As soon as I returned to Muyeol Land, I summoned Soo-ah.
She walked in with an armful of reports and looked stunned when she heard what I had to say.
“L-Lord...! T-this is so sudden....”
“It’s the first ti I’m saying it out loud to you, but it’s not exactly sudden. I’ve been planning this from the beginning.”
Back in June, I told her I’d be sending her to Prestige for training and that once she ca back, I’d be putting her in charge of Koryo Entertainnt with a full-scale organizational restructuring. That’s when she reacted with such shock.
“You’ve been handling the operations, so you must already know how chaotically we’re running things.”
“I... I suppose that’s true....”
“Eventually, we have to put things in order. I think now is the right ti.”
I thought that was a pretty reasonable explanation, but Soo-ah looked more than surprised—she looked genuinely downcast.
Does she seriously think going from Chief Secretary to President is a demotion?
‘Well, being my chief secretary is the closest seat to .’
It’s not an entirely irrational thought.
In fact, a secretary to a person in real power can wield far more influence than just any corporate president. Take Kang Hye-young, for example—Go Min-young’s chief secretary.
She’s surrounded by heavy-hitters, but within Go Min-young’s faction, Kang Hye-young is clearly the second-in-command (excluding her daughter, Go Minji). So it’s not completely off-base if Soo-ah is thinking along those lines.
And my own office has worked that way too.
Soo-ah, as Chief Secretary, has essentially been overseeing all our operations. Naturally, she’s reacting like this.
“You were going to need training at so point anyway.”
“...Yes, sir.”
“So since you have to go through it, I’m just syncing it with the restructuring. What, you don’t like it?”
Soo-ah shook her head frantically.
“I-it’s not that I don’t like it, Lord....”
“Then what’s with that face? You’re misunderstanding sothing. This isn’t a demotion.”
“Huh? It’s not a demotion?”
Look at her face lighting up.
“How could becoming President be a demotion? President outranks Secretary. In any company, it’s Secretary first, then President.”
“Well, um...”
But with her next words, her head dropped again.
Her expressions were changing like a scene from a musical.
“Kidding. I’m planning to send Seung-hee to Muyeol Financial eventually, too. That ans the Chief Secretary role is basically a stepping stone for now. We need order before we can properly define the hierarchy. Right now, we’re just a ss. Chief Secretary? That’s just a fancy title. You’re basically doing grunt work, juggling everything.”
“I have kinda felt that way, to be honest.... But the next Chief Secretary... is it going to be Seung-hee?”
“Yeah. She seems the most capable.”
“She is. Especially with numbers...”
“Anyway, that’s the plan. So stop overthinking it and focus on your training. Learn as much as you can once you're President. That way, when you co back, you’ll be even better.”
“! Y-yes, Lord!”
“And even as President, you’ll still be tagging along. My sister and aunt drag their entire executive staff with them wherever they go.”
“Understood, Lord. I’ll do my best.”
“Good. Now get on with the reports.”
“Ah, yes!”
Even though I’d been briefed on the way back to Incheon, there was still a mountain of stuff left to hear.
Everything from the Nokonoko Headquarters concert progress, political trends in Incheon, Muyeol Financial investnt reports, prison construction updates, to the developnt progress of the Namdong Industrial Complex... It’s all heavy, brain-breaking shit.
This is exactly why I’m raising secretaries like Soo-ah—to automate all this.
It’s not a demotion. If anything, it’s a step up in authority. Will you get that through your head, Soo-ah?
“...Don’t report on the concert # Nоvеlight # to . Hand it over to Emilia and Tae-hee. No, actually—you do it. You’re going to be the President there anyway. Start getting involved now. Take input from the girls, plan things out, and see it through before your training starts.”
“M-? You want to do it?”
“Yeah. You.”
“U-understood. I’ll do it.”
Mm. Now I feel better.
I’ll just unload it all one by one like this.
.
.
.
The reports ended, and Soo-ah left about two hours later.
Had I not gotten briefings during the ride, it would’ve taken even longer.
I sipped the coffee Baekseol brewed for and asked:
“Seol-ah, if I send Soo-ah to training and then make her President of Koryo Entertainnt, does that look like a demotion?”
“...It could be seen that way.”
“Hmph.”
That’s the real issue.
In organizations, how it looks often matters more than what it is.
Even if I say “This isn’t a demotion,” if everyone perceives it as one, that’s how it functions. That’s just how the world works.
“I even gave her Koryo Entertainnt stock.”
“They could take it as a retirent send-off.”
“Oh~. So it’s a severance package?”
“Looking at other chaebol families, the Chief Secretary is usually the most powerful. Based on those examples, people are likely to see this as either a demotion or a retirent move.”
“This is a problem.”
Again, this is not a demotion.
It’s just a step to build expertise.
“I’m going to bring her back anyway.”
“As your Chief Secretary again?”
“You think the Chief Secretary of future Muyeol will have the sa power as current Muyeol’s Chief Secretary?”
The power of the secretary’s office grows in direct proportion to mine.
There’s a world of difference between Go Muyeol the ragged nobody now, and future Go Muyeol—who’s selling RK-99 like hotcakes, swimming in cash, stabilizing control over Incheon, and building overwhelming political power.
Naturally, the influence of the secretary’s office will be massive.
Screw up even once, and the fallout will be enormous.
That’s why I need to start preparing now.
“Once the kids start training later, things’ll get hectic. I’m taking advantage of this relatively ‘slow’ period to lay the groundwork.”
“I see.”
“My secretaries are talented, but they’ve barely got any field experience. They’re all kids who’ve just gone through training. Their real-world experience is basically just rotating around the secretary’s office for a few months. I’m planning to dispatch each of them around to get hands-on exposure.”
“In that case, this might be a good thing.”
“What do you an?”
“A chance to test their loyalty, no? To see if they’ll still work hard even when they believe they’ve been ‘demoted.’”
“Oh.”
I hadn’t thought of it that way.
“I’ve already told Soo-ah it’s not a demotion. Gave Seung-hee a heads-up too.”
“It’s a chance to evaluate whether they trust your word as their Lord. Unlike —a knight—your secretaries are civilians.”
“Heh... You’re right.”
She’s unexpectedly cold-blooded.
She has a strong sense of pride in being my personal knight.
Seems like she might also have a bit of a superiority complex. Nothing extre—just the lingering effects of the gaslighting I’ve done.
“Alright. I’ll take your advice, Princess Baekseol CEO. Let’s see how my adorable secretaries perform.”
“Yes. They’re all loyal vassals. I don’t foresee any issues.”
“Mm. I think so too.”
I gathered the team leads of the secretary’s office to announce the upcoming Chief Secretary transition in June, and the sweeping reorganization that would follow.
Soo-ah and Seung-hee, who had already been briefed, just nodded without any reaction. The others, though, clearly looked stunned as they glanced at Soo-ah.
As expected.
They probably see moving from Chief Secretary to President of Koryo Entertainnt as a demotion.
“This is not a demotion. You guys don’t have much field experience, right? Think of this as a way to build your expertise. Eventually, each of you will be dispatched sowhere too.”
They all nodded in agreent, but the mood wasn’t exactly one of total acceptance.
Maybe they think I’m just spouting bullshit. Or maybe they’re just blank and I’m the one overthinking things.
‘Why the hell am I even reading my subordinates’ faces? This is ridiculous.’
That thought hit out of nowhere.
Why the hell am I even paying this much attention to their reactions?
Damn.
Can I even still call myself a scoundrel like this?
“I’m only telling this to you guys for now. Keep your mouths shut. The embargo lifts on June 1st when the Chief Secretary transition happens. We’ll brief the rest of the secretary’s office then and begin full-scale reorganization.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Seung-hee and Soo-ah, start handing things over. Everyone else, start organizing your materials in advance. And while you’re at it, bring the Incheon political contacts into this side. We need my will to move like clockwork. Let the Pussy Association act as the main channel for that.”
“Y-yes, sir....”
I unloaded a long string of orders and then held one-on-one etings with the team leads.
They weren’t really etings—more like handing out more detailed instructions.
And of course, that ended in a pussy briefing session, where I got to roll around with the team leads for the first ti in a while.
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