Tae-joon, who had been quietly staring at the photo, turned off his PC and left his office.

The office was mostly empty as most of the staff had left for the day.

Tae-joon headed towards Han So-eun’s office, the Mobile Service Team.

A few staff members were still there, working overtime.

“Director, you’re here.”

As one employee recognized Tae-joon and stood up to greet him, the others awkwardly followed suit.

“Don’t mind me, continue with your work.”

Tae-joon waved at the standing employees and casually strolled around the office, pretending to inspect it, but his real destination was So-eun’s desk.

Her neatly arranged desk had a notebook laid open on one side.

[Dash] Devotion is not a virtue.

The round handwriting on the notebook somehow reminded Tae-joon of So-eun’s youthful face.

While glancing around her desk, his phone vibrated. It was a call from the counselor he had hired. Tae-joon answered it quietly.

“Yes, go ahead.”

[Yes. Han So-eun was raised by her aunt until she became an adult, and it seems she had no contact with her father, Han Hong-kyu. No one seems to know anything about Hong-kyu’s whereabouts.]

As he spoke to the counselor, Tae-joon’s gaze drifted to a small photo frame next to the pencil holder.

“Did you meet the aunt?”

[Yes, but… it seems she doesn’t know much about how So-eun is living now. It seems they lost contact after So-eun became a college student and stopped receiving financial support.]

Tae-joon picked up the frame. It was a photo of a man posing with an air of arrogance in front of his desk. The nameplate on the desk read ‘Lawyer Yang Hee-wook.’

Tae-joon instinctively realized that this man was the one he had seen in So-eun’s SNS, the owner of the back in the photo and the owner of the ring.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

[Star Icon]

The next day, at noon.

Tae-joon was having lunch with Oh Gap-soo, the President of K Electronics Service.

Oh Gap-soo, who started as a PC factory worker and climbed his way up to President after completing an MBA in Korea, was a legendary figure. Tae-joon had heard about him but was meeting him in person for the first time, and found him to be a very generous man.

“Oh, Chairman himself called me, asking to take good care of Director Kim Tae-joon.”

Gap-soo greeted Tae-joon with a wide smile, revealing even his gold teeth. Tae-joon also started a conversation as a courtesy.

“I’m the one who should ask for your care, President.”

“Ah, what would I have to do for our director? You’ll do well on your own.”

As the food arrived, Oh Gap-soo licked his lips and leaned forward as if to share something important.

“I hear you’ll be joining the electronics head office in a year, as a part of your management training.”

Tae-joon’s eyes sharpened slightly at the information Oh Gap-soo seemed to know.

20 years ago, his father, the former president of K Electronics’ wireless division, had led the company to the forefront of the wireless market. Though his father passed away before the business took off significantly, the 10-year plan he initiated had led to their current success, so his father deserved some credit.

However, K Electronics had since removed his father’s name. Now the company was firmly held by Kim Sang-deok, Tae-joon’s first cousin once removed and the president appointed by Chairman Kim Jae-pil. The company was running smoothly, but there had been a sense of instability lately.

Tae-joon wanted to uncover what that was.

Whether he could achieve his objective in ‘K Electronics Service,’ rather than ‘K Electronics,’ remained to be seen.

Of course, there was no need to report this to President Oh Gap-soo.

“Well, I just followed the orders that were given.”

“Maybe my information network is more accurate. It seems like a measure to quietly get you acquainted with the group atmosphere before assigning you to the electronics strategic planning division during the regular personnel changes.”

Oh Gap-soo appeared confident, as if he possessed insider information, his lips gleaming with oil.
“Our Director Kim, you just need to quietly stay in your place for a year, and then you’ll move to K University. Hahaha.”

There seemed no cue for laughter, yet President Oh Gap-soo’s laughter was quite loud. Tae-joon found it a bit annoying.

“I’m not the type to just stay quiet. If I’ve been given a position, I need to contribute something to the company.”

President Oh raised his palms as if to support Tae-joon’s words.

“Of course, you should. Do whatever you like. The service center runs smoothly on its own anyway, so you don’t need to worry about it.”

“…….”

“The service center doesn’t need serious thinking or environmental improvements. It’s just a place to tinker with machines according to the manual. It’s a company that prioritizes service, so all employees are incredibly diligent and sincere. Director Kim will find it comfortable here.”

Contributing to the company didn’t necessarily mean what President Oh thought. Tae-joon meant to do well in his assigned duties, but it seemed President Oh misunderstood him.