Real Man

Chapter 158:

Chapter 158

He felt a pang in his chest at the sound of his sister’s voice, which started with a high tone and ended with a sigh.

“Did I make you come for nothing?”

Yoo-hyun recalled the sight of Han Jaehee, whom he met at the exhibition hall this morning.

His sister, who came in an open car, was mesmerized by the dazzling scenery inside the hall.

She was especially moved to tears when she saw the color phone display.

It was good until then.

Until Kim Sungdeuk, the manager, told Jang Hyemin, the senior, about Yoo-hyun and Lora Parker’s relationship.

Especially when he said that Yoo-hyun would meet Lora Parker at this exhibition hall.

Lora Parker.

As soon as that word came out, Jang Hyemin’s eyes rolled back.

And when Yoo-hyun added a word, she was fired up.

She grabbed Han Jaehee’s hand and went straight to the hotel room.

She wanted to execute what Yoo-hyun had said right away.

Yoo-hyun decided to think positively.

He could come to Germany next time.

But he didn’t have many chances to meet the person he admired here.

Of course, Han Jaehee didn’t know much about Lora Parker, but she was someone she would have to know someday if she continued to design.

Yoo-hyun nodded and went to the mart.

He had someone to take care of.

Knock knock knock.

When he knocked on the next room’s door, a dying voice came out.

-Hello.

“It’s Yoo-hyun.”

The door opened, and Kim Younggil, the assistant manager, appeared in his pajamas.

His face was pale and sickly, as if he had a bad cold.

“Did you eat?”

“Yeah. You?”

“I did too.”

He looked around the room and saw a lot of food.

The part-timers had already taken care of him once.

Kim Younggil asked.

“Why don’t you go out. Cough cough.”

“I can’t go out when you’re sick. I came to keep you company.”

“Oh, come on.”

Yoo-hyun sat Kim Younggil on the sofa.

Then he boiled some water in the coffee pot and made some tea.

The fragrant smell filled the room.

“What’s this?”

“It’s German cold tea. Try it. It’s good for you.”

He put a bag on the small table between the sofas.

“And this is cold candy. Eat it when you’re bored, and this is for bathing. Put it in the tub. It’ll make you feel better.”

“Huh? Oh… Thank you.”

Kim Younggil looked at Yoo-hyun with a flustered expression.

His eyes were a mix of gratitude and guilt.

“What are you talking about? It’s nothing compared to what you’ve done for me.”

“Me? Don’t say that. What have I done for you?”

What do you mean?

If Kim Younggil hadn’t run to Yoo-hyun, the president, and told him about Kwon Sejung’s death.

If he hadn’t yelled so sharply.

Could Yoo-hyun be here now?

He knew that, so he could say with confidence.

“You’ve done a lot. And you’ll do more.”

“Huh? Haha… I’ll have to work hard.”

“Not hard, but well.”

“You know, you sound like our manager.”

Kim Younggil pouted at Yoo-hyun’s cheeky answer.

They laughed lightly and ate some cold candy together.

The bitter and sweet taste blended well.

Yoo-hyun eased the awkward atmosphere with some product-related talk.

“You know, the thing we exhibited today…”

“Oh, that? Well, the thing is…”

As expected, Kim Younggil poured out his words as if he had been waiting.

He coughed occasionally, but his speech was almost uninterrupted.

It was a chatter unlike the quiet and taciturn Kim Younggil.

‘He really loves his work.’

Kim Younggil was not an engineer by profession, but by nature.

He was close to an engineer who was good at analyzing and evaluating.

That aspect made him more special in this team.

Of course, he didn’t know that yet.

Yoo-hyun hoped that he would get a proper evaluation someday.

He wanted to give him a fair chance, like he did for Park Seungwoo.

But before that, there was something he wanted to check.

Yoo-hyun naturally steered the topic to Apple.

“It would have been nice if Apple had participated in the exhibition.”

“They don’t need to. They let others do the exhibition for them.”

Many small and medium-sized companies that came to the exhibition displayed products that were compatible with Apple products.

Among the audio companies, there were few that didn’t bring products that supported Apple Pod and Apple Phone.

It was as if the whole world was exhibiting for Apple.

“That’s right. Apple is definitely special. So is Apple Phone.”

“I felt it too, while working with them. They have a lot of power. I think they’ll sell well in Korea when they’re released.”

“The media was negative, though?”

“Well, I don’t know if it’s because I worked with Apple, but I feel like they’re leading the era.”

“I see.”

He was relieved.

With this mindset, he wouldn’t give up on the Apple Phone panel first.

Then Kim Younggil, who was drinking tea, said quietly.

“But still, will it be as successful as the color phone?”

“It hasn’t even come out yet.”

“I think it will be successful. Apple Phone is still a bit hard for people to use, but the color phone feels familiar. And the price is very cheap.”

He had worked with him, but the most noticeable one was Park Seungwoo.

It was hard to accept the success of a junior right below him, even if he was a gentleman.

He might have felt some jealousy in his heart.

“Park is amazing. Yoo-hyun, you’re amazing too. I learned a lot from watching you.”

“What are you talking about? I’m learning more from you.”

“No, I mean it.”

Even so, Kim Younggil took care of his junior.

Yoo-hyun knew that he was sincere in his words.

Kim Younggil was that kind of person.

“It will change soon. The color phone is just a passing thing. I think Apple will rule the world after that.”

“Yeah. Then I should pay more attention. Hehe.”

“Of course. You’re the person in charge.”

“I’m just a person in charge, nothing more.”

In 2009, when the Apple Phone 3 was released in Korea, the term smartphone finally pushed aside UMPC and PDA and became the main one.

In 2010, when the Apple Phone 4 was released, it caused a worldwide sensation.

Thanks to that, Hansung Electronics LCD division made a big leap.

It was natural that the person in charge received a lot of benefits.

But the person in charge at that time was not Kim Younggil.

It was Shin Chanyong, the manager, and Yoo-hyun who pushed him out of the Apple position and took the fruits.

It was the past that Yoo-hyun wanted to fix.

“I don’t know how it will turn out, but I wish we could make something amazing like this together then.”

“I have a feeling it will be great.”

“Haha, Yoo-hyun, you have a good sense. I hope so too.”

Kim Younggil chuckled and Yoo-hyun laughed along.

There was no awkwardness in their laughter.

The eyes that faced each other also looked lively.

He felt that they had become closer.

Ding dong. Ding dong.

Then the doorbell rang.

Kim Hyunmin, the manager’s voice, sounded from behind the door.

-We’re here.

“Just a moment.”

“Open up quickly.”

Yoo-hyun hurried up and got up at Kim Hyunmin’s urging.

“I have a feeling we’re going to have a drink here?”

“No way. We’ve been working for two days straight.”

“Do you want to bet?”

“No. I lost to you last time and I have a lot of food to buy.”

Yoo-hyun smiled at Kim Younggil, who shook his head.

He opened the door.

Clang.

There were part-timers in front of the door, as expected.

“Oh, look at you two men cozying up.”

“Let’s go in.”

Kim Hyunmin entered, and Park Seungwoo and Lee Chanho followed naturally.

They all had their hands full of stuff.

Half of it was alcohol.

Kim Hyunmin saw Kim Younggil’s flustered expression and made a preemptive strike.

“Hey, hey, you know that Jäger (short for Jägermeister, a type of alcohol) is a German liquor, right?”

“Huh? What does that have to do with anything?”

“What do you mean? Jäger is good for colds. That’s why we bought it.”

Jägermeister did taste like herbal medicine.

But would a 35-degree alcohol be good for a cold?

It was as unbelievable as drinking soju with red pepper powder.

Kim Hyunmin read Yoo-hyun’s eyes and shrugged his shoulders.

“That’s what they say.”

“Well, I guess we can’t help it.”

Well, what can we do.

It was Yoo-hyun’s fault for buttoning up wrong.

They were already set up for a game.

Maybe he would see this scene throughout this business trip.

Yoo-hyun shook his head and joined them as if nothing had happened.

“Come on, make some room. It’s tight here.”

“Puhahahahaha.”

The sound of laughter filled the air with the moonlight as the backdrop.

The next morning.

The start of the second day of the exhibition was accompanied by a provocative news.

<The theft of Ilseong Electronics’ giant slim TV. Who is behind it?>

The news did not specify a target.

But the people who saw the news naturally thought of one company.

-If it’s not Japan, Taiwan, or China, then where?

-Did Hansung do it to get an award?

-ㄴㄴ There’s no such content in the article.

-Look at the content. The only company that can compete with Ilseong is Hansung.

-Hansung’s slim TV won the best innovation award.

-That’s ridiculous. How can they steal from each other because of competition?

That was not all.

From TV, washing machine, to phone, the same content continued.

In short, since the meeting between the heads of Hansung and Ilseong yesterday, the products of both companies were exposed and compared.

There were many critical and stimulating articles.

<Hansung Electronics’ color phone is half-baked? Ilseong Electronics “It’s nothing but a fake that copied the haptic phone”>

<Ilseong Electronics’ haptic phone, complicated and difficult, and even expensive. Is it a budget full-touch phone?>

A silent war was going on behind the scenes.

Yoo-hyun watched the situation and snickered.

“It’s going to be a mess.”

Contrary to his words, it was time to move.

In front of the private room F on the third floor of the exhibition hall.

Reporters gathered to attend the private exhibition of Hansung Electronics LCD division.

Soon the private room door opened and a guide came out and greeted them.

“Hello. I sincerely thank the reporters from the Asian media for your precious time.”

Then he led the reporters into the room.

Click click.

As soon as the reporters entered the room, the camera shutter sound rang everywhere.

There were many LCD panels, but the transparent refrigerator-style LCD, the 10-millimeter-thick large LCD panel, and the bending small OLED panel were especially eye-catching.

The performance of hitting the small OLED panel with a hammer and not breaking it was also good.

At that moment.

Yoo-hyun was watching the reporters from the corner of the exhibition hall.

He clearly saw the Taiwanese reporter who was looking at the panels very carefully.

Unlike other reporters who captured the whole exhibition hall with their cameras, he observed each panel in detail.

He even carried a loupe (magnifying glass) and tried to examine the pixel structure inside the panel.

His touch was different too.

He carefully touched the exterior and checked the seams of the nuts and joints.

A normal reporter wouldn’t be that detailed.