Chapter 11

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In the meantime, the office staff began leaving, starting with the team leader.
When Lee Kangho, the minor staffer, left, there were only three people still working in the office, the new hires. However, none of them moved. It looked as if they were studying in a library in preparation for a text the next day.
Then, Jang Hyunwoo rose from his seat and said,
Let me leave first because I have an appointment.

Min Suji and Oh Sangho lifted their heads suddenly, looking at him with startled eyes.
Then, Oh broke into laughter as if he couldn’t understand what he had just said.

Such nerve, hyungnim(elder brother)! You have to pretend to do something about it. How can you give up like that?

Oh made it a habit of calling Jang ‘hyungnim’ because he was four years older than him. Also, Oh’s behavior was natural, given that both of them had already spent the first two weeks together at the office. Of course, Hyunwoo knew Oh called him like that for formality’s sake. Oh thought little of Hyunwoo deep in heart. Oh called him hyungnim just because of the age difference.
Hyunwoo could feel the opposite attitude from Min Suji. She seemed to think he was a weak man who needed protection because he was a high school graduate.

Great. You can just do whatever you could. Nothing will change even if you work through the night,
Suji said.

Then, you guys are thinking of staying up all night?
Hyunwoo asked.

We have no choice if things don’t work out,
Suji answered.
Hyunwoo’s mouth just dropped at that. How could Suji think of staying up all night with a man? Isn’t she scared at all?
Min Suji seemed to think the same as Hyunwoo, and she looked at him wistfully.

Won’t you try it to the end instead of giving up?
she asked.
In fact, Hyunwoo had already sent the team leader a text and an email on the assignment.
Though it wasn’t perfect, it was the best he could do. He didn’t think that it would become better if he went over it more.
Looking at Suji’s glittering eyes, Hyunwoo felt sorry for her.

Ok, let me come back by midnight when I’m done,
Hyunwoo said.
Hyunwoo left the office, leaving Suji and Oh behind.
Hyunwoo entered the restaurant. The items on the menu not that expensive, and the restaurant was well known for its cool indoor design.
He stepped in to find Yu Nami and Jang Dukwo already waiting there. They waved their hands gladly, noticing Hyunwoo.

Oppa(Brother)! We’re here.


Hyungnim, nice to see you here.


Did you wait a long time?


Well, we just got here. By the way, you don’t have to treat us like this.

Jang Dukwoo scratched his head.

Oh, don’t say that. I have to repay your help. By the way, is it alright to treat a rich son like you to cheap food like this?


Oh, I love cheap food. I don’t even deserve the food here.

The more Hyunwoo saw Dukwoo, the more he liked him. He felt that his investment in Yu Nami had been paid off through Dukwoo.
After the meal, they headed to the coffee shop, and he received some help on accounting and trade.
Practical drills were important. Hyunwook came to understand their explanations better after he drew up a profit and cost statement by himself. He recalled some of the mistakes he had made when drawing up the profit and cost statement he had worked out during the day.
‘I think I have to correct the mistakes when I go back to the office.’
As he had promised, Hyunwoo went back to the office before midnight.
Min Suji and Oh Sangho had been working on the project without taking any breaks.

Did you have dinner? Come and enjoy this food.


Oh, you’re here. Wow! Spicy rice cake. I was feeling hungry at the moment.


Come over and have some, Sangho!
Hyunwoo said.

No thanks, sir.


Hey, just join me. You didn’t eat anything.


Sure, I bought enough food for the both of you. We have to dispose of any leftovers, dude.

Only then did Oh approach them reluctantly.

Thanks. Let me treat you next time.


Okay. By the way, did you make any progress?

Min Suji put on an act of being sick when he asked.

Oh, I’m afraid I can’t produce the outcome. I only majored in trade, not accounting. I just want to show I did my best. How about you, Sangho?


Well, I think I figured out how to do it, but I can’t sort out the problems.
Maybe I can get the standard price, but it will probably be wrong.


Wow! You did great anyway. At least you got the outcome,
Suji said.
Suji looked at him with a respectful eye.
That was it. Suji and Sangho didn’t ask the same questions to Hyunwoo. It seemed that they thought there was no point in asking him. It looked as if they didn’t ask him, mindful of his pride.
Hyunwoo didn’t want to boast either.

Wow, I feel like I can get back to work now because I’m full. Thanks for the food.


Thanks. Let me put away the dishes.


Let me help you, brother.

Min Suji helped Sangho clean the table, and he then went back to work.
Turning on the computer, Hyunwoo brought up the profit and loss statement he had drawn up during the day. He took out the files from his desk and the notebook on which he had written down Jang Dukwoo’s lecture.
I see the errors here. I miscalculated the depreciation cost and added some other costs excessively… Hyunwoo said to himself.
When Jang Dukwoo had explained it, Hyunwoo recalled only three mistakes. But when he double checked each item one by one, he found two more errors.
He let out a sigh naturally.
Whew…. How many more errors are there that even I can’t find out? I never knew that accounting was so difficult.
As many as three hours passed before he found five more errors. It was already approaching 4 am the next day.
Still, Min Suji and Oh Sangho were just tireless. It looked like they would keep working until they reported for work.
However, Hyunwoo didn’t feel up to it. He didn’t feel that his calculation would be more correct even if he worked like that. After he sent the new formula and the output price to his team manager’s email, he bent back his chair. His chair was comfortable enough for him to use it as a makeshift bed. He fell asleep instantly.

Brother, wake up!

Min Suji shook Hyunwoo, and he opened his eyes.

Hummmm..what time is it?


It’s 7:30 am.

Hyunwoo felt that he had just taken a brief nap, but three hours passed in an instant.

Oh, I think I slept well.

Hyunwoo stretched himself pleasantly.
Min Suji and Oh Sangho looked at him weirdly.
Though the team leader was coming to the office soon, they felt that Hyunwoo looked too peaceful.
After a while, the team members began reporting to work one by one, and the team leader arrived last. He came in at 8:40 am sharp.
At other companies, people grumbled about the team leader reporting to work too early and leaving too late, but the office culture was different at Aurum. It was because of the president’s special direction.
The president made sure that the team managers set the example by keeping the correct reporting and leaving time because keeping the ordinary employees in the office for too long was a waste of time. (ED note: In Korea, office workers are generally supposed to come in earlier and leave later than their bosses.)
In the meantime, there was something unusual about the team manager’s attitude. He looked very offended. He called Hyunwoo as soon as he entered the office, and his tone was very high-pitched.

Mr. Jang Hyunwoo!


Yes, sir.

Hyunwoo rushed to the team leader’s desk, who took out his cellphone and showed it to Hyunwoo.

This is the text message you sent me, right?

It was the outcome of the profit and loss statement that Hyunwoo had produced before sending it to him.

Yes, that’s right.


Did you calculate it by yourself, or was it just a guesswork?

Hyunwoo looked at the team leader, who in turn was staring at him with sharp glittering eyes.
However, Hyunwoo had no reason to freak out.

I calculated it by myself.

The team leader and the other employees momentarily looked surprised. It looked as if they couldn’t believe that Hyunwoo had sent him a text message about the outcome. That was especially evident in Min Suji and Oh Sangho’s attitude.
Hearing the conversation between them, it was around yesterday afternoon that Hyunwoo had sent him the outcome, which meant that Hyunwoo had already drawn up the statement of profit and loss to get the outcome.
And now, Hyunwoo was saying that he had done the calculation by himself. If that was true, that would bring shame to Min Suji and Oh Sangho! Both of them were graduates of top universities, and they had to admit that they were beaten by a high-school graduate.
Then, they heard the team leader shriek.

Did you email me how you calculated the outcome?


Yes, I sent the outcome along with that. However, I sent you an update early in the morning because I found some errors in my initial outcome when I recalculated it.


Mr. Kim, come here.


Yes, sir.

Yonggu came to him quickly. In the meantime, the team leader checked his email, noticing two emails from Hyunwoo, followed by those sent by Oh Sangho and Min Suji.

Sit down here and calculate it.


Yes, sir. Let me quickly do it.

Yonggu began reviewing Hyunwoo’s Excel file and checked it against the files he had handed out to the other new hires.
All the other employees in the office focused their eyes on him.
Min Suji and Oh Sangho couldn’t take their eyes off from Hyunwoo and Yonggu. In particular, Oh was holding his fist tightly as if he was burning with the desire to compete and win.
On the other hand, Min Suji was very nervous. It seemed that she thought that Hyunwoo was involved in some sort of dishonest trick.
After calculating it for a while, Yonggu tilted his head.
Looking at him, the team leader asked quickly,
What’s wrong? Do you see a wrong file here?


No, sir. May I have review it one more time?


Sure, take it easy.

Yonggu calculated it again from the start, checking the files one by one with his finger more carefully than before.
Though it took one whole day for Hyunwoo to produce the outcome, it didn’t take that long to verify it. Yonggu was also a veteran who done more profit and loss statements than anybody else at Aurm.
It took less than one hour for him to verify the outcome twice.
Yonggu looked at the team leader and reluctantly uttered,
This is …

The team leader gestured nervously toward him, pressing for an answer.
Only then did Yonggu resume what he stopped to say.

He did quite a good job.