Chapter 14 — A Gathering of Personality-Disordered People

“Hoo… Let’s do our best… Son…”

But what else could he do?

He was still his own flesh and blood.

Chairman Kim Kang-jin left behind a habitual, tongue-clicking sound as he headed toward his study.

“Father, aren’t you going to drink your tea? I just poured it…”

The steaming cup of tea was left sitting there by itself.

“I’m not drinking it. Ahem…”

“Yes. Understood.”

Kim Soo-hyuk gave a short reply.

The moment he confirmed that his father had entered the study, he immediately began berating the housekeeper.

And he did so with great enthusiasm.

“What are you doing?! Ma’am! Father!!! Said he’s not drinking ittt!!!”

He, too, could physically feel the fact that his father had ignored him.

And he took that frustration out on the housekeeper.

“Yes… I’m sorry…”

How many people could ever become accustomed to being shouted at?

It was an everyday occurrence, but the maid’s hands trembled as she cleared away the teacup.

And then—

Crash!

The expensive-looking teacup fell to the floor and shattered.

“Hey, ma’am. Do you know how much this one teacup costs?”

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

“It’s your entire monthly salary!!! Are you not going to do your job properly?! Huh?!??”

The poor maid had no choice.

All she could do was quietly bow her head and submit to this injustice.

And Choi Mi-ok once again engraved into her heart that this was simply her fate, rationalizing the situation.

This was why she was paid a salary, after all.

“Ma’am. Gather everyone in my room. Starting with Mr. Hwang. All the employees.”

“Oh, young master… I’m sorry. I’m really sorry…”

“Forget the apologies and bring everyone here. And you—bring the manual. The manual!!!”

And so the enormous household went into a state of emergency.

“Hey, Mr. Hwang. I see there are still people who haven’t memorized the manual?”

The Daewoo Family Butler Manual.

It was a creation born from Kim Soo-hyuk’s bizarre hobby.

It contained the rules of conduct that all employees of the Daewoo family were expected to follow.

He glared at Mr. Hwang, while the employees could not bring themselves to look Kim Soo-hyuk directly in the eyes.

“Everyone, get on your knees… You’re not getting up until you’ve come to your senses and memorized it. Read it aloud.”

The employees were all much older than him.

But their leashes were money, and they had been brainwashed into believing that reporting anything happening within the household to the outside world would be like throwing an egg at a rock.

Bound by those leashes, they could not even dream of rebellion.

“Louder. Clearly. Do you understand??”

The study and every other room in the house had excellent soundproofing.

It prevented Chairman Kim from hearing about Kim Soo-hyuk’s foolish behavior.

That was why Kim Soo-hyuk was able to continue indulging in this peculiar hobby of his.

“This is all because of that Choi Mi-ok ma’am. Read every single character clearly.”

The bizarre scene was unpleasant to witness.

Kim Soo-hyuk looked almost hysterical, as though he were suffering from withdrawal symptoms.

“Ahh, honestly, there really aren’t many sane people in this world.”

Kim Anna spoke while scrolling through the news on her smartphone.

“Why? What happened?”

“Another news story about workplace bullying came up.”

“So? What news story? Geez, young people these days really don’t understand hints, do they?”

Today’s business trip involved driving themselves.

Kim Anna, who had not yet obtained her driver’s license, was sitting comfortably in the passenger seat.

Unfortunately, that meant she had to endure an unpleasant ride.

Because the person driving was Choi Moon-young, who had come in place of Lee Jin-ho, who was on sick leave.

“Heh, you’re so impatient. It’s about a branch manager at an insurance sales office abusing his authority. Apparently, the branch manager threatened a female employee who had reported sexual harassment internally.”

“Hm… What did he threaten her with? People work together, and sometimes you can make dirty jokes or even fall for each other at a company dinner. Are you really going to make an internal report over something like that? What a shameless woman. Tsk.”

“Ah… I-is that really something that can happen at work…?”

“Why are you trailing off, Anna? Am I wrong? Are you the kind of person who makes internal reports and stuff too?”

Kim Anna felt extremely uncomfortable in this car.

It was like sitting next to a talking trash can.

And for good reason.

Her previous team leader had been Lee Jin-ho, and Choi Moon-young was his complete opposite.

To Kim Anna, he was the worst of the worst.

Even calling him utterly repulsive was not enough.

“Oh, and Anna. You seem to be speaking way too casually. Do you have any idea how much seniority there is between you and me? This isn’t a joke. Eh? Ehh~~~? When you’re talking to a senior, are you supposed to add little interjections like that? Huh?”

Her head was spinning from the confusion.

“Sorry, sir.”

It was a quick apology that came from nowhere near her heart, but it successfully shut Choi Moon-young up.

“Hm. Hm. Take care of yourself. Do I really have to point out such trivial things?”

“Yes, understood, sir.”

“See? Isn’t that much better? Answering obediently like that. It’s refreshing, and you look blessed.”

Apparently, she had not succeeded yet.

“Then how about we have pufferfish today? Sounds good, right?”

Kim Anna remembered the pufferfish dish that had made her sick not long ago.

‘I hope the pufferfish makes your tongue go completely numb.’

“Ahem. You’re mumbling your answer again? Are you going to make me keep nagging you?”

“N-no. I eat pufferfish just fine.”

She was worried about Lee Jin-ho, who was absent.

He wasn’t answering his phone, and now he was on sick leave.

She couldn’t stop thinking that perhaps something serious had happened to him.

“Excuse me, but…”

“What?”

He kept his eyes on the road with both hands on the wheel.

He didn’t even glance sideways.

Considering that until recently he hadn’t even acknowledged her greetings, this was a major improvement.

But it was hardly pleasant.

“Are you, by any chance…”

“What?”

“Do you happen to… still keep in touch with Mr. Lee Jin-ho separately? By any chance. I mean, just in case. Just in case of a possibility.”

“‘Just in case’ what? You’re not trying to joke around with me right now, are you? What’s your intention?”

His foot suddenly pressed down hard on the accelerator, causing Kim Anna’s body to be thrown backward into the seat.

“My intention? There’s no such thing! I’m just worried about Mr. Lee Jin-ho…”

“Heh heh. Well, judging from the fact that he took sick leave at such an important time, it must be something pretty serious. For me, though, it’s practically like having a piece of good news in the stock market that only I know about.”

As soon as he mentioned Lee Jin-ho’s sick leave, Choi Moon-young’s driving became noticeably more relaxed.

“But… worried? You should be worrying about your own future, Anna. Your difficult days are practically guaranteed from here on out. Well, if you happen to switch sides, I suppose I could graciously accept you.”

His sly smile made him look as though he was already certain of victory.

Kim Anna, meanwhile, pretended not to understand.

She put on the innocent face of a new employee who knew nothing.

“Switch sides? What do you mean by that?”

“Ha, you sly little fox. Whatever. We’re almost there, so when we get out, carry my luggage too and follow me.”

Screech—

Choi Moon-young’s nagging continued, and soon they arrived once again at Peter Pan Industries, which they had visited before.

“Hello. You’ve brought someone different today.”

“Yes. Something came up with our employee, so I came in her place today.”

The accounting manager and Choi Moon-young exchanged small talk.

Meanwhile, Kim Anna struggled behind them, carrying a laptop and piles of documents in both hands.

She even had to use her knees because she didn’t have enough hands to close the car door.

Kim Anna was already missing Lee Jin-ho.

The small talk dragged on.

And the office was still a long, long walk away.

During the journey, the accounting manager offered several times to carry some of Kim Anna’s luggage, but she stubbornly replied that she could handle it herself.

Choi Moon-young’s gaze sharpened as he watched her.

‘Wow, what a cold look. Seriously. Ah… that annoying old-timer… It’s so disgusting that I’ll just do it myself.’

Eventually, they reached an office where documents were piled high.

Kim Anna set down the piles of paperwork and laptop she had been carrying like a traveling merchant.

The amount was clearly at least twice as much as what she had carried when she visited with Mr. Lee Jin-ho last time.

“Yes. We’ve prepared all the documents you requested over the phone. But is something going on? You suddenly requested so many additional items.”

“I suppose everyone has their own style. We really appreciate your cooperation.”

“Not at all. Cooperating is only natural.”

In truth, the reason Peter Pan Industries was so cooperative was largely thanks to Lee Jin-ho.

His advice had been enough to earn their trust, because he only addressed the parts that needed attention and managed to scratch exactly where it itched.

“All right, then. We’ll call you if anything comes up. Please get back to work, Manager.”

“Yes. Please take care.”

The accounting manager closed his door and left the office.

Then Choi Moon-young began giving orders.

“Anna, so… check whether the manufacturing-to-sales ratio is appropriate, whether the depreciation periods are appropriate, and, uh, if there’s a high level of completed depreciation or too many assets, check whether the useful lives are appropriate as well. Also check the completeness of the tangible fixed assets. Check all the accounts payable and prepaid expenses schedules too. And…”

Kim Anna’s mind went blank for a moment.

It felt as though her soul had left her body.

“You want me to do all of this? None of those tasks are assigned to me. Where did all these assignments even come from?”

“Talking back again.”

“I’m not talking back… This is way too much work…”

“Again! Again!! Again!!! Talking back!!!”

Choi Moon-young’s expression began to fill with venom.

“Anna. Director Ma Seung-cheol isn’t here right now. And I’m your direct supervisor in place of Mr. Lee Jin-ho. If I tell you to do it, you do it. If it can’t be done, make it possible. Don’t you know that saying? Are you going to keep making me nag you?”

“But there’s physically not enough time…”

Her logical, science-oriented brain had kicked in.

And that only made Choi Moon-young even angrier.

“Hey! If I tell you to do it, then do it. If it can’t be done, fake it and produce a result. Got it? You know what I mean by fake it, right?”

The reason such an excessive workload had been dumped on her was simple.

Choi Moon-young had even handed his own work over to Kim Anna.

And the reason his eyes gleamed with malice was because he wanted to find flaws in the work Lee Jin-ho had been responsible for.

“Do you think I’m playing around? I’m busy too. I’ve got to play spot-the-difference. Let’s play.”

But Kim Anna did not understand his intentions.

She had no choice but to begin working through the mountain of assignments.

‘Mr. Lee Jin-ho… Where on earth are you…?’

Anna desperately missed Lee Jin-ho, who had rolled up his sleeves to help her whenever she was struggling.

“What’s that guy behind you?”

It was the same hotel as last time.

Park Na-young was facing Lee Jin-ho.

And behind her stood a tall man.

“Oh, he’s a messenger delivering my father’s message. Think of him as a dove of peace.”

“For a dove, he looks rather hostile. Isn’t he a huge crow?”

“Well, I suppose the two of you will have to talk and decide that for yourselves. I’ll come back once you’re finished talking.”

Park Na-young left the tall man, whose forehead was covered with gauze, alone with Lee Jin-ho and walked away.