Chapter 9

© Yeongwan (映完)

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President Song Eun-jae was bewildered, but she was beginning to understand what her brother meant by calling him strange.

He was talking about things that others couldn't easily say, in a very matter-of-fact way.

But upon closer thought, being able to read people well is one of the most important things in business.

After all, if you can't trust people, you have to go through countless verification processes and observe them over a long period of time, don't you?

The problem was that claiming to be good at reading people before being hired was not something you could confidently assert.

It's like claiming you're good at your job.

"Do you see people clearly because you lived in a temple, as mentioned in your resume?"

President Song's question naturally carried a hint of doubt.

"It's not about using some kind of spiritual power to read people's minds. I just make judgments based on a person's appearance, speech, living environment, and so on."

"Is it a psychological approach?"

"It's difficult to explain it academically, but it's similar to that."

By looking at her face, he could roughly gauge her personality, and he knew that telling her this would make her trust him more, but he didn't say it.

Because if he mentioned that he could read people well through physiognomy, he would just be seen as a fortune-teller.

"Definitely a vague answer."

President Song Eun-jae was disappointed.

Because it was all just talk from start to finish.

"Can't believe it, can you?"

"To be honest, I can't."

"Of course not."

Yeong-hoon nodded as if it was only natural.

President Song was bewildered.

She thought he would try to persuade her with reasons to trust him, but he just shut his mouth.

It was like the 'if you don't believe me, then don't' attitude she had only seen from friends in her youth.

"Is that it?"

"Yes. The only thing I'm better at than others is reading people. If you need someone with specialized knowledge, I think you should hire someone else."

While Yeong-hoon did want to work at Hyunjin Industries, the burden was greater than the desire, so he thought going to an insurance company wouldn't be bad.

President Song Eun-jae, seeing how confident Yeong-hoon was, started to become curious.

"Being good at reading people isn't something you can test for... How can I verify that?"

"Over time, you'll get to know, but I don't think you want to wait that long, do you?"

"You're right. I don't want to waste time and energy on uncertain things."

"Then there's no way."

Yeong-hoon shrugged, indicating that it was now up to her to decide.

President Song finally understood why her brother called him strange.

Thinking about it, this strange guy hadn't been nervous at all from the moment he entered the interview room.

Usually, interviewees are overwhelmed by the company building and the presence of senior executives, and they try hard to highlight their strengths, but this young man was talking as casually as if he were chatting with a neighbor.

She wondered if he was pretending not to be nervous, but if he could manage his expressions that well, he should be an actor, not working in a company.

If he really wasn't nervous, it was hard to understand how he could be so detached unless he had no desire to get a job.

If he really had no desire, he shouldn't have come to the interview in the first place.

Just as she was thinking this, Yeong-hoon spoke.

"Are we done?"

He was ready to get up if there was nothing else to talk about.

She also understood why her brother was so anxious about getting Yeong-hoon, who had resigned, to come back.

After all, people always think the grass is greener on the other side, and no matter how many luxury items you have, you always crave the limited edition you can't get.

If a top graduate from Harvard or Chicago's economics department had come to the interview and acted like this, she would have thought he was a brat, but strangely, she didn't think that about Yeong-hoon.

It was probably because he had been a monk.

"How about this? You said you worked at Myeongil Finance for a month. How about working as an intern at our company for a month?"

She remembered a drama called "Misaeng" where the protagonist, who had only studied Go, started as an intern at a large company.

She had found the drama very moving, so Yeong-hoon thought President Song's proposal was quite good.

"If that's possible, I'd be happy. Thank you for considering it."

Just a moment ago, he had been acting so arrogantly, and now he was smiling and expressing gratitude.

President Song wondered if she had been fooled by his acting, but it was too late to turn back, and since it was only a one-month internship, it wouldn't be a problem for the company, so she decided to observe him.

"Then, go out and get a brief explanation from the staff outside, and start next week."

"Understood. But can I ask one more thing?"

Here we go again.

He had been beaming a moment ago, and now he was back to his previous expression, even daring to ask a favor of the president.

At this point, she was too curious not to listen.

"What is it?"

"If the employees find out I'm only an intern for a month, they might think I'm going to leave soon, which could make it difficult for me to show my abilities. I'd like to keep it a secret until I leave the company."

In other words, he wanted to be treated like a regular intern.

It was a reasonable request, but it was something no one else would dare to ask.

"Alright."

"Thank you."

As Yeong-hoon bowed, President Song lightly touched his shoulder, as if to say, "Do your best," and was about to leave the interview room when Yeong-hoon asked again.

"By the way..."

"Yes? What is it?"

"Do you have a reason for choosing me? There are many more outstanding candidates than me."

"Among the talented people we've hired so far, none have been outstanding, yet the company is still stagnant. I think it might not be bad to hire someone who can read people well. The company needs change. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

President Song left the interview room.

A short while later, the staff who had escorted him to the interview room came in.

He had been so polite and respectful when escorting him, but now that he had been hired as an intern, his attitude had completely changed.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Assistant Manager Oh Jae-joon. You must have a lot of questions, but I don't have time to answer them now, so listen carefully to what I'm about to say. Can you do that?"

"Yes? Yes..."

"Come to work by 8 a.m. next Monday. Wear a suit like you are now, and tidy up your hair, which is a bit messy. Always carry a small notebook and a pen, so you're ready to take notes anytime, anywhere. Got it?"

"Yes."

"If you come by 8 a.m., there will be buses lined up in front of the company. You need to take one of those buses to participate in the company orientation. Think of it as training before you start work. It's a two-night, three-day schedule, so bring enough underwear and comfortable clothes for four days. You can check the details on the website tomorrow."

"Understood."

"And... I see that your resume shows no educational or work experience. Is that true?"

"Yes."

His attitude was as if it wasn't a problem.

"Ahem. I see. What about your English skills? You can't possibly not know that, right?"

"I don't know it. To be more precise, I'm at a middle school first or second-year level. Hi~ Nice to meet yo. How are you? I’m fine thank you. That's the level I'm at. The president didn't mention anything about it, but is it a problem?"

He asked the question to embarrass him, but Yeong-hoon's more confident and assertive response left Assistant Manager Oh speechless.

Yeong-hoon asked again.

"And which department will I be working in?"

"You'll find out after the orientation and when you start work. Do you have any other questions?"

Feeling that it might not be a good idea to ask more, Yeong-hoon smiled and said.

"No, I don't."

"See you next week."

"Yes, have a good day."

As Yeong-hoon smiled and bowed, Assistant Manager Oh hurriedly went up to the HR department.

The HR staff had all left to clean up the interview room and do the follow-up, leaving only Section Chief Min Hong-gi.

"Hey! How was it?"

Assistant Manager Oh said with a very angry face.

"The president passed him."

"Really? What the hell? Does he have any connections? Surely not..."

"It's not what you're thinking. He looks completely different from the president."

"Really? Then what is it?"

"The president said he'll hire him as an intern to see how he does, so he doesn't seem to be a silver spoon."

"If he were a silver spoon, he wouldn't be locked up in a temple in Goseong, Gyeongnam. Damn, I'm so curious."

"Do we have to use honorifics with this intern? He doesn't seem to be scary or anything."

"I don't think so. Just treat him as usual. He was a monk, so what could he have shown? Everyone is equal except for the Buddha. Surely he didn't treat the president like a Buddha?"

"Of course not."

Both Section Chief Min and Assistant Manager Oh were starting to feel uncomfortable with this mysterious intern.

The end