<CHAPTER 1>
Mistaken for a Genius Relic Appraiser
The stack of documents scattered in mid-air before his eyes.
The sight felt like slow motion from a movie.
Kim Si-woo’s expression remained calm as he watched the situation unfold, but inside, indescribable rage was boiling over.
Damn it.
Seeing Manager Kang—his patchy, balding head on full display—shouting rough curses, the anger surged up until Si-woo could no longer endure it.
Kim Si-woo cut off Manager Kang’s words and stepped forward first, opening his mouth with a firm expression.
“Manager Kang. How many times have I submitted this proposal now? Please give me a reasonable explanation for the continued rejections. I’ll fix it and bring it back.”
A calm but resolute voice.
The office air of Planning Team 2 froze instantly.
Everyone was staring at their monitor screens, but all their ears were turned this way.
In the brief silence, Manager Kang let out a deep sigh, running his hand through his sparse hair as he looked at Kim Si-woo with a flushed, agitated face.
“Hey! If you made the proposal so shoddy, of course I’m telling you to redo it. Who do you think you are, talking back to me?”
“This is the third time. I haven’t even slept properly to finish this proposal.”
“Third time, schmird time—you should have made it properly in the first place. How am I supposed to report this upstairs?”
“Didn’t you reject it without even reading it properly? If you had actually read it, tell me about the additional content regarding the new business I wrote, the selected companies, and the reasons for their selection.”
Kim Si-woo decided to go hard.
His old motto of “just stay in the middle” had disappeared long ago.
If he kept staying in the middle, he felt like he would literally be crushed to death by work.
“When I submitted the first proposal, you said the market analysis was insufficient, so I ran around on foot and added it myself. The second time, you said the budget plan was ridiculously large, so I went around to client companies and haggled down the prices item by item to revise it. So what’s the reason for the third rejection? ‘Overall inadequate?’ Is this a reason? Is this even words?”
“That’s why you—”
“I actually know. Manager Kang keeps rejecting it because the company you want isn’t included, right?”
The office went dead silent in an instant.
In short, it was saying that Manager Kang had taken a rebate or received something.
Even the typing sounds from colleagues stopped.
“Hey! Deputy Kim! Are you making a mistake right now!? Do you have evidence? What kind of nonsense are you spewing?”
“I’m not talking back—I’m stating facts!”
“Facts? What do you know about facts!”
Kim Si-woo had only learned about this recently.
At first, he didn’t know, but he happened to overhear Manager Kang’s phone call.
Just over a week ago, when he was almost late to work, the elevator was stopped on a high floor, so he took the emergency stairs and happened to overhear a conversation.
—Ah. I told you, didn’t I? I’ll push the vendor for this project to your side. Don’t worry. Do you think this is my first or second time doing this?
—I’ve pressured the deputy in charge by rejecting his proposal multiple times, so he’ll eventually catch on and have no choice but to include it. You haven’t forgotten our promise, right? Hahaha. How much did we agree on for this one? Ah. Right, that’s it. Two thousand.
That’s when he found out.
Why his proposals kept getting rejected without reasonable cause, why Manager Kang kept subtly mentioning a specific company.
He wasn’t completely oblivious.
He had suspected, but having his suspicions confirmed made his teeth chatter with rage.
“Hey! Deputy Kim—or rather, Kim Si-woo—come up to the company rooftop garden! Let’s talk there first.”
Manager Kang seemed to want to wrap up and end the conversation here.
Talking here made him conscious of the surrounding eyes. But Kim Si-woo had already come here determined.
“Shit. It’s really too filthy to keep doing this.”
“Wh-what……………… shit? What did you just say!?”
Kim Si-woo stared straight into Manager Kang’s eyes.
“I can’t work under Manager Kang anymore. I know all about these things happening before too. I’ll report everything to the Audit Team and resign.”
Kim Si-woo’s voice echoed throughout the entire office. It became so quiet that you could even hear someone swallowing. Manager Kang panicked, wondering how to handle this situation.
“Hey. Wait. No. Uh, Deputy Kim. Let’s calm down first……………… We shouldn’t talk here, let’s go upstairs and talk. Hmm? Let’s sit down calmly and have a cigarette together…”
“Now I’m sick of working at this company while looking at Manager Kang’s face. Since I’ve already decided to resign, let’s end it together here.”
How much had he suffered under him until now, doing all sorts of menial tasks and working overtime? While some places were debating four-day work weeks, he was staying up all night working—his body couldn’t take this anymore.
While others were talking about work-life balance, what balance? Kim Si-woo had been working nonstop.
It’s too filthy. I can’t endure this anymore.
Kim Si-woo returned to his seat and began organizing his belongings. He opened his drawer and put his personal items into his bag.
The increasingly anxious Manager Kang followed right beside Kim Si-woo.
“Hey, Deputy Kim—or rather, Si-woo.”
Manager Kang suddenly calling him by name—
Perhaps he had connections all the way up to section chief, or maybe even general manager.
Whatever the case, it didn’t matter now that he was resigning.
Just then, his colleague from Planning Team 3, Deputy Yoo Yeon-seok, rushed over, grabbed his shoulder, and led him to the supply room where no one was around.
Teams 2 and 3 had adjacent partitions, so he had seen the situation immediately.
“Hey, you crazy bastard! Are you insane? Manager Kang may have no ability, but his connections are no joke. Plus, he’s got the whole university alumni network lined up. Let’s go apologize with our eyes closed just once before this gets bigger. Manager Kang won’t want to make this a big deal either.”
“Yeon-seok. What apology at this point? The bus has already passed. It’s too late—I’ve already exposed everything.”
“Ugh, seriously. Hey, you bastard. Do you even have somewhere to go if you resign like this?”
“Nope.”
“Ha. You’re really driving me crazy. Why did you do that when you have nowhere to go?”
Kim Si-woo looked at Yoo Yeon-seok as if he couldn’t believe him.
“When did you ever worry about me this much………………. Aren’t you more worked up than I am?”
“Damn it. What worry. You’re the only close colleague I have—who else am I supposed to gossip with behind their back? If you leave, there’ll be no joy in coming to work.”
Yoo Yeon-seok let out a short sigh and asked Si-woo.
“Hey, but if that bastard has no trace of taking rebates, you’ll just look like a fool. Do you really have recorded evidence? You’re not lying, right?”
Kim Si-woo smirked at those words.
“Do you think I would have confronted Manager Kang just like that? I secretly recorded his calls with the vendor long ago. Last Thursday, the Tuesday before that, and yesterday. Three times total—and the idiot called at the same place and time every time.”
“Huh. This bastard’s pretty good. Go become a detective or something. I’ll introduce you.”
Yoo Yeon-seok laughed playfully.
“I thought you just confronted him without thinking, but you were sharpening your blade properly? When did you start planning this?”
“It wasn’t really planning—just in case, you know. I kept worrying about it, and decided I couldn’t keep working like this.”
“So this is a proper hit? Manager Kang, that bastard’s going down for sure? Everyone already hated running into him anyway.”
“Well, who knows what will happen, but we’ll have to see.”
Yoo Yeon-seok clicked his tongue and frowned.
“Sigh. You unlucky bastard. Meeting someone like Manager Kang—you’ve really had it rough. If it were me, I would have quit long ago.”
Yoo Yeon-seok patted Kim Si-woo’s back.
“Alright, you must be busy—I shouldn’t have held you up. Once this is settled, let’s get samgyeopsal and soju later.”
“Yeah. Got it.”
Now that he’d done it, he felt relieved, but he worried about tomorrow. Kim Si-woo headed toward the 10th floor where the Audit Team was with heavy steps.
Inside the elevator, he took out his smartphone and checked the recording files. As the elevator floor numbers rose toward the Audit Team, tension filled him. Regret was already creeping in slightly.
No. I made the right choice.
Rather than enduring under Manager Kang for several more years, leaving was the right decision a hundred times over.
If he kept catering to that bastard’s whims, he’d only ruin his health.
Perhaps he himself would be framed for the rebate incident and used as a scapegoat—
Manager Kang, that bastard was exactly the type to do such a thing.
Ding-
Soon, the elevator arrival signal for the 10th floor rang.
When he bowed his head one last time, the team members rose from their seats with awkward attitudes to greet him.
—
Outside the company, people who had finished work were exiting the building.
Burning Friday night.
It wasn’t an illusion that everyone looked bright on their way home from work.
The weather was cool and refreshing, with a pleasant breeze blowing, and the sunset light reflected off the high-rise buildings, dazzling the eyes.
Anyway, he had a three-month grace period remaining.
Should he look into starting his own business with his severance pay and savings?
He was confident he could at least fry tonkatsu.
Of course, that was a joke. His own business? Right.
Over a million self-employed businesses filed for closure every year.
Could he survive among them?
Not a chance.
Without awakening chef abilities like in a web novel, it was an impossible story.
Just when he thought his heart was settling, worries about the future arose.
For today, he wouldn’t go straight home.
For a change of pace, he decided to take a different route and walk slowly.
I should buy some canned beer and snacks on the way.
Without getting drunk, he didn’t think he could sleep tonight.
How long had he been walking? Then Si-woo’s eyes caught a box abandoned in front of a large mansion.
What’s that?
Bright light was emanating from it.
—
—This case needs to be wrapped up quickly, but that Deputy bastard won’t listen? Don’t worry. It’ll be over soon. And we’re planning a big project next quarter………………
The Audit Team Leader’s expression hardened as he listened to the recorded file.
“This will certainly serve as sufficient evidence for a full investigation. Please leave the specifics to us—don’t worry.”
Kim Si-woo bowed his head in relief at his attitude.
“Please take care of it.”
“We’ll process this as a three-month paid leave from the company for now, and we’ll handle the case during that time. Please take a good rest for a while.”
“Thank you.”
He had been planning to resign anyway, so there was no reason not to accept paid leave when offered.
As the internal whistleblower, it would be awkward and difficult to continue working at the company anyway, just as Manager Kang had said.
After spending time talking with the Audit Team about various matters, the sun was already setting.
When he returned to the office, most people had already left work.
A few team members were still at their desks, but Manager Kang was nowhere to be seen.
Everyone clearly wanted to talk to him but were only stealing glances. No one wanted to be friendly with an internal whistleblower who was about to resign.
No matter how unjust the matter was, the reality was that those who revealed internal affairs rarely emerged unscathed.
Especially if it was connected to Manager Kang’s superiors.
Feeling bitter inside, he packed his things and walked out, having spent several years with these colleagues.
“Take care, everyone.”
“We don’t need to be like this, right? Hmm? Was I too harsh? Alright, I was wrong. I’ll just pass this proposal. So calm down first, and I’ll do better from now on—”
“Not necessary.”
“No, hey! You think you’ll do well leaving like this!?”
Since persuasion didn’t work, Manager Kang’s attitude changed.
As expected, that was the kind of bastard he was.
If he submitted here, retaliation would follow later.
“Whether I’m an internal whistleblower or whatever—do you think an internal whistleblower can get hired anywhere else in Korean society?”
“That’s my concern to handle. Manager Kang should focus on receiving the company’s internal audit.”
Manager Kang’s face turned red as he huffed.
“Do you know how wide my network is in this field? One word from me and you won’t be able to go anywhere! Understand?”
Manager Kang exhaled through his nose and glared at Kim Si-woo.
“No company will accept an internal whistleblower. Your life is ruined too! Above all, do you have evidence that I took rebates from other companies?”
“Don’t worry. I’ve already recorded all of Manager Kang’s conversations with the vendor. Besides, do you think the Audit Team will only find that one thing?”
“Wh-what?”
Manager Kang’s face turned as white as a sheet of paper.
He rambled and shouted beside him, but Kim Si-woo began clearing the items at his desk as if a dog was barking.
Manager Kang distorted his face, glared at Kim Si-woo, and quickly left his seat. He was probably going to meet the section chief or general manager.
This wasn’t something Manager Kang did alone. There was a high probability it was connected to his superiors.
From what he had seen so far, Manager Kang wasn’t even capable of taking rebates on his own.
