Chapter 4

004 A Rocky Resignation

Three months? As expected, that woman is not human. She’s a beast in a mask.

She says her non-existent grandmother is sick and needs care. What? At least three months? Is she really human? I knew this would happen, but seeing it in front of me makes me feel sick.

"Isn't that too much? I'm not resigning because I want to, but because I have no choice. Isn't it unfair not to consider my situation at all?"

"What? Too much? Hey! Look at this brat!"

The boss, who had been pretending to be gentle and kind, finally revealed her true colors. Did I want to see this? Her hidden true self!

I wonder how she could have held back all this time. Everyone knows the boss, who came in as a parachutist, has a terrible temper, but she pretended otherwise. Now she's finally taken off her mask. This is secretly quite entertaining.

I can't take it anymore. Her non-existent grandmother is sick!

"Brat? Did you just call me a brat?"

"Yeah, you brat. I've been giving you money to raise you, and now you say it's too much? What do you do, brat!"

"You're using abusive language. Is it okay to use abusive language to an employee? I'll record it."

"What? Sue me! Sue me! I've done so much for you! I've listened to all your whining every day! What? Too much? Get out! I don't need a brat like you!"

She tore up the resignation letter I had written by hand. It's like a morning drama. Why does everything go exactly as I expected? You bark, and I'll go my way.

"Boss, what's going on? Hey! Ji Manager! What's happening?"

"I've expressed my intention to resign."

"What? Resignation? Is this a resignation letter? This brat is really pushing it! Who told you to do it this way! Is the company a joke? Do whatever you want, and the company is a playground!"

"Boss, let me explain. There's no need to get angry. I'll sort it out."

The vice president, who is the husband, stepped in to calm the trembling boss.

The vice president is a truly remarkable person. To be married to such a terrible-tempered woman is really impressive. Everyone whispered that he married for money, but I think differently. If he didn't truly love her, he couldn't live with her.

"Ji Manager, come to my office."

The vice president's interview was not part of the plan, but there's no need to worry.

"Ji Manager, I understand your situation, but you also need to consider the company. Imagine the company without you. Will it run smoothly? In such times, we need to find a compromise."

"My parents are gone, and my grandmother is alone. She's been hospitalized and needs immediate care."

"We'll do our best to hire a successor and hand over the work. How about finding a caregiver for a few days? It's not that difficult. Let's find a compromise."

I understand why they say 'like husband, like wife.' You're the same kind of person.

A caregiver? Who will come and take care of her for free? If the company could subsidize the caregiver's fees, it would be different, but there are no conditions. It means the company can't afford to lose, so you have to bear the loss.

The door bursts open.

"You! You know it takes at least a month to hand over the work, right? If you want, let's go to court! How do you think of the company to say such things! What? Too much? Sue me! Sue me!"

The boss's anger flares up again. She's clearly still upset. People with such terrible tempers need to vent until they feel better.

I know this well from dating a woman with a 95% synchronization rate for half a year. The solution? There isn't one. Just wait until she calms down.

"Boss, you have a schedule later. You need to prepare. I'll handle it."

"Ugh, I'm so frustrated. How did my father build this company! This guy dares to cause such a fuss!"

"I know. I know. I'll handle it, so don't worry."

Bang!

The door might break. She was supposed to be a filial daughter. This is why you shouldn't join a family business.

There's an absolute truth in the Six Methods. The companies you shouldn't join are: first, small and medium-sized enterprises, second, small and medium-sized manufacturing companies, and third, family businesses. I work at a family-owned small and medium-sized manufacturing company.

"Huh, so. How will you think about it?"

I find the vice president more terrifying. Even as the boss storms out, he doesn't flinch. Has he developed a tolerance? The vice president's mental strength is truly frightening. Would he bleed if stabbed? The years of experience he has from moving between companies are not to be underestimated.

"It's about buying some time, whether it's a caregiver or not. Honestly, immediate resignation isn't feasible. If I were the boss, I would be even angrier than you. What do you think?"

This person is casually threatening me. He's saying it's better to listen while he's still calm.

"Unless the company subsidizes the caregiver's fees, it's a significant financial burden. According to the Civil Code, a resignation notice is valid for up to a month, so I planned to stay for a month. But seeing how you ignore my situation and use abusive language, I no longer want to stay."

Do you think I would be scared and back down just because you threaten me? I didn't want to waste my emotions talking to such people, but I don't need to cower.

"We'll hire a successor this week, so let's do the handover for a month. How about that? You should do that much. The company has been very accommodating to you. If the handover isn't done properly, there will be many headaches, like severance pay and compensation. I'll try to prevent that, so let's do it. Okay?"

Now he's openly threatening me? I planned to use the month for a smooth transition and prepare for my new venture, but it won't work. These people don't deserve to be treated nicely.

But, convenience? What convenience are you talking about?

"Then, there are two weeks left this month, so I'll work until the end of this month."

As I leave the vice president's office, the boss glares at me with a look that could shoot lasers. She's still upset and wants to vent, but she's holding back because of her husband. How frustrating must she feel?

I don't care. I smiled subtly and calmly left the office.

Now I need to prepare for my new venture. As soon as I got to the field office, I looked for Kim Hee-chul, the executive in charge of sales.

"Executive, are you busy today?"

"Me? No. I have nowhere to go today. Why? Want to have a drink?"

As a salesperson, he has a keen sense.

"How did you know? Let's have dinner since I finished early today."

"What's up? You hate drinking."

"I submitted my resignation today."

"What? Why? Are you crazy?"

"Let's talk about it over dinner. Hehe."

"This guy is out of his mind. Why quit a good job?"

Kim Executive might say that, but he understands the situation. It's not a good job, and he's the most troubled person right now.

* * *

It all started two years ago with the arrival of the boss's daughter.

The company, which was a struggling business, was turned into a 150 billion won company by Kim Executive and Park Ho-yeon, the factory manager. They worked tirelessly for over 20 years, rain or shine, thinking only of the company. The boss's car changed from a Sonata to a Mercedes, all thanks to them.

The boss announced that it was time to retire and would step down after two more years. It was the year I joined the company. The factory manager and Kim Executive were secretly hopeful. Naive people.

Of course, the boss brought in his only daughter. A person who is suspicious wouldn't entrust the company to anyone else. The daughter, who had never worked before, was a good-for-nothing with a terrible temper and a suspicious nature, just like her father.

The boss immediately put her in the CEO position and started her succession training. Retirement? Nonsense. The boss created a senior advisor position for himself. He must have found it too precious to give up his salary.

She would come in around lunchtime, eat, nag a bit at the site, and then spend the rest of the day practicing her putting in her office before leaving. Her golf club occasionally turned into a weapon. One of her important tasks was to yell about how the company would go bankrupt if a 50-cent nut fell on the factory floor.

The tension of walking on thin ice continued for two years after the new CEO took over.

The factory manager and executive reluctantly accepted the boss's daughter. As the new CEO, she knew nothing and left production and sales to them, but she was always looking for a chance to attack. She must have been suspicious that they were siphoning off money.

The boss was incompetent. In the first year, it wasn't too noticeable as part of her management training. But in the second year, her incompetence became apparent. Sales dropped to 120 billion won in a year, and employees suffered and accumulated grievances.

She implemented all sorts of advanced management techniques, which were actually bad practices from other companies. She started eliminating welfare programs under the pretense of improving them to comply with current laws.

Public holidays were replaced with annual leave, and the annual leave compensation was eliminated under the guise of promoting its use. Employee dissatisfaction reached a boiling point.

The boss wouldn't admit her incompetence. She probably thought the company wasn't running well because she was being ignored as a woman. No, she was certain. She would yell so loudly that it could be heard outside the office when things didn't go her way.

Finally, she brought in her husband as a savior and made him the vice president. This happened two months ago.

The vice president, with his experience, announced his vision of a 'young and vibrant company.' He probably didn't realize that it meant getting rid of the old-timers.

He brought in his loyalists to key positions, saying the company needed more young people to be young and vibrant. They were in their 40s but were considered very young in a company with an average age over 60.

As his loyalists took action, they started a campaign to push out the old-timers, demanding corporate-level administration to move away from the old ways.

The boss was satisfied, thinking the company was finally becoming a proper company. She believed a company needed meetings, reports, and approvals. It seemed she had watched too many dramas. She clearly didn't understand the reality of small and medium-sized enterprises, where one person does the work of 2-3 people for half the pay.

The factory manager and executive were required to write various reports and logs they had never done before. They were busy typing on their keyboards instead of doing their actual work. The vice president would give orders via KakaoTalk day and night and scold them harshly if they didn't respond. The two executives were starting to boil.

* * *

I needed the two executives. With a solid market for production and sales, I needed these veterans. Luckily, both were not as old-fashioned as their age suggested.

"Executive, let's have a drink."

"Hey, I'm curious. Why did you resign?"

"My grandmother is sick and needs care."

"Is she very ill? How old is she?"

This is the right answer. When you say a family member is sick, people naturally worry. Got it, CEO Choi?

"Executive, this is a secret. Understand?"

"Hey, what's with the sudden nonsense?"

"Saying I need to care for my grandmother was just to provoke her. She pretends to be polite and kind in front of people, so I wanted to see her true colors. Ha ha."

"Ugh, everyone knows about her temper. So you're just provoking her? No, no. Why did you resign, then?"

Now the real recruitment of Kim Executive begins. I need to get him on board. He's a reliable person.