DS Construction spent the last three days in utter chaos, as if a storm had swept through.
As soon as the restructuring task force was established, a notice about staff reassignment was posted, and with it, over two-thirds of the executives submitted their resignations—marking the first major step in the restructuring process.
In the smoking area outside the building and the break room where people could catch their breath, talk about the executives’ resignations was heating up.
“Did you see today’s announcement?”
“I did. What on earth is going on with this restructuring?”
“What do you mean ‘what’s going on’? The heads have all been chopped—now things should start looking up.”
“I never expected the CEO’s dismissal and the mass resignation of the executives. I’ve never heard of a restructuring like this before.”
“Are we sure the whole company isn’t going to fall apart because of this?”
“Would a big company like this just break up? Plus, we’re a DS Group affiliate. Unless DS Group pulls out of construction, there’s no way we’re going under.”
“No, but isn’t it weird? A mass executive resignation like this usually doesn’t happen unless the upper brass, who get information first, sense trouble and jump ship. Either that, or everyone is so fed up with the new leadership that they all quit at once.”
The general expectation was that the restructuring would encourage staff to take voluntary retirement.
But no one expected that the executives would be the first to go before any such retirements were implemented, leaving all the employees at DS Construction in utter confusion.
“I heard it’s not like that, actually.”
“It’s not?”
Just as rumors start in the smoking and break rooms, information not yet widely known was spreading from these spots throughout the company.
“They say the new director in charge fired them all.”
“He fired them? So it wasn’t resignations—they were sacked?”
“Yeah. He interviewed the executives as soon as he arrived, then gathered them during the board meeting and dropped the hammer.”
“What?”
“He said the restructuring would begin by cutting the top brass. That those who were supposed to take responsibility needed to step down for the company to get back on track. After all, the deputies and managers do all the work anyway, so he’d start clearing people out from the top.”
“Really? That’s a good call. I hated seeing those guys who only cared about wining and dining with subcontractors acting all high and mighty around here. Serves them right.”
As the times changed, even junior staff who disliked the wining-and-dining culture began to look favorably on the restructuring.
They had expected those at the bottom to be the first let go under the guise of voluntary retirement, but seeing the upper-level ‘pigs’—as they called them—who just wasted space, get the boot was a source of real satisfaction.
“It’s refreshing, but won’t this create a vacuum? If the people who approve projects are gone, who’s going to move things forward? Isn’t everything going to grind to a halt?”
“They said the task force will take over the business until the restructuring is finished. We all knew that once the restructuring team was in place, operations would be transferred to them anyway. They’re not going to let those who just suck up salaries stick around. I say it’s good. While we’re at it, it’s about time the bloodsuckers at the top got cleared out for good.”
“Is that really a good thing?”
“Of course. Think about it. What happens if the top is emptied out? The lower ranks get pulled up to fill the gaps. Even if we don’t get there right away, if people keep moving up, it’ll eventually be our turn. And if you replace one executive with what would have been ten layoffs among us, we’ve got less to worry about. I fully support this decision.”
“But the rumors say that director…he’s not exactly trustworthy. I’ve heard he’s a playboy.”
“Who cares if he’s a playboy or a wild one? As long as he saves the company, that’s all that matters. Let’s wait and see. After cutting people, the next step is to revive the dying projects. Watching how he handles that will show us what kind of person he is. For now, I’m giving him points for getting rid of those executives.”
Though some still had doubts, they began to view the restructuring team—and especially Park Jin-hyuk—differently, swayed by their more optimistic colleagues.
Just as a storm raged within DS Construction, a different kind of tempest was sweeping through the DS Group Chairman’s office.
After finishing the executive cleanup, Hyun Deputy General Manager arrived to report to Park Jun-man, who greeted him with a smile.
“Deputy Hyun. How long have you worked with me now?”
Hyun Yi-soo bowed his head and answered Park Jun-man’s question.
“Yes, Chairman. This is my fifteenth year at the company, and my fifth working directly under you.”
“That’s right. You’ve done very well all this time.”
When Park Jun-man raised his right hand, Secretary Hwang approached and handed him a file folder.
Park Jun-man glanced through it, then handed it to Hyun Yi-soo, who took it carefully with both hands and checked the contents.
The folder contained detailed evaluations and records of corruption regarding the DS Construction executives, as well as thorough assessments of whether they would help or hinder the company going forward.
“Check the very last page.”
Hyun Yi-soo flipped to the last page, as instructed by Park Jun-man.
There, a list of executives recommended for removal was compiled based on their evaluations.
“Does anything strike you?”
Hyun Yi-soo did feel something, but couldn’t say it out loud.
It was something he had learned working with Park Jun-man.
[Even if you know, don’t let it show.]
He realized those at the top hate nothing more than their subordinates flaunting their abilities. So, even when he knew, he always tried to act like he didn’t.
Park Jun-man looked at him for a moment, then leaned back in his chair and spoke.
“I gave you advance notice about the restructuring because I was worried you wouldn’t have enough time to prepare. But I didn’t expect this. Who knew your intelligence network was even better than mine?”
Park Jun-man shot Secretary Hwang a meaningful look and grinned.
Cold sweat began to trickle down Hyun Yi-soo’s back at that smile.
“We spent a good amount of time digging up dirt on the executives, didn’t we?”
“It took six months.”
Secretary Hwang, who had been standing to the left of the desk, answered carefully.
Park Jun-man nodded at Secretary Hwang’s answer, folding his arms.
“Right. It took us six months to get that list you’re holding after we started in earnest. But you—you seem to have outdone yourself. I only gave you the tip last month, so how did you manage to single out even people like Director Jung from Domestic Sales Team 2 in just one month?”
Park Jun-man gazed at Hyun Yi-soo with suspicion.
It’s a long-held wish of all bosses to have a competent subordinate.
But that only holds true as long as the boss can keep the subordinate’s abilities in check.
When the subordinate’s abilities outstrip the boss’s expectations, the subordinate can no longer be treated like a plaything. In fact, such a subordinate may someday become a knife that wounds the hand that holds it.
And in Park Jun-man’s eyes now, Hyun Yi-soo seemed just like that.
He thought he had a toy, but now it seemed like a knife that might hurt him.
But Hyun Yi-soo shook his head, handing the folder back to Park Jun-man.
“We couldn’t single them out either. How could I, in just one month, do what it took you half a year to achieve? That wasn’t my doing.”
“It wasn’t yours? But I distinctly saw Director Jung’s dismissal on the document you just brought. Did I see it wrong?”
“No, you saw it correctly.”
“Then you’re telling me you didn’t uncover Director Jung’s corruption?”
“Yes. I truly didn’t know Director Jung was corrupt.”
“Then why did you recommend his dismissal? Wasn’t his performance evaluation good?”
Hearing Park Jun-man’s words, Hyun Yi-soo recalled the incident two days ago.
During the final coordination meeting for the executive reshuffle, he and Park Jin-hyuk had clashed fiercely over Director Jung.
Park Jin-hyuk had insisted on dismissing Director Jung, who was highly regarded, while Hyun Yi-soo strongly opposed it, creating a tense standoff.
According to the information Hyun Yi-soo had gathered, Director Jung from Domestic Sales Team 2 was not only expected to be promoted but was even considered a future CEO candidate.
But Park Jin-hyuk thought differently.
While former President Park Dong-hyuk boasted numbers of a hundred thousand, Director Jung only had ten thousand.
If he was truly competent, the fact that he was hiding such a huge amount of corruption made it obvious to Park Jin-hyuk.
And so, Park Jin-hyuk stubbornly pushed for Director Jung’s dismissal, believing that it was the key to the success of the entire executive shakeup.
In the end, faced with Park Jin-hyuk’s unwavering resolve, Hyun Yi-soo surrendered.
He had planned to bring this issue up when meeting with Chairman Park Jun-man.
Even if it seemed like tattling, he couldn’t simply overlook something that seemed wrong.
Recalling the brief clash over Director Jung, Hyun Yi-soo bowed his head and replied.
“I classified him as someone we should keep due to his positive performance evaluations.”
“Really?”
Park Jun-man uncrossed his arms at Hyun Yi-soo’s answer, looking relieved that Hyun Yi-soo hadn’t outperformed his own assessment.
He looked at Hyun Yi-soo with interest when, unexpectedly, Hyun Yi-soo spoke up.
“Director Park Jin-hyuk strongly insisted on his dismissal.”
“Jin-hyuk? Why?”
Thinking perhaps Secretary Hwang had tipped him off, Park Jun-man glanced over at him.
But Secretary Hwang shook his head vigorously, making it clear he hadn’t.
When Park Jun-man turned back, he found Hyun Yi-soo looking at him with questioning eyes.
“Chairman, forgive me for asking, but weren’t you the one who told him?”
“Me? You’re asking if I told him?”
“We honestly didn’t have any information on Director Jung. It was Director Park who selected not only the obvious ones, but also pointed out people we missed. I honestly thought, until just before coming here, that you had tipped him off.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
Park Jun-man looked at Secretary Hwang with amusement.
Secretary Hwang, catching his gaze, understood what Park Jun-man was thinking, and raised his hands in a show of sincerity.
“Chairman, I haven’t said a word to the young master about personnel matters.”
“You haven’t? Then how does he know? Hm? How did he know?”
Park Jun-man turned to Hyun Yi-soo as if to say, “It’s got to be you or him.” Secretary Hwang waved his hands in protest.
When the gaze shifted back to Hyun Yi-soo, he spoke gravely.
“What kind of person is Director Park, in your opinion?”
“Why do you ask?”
Hyun Yi-soo looked up and met Park Jun-man’s eyes directly.
“At first, I thought Director Park was bluffing. When I heard he was selecting people just by interviewing them, without any evaluation forms, I assumed he’d gotten a heads-up from you and was just putting on a show in front of me. But in ten minutes…no, in five minutes…”
“Wait.”
Park Jun-man stopped Hyun Yi-soo mid-sentence.
“What did you say? He conducted the interviews without performance evaluations, and the meetings only lasted five minutes?”
“Yes. At first, we scheduled ten minutes per interview, but it seemed it would take too long, so midway through we reduced it to five minutes. After each conversation, he’d tell me the result. After seeing this, how could I not suspect he was acting on your instructions? I was convinced you were behind it.”
“This is nuts. What the hell is this kid?”
Park Jun-man turned to Secretary Hwang.
“Chairman. It’s like with the painting in the study—young master’s eye is extraordinary.”
“This is beyond extraordinary. How can someone be so accurate in judging people? Is it really possible to grasp someone’s character from just a five-minute conversation?”
“It might simply be that the young master has an uncannily accurate eye for people.”
“Discernment like that can’t be taught, it’s something you’re born with…isn’t it?”
Secretary Hwang, reading Park Jun-man’s mood, bowed deeply and congratulated him in a loud voice.
“Congratulations, sir.”
“Congratulations? For what?”
“To lead not just a small boat, but a great fleet like DS, the ability to chart a course is most important. Now that the young master has that gift, how could we not rejoice? Chairman, you can finally rest easy.”
“You always take Jin-hyuk’s side, don’t you? It’s just one small thing. Isn’t that right, Vice President Hyun?”
Though Park Jun-man spoke as if it was nothing, he could not hide his pleasure at Secretary Hwang’s words.
As Secretary Hwang said, vision was the single most important—and unquantifiable—trait for leading the group, and it wasn’t something that could be improved with training.
Now that Park Jin-hyuk had proven he was born with it, Park Jun-man had every reason to be satisfied.
Snapped out of his reverie, Hyun Yi-soo responded to Park Jun-man’s question.
“Huh? Yes, you’re right.”
“Look after him well. He’s still lacking in some ways.”
“Yes, sir. Don’t worry. No matter what, I’ll make sure to see the restructuring of DS Construction through with Director Park.”
Though Hyun Yi-soo made his promise confidently before Park Jun-man, a part of his mind was still struggling to unravel a tangled thread.
‘It wasn’t even five minutes. He didn’t even have a real conversation with the person he decided to fire. What is this? The Chairman didn’t tip him off? What kind of person is Park Jin-hyuk?’
Hyun Yi-soo laughed along with Park Jun-man, but his mind only grew more complicated.