Chapter 1392: Side Story 1
Chapter 1392 - Side Story 1
[It’s been six months since Kang Minhyuk stepped up as Ilhwa Group’s successor and heir. Reports say that there has been no clear outcome…]
[With the board of executives’ unanimous agreement, Chairman Kang Minhoo chose Minhyuk as the successor and heir of the Ilhwa Group six months ago. The choice resulted in a 194% increase in the group’s stock price value that lasted for four months.]
[Six months since the appointment, Ilhwa Group’s stock price value has returned to normal.]
[Stockholders have been making a fuss.]
[People are criticising Chairman Kang Minhoo and his successor, Minhyuk.]
In one of the offices at the Ilhwa Group’s headquarters, a plaque reading “Athenae Cooperation Team Leader” was placed on top of the table. Minhyuk, who sat behind the table, checked the comments below the articles that he had checked on his phone.
[Stockholders, do you have balls for brains? Lmfao. Minhyuk is well-known in Athenae. But just because his eating addiction got completely cured, you let him run around a company? Lol.]
This was the comment that gained the highest number of likes. And, of course, many negative comments were criticizing Minhyuk right below it. [These Kang father and son bastards. Why aren’t they showing any results, huh?]
[Tbh, I heard that they made an Athenae Cooperation Team in Ilhwa Group. Lololol. What the hell is that team? Well, no one knows what it’s for yet. Why? I think it’s just a team made to give Minhyuk a position. Lmao.]
[I told you just to leave all of these to f*cking professional managers. Pay my money back, you f*ckers.]
Minhyuk smiled wryly. Indeed, he had not shown any results in the past six months. That was a fact.
Minhyuk has been solely devoted to finding a cure for his eating addiction since he was sixteen years old. Even though he was smart and quick on his feet, he still lacked knowledge and was somewhat ignorant when it came to business management. Because of that, he decided not to take charge of any business until he was sure that he was ready.
‘There’s nothing more frightening than an ignorant man taking a position and using power recklessly.’
Regardless, the time had come. Minhyuk was more or less ready to make a move.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
Knock, knock.
“Team Leader. The meeting is about to start.”
“Alright,” Minhyuk answered as he stepped out of his office.
When he went out, he was greeted by the members of the Athenae Cooperation Team. There were around seven employees in total, and every single one of them sported expressions filled with anxiety. The wry smile on Minhyuk’s face deepened when he saw the expressions on their faces.
One of the new employees hired by Ilhwa Group, Han Ji-Won, sighed.
‘Their reactions are understandable. After all, we haven’t done any proper job in months.’
The Athenae Cooperation Team was established to drive sales for the Ilhwa Group through the virtual reality game Athenae. Minhyuk took on the position of the team’s leader and hired special employees to assist him. Every single team member had beaten out hundreds of competitors.
They were all pleased to have landed a job at Ilhwa Group and looked forward to joining Minhyuk, the second most influential person in the company. Strangely, they were not given any work orders for several months. As for Minhyuk? He was busy catching up with his successor classes.
They had to spend their days free and without any work. And as time went on, the anxiety began to eat at them, brought forth by their fear of having their team dissolved.
Of course, Han Ji-Won was in a similar state.
‘A typical nepo-baby…’ That was what everyone was thinking of Minhyuk. Of course, the team members could see that Minhyuk was doing his best. After all, they had been able to watch him closely during the past few months. He was more devoted and passionate than anybody else when he was at work. When he got off work, he would log in to Athenae.
‘Does he have two bodies?’
Since Minhyuk was working hard, none of his team members ignored or looked down on him.
As they walked toward the conference room, Minhyuk said, “The team members must be very frustrated, no?” He turned around and said, “It’s good to have some free time.”
Of course, it was nice to be at work yet not do any work. However, if this state lasted for a long time, they would eventually become bored and frustrated.
“What happened to Kim Ji-Seok’s face?” Minhyuk asked.
He had seen Kim Ji-Seok when he stepped out of his office. One side of his face was clearly red and throbbing.
“Ah. That…” Ji-Won hesitated.
Minhyuk stopped and stared at him. In the end, Ji-Won sighed and said, “He heard the members of the Foreign Business Team saying that you, our team leader, are a typical nepo-baby in the lounge room.”
“...?”
“He ran right back in when he heard them cursing our team leader. They were just having a verbal argument, but Team Leader Park Jae-Sok came in and slapped him in the face…”
The Foreign Business Team was the most sought-after team in the company. It was because their performance rating was very high compared to other teams.
After listening to everything, Minhyuk looked up and said, “Is that so? Then we shouldn’t just say still. From this day forward, our team will also be busy.”
“Yes?”
“I plan to take on a task,” Minhyuk murmured, his words vague and leaving others confused as he stepped inside the conference room.
***
A meeting among the department heads and team leaders was currently underway in one of the conference rooms in Ilhwa Group.
All eyes were focused on the employees, who gave a brief recount of the group’s current situation. With every press of the button on the remote, the screen in front of them would show a different slide.
“The sales of Ilhwa Groceries have been falling sharply. Our Ilhwa Ramyeon topped the ramyeon sales rankings a few years back. Alas, it’s the main reason why our sales are low.”
Minhyuk asked, “It’s because we took out one of the main seasonings in the ramyeon, right?”
“That’s correct. We took out the seasoning in consideration of the health of the people. Unfortunately, the public responded with, ‘Ramyeon should be delicious. It shouldn’t be healthy.’ and promptly chose other brands instead.” The reporting employee smiled bitterly. “We have added the seasoning back again. Unfortunately, we do not believe that our previous customers will come back to try it again.”
Minhyuk rubbed his chin in thought. “The Ilhwa Groceries domestic sales are at a steady decline, right?”
“Yes. It has been decreasing by 1% to 2% every year. Fortunately, we are still able to generate consistent sales thanks to our Foreign Business Team.”
Foreign Business Team’s leader, Park Jae-Sok, raised his head arrogantly and shrugged. It was evident that he was looking down on Minhyuk.
‘Do you see this? You f*cking nepo-baby.’
Park Jae-Sok did not like Minhyuk at all. There were many reasons for this.
For one, it was because he was given the position of team leader just like that. Every single one of Ilhwa Group’s team leaders had taken elite courses. Most of them were in their thirties, too. He viewed Minhyuk, who was in his early twenties, as a thorn in his side, having been catapulted to the position of team leader because his father was the chairman.
Above all else, the main reason why Park Jae-Sok hated Minhyuk was that the young man was born with everything. In other words, his hate came from a sense of inferiority.
A brief break was held in the middle of the meeting.
Park Jae-Sok moistened his throat with water and began his tirade.
“Are the members of the Athenae Cooperation Team still playing around? What the hell? Aren’t we wasting money to pay your salaries?” He smirked before continuing, “At this rate, won’t your team be dissolved soon? If your team gets dissolved, then your team members will be scattered. In the end, they will be forced to resign because they will not be able to adapt to the other teams. So, are you okay with the situation?”
Park Jae-Sok frowned when he saw Minhyuk smirking.
‘Is he ignoring me?’
Whenever he tried to provoke Minhyuk, the young man would just grin and smirk at him. In the end, it was he who was left reeling in anger. The meeting resumed with Park Jae-Sok standing at the back with a face that was completely red in anger.
“The higher-ups hope that the domestic sales of our Ilhwa Groceries will not lag behind the other companies.”
Ilhwa Groceries had fallen from first to twelfth in the rankings.
“We need something groundbreaking.”
At that moment, Minhyuk raised his hand. He had kept quiet since the resumption of the meeting and had only reacted now. He said, “Our Athenae Cooperation Team will handle the Ilhwa Groceries’ matters.”
Of course, the main reason for the lack of results so far from the Athenae Cooperation Team was that Minhyuk had not actively taken on any of the jobs in the company.
A flash of distrust appeared on the faces of many of the people present. The department head of the Planning Team voiced his concerns. “Many of the teams present here have worked hard to try to increase the sales of Ilhwa Groceries. However, none of them have been successful so far. But… Do you think you can do it?”
Minhyuk just said, “We will increase the sales by more than 10% within a week.”
When Park Jae-Sok heard that, he burst out laughing. “Pfft. It seems like you haven’t thrown away your habits as the Supreme in Athenae.”
His statement was excessive, but the people sitting in the conference room remained silent. The truth was that many of the people present shared Park Jae-Sok's thoughts. Increase sales by 10% in just one week? If Minhyuk could truly do as he said, then every company would become the leading company by his words alone.
“It would be more believable to say that the Athenae Cooperation Team will be dissolved in a week.”
The Planning Team’s department head said, “It certainly does not put you in a good light if you’re too complacent.”
“It’s not just mere complacency. Do you think the company is your playground, huh?!”
Minhyuk just grinned.
When the Planning Team’s department head saw the situation grow worse, he coughed. “For now, we will let the Athenae Cooperation Team handle this matter. Let’s end our meeting here.”
The people immediately exited the conference room once the meeting was adjourned. The only ones left in their seats were Minhyuk, the Planning Team’s department head, and Park Jae-Sok.
Minhyuk looked at Park Jae-Sok and said, “Just because everyone thinks that we can’t do it doesn’t mean that we can't make it possible.”
“Is that so? Then, how about we do it like this? Since you declared it yourself in front of all the team leaders and department heads, you should resign as team leader if you fail to achieve that.”
A smirk appeared on Minhyuk’s face once again. “Is that so? Then, let’s go along with that. However, if I increase sales by 20% in a week, you should consider resigning from your position as team leader. It seems fair, no?”
Park Jae-Sok was dumbfounded. “Are you saying that just because I slapped one of your team members earlier?”
“Why? Do you not dare to do it?”
“Alright. Let’s do that. If you increase Ilhwa Groceries' sales by 20% in a week, then I will submit my resignation letter. However, you have to hand over your resignation letter if you fail to achieve that, Team Leader Kang.”
The department head of the Planning Team could not interfere and stop the two, who were now openly fighting.
‘Is this the reason why Team Leader Minhyuk exaggerated the matter?’
The Planning Team’s department head slipped out of the conference room after listening to the argument between the two.
“Then, let’s meet here in a week.” Team Leader Park came out not long after.
As for Minhyuk? He grinned. He had always been the type of person who would pay back grudges a hundred times over. He stepped out and accessed Athenae.
***
Ilhwa Group’s lounge room.
“Ahahahahahaha! F*cking nepo-baby bastard!” Park Jae-Sok laughed wildly in front of the other team leaders.
“Finally! I won’t be able to look at that nepo-baby soon! Don’t you hate just looking at him?”
Minhyuk was a thorn in their sides. Of course, they were all aware of Minhyuk’s thoughts.
“If it’s Minhyuk, then he will use his position in Athenae to do a mukbang and gain viewers. This is how he will try to increase sales.”
There was an old saying that fit perfectly for this situation.
“Before, the viewers had been sympathizing with Minhyuk because he had eating addiction. They also lived vicariously through him and watched in satisfaction as he ate. However, their feelings have changed significantly. These days, the number of viewers in Minhyuk’s mukbang has decreased. You should know this, too, no?”
It was the truth. Now that he was no longer a patient suffering from eating addiction, the people no longer sympathized with him. Because of that, Minhyuk’s mukbangs no longer held much influence over the masses.
Park Jae-Sok giggled. He turned to the other team leaders and asked, “If the Athenae Cooperation Team is dissolved, its members will be scattered to the other departments. What are you going to do about it?”
“Well, what we usually do. We’re going to make them work hard and force them to hand in their resignation letters. After all, they have to pay the price for hanging onto the wrong rope.”
“I’m confident that if one of them comes to our team, we will make sure to annoy them and make them suffer.”
Park Jae-Sok’s lips twisted into a smirk. He was looking forward to next week.
At that moment, one of the members of the Foreign Business Team came into the lounge room with a drink in hand. He said, “Team Leader, the members of the Athenae Cooperation Team suddenly got busy? They seem to be preparing for some kind of promotion and have already contacted the Customer Center Team for preparations.”
“Is that so? What made them so busy?” Park Jae-Sok asked, knowing full well that Minhyuk had already put the gears in motion. “Is Minhyuk preparing to do a mukbang with Ilhwa Ramyeon?”
He hurriedly went to the Athenae Cooperation Team. When he arrived, he saw the team members moving around busily. Then, he caught sight of one of the employee monitors. The screen was showing what he had already expected.
[Minhyuk has started the “Ilhwa Ramyeon Mukbang” broadcast.]
As the Ztube Live Broadcast was displayed on the screen, he caught sight of Minhyuk. Park Jae-Sok clicked his tongue at the very obvious repertoire.
‘The sales will go up. Maybe around 3% in a week?’
Of course, the impact was still heavy and enormous. The fact that a food company’s sales would increase by 3% in just one week because of a single mukbang was already very absurd. But that was just about it. It was still challenging to bring back a considerable number of customers who had already chosen to turn away from the product.
“Huh? But why is he going there?” Park Jae-Sok murmured in confusion when he saw the place where Minhyuk went. Standing in front of Minhyuk was none other than God of Origin Athenae. Minhyuk smiled brightly at Athenae.
[Great grandma!]
[You’re here, Minhyuk. Come, come.]
“G-great grandma? What bullshit is he on?”
Park Jae-Sok stared at the screen, fluster evident on his face. He had heard about Minhyuk’s strange family tree, but he had never heard anything about Athenae being included in it.
One of the employees, who heard his murmurs, said, “Team Leader Kang has told us that they have established a grandmother-grandson relationship six months ago. Somehow, he hid the information. I think it was in preparation for this day?”
“...?”
[What’s going on, Minhyuk?]
Minhyuk smiled brightly in response to Athenae’s question. Then, he took something out with great fanfare and replied.
[I came here to eat ramyeon with you, grandma!]
Park Jae-Sok’s pupils shook wildly.
‘No. Stop that. Please! Don’t do that! You f*cking bastard!’
[The ramyeon that we’ll eat today is Ilhwa Ramyeon!]
‘F*ck. I’m doomed.’
Park Jae-Sok could clearly hear the sound of the sales of Ilhwa Groceries shooting through the roof.