CTL 5

“How much damage do you think you’ve caused by running around causing trouble and acting without knowing your place, for you to talk like that. Huh?”

In truth, he knew that the business world ranking wasn’t something he could easily win as if in a race just because he decided to reclaim it. Also, as Ko Yoonchul said, it wasn’t as if the company would immediately collapse just because a single executive did something.

But that didn’t mean he had to just stand by and watch as his efforts to raise the company’s value were thwarted every single time. He was the rotten part of the apple, and Yoongeon was holding a knife, carefully preparing to cut him out.

“If you’re not confident you can be of help, you should at least not be a hindrance.”

“Fuck… this, fucking bastard…!”

This was the reason Yoongeon, who was already on the verge of dying from being buried in work, was pushing forward with the design competition. To raise the company’s value, to take another leap forward.

“Listen carefully.”

“…….”

“I have no intention of getting on the same boat with a bastard who gets in the way.”

Of course, there were many other reasons to get rid of him besides the fact that he was a hindrance. Yoongeon was in the process of driving Ko Yoonchul to the edge of a cliff to exclude him before it was too late, and he had almost reached the very end. Just a little more, and he would fall.

“You… cough! You, think you’re so great? What, so you thought a concubine’s child could dare to take my place? Huh?”

Surprised for a moment at having his collar grabbed for the first time, Ko Yoonchul brought up the ‘concubine’s child’ as if he thought it would be a huge blow to him.

“Gasp…!”

As expected, Yoongeon became so enraged at his half-brother’s words that a vein popped on his forehead, and he grabbed not his collar but his throat and squeezed. But the reason he was angry was not because of the word ‘concubine’.

“…Dare?”

“Cough, gurgle…!”

“Listen carefully. The word, dare….”

Yoongeon said in a voice filled with immense patience.

“Is not a word that the likes of you can use.”

“Ai, air… gaaack……!”

“That’s a word that I can use.”

As Yoongeon stared daggers at him, fear began to creep into his half-brother’s eyes. He realized that Yoongeon, whom he had thought was just being insolent all this time, had actually been holding back with him.

Ko Yoonchul made a gasping sound, but the strength did not leave the hand that was gripping his throat. He wanted to say he was going to die, that he was really going to die, but even that was not easy. In this vast house, in this house where so many people worked, with no one watching, Ko Yoonchul was slowly dying.

“…….”

Even while clearly watching his brother die, Yoongeon did not make any expression. He didn’t even show anger, he just watched silently. Like a person watching an insect whose breath is being cut off. At that chillingly indifferent face, Ko Yoonchul squirmed, trying to break free somehow.

“I have to endure it…. Yes, I have to endure it. I shouldn’t kill him….”

Yoongeon muttered as if making a vow to himself, and then suddenly released the strength from the hand that was gripping the throat.

“Cough…! Cough! Gack…!”

“…….”

In front of Ko Yoonchul, who had slumped powerlessly to the floor and was coughing violently, Yoongeon crouched down like a delinquent thug and spoke.

“You… will pay the price for ‘daring’ to talk back to me.”

“…….”

It was an overly insolent thing for a younger brother to say to his older brother, but Ko Yoonchul couldn’t say a word. As he just stared with eyes full of fear, Yoongeon met his gaze with a blank expression. At that moment, Ko Yoonchul thought his half-brother was not a person, but something like a plaster sculpture speaking.

“You, disgusting bastard….”

“…….”

“You’re… cough, creepy. You know that?”

Ko Yoonchul said, as if spewing it out, unable to overcome his fear.

“You don’t seem human, you fucker….”

Toward his younger brother who didn’t do the natural thing of feeling an emotion and overlaying it on his face, Ko Yoonchul spoke a truth that was close to the essence.

“You know well.”

“…….”

“I’m not human. So.”

Yoongeon placed a hand on his shoulder.

“It would be best not to come at me without knowing your place.”

“…….”

He stood up, leaving Ko Yoonchul, who was a mess from falling to the floor, behind. Then he dusted off his clothes and turned around. He heard a belated scream and a string of curses, but Yoongeon paid it no mind.

✧ ✧ ✧

It was a time when most office workers would have left work and arrived home, but the six people sitting in this conference room were looking at the sketches laid out before them with very serious faces.

On the large table, there were several desserts from a famous nearby café. A mountain of desserts had been piled up, bought with a per-person count in mind, but the speed at which it was diminishing was quite fast.

“Hmm….”

All of their brows were deeply furrowed. It seemed to be the same for Yoongeon, as he felt the headache he always had was getting worse. When he took out headache medicine from his pocket and swallowed it, Senior Designer Ha Inyoung held out her hand, asking for one too. Yoongeon placed two headache pills in her hand.

“Wow, my head is going to split.”

Today was the day to decide the winner of the design competition. Because of that, the employees of the Design Innovation Team here had been working overtime all week.

“Still, we’ve narrowed it down to three now.”

The design sketches of the three candidates were displayed on the screen, but in their hands were large prints of the sketches. They had been looked at so much that the corners were all worn out.

“My blood sugar is dropping….”

“……If it’s not enough, I’ll have more brought in. A different menu would be fine too.”

Even with a mountain of desserts already piled up in front of them, and everyone emptying them at a frightening pace, they said their blood sugar was dropping.

Knowing full well that it was impossible, the main culprit who made them work overtime is supposed to be a person of few words, so Yoongeon meekly took out his wallet. It was a sign that he would buy whatever they wanted, but the team members shook their heads, saying there was already plenty. They said they wanted to review it quickly and go home rather than spend time buying and eating more.

“Sketch number 1 is very delicate.”

At the words of the senior designer, Inyoung, everyone looked at the same picture.

“Even though there are many sophisticated lines these days, it’s been a while since I’ve seen a design that emphasizes delicacy like this…. It’s refreshing in its own way. But in terms of being conventional, number 2 is the overwhelming winner. It’s definitely the best design among the conventional ones.”

At Inyoung’s words, Manager Kim Jiah tilted her head.

“But since it’s a competition, is it okay to pick something conventional?”

“There’s no reason we can’t, is there? We’re business people, after all.”

“Umm….”

The people looking at sketch number 2 had somewhat ambiguous reactions. As she said, it was the best among the conventional designs, but they wondered if it was really okay to choose this one.

“Being conventional, in other words, means that a certain quantity is guaranteed to sell. So in fact, it’s not a loss for us.”

“But considering it’s a competition, I’m worried it might be too conventional.”

This time, Assistant Manager Park Changmin raised an objection.

“Hmm… by the way, number 3 is the most… standout of the bunch, right? It’s too….”

Now people looked at sketch number 3. And everyone nodded at the words of the deputy manager, Yebin.

“……Too crude, I’d say.”

It wasn’t sophisticated, nor was it conventional. When you looked at it, it was a design that was crude to the point of being excessive, but it had a strong personality. Yebin seemed to have very little confidence in this design.

“So you’re saying you don’t like it, Ms. Yebin?”

An assistant manager asked Yebin. Yebin shook her head.

“It’s not that I don’t like it, but that it stands out so much is a bit burdensome.”

“I believe this was the design that Executive Director Ko picked, right?”

Yoongeon nodded at Inyoung’s question. His gaze was fixed on the sketch design. Looking at it again, it was a design that kept drawing his eye. Yoongeon, whose attention had been completely captured from the first time he saw this design, had strongly insisted on it, bringing it into the final three.

“As far as I know, the only company that currently produces this kind of crude and rough vehicle type is Company T in Germany. Of course, there are others, but they haven’t produced any notable results.”

Germany’s Company T was a famous brand that focused on rugged off-road vehicles as its main product.

“…This design, yes. When you think about it, it does seem like a design that would fit better with them than with us.”

Everyone agreed with Inyoung’s words.

“But Company T’s drawback is its price. You can’t buy that car with just any amount of money, so if we were to penetrate that niche this time, we might get a result that’s not bad.”

Even with the comment that it vaguely reminded one of Company T’s designs, Yoongeon did not back down from his assertion. Currently, all vehicle models produced by Company T were configured as premium class. While this could build a solid brand image, looked at another way, it could also be said that they were abandoning the majority of consumers. Yoongeon aimed to exploit that very gap.

“What the Executive Director says has a point. But honestly, this is a bit too rough to even be considered a Company T design. There must be a reason why even Company T doesn’t produce cars with a design this rough. If we manage to penetrate that gap, we could hit a real jackpot, but if we fail, the loss would be too great.”

Senior Designer Ha did not bend her opinion even against Yoongeon. But Yoongeon did not look at her unfavorably. It was because he knew she didn’t carry the title of Senior Designer for nothing. Among the car models recently produced by Shinhyun Motors, all the designs that received a good response had passed through Senior Designer Ha’s hands.

“The consumer’s eye has changed. You know that a design that makes one think of all or nothing has led to the opposite result more often than a good one.”

“Of course,” Senior Designer Ha said.

“From a design perspective, I like this number 3 design the most too. Haaah….”

She added with a sigh.

“It’s excessively crude. That one thing bothers me.”

Yoongeon also had the same thought. The unrefined lines made this design look a bit rougher.

“The reason this design is excessively crude is one of two things. Either it’s this person’s taste, or it’s a lack of skill.”

At Yoongeon’s words, everyone fell silent.

“I’m hoping it’s a lack of skill. Then we could refine it a little, couldn’t we.”

“Um…. That’s true.”

Everyone nodded at his words. If a lack of skill was the problem, it was something that could be sufficiently resolved.

“But, Executive Director. I think this is a bit too risky of a gamble.”

Yebin said.

“If what you’re saying is right… if it’s a matter of taste, they might insist on not changing it. There’s a limit to what we can change.”

“That’s right. When we produce with this design, if this applicant stubbornly refuses, we could be the ones at a loss. We absolutely have to produce this car. We can’t just tell someone who isn’t even our employee yet to hand over the design copyright before they even join.”

“Exactly. It’s a very important issue for designers. If we select them and trouble arises in this area, we could actually suffer a loss.”

Since it was a blind test competition that did not consider academic background, gender, or even name and age, the fact that they didn’t know what kind of person would be chosen was an unsettling factor.

If one wins this competition, that design must be produced unconditionally. But if the winner does not tolerate any changes to the design, wouldn’t they face difficulties?

“We might end up producing a car with a design that might not even sell. Then it’s your responsibility, Executive Director, and our team’s performance gets docked too.”

“That’s right. Even if we move conservatively and operate only one line, the costs are not insignificant.”

Not only the manager but also the deputy manager, Yebin, couldn’t hide their anxiousness. They seemed worried about the criticism and disadvantages that would come their way if the losses were severe.

“…….”

But Yoongeon couldn’t take his eyes off sketch number 3. It was because, strangely, he liked this design very much. While everyone else showed off their sophisticated designs with refined and clean lines, this design was different. Rather, it had a rough and crude feeling.

The reason that rough feeling captured Yoongeon’s attention at once might have been because it reminded him of the rough, almost barbaric past he longed for. Of course, he had no intention of ignoring the team members’ opinions and insisting until the end.

In any case, since first to third place would all be decided from within this group, even if this person didn’t take first place, their entry into Shinhyun Motors was practically a done deal. So it wouldn’t be bad to keep this design on hold for now and bring it up again later.

“But… no matter how much I think about it, I like this design the most.”

It was when Yoongeon was contemplating whether he should give up. Inyoung let out a small sigh and looked at the same sketch number 3 as him and spoke.

“It’s the car that best fits the purpose of the competition, isn’t it? Don’t you all remember what the Executive Director said?”

“Our performance is being maintained, but we at Shinhyun Motors want more than that.” At Inyoung’s added words, the team members who had been showing a passive attitude towards design number 3 all shut their mouths.

“If we’re going to pick a design that’s conventional and is already being made here and there, why are we even holding a competition? We held this competition because we needed a new eye. And in my opinion… among these three, this person seems to be the one with the newest and freshest eye and hand. Phew, I was trying to think about the company, but I guess I can’t help it.”

Inyoung said with a somehow cheerful-looking face.

“When you’re gambling, you’re supposed to be bold. Besides, are we going to take all the responsibility for this? Here, we have someone who will take the arrows for us.”

He gestured with both hands as if to say ta-da, pointing at Ko Yoongeon who was sitting with a sullen expression. Yoongeon let out a sigh, “Ha,” as if in disbelief.

“Yes. I will take all the responsibility. You all will have nothing to be responsible for, so please be assured on that point.”

The team members glanced around, saying “Still…,” but when Yoongeon truly seemed unbothered, they looked at the sketches meticulously with much more relaxed faces.

And a short while later, the ranking was decided.

“First place will be design number 3, and second place will be design number 1.”

First place was a free pass to employment, and second and third place were passes for the first round of document screening and the second round of aptitude tests. They would be hired immediately after just an interview at the public recruitment in six months. As if remembering the arduous process of the entrance exam, Chief Jung Seungheon muttered to himself, “That’s nice.” He, the only non-designer on this team, had even prepared for it after a second try.

“Wow, we’re finally going home.”

After the work was done, the team members stretched, one after another, and stood up. The time was 10 o’clock.

“Eeehng… my Friday….”

My precious Friday… as the team members whined, Yoongeon gave a look to Secretary Im. Then Secretary Im, who understood perfectly, handed out an envelope to everyone with a beaming smile. The faces of the team members who received it, wondering what it was, brightened up. They couldn’t help it. What was inside was, naturally, money.

“You all know it’s a paltry sum.”

Yoongeon began.

“I’ve put in just enough so it won’t be a problem. Go have some delicious food over the weekend, go visit some nice places, and curse me out to relieve all your stress, and let’s see each other on Monday.”

As the saying goes, a boss who gives money is a good boss. Smiles bloomed on the faces of the team members.

“No, why would we curse at you, Executive Director! You’re the one who worked the hardest!”

At those words, Yoongeon gave a slight look to Secretary Im.

“Secretary Im says he does it every day.”

At that, Secretary Im smiled brightly and nodded, then slipped the remaining envelope into his own inner pocket.

“Alright, everyone, let’s go home!”

Im Seonwoong herded the team members, who were awkwardly looking at each other and smiling, outside, then turned around with a flick and said, “I’m off then!” and left without a second thought. Normally, a secretary would clean up and leave after their boss, but that guy was someone who lacked such basic common sense. No matter how he thought about it, it must be that he was taking revenge for what happened in a past life.

Yoongeon, who was suddenly left all alone in the office, let out a small sigh and stood up. He gathered his share of documents, took them to the executive director’s office, then looked around the empty office once more before leaving. The underground parking lot he arrived at via the elevator was just as empty. He started the engine and drove out of there.

It was a little past 10 p.m. on a Friday night, so the traffic was completely backed up. Then again, when was there ever a time when the roads weren’t congested, Yoongeon thought, and suddenly felt suffocated. At times like this, he would think of the times he rode a horse and galloped across the grasslands.

He couldn’t say his life had been entirely peaceful, but at least when he was riding a horse, he felt a sense of release, as if his stuffy chest was being cleared out. Here, he couldn’t feel that sensation at all. He was driving a car that could run faster than a horse, but because he couldn’t drive fast, Yoongeon felt frustrated. This place was excessively lonely and suffocating. Was it because he himself was a dissociated existence? After thinking for a moment, Yoongeon let out a deep sigh.

✧ ✧ ✧

“What time are they scheduled to arrive?”

At Yoongeon’s question, Secretary Im glanced at his watch and replied.

“I told them to come by 1 o’clock. Since you said you would have a meal together, I scheduled it for lunchtime. I made sure to tell them not to come early, so they will arrive exactly on time.”

Yoongeon nodded at the mention that it was scheduled to avoid the company’s lunchtime. That time of day would be quiet, making it easier to talk.

“Alright. I understand.”

The clock was already past 12:30.

He planned to meet that person in person now, treat them to a meal, and also explain how the ceremony would proceed. Mentally reviewing his to-do list, Yoongeon finished processing the documents he was looking at.

And a short while later, it was 12:50. He had come out early in the morning as usual today to handle work, but looking at the documents that hadn’t decreased at all and were piled up like a mountain, Secretary Im came in and said that the award winner had arrived. Yoongeon told him to let them in, while tidying his desk so it wouldn’t look messy.

He was tidying up because he didn’t like how messy his desk was from having just been working, when the door opened and he heard the sound of two people’s footsteps.

“Hello, Executive Director. It’s a pleasure to meet you for the first time.”

“…….”

However, upon hearing the voice of someone other than Secretary Im, Yoongeon froze in place, his gaze fixed on the desk.

“My name is Yoon Seohwi.”

It was the voice of his beloved, whom he had never once forgotten, a voice he hadn’t dared to hope for even in his dreams. Yoongeon’s hand, which was holding a ballpoint pen, trembled unknowingly.

“…….”