I'll Definitely Keep My Promise (2)
[Choi Hyena: Division director, hurry over.]
Choi Hyena said she'd reserved a spot at a nearby Chinese place.
But I decided to take my ti getting there.
I did a round of Next Planet.
On days when I've fought a hard battle, for so reason, I always want to walk around Next Planet alone.
It feels like that's the only way to regain my calm.
So what's my next step? I pondered this for a while.
Most of the things I'd accomplished—except for the recruit promotion and a few others—were just temporary fixes.
They were the kind whose effects would quickly vanish with ti.
I want to bring about a change to the the park on a larger scale, from a more fundantal perspective.
I sat on a bench and looked at the roller coaster.
People don't visit the parks just for the rides. But it's a fact that rides do make up a big part of the experience.
Next Planet's rides aren't bad at all. But on the matter of uniqueness?
'Silla Land' in Gyeongju is famous for its thrilling rides.
They have an attraction that drops guests from a height equivalent to a 20-story apartnt building at an almost vertical angle; another that spirals at over 90km per hour; another that swings rapidly side to side, before turning 360 degrees at 30 ters up, and so on.
It could be said to be the Korean version of the roller coaster ccas—California's 〈X's Flags Magic Mountain〉 or Japan's 〈Fuji X Highland〉, which is known as a symbol of terror.
So, in Korea, when you think of fear or thrills, 'Silla Land' pops into your mind imdiately. That ans a lot.
But Next Planet doesn't have a flawless worldbuilding like 〈D*sney〉, nor does it allow guests to enter the world of movies as the main character, like 〈Uni*versal Studios〉.
That's a problem I can't even touch yet. But it's one I want and need to solve—soday.
"What are you doing here?"
"Ah! division director Oh."
Division director Oh Kang-il was wearing a straw hat, a pair of garden shears in his hand to trim twigs.
Division Director Oh sat down next to .
"Not often you see soone with such big achievents looking so troubled."
I told Division Director Oh about what I'd been thinking.
He let out a hearty laugh.
"You're young, you're young."
He gave my back a gentle pat with his thick hand.
"Division director Hyunmin, do you know what my dream is?"
I looked at him, puzzled.
"Why, just because I'm this old, does it seem like I wouldn't have dreams?"
"No... I didn't an it like that. It's just such an unexpected question."
"You know there's an empty lot if you head out Next Planet's north exit? That land also belongs to Next Planet. Did you know?"
"Yes, I knew."
"I'd like to plant a small forest with a campsite there. I know well that's just a foolish daydream unless I beco the chairman-nim."
It was surprising.
I wasn't especially close with division director Oh Kang-il. Yet he was confiding in like this.
"Wouldn't it be nice if people could co to the the park and go camping, walk in the woods? Of course, it's just because I like forests, that's where the thought ca from... Once you get older, you start talking about all sorts of silly things. The reason I ntioned the forest is—"
"I'm very curious."
"You can't create a forest in a short ti. It takes years of planting and nurturing trees. Right now, division director Hyunmin, you're in the process of planting and nurturing trees. Since you can't see what the forest will look like yet, maybe you sotis wonder what you're even doing. But if you keep doing your best step by step, you'll end up creating a beautiful forest."
I bowed my head to show my appreciation to Division Director Oh.
I was so grateful for his encouraging words.
And I realized my own viewpoint was always trapped inside Next Planet.
But Next Planet could exist outside of itself too. That idea let new images form in my mind.
"On days like today, don't you think you should celebrate with the colleagues who worked hard alongside you? Don't just sit here."
"You're right. I was just about to go."
I got up from the bench.
It's a long way off, and I don't know if it can ever co true.
But I found myself wanting to grant Division Director Oh Kang-il's wish soday.
I joined the company dinner.
"Hello, division director."
There were two kids—a boy and a girl, both looking too young to be in grade school yet—who politely greeted .
I glanced at Choi Hyena and team leader Shin Miyoung of the Marketing & PR Team in turn.
Amazing, Choi Hyena. I really didn't expect her to bring kids. And Team Leader Miyoung just went along with it.
There was an open seat beside Team Leader Miyoung, so I sat there.
She shrugged and said,
"Junho and Yunjung agreed to look after the kids, so we brought both."
Lee Yunjung was feeding the girl sweet-and-sour pork. Watching the little slices of pork disappearing into her tiny mouth...
Adorable.
Kim Junho and the boy were sharing a bowl of jjajangmyeon, both getting black bean sauce all over their faces as they ate.
They looked like they were having the ti of their lives.
So I said,
"Should I order so cola too?"
"Huh? Can I drink cola? I want so."
"You already had cola earlier. Division director!"
Team leader Miyoung, who was drinking with Choi Hyena, shot a glare.
"No more today."
"Okaaaay..."
It just looked so cute, watching the kids drink cola.
It made want to sneak them so just like an uncle would.
Isn't that what uncles are for? Doing things mom says not to?
But Team Leader Miyoung was too scary for to go through with it.
Deputy Kang Dae-hyun from the HR team was also there, sitting with his close friend Park Seok-min, team leader of the Event & Performance Team.
"Didn't expect you to be here as well, deputy Kang."
"Ha... I don't even know why I'm here. Hyena-nim all but dragged along, so I had no choice. I'd rather be ho already."
"If you ca along, just eat quietly."
Watching those two, I couldn't hold in a laugh.
Should I say I was relieved?
At least team leader Kang Sangsu from the finance team and the other division directors weren't present.
When I ntioned this, Choi Hyena replied,
"Team leader Kang Sangsu said it'd be embarrassing for an older person to crash a gathering of young people, so he didn't co. As for the division directors... I was too scared to even contact them."
"So you still have so common sense left."
"When I get promoted to team leader soday, maybe then I'll have the courage to invite them!"
Let's delay your team leader promotion as long as possible.
As always, the dinner party was loud and boisterous.
Tonight, Choi Hyena was especially out of control, like a runaway train.
Lee Yunjung did her best to keep up with her, but eventually passed the supporting role on to Kim Junho out of exhaustion.
The first round ended, and as we moved on to the second spot.
Choi Hyena, her face already flushed, poked my arm insistently with her finger.
"Division director."
"What is it?"
"Since you kept your promise, I'll definitely keep mine too."
I rembered when she first ca to . Back then, I had no one on my side, not a soul.
Honestly, I hadn't believed I could ever persuade Choi Hyena to work with . I had nothing to offer—naturally, I didn't think I could.
But she ended up joining , leaving with these words:
[Get rid of that jerk Business Planning team leader, and my ex-ntor, that woman Park Miran.]
I granted her wish.
[Within three years, you beco Business Planning Team leader by your own rit.]
That was my own wish.
I hope she'll fulfill it.
I said to Choi Hyena,
"Just don't go inviting other division directors to company dinners without warning."
"Ah! But that's my dream. Soday, I was even going to invite the chairman-nim."
Please no...
Lee Yunjung leaned in between and Choi Hyena and asked,
"So, what kind of promise is this? I want to know too."
Choi Hyena pressed a finger to her lips.
"It's a secret."
"What? Unni, co on, don't do that! No secrets between us, right? I always tell you everything."
"Yes! I have a secret. I'm the unni. You're the younger one. So I don't need to tell you."
"You're so an!"
"I want to know what it's about too..."
Kim Junho said, pouting.
"Not even you, Junho-nim."
Seeing the three of them, I couldn't help but smile.
We moved on to the second round.
Around 9:00, a new person joined us.
"Hello, I'm Min Ji-na. I joined Next Global the sa year as Hyunmin-oppa."
Lee Yunjung's eyes sparkled.
"Wow, you're so gorgeous. Can I call you unni?"
"It'd be an honor if soone as cute as you called unni, Yunjung-nim."
"Unni, just call Yunjung comfortably."
Min Ji-na lted right into the group in no ti.
Surprisingly, Kang Dae-hyun, who usually really likes pretty won, was very quiet.
When he'd t with Choi Hyena before, he'd imdiately tried to hit on her.
Team Leader Park Seok-min noticed this oddity and comnted,
"What's up with you being so still?"
Dae-hyun, who was sitting close to and Seok-min, whispered low enough only for us to hear,
"The way she talks, her clothes, her manners... I feel this huge status gap that's just unapproachable."
"Huh? What do you an?"
"All you can do is show respect to Ji-na-nim. Just rember that. She'll be of huge help soday."
As expected—Kang Dae-hyun has a keen eye for people. I couldn't help but be impressed.
My hunch had been that Ji-na was a close associate to the chairman-nim, and her family was well-off.
Lately, I'd updated that evaluation: her family's not just well off—they're very well-off.
Maybe her parents run a business?
Probably a solid company, sowhere between a dium and mid-to-large enterprise?
Anyway, dae-hyun must have ant what he said, because he started acting like Ji-na's personal attendant—bringing her an apron, placing her orders for her, and so on.
He really is a peculiar guy sotis.
Min Ji-na said to Kim Junho,
"I'm the first to do the 115km music video challenge. Please do your best to catch my good side."
"Eh? I didn't hear anything about that..."
Everyone turned to look at .
"Oppa, you didn't tell them? That's why I ca all the way here."
"Oh, right."
At that, Kang Dae-hyun said disdainfully,
"Division director, what have you been doing? You need to share this kind of important info quickly. Aren't you a division director..."
This guy...
anwhile, Choi Hyena, already thoroughly drunk, suddenly had her eyes flash with a dazzling array of colors.
"So, you're planning to use Ji-na unni for the music video challenge as a promo video, right? Tsk tsk... You are always so damn calculating, using people one by one around you, division director."
Using people in such a calculated way. She made it sound like a complint, but it felt weird.
Smiling innocently, Choi Hyena gave a thumbs up.
"With Ji-na unni's looks, it's already a guaranteed hit."
Right beside her, Lee Yunjung chid in enthusiastically.
"A Goddess doing the Your Touch challenge! Such a wonderful event. Unni, have another drink."
"Junho-nim, treat Ji-na unni like a princess. Seriously, what are you doing? Fill her appetizer plate."
"Yeah, oppa, make sure nothing happens to Ji-na unni's precious self."
At that, it was Kang Dae-hyun, not Kim Junho, who piled appetizers onto Min Ji-na's plate.
"I'm Kang Dae-hyun. Please, rember ."
Why is everyone so over-the-top?
Ti passed, and soon only Min Ji-na, myself, Kim Junho, Choi Hyena, and Lee Yunjung remained.
The drinking party ended, and we stepped outside the bar.
With a brief window when Min Ji-na wasn't around, Choi Hyena nudged in the side.
"Ji-na unni is really sothing. If she ca all the way here just to see you, doesn't that an she's interested in you?"
Lee Yunjung, her eyes filled with expectations, agreed.
"That's right. Ji-na unni is so pretty, smart, and cool. She's my role model. You have to hold on tight, division director."
"What are you talking about?"
Min Ji-na ca over, and Choi Hyena and Lee Yunjung watched us like characters from a romance drama.
"It's nothing. Anyway, how are you getting back?"
"I called a cab. I booked a hotel by the lake. What about you, oppa?"
"I'm going to walk. Be careful heading up tomorrow."
"I had a great ti today, thanks to everyone treating so well. Let's et again."
After she left, Choi Hyena and Lee Yunjung complained, their eyes full of dissatisfaction.
"Sothing sothing, but nothing happened, division director."
"Yeah, I was hoping for a more romantic vibe."
"It's late. Let's all head ho."
And so, I parted ways with everyone.
On the walk ho, I thought about Min Ji-na.
It's not that I'm not interested in her. To be honest, I wonder if there's any guy who wouldn't feel a flutter seeing her.
How could I not be interested?
But it's true that I've been making an effort not to see her in a romantic light.
I grew up in an ordinary household. That's why I can't bring myself to approach her.
Because I lack confidence, I don't approach.
Since becoming a division director at Next Planet, I've shown more daring than before, but... this is my essence.
To hide my lack of confidence, I keep rushing forward, not stopping to look around.
I have to make up stupid excuses like this for myself.
At that thought, I suddenly rembered sothing and sent a ssage.
[: Is Sungard Systems really a company that does business with Next Global?]
She replied right away.
[Min Ji-na: That's not important.]
***
I heard that team leader Lee Siwon and manager Park Miran were being criminally prosecuted.
Of course, from the company side, we'd also be filing a civil lawsuit soon. And two more people from the Business Strategy Team were fired.
The company was in an uproar, once again.
[At this rate, isn't division director Lee Hyunmin really here for restructuring? How many people has he let go since he arrived? Still, I have to admit, this is the most innovative downsizing I've ever seen.]
[I've never liked the Business Strategy Team anyway. They don't do any work but act like they're the company's control tower.]
[The Reform Division director is scary. Whether he's rooting out corruption or not, he's made the company atmosphere grim.]
[Is it wrong to root out corruption? Personally, I think the Reform Division did a great job.]
[I'm still scared of Lee Hyunmin. But that's just at work—otherwise he's really polite. I respect that.]
[Grim Reaper! HyunminDeath!]
[At first, I hated Lee Hyunmin and the Reform Division. But not anymore. Next Planet is headed in a better direction, isn't it?]
The mood on the anonymous ssage board wasn't bad towards . But... Grim Reaper and HyunminDeath...
That stung. More than a little.
The Business Planning Team leader position was being temporarily filled by the executive vice president. It couldn't be helped, given the ergency.
Thanks to the shade-making and cooling product promotions, the daily average visitors only dropped by about 20 percent.
Normally, numbers would fall in half, so we'd beaten the odds.
The 115km mini concert began.
That day, Next Planet welcod over 2,000 visitors—the most in nearly five years.
We threw another party.
Now all that was left was the music video making project. If that took off, sumr would go smoothly.
At the Reform Division eting, I spoke up.
"I'm thinking of making a trip to Japan."
"Ugh..."
Lee Yunjung didn't bother to hide her displeasure.
But it can't be helped.
If we can bring Yunjung's mother's shop in as a tenant in Next Planet, it'll be hugely beneficial.
And I had another plan connected to that. I hadn't figured out the specifics yet, so I hadn't told anyone; I just kept it to myself for now.
Next Planet can exist outside the boundaries of Next Planet too.
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