Vol. 1 - Ch. 6 - Why Are There Only Nine People?

This was Jae-Yoon’s debut as It’s Home Shopping’s CEO, and the first scene was his inauguration ceremony. If life were a drama, would this scene be the first episode or the finale?“I’ve prepared the inauguration speech.”

“That’s quite a bit of text you have there.”

In the It’s Home Shopping executive office, Section Chief Lee Hyun-Woong and employee Yoon Jae-Hee stood before Jae-Yoon. Section Chief Lee was still as stiff as a guardian statue.

“It’s an inauguration speech Ms. Jae-Hee prepared with devotion. Since she majored in Korean Literature, the sentences are quite smooth.”

“Let’s see…”

On the other hand, employee Yoon Jae-Hee standing next to him was different. Her heart was pounding so hard, it felt like it was going to jump out of her chest.

She was a team member of the strangely named General Team, which was a team that didn’t even ask for an opinion. Being the president’s granddaughter, everyone knew that she was a third-generation chaebol. Weak, gullible, and a pushover who could not stand up to bullies, those were adjectives used to describe her. Vulgar and shameful expressions that did not suit a third-generation chaebol.

Of course, she thought it would be like that. Of course, everyone said so. She just threw together an inauguration speech that she copied from the internet and added a few more sentences. It was good enough for Section Chief Lee Hyun-Woong, but… When she faced the CEO in person, she felt like she wanted to strangle her past self right away. This man was definitely not someone who was easygoing. She could only blame herself for believing the nonsense that her seniors told her.

“Did you write this yourself?”

“I-I’m sorry...? Yes, sir.”

“Let’s see. Effort and passion… The turbulent home shopping market is like a typhoon… The dire situation now… Teamwork… High-quality products... It feels like a textbook inauguration speech. You wrote it well. Thank you for your hard work, Ms. Yoon.”

“Yes? Yes, thank you.”

Yoon Jae-Hee heaved a sigh of relief that no one noticed. As she briefly met the gaze of the CEO, the corners of his mouth perked up slightly. It was a gentle smile, just like her newly styled khaki-gray hair.

Sensing a strange vibe, Lee Hyun-Woong quickly changed the subject. “How do you feel about your upcoming inauguration?”

“Well, the feelings of a CEO are pretty standard, right? Like, ‘I’m excited,’ or something?”

Surely, he would not cause an accident at the inauguration ceremony. Section Chief Lee was also a man with good instincts. To be exact, he was a man with a lot of experience. Jae-Yoon may have a mischievous side, but he was not a fool. If he were, he wouldn’t have been given the role of Min Ho-Jun in the first place.

“The ceremony will begin in ten minutes. Shall we get going?”

Jae-Yoon straightened out his attire. He was quite pleased with the charcoal gray suit he had agonized over choosing. The newly bought shoes weren’t bad either, except the heels squeaked a bit since it was his first time wearing them.

“Yes. If we go down now, it will be perfect timing. Arriving five minutes early is standard protocol.”

Jae-Yoon got up from his seat and walked towards the door. His hands were empty, holding nothing. Section Chief Lee Hyun-Woong looked back briefly. There was one manuscript lying on the large walnut desk.

Could he have memorized it already? If not...

Several scenarios flashed through his mind, but he shook them off. There was nothing to be done about it now. Section Chief Lee pretended not to notice and followed Jae-Yoon.

Peee~

Tok tok~

“We will now begin the inauguration ceremony for It’s Home Shopping’s CEO, Min Ho-Jun.”

Along with the noisy microphone sound, the MC kicked things off. He was a show host, with experience as an announcer, who recently transferred to It’s Group. His pronunciations were accurate and clear in contrast to the expressions of the people sitting in this place.

It was like a scene often seen on TV. More than three hundred people were sitting in the large auditorium. The stage was high, and Jae-Yoon’s confidence was even higher. After the conventional greetings, the MC began to announce the official inauguration ceremony.

“First, we will have the inauguration speech.”

Jae-Yoon, who was standing on the stage, looked around at the people sitting in front of him. Of course, no one was interested in the CEO who was like a scarecrow. Half were buried in their smartphones, a form of rebellion or perhaps doubt, wondering what he could possibly achieve. The rest were no different.

Even the eyes of a spoiled pollack seemed preferable to that. Eyes filled with hidden resentment or a mischievous curiosity might have been better.

“Listening to this speech is like listening to the president’s New Year’s address.”

“Wonder whose puppet he is.”

“I’ve seen him somewhere... Ah! That weird team leader.”

Jae-Yoon, who had quickly scanned the faces of people with various expressions, puffed out his chest and tapped the microphone twice with confidence. “Home shopping is a channel that sells dreams. In these times when change and innovation are more necessary than ever…”

Well, of course, the employees nodded their heads in disapproval.

_He’s just going to talk nonsense. _

Even if you just list up the fancy expressions, half of it will be absorbed, so what’s so difficult about that?

Ha! How long is he going to blabber on? I’m already bored. Is there a way to sleep with my eyes open?

If one could see the thoughts of the people sitting there as speech bubbles, those kinds of words would probably pop up. If Jae-Yoon was the one sitting there, he would have thought the same thing. Section Chief Lee Hyun-Woong was different. His eyes were twice as big.

Did Jae-Yoon really memorize it all? If so, that would be great.

If he knew Lee Hyun-Woong’s thoughts or not, Jae-Yoon continued his speech with a refreshing smile and a confident tone. “Such clichéd inauguration speeches are just too boring, don’t you think?”

In an instant, all three hundred pairs of eyes turned towards the podium.

Did the new CEO just use the term ‘clichéd’ in his inauguration speech?

“Let’s aim for number one in the industry with It’s Home Shopping. Shouldn’t you all feel the pride of working for the top company in the field?”

Jae-Yoon made eye contact one by one with the employees who were staring at him. Some employees bowed their heads, while others hurriedly turned their heads away, as if they were afraid of being caught.

With confidence, Jaeyoon continued, “You’re all here, more interested in the food than enduring this boring speech, right? And it’s not just any food. We’re talking about a buffet prepared by the number one It’s Hotel, costing over 100,000 won per person. Please enjoy it to the fullest.”

Section Chief Lee Hyun-Woong, who was sitting in the front row, shifted in his seat. Then, he turned around and checked the employees’ reactions.

A buzz of excitement… The atmosphere had turned around.

Contrary to the thought that a boring speech like a school principal’s lecture would follow, how simple and appealing was this inauguration speech? Number one in the industry...

Some people laughed at the ridiculousness of it, while others’ ambitions stirred secretly in their hearts.

While the employees applauded, Manager Seo Tae-Min, sitting in the far right back, sneered and got up from his seat. His trademark basin haircut stood out under the dim lights.

Number one? With these old farts? Pfft.

He left his seat, perhaps without realizing that the new CEO’s eyes were on him.

“The response was better than I thought.”

“No one likes a tedious inauguration speech. There’s no better reaction than letting people go eat quickly after getting it over with.”

“That’s true, but...the employees were quite stirred up after hearing about aiming for the number one spot.”

“What employee wouldn’t want to work at the number one company?”

It was a common ambition for anyone working in a company, especially one considered a large corporation. There was no need to bring up fancy words like pride or competitive spirit or anything like that. The satisfaction of being titled ‘number one’ was a powerful motivator in work life. Moreover, It’s Home Shopping bonuses were amazing. Uniquely, bonuses were determined by the company’s industry ranking, not sales or operating profit.

It was the founder, Chairman Min Byung-Tae’s, obsession.

“My people, my employees are important, but the industry rank is even more so. Growth of the affiliates means the employees have grown. They deserve sweet rewards,” was his philosophy.

But, the employees felt differently.

It was an open secret. In reality, not only the number one spot but even the number two spot was in danger. The fact that they barely survived last year by distributing online home shopping mall coupons like flyers was something that even a child knew. It was just that no one dared to voice it out loud.

Being a major corporation, they could easily mask the perennial second-place label.

“The core staff have already moved to Galaxy Home Shopping.”

“Industry number one, what do you think about that, Section Chief Lee?”

Section Chief Lee’s eyes narrowed. A deep frown formed between his thick, straight eyebrows.

“It won’t be easy.”

“It won’t be easy, right?”

At a glance, ‘not easy’ seemed similar to ‘difficult,’ but if examined closely, it was a phrase that ran on a different track. ‘Difficult’ contained the nuance that it was impossible, but ‘not easy’ suggested that there might be a chance.

He was a man who didn’t say anything carelessly. At the same time, he didn’t say nonsense or make empty promises. Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ ɴøᴠel Fɪre.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Lee Hyun-Woong was the one who designed this plan, after all. He must have seen Jae-Yoon’s extraordinary side.

“The condition to achieve the number one spot was attached probably because the possibility exists.”

“One thing that’s certain is that it’s absolutely impossible in the current state.” Section Chief Lee Hyun-Woong shrugged and gave a bitter smile.

Home shopping was considered a channel for idle housewives, a perception no one denied. While competitors were experimenting with various changes, It’s Home Shopping remained stuck in the late ‘90s.

T-shirts sold three for 49,000 won. Health products that would be out of trend in two months. Outdated parallel-imported luxury goods from three European outlets. Cosmetics advertised by actresses with naturally flawless skin. Just because the logo was changed to look more stylish didn’t mean the company’s image would change as well.

It’s Home Shopping needed innovation. That was the only part of Yoon Jae-Hee’s plagiarized speech that resonated with Jae-Yoon.

“We can change things one at a time. Is the data I requested ready?”

“Yes, here. Last year, our strongest category over Galaxy was food... The weakest area was definitely electronics. Given that Galaxy Electronics is a massive affiliate…”

It was the same content that Manager Yang from OhGa Kitchen had provided. There were slight differences in the exact sales figures, but nothing significant. There was no need for further confirmation.

“I will hold a team leader meeting for the Product Planning Department. Chief Lee, please inform each team leader.”

“Yes, understood.”

“So suddenly...?” Section Chief Lee swallowed the question.

It was not just any other day. It was the day of the inauguration ceremony for the CEO. He judged that, at the very least, he knew all employees had no external schedule without needing a report.

In home shopping, the centerpiece was the Merchandiser (MD). It would not be an exaggeration to say that home shopping began and ended with MDs. They belonged to the department responsible for merchandising products, the Product Planning Department.

Under the Department, a total of ten teams operated the categories they were in charge of.

It’s Home Shopping was composed of a total of ten teams, including the Food Team, which was the foundation of It’s, as well as Home Appliances, Fashion, Beauty, and so on. In other words, there were a total of ten team leaders belonging to the Product Planning Department, but…

“Why are there only nine people?” Those were Jae-Yoon’s first words before he even sat down at the head of the table. He scanned the room upon entering. There was no need to count. There were exactly ten seats in the meeting room, with one at the end unoccupied.

“Given the notice of time, the absence can’t be excused as a bathroom break. Even the cafeteria part-timers know there’s no external schedule today.”

“...”

“And the lack of colleagues jumping to defend suggests there’s no ally here. Does that mean it’s safe to assume the person has no friends?”

The nine team leaders sitting at the table got up awkwardly from their seats and looked at each other. At thirty-one, relatively young, and having been virtually invisible like a shadow until now, his response was remarkably sensational.

“Well, that’s... Team Leader Park Choong-In from the General Team suddenly didn’t feel well, so…” The team leader, who looked the youngest, stood up and started explaining. Rambling incoherently, it would have been better to just stay silent. He couldn’t even finish his excuse before…

Knock, knock~

“Sorry everyone, I’m late.”

The person who came late was Team Leader Park Choong-In’s team member, Yoon Jae-Hee.

“Ms. Yoon Jae-Hee, I’m seeing you often today. More importantly, what’s going on?”

“The team leader suddenly had a meeting, so I came to attend as his proxy.”

Yoon Jae-Hee, barely a year into her job at the company, was unaware of the situation, which was understandable. But for someone of Team Leader rank to do so was unacceptable.

“Oh, really? I don’t want a team leader proxy. I have something to talk to the Team Leader himself. Tell him. Please tell him to come immediately after the meeting. If he’s delaying a meeting with the CEO for it, it must be quite an important meeting. I’m really curious about the scale of the partner company. I definitely have to hear about it as soon as the meeting is over.”