TOIGC 60

Chapter 60…

Groundwork (2)

“Yoongi, if you were in here the whole time, you should’ve just called us out earlier.”

While Seo Jong-oh spoke with a bright, easygoing smile, Cho Chung-woo wore an expression of profound bewilderment.

“My apologies. I was in the middle of a conversation. Please, take a seat.”

Apologizing politely, Yoongi motioned for Jong-oh and Chung-woo to sit across from Choi Chulkyu. It was currently 8:00 PM. Although both men had been informed that Chulkyu was still in the conference room at this late hour, Seo Jong-oh was the only one truly grasping the implications of that fact.

Chulkyu has definitely carved out a solid spot as one of Yoongi’s inner circle. Should I look into building a closer rapport with him, too?

While Jong-oh sat mentally calculating his moves, Chung-woo was still too rattled to keep his composure.

Is Yoongi even allowed to sit in the Chairman’s seat like that? Won’t the Chairman blow a gasket… wait, did he get permission? More importantly, what if Yoongi heard what I said out in the living room?

Chung-woo hadn’t uttered a single disrespectful word about Choi Chul-ho, but remembering Jong-oh’s careless comments had him sweating bullets on his own account. After all, the study and the living room were practically adjacent; he figured voices could easily carry through the walls.

Jong-oh, however, had zero such concerns.

A study like that is built with heavy-duty soundproofing. Conversations inside don’t leak out. There’s zero chance the kid heard a single word I said.

Because they belonged to the same elite professional bracket, the gap in their life experience dictated the vast chasm in their reactions.

Yoongi’s connections with JSD are supposed to be insane. If I just play my cards right and stay in his good graces, I can easily claw my way back to where I belong. Hell, why stop there? I could even set my sights on the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.

As Jong-oh furiously worked the abacus in his head, Yoongi finally broke the silence.

“I’m currently looking to bring on a secretary with a strong background in law. To put it simply, a legal secretary.” “A legal secretary?”

At Jong-oh’s echo, Yoongi nodded.

“Yes. Someone to advise us on whether transactions with foreign entities or our corporate maneuvers run into any legal roadblocks. We’ll definitely expand the legal team down the road, but for now, I’m looking to hire someone to fill that specific role as a priority.”

It was a thinly veiled offer to bring someone in as a core member of his inner circle. There was no way Jong-oh could miss the subtext, yet he deliberately masked his eagerness.

“Are you asking me to recommend a decent legal professional?” “No. I’m asking if either of you two would like to take on the position. To start, the annual salary will probably align with a major corporation’s section chief or a fresh entry-level hire, subject to adjustment once we evaluate your performance.”

Hearing the proposed compensation, Jong-oh muttered a wave of private complaints.

Damn it, mere section chief treatment? I can’t throw away my career as a prosecutor for pocket change like that. Still, if I pull the strings and steer a kid this wet behind the ears from the sidelines, I could probably rake in a fortune. What to do…?

Greed always came with a complicated internal scale, so Jong-oh naturally refrained from blurting out an immediate agreement.

“I’ll need a little time to think about…”

Before Jong-oh could even finish his sentence, Chung-woo blurted out with an eager, beaming expression as he bounced straight up from his chair.

“I’ll do it!” “You’ll take the job, third aunt’s husband?”

As Yoongi spoke, Jong-oh grabbed the collar of Chung-woo’s shirt and yanked him back down into his seat.

“Hey now, brother-in-law. You don’t just make snap decisions like that out of nowhere. Let’s listen to the details first…” “No, I don’t really need to think about it. Feels like a no-brainer to me.” “You can’t just operate like that.”

With that, Jong-oh turned to Yoongi with a smooth smile.

“Yoongi, my brother-in-law here lacks a bit of real-world experience, so he tends to rush into things prematurely. Now that we have a clear idea of what the job entails, mind if we give you our final answer in a few days?”

Yoongi nodded readily.

“I understand your stance. Then I take it both of you understood what I was offering?” “Wait, I actually want to…” “Hush!”

When Chung-woo kept pushing against the grain, Jong-oh glared at him with wide eyes and hissed a warning. Only then did Chung-woo shrink back into his seat, bowing his head in mortification.

“Where’s your backbone as a man? You’ve got to carry yourself with a bit of weight. Is that what they taught you at the training institute?” “I’m sorry…”

When Jong-oh turned his face back toward Yoongi, his expression instantly smoothed out into a brilliant, wide smile.

“I’ll be in touch within a few days with our decision.” “Understood. Then you’re free to head out. I still have some other matters to attend to…” “Right, you’ve got a busy schedule. Well then, we will be on our way.”

Jong-oh practically dragged Chung-woo out of the study. The moment the door clicked shut behind them, Chul-ho’s inner voice echoed through Deokbae, who clicked his tongue and muttered to Yoongi.

<Seeing How a ago and are are. chatting guy he how human isn’t laughing like me moment my name out outside? really relationships reminds second steps stuff supposed terrifying that the there this to trashing trust was who with you>

Yoongi offered a wry smile, fully sympathetic to Deokbae’s sentiment.

<Honestly, But I a about ahead any around as care didn’t floating for from ghost, just little lonely makes me misanthropy much of outside projects scout scream sheer sometimes. the this. time to trying want was when world your> “Don’t do that, Grandfather. What if you turn into an actual evil spirit?”

At Yoongi’s deadpan remark, Deokbae shot him an expression of deep, wounded betrayal.

<You I about— actually cared little punk, thought you> “What would I do if you turned into an evil spirit? I’ve still got way too much work left to do.”

Just as a heavy string of curses was about to tumble out, Yoongi softened his expression with a small smile.

“I’m kidding. Seeing how pathetic Johnson acts makes me really hope you don’t turn into an evil spirit. Later on, once I’ve kicked the bucket, we’ll travel the world together. Until you’re sick of it. Consider that my future reward to you.”

This time, it was Deokbae who offered a wry, defeated smile before steering the conversation back on track.

<Anyway, Jong-oh Seo Your a about after all. around carry character dad dreamed ears. every gossiping his in into isn’t little living million never probably remarks room run straight that the thing to type would years you, your> “Exactly. He did his homework on the study’s soundproofing, but that misplaced confidence ended up laying his true character wide open.” <That’s Incompetent Still, about absolute age. all aren’t because beforehand? being can glad got him just know. of opportunists out over part the they thinking to walk weed worst you young, your> “Oh, absolutely.” <So, I did my or pull weight what?> “You sure did.” “Then…” “I know, I know.”

The day after Deokbae’s feast of gossip, Chung-woo received a follow-up call and stepped back into the study alone.

“Have a seat.”

This time, neither Chulkyu nor Jong-oh was present. It was a pure, unadulterated one-on-one. Yet Chung-woo’s demeanor remained virtually identical to yesterday’s.

“Uh… Yoongi. Did you actually get permission to sit in that chair? Even if someone told me to sit there, I’d probably be too terrified…”

Hearing that touch of guileless innocence, Yoongi offered a warm, reassuring smile to ease his nerves.

“Of course I got permission, otherwise why would I be sitting here? Did you assume I just plopped myself down without asking?” “Ah… well… you see, life has a funny way of showing you people who do stuff like that. Folks who skip getting clearance and then claim lower-level staff gave them the green light while they take zero responsibility…”

Chung-woo’s remark carried a subtle, lingering bitterness born of harsh life lessons.

Probably because he got utterly screwed over by that law firm. Plus whatever nonsense he had to deal with getting canned from his firms and wrestling with deadbeat clients at his solo practice.

Yoongi figured those flaws didn’t even register as real liabilities. After all, they were completely controllable variables.

“What kind of person do you take me for?” “Uh… honestly, I couldn’t tell you. I know people say your capabilities are off the charts, and I hear all the praise floating around, but since I haven’t seen it with my own eyes yet…”

Yoongi flashed a confident grin and slid a single sheet of paper across the table.

“Care to experience it firsthand, then?”

Confused, Chung-woo blinked down at the paper pushed toward him. It was a contract. But as his eyes scanned the text, he realized it was remarkably sloppy and unpolished.

“W-wait. You’re hiring me, not my brother-in-law?”

Yoongi nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Of course. That’s why I slid the contract across.”

Chung-woo’s panic only escalated.

“No, look here… I mean, I blurted out that I’d take the job yesterday, but compared to my brother-in-law, I’ve never served as a prosecutor, and I practically have zero real corporate legal experience. Are you seriously going to hire me?” “Yes.”

Yoongi’s reply was short and absolute.

“For real?” “Yes.” “Why…?”

Hearing a question so naive it bordered on self-sabotage, Yoongi let out an amused chuckle.

“Do you really not know why?”

At that, Chung-woo’s mind rewound through yesterday’s events like a fast-forwarded film strip. A moment later, understanding clicked into place, and he offered a sheepish nod.

“My apologies… with a personality like mine, it’s a miracle I haven’t gotten myself disbarred, let alone fired from my law offices…”

Watching Chung-woo mentally beat himself up, Yoongi felt a quiet surge of satisfaction.

At least the guy isn’t an idiot. Give him a task with proper runway, and he’ll pull his weight just fine.

Legal administrative work inherently required patience and time-investment anyway, so Yoongi had no intention of faulting Chung-woo’s gentle disposition.

“We’re dragging this out longer than necessary. Are you taking the job or not? I didn’t call my uncle here today to swap family pleasantries.”

Sensing the sudden chill in Yoongi’s tone, Chung-woo scrambled to pick up the contract.

“Hold on… looking over this contract again… it honestly looks way too favorable to me…?”

Seeing that reaction, Yoongi’s expression turned approving.

“In that case, care to rewrite it into something fair and balanced? That’s the exact reason I want to hire you, Uncle. Doing the dirty work of overthinking is my job.”

There were people in this world who, even when handed a lopsided advantage, would hesitate the moment they sensed something underhanded. While severe cases went so far as trying to police everyone else’s behavior, Chung-woo clearly sat in the mild, manageable bracket—a fact Yoongi had already deduced. If he hadn’t mapped out those traits using the intel Deokbae provided over the last two days, he never would have bothered calling him in.

“Let’s see here, we’ll adjust this clause to read…”

Accompanied by the steady scratch of a ballpoint pen, lines were slashed through sections of the draft while new clauses were seamlessly appended. A moment later, the revised contract slid back across the desk. Yoongi scanned the changes, nodding with an expression of profound satisfaction.

“This is precisely the kind of talent I need. Let’s make it official: your starting salary will be set at roughly 290,000 won per month, exclusive of bonuses. As the department store scales up and our business expands, your compensation will grow to match your workload and capabilities.” “That much…?”

While 290,000 won wasn’t an astronomical sum, to someone essentially functioning as an unemployed newcomer to society, it felt like a sudden downpour during a severe drought. Tears literally welled up in Chung-woo’s eyes.

Beyond his temperament, Yoongi had chosen him because of his raw underlying capability. A top-tier elite jurist who had passed the bar exam in his final year of university and secured a military exemption through his grandfather’s status as a patriot of the independence movement—at just twenty-seven years old, his pedigree was stellar. The only problem was that his unfortunate personality had torpedoed every opportunity he touched.

“Just give me whatever you need done. I’ll work myself to the bone.”

With his employment essentially sealed, Chung-woo bowed deeply toward Yoongi, who stood up with a bright smile.

“Then I’ll give you a six-week window. Start by working your way through these books.”

Yoongi reached into the study shelves and began piling volumes onto the desk. As the first heavy book landed with a thud, the smile on Chung-woo’s face slowly froze into absolute horror as the stack grew higher and higher.

“You expect me to memorize all of these?”