Yonggu's eyebrows furrowed a bit. In some way, he seemed to stare at Hyunwoo a bit.
But Hyunwoo didn't avoid his eyesight, and he continued as if this was the right chance to speak his mind.
"You have distressed me every since I was a child. In particular, it was during my high school days. I wanted to get along with you well, but I couldn't even approach you. Why did you do that to me? Just tell me if I did anything wrong. Let me apologize if I have to or let me change if I have to."
"Are you asking because you really don't know?" Yonggu demanded in a rough voice.
But it was more like a reproaching tone than asking.
Looking at the tone and attitude Yonggu was showing, it seemed he had some grudge against Hyunwoo. However, he could not figure out what it was.
"I just have no idea. Really, I don't know."
"You have already done something…"
Yonggu raised his voice as if he was enraged, but he stopped talking. Instead, he puffed on a cigarette as if he was trying to swallow his anger.
He then talked, staring at Hyunwoo,
"Because of you, I've led my entire life being compared to you. Though I really tried hard in school, you always topped the class, and I always finished second."
Hyunwoo's face froze. Having heard him, Hyunwoo seemed to know what he was trying to say.
That was something Hyunwoo had never expected. He hadn't known that Yonggu suffered from that kind of mental pain, and the cause of that pain was him.
Hyunwoo just listened to him without replying not because he was curious about Yonggu's story but because he wanted to let him pour out what he had to say.
"However hard I tried, my father wouldn't praise me. No, my father could not praise me. Even though he wanted to, he could not. You know why? Do you know why he couldn't? Because of whom?"
Hyunwoo didn't say anything. Instead, he cast his gaze downward as if he was humbly ready to accept anything, and he listened to him.
"My father kept saying, 'Just learn from Hyunwoo. Just try to catch up to at least half of what Hyunwoo is doing. Why are you like that when Hyunwoo is doing great in school?' I was rebuked instead of his praise. It's all because of you."
Yonggu continued to talk as if his grudge against Hyunwoo was much greater than what he had already said. Yonggu's grudge was not only against school grades but also girls. In some way, he hated Hyunwoo more because of that.
Hyunwoo always won over the girls' hearts, but Yonggu always had a secret crush on them.
That was why Yonggu was so mean to him. Yonggu wanted to take revenge against him, and he translated it into action when he was weak.
Hyunwoo listened to him silently, and he opened his mouth slowly when Yonggu was done talking and sighed.
What came out of Hyunwoo's mouth was an apology.
"I'm sorry."
Thought it was low, it was more forceful than crying or roaring. At least, Yonggu could feel its sincerity.
"I was young at the time. I wasn't mature enough to pay attention to somebody else's life. I didn't know that you were feeling pain."
Yonggu didn't reply at all. In his heart, though, he said to himself,
Maybe. You could not have known how hard my life had been.
Looking at Yonggu, Hyunwoo asked, "Do you think I have to try more?"
Yonggu looked at him suspiciously.
Then Hyunwoo asked again, "Do you feel your revenge against me was not enough up till now?"
This time, Yonggu asked himself the same question,
Is my revenge against him not enough yet?
His answer was, Yes, it is.
In fact, it was Yonggu, not Hyunwoo, who was the assailant. Hyunwoo was more like a victim. Yonggu was distressed, but he knew the cause of his pain. Hyunwoo was being harassed without knowing the exact reason. When Yonggu talked about why he hated him, Hyunwoo should have refuted it by saying 'It was not my intention, right? It's not my fault.'
But Hyunwoo didn't do that. Instead, he had said sorry.
When Yonggu stayed silent, Hyunwoo continued,
"Whatever happened in the past, the winner is you. In high school and even now, you're superior to me. Won't you forgive me with that? Let bygones be bygones from now on."
Hyunwoo then stopped talking, and he fixed his eyes on him as if waiting for his reply.
Yonggu was looking at the sky, holding a cigarette between his fingers and puffing the smoke into the air. Looking at the smoke, a sort of sorrowness crowded his mind.
At the same time, he felt that there was some other feeling inside him. It was a feeling of sorriness about Hyunwoo. When they were in highschool and even now, he had felt some sort of sorriness in the pit of his heart when he had been harassing him, but he had turned a blind eye to that feeling.
Come to think of it, Hyunwoo continued to reach out to him for reconciliation and gave him credit several times.
In particular, he felt awful about the Vietnam business deal, which he never wanted to recall.
But for Hyunwoo, Yonggu would have seen all his dreams turn into thin air. This time, he was defeated thoroughly. Suddenly, he began to regret this.
Damn it. I should have apologized to him first.
Why didn't he think of apologizing first? That's because he always thought of Hyunwoo as his rival. He felt there was no use surpassing other team members if he could not defeat Hyunwoo. It was just a stupid idea. There were so many competitors in the world, and Hyunwoo was only one of them. What if I still can't surpass Hyunwoo?
There was a long silence between them. Yonggu cast a glance at Hyunwoo and then raised his hand slowly to put it on his shoulder.
Yonggu said with difficulty, "I see. I was sorry about it, too. I really have done a lot of bad things to you. Please forgive me once."
Hyunwoo felt good about Yonggu's confession. He held out his hand to put it around his waist. He felt as if he had made a strong ally.
Suddenly, he thought of what his father had said to him,
"The most valuable thing in the world is a friend. Spend your money making your enemy your friend or empowering your friend."
Hyunwoo felt a sense of satisfaction because he thought that he had translated his father's advice into action.
Yonggu also felt satisfied. He didn't hate Hyunwoo any more. He felt pretty secure when he touched Hyunwoos' shoulder with his hand.
Looking at the sky, Yonggu thought to himself,
Though you said I was the winner, I don't think so. In my mind, you're the real winner.
4. New Team Manager
All the mid-level managers of Aurum gathered at the conference room. They were there to clap their hands. Some clapped their hands for Yonggu and others for Hyunwoo. There were also claps for the purchasing team and its manager.
Giving the award money and award certificate, the president shook hands with each person.
"Nice job."
"Thanks, president."
The names of the recipients were announced to all the employees through in-house speakers.
'Assistant manager Kim Yonggu brought about 35,000 dollars in cost reduction in the price negotiation. Award money of 14 million won with a one step promotion. Award money will be offered in company stocks."
"Thank you."
Mr Jang Hyunwoo of the purchasing team brought about 100,000 dollars in cost reduction by finding out new parts companies in Vietnam and another 30,000 dollars in cost reduction based on FTA duty rates per year. 40 million won as award money and a four-step promotion. Also, one grade special promotion for his contribution to more than 100 million won in cost reduction per year. The award money will be offered in company stocks."
"Thanks."
The purchasing team brought about 150 million won in cost reduction this year. The president will present a meritorious award to its team manager, Yang Suchol, for his excellent leadership, and he will be promoted to manager of the sales team. Keep it up."
"Thank you, Mr. president."
After the ceremony, president Park went into his office.
There was a middle-aged gentleman sitting on the sofa. When Park came in, he stood up slightly to pay his respects, and Park sat on the sofa.
"Thanks, uncle."
"You surely quit drinking, right?"
"How can I completely quit drinking as a salaried man? Instead, they don't call me a heavy drinker anymore."
"This is your last opportunity. If you cause another problem, let you send you to a factory in the Umsong area."
"Uncle, if someone heard you, he would think that I was just a trouble maker. I was recognized for my excellent service when I worked at the Umsong factory."
However, Park laughed sardonically at his gibberish, for he knew too well that his cousin, Park Yongsu, had gotten an ugly nickname from the workers at the Umsung factory. It was 'crazy dog.'
They gave him such a nickname because he walked over his subordinates without any mercy. As luck would have it, his team surpassed other teams in terms of productivity last year, and thanks to this performance, the president was able to bring him back to headquarters.
"The purchasing team you're assigned to this time has a good working atmosphere. Just do your best. Let me hear some good things about you."
"I heard a rumor about the purchasing team. They received a lot of award money, right? That rumor already spread to the Umsung factory. This place seems to be different, as there are two bride candidates here."
"As for the bride, just keep an eye on the potential candidate. I know you are pretty good at judging people."
"Well, I hear there is a bad rumor about the guy named Yonggu. He was caught trying to steal his subordinate's credit, right?"
"Yes, that's true. Did that rumor already spread to the Umsung factory? How could the managers talk about it so carelessly?"
"Don't you think he should be given a good scolding?"
"Anybodycan make such a mistake. He must have sensed that I already got suspicious of him. That's enough. Also, he is actually the son of my school senior. He was supposed to get a job at a large company, but I went to the trouble of hiring him because he seemed very smart. This is a secret he should never know."
"Uncle, you know that my mouth is as tight as an oyster's. By the way, once he does that to his subordinate, he will keep doing it."
"Hey, don't you know that famous saying? If you have doubt about someone, don't hire him at all. Also, if you have to hire someone, don't have doubt him. If I have to use him, I think I have to keep encouraging him."
"Got it. Let me test the guys anyway to check out who is really capable and who is not, so don't worry."
"Don't give them a hard time, though. There is also a guy named Jang Hyunwoo."
"I know the name. He's so famous that almost everybody at the Umsung factory knows his name."
"Keep an eye on him, too. I have no idea if he is really a genuine person or just a lucky man."
Park Youngsu's eyes opened wide at his uncle's remarks.
"You don't say! I wonder if you regard him as one of Minhye's bride candidates. I hear he is a high-school graduate."
"Well, I just have some interest in him."
"Got it, uncle."