IWSF – Ch 281

The golf driving range desk had a new female employee with a youthful face.

As Park Young-ja tried to walk inside without saying anything, the employee spoke.

“Could I see your membership card or ID, please?”

“……What?”

Park Young-ja stared at the employee with a dumbfounded expression. The employee kindly explained, “This is for members only, so you need a membership card to enter.”

“I don’t have it with me right now.”

“Ah, then if you could tell me your membership number, I can look it up.”

Normally, she would have just brushed it off, but for some reason, she felt a surge of anger today.

‘Would she have failed to recognize me if I were the madam of a top 10 group?’

Park Young-ja suppressed her anger and spoke calmly, “It seems you’re new here and don’t know much, but there’s no one here who doesn’t know me. You’re the first employee who’s been so clueless with me.”

The employee was troubled but still said what she had to say. “I’m sorry, but I need to verify your membership card.”

The anger she had barely suppressed exploded. “Are you ignoring me right now? Are you saying my words don’t sound like words to you?!”

“N-no, it’s not that. If you don’t know your membership number, if you could just tell me your name…”

She still had no idea what she had done wrong. That’s because the employee was just following the manual.

“You impertinent wench!”

Slap!

Park Young-ja swung her hand sharply, and the employee, who was slapped on the cheek, was startled and didn’t know what to do.

She glared at the employee and shouted, “Apologize right now!”

None of the women who came with her thought of stopping her.

Overwhelmed by the imposing atmosphere, the employee said, sobbing, “I-I’m sorry.”

But that was not enough to appease Park Young-ja’s anger.

“Is that how you apologize? Kneel down in this spot and apologize properly! With just one word from me, I can have everyone here’s membership revoked and shut this place down! If you don’t want to get fired, kneel down right now!”

It was a job she had gotten into with difficulty.

To avoid escalating things further, she had no choice but to do as she was told.

“Hic, I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”

Just as the employee was about to kneel while crying…

A middle-aged woman, who had somehow approached, grabbed her body.

“Are you alright?”

It was the very woman who had been sitting on the waiting chair until just now.

Park Young-ja was dumbfounded.

‘What is this one doing, butting in?’

The middle-aged woman comforted the crying employee and protested to Park Young-ja. “What are you doing? You’re a guest, but why are you hitting an employee?”

“I hit her because she was wrong. Is there a problem with that?”

Then, the woman retorted. “I’ve been watching from earlier, but what did the employee do wrong? Even if she did something wrong, you should protest formally, is it right to resort to violence?”

Park Young-ja crossed her arms and said, “Do you know who I am?”

At those words, the middle-aged woman was taken aback. How would she know who she was just because she asked that?

“Wh-who are you?”

“Tsk, this is why uneducated people are like this.”

“Wh-what did you say?”

“What kind of family are you from?”

“Fa-family?”

“What kind of work does your family do?”

The middle-aged woman answered in a daze, “My son works at OTK Company…”

Then, the women behind her burst into laughter.

“Oh my, her son works at OTK Company.”

“As if that’s something to be so proud of.”

“Pfft, anyone listening would think he’s Kang Jin-hoo himself.”

Park Young-ja, as if she didn’t want to deal with her anymore, looked at the employee and said, “This is really hopeless. Anyway, this happened because of you, so before I call the manager and make a fuss, hurry up and kneel down and apologize properly.”

The middle-aged woman blocked the employee. “Stop it! Why are you doing this?”

Park Young-ja looked at the middle-aged woman and said, “Or, you can kneel down instead. Then I’ll pretend nothing happened.”

Then, the women who came with her snickered and chimed in.

“Oh my, that would be good.”

“Employees should naturally remember and treat customers well.”

“If someone makes a mistake, they should apologize.”

“You’re not saying you’ll only pretend to be considerate but can’t do it, are you?”

As the middle-aged woman didn’t know what to do, a woman in a suit walked in.

“What in the world is going on?”

It was none other than CEO I’m Soo-mi, the owner of this hotel. Everyone was startled by her appearance.

In the case of problem customers, they sometimes become even louder when the CEO appears. But that also depends on the CEO.

Among those present, no one was brave enough to offend Seosung Group.

Park Young-ja spoke in a friendly manner, “It’s been a while.”

CEO I’m Soo-mi looked around. Just seeing the employee holding her cheek and sobbing, she roughly grasped the situation.

‘It’s already a mess everywhere because of power harassment, and they’re still not coming to their senses and acting like this.’

Regardless of their personality, chaebols belonging to the top 10 groups are afraid of public opinion and restrain themselves as much as possible. But it’s the ambiguous chaebols who don’t understand the atmosphere and act up.

“It seems the employee didn’t know something, so I was just giving her some training.”

At Park Young-ja’s words, CEO I’m Soo-mi said in a cold voice, “I’m the one who trains our hotel employees. Who do you think you are to say you’re training them?”

The atmosphere instantly turned cold.

‘Hmph! Just because I lightly slapped a low-level employee, she’s getting serious.’

Park Young-ja said with a smiling face, “It was just lightly giving her a warning.”

The middle-aged woman said with a welcoming expression, “Sumi.”

At those words, everyone made dumbfounded expressions. How many people in Korea could call CEO I’m Soo-mi like that?

But what was surprising was CEO I’m Soo-mi’s reaction.

She greeted her warmly and took the middle-aged woman’s hand. “You were here. Didn’t we have a lunch appointment later?”

“That’s right.”

At those words, Park Young-ja’s eyes widened.

“Ah, do you know each other?”

“Yes.”

“Come to think of it, you all probably don’t know her. This is CEO Kang Jin-hoo’s mother.”

She said it as if it were nothing, but the ripple effect of those words was enormous.

People were shocked and their mouths dropped open. Park Young-ja, in particular, was in such shock that she was about to lose her mind.

‘C-CEO Kang Jin-hoo… Could it be OTK Company? This woman is Kang Jin-hoo’s mother? She just looks like an ordinary middle-aged ajumma?’

Come to think of it, this was natural.

It was only in the last few years that Kang Jin-hoo became rich. Before that, Kang Jin-hoo’s family was even worse off than middle class.

‘To think we’d meet like this!’

Even if Cheongun Group is 22nd in the business world, it’s not even comparable to a neighborhood corner store compared to OTK Company. If Kang Jin-hoo set his mind to it, he could completely expel them from the business world.

Everyone is anxious to get on OTK Company’s good side, and she made such a mistake!

Park Young-ja quickly changed her expression and said, “O-oh my! Madam. You should have said so earlier. Then I would have visited and greeted you more often.”

Was her change of attitude too fast?

Suddenly, the atmosphere turned chilly as if a cold wind had blown through.

Park Young-ja looked at the people who had come with her. They had already retreated to the back. It looked like they were trying to distance themselves.

It was clear that rumors would spread in the business world as soon as they left this place. Wouldn’t she be ostracized in various gatherings just because of that?

‘Wh-what should I do?’

As she was racking her brains, CEO I’m Soo-mi made a call somewhere.

“Hello, CEO Kang Jin-hoo. You told me to call you immediately if anything happened to your mother, right? It seems there’s been a bit of an issue with the madam of Cheongun Group right now, would you be able to come over?”

At those words, not only Park Young-ja but also the women who were with her turned pale.

After ending the short call, she said with a smile, “CEO Kang Jin-hoo said he’s canceling all his schedules and rushing here right away.”

Without thinking any further, Park Young-ja collapsed to her knees in front of Choi Mija.

“I-I’m sorry, Madam. I dared to not recognize you and committed a discourtesy.”

“Wh-why are you doing this?”

Park Young-ja grabbed the hem of her pants and bowed her head to the ground. “I’m a woman who deserves to die. I was really wrong. Please forgive me just once.”

Choi Mi-ja said, flustered, “N-no, you should apologize to the employee, not me.”

Then, Park Young-ja pleaded with the employee she had just slapped, “I’m sorry. Did it hurt a lot? Hit my cheek hard until your anger is relieved.”

***

Ten days have passed since I returned to Korea.

In the meantime, Korea was suffering from a heatwave. It wasn’t just hot, it was to the point where it was suffocating.

The Meteorological Administration issued heatwave advisories every day and warned people to refrain from outdoor activities.

Senior Sangyeop, who returned after finishing a meeting, gulped down cold water and kept wiping the sweat from his forehead.

“It’s hot, so hot. Why is the weather like this?”

“Is it very hot?”

“Don’t even mention it. It’s not even this hot in Australia.”

When I was young, I learned that Korea had four distinct seasons, but now it seems like only summer and winter are left. Even summer has become hotter, and winter has become colder.

So I’ve been staying inside without going out. Not that I have any particular reason to go out either.

Taekgyu played games even at work, and I read thick books. Professor Mohan’s new book ‘The Big One, Aftermath’. For reference, it has been at the top of the worldwide bestseller list for several weeks now.

The royalty income alone must be enormous, but he plans to donate it all to earthquake victims.

Taekgyu asked, “Is it fun?”

“The content is good, but it’s a bit boring.”

Still, I’m reading it to the end because of the loyalty I have for him, having gone through hardships together. I’m almost done reading it now.

“What’s the conclusion?”

“It says we need to protect the environment.”

“Huh? That’s the conclusion?”

Professor Mohan was more concerned about abnormal weather conditions due to climate change than earthquakes.

The Earth’s temperature has been steadily rising for decades, increasing the risk of various abnormal phenomena occurring as a result.

Heatwaves, cold snaps, droughts, floods, typhoons, and so on.

Earthquakes are caused by energy inside the Earth, so they occur regardless of human actions. However, abnormal weather conditions are a result of human actions. Therefore, prevention and preparation are possible depending on our efforts.

In fact, abnormal weather conditions are becoming more frequent with each passing year. It’s not just Korea that is suffering from heatwaves, other countries are the same.

In Europe and Japan, dozens of people have already died from heatwaves, and in the US, wildfires that have broken out in various places show no signs of being extinguished.

As everyone knows, the biggest reason for this is global warming. Since the Industrial Revolution, the use of fossil fuels has increased dramatically, and the Earth’s temperature has risen.

It’s the price of economic development.

But the damage from this is actually greater in developing countries than in developed countries. They haven’t enjoyed the benefits of economic development, but they are sharing the damage.

Senior Sangyeop sat on the sofa, drinking cola, and said, “Politicians keep begging me to arrange a meeting with you.”

“Ruling party or opposition party?”

“Both. There are also Free People’s Party lawmakers.”

“What would I meet them for?”

“Just to have a meal and play golf.”

I shook my head. “Ah, then I can’t meet them. I can’t play golf.”

I don’t understand why politicians like golf so much. Don’t they play soccer or basketball?

Taekgyu said, “You’re good at golf. You even got a hole-in-one last time.”

“……That was in an online golf game.”

If we’re going by that, he could be called an all-around sportsman.

“Anyway, no politicians for me. I don’t think getting involved with them would be good.”

Senior Sangyeop nodded. “I guess so. It’s not like we’re in a position to ask for favors.”

Just as we were all lazing around for the first time in a while, Chairman Im Jin yong called.

[I’d like to have a consultation, is this a good time?]

“Yes, it’s fine.”

[I’ll head over there right now.]

Less than 30 minutes after the call ended, Chairman Im Jin yong arrived at the company.

“What’s going on?”

Chairman Im Jin yong said as if he had a headache. “It’s about the Daehoo Shipbuilding acquisition.”

“Ah! I saw the article.”

Daehoo Shipbuilding, as you can tell from the name, was an affiliate of Daehoo Group. But Daehoo Group went bankrupt due to poor performance.

Originally, Daehoo Shipbuilding should have also gone bankrupt at this time, but automobiles and shipbuilding have a large impact on the national economy, so they cannot be easily allowed to fail.

Therefore, public funds (=national taxes) were invested to save it, and now the Korea Development Bank is the largest shareholder. It is practically a public enterprise.

But it can’t be kept indefinitely, so they have been trying to sell it for a long time, and currently Seosung Heavy Industries is being mentioned as a likely candidate.

“Are you really going to acquire it?”

Chairman Im Jin yong gave a wry smile. “Considering our relationship with the current government, we should. But there’s a serious problem.”

[TL/n: In case you guys forgot, Choi Mi-ja is Kang Jinhoo’s mother’s name]

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