For soone running a company from the top, not everything always goes well. When Lee Hyuk used to live by his fists, he couldn’t have anticipated such things. Back then, he was too busy focusing on accumulating the glory that ca from getting what he wanted.
It was similar to how high school students think life ends after taking their college entrance exams. In reality, even after entering university, there are bigger mountains to climb, like preparing for employnt and other challenges.
A company is sothing that cannot be run by one person alone. It requires competent employees and executives who form the roots that sustain the organization, allowing it to move forward.
Lee Hyuk knew that if even one of these elents had been lacking, he might not have been able to build Taesung into what it is today.
"I’m well aware that Executive Director Choi is excessively greedy. I also know that his actions have crossed the line recently."
But after all, an organization is made up of people. And it’s impossible to confidently say that there are no rotten parts among them.
"Then why did you just stand by if you noticed it?"
Sungjin slumped his shoulders in frustration.
"I told you, I’m carefully considering my options."
"Oh, right. Still, it’s kind of surprising."
"What is?"
"In the past, you would have taken action imdiately without a second thought. It seems that even the almighty Lee Hyuk has… llowed out a bit?"
Sungjin grinned playfully. In the early days of leading Taesung, Lee Hyuk had ruthlessly dealt with any rotten roots that erged. He would cut them off without considering any background circumstances. Because of that, Taesung was often labeled as a "gangster company," a stigma that was hard to shake.
Lee Hyuk didn’t care much about public perception or the fact that his employees feared him, as long as the company made money. As a result, Taesung’s performance improved, but the turnover rate among employees also reached its peak.
"It’s not that I’ve llowed out, it’s that I’ve changed. Don’t you rember? Early on in the business, I got into serious trouble with Hyesung."
"Oh, that’s right."
There was one significant clash between Lee Hyuk and Hyesung during those early days. It was the first and last major argunt in the six years they had worked together.
"Is it true that you fired Team Leader Choi from the HR Departnt?"
The sll of cigarette smoke stung Hyesung’s nose, causing him to frown.
"Yeah."
Hyesung sighed deeply as he looked at Lee Hyuk, who was smoking in his office. Lee Hyuk barely glanced at him before looking away again.
"What was the reason this ti?"
"He was one of the guys involved in the corruption during the recent recruitnt process."
Lee Hyuk’s sharp eyes seed to say, "Why are you even asking?" Recently, a hiring scandal had rocked the company, making things quite tense.
The scandal started with internal whistleblowers revealing that HR team leaders had colluded to get their acquaintances hired at Taesung.
"The one who led the recruitnt corruption was Team Leader Lee from the second HR departnt."
The person most directly implicated in the scandal was Team Leader Lee from the second HR departnt. In the process, Team Leader Choi from the first departnt got caught up in it as well. As soon as this was discovered, Lee Hyuk didn’t bother with further investigation and imdiately fired both team leaders.
"Secretary Chun, there’s evidence suggesting that Team Leader Choi might have been involved in the corruption as well."
Lee Hyuk stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. His nerves had been on edge lately. Taesung was in a crucial phase, rapidly growing by securing various contracts and officially launching its business.
It was unusual for a company founded by a forr gangster to grow so quickly in such a short ti.
However, Taesung still struggled to shake off its image as a gangster-run enterprise, and the public perception remained negative.
But Lee Hyuk didn’t show any intention of changing that perception. His philosophy was that as long as the construction company won contracts and built good buildings, that was all that mattered. This had led to frequent clashes between Hyesung and Lee Hyuk recently.
Sungjin once comnted that what had made them such great partners during their ti in the Taesung gang might have beco a hindrance as they moved to this new stage in their careers.
He also warned that if they didn’t adjust to this new way of working, they might never find the sa rhythm they once had.
As Taesung began its ascent, Lee Hyuk beca increasingly on edge. His frequent smoking in front of Hyesung, who he knew hated the sll, was a sign of that tension. Normally, he would never smoke around Hyesung.
But Hyesung wasn’t the type to back down, even if Lee Hyuk was on edge.
"Well, the information I got from HR staff tells a different story. I heard that Team Leader Choi was actually trying to stop the corruption. Regardless, it’s unfair to fire soone based on circumstantial evidence without a thorough investigation."
"Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. The fact that there’s any suspicion at all is a problem."
"Exactly—it’s just suspicion."
Hyesung’s voice began to rise.
"Even if he did participate in the scandal, the right thing to do is to conduct a thorough investigation before firing him. There might be mitigating circumstances."
Lee Hyuk let out a scoffing laugh. At the sa ti, Hyesung frowned.
"Secretary Chun, you have to cut off rotten roots before they spread and contaminate the rest. You’re talking about thorough investigation and procedure, which sounds great in theory, but have you considered the ti and cost of such an investigation? It’s easier to just cut them off and move on. We can always hire competent replacents."
Lee Hyuk ran a frustrated hand through his hair.
"If you understand, go ho. You’ve been working overti a lot lately. Get so rest—you don’t look so good."
"…Lately, I’ve been missing the old version of you, sir."
Lee Hyuk’s hand froze as he was flipping through docunts.
"The current version of you feels a bit strange to . Did you hear that a few more employees submitted their resignations the other day?"
"What are you trying to say?"
"Even back when you were a gangster who solved everything with your fists, there was a certain humanity to you."
Hyesung’s eyes were heavy and serious. His voice was quiet, but it made Lee Hyuk feel uneasy for so reason.
"You were soone who, even after being tough on your subordinates, would buy them a warm bowl of soup afterward. You cared about your people more than anyone else. That’s the version of you I knew. That’s why I believe Taesung has co this far without crumbling. That’s why I decided to follow you—to see how far soone like you could go."
"Secretary Chun…"
"Sir, the mont soone joins Taesung, they beco part of your family. They’re not tools to be discarded and replaced at will. If you don’t understand that, you won’t achieve the success you desire."
Lee Hyuk bit his lip hard. He had seen Hyesung this calm and composed before, but it was rare. When Hyesung was like this, he didn’t need to raise his voice to be intimidating. There were no curses in his words, yet they felt icy.
"I’m planning to et with the fired Team Leader Choi. I’m going to investigate the details of this recruitnt scandal myself. From my interactions with him, I don’t believe he’s the type to be involved in sothing like this."
"Hyesung, why are you doing this?"
Lee Hyuk sighed deeply, his face etched with irritation and exhaustion.
"You said earlier that if a rotten root remains, it might spread to others."
Lee Hyuk clenched his fist tightly as Hyesung slowly walked to the door and grabbed the handle. Despite the brief action, there was no hesitation in Hyesung’s movents.
"At this point, I’m curious about how you’ll deal with soone like , who plans to approach this so-called rotten root directly. If I end up being just like them, will you throw out as well?"
"You…!"
Lee Hyuk shot up from his seat so quickly that his chair crashed into the wall with a loud bang.
"But... it doesn’t really matter to . The current version of you isn’t cool at all."
Hyesung swung the door open. Lee Hyuk’s eyes widened with anxiety.
"Oh, and stop smoking in the office. The sll bothers every ti I co in."
Hyesung’s voice was colder than ever as he walked out, slamming the door behind him. Lee Hyuk stood there, staring blankly at the closed door, completely stunned.
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