The Manager Is a Gangster

5 – It’s quite unexpected, the parachute. (3)

0.

“Yes? What, what do you mean?”

The man sitting across from Kang Jinhyuk’s brother, Lee Seong, asked in surprise.

Asking such a question after stating it right in front of him revealed an intention to deny the fact heard right before his eyes. However, for Lee Seong, who believed that most problems could be solved straightforwardly, it didn’t resonate.

“What do you mean, how. It’s about bringing my brother to the company the day after tomorrow.”

“T-that, what on earth…”

To anyone passing by, it might seem like a dirty and despicable abuse, something that could be considered as bullying. It was a statement that didn’t fit with Lee Seong, who had lived confidently throughout his life. Still, he remained confident.

Because he had a reason to say such things outright.

“Why are you so naive? It’s even written in the first contract you signed with me. The employer must accept the hiring of the person specified by the employee once during the contract period. It’s written here too, see.”

Lee Seong pointed to a part of the contract lying on the table with a thicker index finger than that of most adult men.

There, the clause stating that the hiring must be accepted was written, just as Lee Seong had mentioned.

A clause that had been specified when they wrote the contract a year ago while establishing the planning company.

“Still, this is a bit much, isn’t it…”

If you tell someone to hire a person without any reason, it would be bullying. But showing a clause written in the contract, agreed upon a year ago, and telling them to do it, is not bullying. Because it’s just telling them to fulfill what is written in the contract.

The man who heard Lee Seong’s words knew this fact very well, but still, he couldn’t help but hesitate.

Because.

“Hire a former convict… and not just any, but an attempted murderer in the company.”

The person who recommended hiring him was a gangster among gangsters who had committed attempted murder in the past.

No matter what’s written in the contract, and even if it’s Il-sung, who provides all the funds needed to run the agency, hiring a violent criminal like an attempted murderer was not easily acceptable.

“Indeed… hiring an attempted murderer is a huge risk as a CEO. Even if someone like me committed attempted murder in the past and asked to be hired, I would break their spine backwards.”

Il-sung, who had suddenly mentioned hiring, nodded in understanding, and in that nod, the man felt a glimmer of hope that Il-sung might not accept the hiring refusal.

“Well, right?! Do you feel how forced your words are right now, hyungnim?”

However, what came out of Il-sung’s mouth shattered the man’s hope into pieces of despair.

“But that guy has never committed anything like attempted murder. It was all a false accusation. Of course, he turned everything around without even appealing once, so in the end, he was confirmed as an attempted murderer.”

“What?”

“He did some bluffing, and using violence rather than the law to achieve his goals was certainly not a righteous thing, but it was the right thing to do. If you were there that day, you would have probably done the same thing as that guy.”

“Oh, wait, what is this… What on earth are you talking about?”

To the man, Il-sung’s words were incomprehensible from start to finish.

“I would like to tell you everything from the beginning to the end because I want you to know that Jinhuk is really a genius, but unfortunately, all I can tell you is this much. You’ve been in the broadcasting industry for a long time, so you know that sometimes it’s better not to know some things.”

The man knew roughly about Il-sung’s past.

Therefore, he could understand that Il-sung’s words, “It’s better not to know,” were not meant to hide information, but to genuinely convey that sometimes it’s better not to know.

However, even so, there is a law that you cannot hire a former convict who has received a sentence and been released, and the man opened his mouth in an attempt to persuade Il-sung.

“Right. Just right. That guy is my brother, but I also consider you my brother.”

In response to Il-sung’s words that came out earlier, Jung Baro, with his mouth shut, couldn’t say anything and remained silent.

Il-sung looked at him with a bitter expression and drove a wedge into his wavering heart.

“And you know what kind of person I am. Am I the kind of person who would hire someone like the heinous criminal you imagine as a brother?”

In response to Il-sung’s question, Jung Baro hesitated for a moment and eventually surrendered without saying a word.

“No, that’s not true. You know better than anyone that Hyungnim is not that kind of person.”

Although he didn’t admit that he had lost, the fact that he couldn’t refute Seong’s words meant that he had ultimately bent his will.

Seong, who finished his persuasive act and seemed to be exercising his rights like a bully, gently tapped Jeongbaro’s shoulder with his palm like a lid on a pot and made a soft request.

“Isn’t it obvious? Then please. I’ll send it right after you’re released, so please accept it well.”

However, Jeongbaro, who was also known as a leader in the planning agency, couldn’t become a yes-man who would agree to Seong’s words without hesitation.

“If you can’t do the work… or if you don’t like it… I’ll cut you off immediately.”

He timidly expressed that his will was not completely broken.

“Sure, whatever you say.”

And Jeongbaro’s confident response came back, as if there was no way he wouldn’t like it.

1.

“Is this the place? I didn’t know that all the addresses had changed to street names…”

When he arrived at the address Hyungnim had given him, there was a five-story building proudly standing there.

Seeing the letters “Barungil Entertainment” lined up vertically on the outer wall, he knew he had come to the right place.

But if you ask why he came here correctly and stood frozen like this, it was because the building in front of him was a very familiar building to him, as if it were his own home.

“Wow… You really made up your mind. Both Hyungnim and Agassi.”

The Barungil Entertainment headquarters in front of him was the headquarters of the mainstream faction that Hyungnim was the leader of and I was a member of seven years ago, and it was practically no different from my own home.

“I thought Hyungnim used it as business funds. It’s still the same.”

Even if it was called remodeling, the sign of Barungil Entertainment and the exterior of the outer wall were slightly touched up, and the rest remained the same as the mainstream faction building I knew, except that the windows were all changed to special glass so that no one could see from the outside.

“And if the name has changed from the mainstream faction to Barungil Entertainment, there hasn’t really been much difference.”

During our gangster days, Hyungnim and I achieved our goals through unauthorized violence, but we always did what we believed was right.

So, what was built was called Jungdopa, a name that literally meant the right path, and even now, with the name changed to ‘Right Path Entertainment,’ the determination behind it seemed unbroken and peculiar.

“I’ve put an end to the thug life, but well…”

The young lady provided the funds to establish the entertainment company, but it was clear that the decision to turn this building into a planning agency and choose the name ‘Right Path’ was made by my elder brother.

Though my elder brother was absent, busy with his company, as I gazed at the building, it somehow felt like his voice was reaching me.

“Jinhyuk. Even though you’ve settled the past, you must not forget the old you who pursued the right path.”

“Well, isn’t it embarrassing to say such things, brother?”

I felt a bit embarrassed for no reason, with a slight flush on my face, but I could understand what my brother wanted to convey, and I also shared the same sentiment.

“You don’t need to express it so openly. You’ll do well in your own way. You’ll do better from now on.”

As I have done so far, I will eventually succeed. Even if I don’t engage in thug activities like before, I won’t forget the mindset I had in the past.

Once again making that determination, after 7 years, I stepped into my own building, Jungdopa, now transformed into the headquarters of Right Path Entertainment.

“Heh… well, let’s go!”

※※※

“…”

“…”

“…”

“Um, excuse me.”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Well… Is there anything I can help you with?”

“There isn’t.”

“Yes, okay.”

When I confidently entered more boldly than when I stood at the forefront to dismantle the opposing organization, that confidence completely shattered within just 30 minutes of entering.

Now, all that remains for me is awkwardness and a sense of absurdity.

Things like the youthful passion or courage that a new employee should rightfully possess—anyway, such impressive qualities are no longer with me.

Well, it’s understandable.

“······.”

“······.”

“······.”

“······.”

“······.”

“······.”

No one among the employees sitting at their desks was engaging in conversation, doing work, or anything else. They just sat there, staring blankly into space, doing nothing.

If they were too busy to care for a newcomer like me, they might have at least gauged the atmosphere while ignoring me. Or if they had treated me with disdain, they might have fueled my ambition with negative emotions.

······Is it for real, telling me to sit here and do nothing for 30 minutes after saying that Choi Cheol-hoon will come?

Really, doing absolutely nothing. Not even bothering with the mundane tasks, it was impossible to ignite any enthusiasm.

You need a goal to ignite enthusiasm, but there’s no goal. Just waiting for this person named Choi Cheol-hoon who might come at any moment.

But even waiting for someone named Choi Cheol-hoon doesn’t spark any enthusiasm.

No, what’s the point of igniting enthusiasm in waiting in the first place? Without trainees and with only one affiliated celebrity······ But since the funds come from external sources, is this the reality of a planning agency where you can stay still without much concern?

It was truly terrible in many ways.

A job that pays a salary for just filling time without working. It might sound like something anyone would wish for, but understanding that this is what it means, one would reconsider that thought.

Yet, just sitting idly is not an option, especially when you’re a former convict landing on a parachute.

In the end, I chose to focus on staring into empty space forcibly, in a situation where concentration was elusive. Now, after thirty minutes have passed, I can clearly realize how challenging it is to maintain consciousness in a situation where there is nothing to concentrate on.

How did it come to this? The company is more demanding than prison. If this continues, I might really go insane. I should at least go to the bathroom to refresh my mind…

While pondering such thoughts, at that moment when I was about to rise from the chair.

Wheeeng-.

The automatic door to the office opened, and a well-built man with short hair entered.

With wide-open eyes, he briskly walked towards me, then slammed the desk and growled in a low voice.

“I can’t accept someone like you working in our company. Get out and face the real world, ex-convict.”

A sudden curse with a threatening attitude.

In a situation that clearly looked like a provocation to a fight, I greeted him with a cheerful smile and nodded vigorously.

“Yeah! Thanks a lot, really!”

Now, I can live!