TSG 79

“Ah…”

As Se-hyun entered the factory, he raised his hand to adjust his tie but sighed quietly when he grasped the knit sweater instead. He had forgotten to change back into his suit.

“This is troublesome.”

There was a certain weight that a suit gave when dealing with others, and now he would have to start without that advantage.

Feeling as if he had left behind a weapon, he clenched and unclenched his fists for a moment before looking up. He decided it was better to hurry and get the work done rather than go back to change clothes now.

Se-hyun finished by lightly brushing off the sweater he had been fidgeting with and entered the factory. He showed his employee ID to the security guard, saying he was from headquarters. Though the guard seemed uncomfortable with the sudden visit, he stepped aside. Se-hyun went in without delay.

He had reported to upper management, but not to the factory. It was literally a surprise visit, so the factory manager might be displeased…

But for Se-hyun, this was an opportunity not to be missed. You couldn’t get what you wanted from someone who was prepared and waiting, so a surprise visit was the best option.

Thanks to the noise of the running machines, more people failed to notice Se-hyun’s presence. After glancing briefly at the people working at their stations, Se-hyun stood in front of the office and took a light breath.

When he knocked and entered, several pairs of eyes immediately turned to him.

“What business does headquarters have here?”

A man wearing the same work uniform as those outside addressed him.

“I’m Ahn Se-hyun. I’m here to see the factory manager.”

As Se-hyun introduced himself, the man took out the employee ID that had been in his front pocket and put it around his neck, glancing briefly at another office inside. It seemed to be where the factory manager was, but no one was coming out.

“He’s not in his seat right now. If you leave your contact information, we’ll get in touch with you.”

Instead of responding to the man, Director Kim Chulsoo’s words, Se-hyun looked around. He scanned the densely packed files and briefly made eye contact with a woman who was trying not to look in his direction. She gave a professional smile before fixing her gaze on her monitor.

“I’ll wait here.”

“Here…?”

Kim Cheol-su repeated Se-hyun’s words before adding, as if just remembering what to say:

“But it will be noisy here. As you can see, the machine noise is loud even with the door closed.”

“That’s fine.”

As Se-hyun acted as if nothing else mattered, Kim Cheol-su couldn’t dissuade him further.

“Alright then.”

As Kim Cheol-su nodded, Se-hyun placed his bag on the sofa and asked:

“Is there another break room here?”

“Yes. It’s on the opposite side, used by employees.”

“Then I can just sit comfortably on this sofa.”

“No one else will come in, so that’s fine.”

Kim Cheol-su scratched the back of his head as he returned to his seat. Judging by the way he kept glancing at Se-hyun, it seemed he had something he wanted to say. Se-hyun pretended not to notice his gaze and walked to where the water cooler was.

“May I have some coffee?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

As Kim Cheol-su nodded with a sour expression, Se-hyun took out some instant coffee and poured it into a paper cup. Then, as he went through the natural process of mixing it with hot water and bringing it back, the atmosphere in the office remained seemingly uneventful.

Three hours had already passed while Se-hyun finished one cup of coffee and checked his work emails on his phone. During that time, the only changes were that the intervals between Kim Cheol-su’s internal phone calls grew shorter and the machine noise stopped.

Se-hyun checked his wristwatch and looked at Kim Cheol-su and the woman.

“It’s lunchtime. I’m fine, so please go have your meal.”

“Well… we can’t leave outsiders alone in the office.”

“Outsider… I may work in a different place, but I’m still an SR employee.”

Implying they were essentially colleagues working for the same group, Se-hyun gave a persistent smile. Kim Cheol-su, seeming to think Se-hyun would stay just as persistently, hurriedly spoke as if he’d thought of an excuse:

“L-Let’s go eat together!”

The “together” seemed particularly emphasized. Se-hyun shook his head to indicate it was fine. Thanks to Shin Tae-oh, he’d eaten enough bits and pieces to not be hungry.

“Please go ahead.”

Se-hyun gave a harmless smile while hugging his bag on the sofa, expressing that he wouldn’t touch anything. Kim Cheol-su, receiving the smile, oddly stiffened his expression even more.

“We’ll be back.”

As Kim Cheol-su was about to speak again, the woman stopped him. Practically pushing him out of the office, she gestured with her eyes towards somewhere before closing the door.

As soon as they left, Se-hyun stood up. He took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, and headed to the filing area.

Examining the name tags on the files, Se-hyun’s eyes gleamed as he turned around.

“Hello.”

A middle-aged man who was sneaking out of the room flinched and slowly turned around.

“I was so focused elsewhere, I didn’t notice you come in.”

Se-hyun addressed the factory manager. Calmly pretending not to know that he hadn’t come in but was caught trying to leave…

Since making coffee, Se-hyun had known the factory manager was inside. How he found out was simple. The instant coffee mix Se-hyun had drunk. More precisely, the small coffee spoon placed to the side for mixing.

There were signs someone had just used it. If it had been used yesterday, there would have been dry traces, but there were none. Someone had drunk instant coffee, but the woman and Kim Cheol-su each had an Americano with a cafe logo.

Though Se-hyun’s intuition could be wrong if someone else had come to make coffee, it didn’t matter. Judging by Kim Cheol-su’s reaction, it seemed he just needed to wait.

And indeed, after waiting, the manager appeared before him like this.

⍣⍣⍣

Shin Tae-oh was looking at the factory when his phone rang. He answered without checking who it was.

-You’ve been making a lot of sudden moves lately.

It was SR Chairwoman Jeong Min-jung. After relaying his intention to remove Managing Director Cho and Director Park, this was her response by phone. Shin Tae-oh couldn’t hide a mischievous smile at his mother’s words.

“That’s how it turned out.”

-You acted like you were going to watch for a while. What changed your mind?

Jeong Min-jung was right. From the beginning, she hadn’t intended to keep Managing Director Cho and Director Park. It was her nature to cut out rotten sprouts as they appeared.

But Shin Tae-oh was different. He wasn’t satisfied with just cutting out what looked rotten on the surface. He seemed to be waiting for it to rot all the way to the roots, but suddenly changed his words. She couldn’t help but call out of curiosity.

“Hmm…”

Shin Tae-oh turned his head to look at the driver’s seat. His secretary who had been here left only a faint pheromone that could be detected after experiencing it once.

Why does a person have such a sweet scent? Was Ahn Se-hyun made of candy? Or cotton candy?

Whatever the case, the scent that lingered was enough to unsettle Shin Tae-oh. He liked Se-hyun’s scent so much that his heart or head felt like it might burst.

“A fox was playing tricks on my person.”

Wagging its tail gently, it presented an enticing bait: evidence of corruption within the company. There was no way he could just sit and watch.

“I’ll make sure they can’t cause any more trouble.”

Although it was regrettable that Managing Director Cho and Director Park wouldn’t face more consequences, protecting Se-hyun was the priority.

Thanks to Se-hyun, preparing for the consortium wasn’t such a bad time after all.

“Give the prosecution a whiff.”

-Do you have evidence?

“I’ll bring it now.”

Using the signal of people rushing out of the factory, Shin Tae-oh got out of the car.

Shin Tae-oh’s steps were light as air as he made his way through the stream of people coming out. His face had a faint blush, as if expecting something fun to happen today.

“Who are you?”

Inside the factory, Shin Tae-oh smiled at the remaining man and woman who hadn’t yet exited.

“Me?”

He had already introduced himself to the security guard earlier.

“The boss.”

With those final words, Shin Tae-oh closed the factory door.

⍣⍣⍣

“Ahem. Who are you?”

“I’m Ahn Se-hyun from the secretary’s office.”

The factory manager probably knew who he was, which is why he didn’t come out before.

“I haven’t heard anything about someone coming from headquarters.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t contact you in advance.”

Se-hyun acknowledged the potentially unpleasant situation for the factory manager with a polite apology.

“Hmm. Let’s talk inside.”

The factory manager brushed off Se-hyun’s apology with a cough and went into the office. He sat down first and was tapping the armrest while waiting for Se-hyun.

Knowing that his mind must be racing, Se-hyun tried to enter leisurely. At that moment, a sudden thud from outside made him pause. Something seemed to be happening outside, but no danger alarm had gone off.

The factory manager didn’t show any particular reaction, so it didn’t seem like a machine problem or other emergency.

Shin Tae-oh did cross his mind, but…

‘He should be sleeping quietly.’

He wouldn’t cause trouble after coming all the way down here.