WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Potter
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Regressed Assistant Manager Kim Can Read Minds ◈
Chapter 28
──────
Han Myeongcheol was reading the results of the Audit Team’s meeting as the car drove along.
The report laid out everything in order, from the allegation that Kim Seongjun had accepted money and gifts in Thailand to the discovery of Jang Taeho and Shin Jaeuk’s misconduct during their business trips.
After turning the last page, Han closed the file.
“Not bad.”
Jeong Eunho looked over from the seat beside him.
“Do you mean Manager Kim?”
“Where do you think he got the evidence? He collected it in Thailand and kept it tucked away until now.”
From false meeting records to vehicle routes and local sales expenses, these weren’t materials someone could gather in a few days.
“He’s not just good at his job. There’s a crafty old snake hiding inside him.”
“Couldn’t he simply have held on to it because he had no use for it?”
“If that were the case, he would’ve brought it out when the rumors started. Manager Kim waited until those two filed the report themselves.”
Han Myeongcheol tapped a section of the report.
“I hear Oh Sangcheol caused a scene in Team 3’s office. That couldn’t have been an act. Manager Kim must not have told even his own team.”
A faint smile spread across Han Myeongcheol’s face.
He liked smart people.
But he liked people who could read a situation even more.
“Eunho. Do you know the three things that change people most easily?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Money, position, and crisis.”
Money brought out greed, and people who rose in rank easily lost sight of who they really were.
When cornered by a crisis, the true nature they normally hid came out.
“What changed Team 2?”
Kim Seongjun had changed, and now the people around him were changing too.
“Deal with Jang Taeho and Shin Jaeuk according to the rules.”
“Understood.”
“Don’t stop at firing them. Hold them responsible for all of it, including the money they took and the false reports.”
Han Myeongcheol opened the next report.
It listed competitors that had approached Taeseong Trading’s clients.
After scanning the names, which included several companies besides Hando Trading, he turned toward the window.
The two people in the car were faintly reflected in the dark glass.
“Tsk. Inside, they fight over whose coattails to cling to. Outside, there are people everywhere trying to tear the company apart. Nobody just does their job properly.”
There were too many rotten people in Cha Myeongguk’s sales organization who only wanted to protect their positions and existing accounts.
If they filled the new vacancies with the same sort of people, the faces would change, but the company wouldn’t.
“Move up recruitment for the second half of the year.”
“How many people should we hire?”
“More than ever before. We need to change the people first.”
Hiring new people alone wouldn’t be enough.
They also needed to promote existing employees who delivered results.
The car stopped in front of an upscale Japanese restaurant.
When Han Myeongcheol got out, Jeong Eunho gathered the reports and followed.
They walked silently down a long hallway and stopped in front of the room at the far end.
An employee opened the sliding door. Seo Jeonguk, who had been waiting alone, rose.
“Welcome, Chairman.”
“Have you been waiting long?”
“No, sir.”
Han Myeongcheol sat across from Seo Jeonguk.
“Deputy General Manager Seo. Isn’t it about time you became a department manager?”
Han Myeongcheol was sharpening his first blade.
* * *
Jang Taeho stood outside President Cha Myeongguk’s office with his teeth clenched.
The report he had filed to bring down Kim Seongjun had come back as grounds for his own punishment.
He still couldn’t understand where things had gone wrong.
Suspended from his duties, he had only Cha Myeongguk to turn to before the official decision came down.
Whenever a problem arose in Team 3, he had first considered what Cha wanted. He had pushed his subordinates hard to produce the results the president demanded.
After all those years, he believed Cha would at least save him this once.
Even when the secretary stopped him, Jang Taeho refused to leave. A moment later, Cha Myeongguk’s voice came over the intercom, telling the secretary to let him in.
As soon as the door opened, Jang went inside and dropped to his knees.
“President Cha, I’ve never once acted against your wishes. Please help me just this once.”
Cha Myeongguk wiped the leaves of an orchid beside his desk with a cloth, not even looking at him.
“Then why did you go and do something nobody told you to do?”
“...I’m sorry.”
“You’re a deputy general manager. You should know how to read the situation and think before you act. You couldn’t do that, and now look where you are.”
Jang Taeho flinched with his head lowered.
If he left now, he would have no more chances.
“I wasn’t the one behind it. It was all Manager Shin’s idea. I only received the report afterward...”
“Tsk.”
The click of Cha’s tongue sounded unusually loud.
Only then did he put down the cloth and look at Jang Taeho.
His gaze turned cold at the sight of someone trying to survive by dragging down a subordinate.
For Cha Myeongguk, who had wanted to bring Kim Seongjun over to his side, this incident was an obstacle.
There was nothing to gain from covering up misconduct that had already been exposed. He had even less reason to share the blame just to save Jang Taeho.
“Acting like a snake to the very end. How am I supposed to trust you?”
Jang Taeho’s face stiffened.
He remembered Oh Sangcheol calling him a little snake and mocking him for thinking he could become a department manager.
“Leave quietly. That is, if you want to find a job at a decent partner company.”
In the end, Jang Taeho left the president’s office without another word.
* * *
A few days later, a disciplinary notice appeared on the company bulletin board.
[Deputy General Manager Jang Taeho and Manager Shin Jaeuk: Dismissed for Misconduct.]
[Fabricating allegations and coercing false testimony, submitting false business trip reports, and improperly accepting money and gifts.]
Team 3’s office had been quiet all morning.
Aware of the employees watching him, Jang Taeho emptied his drawers.
He pretended nothing was wrong, but his hands shook, and he dropped things on the floor several times.
Shin Jaeuk sat staring at the papers the Audit Team had handed over.
[After all the years I’ve spent here...]
After packing their personal belongings, the two returned their employee ID cards.
The remaining Team 3 employees could barely meet their eyes.
Nobody offered even a brief word of thanks for their work.
As soon as they left, people in the office were already discussing who would take over Team 3.
Surprisingly, the leading candidate was Manager Han Gyeongsu.
Han was first in line for promotion to deputy general manager and wasn’t deeply involved with either side’s faction, making Han a suitable choice to lead Team 3 under the circumstances.
Park Soyeon lowered her voice and asked Choi Yeongjin,
“What happens to us if Manager Han moves to Team 3?”
“An assistant manager would probably go along, wouldn’t they?”
Choi turned toward Han Gyeongsu.
“Manager Han, who are you thinking of taking with you if you move to Team 3?”
“Assistant Manager Choi, have you finished all the client work I assigned you?”
“...Not yet.”
Han Gyeongsu pushed up their glasses and looked at the pair.
Park Soyeon flinched too and turned back to her monitor.
Oh Sangcheol sipped his instant coffee and looked down from the window.
Jang Taeho and Shin Jaeuk were standing outside the company.
After lingering for a moment, they walked off in opposite directions, each carrying a box, without even saying goodbye to one another.
“Tsk. That’s why I told you not to mess with our Manager Kim.”
Slurp.
* * *
After work, I headed straight to Mood Bean.
After everything I’d been through at the office, I wanted to see Han Ara.
The part-timer behind the counter recognized me.
“The owner stepped out for a moment, but she’ll be back soon.”
I sat by the window and took a sip of warm coffee.
Only then did I feel like I could catch my breath.
Jingle.
A little later, the door opened, and a neatly dressed middle-aged woman came in.
“Hello. What would you like to drink?”
“A cup of coffee, please.”
After receiving her coffee, the woman sat at the table beside mine. She looked around the café before speaking to me.
“It has a lovely atmosphere, doesn’t it?”
“Yes. The coffee’s good too.”
“I heard the owner decorated the place herself.”
The woman took a sip of coffee and frowned slightly.
“Is it too bitter?”
“A little.”
I got a cup of warm water from the staff and handed it to her.
She mixed some into her coffee, took a sip, and nodded.
“Ah, that’s much better.”
“Next time, you can ask them to make it weaker.”
[Handsome and kind, too.]
A Lee Moonse song played softly in the café.
There would be plenty more good songs in the years ahead, but Lee Moonse was still my favorite singer.
When I quietly hummed along, the woman glanced at me.
“Do you like Lee Moonse?”
“Yes.”
She seemed to be a fan too, because her face brightened.
“Which song do you like best?”
“I like all of them, but my favorite is ‘Standing in the Shade of Roadside Trees.’”
“My favorite is ‘Old Love,’ the one playing now. My husband gets jealous, though. He keeps asking if I’m thinking about my first love.”
I smiled.
“What about Yoo Jaeha?”
“I like him too.”
“‘Because I Love You’?”
“That’s a good song too, but I prefer ‘My Reflection in My Heart.’”
The woman’s eyes widened.
“Oh my, so do I.”
Our conversation about music naturally turned to the café.
“It’s lovely to meet someone I can have a good conversation with. Do you come here often?”
“Yes. I’m a regular.”
“I see. The owner is so pretty and friendly.”
I simply gave her a small smile.
Just then, the café door opened.
Han Ara walked in and spotted me first.
“Seongjun, have you been waiting long?”
She approached with a smile, then stopped when she noticed the woman at the next table.
“Mom?”
I turned toward the woman.
“...Your mother?”
Seo Migyeong’s gaze moved between Han Ara and me.
[Oh my. So this is Manager Kim Seongjun?]
I stood up.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Kim Seongjun.”
“It isn’t our first meeting, though. We’ve been talking for a while now.”
Seo Migyeong smiled.
“Sit down. I must have startled you.”
When I sat back down, Han Ara looked between us.
“What were you talking about?”
“Just some old songs. We really hit it off, didn’t we?”
Seo Migyeong waited for my answer with sparkling eyes.
It was very different from Chairman Han Myeongcheol’s sharp gaze.
“By the way, are you two going on a date?”
“Yes. Seongjun made a reservation at a good restaurant.”
[So that’s how Ara smiles when they’re together.]
After looking at her daughter, Seo Migyeong took a card from her wallet and held it out to Han Ara.
“Here, take my card. Dinner’s on me.”
“I’m not a child. It’s fine.”
“I want to treat Seongjun to dinner, but I don’t want to be tactless and tag along.”
Han Ara glanced at me before taking the card.
I bowed my head to Seo Migyeong.
“Thank you. We’ll enjoy the meal.”
“In return, let’s have a meal together next time, the three of us. We can talk more about music too.”
“Yes. I’d like that.”
Seo Migyeong left first, telling us to enjoy our date.
When I stepped out of the café with Han Ara, the cool late-evening air brushed my face.
She studied my expression.
“Were you very surprised?”
“Yes. I was more nervous than when I first met the chairman.”
“You weren’t nervous when you met my dad?”
“He scolded me before I even had time to get nervous.”
Han Ara burst out laughing.
* * *
I had chosen a restaurant where we could talk quietly.
I’d been there a few times to entertain clients. Its chef would later become famous, even appearing on TV.
It was quite fancy compared with the old neighborhood places we usually visited, but Han Ara fit right in.
Her eyes widened after a bite of steak.
“This is delicious.”
“Isn’t it?”
As we ate, Han Ara mentioned that her father kept encouraging her to start a franchise business.
“What do you think about it?”
“Do you know how hard it is just to keep one café running?”
Unlike her, I thought Han Myeongcheol’s suggestion wasn’t bad.
‘In terms of timing, this is the perfect time to expand a café business.’
Edeya alone had opened small stores near expensive coffee shops and drawn customers in with low prices.
The volume of coffee beans Taeseong Trading supplied had grown along with it.
There would be more and more places selling cheap coffee.
Mood Bean didn’t need to compete on price too.
As more customers stayed in cafés for hours to read or study, comfortable spaces and delicious desserts would also become important.
“If it were me, I’d focus on cakes and desserts.”
“Not coffee?”
“Right. Don’t just make them something to go with the drinks. Make people come specifically to eat the cake. If a customer who would’ve only had a coffee orders cake too, that changes your sales.”
Thinking of cafés that had done well in the future gave me more ideas worth trying.
“Waffles and bread would be good too. You could also serve shaved ice in summer. That way, people who don’t drink coffee can come along. If the interior’s pretty too, you’ll get more customers coming for dates or photos.”
Han Ara stared at me with round eyes.
“...Wow. Seongjun.”
“Yes?”
“You sounded exactly like a salesperson just now.”
Only then did I realize I’d gotten carried away and done all the talking.
“I went on too much, didn’t I?”
“No. I could picture the whole place right away. With a pitch like that, you could even win over a stone Buddha.”
After thinking for a moment, Han Ara spoke.
“I’ll give the suggestion some serious thought. But promise you’ll help me if I really do it.”
“Of course I will. It’s your business.”
Han Ara’s eyes sparkled.
[If Seongjun helps, we can be together even while I’m working.]
She was more interested in the perks than the business itself. It was adorable.
When we finished eating and I went to pay, Han Ara held out Seo Migyeong’s card first.
She insisted to the end, saying her mother really would be upset if we didn’t use it.
After we went outside and walked a little, the air felt quite cold.
Seeing Han Ara rub her arms, I took her hand and slipped it into my pocket.
“Stay close if you’re cold. I give off a lot of heat.”
Han Ara walked close beside me and looked up.
“How was work?”
“Nothing much happened. You’d probably find it boring.”
“No, I like hearing about your work.”
I thought of the two people who had returned their employee IDs and left today.
“There were some people who tried to frame me for taking kickbacks in Thailand.”
Han Ara stopped in surprise.
“What? Frame you? That’s a pretty big thing to call nothing.”
“It’s over now. They’ve been fired.”
I calmly told her what had happened.
Han Ara got so angry that she looked ready to track them down herself.
“It’s because you’re too kind. If they were standing in front of me, I’d hit them right on the nose!”
Han Ara clenched her fist as if she were about to give someone a knuckle rap.
Watching her, I couldn’t help laughing.
“Don’t worry. It all worked out.”
“But after going through something like that, are you really okay?”
“Yes. It did give me a lot to think about, though.”
Assistant Manager Choi had said they wouldn’t tell a lie that would hurt me, and Department Manager Oh had stood by my side with even his own position on the line.
“You didn’t expect them to go that far for you?”
“No. I thought they were both people who always put themselves first.”
“You weren’t wrong about them. That just wasn’t all there was to them.”
I slowly nodded.
“They say everyone has three selves.”
The self I knew, the self others knew.
And the self neither I nor anyone else knew.
“If nobody knows that self, who can discover it?”
“You only find out after making a choice. Those two probably learned for the first time too just how far they were capable of going.”
I remembered the moment Oh Sangcheol and Choi Yeongjin had stood in front of me.
That side of them still felt unfamiliar, but I didn’t dislike it.
“I’m glad I told you.”
“Really? Then will you do me a favor today?”
“Sure. What is it?”
“Walk me all the way home tonight.”
“Of course.”
After looking at me for a moment, Han Ara blushed.
“I’m going to check off number two on my bucket list tonight.”
Number two.
A kiss outside her home before saying goodbye.
“But no asking on the way there.”
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried