Chapter 172: Cracks in HWS (3)

A silence flowed for a moment, and the sound of cutting iron and the sound of welding sparks were still continuing.

The atmosphere in the space where they were sank heavily.

I bit my lips firmly and then raised my voice for the first time.

“To think it has been managed like this until now….”

Unlike my usual self who spoke gently, it was a resolute voice that made it hard to believe.

Even those nearby flinched and cowered.

My gaze sank coldly.

“If there have been no accidents until now, it is not because the system is good, but simply because you were lucky. It was overlooked because the sparks did not spread and no one was hurt. It is truly absurd.”

The moment the words about being lucky fell.

Hamilton’s shoulders slumped noticeably.

His spine felt a chill and his heart raced violently.

Then, from behind, someone spoke in a loud voice, perhaps intentionally.

“Representative, it’s not that there have been no accidents at all during that time.”

Everyone turned their heads at the same time.

Choi Seo-jun was there.

He intentionally continued speaking in a voice loud enough for everyone in the workshop to hear.

“As far as I know, there have been several accidents that occurred just because safety rules were not followed. I don’t know if reports were properly submitted each time, though.”

In an instant, the faces of the two employees who were watching them while leaning against the workbench turned deathly pale.

My gaze slowly turned toward Hamilton.

The eyes that had been looking at the site until just now had changed as if interrogating the person in charge.

“Several cases? Haah. What a spectacle.”

The short remark was enough to put pressure on the General Manager.

Hamilton swallowed as if his throat were dry.

Whether his tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth, words did not come out properly.

“Th... That is because there were some minor accidents, so measures have already been...”

“Minor accidents?”

I let out a hollow laugh.

However, there was not even a bit of warmth in that laugh.

“Does the expression 'minor accident' even exist in a workshop where welding, cutting, and grinding are done? General Manager!”

Hamilton lost his words.

In his mind, he thought about what would be good to say with all sorts of excuses, but every word that came out of his mouth made him look pathetic.

As Choi Seo-jun stepped back, I glanced around the surroundings.

The gazes of the other employees were fixed on me all at once.

Some even put down the tools they were holding in their hands and watched the mood.

[Good, this should be enough.]

My goal was simple.

To make everyone realize how lightly the managers here regarded safety issues, and what kind of work the results created.

My voice sank low again.

My voice dug into the chest more sharply than before.

“General Manager. I am seeing for myself how this shipyard treats the headquarters. And at what level it handles the lives of the workers.”

Hamilton flinched and raised his head.

I stopped speaking for a moment and pointed toward the hot work area.

I spoke calmly as if pointing out evidence line by line.

“The safety officer, Maria Sanchez, is away from her post, and the foreman, Tim Logan, is also nowhere to be seen. Oxygen tanks and acetylene hoses are rolling around on the floor, and oil stains are left neglected. Process markings are checked by one person all at once, and the equipment inspection log is empty.”

With every single word from my mouth, Hamilton’s breathing grew short.

Cold sweat flowed down his spine.

My voice grew a level louder.

“Are you going to say that minor accidents occurred even in such a state?”

Now, movement has stopped here and there on the site.

Not only the employees who were nearby but even those who were working a bit further away were glancing over this way.

“Do not try to move on by saying there have been no accidents until now. It might have been convenient for you, General Manager, that it didn't show up in reports, but we do not work like this.”

I narrowed my eyes and stared straight at General Manager Hamilton.

“Do not hold human lives lightly.”

I walked step by step and became noticeably close to General Manager Hamilton.

My right hand roughly grabbed General Manager Hamilton’s collar.

“Look now.”

Hamilton felt as if his breath were going to stop.

“While you were in a position to be responsible for those people’s lives, you were negligent. Consider it... a great fortune that no one has died here.”

Each and every sentence sounded like a slap to the cheek.

“I, I am...”

Hamilton only opened and closed his mouth but could not say anything.

Excuses welled up from his throat, but when he actually tried to speak, he realized they were all just pathetic words.

In fact, he, who had been averting his eyes from what he had been doing until now, found out late thanks to the young Asian man.

Every word he said began to dig deep into his heart.

[What on earth have I been doing until now?]

The strength left the collar held in my hand, and I slowly let go.

And after looking around once more, I said calmly.

“The site does not lie. Since I have sufficiently seen how this place has been running, let us go to the office.”

With those words, I moved my steps.

Hamilton flinched and said.

“Th... The office, you say?”

I did not answer.

My stride was still bold.

My expression was calmer than ever, yet I did not lose my composure.

Hamilton followed behind him reluctantly.

It felt as if his legs were moving on their own.

The HJ Partners employees and Financial Director Choi Sang-gyu also followed without a word.

When we entered the building where the office was located, the hallway was quiet.

Thanks to having identified the employee list and locations in advance before coming here, I did not need a separate guide.

I moved forward steadily like a person who had been here several times.

The floor where the HWS General Manager's office and the management department offices were gathered.

As I opened the office door and entered first, this place, unlike the workshop building, was full of a lethargic atmosphere.

Several desks and computers were lined up, but there was no one who was working.

I moved my steps quickly yet quietly.

The monitor screen was full of characters shooting guns and running around, as if playing a game.

Wearing a headset, he was sitting tilted back in his chair and moving his mouse.

He did not even notice the sound of the door opening.

At another desk a bit further away, someone was sleeping with their head down on their arms.

The person in the seat next to him had their legs crossed while holding a phone in their hand and their eyes closed.

In the spot where documents should have been piled up, cup ramen containers and snack bags had taken over, and something else was on the monitor instead of work-related programs.

I did not say anything for a while at the wretched sight.

I merely watched this scene quietly.

One employee, who noticed first, was startled and dropped the mouse while hurriedly trying to turn off the game screen.

The noisy sound echoed through the quiet office.

The employee who was sleeping face down on the desk was startled as if someone had poked his back, stood up from his seat, and looked around.

And the gaze he met.

What they saw was an Asian man who looked to be of a young age.

I opened my mouth.

“Everyone was here.”

My voice was surprisingly calm.

On top of that, the appearance of even wearing a smile did not make me look like a person who was angry at all.

“Since there was no one at the site. If I had known all the people in charge were here, I would have come here first. Foreman Tim Logan, and Inspection Team Manager Joel Freeman.”

Someone swallowed while looking at me.

Hamilton’s face turned deathly pale.

He became fearful to the point that he hated even imagining how far I would shake this place up.

While Hamilton was unable to do anything with his lips trembling, I looked around the office once more and said quietly.

“General Manager Hamilton.”

“Yes?! Yes. Representative Lim.”

“From this moment on, stop all operations of HWS.”

In an instant, the entire office froze.

The hand of the employee who was turning off the game stopped in mid-air, and the one who was dozing also blinked his eyes and fumbled around.

“Make even the employees currently working at the site gather in the first-floor warehouse of the office building.”

Hamilton’s face completely stiffened.

“Are you... are you saying all employees?”

“Yes. Everyone without exception.”

I spoke in a low voice, but the charisma contained within it was something no one could defy.

And the instructions that followed made people move.

“Gather everyone within 30 minutes. I will fire anyone who is late.”

There was murmuring inside the office.

Hamilton gave instructions to someone, and then a voice flowed out through the broadcast.

“All employees, please come to the first-floor warehouse of the office building within 30 minutes. Anyone who does not come will be fired.”

Those words made the people stir.

“You say a gathering of all employees?”

“Who is that person to...”

“They say he came from Korea….”

Expressions looking on disapprovingly.

Gazes full of doubt and anxious expressions were mixed.

However, no one could reject the word 'fired'.

I don’t know why, but it was because a pressure was felt as if one should not disobey the words of the person named Lim Hyunjun.

The employees stopped what they were doing and moved.

Hamilton became extremely anxious at the movement seen through the window.

He had thought relaxedly just a few hours ago.

Even if someone came from the headquarters, he thought it would not be much different from what they had been doing.

However, who would have known that a person named Lim Hyunjun would root through the place as if he knew it well.

He pulled out everything one by one as if he knew everything.

He muttered to himself.

[...I'm screwed.]

A moment later, the lights in the first-floor warehouse were turned on.

As the fluorescent lights on the ceiling were turned on, a desolate space revealed its form.

This was originally a space for storing goods, but now it was empty.

I instructed the employees to arrange chairs in rows.

On one side, I even prepared a makeshift podium and broadcasting equipment.

It was made on the spot, but the atmosphere was more solemn than ever.

Choi Seo-jun approached me surreptitiously and spoke.

“Representative, the employees are coming.”

I gave a short nod.

A short while later, about a hundred employees crowded into the warehouse.

They were in work clothes or wearing suits.

Murmuring filled the space.

They each said a word at the unfamiliar scene.

Hamilton stood beside me with his head hung low.

Currently, this situation itself was no different from a disaster to him.

I walked out to the front of the podium.

The sound of footsteps echoing on the floor spread through the warehouse.

As I stood before the microphone, the murmuring gradually subsided.

The fact itself that a young Asian youth was standing before them was not a familiar scene to anyone here.

However, just with the atmosphere and my gaze, people fell into silence without realizing it.

I grabbed the microphone.

After catching my breath for a moment, I spoke in a calm yet firm voice.

“Hello!”