my suggestion that his mouth practically hung open.

“Yes, I think it’s a good opportunity for you. What do you think? Are you interested?”

“What could I possibly do there?”

“That’s something you’ll have to figure out once you’re there. And if you can’t, there will be others who can help.”

Still looking confused, he read through the application form for the overseas assignment I handed him.

“You mentioned your goal in college was to travel to Europe, right? Do you really need to quit a good job and pay out of your own pocket to make that happen? I’ve been to Europe a few times myself. It’s exciting at first, but after a few days, the buildings start to look the same, the food feels repetitive… You get bored quickly. Two or three months? That’s too long. Personally, I think a week is just the right amount of time for a European trip.”

“…”

“It’s like that with everything. If you leave something a little incomplete, you’ll want to do it again later. But if you dive in too hard from the start, squeezing out every drop, you’ll quickly get tired of it. Finish your work with the Sales Team 2 this month, and instead of quitting, take some leave. I’ll adjust your assignment start date as much as possible so you can arrive a week or 10 days early and enjoy a bit of Europe on the company’s dime.”

“That sounds reasonable, but…”

“If you still feel like it’s not enough, you can explore nearby places during your time off and make up for what you missed. What you really want right now isn’t just a trip to Europe—it’s to put some distance between you and your family, isn’t it?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Then what better opportunity is there? This assignment is for two years. If you work hard and prove yourself as you have here, there’s even a chance for an extension. Creating some space from your family like this is a healthy way to set boundaries. Cutting them off completely would only devalue all the sacrifices you’ve made for them so far.”

I pushed the application form closer to him and said, “This is what I meant earlier when I talked about making choices. A choice is about weighing what you can gain and what you might lose and deciding between options that are more or less balanced. But the choice you’re considering right now means losing everything, no matter which way you go. Why would someone as smart as you make such a simple mistake? Now, let’s make a decision.”

“Manager, I honestly hadn’t considered this at all. Could I have some time to think it over?”

“Of course, you should take the time you need. Think it over carefully and let’s discuss it again tomorrow. With an offer like this, one day should be enough to organize your thoughts, right?”

“Yes.”

“Good. If there’s just one thing I hope I’ve conveyed clearly, it’s this: the company values you, Junyoung, and wants to support your choices going forward. If this proposal helps you in any way with your decision, that’s all I need.”

“Thank you, Manager.”

“Why thank me? You should thank yourself for everything you’ve done. It must have been overwhelming dealing with family issues, yet you still gave your best at work. That’s what deserves appreciation.”

After finishing the conversation with Cha Junyoung and returning to my desk, Assistant Manager Jung asked, “What did he say?”

“He said he’ll think about it. He hadn’t even considered the idea before, so he asked for a little time to think. I told him to take it.”

“Are you okay with that?”

“With what?”

Lowering his voice, seemingly worried that the HRD team across the partition might overhear, Assistant Manager Jung said, “I’ve been thinking about it, and I think Manager Park has a point. There’s no doubt Junyoung is a valuable asset, but if the company starts making exceptions for employees like this, it could lead to uncontrollable situations down the line.”

I think so too.

And, like Jung said, everything Manager Park said earlier was perfectly reasonable.

But for me, providing Junyoung with this option wasn’t really about him.

Did I push this hard, even going so far as to mention the company’s chairman and executive director, just to keep one employee I’d barely known in the company? Of course not.

My goal wasn’t to keep Junyoung tied to the company. I wanted to test where the limits of my influence lay by pushing the boundaries like this.

No matter how I looked at it, the HR director and assistant director seemed to be intimidated by Jung Hoon, but they didn’t appear to be the ones reporting directly to someone higher up about Jung Hoon’s work behavior or competency.

There had to be someone above the HR director or assistant director.

Someone who, while not tracking Jung Hoon’s every move, at least monitored his conduct and professional capabilities within the company and reported back to headquarters.

That’s the person I need to identify.

That’s why I deliberately pressured Manager Park in the HR director’s presence and made the somewhat unreasonable request to create an overseas position.

You need to push boundaries like this to provoke action from the person who reports to the chairman or executive director.

I did the same thing back when I hired Hong Myung and Hong Jun as managers. I secretly planted trustworthy people around them to monitor their progress.

That role was critical. Based on the reports I received, I evaluated their capabilities, reprimanded the monitors when mistakes were made, and rewarded them when the managers achieved something exceptional.

I’m certain Jung Hoon has someone like that within this company—someone hidden in the head office of Jaekyung Corporation.

I need to find that person.

“What do you mean by an uncontrollable situation, Assistant Manager Jung?” I asked.

“Obviously, I mean controversy over fairness in overseas assignments, like the Paris position.”

“And who do you think would stir up such controversy?”

“Well… employees interested in overseas assignments, I suppose.”

“And how many of those employees are there? Roughly, percentage-wise, how many in this office do you think fall into that category?”

“Ten percent? No, maybe that’s too high. Five percent? But Manager, the percentage isn’t the point—it’s the fact that these discussions could arise at all.”

“And why is that a problem?”

Assistant Manager Jung sighed in frustration, lightly pounding his chest with his fist. “Because workplace sentiment could spiral in the wrong direction.”

“Assistant Manager Jung, do you know what the real problem in any organization is?”

“The real problem?”

“The real problem is when there’s no problem at all. Issues arising are a sign that the organization is functioning normally. Do you honestly think a company this big, with 3,000 employees, could operate without any problems? People just put up with things quietly because they don’t have the courage to speak up. Isn’t that true?”

Finally, Assistant Manager Jung nodded silently, a stark contrast to his earlier frustration.

“What do you think is the real reason Junyoung is trying to quit? Not what he said earlier, but the real reason.”

“The real reason? What else could there be?”

“His family issues—that’s just the trigger that made him feel like letting everything go. It’s not the real reason.”

“Then what do you think the real reason is?”

“Momentum. Junyoung has lost the drive to keep pushing forward.”

“Momentum?”

I nodded once and said,

“People who are optimistic and easygoing about everything tend to have a loose drive. On the other hand, someone like Junyoung, who feels an excessive sense of responsibility and puts in maximum effort in everything, ends up with an overly taut drive. From what I can tell, Junyoung’s drive was stretched so tight that it eventually snapped.”

“His drive snapped…?”

“Having a goal like achieving something you’ve planned, surpassing someone, or getting promoted next year—those are the motivations that serve as life’s driving force. Momentum. Even people who claim they just want to live comfortably and have no big ambitions are, at their core, people whose drive has snapped. There’s no such thing as a person without ambition. They say that because they don’t think they’ll succeed, so they make excuses. It’s a lie told by people who lack the confidence to move forward due to unfavorable circumstances. No one genuinely lacks ambition. Not even someone like Junyoung, who says he wants to let everything go. Deep down, most of them just want to live well.”

“…”

“So, what should you do for someone whose drive has snapped, like Junyoung?”

“Motivate them?”

“No, not at all. For someone who already feels like life is unbearably hard, telling them to push a little harder, to climb just one more mountain for a promised reward, is one of the cruelest things you can do.”

“Then what should you do?”

“Just listen to them, like you did earlier. And stand by their side, like I just did.”

“…!”

“Don’t think you’re alone. You’re already more than good enough. It’s perfectly natural to struggle because you’re human. But if you let go of everything in moments like that, no one will be able to help you. Leave just a small opening for me to step in, and maybe I’ll be able to do something for you.”

“…”

“A simple statement like that can reconnect a snapped drive. Isn’t that, ultimately, the essence of HR? HR isn’t about sitting at a desk analyzing numbers and statistics, Assistant Manager Jung. HR is about being out in the field. It’s more unpredictable and chaotic than sales. To excel at HR, you can’t be afraid of problems arising. Problems must arise for solutions to be found. And the more solutions an organization has, the stronger it becomes against external crises. I’m only saying this because I find it frustrating to hear phrases like ‘problems might arise’ over such trivial matters.”

While Assistant Manager Jung looked sullen, I pulled up my call log on my smartphone and showed it to him.

The moment he saw the screen, he let out a snicker.

“Who taught you how to update contact information like this?”

“I looked it up online; there’s a detailed guide out there.”

Not only Assistant Manager Jung but also everyone else in the company, whom I had previously registered as “Slave 2,” “Slave 3,” “Slave 4,” and so on, now had their proper names and positions attached to their contact information.

However, I still couldn’t figure out who “Slave 1” was.

The person wasn’t listed in the company’s emergency contact network—a mysterious “Slave 1.”

Anyway, it’s not like I registered them that way myself…

“I’m really sorry about what happened yesterday, Assistant Manager Jung. If I ever regain my memory, I’ll make sure to ask myself what on earth I was thinking when I saved everyone’s names like that.”

“Heh.”

“I meant for that to be a joke just now, but I’m genuinely sorry for saving your contact that way, Assistant Manager Jung. I sincerely apologize.”

“Today, I’ll sincerely accept that apology.”

***

It was the morning of the third day since I had inhabited Jeonghoon’s body.

I was on my way to work when a call came in.

On the smartphone screen, the caller ID displayed “Slave 1.”

Slave 1.

A number that wasn’t even in the emergency contact list among employees across departments.

I was almost certain it belonged to at least an executive-level individual.

And there was a strong possibility that this “Slave 1” might be someone planted by Hongjoon or Jeongtae to observe me.

“Hello?”

― “Jeonghoon.”

Jeonghoon?

They called me by name?

And in a very familiar tone, no less?

From the voice, it sounded like someone middle-aged.

“Yes.”

― “Where are you right now?”

“I’m on my way to work.”

― “I see. Once you get in, come straight up to my office for a bit.”

“Your office?”

Shouldn’t I at least know who this is before I go?

I should’ve just been upfront from the start and admitted I didn’t know who they were.

But their tone was entirely different from that of “Slave 2,” “Slave 3,” or the others saved in Jeonghoon’s phone.

Every word had a commanding air to it.

― “Yes. Your aunt set aside a painting for you to pick up.”

“A painting? What painting?”

― “She said you liked it at the gallery last week and even asked about the price.”

Aunt?

If it’s Jeonghoon’s aunt, it must be the third sibling, Yeojeong.

I decided to take a gamble.

“Uncle?”

― “What?”

Seems like I got it right.

“Oh, nothing. The call just seemed to cut out for a moment.”

― “Must be because you’re driving. Anyway, I’m already at work, so once you’re in, come up to my office. I have other things to discuss besides the painting.”

“Okay, I will.”

Yeojeong’s husband works at Jaekyung Textiles?

This is entirely new information.

***