Real Man

He frowned as he looked at the data, but he had no way of knowing if it was correct.

He could somehow manage to match the data by scrutinizing the details, so Yoo-hyun maintained a relaxed expression.

“Hmm, I see. The next question is…”

He pretended to be indifferent and returned the question, knowing that his intention had hit the mark.

Yoo-hyun nodded his head as he listened to the senior’s question.

It was a trivial question, but he also briefly showed an expression that he had hit the bullseye.

There was no need to refute every little detail that was obvious.

This was not a fight where he had to win at all costs.

It was better for the future to save the senior’s face and take advantage of the situation at a reasonable level.

“That’s as you pointed out. I feel that it’s insufficient to estimate the size of the domestic market based on the data posted on the internet. I’ll refer to the research report posted on Hansung Database as you advised. Thank you for your advice.”

“Yes. I understand. You just need to learn step by step. The next question is…”

“That problem is…”

The next question was also just a pretext to stall.

Yoo-hyun answered skillfully without hesitation.

There was no right answer, but it was a tug-of-war where he couldn’t lose momentum.

Yoo-hyun maintained a parallel line by refuting appropriately, sometimes pushing and sometimes pulling.

He didn’t forget to give some space when the senior got tangled up.

At some point, everyone was only looking at Yoo-hyun.

The senior researcher Kim Jung-hyun frowned.

‘What kind of kid is this?’

He tried to grab a tail and postpone it to the next time at first.

He thought it wasn’t very good for the atmosphere if the team that tried for the first time passed right away.

But what the hell.

The level was different.

Compared to the previous assignments he had seen in the pre-senior education process, it was already at an intermediate level or higher.

The dense data was amazing, but not only the presentation but also the attitude and posture of answering questions were at a professional level.

And he also showed consideration by subtly covering up and lifting up his mistakes.

It felt like he was facing a boss.

He couldn’t poke him even if he wanted to because there was no gap.

He felt a nervousness that he might make a fool of himself if he slipped up a little more.

He had to fail him, but there was no reasonable excuse, and there wasn’t much to comment on either.

At best, he could only cut him down a bit considering the position of other teams.

“Ahem. It’s good, but it’s a pity that the quality is lacking because of the lack of time. But I can see that you worked hard enough in a short time, so I’ll pass you.”

“Wow!”

The team members cheered, and the senior tried to hide his expression.

Yoo-hyun smiled inwardly as he saw the senior’s appearance.

At least he wasn’t a person without common sense.

He could tolerate him twisting his questions on purpose.

After finishing the assignment, Yoo-hyun hurriedly said to his team members.

“I’ll go ahead.”

“Where? Aren’t you having dinner?”

“I have an important appointment. I’ll buy you drinks tomorrow.”

“Today it all went well thanks to you, Yoo-hyun. Have a good time.”

The atmosphere turned warm and cozy.

There was no room for Kang Chang-seok here.

He would know that too. 

That his territory had shrunk.

Was that why?

He felt like his accumulated anger was directed at Yoo-hyun.

He pretended to be fine and bold among his team members, but his eyes were full of malice when he looked at Yoo-hyun.

Yoo-hyun wasn’t someone who wouldn’t notice that.

A pitiful kid.

He just laughed it off.

It was obvious that he would suffer in the company if he couldn’t manage himself like that.

Or?

He was confident enough to bet everything on it that his whole department was crazy.

Yoo-hyun smirked and got up from his seat.

When he arrived at the golf course, he saw Chief Choi Kang-won already in place.

He seemed to have mastered the posture he taught him in the morning.

His swing form had improved a lot.

How could it not fit properly?

Chief Choi Kang-won also looked satisfied with a smile on his lips.

Yoo-hyun quietly approached him and exclaimed.

“You look amazing.”

“It’s all thanks to you. Thank you, haha. But where is your closest friend?”

“He said he would contact me when I left because he would be a hindrance to playing golf. Thank you so much for your consideration.”

“Not at all. I got help from you, so I should do that.”

Chief Choi Kang-won chuckled and Yoo-hyun smiled back with his eyes.

After finishing the golf practice, the time was 7:30 p.m.

‘Have they not finished their presentation yet?’

He thought they could make it in time.

They would know better how serious the situation was.

He had already passed Yoo-hyun’s team, and it was the first day, so the assignment evaluation wouldn’t be too harsh.

Yoo-hyun picked up his phone first.

As he was about to dial the number, Kwon Se-jung’s call came at the perfect timing.

His voice was trembling, perhaps because of the aftermath of the presentation.

-I’m done now. I’m sorry.

“It’s okay.”

-I’ll be right there!

Maybe it was because he heard the sound coming out of the speaker?

Chief Choi Kang-won, who was packing up his golf club, opened his mouth.

“We can go. Tell him to stay there.”

“Yes. I understand.”

Yoo-hyun decided on a place to meet with Kwon Se-jung and hung up the phone.

He moved in Chief Choi Kang-won’s car.

At the intersection leading to the main gate of the Innovation Center, Kwon Se-jung was standing.

Before Yoo-hyun could say anything, Chief Choi Kang-won opened his mouth.

“Is that your friend over there?”

“Yes.”

And then he parked the car right in front of him.

Screech.

“Get in.”

“Ah, yes. Tha-thank you.”

Even after seeing Kwon Se-jung’s face, there was no change in Chief Choi Kang-won’s expression.

As expected, Chief Choi Kang-won had already guessed it.

This was the best part for a smooth transition.

Yoo-hyun asked with a slightly awkward expression.

“Did you know?”

“Of course. Who would believe that someone would ask to have dinner with you for no reason? I just played along.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Yoo-hyun bowed his head deeply.

Ten minutes away from the Innovation Center by car.

At a restaurant where duck meat was served, Chief Choi Kang-won sat across from Yoo-hyun and Kwon Se-jung.

Kwon Se-jung bowed his head politely.

“Sir, I’m sorry and thank you again.”

“It’s fine. It’s over. Don’t do that again. You should apologize on the spot.”

“Yes. I understand.”

“You should thank Yoo-hyun here.”

“Thank you.”

Kwon Se-jung bowed his head to Yoo-hyun and spoke sincerely.

It was the first time he heard a word of thanks from Kwon Se-jung, who was his friend, colleague, and rival.

He had only received scolding from him.

-Do you know what consequences your choice will bring? Many innocent people will be slandered as incompetent and suffer because of you.

He remembered his expression when he confronted Yoo-hyun with a sense of justice.

Yoo-hyun should have listened to his advice then.

He was sorry that he couldn’t.

‘I’m sorry.’

That night, warm and gentle stories were exchanged without stopping.

Yoo-hyun smiled as he looked at Kwon Se-jung, who had brightened up a lot.

‘Se-jung, you can’t die. You can’t ever die, bastard.’

…

The next morning.

Kim Jung-hyun, the senior researcher in charge of Class 2 where Yoo-hyun belonged, had a headache.

It was because of Kang Chang-seok, the team leader of Team 6 who had just visited him.

“How can he badmouth his own team?”

It turned out that they didn’t even fight.

They finished their assignment early and got permission to go out on their personal time.

But then this guy who calls himself a team leader comes and formally raises an issue about Han Yoo-hyun’s departure behavior. 

It was outrageous.

“I hate annoying things.”

He wasn’t a professional instructor, but a person who came to teach new recruits temporarily while working in the field.

He wanted to spend two weeks safely without getting involved in any trouble.

He had work piled up when he went back, so he didn’t want to have a headache here too.

Then, a female employee came in with a knock on the door.

“Senior researcher, I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

Was her name Jung Da-bin?

She left an impression with her presentation yesterday.

“I don’t know what Kang Chang-seok said earlier, but Han Yoo-hyun did nothing wrong. He worked harder than anyone for the team.”

“Ah, yes. I see.”

The researcher Kim Jung-hyun was dumbfounded after receiving another report.

“What is this?”

There was never such a thing in the last batch of new recruit training.

He thought that things were messed up for sure.

Then, the senior researcher from the next class said.

“Kim researcher, you must have a headache. From my experience, those teams tend to cause problems.”

“Problems?”

“They end up fighting and dividing sides and ruining the class atmosphere. Anyway, keep an eye on them.”

“Sigh, this is frustrating.”

The researcher Kim Jung-hyun scratched his forehead with one hand and kept scribbling the number 6 on the paper.

This team seemed to have some issues.

Ding.

When Yoo-hyun sat down, he felt an ominous atmosphere in the team.

It wasn’t time to start the class yet, but it felt like he was seeing the signs of an impending storm.

Then, Jung Da-bin spoke in a stiff voice.

“Don’t worry, Yoo-hyun. You’re doing well and working hard more than anyone.”

“Huh?”

“There’s something like that.”

As Yoo-hyun tilted his head at Jung Da-bin’s sudden words, Kang Chang-seok entered.

His face was already gloomy.

Jung Da-bin glared at Kang Chang-seok and snapped.

“As I said earlier, the other team members agree with me.”

“…”

“If you keep messing up our team’s direction like that, I won’t be able to stand it anymore. I’ve already told the senior researcher my opinion.”

“…”

“If you don’t like it, then quit. I’ll tell him anytime.”

The other team members’ eyes were also unfriendly.

Yoo-hyun could tell that something had happened before he arrived.

It was break time, but the other class members were also watching.

At this point, she should have hesitated, but Jung Da-bin didn’t seem to back down at all.

Even at a glance, he understood the situation.

That bastard Kang Chang-seok, he must have badmouthed Yoo-hyun who came in late last night.

What was more surprising was that Jung Da-bin had gone to see the senior researcher herself.

It wasn’t her business, but someone else’s.

Wasn’t she afraid of the penalty she might receive?

Kang Chang-seok looked pale.

“Really… Is this how you’re going to do it? What did I do wrong? Is it wrong to tell the truth?”

“You’re doing it again. Yoo-hyun went out officially after reporting to the senior researcher. But you accused him of deviating behavior. Even if that’s the case, you shouldn’t do that to your own team. You should at least listen to him.”

“Really…”

“Really what? If you don’t like it, then get out. Right?”

“Yes. I agree.”

As Jung Da-bin raised her voice, Oh Min-jae joined in, and Choi Seul-gi and Seol Ki-tae also showed their agreement.

Even the murmurs of the other class members could be heard.

“He messed up.”

“Is he crazy?”

In an instant, Kang Chang-seok had no ground to stand on.

‘This is ridiculous…’

Yoo-hyun felt awkward.

He was annoyed by Kang Chang-seok, but he didn’t think he deserved this.

But the other team members must have exploded from their pent-up feelings.

They united and acted together based on their success experience yesterday.