“So basically… in short, it’s a complete mess.”
A chilly silence settled over the conference room. Thunk. The sound of Muyeon setting down the meeting materials on the table rang out. The conference room was then engulfed in an even more terrible silence.
Seungju thought that just moments ago, when someone was at least speaking, had been better. Even though what was being said was Muyeon mercilessly pointing out the lack of planning in the Planning Division’s work and criticizing how inorganically projects were being assigned to each team. He’d also had to witness the Director awkwardly interjecting with pathetic excuses here and there, but anyway.
The Director managed to find something to say this time too.
“Haha, a complete mess… it’s not that. Projects are assigned to each team according to the scale of the work at any given time. And it’s important for planners to experience various tasks rather than focusing on just one type of work.”
“Even so, having the summer season products divided among Teams 1, 3, and 5 is excessively inefficient. The design direction is the same, and they’re all part of the same series. By what criteria were they distributed? Is it because they’re odd-numbered teams?”
Muyeon made a joke, but no one laughed. Everyone knew it was the Director’s mischief. It was because Planning Team 1’s Team Leader Shin Myeongjin, who had been in charge of summer season products, had given the Director something to hold against him at the time. The Director, thinking to torment Team Leader Shin, took away his workload and tossed it to Teams 3 and 5 respectively. Then, whenever the progress of the entire series was delayed or the direction went astray, he would gleefully tear into Team Leader Shin.
“Also, while what you say about planners needing to experience various tasks has merit, shouldn’t you also consider that the more that happens, the less specialized they become? Team Leader Choi Huigyeong, have you ever worked on greeting cards before?”
“I’ve handled paper products, but…”
“Cards. Cards specifically.”
Team Leader Choi quietly shook her head. Suddenly, Seungju grew tense all by himself. It was because card products had consistently been Team 2’s jurisdiction, and before Seungju became independent as a one-person team, he had been solely in charge of that work in Team 2. Even though he knew the current situation had nothing to do with him, his throat oddly went dry.
Everyone at the company had thought that greeting card work was something Seungju should take with him when he formed his independent team. So his former team leader, Planning Team 2’s Team Leader Kim Eunseong, hadn’t particularly prepared any handover.
However, the Director had transferred that work wholesale to Team 4. Instead, Seungju was stuck with doll and toy products for the first time since joining the company. Everyone also knew that this was all a scheme to suppress his spirit by making the youngest team leader fumble with new work.
Muyeon let out a sigh. Seungju glanced at him slightly. His eyes weren’t mistaken. Without smiling, he was definitely cold. When his eyebrows furrowed slightly, it was enough to make anyone watching shiver. And his voice was so good that each word pierced and stuck firmly.
“Now that it’s come up, let me ask this. Whether it’s greeting cards or seasonal products, aren’t these all projects where designers are important? Why was the Design Team left out of today’s meeting?”
The Director no longer answered. Seungju couldn’t even bring himself to look at him.
Excluding General Manager Mu, the second-in-command in this office after the Director was Design General Manager Kang Yujin. The fact that they were holding a meeting deliberately excluding her meant that the Director was making a move to grab even a little more position in the office hierarchy that would change now that General Manager Baek Muyeon had arrived. The planning team leaders who had experienced the Director’s viciousness could all easily pick up on this.
Seungju grew curious whether Muyeon also knew all of this and was deliberately provoking the Director. Well, even if he didn’t know, it didn’t matter. He was the president’s son, after all.
Seungju thought to himself: He envied having the backing to say whatever you wanted in front of the Director without filtering. I have so much I want to say too. If only given the chance, I could do it well.
“No one’s answering me. Then let me ask one last thing. What’s the reason the Sales Team went so far as to relocate and be incorporated into the Planning Division?”
Naturally, no one answered this time either. Baek Muyeon didn’t bother to point out that fact once more. Instead, he stated the answer himself.
“Isn’t it so that from the planning stage, they can consider how products already released by Vision Factory will be placed in specialty stores, and how products to be released in the future will be sold in stores?”
It was correct. And a bad feeling began to creep over Seungju.
“But in these meeting materials, in the project organization by team, there isn’t a single piece of substantial content that considers product store placement and sales.”
Unpleasant hunches always come true. Seungju quietly closed his eyes. When he took a deep breath in his mind and opened his eyes again, Muyeon’s voice flew into his ears and stuck.
“Who organized these meeting materials?”
“I did.”
Thanks to preparing himself mentally beforehand, Seungju was able to answer right away without shaking much. Muyeon’s question immediately followed.
“Did you organize this knowing what the purpose of this meeting was?”
It was a voice 180 degrees different from the friendly greeting yesterday. He felt wronged for no reason. Ah, he really draws a sharp line between work and personal matters.
“Yes, actually…”
Seungju trailed off. All the team leaders except the Director looked at Seungju. Among them, Seungju glared briefly at the Director. He still didn’t have the courage to look at him directly, so he aimed somewhere around his necktie.
Fuck, my only crime is doing what the Director told me to do. He approved all the meeting materials too.
Anyway, the planning team leaders were people who had at least 5 years of experience at this company. Most of them had mastered the skill of not doing the same thing twice while still looking good to the Director.
Since it was a meeting with the Sales Team supervisor, everyone had deduced that related content should be included. After receiving all the necessary information from each team, Seungju had created two versions of the meeting materials: one with only the detailed project content organized, and one with store-related content added. And the Director chose the former. Seungju, print this one out and prepare for the meeting.
Seungju sneered inwardly. Was he trying to engage in a power struggle again after getting caught up in Muyeon’s words yesterday morning? If he were even a little bit sensible, he would have chosen to do the work properly and perfectly so the General Manager would have nothing to say. That’s how all of the Director’s actions were anyway.
Seungju briefly glanced at Muyeon while pondering for a moment what to say.
The employee’s dissatisfaction won over the lovesick fool’s pure feelings. The handsome face suddenly looked annoying. Since things had come to this, Seungju also decided to separate work from personal matters. He cursed inwardly.
Hey, if you want to interrogate someone, go interrogate the Director, not some young-as-hell team leader.
How nice it would be if he could say that. It was impossible. Seungju opened his mouth with a feeling of desperation.
“I also have materials that include how products are currently being displayed in each discount mart or stationery store. For products under development, I only included the package design. I’ve also categorized products that can have separate displays set up. There were so many photos and images that I couldn’t print them out for everyone attending, so I only printed one copy for myself.”
“Give it here.”
Seungju stood up from his seat. Team Leader Shin, who was sitting in the middle, received the materials and passed them to Muyeon. The sound of rustling paper could be heard. Muyeon, who had been flipping through to the middle, put down the materials.
“Good job organizing this.”
The air in the conference room lightened a bit. Team Leader Yoon cleared his throat and Team Leader Choi adjusted his seat. Seungju, who had been staring only at his notebook on the desk, slightly raised his head.
And he finally made eye contact with the Director. Seungju had a premonition of the fate that awaited him the moment he left the conference room. He buried his head downward again.
Muyeon sighed once and said.
“Aside from these materials, everything else is such a mess from the basics that continuing the meeting seems pointless. First, based on the meeting materials I received, I think we need to redo the work distribution. I’ll meet with each team leader individually within this week and divide things up so each team can take either stationery, office supplies, or living products. Once categories are determined for each team, have everything organized so you can immediately hand over and receive responsibilities.”
People who had been mute as if they’d eaten honey finally began to open their mouths one by one. Yes, understood. Soon after, sounds of organizing materials and chairs being pushed back could be heard.
The Director stood up first. He opened the door and left the conference room, letting out a loud sigh as if for those in the hallway to hear. It was understandable. Throughout the hour-long meeting, he’d been lectured by someone more than 20 years younger, and his power over work distribution had been taken away. Serves him right.
However, since those sparks would soon fly his way too, he wasn’t entirely happy about it. Seungju slowly gathered his files and looked for timing to slip out of the conference room with minimal presence, buried among the team leaders.
But when Seungju stood up from his seat, his hopes were dashed.
“Team Leader Heo Seungju.”
“Y-yes?”
“You’re a one-person team, right?”
“Yes…”
Hearing that absurd term come from the mouth of the person who had just been demolishing the Planning Division with facts, Seungju was so uncomfortable he didn’t know what to do with himself. The team leader with no team members of the “I Can Do It Alone Team.” The team leaders who were leaving the conference room hesitated and perked up their ears for Muyeon’s next words.
“Since you don’t have any urgent deadlines among the projects you’re handling, you’ll need to help me out a bit.”
***
Standing at the parking lot entrance with his bag, Seungju looked up at the sky. It was a rare day without fine dust. The air was still a bit chilly. Seungju shook his shoulders slightly.
The help that General Manager Baek Muyeon requested from Team Leader Heo Seungju was this: Muyeon goes out on field work every Thursday afternoon to tour various types of stores. Until now, the purpose of this work had been to determine the location for Vision Factory’s own Store No. 1.
However, he said he now needed new market research. To set up a sizable store, the variety of products to display was important. But Vision Factory’s product count was still woefully insufficient to fill even one store. There was a need to determine with a planner’s eye what products needed to be additionally developed. Since Team Leader Heo Seungju happened to have no team members attached to him and had suitable experience, he would take him along.
The Director said that if so, he himself would go out for market research. From the Director’s position, it was natural. At a company called Vision Factory, planning came from the top down. They made items the president wanted to do and things the Director thought were good. It was a structure where a young-as-hell team leader couldn’t say “let’s do this” or “let’s make that.”
However, Muyeon flatly rejected the Director’s words.
‘What? You, Director? That’s fine. I need a young sensibility that knows trends well.’
There was no way Muyeon could know the lines the Director had spouted when putting Seungju in this position. That stuff about trends and whatnot, young talent and so on. However, Seungju felt satisfaction. Anyway, he spoke well too.
Seungju laughed out loud, “Hehe.” He was happy just from the fact that he’d escaped the office on this fine day. If not for the eyes of people sitting on the first-floor cafe terrace, he would have shouted “Hurray!”
