Chapter 11: SSS-Class Employee

As soon as I arrived at the warehouse, I gazed at the piles of wheat stacked high.  

Man, I wondered when the Tinyfolk would grow enough to deliver goods like this.  

Seeing the warehouse filled to the brim with wheat made me feel proud.  

“I need to push them to grow even harder from now on.”  

The Tinyfolk have a lot to do.  

As their civilization advances, the variety of products they produce will increase, and so will their quantity.  

When that happens.  

“I can catch up to Spectrum.”  

It’s still a long way off.  

The monthly and quarterly sales figures are nowhere near comparable.  

Plus, Spectrum has a system in place to boost its revenue even further.  

To catch up to Spectrum, I need to work even harder than I am now.  

“Hello, I’m from Gangi Milling.”  

“Yes, come in. This way.”  

While I was lost in thought, a transporter from Gangi Milling arrived.  

Following my guidance into the warehouse, he marveled at the stacks of wheat.  

“Wow, you really have a lot of wheat.”  

“I’ve got this much in the other warehouse too. So, you don’t have to worry about deliveries stopping due to a wheat shortage.”  

“Haha, our president did mention something like that.”  

“What did he say?”  

“He said if there’s no wheat when I get there, to call him immediately.”  

If that had been the case, he’d probably have torn up the contract with a smug look on his face.  

I’m not one to let that slide.  

“Tell him there was so much wheat you couldn’t take it all.”  

“Hahaha, if I said that, I’d probably be working overtime tonight.”  

That short conversation was the end of it.  

The wheat delivery went smoothly.  

‘It’ll be a while before the payment comes in, so I’m still broke for now.’  

Still, receiving the contract deposit gave me a bit of breathing room.  

“Maybe I’ll go eat some meat.”  

Eating nothing but instant noodles to save money has been hard on my stomach.  

On a celebratory day like this, I should grill a nice piece of meat to fill my belly.  

‘Let’s see, I’ll head to my usual spot…’  

“Boss.”  

A familiar voice, a familiar tone.  

My head naturally turned at the sound.  

And there, at the warehouse entrance, stood someone I knew, looking unfamiliar.  

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”  

“…Jeong Yuha, what are you doing here? Slacking off?”  

“Slacking off? As if that company would allow something like that.”  

Jeong Yuha, the youngest team leader of Spectrum’s strategic planning team and my former direct subordinate.  

She, who always insisted on wearing crisp, ironed suits, was standing before me in casual workout clothes.  

“Is this your new workplace? It doesn’t suit you, boss.”  

“What does suit me, then?”  

“You know, wearing a sharp suit, face all stern, saying stuff like, ‘Can’t you do this? Are you trash? Our company doesn’t hire trash.’”  

“…”  

Did I really act like that?  

‘I don’t think I was that bad.’  

Let’s just say it’s Yuha’s misunderstanding.  

Anyway.  

“Enough about me. Why are you here? Taking a day off?”  

“A day off? Did you ever give me room to take one, boss?”  

“I didn’t skimp on employee benefits.”  

“Sure, you didn’t. You just treated us like less than human whenever we couldn’t handle the mountain of work.”  

What’s with her today?  

“Did you come here to pick a fight?”  

“You just figured that out?”  

“I’m calling the cops.”  

“Wow, you’re really heartless. Then again, you were always like that.”  

Jeong Yuha plopped down onto a pile of wheat nearby.  

With a sigh, she said,  

“Phew, still, things were better when you were around.”  

Things were better when I was there.  

That was nice to hear.  

Isn’t it always like that?  

Hearing that things fell apart after they let me go feels satisfying.  

“What happened?”  

“The entire strategic planning team got replaced. Did you know?”  

“What? Why that department?”  

“They said they were bringing in better talent.”  

After I was fired, Spectrum reportedly underwent an internal restructuring.  

For the sake of efficiency.  

They kept the necessary departments and ruthlessly cut out the ones that weren’t needed or weren’t functioning well.  

But that’s strange.  

“Spectrum’s departments were all tailored to the employees’ capabilities. That should’ve been the most efficient setup.”  

“Guess it didn’t look that way to the new CEO. He went on about old startup habits or something.”  

“…Tch.”  

Sure, they hired him to grow the company.  

His perspective might differ.  

But whether that perspective works is another question.  

“The company’s profits have gone up, so I can’t really argue.”  

“Tch.”  

It’s working, huh.  

Damn it.  

Seeing me click my tongue, Jeong Yuha looked at me quietly and said,  

“You seem a bit different, boss.”  

“What do you mean?”  

“Or maybe not. The way you talk still screams psychopath.”  

“Are you really here to pick a fight?”  

The conversation went on, but the initial question remained unanswered.  

How did she even know to come here, and why?  

Yuha chuckled and shook her head.  

“Boss, didn’t you hear me? I got fired too.”  

“…So what?”  

“Why do you think I’m here?”  

Jeong Yuha stood up abruptly, pounded her chest, and said something outrageous.  

“Give me a job, hehe.”  

I let out a hollow laugh and said,  

“How am I supposed to hire you?”  

“How? With your money-making skills, obviously.”  

“How did you even know I’m running a business?”  

“What does the strategic planning team do? We track important people. You’re on that list, boss.”  

“…Why am I on that list?”  

“Why do you think?”  

Jeong Yuha brought up the worst-case scenario I didn’t want to think about.  

“President Yoo Jinsang saw you as Spectrum’s biggest threat.”  

A threat, huh.  

Should I feel flattered that my abilities were recognized?  

Or should I ask why they fired me if they thought so highly of me?  

My mind was in turmoil, but at least I got one crucial piece of information.  

“So the strategic planning team was keeping tabs on my movements?”  

“Yeah, though I don’t know if they still are.”  

“No need to ask. They probably are.”  

If it’s Yoo Jinsang, he’d never slack off on monitoring someone he considers a threat.  

And he’d crush them in the end.  

‘Not exactly good news.’  

I figured I’d eventually cross paths with Spectrum as they expanded their business.  

But a bad feeling crept in that it might happen sooner than I expected.  

“Thanks for the heads-up. I’m busy, so…”  

“Wait, where are you going?!”  

“I told you, I’m busy. You know I’m running a business, don’t you?”  

“I do. That’s why I’m here.”  

Jeong Yuha pounded her chest confidently and said,  

“Boss, I’m pretty capable, even in my own eyes. Perfect TOEIC and TOEFL scores, excellent paperwork skills.”  

“Hmm, and?”  

“And my abilities are top-notch. Have I ever been rejected in a buyer meeting? Never. I’ve even secured better contract terms, haven’t I?”  

“That one time?”  

As I recall, it was a fluke.  

‘She’s got a knack for self-promotion.’  

“One time, big deal. More importantly, there aren’t many employees who’ve worked under you as long as I have. If you’re hiring, who else would it be but me?”  

She sure knows how to sell herself.  

But despite all her time under me, she can be careless at times.  

Like now.  

“Do you remember what I said about the basics of sales?”  

“Huh? Uh… understanding the client’s needs?”  

“Right. If you’re selling water, before you boast about how precious or special it is, you check if the client needs water and what kind they need.”  

“Yeah.”  

“So what should you have said first when you came here?”  

Jeong Yuha’s eyes darted around before she spoke.  

“Boss, are you hiring?”  

“Nope. Get lost.”  

“Boss, come on!”  

Sizzle.  

***

Watching the pork belly grill to perfection made my mouth water.  

If it weren’t for Jeong Yuha sitting across from me, it would’ve looked even tastier.  

Even staring at undercooked meat, Yuha was grinning.  

“Hehe, come to think of it, we’ve never had a proper company dinner.”  

“We have.”  

“No, we haven’t.”  

“We did. That time in Paris at Le Louvre.”  

“…You’re not talking about when we stayed up all night eating instant noodles to finish missing documents, are you?”  

“That’s the one.”  

“That wasn’t a company dinner; that was struggling to survive. Got it? Geez, you’re so heartless. No wonder you’ve never dated at your age.”  

“Get out.”  

I wanted to kick her out, but Yuha stubbornly held her ground, shoving meat into her mouth.  

‘…Fine, I’ll let it slide since I made my first delivery today.’  

But aside from that.  

“Are you really going to work under me again?”  

“Yup. That’s why I’m here.”  

“You remember screaming at me while drunk, saying you pitied yourself for having a boss like me?”  

“I still feel that way.”  

Yuha shot me a glance and said,  

“You still seem like a psychopath with zero charm. Total T-type.”  

“Then why are you here?”  

“Your ability.”  

Yuha wiped her mouth, pulled a document from her bag, and handed it to me.  

I opened it, saw what it was, and let out a hollow laugh.  

“How old is this data?”  

“Old? It’s from when you were still at Spectrum.”  

What Yuha pulled out was none other than a graph of Spectrum’s growth trajectory.  

From the time I was handling sales and management single-handedly.  

“There aren’t many people who can produce results like this through sheer force. I’m from the strategic planning team, so you can trust me on this.”  

“Not many, but not zero either.”  

“But you’re special among them. I’m betting on that ability.”  

“Special, huh? I guess being the only founding CEO to get fired is pretty unique.”  

“Now you get it. You hold grudges like nobody’s business.”  

That’s just how I am.  

At least I now understood why Yuha came here.  

Time to talk business.  

“I can’t pay you what Spectrum did, at least not right away. The work will be tougher, and I might drive you even harder.”  

“Harder than there? Are you human or a demon?”  

“There’ll be sweaty, dirty work too. It’s a completely different industry from Spectrum. If my kid wanted to work at a place like this, I’d stop them.”  

To catch up to and surpass Spectrum.  

It’s going to get busier.  

“Think it over again.”  

“I already have.”  

Yuha shoved a piece of undercooked meat into her mouth and said,  

“That’s how startups work, right? If it succeeds, you get rewarded big later. If it fails, you’re left with nothing.”  

“You’ve thought it all through?”  

“You’re the one who hates people acting without thinking, boss.”  

She’s not wrong.  

‘Alright… so that’s how it is.’  

Yuha’s abilities are undeniable.  

I trained her from the ground up, so she knows exactly what I want and can handle it.  

She’s even capable of taking over my duties temporarily when I’m away.  

‘I’ll need to be out in the field a lot.’  

Researching is fine, but I need to use it as a foundation to go out and get things done.  

I can’t be at the warehouse every time delivery staff from Gangi Milling or Yuseong Milling show up.  

I need someone to manage the warehouse.  

‘And if I had someone to research, analyze, and develop the data and plans I need, that’d be even better.’  

Plus, handling accounting and logistics.  

It’s a lot for one person, but knowing Jeong Yuha, she can do it.  

And she’d probably have time to spare.  

After some quick calculations, I placed a perfectly grilled piece of meat in front of Yuha.  

“Starting salary, 35 million won.”  

“You know that’s 2.5 times less than what I got at Spectrum, right? Give me more. 45 million.”  

“You’re asking for another 10 million?”  

“I’m being reasonable here. I’m high-class talent. Give me more.”  

“Tch, fine. 45 million.”  

It’s a significant expense right now, but considering the money I’ll make and Yuha’s abilities, it’s a bargain.  

“Great. But incentives and overtime pay are separate, right?”  

“You sure know how to squeeze everything out.”  

“It’s the basics.”  

“Fine, deal.”  

And with that, Ribbon Corporation welcomed a new employee.  

An SSS-class, highly capable one at that.