There exists an empire.
The name of that empire is ‘Baekhak.’
Immediately following the death of the aged emperor, the second prince accepted a family of illegitimate children into the main house to align them with his cause in order to overthrow the crown prince.
The rebellion was successful, and the family of illegitimate children became a noble family.
However, the second prince who usurped the throne is also an old man, having suffered one stroke and undergone two cancer surgeries in his younger years.
It is certain that a generational shift will occur soon.
At this moment, whom will the blade of the newly enthroned young emperor pierce first?
“If the CEO of Baekhak Securities takes the chairman’s seat, we will be the first to be eliminated. Do you think that young master even sees us as human beings? Damn it…”
– Baekhak Entertainment… must be split up…
This unprecedented apocalyptic incident came to an end when Baek Seung-won, the CEO of Baekhak Entertainment, single-handedly went to the chairman and sold off all his shares. However, the terror of that day continues to be passed down from generation to generation.
And now, that terror has struck Baekhak Publishing.
Men in black suits, arriving in a black Equus, appeared at Baekhak Publishing.
– What the hell? Who are you? Who are you to be rummaging through someone else’s office …?
– We’re from headquarters.
On that day, the employees of Baekhak Publishing felt a terror slightly greater than encountering a monster devouring corpses in the office.
After all, they couldn’t just smash the heads of these men in suits with a fire extinguisher.
Therefore, it could be said to be slightly scarier than a , a .
– Black suits… Equus… Headquarters… Ugh, my head!
– I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…
– I’ll never take mixed coffee from the pantry home again…
Especially those employees who were forcibly transferred from Baekhak Entertainment to Baekhak Publishing expressed collective trauma.
These unfortunate souls, who had to face the men in black suits from headquarters not just once but for the second time, were mostly concentrated in the Publishing Management Department.
Manager Kim Ga-ryung was, of course, among them.
“W-what is happening?!”
On the first day of his promotion, the company was getting wrecked.
He had finally escaped the rank of Deputy Manager Kim and become Manager Kim, taking charge of a team within the department. But when he arrived at work, the company was being destroyed in real-time.
It felt like the sky was falling.
“Th-those men in black suits…!”
Deputy Manage Kim—no, Manager Kim—quickly grasped the situation. The most essential quality of an excellent traitor is the ability to read the situation.
Manager Kim Ga-ryung immediately recognized the men in black suits as people sent from headquarters.
But then, he thought about it.
What reason would there be for the HR Innovation Office from the Organizational Innovation Department at headquarters to come down at this time?
From past experience, those bastards with weird names and no roots are hunting dogs used by the Strategic Planning Office.
And the headquarters’ Strategic Planning Office is closely aligned with the Director Baek Seol…
Reaching this conclusion, Manager Kim Ga-ryung quickly rolled his eyes to check the expression of Department Head Lim Yang-wook.
Look at his face! Check his expression!
However, Department Head Lim Yang-wook was not present in the office.
He had vacated his seat in this critical moment.
But Manager Kim Ga-ryung didn’t take this as a bad sign.
Quickly, his tongue slipped out to lick his lips.
It seemed that betraying Department Head Yang Sung-jun and siding with Lim Yang-wook had been the right move after all.
Isn’t office life all about aligning yourself with the right people?
As if this knock was the last courtesy, the invading force in black suits crossed the threshold into the CEO’s office without the owner’s permission.
When they invaded the CEO’s office at Baekhak Entertainment, Baek Seung-won had snapped back at the leader of the invaders, Managing Director Kim Myung-woon, with sharp informal speech.
Managing Director Kim Myung-woon, head of the HR Innovation Office, had smiled amiably and bowed his head to Baek Seung-won.
But that was only because Baek Seung-won was undeniably a member of the “Baek” family and the de facto founder of Baekhak Entertainment, a powerful local lord.
In contrast, Kim Sang-guk, the CEO of Baekhak Publishing, was just a salaried employee, and thus Managing Director Kim Myung-woon’s attitude was rudely indicative of reminding him of his place.
“You have been accused of breach of trust, so please come to headquarters for a written inquiry.”
Managing Director Kim Myung-woon tossed a stack of papers onto the CEO’s desk with a casual flick of his hand and then left, taking his group of subordinates with him.
Until the last person left, CEO Kim Sang-guk, neither said a word nor made any move.
After the door closed and some time had passed, Kim Sang-guk finally reached out with trembling hands to pick up the stack of papers.
When had he ever betrayed the company’s orders?
Not once had he ever turned his back on the company.
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He had never betrayed the company, not even once.
And yet, breach of trust?
Wasn’t that a laughable accusation?
Kim Sang-guk let out a hollow laugh as he unfolded the stack of papers that Managing Director Kim Myung-woon had tossed at him like one would throw a bone to a dog.
But when he grasped the contents, Kim Sang-guk’s laughter stopped abruptly.
The grounds for Kim Sang-guk’s dismissal were cited as breach of trust.
The crime of abandoning the duties entrusted to him by the company.
And the specific example given was the act of overthrowing the ‘Publishing Management Task Force Team’ at Baekhak Publishing from behind the scenes.
That incident, the very one where Lim Yang-wook was left stranded in Baekhak Entertainment’s underground parking lot.
Kim Sang-guk let out a bitter laugh.
Was cleaning up the troublesome elements that everyone in the company found distasteful now considered a crime?
Does it make sense to dispose of someone who had been loyal for decades over something ?
Is it fair to cut off a salaried employee’s head over political matters from above, rather than legitimate performance competition?
If that’s the case, what about my life?
Who will compensate for the decades I spent wallowing in the mud for this company?
But these questions all turned into hollow cries.
It was obvious who had orchestrated things to put these accusations down on paper at this critical moment.
“You won… Lim Yang-wook…”
On that day, an old and shabby loser disappeared from Baekhak Publishing.