Descent of the Demon Master-Chapter 1322. On Standby (2)

“Sir, we’ve contacted the relevant people regarding what we’ve discussed,” said Lee Hyeon-Ju. “However, as our people don’t have the necessary experience yet, it’ll take some time.”

“Yes, that’s to be expected. But we still have time, so let’s not rush it. Rather than speed, what we need is meticulousness, after all,” said Hwang Min-Su.

“Understood, President.”

Hwang Min-Su smiled like a proud father while staring at Lee Hyeon-Ju.

She is a top-tier talent, that’s for sure.

If he was being honest, hearing about someone as young as Lee Hyeon-Ju managing MK’s overall operation stunned him quite a bit. But working with her for the past few weeks completely dissolved any doubts he had.

Society frowning upon young people holding high-ranking positions didn’t come about because of numerous boomers voicing their displeasure.

Business-related know-how could not be picked up from spending time in a library. It didn’t matter how hard young people tried, there would always be a gap between them and those who had experienced the ups and downs of society first-hand.

However, from what Hwang Min-Su could see, Lee Hyeon-Ju had amply proven that she had the qualifications to handle this extremely important post.

Maybe my father wanted me to become someone like her, thought Hwang Min-Su.

As Hwang Jeong-Hu’s son, Hwang Min-Su also found himself taking on high-ranking jobs despite being a bit too young for those roles. But those days were more akin to torture. He didn’t feel a shred of happiness at his work.

That was because Hwang Jeong-Hu constantly berated his son, saying nothing was more foolish and in vain as a person taking on a role they didn’t have the abilities for.

If one could handle a tough but important high-ranking position, everyone would say that individual was perfect for the job. However, if one couldn’t do that, everyone would think that individual only landed the job through familial connections.

In that sense, Hwang Min-Su never really overcame the label of “nepo baby”. Although other people evaluated him rather favorably, he himself knew the truth. He knew his position was too good for what he was capable of.

What was different about this young lady? What separated her from him?

Lee Hyeon-Ju spoke again. “By the way, President Hwang?”

“Yes, please speak.”

“I’ve gone ahead and prepared a detailed plan regarding our upcoming business venture. Of course, I have no doubt that you know this side of the business far better than I do, but I hope you take this as my youthful enthusiasm and...”

“Mm? A detailed plan?”

“Yes.”

“I see. Sounds good. Please upload them on the server. I’d like to read it.”

“Of course, sir.”

Hwang Min-Su sighed quietly under his breath so that Lee Hyeon-Ju wouldn’t notice it.

So, this was the difference, then?

The light burning in Lee Hyeon-Ju’s eyes differed so much from what Hwang Min-Su’s was like when he was her age.

First of all, Lee Hyeon-Ju was motivated. Passionate. One couldn’t help but think that she enjoyed her job.

Hwang Min-Su wasn’t like that.

He always struggled under the weight of expectation. He was always anxious about making a mistake and ruining everything. The past him would’ve never dared or thought about compiling a detailed business plan for a business venture in a field he didn’t specialize in.

That was why...

“Miss Lee. Whether it’s this venture or something else, please don’t hesitate to give me your thoughts.”

“Thank you, President Hwang.”

...Hwang Min-Su should do his best to create an atmosphere that allowed her to speak freely.

Hwang Min-Su ultimately couldn’t become an excellent businessman. He simply lacked the charismatic leadership qualities, which his father had plenty of. Worse still, he didn’t have the confidence to believe in his capabilities.

However, Hwang Min-Su happened to possess a certain type of experience his father didn’t have.

Indeed, this world isn’t populated only by geniuses.

Ordinary people and those who fell slightly behind were doing their best in their own right to live their lives.

Anyone could set up a company where capable people could unleash their capabilities. But Hwang Min-Su wanted to foster a different company culture.

Hwang Min-Su asked, “Is there any other topic you’d like to discuss?”

“No, sir.” 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

“Mm...” Hwang Min-Su briefly nodded. “Very well. I’ll be inspecting the conditions on-site with Mister Kang Yu-Hwan in the afternoon. Please contact me right away if something happens.”

“Of course, sir.”

“If that’s all, you can go ahead.”

The meeting was over. However, Lee Hyeon-Ju didn’t leave and continued to stare at Hwang Min-Su.

He tore his gaze away from the computer screen and stared back at her. “Is there something else on your mind, Miss Lee?”

“President, sir?”

“Yes?”

“The employees are happy to have you in our company, sir.”

Hwang Min-Su sheepishly scratched the back of his head. “Well, that’s sudden. But why are you...”

“It’s not just you, sir, but the head managers, as well. Everyone’s happy about so many capable people joining us. The truth was, our company didn’t have any experienced higher-ups we could learn from until your arrival.”

“Ah... that’s right.”

What Lee Hyeon-Ju said reminded Hwang Min-Su about this company not having the so-called middle management until recently.

Kang Jin-Ho, Lee Hyeon-Su, and Lee Hyeon-Ju formed the executives, while the rest were all... about the same, in terms of hierarchy. But the problem with this set-up was that whether it was Lee Hyeon-Ju or Kang Jin-Ho, they simply lacked the requisite experience of managing a company of this size.

Lee Hyeon-Ju bowed slightly. “I, too, have high expectations of you, sir. I believe I can learn a lot from you.”

“Kuh-hum.”

Hwang Min-Su sheepishly rubbed his jaw, feeling slightly embarrassed. He was still not used to this type of praise yet.

“It’s just that...”

Hwang Min-Su flinched when Lee Hyeon-Ju said that. To him, nothing was scarier than “It’s just that...” Because what followed after those words would be the speaker’s true thoughts, which were rarely kind.

“You’re still new to the company, and the employees are still not familiar with you. I believe it’s necessary to foster an atmosphere where the employees feel comfortable enough to report to you and offer you their opinions and advice.”

“Oh... I see.”

Hwang Min-Su had to admit that she was right.

“Then, what do you have in mind, Miss Lee?”

“For now, I was thinking of something basic, like a company dinner. Doing so might be a catalyst in bringing everyone a little closer than before.”

“A c-company dinner?”

“Yes.”

Hwang Min-Su’s expression grew unreadable. “Hang on a sec. Don’t most employees loathe the idea of a company dinner?”

“Not necessarily. What they loathe isn’t the dinner itself, but the people they share the dinner with.”

“...Well,” Hwang Min-Su slightly nodded. “I’ll be honest. I’m a little anxious, but we should do it if you think it’s necessary. Then, can you set a date and announce it, please?”

Lee Hyeon-Ju shook her head. “I’m sorry, sir, but I believe it’ll be better for you to announce it personally.”

“Ah. My apologies. I shouldn’t be lumping you with all these small matters on top of everything you’re already doing.”

“No, that’s not what I meant, sir.”

“Sorry? Then, what?”

Lee Hyeon-Ju’s face grew subtly redder. “The truth is... The employees are somewhat afraid to speak to me. If I announce the company dinner and tell them to attend it, the reaction will not be all that positive.”

“...?”

Just how badly did she make them work to earn that kind of... reputation?

Hwang Min-Su couldn’t help but view Lee Hyeon-Ju in a new light just then. To his eyes, she was a smart, efficient, and career-driven young woman, but it sounded like the subordinates viewed her in a different light altogether.

It was also clear that she was aware of this situation.

“Understood. I’ll make the announcement, then.”

“Thank you, sir. We have a lot of employees, so it might be a better idea to host a company dinner with only the team leaders first.”

“Mm, let’s do that,” said Hwang Min-Su with a gentle chuckle. What a strange feeling this was, someone asking him to attend a company dinner first. This must be why a person should open themselves up to various experiences. He then remembered something and called out to Lee Hyeon-Ju. “Ah, before you go...”

Lee Hyeon-Ju tilted her head. “Yes, President?”

“Do you know where the Chairman is right now?”

“He’s on a business trip at the moment.”

“Is this matter somehow related to MK?”

Lee Hyeon-Ju’s expression grew unreadable. “As I understand it, you could technically say it has some bearing on the company. However, it also isn’t directly related to the company’s operation.”

“Mm, I see...”

Hwang Min-Su was aware of Kang Jin-Ho being involved in other business ventures besides MK. What he found so bizarre in this case was Kang Jin-Ho’s decision to leave during this crucial period for MK’s survival.

Even if Hwang Min-Su was handling the day-to-day operation of MK, there was still an appreciable difference between the company chairman manning his desk and being unavailable. Of course, it wasn’t as if Kang Jin-Ho was a thoughtless person who didn’t know that.

Since that was the case, his absence could only mean...!

It means MK is only a small part of everything the Chairman is involved in.

The more Hwang Min-Su thought about it, the more mystifying this situation felt. After all, wasn’t MK a large company?

Even though it was structured in a bizarre way, and its operations could only be described as haphazard, MK still boasted an incredible amount of assets and influence. Yet its Chairman had other matters to attend to? Matters that were deemed even more important than this place?

If that was true, just how incredible was the power and influence wielded by the person named Kang Jin-Ho?

Could it be even greater than, say, Hwang Jeong-Hu? But that didn’t seem realistically possible. Then again, MK shouldn’t realistically exist, either.

Hwang Min-Su groaned deeply as his thoughts became more complicated. Did he inadvertently join hands with someone boasting a ridiculous backstory?

“Then, do you know where the Chairman is?”

Lee Hyeon-Ju shook her head. “He’s not in the country at the moment. However, we can still contact him. If you have something you wish to discuss...”

“Ah, no. That’s not it. I was merely curious, that’s all,” said Hwang Min-Su while grinning wryly.

It was still too early; Hwang Min-Su should hold back on reporting to Kang Jin-Ho for the time being. They still hadn’t settled on a tangible outline yet, after all.

Only after wrapping up the business with Kang Yu-Hwan a little more could Hwang Min-Su report to his boss with some kind of a result.

Knock, knock...!

Hwang Min-Su’s thoughts were interrupted by someone knocking on his door.

Lee Hyeon-Ju sensibly bowed slightly first. “Then, may I be excused?”

“Ah, of course. Thank you, Miss Lee.”

“Then, please excuse me.”

Lee Hyeon-Ju smiled gently, then walked toward the doorway. When she opened it, the head managers stepped inside.

She smartly greeted them. “Hello.”

“Oh, Chief Lee! Good day to you!”

She scanned the managers, then bowed slightly. “Then, until next time.”

Once she left the office and closed the door, Gu Jeong-Beom grinned brightly and muttered to no one in particular. “She’s so full of a youngster's infinite energy, no? If only my son was a bit older, I might have...”

Hwang Min-Su tutted. “She’s Chief Lee Hyeon-Su’s girlfriend. Be careful with what you say if you don’t want to get buried in a shallow grave somewhere.”

“...I might have asked her to tutor my son.”

Gu Jeong-Beom smoothly navigated himself out of that near-catastrophe.

He had run into Lee Hyeon-Su a few times before, and the impression he got told him not to get involved with that person if he could help it. Which made sense, since Lee Hyeon-Su oozed that distinct smell of a man involved in something dangerous!

Hwang Min-Su glanced at the managers. “So? What brings you guys here?”

“We wanted to report to you about the restructuring process, plus the time frame we’re looking at. You told us to report to you right away instead of notifying you during meetings.”

“Right, I did say that. Sorry, I forgot to check.”

Hwang Min-Su accessed the report Gu Jeong-Beom and Co. had uploaded to the server with his PC, only for his brow to furrow.

“We need to hire more employees?”

“Yes, sir. We could utilize our existing manpower, but doing so would mean we’d be dragging too many employees away from their assignments. Since you were planning to start other business ventures, I figured it’d be better to hire new...”

“Nah. Let’s just use the people we already have.”

“Sir? But wouldn’t they be annoyed and dissatisfied by their assignments changing overnight?”

Hwang Min-Su chuckled wryly. “Be honest. Do you think they are capable of doing that?”

“...”

Gu Jeong-Beom sheepishly scratched his head. He had to admit that the employees of this company didn’t look like the easily dissatisfied types.

The people of this company were rather weird. Fundamentally, office workers preferred doing work that suited their tendencies. It was natural for them to avoid doing work they weren’t related to.

However, MK’s workers weren’t like that. Even if no one had ordered them to, they would still look for something to do.

Was it because they were go-getters? No, not really. The vibe they gave off didn’t feel that way. Rather than that... It was more like they were starving for things to do.

“The employees here won’t complain even if they have to move to a different department in the middle of their assignment. So, don’t hesitate and just use the people we have,” said Hwang Min-Su.

“Got it, sir,” Gu Jeong-Beom replied while nodding in agreement.

If they went by the book, sticking to Gu Jeong-Beom’s recommendation was the correct way. However, one should also consider the company’s unique circumstances and situations first.

“Besides all that. How are things going with securing the potential franchisees, sir? You said you’d handle that.”

Hwang Min-Su’s expression crumpled slightly. “Well, about that...”

“Yes? What is it?”

“...Urgh. I’m sure it’ll work out somehow.”

“Huh? What on Earth are you talking about, sir?! Our company’s future depends on this!”

“Yeah, I know!” Hwang Min-Su yelled unhappily.

Gu Jeong-Beom and others flinched. “...!”

“The future of our company hangs in the balance, so how could he not deal with it first and travel overseas instead?! What’s the matter with that guy?!”

“...?”

Gu Jeong-Beom could only sigh under his breath while watching Hwang Min-Su roughly scratch his head.

Yup, this company is so, so weird.