Chapter 1144. Opening for Business (4)

“Please email me the documents! Thank you!”

“What's going on here? Something's wrong with the intranet! Call someone from IT, and tell them we can't connect to anything!”

“Printers are also not connected! Looks like the tech guys need to come up here, pronto!”

While watching the office workers running around madly like chickens with their heads almost severed, Lee Hyeon-Su smiled contentedly.

‘Yup. What an utter sh*t show this is!’

Everyone here was doing such a

wonderful

job, now weren’t they!

Lee Hyeon-Su worked extra hard to suppress his boiling blood. What could they do about this, though? The start of any business should be this chaotic and disorganized, anyway.

The office furniture and partitioning of each cubicle had already been finished. Even PCs were installed on each of the desks, so everything should be ready to go, but... The office workers setting everything up for their liking was a separate matter altogether!

Besides, how should Lee Hyeon-Su describe this?

Other types of dissatisfaction were starting to announce themselves, too!

“Chief, sir! Our office is too bright to work in!”

“...This is the average brightness, though?”

“But,

uh

... Sir, we are too used to working in a dinky and dark windowless office, so it’s difficult to get used to working in an office with windows everywhere. Can we block the windows somehow?”

“...Just get used to it, you punks.”

What a pitiful bunch of children of darkness these people were!

“Kids” who had been working like slaves in a half-rotting ancient building in the middle of some nameless mountain were finally brought into the light, yet all they did was complain about how bright everything was!

The wise old 'they' said that when slaves get too used to being slaves, they would start comparing who has the shiniest, cleanest shackles and be proud of them. It seemed their wisdom was proven right once more!

“By the way, sir...? Are we supposed to commute to this place every day? Even though we all stay in the Assembly's dorms?”

Lee Hyeon-Su replied with an audible tut. “Yeah, obviously.”

“But,

uh

, it takes two hours by car to get here, though?”

“...

Eh

?”

“We don’t even have a dedicated shuttle bus service either, sir.”

“

Eh

?”

An unexpected problem had reared its head.

“Please think of a solution as soon as possible, sir. Because tomorrow morning's commute will present a big problem. No, wait. Actually, going home tonight will be the beginning of this problem.”

“Got it. I’ll look into it,” said Lee Hyeon-Su while scratching his head.

He readily admitted to being guilty of not considering potential issues like this one. Then again, it made sense why he'd overlook such an issue.

When a company sets up a new workplace, it should be the duty of the workers to figure out their own accommodation.

However, the situation with the Martial Assembly’s workers was rather unique. All these people lived within or near the Assembly HQ grounds. A sudden change in the workplace location would obviously cause problems in their lives.

Maybe, things wouldn’t have been as bad had they been given enough time to prepare, but that was not what happened. They were too busy receiving the newbie training program in Jaegyeong to prepare anything, after all!

“I'll take care of that,” said Lee Hyeon-Su. “Tell me right away if there are other problems. However! I expect you to know how to pull your own weight now! We've gone to the trouble to train you all, after all!”

The office workers loudly cried back to Lee Hyeon-Su.

“Don’t worry about us, sir!”

“We can now do a hundred people’s work, you know!”

A hundred people’s work?

‘Gimme a break! You've only just begun doing the work interns and newbies might do in other companies!'

These people were scheduled to manage MK for the foreseeable future. However, once the second round of the training program ended, half of these people would go back to the Assembly, while the void they left behind would be filled with people from that second round.

Only then could Lee Hyeon-Su say for certain that the preparations were complete.

In other words, they were still stuck in a transition period.

“Chief Lee! Will you be working out of here as well?”

Lee Hyeon-Su yelled back at the worker who asked that. “Bloody hell! Why can’t you read the public notices like I told you to! Even if you’re rock-headed martial artists who hate reading stuff, aren’t you also office workers now?! Listen closely, okay! I won’t be working here permanently! The chairman and I will occasionally stop by to receive briefings! That’s it!”

“Does that mean Miss...

Uh

, Department Head Lee will oversee us?”

“Yeah. Why? Are you happy with that arrangement?”

All the workers frowned deeply.

“...What do you mean, happy, sir? It’s gonna be hell in here.”

Their expressions clearly indicated that they weren’t joking.

Lee Hyeon-Su offered them his sympathies—in his mind, of course!

People called him the devil of the Martial Assembly, but Lee Hyeon-Ju was not far behind. No, in some respects, one could say she was even worse than Lee Hyeon-Su!

First of all, Lee Hyeon-Su was physically weaker than all these people despite nominally being a martial artist himself. He also didn't really care about people's attitudes and conduct as long as they did their job well.

However, Lee Hyeon-Ju was different.

One must not forget that she received elite training from her grandfather, the former Assembly Master Lee Jung-Geol.

Certain ‘limitations’ were unavoidable for a woman trying to master martial art techniques designed for men, but mastering them would still make her incomparably stronger than an average person. Transcendentally stronger, as a matter of fact!

Thanks to going through harsh training regimes under her grandfather's tutelage, Lee Hyeon-Ju's martial prowess easily surpassed the upper half of her age group and even knocked on the doors of the top elites. Rather unsurprisingly, she was far, far stronger than these office workers who could unkindly be called martial arts dropouts.

Not only was she born a princess, but her strength surpassed everyone here, too.

‘Even I can’t talk back to her, you know!’

Worse still, Lee Hyeon-Ju was the type who could not tolerate sass or rudeness from other people. As demonstrated via how she addressed Kang Jin-Ho, which differed starkly from Lee Hyeon-Su’s, Lee Hyeon-Ju was a stickler for etiquette and politeness.

Lee Hyeon-Su recalled the early days when Lee Hyeon-Ju took over the accounting department of the Martial Assembly. Back then, the workers with less-than-ideal workplace behaviors always walked around with a limp after their shins got mercilessly kicked by her!

‘Sorry, folks. Do your best, okay!’

At least Lee Hyeon-Su's shins were still safe, which was one silver lining in all this carnage!

“By the way, Chief? Did you see her? Holy cow.”

Lee Hyeon-Su sobered up when one of the nearby workers sneakily whispered to him. “See who?”

“The madam of the house, of course.”

“...”

“I thought my eyes would fall out of their sockets, sir! I knew she was pretty as hell, but the real deal was something else altogether! I've never met anyone as beautiful as her before, I swear.”

Another worker chimed in. “Sir, are we really gonna work in the same building as her? Wouldn’t that make our workplace a bit more, I dunno, more enjoyable?”

Lee Hyeon-Su yelled at them. “Listen here, you numbskulls! Miss Choi is a director, okay! Your superior! Besides, how dare you drool after the Assembly Master’s lady friend! Imma rip out the eyes of anyone daring to eyeball her!”

“...Ehhh? We aren’t even allowed to look, sir?”

“Of course you are not allowed!”

“Understood, sir.”

Lee Hyeon-Su groaned loudly.

‘Sure, this arrangement is kinda cumbersome, but...’

An entertainment division was absolutely necessary in Lee Hyeon-Su's opinion. The reason for that was simple enough to understand: MK as a company did not have a clear source of income.

For now, that shouldn't be a problem, but once MK had expanded enough and grown in scale until it occupied some spot in the Korean business rankings, people would inevitably start talking about it. Even if that spot was dead last in the rankings!

Since that was the case, MK desperately needed an upfront and appropriate-sounding business division that could be presented to the public.

And so, Lee Hyeon-Su strongly persuaded the still-unwilling Kang Jin-Ho, saying MK Entertainment must exist no matter what.

‘Even with Director Choi and Miss Eun-Yeong as our only talents, at least for now, our revenue stream should be guaranteed.'

One was the top actress in the country while the other was a top-level idol.

Kang Eun-Yeong’s standing with the public might not be as good as before, but her income was still jaw-droppingly awesome as if to prove the old adage of an old eagle being better than a young sparrow.

As for Choi Yeon-Ha? There was no need to waste energy repeating what everyone already knew!

She was already a permanent fixture at the top of the 'most influential actress in South Korea' rankings. And after her TV show filmed in China became a megahit in the region, she even entered the enviable position of the leading face of the Korean Wave.

Lee Hyeon-Su got a chance to peek at Choi Yeon-Ha's earnings to prepare for the entertainment division's launch, and the shock he got back then was still fresh in his mind, even now!

‘Those insane Chinese filmmakers!’

The scale of earnings from China easily dwarfed what could be earned in Korea.

Lee Hyeon-Su often wondered why Korean actors and idols were tripping over themselves for a chance to work in China. And confirming the earnings with his own eyes helped him see the light now.

The Korean Wave stars couldn't even be called the main attraction in the Chinese entertainment industry, yet the money they raked in still surpassed the earnings from the Korean market by a factor of dozens.

The story of a certain Chinese actor’s wealth exceeding $700 million could very well be true at this point!

‘If we support both of them well...!’

They might become far more than just the public faces of the brand, but actual ambassadors!

The only thing putting a damper on all that was China's ban on Korean culture.

The Chinese government was strictly restricting Korean entertainers from actively participating in the Chinese market, which made it rather risky to predict the future directions.

Also, there was the Crimson King's faction to worry about, too. How would they react once they learned of Choi Yeon-Ha's backers being the Martial Assembly?

Although the Crimson King wouldn’t be petty enough to hinder an actress from making a living, Lee Hyeon-Su wouldn’t put it past that man’s lackeys to do something untoward at this point.

‘For the time being, we gotta push MK Entertainment as our main focus.’

Even if the entertainment division's revenue was only a fraction of MK's overall earnings, this company still needed an upfront business venture to draw the public's attention away.

Lee Hyeon-Su scanned the workers and shouted again. “In any case! From now on, you idiots gotta pull your socks up and do your best, okay! Work until your back breaks, got that!”

“But, sir...! Where can we smoke in this place?”

“Go to the rooftop, man! The roof!”

“...But the layout of this building is so weird, sir. If we want to get to the roof, we gotta walk past the chairman’s office, you see?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“We,

uh

, can’t walk past it, sir. We might wet our pants if we do!”

“...Oh.” Lee Hyeon-Su nodded in understanding. “Fine. I’ll try to set up a dedicated smoking area.”

“Thank you, sir!”

While smiling wryly, Lee Hyeon-Su left the administrative office.

‘There are more things to sort out than I thought.’

However, this was what work was like.

Even if one thought they had done everything perfectly, things they had overlooked during the process would always rear their heads sooner or later. Once those were taken care of, new problems would arise in their place.

Sometimes, the work you thought was heading in the right direction would prove to be nothing but a failure when it reached the administrative stage.

This was the sad life story of South Korea's countless salarymen and women as they continuously slogged through trials and errors in their valiant attempt to fix all the mess... Only to stumble into more work in the midst of all that!

The wry smile deepened even more on Lee Hyeon-Su’s face as he reached the chairman’s office. He knocked on the door and announced himself. “Sir, it’s Lee Hyeon-Su.”

“Come in.”

Lee Hyeon-Su opened the door and stepped inside the office, only to suddenly come to a halt.

Behind the massive chairman’s office were wall-to-wall windows. And Kang Jin-Ho was staring outside while coolly smoking a cigarette.

‘Huh. That’s rather picturesque, isn’t it?’

Kang Jin-Ho was wearing a smart business suit, something he didn't usually wear. And the way he leaned near the windows with a cigarette casually dangling between his lips as he took in the view of Seoul at night was so achingly cool that even his fellow man, Lee Hyeon-Su, had to nod in appreciation.

Without looking back, Kang Jin-Ho asked, “So? How is it?”

“

O-oh

!” Lee Hyeon-Su hurriedly sobered up and explained the situation, his cadence slightly faster than before. “We’ve run into various small niggles, sir. Unfortunately, we’ll need more time to turn everything around to an acceptable level. The most urgent issues are the lodging for the workers, plus their transportation during commutes.”

Kang Jin-Ho finally looked back at Lee Hyeon-Su. “Do we have to build additional dorms here?”

“Long-term, that might be a good solution, but constructing a building like that takes too long, sir. Unfortunately, the real estate price in this area is way too high to make that idea feasible. It’s not like we’re paying them peanuts, so we should just tell them to sort out their own accommodation.”

“Then, what’s the short-term solution?”

“Until they can sort out the issue of their accommodation, I’m planning to hire buses to shuttle them back and forth from here to the Assembly’s dorms, sir.”

“Good. Let’s go with that, then,” Kang Jin-Ho nodded.

“Besides those two issues, we’ve encountered a few other niggles. But I’ll figure out a way to manage them all within the next two days. And present you with a detailed report containing the issues and their solutions afterward.”

“Got it. Let’s stop talking about work here, and...” Kang Jin-Ho abruptly cut Lee Hyeon-Su off. “...Let’s go get some dinner, shall we?”

“...Sorry?”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled. “The ladies have gone out on their own to get to know each other better, right? In that case, we can’t just sit at home doing nothing.”

“Well, sir! Now that's an excellent idea,” Lee Hyeon-Su deeply smirked. “However, I must warn you that I have an expensive palate. Considering all the hard work I've put in for the Assembly, any ol' luxurious feast won't be enough to satisfy me.”

“Sure. Fine with me.”

“In that case, please wait for me for a little while longer. I'll quickly pop downstairs to sort out the transportation issue and come right back.”

“Got it.”

“Then, please excuse me,” Lee Hyeon-Su bowed before exiting the office.

Now left alone again, Kang Jin-Ho turned around to face the scenery outside. The cityscape of Seoul at night spread spectacularly before his eyes.

‘It’s a marvelous view, alright.’

Kang Jin-Ho’s gaze drifted upward. He still couldn’t see any stars in the night sky. That inky-black darkness was emotionlessly staring back at him.

That was when Kang Jin-Ho’s expression became weird. Unreadable.

‘So many things have changed, haven’t they?’

It hadn’t even been a decade since his return to the modern era. However, the changes he had experienced so far were so numerous and remarkable that even now, he could scarcely believe them.

It took him less than ten years to get this far. Was it solely because of his own desire, or did other people egg him on, though?

However, that wasn’t the end. Many more things would surely change in the future, too.

Without a doubt, things Kang Jin-Ho had never experienced until now should be waiting for him on the road ahead.

A hint of anticipation and even a smidgen of anxiety seeped into his heart. While stewing in those two opposing emotions, Kang Jin-Ho silently smoked away, his gaze taking in the sight of the city veiled in the night.