Real Man

Chapter 172:

Chapter 172

The colorful flowers, as big as fists, and the baby’s breath that surrounded them densely, along with the fancy wrapping paper that covered them, completely hid the clerk’s upper body.

The clerk who handed the bouquet to Yoo-hyun while whining asked him.

“By the way, is the president visiting the Sindorim campus today?”

“Huh? Oh… well, something like that.”

“Wow. I knew it. This is the first time I’ve received such an order since the Hansung building was completed in front of us. The president came then too.”

“Haha, I see…”

Yoo-hyun smiled awkwardly, recalling what Kim Hyun Min, the deputy manager, had said.

-We can’t let the mobile phone division get the upper hand. I’ll give you a card, so don’t worry about the money and ask for the biggest and most splendid flowers there.

Lee Chan Ho blinked his eyes, wondering what to do with this.

Money was not the problem.

He had exceeded the budget a little, but he had enough room to cover it.

The problem was the size was too big.

Lee Chan Ho asked out of pure curiosity.

“Can you even see the front when you hold this?”

“No. Senior, please guide me along the way.”

“Okay, got it.”

In the end, Lee Chan Ho had to pull Yoo-hyun’s arm and guide him.

It was such a big bouquet.

At that moment.

In front of the underground auditorium of Hansung Sindorim campus.

Before the mobile phone division’s fourth quarter meeting, a tea party was held.

There were large round tables placed all over the hallway, and on top of them were rice cakes, snacks, and fruits.

Kim Hyun Min, the deputy manager, dipped a rice cake in honey and said.

“This is how the mobile phone division does it. It looks impressive.”

“It’s different indeed. We only got a can of coffee.”

Kim Young Gil, the assistant manager who was next to him, nodded his head in agreement.

Choi Min Hee, the section chief, who saw that, covered her face with her hand and growled in a low voice.

“Just eat, you two. It’s embarrassing.”

“What’s embarrassing? We’re just eating.”

“Can you eat with your mouth shut?”

It wasn’t just a casual remark, there were also strangers from the mobile phone division at the same table.

Especially right next to them was Kim Sung Deuk, the section chief of the mobile phone division’s product planning team.

He belonged to the same product planning team, but the division level was different, and strictly speaking, he was a customer.

Moreover, he was a talent who had enough influence to sway the product direction.

It was only natural to be careful, even though he had made a good impression in Germany.

But Kim Hyun Min, the deputy manager, was fearless.

“Kim, let’s come again next time. They don’t check your identity here.”

“Why?”

“Why? You can eat for free.”

“Are you here to eat? Hehe.”

Kim Sung Deuk, the section chief, chuckled at the words that Kim Hyun Min, the deputy manager, threw casually.

Choi Min Hee, the section chief, looked at him strangely.

“Is this funny?”

“Yes. Hehe, very. Aren’t you having so much fun?”

“Your taste is a bit weird…”

Choi Min Hee, the section chief, stuck out her tongue, and Kim Hyun Min, the deputy manager, shrugged his shoulders and stepped forward.

“Look. The only ones who appreciate me are the mobile phone division. I don’t belong here. Heh.”

“Hehehehehe.”

Seeing that, Kim Sung Deuk, the section chief, shook his shoulders without a break.

Choi Min Hee, the section chief, looked at him incredulously.

He looked fine on the outside, but his mental state was not.

It was the moment when the illusion she had of Kim Sung Deuk, the section chief, was shattered.

“Kim, stack some rice cakes in a paper cup. We’ll eat them in the auditorium.”

“How many?”

“Puhahahaha.”

Kim Sung Deuk, the section chief, kept laughing, and Kim Hyun Min, the deputy manager, who was embarrassed, made a number 2 with his fingers and grumbled for no reason.

“But why aren’t the guys who went to get the flowers coming?”

That was when.

From afar, a huge bouquet walked in holding a man’s hand.

That’s right.

It looked like the bouquet was walking.

Buzzing.

The eyes of everyone in the hallway turned to the bouquet at once.

Thud.

Kim Hyun Min, the deputy manager, dropped the rice cake he was eating on the floor.

He was stunned for a moment, then opened his mouth.

“I told them to buy the biggest one… and they really bought the biggest one. Yoo-hyun sure does his job well.”

“That’s right.”

Kim Young Gil, the assistant manager who was next to him, also nodded his head in agreement.

“Hehehehe, puhahahahaha.”

Seeing that, Kim Sung Deuk, the section chief, clutched his stomach and laughed as if he was going to roll on the floor.

Choi Min Hee, the section chief, muttered softly.

“This guy really lost his mind, he did.”

As he entered the auditorium with the flowers, a guide who was in the middle came up quickly.

“Excuse me, is this a prop for the event?”

“No. This is for the winner today.”

“Oh… then, please put it over there.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

Yoo-hyun bowed his head in embarrassment and followed the guide, leaving behind the part-timers who were going.

It was such a big size that it would completely block the narrow aisle next to the seat, so he had to put it in front of the side door.

He also chose a seat near there.

Yoo-hyun, who sat at the far right end of the auditorium, with the center as the reference point, turned his head and looked around.

The large auditorium was packed with people.

It was a place where all the staff from the development center and design center in the Sindorim campus gathered.

He could see the mobile phone division executives who sat in the center of the front row, and the event hosts and the expected winners who sat on their right.

He couldn’t see them because they were hidden by the people, but Park Seung Woo, the assistant manager, must have been among them.

It was unfamiliar.

It was the quarterly meeting that he had attended countless times when he was in the mobile phone division.

He didn’t just belong there, he had also served as the division head.

But why did this place feel so strange?

Soon, Yoo-hyun realized what the feeling was.

‘I’ve never been not the protagonist.’

Yoo-hyun always had the front seat.

Because of his rank, because of his awards, or because of his presentations.

Yoo-hyun was always the protagonist who received the spotlight.

He had never prepared flowers for someone else, or sat in a corner seat to watch someone else’s award.

He would rather not attend at all.

He lived to be the protagonist.

But it was strange.

He was sitting in a corner seat, not getting any attention, but he felt good.

He was not bored by the events that he had no interest in.

On the contrary, the more he waited for Park Seung Woo’s award.

What expression would he have?

Imagining his happy face, Yoo-hyun smiled.

The event proceeded quickly.

The speaker’s voice echoed repeatedly in the auditorium.

-Now, let me introduce you to the video…

Many videos passed on the screen.

Among them was the video of the European exhibition.

During the video playback, the color phone briefly appeared.

With a brief introduction, people from all over the world touched the color phone and showed their happy expressions.

The people who saw that scene murmured.

“Is that the color phone?”

“Isn’t that the idea from the LCD division?”

“The vice president really loves it.”

At the same time, the part-timers’ shoulders rose.

They all felt proud.

Yoo-hyun felt a tickle in his chest.

Was he excited by this achievement?

That was never the case.

Yoo-hyun had received an award in front of the president in the past.

He had become the president, and was chosen as one of the global leaders by Time magazine.

Rather, it was a strange feeling that was hard to express in words.

It was unfamiliar.

Then, Kim Hyun Min, the deputy manager, who was watching the video, shouted.

“Huh? Did you see that? My face showed up.”

“Me too, me too.”

“Oh, me too.”

“Sigh…”

Lee Chan Ho, the employee, raised his hand, and Kim Young Gil, the assistant manager, wiggled his hips.

Choi Min Hee, the section chief, covered her face in embarrassment.

“Hehehehe.”

Kim Sung Deuk, the section chief, kept chuckling for some reason.

“…”

At that moment, Yoo-hyun’s memories flashed by like a panorama.

They were the journeys he had taken with the people next to him to get here.

Laughing, crying, talking, being happy, and hugging when it was hard.

There were so many things.

Soon, he would see Park Seung Woo, the assistant manager, Kim Hyun Min, the deputy manager, Choi Min Hee, the section chief, Kim Young Gil, the assistant manager, Lee Chan Ho, the employee, who were sitting next to him.

And Kim Sung Deuk, the section chief.

He couldn’t see them, but somewhere, Jang Hye Min, the senior, Kang Chang Seok, and the next-generation product development team members were sitting.

Yes. It was them.

He made it with them.

It wasn’t just Yoo-hyun, but everyone’s hearts touched and made this place.

Yoo-hyun finally realized what the unfamiliar feeling was.

The joy of being together.

The happy feeling of doing well together.

Thump thump.

That was what made Yoo-hyun’s heart beat.

And finally, the awaited contest award ceremony began.

“Wow, it’s finally starting.”

“Thump thump thump.”

They all knew the result, but they looked nervous.

Several award-winning works passed by, and one was left.

The host said in a loud voice.

-The idea award goes to, you saw it briefly in the exhibition video, right? The cheapest full-touch phone that will change the mobile phone market. It’s the color phone.

Bang.

Colored paper fluttered like petals from the ceiling.

Clap clap clap clap clap.

The applause of many people was heard.

“Wow…”

The part-timers’ faces looked overwhelmed.

He couldn’t empathize with them before, but now Yoo-hyun could feel it.

Yoo-hyun’s heart beat.

It wasn’t because he received such an award.

Just like when waves of the same height overlap, the power becomes squared.

It was a sense of accomplishment that he could feel much more because everyone was together with the same mind.

It was incomparable to what he had done alone.

-Now, let’s invite the winners to the stage.

Following the host’s words, the winners lined up on the stage.

Park Seung Woo, the assistant manager, who was at the front, moved his arm and leg on the same side because he was so nervous.

Choi Min Hee, the section chief, bit her tongue, and the other part-timers laughed.

“Why is he like that?”

“Puhahahahaha.”

Yoo-hyun liked that too.

He thought it was like Park Seung Woo, the assistant manager, who was always sincere but clumsy.

Would he feel like this if he went to his young son’s school festival?

Before he knew it, Yoo-hyun’s mouth had a fatherly smile.

-The idea contest grand prize. Park Seung Woo, the assistant manager. This person has shown creative thinking and excellent expertise…

Park Seung Woo, the assistant manager, who was standing at attention, was seen.

His hands and legs were shaking, but he didn’t lower his head.

He faced Hyun Ki Joong, the vice president, and maintained a proper posture while the long speech continued.

He didn’t look dejected like before.

He looked more confident than anyone.

He showed his growth in a short period of time without any filter.

Yoo-hyun was proud of him.

He took in his sight and quickly moved to the front seat with the flowers.

-…December 2, 2007. Mobile phone division Hyun Ki Joong, the vice president, solo. Next, a plaque and a prize of 20 million won will be awarded.

“Wow.”

As Hyun Ki Joong, the vice president, handed over the plaque and shook hands, a huge exclamation filled the auditorium.

It was because of the huge prize.

But that sound was soon buried by Yoo-hyun, who handed over the flowers on the stage.

Buzzing.

Taking advantage of the noisy gap, Yoo-hyun quickly conveyed his heart.

“Congratulations, assistant manager.”

“What is this…”

“You’re our representative, you deserve this.”

“Hehe. Yeah, thank you.”

The bouquet completely covered Park Seung Woo, the assistant manager.

Hyun Ki Joong, the vice president, who was next to him, blinked his eyes in confusion.

The guide who came up to hand over the microphone didn’t know what to do either.

The host was the same.

-Wow, the flowers are really big.

“Puhahahahahaha.”

The auditorium burst into laughter at the host’s remark.