Chapter 1523 Caught (3)

[The mastermind behind the case of disrupting Caffe Luogo’s business has now been identified as an employee of Taegwang P&D, which is a Taegwang Group subsidiary. The suspect, a member of the Taegwang P&D sales department, has confessed that pressure to achieve results has driven him to commit this crime.]

[The suspect is also accused of embezzling from the company to fund his criminal activity. The police officials have stated that they are still investigating the suspect as there could be other crimes they have not uncovered yet.]

The news anchor looked away from the giant screen in the studio, then turned around to face a reporter sitting nearby.

[Isn’t this a shocking development? Yes, Taegwang P&D is a subsidiary of a well-known corporation. Even so, a mere employee has used his organization’s resources to disrupt the business of a much-smaller competitor entering the market. Allegedly, of course.]

[That has not been proven yet. The suspect is a Taegwang P&D employee, yes, but it’s still not clear if the company itself was complicit in his activities.]

[Of course. The truth of the matter will be uncovered in due course. Even after taking into account these points, however, I have to say, it’s still rather shocking that such a thing could happen in our country. And the fact that the suspect has allegedly embezzled a large amount of money from his company? I simply can’t wrap my head around it.]

[I agree. Experts expressed concern regarding this situation, saying it only came about because many of our top companies demand their workforce to meet unrealistic and often extreme sales targets. The suspect most likely was under tremendous pressure to meet Taegwang’s sales targets and failed to make rational judgments.]

[But, for someone who couldn’t think straight, his actions seem quite well thought-out, don’t they?]

[Yes, you’re right. However, from what I’ve heard, the workplace pressure only slightly affects people’s basic skill set and competency.]

[Mm... That doesn’t sound like a good thing to me. If pressure had negatively affected employees’ competency too, the companies would have done a lot more to improve the working conditions, after all.]

[Yes, that’s true. Even if there is no competency issue, though, companies still have a duty to look after their employees, don’t they?]

[Yes, I agree with you there. The public has expressed how shocked and shaken up they are by this incident. They are asking if this incident has exposed the true facade of the large corporations that shout about working together with the community and doing what’s good for society. They also would like to know if this was how all large corporations behaved until now to keep smaller, less prominent competitors in check...]

Blip!

The TV remote fell onto the desk. Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s expression crumpled from sheer discomfort.

“Bloody hell!”

The news anchors and the reporters were subtly but consistently emphasizing the fact that a random employee had acted independently, and that Taegwang P&D was not involved. That was thanks to all the money Taegwang had generously spread around in every direction until now.

Even then, it was still problematic to hear the name of Taegwang being associated with such a scandal.

Jeong Myeong-Cheol picked up his phone and glanced at the notifications for all the missed calls. His expression crumpled even more.

“Goddamn old fart...! You called me again? Haven’t you nagged me enough already?”

Kim Sang-Ho, who had been standing at attention next to Jeong Myeong-Cheol, cautiously asked, “Did the chairman message you again, sir?”

“Yeah.”

“He must be rather furious about this situation.”

“When was he ever not furious at me, though? It’s just that his repertoire has increased, that’s all. Even though this whole thing is a goddamn nothing burger!”

Of course, both Jeong Myeong-Cheol and Kim Sang-Ho knew this incident was definitely not “nothing.” Jeong Myeong-Cheol simply wasn’t happy about getting nagged for it, that was all.

“This whole goddamn thing will blow over in a few days, right?”

Kim Sang-Ho nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“F*cking hell...!” Jeong Myeong-Cheol grunted while scratching his head. He then glanced at Kim Sang-Ho. “I have to say, I’m seriously disappointed in you, Mister Kim.”

“...”

“I figured you’d be able to handle this situation with zero issues. Did I overestimate your capabilities?”

“...My apologies.”

Kim Sang-Ho squeezed his eyes shut briefly.

This stinking bastard...!

The one who ordered Kim Sang-Ho and the others to do this was none other than Jeong Myeong-Cheol. Kim Sang-Ho had voiced his opposition—in a roundabout way, of course—several times, but it was also Jeong Myeong-Cheol who had shot him down every single time!

But here he was, blaming Kim Sang-Ho instead of himself!

Something like this was not a rare occurrence in this company, but for some reason, Kim Sang-Ho got far more irritated than usual today.

“I guess you’ve gotten old, Mister Kim,” Jeong Myeong-Cheol said with a grunt.

Kim Sang-Ho didn’t bother to respond to that. That was because Jeong Myeong-Cheol wasn’t fishing for an excuse to get rid of Kim Sang-Ho. No, he was simply blaming someone else to mask his own embarrassment.

Despite all of his flaws, Jeong Myeong-Cheol still understood that his life would become incalculably more inconvenient without Kim Sang-Ho around.

“If you can’t even handle your business right, at least you should try to do a better job of mopping up the aftermath, right? You get what I’m saying?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Make sure everybody is gagged properly, okay? As for the media... I guess they will run out of steam on their own in a few days. However, did you prepare a few things, just in case?”

“Yes, sir. We have two or three scandals we can expose to divert public attention away from us.”

“Good. Oh, it’ll be a waste to expose a biggish scandal, so stick with something mid-tier, okay? Right, right. Just release a couple of names from the list of junkies we’ve compiled earlier.”

“Understood. We’ll do that, sir.”

“I guess that will quieten things down. Bloody hell, it’s too goddamn noisy these days...”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol picked up the remote again and began channel surfing for a while. However, his expression crumpled again after confirming that other stations were reporting on the same thing.

“F*ck me... Isn’t this too much? It’s not like we’ve killed people or set fire to something, no? Why are all these channels busy reporting on a matter this trivial? It makes no bloody sense!”

“I’ll... look into it, sir.”

If he could help it, Kim Sang-Ho didn’t want to agree with whatever Jeong Myeong-Cheol said. However, even he could tell this level of media coverage was abnormal.

Even if they didn’t request the stations to hold back on the coverage, most news stations should have voluntarily scaled down the intensity of reports involving Taegwang.

I mean, sure. The incident itself is scandalous, but it’s also pretty minor in scale, too. So, why?

These news stations were constantly hammering away with this news as if they wanted to make hay while the sun still shone. As if... As if they wanted to shape the public opinion in a certain way through the coverage!

Jeong Myeong-Cheol scowled deeply. “Hang on? Could it be that the bossman himself is getting involved?”

“Sorry? Boss man?”

“You know. The holder of the highest office in the country. Maybe he’s trying to get the big corporations to play ball?”

Kim Sang-Ho almost reflexively laughed at that. To get the big corporations to play ball, he said?

That was certainly a possibility. However, they were Taegwang P&D, not Taegwang Group proper. This subsidiary wasn’t important enough to become a target in such a campaign.

This idiot still doesn’t know his place.

If Taegwang P&D had been a strategic company to the group, someone like Jeong Myeong-Cheol would’ve never been installed as its president.

“I’ll speak to the people in the media, sir. And request them to scale down their coverage.”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol tutted loudly. “Mister Kim, it would have been better if you had taken care of things ahead of time without me telling you what to do. Seriously, you’re not as sharp as you used to be. Do you get what I’m saying here?”

“Of course, sir,” Kim Sang-Ho replied with a gentle smile.

However, it seemed Jeong Myeong-Cheol was not happy about seeing that smile, judging from how irritated he became.

“Damn... By the way, did you gag that bastard properly?”

“You mean... The team leader of the sales team three, sir?”

“Yeah, that little bastard.”

That little bastard, he said... That was definitely not the right term to call someone who took the fall for Jeong Myeong-Cheol. However, such a thing was only a drop in the ocean of all the wrongdoings he had committed over the years, and was not worth criticizing him for it.

“I assure you, he won’t talk, sir.”

“Really now? You sure?”

“Besides, he can’t talk even if he wants to, because he doesn’t know anything. All he has done is read off the script we’ve given him, that’s all. Of course, if he wanted to, I’m sure he could implicate the director who got in touch with him. If that happens, we can always dump everything on that director instead.”

“Hoh? Hehehe... Mister Kim, you’ve become a proper villain yourself, haven’t you? I didn’t think you’d leave that to somebody else.”

Kim Sang-Ho narrowed his eyes in silence.

If I had handled this personally, only to get implicated later, you would’ve instantly left me in the lurch!

Jeong Myeong-Cheol was the type to endure some inconvenience but never losses, no matter how trivial. As a matter of fact, he’d cry more about a tiny little thorn stuck under his nail than, say, an acquaintance getting stabbed in the back!

How could Kim Sang-Ho trust someone like that and throw himself into danger? The answer was obviously a hell no, not even close!

“Sir, the investigations will soon wind down. Our public image has taken a knock, but give it a few months, and no one will remember what happened.”

“Yup. That’s what humans are like, after all.” Jeong Myeong-Cheol smirked.

“Sir, while we’re on this subject...”

“Yeah? What?”

“How about hiring a competent lawyer for the team leader of the sales team three? That way, we can prolong the court proceedings for as long as possible. And once the public’s interest has died down, we might even be able to reduce his sentence to a bare minimum, as well. Perhaps doing that could be a better w...”

“Hold on, now. A competent lawyer? Why would I hire someone like that? Who’s gonna pay for this lawyer, then?”

“...”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol frowned as if he was frustrated by something. “Mister Kim, what will we gain by doing that? Whether that little bastard is in jail or walking around as a free man, what difference does that make?”

“I... I was being short-sighted. Apologies, sir.”

“Gee whiz. How disappointing.”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol shot up to his feet. It was his way of signaling the end of this conversation, but Kim Sang-Ho still had one more thing left to say.

“Sir? Please remember that we’re still in a delicate period for the company. Reporters will undoubtedly swarm around you with everything going on. How about refraining from going out for a few weeks until...”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol stopped walking away, then glared at Kim Sang-Ho with his brows arching up. “Refrain from what now?”

“G-going out, to have fun...”

“Mister Kim, did you turn your brain off or something? If I suddenly become a f*cking homebody now, the stinking reporters will obviously suspect something is up, no? Are you trying to make me look bad? Is that it?”

“No, sir. It’s just that the odds of paparazzo swarming around you are uncomfortably high, and... I merely wanted to avoid exposing your private life.”

“Haaah... Don’t be such a stuck-up moron, Mister Kim. Where I’m going, those reporters can’t even get a foot through the door! Tell me you’re poor without telling me you’re poor, will ya!”

“But, sir...”

“Mister Kim, maybe you really have gotten too old for this job. You’ve become a nagger recently, haven’t you? Are you trying to cosplay as the chairman? Should I seat you at the head of the table next time we have a meeting?”

“I wouldn’t dream of such a thing, sir. I merely wanted to ensure you are not unduly inconvenienced by...”

“You’re the one inconveniencing me right now, Mister Kim. Yes, you! Tsk.”

Jeong Myeong-Cheol spun around on his heels and headed to the exit. However, he stopped again and glanced back at Kim Sang-Ho as if he had remembered something.

“Oh, by the way?”

“Yes, sir?”

“What are we gonna do about those motherf*ckers?”

“Sorry? Who are you referring to, sir?”

“Caffe Luogo or whatever it’s f*cking called! I’m talking about those MK f*ckers!”

“That company...?” Kim Sang-Ho tilted his head slightly after momentarily failing to understand what Jeong Myeong-Cheol wanted to say.

“Those f*ckers embarrassed us, right? In that case, we gotta get even!”

“Ahh... Of course, sir. Of course. However, the timing right now is...”

“Timing, my ass...! Once things quieten down, we gotta f*ck those bastards over, okay? So I want you to find a way, got that?!”

“Yes, sir.”

“Goddamn it!”

Kim Sang-Ho bit his lip while watching Jeong Myeong-Cheol shove the door open in anger and storm outside the office.

What a stupid little bastard!

If only Jeong Myeong-Cheol had been a complete and utter good-for-nothing! That would’ve made Kim Sang-Ho’s job a little easier. Unfortunately, Jeong Myeong-Cheol’s despicable personality didn’t make him a moron, and that made things only trickier for the people around him.

On most days, he would’ve started kicking and destroying furniture while roaring like a madman after having a conversation like this. However, he was smart enough to refrain from causing any further problems despite how irritated he was right now.

Kim Sang-Ho spat out a lengthy groan.

I’m getting sick and tired of mopping up that man’s mess.

They had somehow navigated through this mess and emerged on the other side relatively unscathed. But what about the next time? Kim Sang-Ho couldn’t help but worry about what that moron would do next.

While groaning again, Kim Sang-Ho dragged himself out of the president’s office.