Chapter 99.2: Strangely, he gets pushed back (2)

Kang Chan arrived at D.I., then headed into the office that was on the second floor.

“Hello?”

The wardrobe stylists and makeup artists were the first to greet him. They had been sitting at the desk with tired expressions. Department Head Kim Jae-Tae and their accountant Choi Yoo-Jin then stood up and greeted him, and Michelle and Lim Soo-Sung urgently came out of their respective rooms.

“Welcome back,” Lim Soo-Sung said.

“Welcome back, boss!” Michelle greeted Kang Chan.

At a glance, the employees had bright expressions, but they couldn’t hide the fact that they were tired, which was to be expected.

“You all seem to be having a very hard time—don’t we need more employees?” Kang Chan asked.

“Not at all!”

“We don’t need more employees, Mr. President.”

The wardrobe stylists and the road managers said no and even waved their hands.

“Mr. President, we can recruit more employees after we’re done producing the drama and checking the viewers’ reactions. This drama will serve as work experience for not only myself but all of the employees. We’re even getting calls from people that want to work for us for free, so you don’t need to worry about us.”

The employees even nodded to Lim Soo-Sung’s response. What more could be said when the employees themselves were the ones saying they didn’t need more people?

Kang Chan went to the President’s room with Michelle.

“Mr. President, would you like anything to drink?” Choi Yoo-Jin asked, and Kang Chan replied with coffee.

When Kang Chan looked behind him while sitting on the sofa, he noticed documents neatly placed on top of the desk.

“Those are documents that the President should review and see for himself,” Michelle explained.

“I told you to take care of those yourself.”

“I know, Channy, but I prepare to report the documents to the President anyway because that makes the employees more nervous and keep their guards up. If I tell them I’m currently the acting President, then everyone will be disappointed.”

Kang Chan smiled softly as Choi Yoo-Jin brought over the coffee.

“We got the official contract from Europe by email. Once the law firm is done examining it, you will have to come here in person for the contract signing. Since the atmosphere has changed, even the relationships between the actors have improved so much that the veteran actors who have supporting roles in the drama are teaching the trainees on the side,” Michelle continued. She looked excited. “I feel as if everything I hoped for when I said I’ll try working in this job has been achieved. That’s why the employees and I don’t realize that we’re having a hard time.”

Kang Chan put down the cup after he drank the coffee. “Don’t assume that you can endure everything forever just because you can handle it right now, Michelle. The leader has to see two steps ahead. That way, you can quickly decide if we should provide more support or if we need to stop here. What you have to do right now is to decide when we should work on the next drama, and to hire more people who are well-suited for the tasks at hand. Cooperate with the employees in this drama, then make it so that the employees who have just been hired can properly get used to working here for the next drama.”

Michelle looked at Kang Chan with admiration in her eyes.

You should go to war and fight for your life. You naturally learn things like this.

Someone knocked and opened the door.

“Hello?”

It was Cecile.

Michelle welcomed her in. Cecile asked for tea, then sat down on a chair.

“I forcibly stopped the branch manager when he tried to come with me, so I might get fired if you move your account to another brokerage firm,” Cecile told Kang Chan.

Michelle turned her head while looking confused at what Cecile was saying when someone brought tea into the room.

“Now! Here you go. You have to sign the places that I’ve circled with a pencil. After that, you’ll be able to place orders immediately.” Cecile took out a few pages of documents from a paper envelope that had the mark of the brokerage firm stamped on it, then placed them in front of Kang Chan.

“Trading derivatives is dangerous. You should read the document first before deciding, Channy,” Cecile explained.

Kang Chan roughly pretended to read the documents, then quickly finished signing.

“Channy, you’re thinking of trading stocks?” Michelle asked.

“Yes. I want to try and study it. Right, what’s the password for the orders?” Kang Chan asked Cecile.

“You don’t need that—just call me anytime, Channy. I’ll take care of it.”

“Someone else might call in my stead, though.”

“I’ll take their order and call you to confirm, then. Will that be alright?”

“Sure.”

When would the fifty billion won feel real?

Cecile took the documents and put them back in the paper envelope. Looking satisfied, she then said, “I’ll buy us dinner today. Is that okay?”

“Everyone has to eat, though. That includes the trainees upstairs,” Michelle mentioned.

“Don’t worry, Michelle! I got a company credit card thanks to Channy! Eat to your heart’s content today! It probably won’t be a problem for as long as I don’t spend over twenty million won!”

“Oh my! How did that happen?”

“Channy has entered into an enormous contract with us! Whenever he makes an order, there’s a billion won in commission from the stocks and the futures, but from that, our branch will get three hundred million won in commission, and I’ll get thirty million won in commission. So let’s eat without worrying today, Michelle!”

“Wow! That’s amazing, Cecile! Congratulations!”

“This is all thanks to you Michelle. You connected me to Channy.”

The two talked noisily, then made a huge commotion as they hugged in the end.

“Channy, thank you so much.”

Kang Chan just smiled in response to Cecile thanking him. Lanok made this happen—Kang Chan didn’t even know much about what he was doing.

Michelle was definitely perspective, and she had a way of thinking that was peculiar to French women, so she didn’t ask how much money Kang Chan was investing despite seeing Cecile’s excitement.

They all had sashimi at a nearby Japanese restaurant for dinner.

Kang Chan chose that menu since the trainees requested to only eat light meals. They shouldn’t gain weight, after all. The atmosphere was still completely harmonious, though, because nobody acted arrogant like Lee Ha-Yeon.

“When are you guys going to appear on TV?”

“The trailer is starting next week and the drama will be broadcasted ten days after that. So-Yeon, Yeon-Hee, and Eun-Jeong over there are all in the trailer.”

The trainees looked at Michelle with big smiles on their faces; they appeared to be happy just hearing that news.

The group ate, conversed, and just had fun for quite some time.

The employees seemed to be feeling secure as they were watching Kang Chan, perhaps because of what happened with Alion in the past.

If there was one thing that bothered Kang Chan, it was Eun So-Yeon.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

‘She seems to be hiding something.’

Kang Chan felt uncomfortable with the look in Eun So-Yeon’s eyes whenever their gazes met. Even if so, it was weird to ask, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ in the middle of eating. He also wouldn’t be able to do anything if she later said that she wants to terminate her contract and go somewhere else.

Dinner ended after they had dessert.

“Michelle, Cindy said that she’s done with work now. It’s been a while, so why don’t we all go out together and have a glass of wine—my treat,” Cecile offered.

“Should we? What do you think, boss? Come with us.”

“I have to go home now—I have something to do that requires me to be there a bit early,” Kang Chan said.

Michelle looked disappointed, but rather than clinging to him, she just went with it.

Kang Chan got in a taxi and headed home first.

That was the end of his long Tuesday.

***

On Wednesday, Kang Chan had breakfast and sent off Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook, then turned on his computer.

Yang Jin-Woo was still around.

While he was searching about Yang Jin-Woo and the Suh Jeong group on the internet, he came across a short news report that stated that a female employee committed suicide yesterday by jumping off the Suh Jeong group’s company building in Gangnam.

‘Depression?’

The news report only included testimony from a colleague that stated that the female employee suffered from depression. Kang Chan was also going to suffer from depression if he didn’t take care of Yang Jin-Woo quickly.

Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—. Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—. Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—.?

While Kang Chan was looking at his computer screen with a profound expression, his phone rang.

“Hello?”

- Mr. Kang Chan, it’s Go Gun-Woo.

“Yes, Mr. Prime Minister.”

- Our government wholeheartedly accepts Ambassador Lanok’s request and will cooperate to the fullest of our capabilities. Please pass that on to him. Afterward, can you tell him that we hope he’ll give us an official request?

“Yes, I’ll do that.”

- Thank you, Mr. Kang Chan.

“I’m only passing on what I’ve been told.”

After Kang Chan hung up, he immediately called Lanok. He first passed on Go Gun-Woo’s intentions, then told him Cecile’s work number.

- We will likely make the official request tomorrow. I don’t know if the announcement would be delayed a bit, but the official request will publicize the ‘Unicorn’ project. It’s better to be careful since we don’t know what China is going to do.

“Understood, Mr. Ambassador.”

Kang Chan hung up, then glared at the material about Yang Jin-Woo that was on his monitor.

Should I have a cup of coffee first?

Kang Chan went to the kitchen and boiled water. As he did, Cecile called him to confirm the person in charge of the orders. He just answered three questions, and the call ended.

As Kang Chan took his coffee back to his desk, he got another damn phone call. He had been getting calls nonstop today since morning.

“Hello?”

- Mr. Kang Chan, it’s Kim Hyung-Jung.

“Ah! Mr. Manager, how are you?”

- I’m a lot better now, thanks to you. If it’s alright with you, can we have a cup of tea?

“Of course! Where should I go?”

- Let’s meet at the specialty coffee shop located at the intersection where we met last time. Let’s invite Mr. Seok Kang-Ho as well if it’s okay with you. I want to thank him.

“When should we meet?”

- At your earliest convenience.

“Please choose the time that’s comfortable for you.”

- How about around 11 am, then?

“Let’s do that.”

It should be difficult for him to move yet, but it seemed his pride wouldn’t let him stay in bed any longer.

Kang Chan first told Seok Kang-Ho about the meeting’s details, then sharply glared at his monitor again.

For some strange reason, this son of a bitch kept being pushed back.

1. Derivative trading is when traders speculate on the potential price action of a financial instrument with the aim of achieving gains, all without having to own the asset itself