Surviving Restructuring

Mo-Ho, the head of VIP Sales Team Four in the Sales Department, entered the undersea restaurant with a fluttering heart. After all, this wasn’t a dinner with some manager or division chief, but a private meal with the director of the Personnel Bureau himself!

The expense is a bit much, but that’s fine.

If currying favor with the director could help his future promotion prospects, it was a small price to pay.

I have to make a strong impression on him!

“This is the famous delicacies course from Under the Sea, prepared as you ordered,” the server announced.

It was not just any restaurant, either. The director had brought him to one of the most expensive establishments around. Every instinct Mo-Ho had as a VIP sales team leader was screaming that this was a good sign.

If things go well, I might end up with both the sales director and the Personnel Bureau director backing me.

Bolstered by that thought, Mo-Ho straightened his posture and said ingratiatingly, “Please try the transparent shark fin as well, Director. It’s truly excellent.”

“I’ve already eaten it,” the director replied flatly.

“Then perhaps this one here, the star sea cucumber is also exquisite. Let me get you a piece—”

“That’s enough. You can eat it.”

The director’s curt replies and his habit of staring off into space without once looking Mo-Ho in the eye struck him as odd.

I heard he’s known for cherishing junior employees... Is he just shy with people he doesn’t know well?

If that was the case, then it was time for a seasoned salesperson to step in.

Think. What kind of topic would he like?

To build rapport, the safest choice was a person or incident they both knew well, preferably something relevant to the present moment.

There is one.

“Well, speaking of which,” Mo-Ho continued, putting on the mask of an earnest junior, “that newly appointed team leader earlier, didn’t he strike you as a little unusual?”

“There were dozens of new team leaders today,” the director said.

“Ah no, I mean the new hire. His name was Lee Eun-Ho, I think.”

There was no way anyone who had attended today’s event would not remember him.

Mo-Ho deliberately brought up Eun-Ho, who had ended up making a fool of himself. “For someone with nothing to his name, he really had the nerve to step forward—”

Just then, Mo-Ho froze without realizing it. The director’s gaze had snapped directly onto him. Behind the kindly, smiling eyes everyone knew so well lurked something pitch-black. It was not merely cold, but also sharp enough to sting. Briefly, it felt as though that gaze was peeling Mo-Ho open, probing straight into his depths.

“I didn’t expect him not to bid at all. He really had me fooled,” the director said casually. His expression was perfectly normal, as though nothing had happened.

Did I imagine it?

It was probably just a momentary illusion. The director was famous for his benevolence, after all. Mo-Ho told himself that he was just being overly tense.

“He didn’t even know how much money he had in his own pocket before acting like that. Very much like a reckless rookie who doesn’t think about the consequences, don’t you think?” Mo-Ho said, trying to steer the conversation back.

“Not thinking about the consequences, huh,” the director murmured.

Mo-Ho was sure the director had seemed uncomfortable every time Eun-Ho spoke up earlier. Thus, he expected the director to agree.

Instead, the director said, “You only see as much as you know.”

“Yes, exactly. As much as you know—pardon?” Mo-Ho asked, blinking.

“It’s nothing.” The director leaned back in his chair and folded his arms, studying Mo-Ho as if he had found an amusing toy. “By the way, you lost your Employee of the Year title this year, didn’t you?”

“Huh? Ah, no, it was just a temporary change. I’ll be getting it back soon,” Mo-Ho said hastily, brimming with confidence.

After all, the messages that had been popping up all evening were proof enough.

[Sale Successful!]

[Total Sales: 1,905,000 Welfare Points]

Lee Eun-Ho’s personal performance stood at two million points. The difference was only one hundred thousand Points.

[You have been selected as a candidate for Employee of the Year.]

[Finish strong and seize victory at the very end!]

Mo-Ho had even received an official message declaring that the end was close.

“Just one more day! Hold out for one more day and I’ll reclaim my spot!”

Yet the director seemed utterly unconcerned by any of that. A faintly predatory smile tugged at his lips. “You did lose it, though. That much is a fact.”

“But—”

“The sales director didn’t hide his disappointment either.”

Mo-Ho flinched. “The sales director?”

“He’s been making a huge fuss about finding new talent. He was saying he’d do whatever it takes to bring Lee Eun-Ho in,” the director said calmly. “Isn’t that why he handed over the Employee of the Year title even though it’s not year-end?”

The more Mo-Ho’s insides boiled, the more his hands began to tremble. He sloshed liquor over the rim as he refilled his glass.

“That said,” the director continued, “I see it differently.”

“Sorry?”

The director’s low voice settled over the glass like sediment. “It was only two days’ worth of records, wasn’t it? If you’d competed fairly over the course of a full year, I doubt he could’ve beaten you.”

“Exactly!” Mo-Ho blurted out. “Sales is all about know-how and experience! And that bastard used dirty tricks! There are even reports that he was throwing around empty promises—”

“All right, all right. That’s precisely why.” The director cut him off mid-rant and casually tossed out an idea. “Why not bring him over to the Sales Department and have a proper, fair rematch?”

“What? But he already formed a new team under the Personnel Bureau, didn’t he? How would that—”

“It’s a newly formed team, isn’t it? If it gets disbanded, what choice would he have? He’d have to accept whatever reassignment he’s given.”

“Disbanded?”

It was absurd, but still, the man saying it was a director whose authority made even the impossible sound reasonable. Before he knew it, Mo-Ho found himself nodding along.

“It won’t last long,” the director said.

“I know right? A team like that will be dismantled in no time,” Mo-Ho eagerly agreed.

“Most likely. Or perhaps we could call it upholding justice.”

His eyes widened. Perhaps that was when Mo-Ho really started drinking.

“You must have been quite thirsty,” the director remarked.

Mo-Ho belatedly tried to set his glass down, but the director simply refilled it for him instead, smiling in satisfaction.

“Ah, about a second round—”

“Unfortunately, this will be enough for today,” the director said as he stood. “Eat and drink to your heart’s content. I’ll be leaving first.”

“S-safe travels, sir!”

Long after the director had gone, Mo-Ho remained behind, emptying glass after glass. Otherwise, the boiling rage would’ve torn him apart.

Clink! Gulp! Gulp!

With one drink, Eun-Ho’s infuriating face surfaced before his eyes. With another, he silenced the voices mocking him for losing to a mere trainee fresh out of OJT.

By the time he could no longer tell whether he was drinking the alcohol or the alcohol was drinking him, the server entered. “Sir, we’re closing.”

He followed the guidance out and pushed the door open. Then, as if by fate, he ran straight into the bastard.

“Lee Eun-Ho? You little bastard! You don’t even acknowledge a senior who’s like the sky above you?” His stomach burned like it was full of fire. Right now, he felt like he could do anything. “You’ve heard the news, haven’t you?”

Mo-Ho marched straight toward that insolent face, his steps bold and swaggering, like a valiant general charging forward. The walls and floor seemed to sway the closer he got, but he scoffed at the thought.

This much booze won’t do me in.

“The residence is mine too. You’ll be left with nothing in your hands!”

Wham!

He grabbed the man by the collar. “Feel what it’s like to have everything taken away overnight.”

Blazing anger, the favor his trusted director denied him, and the sharpened fear of losing his position all burned fiercely in his gaze.

“Hmm? But why did you suddenly turn into such a shriveled-up mess?” Mo-Ho asked.

The face seemed crumpled, like a piece of chewed-up dried squid.

Has he always been this short?

“Did I steal your height too?”

“Hahaha!” Eun-Ho laughed out loud.

Mo-Ho was dumbfounded. “Huh?”

“Wow... He must’ve really had a drink,” Eun-Ho said with a laugh. “I’ll apologize on his behalf.”

“Eun-Ho, this isn’t something you need to apologize for.”

Mo-Ho was certain he’d grabbed Eun-Ho by the collar, so why was the man standing off to the side, laughing at him?

“Mo-Ho. Head of VIP Sales Team Four of the Sales Department.”

Then who is this shriveled-up guy? W-wait, this face looks familiar... Mo-Ho thought.

Mo-Ho squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again.

“Well, quite a few of the VIP clients you manage are my regulars as well,” Soeju said. “I suppose it’s time I made a few calls after all.”

As the small, indistinct figure finally came into focus, Mo-Ho staggered backward and fell, a single thought echoing through his mind.

“Guh! S-Soeju! Hic!”

This has to be a dream. It has to be. It absolutely has to. Fuck!

***

Rrrrrr... Rrrrrr... Rrrrrr...

The incessant ringing of the phone dragged Mo-Ho halfway out of sleep. He felt as though he had been trapped in a terrible nightmare all night. With that thought in mind, he answered the call.

Immediately, a scream rang in his ears.

—Team Leader! What in the world is going on?!

“What are you talking about... Ugh, my head...” Mo-Ho groaned.

The pounding in his skull nearly stopped his thoughts altogether.

The person on the other side of the call demanded an answer.

—The VIPs are all in an uproar right now! Just what did you do last night to cause this?!

“What? What about the VIPs?! Explain it properly!”

A creeping sense of dread crawled up his spine, overpowering even his headache. That was when he finally noticed the glaring red messages blinking before his eyes.

[Warning!]

[Refund has been processed successfully.]

[Total Sales: 1,550,000 Welfare Points]

“Refund?” Mo-Ho muttered.

A refund? What kind of situation is this?

Mo-Ho snapped. “What the hell? Our company doesn’t even do refunds!”

—They do when it’s VIPs! They all signed special contracts with every clause they wanted included!

In all his years in sales, Mo-Ho had never once seen a customer request a refund after making a purchase. “That’s because no one has ever actually requested a refund before!”

Of all times, why did his first experience have to be now?

I’m right on the verge of reclaiming Employee of the Year!

—What are you saying? Why all of a sudden! Who is it? Go find them and beg on your knees!

“Ha, damn it. Did you ask who it is?”

—Did you just swear?! Have you lost your goddamn mind?!

“Yes, fuck! There’s not just one or two of them but every single VIP is demanding refunds! How am I supposed not to swear?!”

Mo-Ho was about to explode and shout back, but then more red message windows popped up one after another.

[Refund has been processed successfully.]

[Total Sales: 1,380,000 Welfare Points]

[Refund has been processed successfully.]

[Total Sales: 1,030,000 Welfare Points]

[Refund has been processed successfully.]

[Total Sales: 880,000 Welfare Points]

...

His mouth fell shut.

—We handed over all our team’s performance to you! You said if you just got the Employee of the Year title back, our individual evaluations would be counted under our actual numbers!

“T-that’s—”

I’m screwed.

That thought completely filled his head, drowning out everything else his subordinate was saying.

[Refund has been processed successfully.]

[Total Sales: 570,000 Welfare Points]

[Refund has been processed successfully.]

[Total Sales: 430,000 Welfare Points]

[Refund has been processed successfully.]

[Total Sales: 190,000 Welfare Points]

...

The numbers were plummeting so fast he could barely keep up with them.

—At this rate, our team won’t even meet its targets! What are you going to do about my evaluation?!

One million nine hundred thousand points was the figure he had built by siphoning off his subordinates’ performance. He had justified it to himself as a form of righteous correction, assuming Lee Eun-Ho had used dirty tricks anyway.

“L-listen! Let’s hang up for now! I’ll figure something out somehow—”

—It’s already been stripped clean! They say they won’t let this go unless they fire you and replace the whole team!

“F-fire me?! Wait, what are you talking about?!”

—I have to save myself at least! I’m going to confess everything about the performance theft and start fresh!

How did it end up like this?! Why all of a sudden?! Why, of all times?!

Mo-Ho’s hair stood on end as he desperately tried to threaten him, “You bastard! Do you think you’ll survive that way?! You’re an accomplice too! Have you lost it?! At this rate, we’re all finished! H-hello? Hello?!”

However, the call had ended. With that, his connection to his team, the lifeline of influence he had briefly believed he possessed, and his hope of reclaiming the title of Employee of the Year had all ended.

“We’re all going to dieeee!”