Chapter 37
A few days earlier, Conference Room (S).
It was a meeting so serious, urgent, and confidential that it had to be held in a classified meeting room.
Calling it a “meeting” was almost a misnomer, as only two people were in attendance:
Do Si-wan, Head of the Food Development Division, and Choi Min-hwan, Manager of the Business Division.
The agenda: “Stabilizing the Aftermath of the Lee Wan-yong Incident.”
The so-called Lee Wan-yong incident referred to the unprecedented case where Assistant Manager Lee Wan-yong of the Food Planning Team was revealed to be an industrial spy.
Choi Min-hwan was the main person in charge of damage control for the scandal.
Naturally, Si-wan oversaw everything.
Of course, DK Foods had its own audit team. But their job was to investigate and collect evidence for disciplinary action, not mitigate the aftermath.
Damage control meant placing appropriate personnel into the vacant role left by the perpetrator (or any co-conspirators), and ensuring that the business unit sustained no long-term harm.
Si-wan reviewed the materials Choi had prepared with a neutral expression.
If Lee Wan-yong had been exposed any later, DK Foods would have suffered enormous losses.
Not only had he leaked company information, but he had also tried to scout valuable talents for his handlers, as noted in the report.
Choi Min-hwan spoke in a smooth tone.
“You’re aware, sir, that Lee Wan-yong was the main planner for the ‘Instant & Meal Kit Food Fair,’ right?”
Si-wan sensed he had more to say, so he set down the documents and straightened his posture.
“Yes, I’m aware.”
Choi Min-hwan’s nickname was “the snake.”
True to it, he gave a smooth smile and brushed his hair back.
“I believe selecting new personnel for the fair is our most urgent priority. It’s a major event, after all.”
“I agree.”
Si-wan had already scheduled a meeting with Team Leader Oh Ah-young to discuss the Food Fair right after this.
Since Choi was handling the cleanup, it seemed appropriate to update him. But before Si-wan could speak, Choi quietly slid a piece of paper across the table.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a breakdown of the allegations facing each member of the Food Planning Team, compiled based on what the audit team shared.”
“Summary of Allegations by Food Planning Team Member”
Si-wan scanned the list with a grim expression.
Even a single text, one call, or a few lines of chat with Lee Wan-yong had been enough to get someone listed as a suspected accomplice.
“This seems a bit excessive. I doubt the staff even knew Lee Wan-yong was a spy. To call them conspirators over a single message…”
“I agree, but the audit team is simply following procedure.”
Then something caught Si-wan’s eye.
Two names had blank spaces in the ‘Allegations’ column.
“Assistant Manager Joo Ha-na and Employee Gu Dong-geun have no allegations at all?”
Of course, it was a relief that Ha-na was in the clear. But relief aside, it was still odd.
“Yes. Apparently, Assistant Manager Joo kept a remarkable distance from Lee Wan-yong. Some staff even joked she had a ‘Lee Wan-yong allergy.’”
“Oh? Really?”
“They barely spoke outside official greetings. Their roles were too similar, so they rarely worked together.”
In other words, they were both either attackers or defenders—put simply, their skillsets overlapped, so it made no sense to assign them to the same projects.
“Hm, I see.”
Si-wan nodded solemnly, though inwardly he was practically dancing.
That’s my girl—er, my Assistant Manager Joo. That’s how you treat strange men.
Ha-na was also extremely cold and harsh toward Gu Dong-geun.
He could still remember how she had mock-slashed her hand across Gu’s neck like she was about to decapitate him. It was… strangely beautiful.
Still, Si-wan was bothered by how persistently Gu hovered around her.
And yet, she packs me lunch, eats with me, even commutes with me! Wait, no way…
Si-wan started to get excited, then immediately shook his head.
What am I even thinking? I must be going crazy lately.
He had never made a good impression on Ha-na. Just recently, he ran into Chae Soo-hwa in the lobby, which probably made things even worse.
“Haa…”
A sigh escaped him unconsciously.
Choi Min-hwan assumed it was due to stress about the Food Fair. Smiling slightly, he said:
“Well, at least we’ve secured two people who can be deployed right away.”
The problem was that those two people were Joo Ha-na and Gu Dong-geun.
Si-wan hated the idea of pairing them together.
He stared at the paper in silence.
Choi misread that silence as distrust toward Ha-na.
“Sir, if I may… frankly, Assistant Manager Joo is more competent than Lee Wan-yong ever was.”
“…?”
“Truly. I’ve tried to recruit her into our department several times. Haven’t succeeded yet, but I’m still trying.”
Si-wan looked surprised.
If even someone like Choi Min-hwan—the snake—spoke so highly of her, she must be exceptional. He felt oddly proud.
Though, for the life of him, he didn’t know why he felt proud. It’s not like he and Ha-na were anything.
In a firm tone, he asked:
“So you’re saying I can confidently assign her as lead on the Food Fair?”
“Yes. She’ll do well. Team Leader Oh Ah-young thinks highly of her too and will lend a hand.”
Si-wan tapped the space next to Gu Dong-geun’s name.
“I’m fine with Assistant Manager Joo. But I’m not sure about assigning a rookie as her assistant. Wouldn’t it be better to hire externally or borrow from another team?”
Si-wan prided himself on being objective.
His personal distaste for Gu had nothing to do with this. He simply believed a rookie was not ready for such an important project.
Choi Min-hwan, adopting a more serious expression, shook his head.
“As you know, the CEO wants the Lee Wan-yong incident handled quietly. But if we bring in someone from another team, what happens?”
Nearly every member of the planning team was under suspicion and would likely be called for repeated audits.
Even if they borrowed someone now or hired a temp, once people started getting summoned one by one, it wouldn’t take long for outsiders to connect the dots.
“Hm…”
Si-wan let out a heavy breath. It was hard to argue with that.
Choi said gently:
“Since you’ll be overseeing things anyway, perhaps you can compensate for the rookie’s inexperience.”
“…Very well. Let’s proceed that way. I’ll notify Team Leader Oh via email.”
“Thank you for considering my humble input, Director.”
Choi respectfully bowed his head, and Si-wan quickly returned the gesture.
While Si-wan held a higher position, Choi was older and had far more experience. His politeness was something Si-wan genuinely appreciated.
“You sell yourself short, Manager. Thank you for the thoughtful advice. Shall we wrap the meeting here?”
“Yes, sir. Thank you for your time.”
When Si-wan left the room, Choi sat back and crossed his legs.
“Man, these kids these days are so easy to deal with. I should hit the sauna. My body feels off.”
He pulled out his phone and opened the messenger app.
Gu Dong-geun
I kept my end of the deal. You’re in as the assistant for the fair. Don’t forget what you promised.
The reply came quickly.
Gu Dong-geun
Thanks, sir. This fair’s going to be something.
But you know it’s not going to look good on your record, right? You okay with that?
Si-wan’s the one overseeing it. His record’s the one that’ll suffer.
That Afternoon — Day 4 of External Meetings
After finishing their morning meetings, Si-wan and Ha-na went out for a late lunch at 2 p.m., then returned to the office.
This had been their routine for the past four days.
At 1:30 p.m., in the parking lot of A-Mart, not far from the office, Si-wan sat in the driver’s seat, waiting in a standard DK Foods company car.
It was just a compact sedan, but with him in the seat, it looked like a luxury vehicle.
Soon, Ha-na came running up and opened the passenger door.
“Sorry I’m late—ah!”
She bowed her head while apologizing and accidentally smacked it on the doorframe.
“Are you okay?”
Si-wan almost jumped out of the car. If she was hurt, he’d take her straight to the hospital.
“I’m fine! Just a light bump.”
She rubbed her forehead and got into the seat.
Si-wan thought about asking again, but worried she’d feel awkward, so he held back.
“Where to? You still haven’t eaten, right?”
Surprisingly, Ha-na suggested:
“Do you like Korean snacks? There’s a place called ‘Bunsik Heaven.’ Try putting that into the GPS?”
