smart.

“Come on in.”

Chairman Jang Tae-hyun, who was looking at the materials related to the announcement just before. Hearing a knock at the door, he put the report he was holding on his lap and hinted.

“… Excuse me.”

The one who opened the door and entered was none other than team leader Kwon Tae-soo. He had made a brilliant presentation at the conference hall a few tens of minutes ago, but now his eyes were slightly trembling, and it was easy to see that he was nervous.

That’s right. Because there were only Chairman Jang Tae-hyun, his secretary, and himself in this place.

‘What is this?’

Of course, this wasn’t the first time he saw Chairman Jang Tae-hyun’s face today. When I just gave a presentation on the progress of the project in the conference room, not only company executives were present, but Chairman Jang Tae-hyun was also present.

However, sometimes it is more burdensome to be alone with just one person than to talk in front of many people.

Today’s Kwon Tae-soo was just like that.

There are only three people in this large space.

Team leader Kwon Tae-soo opened his mouth in a low voice, feeling as if even the air was suffocating.

“that… I heard that the president called me.”

“you’re right. Please sit here.”

Chairman Jang Tae-hyun pointed to a seat in the corner of the table, very close to himself, and said.

Kwon Tae-soo, who naturally tried to sit across from the chairman, stopped for a moment and then walked towards his seat with hesitant steps. I was already nervous, but even the physical distance was getting closer than I thought.

“I think you’re too nervous about this.”

Was it because it was so obvious?

Chairman Jang Tae-hyun burst out laughing and opened his mouth in a light tone as if to lighten the atmosphere.

“I’m not going to bite Chief Kwon.”

“haha… To be honest, I feel like I’ve been bitten since before.”

This time, Chairman Jang Tae-hyun showed a slight surprise.

It is obvious, but he also knows that such a position is bound to be a burden for an employee. But in such a situation, taking a joke as a joke?

“Are there any parts that are bolder than you thought?”

It is a reaction that cannot come out by just being nervous and careful. When Jang Tae-hyun smiled at the unexpected appearance, Team Leader Kwon shook his hands and said,

“Oh, uh, I apologize if you offended me.”

“no. It’s unpleasant. Rather pleasant.”

Jang Tae-hyun prefers an atmosphere mixed with some wit like this rather than a formal atmosphere.

He smiled unconcerned and picked up the paper he had laid down on his lap.

“By the way, I heard the announcement just now. I heard that he has excellent project management skills, and his presentation skills are also very good.”

Jang Tae-hyun said, recalling the announcement that had just been made at the conference hall. It can be said that presentation skills are essential when you become a team leader, but even taking that into account, it was a pretty good presentation.

“The content of the presentation was also very impressive. I was relieved to see that the project was progressing successfully.”

“… thank you I would be really happy if you tell the team members who are struggling together.”

Do you naturally mention the contributions of your team members as well?

You may be a better talent than you think. On the other hand, Chairman Jang Tae-Hyun recalled that thought and began to continue the main topic.

“However, I would like to talk a little more about the part where there is a problem with the current partner.”

“If it’s a problem with a partner… You’re talking about working with Aplus.”

Taehyung Jang immediately nodded.

It was safe to say that this project was focused not only on Chairman Jang Tae-hyun’s personal interests, but also on the attention of the entire group.

It was worth it.

Since it was a project to develop a follow-up product to the super-popular item called ‘The Meister’, attention was focused from the beginning, and there was also an application for technical cooperation and service partnership with Aplus.

Aplus, a super-large global company.

It is one of the representative IT companies in the United States, and it is a conglomerate that is difficult to find a comparable company that has gained worldwide recognition through Aphone.

Would you like to partner with these companies?

It is truly an event that can be said to be one of the greatest good news. However, to share technology with such a place and form a service partnership.

It wasn’t even that we put in a proposal, it was the other side that brought up the story first. Of course, it is an issue that the group’s attention cannot help but focus on.

However, that was a story just a while ago.

Perhaps there was a problem in the middle, and Aplus was talking about putting the contract on hold for a while.

“You mentioned it at the meeting, but I wanted to hear more details. May I ask?”

“Well… I don’t know the details, but that’s all I said at the announcement. The development team had talked about it first, and it was progressing positively… There must have been a sudden voice of opposition from above.”

Among foreign companies, there are places that prefer horizontal relationships, and Aplus in particular is located in a representative position of such companies.

As such, there are cases in which a considerable amount of authority is delegated to ordinary employees, and there are often cases where the work is left to proceed on its own… … .

Even so, there will always be people who give final approval. Even if it’s a super-large global company, the budget is limited, and it’s impossible to quickly pass undesirable projects.

‘Mr. Kwon, first of all, I’ll say I’m very sorry. It was said from the top that there is a need to review the matter a bit more.’

Kwon Tae-soo immediately recalled the email that had arrived yesterday.

Aple’s program developer, Kelvin Klassner, who first brought up the story and has been working together so far.

The moment he read the email, team manager Kwon thought that cooperation with Aplus might be difficult. This is because, in his experience, ‘reviewing’ meant the scrapping of the project with a high probability.

What is the difference between being a foreign company?

Actually, it wasn’t that rare. A project that has been going on for a long time from below, but is stopped from above and disappears. Isn’t it a story that can happen in any company?

“Hmm… It is a regrettable situation in many ways.”

Chairman Jang Tae-hyun knows such stories. No, there are parts that I can understand more deeply because I am not in the position of taking the budget from the bottom, but in the position of setting and distributing the budget.

And that’s why I was able to draw a rough conclusion.

This is a plan to topple over.

In terms of a boat, it is already half-tilted and the water is flooded into the hull.

“What can I do? It’s a pumpkin that rolled in in the first place, so there’s nothing to say even if it just rolls out.”

“I do.”

It’s good if it does, and if it doesn’t, it’s okay.

It’s unfortunate, but the product development itself was still going on, so it’s not a big problem. Jang Tae-hyun opened his mouth in a calm tone as if comforting.

“Chief Kwon must have suffered quite a bit. I feel a little bit steamy too, but Team Manager Kwon, who is in charge, must have been horrified.”

“haha… Could this be good? They say they have their own trump plan over there.”

“… A secret plan? that’s something.”

“Well, that’s it… … .”

It’s a spleen plan.

Isn’t it a word that you can’t help but be interested in? Jang Tae-hyun, who showed a look of regret, secretly showed interest.

However, it is not such a grand plan. Team leader Kwon felt a little embarrassed because it was a half-empty statement, but he had no choice but to tell the chairman, who was seriously asking, about the details.

After I laid out the plan like that.

“This… It really is a bottomless plan.”

“Yes?”

If the word planning means ‘predicting and preparing for an emergency,’ then the word he just heard was an ambiguous term to call it a plan.

It’s literally a hole in the hole.

It was just a level of believing that there was no choice but to assume a certain reaction to one situation and unconditionally. If you bring this into your planning document for an important project, it will turn even your gentle boss into an angry wild dog.

“However… It might be possible enough.”

It’s obviously a crude plan. The family is poor, and there is no response when it is out of expectation. It is only at the level of ‘If the situation is A, there is no choice but to respond B’.

But why?

The plan had a persuasive power that certain people could not help but be convinced of. even once… Anyone who has ever sat in The Meister has no choice but to sympathize.

* * *

On the other hand, Silicon Valley in southern California, USA.

“David, this is a really big mistake!”

While a man was looking through the documents with a sullen expression, someone in front of him was asking in a vehement voice.

That someone’s true identity is none other than Kelvin Klassner. He was a developer working on the application development team and an employee who had been collaborating with Body Care until recently.

“Big mistake.”

The man called David raised his head slightly.

He seemed to be somewhat venomous and fussy, but after a brief snort, he spat out lightly in a voice that was still agitated.

“By mistake, I don’t mean things like this, I mean partnering with and investing in companies you’ve never heard of in an important company project.”

He briefly lifted his coffee cup, took a big sip, and smiled slightly. It was cold cynicism.

“And my role is to correct mistakes.”

“However… still… … .”

Have I forgotten what to say, or am I speechless?

Kelvin was about to say something, but he hesitated, then closed his mouth and let out a sigh through his nose. Seeing that, David hinted at it.

“Something. If you have something to say, say it. It’s good to be persuaded.”

David is a boss who is known to be picky in the company, but he is famous for being active in communication. Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s never easy to convince him.

“… Phew.”

Maybe being speechless once played a role in calming my mind and calming me down.

Kelvin, whose voice gradually rose and reacted violently, let out a small sigh. Then, in a calmer voice, he opened his mouth.

“… First off, I’ll apologize, David. I think I reacted too violently while we were talking. It’s not like David was wrong.”

“It’s okay. Things like that happen, too.”

David waved his hand and took another sip of coffee. This much happened often to him. He leaned back on the backrest and opened his mouth.

“So, are you still not convinced?”

“Yes. I’m sorry, but it’s a project I came up with, but it’s bound to be really, really good. I’d like to speak a little more carefully… … .”

Kelvin glanced around for some reason, then pointed to the entrance leading to the hallway in the back and said,

“Can we continue our conversation in the break room? I guess staying here for a long time would be uncomfortable for both of us.”

As the saying goes, this is a space where other employees are also working. Of course, David’s seat is far away, but it can still be a hindrance.

“… great. Let’s talk there.”

To be honest, I was annoyed and started to get a little annoyed. However… This is also part of your job. David got up slowly and started walking, following Kelvin in the lead.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve been to this break room… … .’

Although Aplus basically aims for a horizontal relationship, there are still ranks among employees, and there is bound to be some discomfort between them.

Perhaps because of this, the break room used by the employees was naturally separated. It wasn’t that we discriminated against each other based on rank, but it was a natural division because there were some uncomfortable things when we were together.

“It’s been a while since you came here, right?”

“Well. right. It seems like it’s been a year.”

Kelvin mentions what he was thinking.

Responding to that, David peeked around the break room. Maybe it’s because it’s been a long time since I’ve been here, but I’ve seen unfamiliar elements more often than familiar parts.

And among them, there was one that caught his attention in a unique way.

“… But what is that?”

David points at something with a curious look on his face. Kelvin cheered internally for the situation going according to plan, but asked back in a voice that he was not sure on the outside.

“What?”

“Hey, that thing that looks like a cockpit.”

What David is pointing his finger at.

It was the massage chair, The Meister.