The Dignity of the Chaebol

“This?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, that’s correct. These are all the resignation letters that have been submitted.”

“Are the processed ones in here as well, or are these just the ones that still need to be processed?”

“They shouldn’t be kept together. These are all the ones that need to be processed.”

“So, does this mean that the resignation letters submitted within the last month are all included here?”

“Yeah, it’s quite a lot, huh? Haha…”

“This doesn’t seem like something to laugh about.”

As I took the situation seriously, Assistant Manager Jung also let out a sigh, trying to hide the forced smile he had been wearing.

“Right. This is definitely not something to laugh about. But what can we do? This is the reality.”

“Is there a problem within the company?”

There seemed to be at least ten or more resignation letters.

“This isn’t just our company’s problem. We hire people with difficulty, then train them, and then they leave. From their perspective, they went through a tough job search to join the company, so they wouldn’t want to quit so soon. But the rate of early resignations has been increasing more and more these days.”

“Early resignations, like what you mentioned before, the ‘Generation 1318’?”

Assistant Manager Jung nodded.

“Yes, that’s what I mean. About 60% of the employees who are submitting resignation letters have been with the company for less than two years. And of those employees with less than two years, more than 80% have been here for less than one year.”

“But this trend isn’t just a problem for Je-gyeong Mo-jik?”

“Definitely not. Compared to other companies, we’re actually in a better position. Our treatment of employees is relatively good. This is not an issue specific to one company, but rather a social and structural issue that South Korea as a whole is facing.”

After thinking for a moment, I asked Assistant Manager Jung for some data.

“Do you still have the resignation letters filed in that folder?”

“Yes.”

“Do the employees who submitted these resignation letters still have the resumes they submitted when they joined the company?”

“Yes, we keep them by public recruitment group.”

“Can I take a look at those? And I’d like to see the resignation letters as well.”

“Of course. Ultimately, I need to get confirmation from the manager before processing this.”

“Right, I understand. Anyway, please take care of what I asked.”

Assistant Manager Jung nodded, and then after a moment, he seemed to remember something and asked me,

“By the way, do you know why the president called you this morning?”

“It was about yesterday’s matter. Cha Jun-young.”

“Ah… did he say anything?”

“No, everything went smoothly. It ended on a good note. Anyway…”

Just then, the HR department door opened.

Sales Team 2’s Cha Jun-young entered, looking much more relaxed, holding a paper that appeared to be the overseas branch assignment application I had given him yesterday.

Next to him, Assistant Manager Jung discreetly pulled out a file, took the resignation letter that Cha Jun-young had submitted, and handed it to me.

I stood up, holding Cha Jun-young’s resignation letter.

“Your expression has really improved in just one day.”

“Yes, once I sorted out my complicated thoughts, my mind feels lighter and more at ease.”

“Shall we go into the counseling room and talk?”

“Yes.”

***

I don’t remember exactly.

“You decided not to go on the overseas assignment?”

Cha Jun-young had placed the overseas assignment application on the desk. The signature field was blank.

“Yes. I’m sorry for making you worry, but I won’t be going.”

“Does that mean you’re planning to quit?”

“No, no, that’s not it.”

He quickly waved his hand, then looked at his resignation letter in my hand and said:

“Could you please return that?”

I pushed it forward, and Cha Jun-young folded it in half, then folded it again and tucked it into the inside pocket of his jacket.

“I’ll just stay with the company… I’ll continue working here.”

When I tilted my head and looked at him, Cha Jun-young, feeling a bit embarrassed by his decision, nervously fiddled with the application form and opened up.

“I’ve thought a lot after talking with you yesterday. And no matter how much I thought about it, I realized I was right to try to escape. It wasn’t that I made the decision to change my life with courage, but rather I was afraid to be brave, so I tried to run away.”

“…….”

“That’s the conclusion I came to. I didn’t do anything wrong, but running away didn’t feel right anymore.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

The egg has cracked.

It’s the process of breaking out of the shell.

Yes, it’s hard, but you have to break out of it yourself.

If you don’t break it, and someone else does, you’ll just end up as scrambled eggs.

“So, from now on, I’ve decided to gather the courage to choose my own life. I plan to live independently, and even if my family resents me or feels betrayed, I will tell them honestly. From now on, I’ll live my own life. I want to do things, but right now, I can’t afford to be tied down by my family.”

“Exactly. This is a good opportunity, isn’t it? If you go on the overseas assignment, the company will support your housing there. You’ll also receive some basic living expenses. Your salary will be paid in full from Korea.”

“I know the overseas assignment has good conditions.”

“But why?”

“The conditions are certainly good, but I’m not sure I’m needed there. Honestly, the Sales Team 2, where I am now, needs me much more.”

“People really don’t change easily, do they?”

At my words, Cha Jun-young folded his assignment application and looked at me.

“Here’s a great opportunity, yet even in front of this great chance, you’re making a decision not for yourself, but for the people who need you, aren’t you?”

“…….”

“Ultimately, aren’t you just doing something for someone else’s benefit, not for Jun-young?”
“No, that’s not it.”

A smile began to appear in his eyes.

Looking at me with a very confident gaze, Cha Jun-young spoke.

“I’m not saying I’m staying in Sales Team 2 to do something for others. I’m staying there for myself.”

“For yourself?”

“Yes, for myself. Up until now, in this company, in this Sales Team 2, I’ve never received any recognition or attention.”

Finally, he broke out of his shell.

“Maybe I got addicted to receiving recognition and attention, which made me work harder.”

I nodded, sending my support as I saw the confident version of Jun-young, which was different from yesterday.

“Since I was young, I’ve always thought it was natural to give way to my older brother or my younger siblings… I’ve lived thinking that sacrificing and yielding my things was normal. Working in the company and receiving recognition and attention was, in a way, the compensation for the sacrifices I had to make at home.”

“So, that recognition and attention have been the compensation from Sales Team 2 to you, Jun-young.”

“Yes, for now, I’d like to continue working in a place where I’m familiar, where I can receive recognition and attention. I’m truly grateful for the great opportunity, but I’m sorry for turning it down.”

“Just do what you’re doing now.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m saying just do what you did for me. Did you not think that I might feel betrayed by you turning down the overseas assignment offer?”

“In the end, I regret that I made everyone tired and even submitted my resignation letter, thinking it would turn out this way.”

“Do you know that when I tried to secure that overseas assignment position for you, I was called into the president’s office first thing this morning after arriving at work?”

Cha Jun-young looked at me, surprised, with his mouth slightly open.

“But if you look at it, being called into the president’s office isn’t really your fault, Jun-young. I was the one who took it upon myself to try and catch you, not because you asked me to. I prepared it alone and ended up in that situation.”

“But… I’m sorry, Manager. I didn’t even know that.”

I raised my hand to stop him and continued.

“Right now, because you have something you absolutely want to do, you’re only focused on that and not seeing anything else, right?”

“…Yes, I think so.”

“Then that’s all that matters. The fact that you’re willing to be hated by others, even if they feel betrayed by you, and that you’re still choosing what you truly want is what’s important. Remember how you said that filling a bottomless well was too much yesterday?”

“Yes.”

“It’s difficult because you’re only trying to fill it. If you want to fill that well, you need to throw that well into the well you’ve been drawing water from. The water will naturally fill it up as it falls in.”

“……!”

“To do that, you have to become the owner of the well, Jun-young. From now on, don’t worry about the bottomless well. Just focus on becoming the owner of your life. If you do that, your parents and siblings will naturally come back to your side.”

“Thank you. And I feel like I’ve put you in a difficult position, what should I do?”

“What’s difficult about it? It just turned out that the person I was trying to send is now saying they won’t go. I’ll just apologize, and that’s the end of it. It’s not like I sold out the country, or killed anyone. I was just trying to keep someone like you, a valuable asset to the company, and it ended up like this. Who could possibly have a problem with that? It’s not like I failed, I actually succeeded, so if someone has a problem with it, they’re the one with the small mind.”

As the meeting ended and Cha Jun-young was about to leave, I called out.

“Jun-young, this is personal, but can I ask you something?”

“Personal? Yes, go ahead.”

“Is living as a second son really that stifling?”

Maybe, starting yesterday, I tried to understand Hong Jun’s life through Cha Jun-young.

The second son.

I admit, I feel like I’ve been the same way.

Hong Myung is the eldest, so he raised me strictly while always keeping me by his side, and Yeong-gi never intended to teach me about work, so I was raised with great love, like a precious gem.

But when I think about Hong Jun… I only remember playing the role of a father. I can’t really recall the exact feelings I had when I treated him.

“Living as a second son?”

“Yes.”

“Being a second son certainly doesn’t have only bad points. There are good aspects too. But if my parents were just a little more fair, I’ve always thought that would have been better.”

“Fair?”

“Yes, fair. My older brother is the first son, and my younger brother is the youngest… They used to say that to me all the time. Whenever situations felt unfair, they’d say that. Every time something unfair happened to me, they’d tell me, ‘You can do well on your own, you’ll do fine even without help.’ And when the relatives gather for holidays, they always praise me—saying I’m mature, that I help out with household chores, that I do well in school without attending private academies… In the end, those praises weren’t real compliments, but a sort of request for me to keep doing those things.”

“…….”

“There is no child who’s born knowing how to do everything on their own. There is no child anywhere who can do things well without help. Because I was made to do things alone, with no help, I ended up doing them alone. The situations I went through—difficult ones that no one else knew about—were suffocating. That’s what’s hard to bear.”

What kind of parent was I to Hong Jun?

Honestly, I don’t know.

I don’t remember clearly.

For me, Regaem Group has always been the top priority in my life, so as a parent, I don’t really know what kind of person I was…

***

“Why is she working?”

“Pardon?”

In the smoking room.

Deputy Manager Jeong Hyun-soo, who had been called aside by Manager Kim Won-ho, lowered his voice, concerned that others might overhear their conversation.

“I’m talking about Manager Mang. Isn’t she working right now?”

“Probably?”

“Why is she doing that? Why is she doing something she never used to do?”

Without responding, Deputy Manager Jeong took a drag from his cigarette and exhaled the smoke away from where Manager Kim was standing.

“What’s this new trick? Did she take something? Or maybe she didn’t take the medication she’s supposed to?”

“I’m not sure… haha.”

“Yesterday, she clashed with Manager Park in front of the department head, and now, with Cha Jun-young, too…”

“Anyway, isn’t Jun-young’s situation resolved well?”

But Manager Kim shook his head.

“What’s so good about it? She’s messed everything up, and in the end, the department head has to personally call the branch manager and ask him to cancel it. The one who makes the mess and the one who cleans it up—they’re always separate. Life really is unfair.”

“I actually think the manager did a good job with this one.”

“Are you seriously siding with Manager Mang?”

“I’m not siding with anyone. From the company’s perspective, at least they managed to keep a good employee. The turnover rate for new hires has been rising recently, and amidst all that, they managed to save someone like Jun-young, who’s competent and diligent. So, I think the manager did well.”

“That’s not Manager Mang’s skill. It’s just a lucky break, like a cow taking a backward step and catching a rat.”

Deputy Manager Jeong smiled inwardly and asked, “You think so?”

“Of course. When the president’s son tells you to make a spot, what branch manager would say no? And which employee would turn down a position where they could save up their salary and gain overseas experience?”

“Jun-young ignored it, though.”

“Exactly—like a cow taking a backward step and catching a rat. This wasn’t Manager Mang’s skill; it was the power of the background that Manager Mang has.”

“Even so, the outcome is still good, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“What’s good?”