Series: The All-Rounder Employee Becomes a Legend
Chapter: 25
Title: The Reason You’re Number One
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After joining Taeseok's study group, Seo Yoonji had been observing him constantly.
Honestly, just paying attention in class was enough for her to study.
She was smart, after all.
But even with her sharp mind, she couldn't beat this man.
She was genuinely curious.
Why was this man number one?
What was going through his head?
Her conclusion after watching Taeseok for a week.
He was diligent.
And he knew how to grasp the key points.
He only studied the important things mentioned by the instructors or senior mentors and didn't even bother with what wasn't important.
“This part is really important. You guys have to review it.”
“Got it. I’ll check it out.”
“Proactive Management! You know how they emphasized it, right? That's definitely going to be on the test.”
“Proactive Management, right. Is there anything else that’s likely to come up?”
“For the Understanding Corporate Accounting course…”
And the problems he emphasized almost all appeared on the exam.
Not 100 percent of them, but well over 50 percent.
And Kim Taeseok solved every single one of them.
An incredible accuracy rate.
And so, in the second week, Kim Taeseok took first place again.
Of course, she wasn't far behind him.
She had been flustered by a question that hadn't been emphasized and got about three problems wrong, but she still ranked second after Kim Taeseok.
But Taeseok’s strengths didn't just show on exams.
His qualities as a leader.
In Team C, the Team Leader role rotated weekly, but in Team B, perhaps because it was all men, they simply delegated full authority to Taeseok.
He wasn't older than the others, nor did he seem to work incredibly hard, yet his team members supported and cheered him on. Why was that?
Upon closer inspection, the reason was simple.
He didn't bother others.
He only said what needed to be said.
He had the ability to convey everything necessary at once, clearly and concisely, so that no one had to ask follow-up questions.
It was thanks to his meticulous nature, always thinking from the other person's perspective first.
Through this, Yoonji began to get a vague sense of who Taeseok was.
‘He tends to think of others first. And when he works, he's extremely careful to avoid any complaints, yet he's also magnanimous and has a sense of humor.’
She swallowed hard.
‘If that goes too far, it can be a weakness, but he maintains the right balance. That's why people like him.’
She coveted him.
A man like that was rare.
And on top of that, the grandson of a chaebol family.
What on earth was this man's flaw?
Oblivious to her assessment, Taeseok began advising his colleagues with a calm expression.
“Hyeonsu. You! What are you going to do with a score like this in Corporate Ethics? You slacked off, didn't you?”
“You noticed?”
“You're in big trouble these days. Big trouble. What will you do if you fall out of the top 10 overall? Ah, for the next subject, I think we'll have to memorize key businesses and new product model names. Memorize the product name of the new curved OLED from El Sung Electronics and the technical principle of its rear-emission structure. That's what will make or break it.”
“Rear-emission?”
“Yeah. It's explained in detail on page 281, line 14.”
“Uh. Got it.”
He was also generally kind to anyone who came to him, not just those in his study group.
“Taeseok, can't you spot some questions for me?”
“Ah… I can't really spot questions for you, but if you ask me about something you're curious about, I'll answer.”
“Um, do you know about the micro-cavity structure?”
“Huh? You think that will be on the test?”
“You don't think it will?”
“Yeah. That's a technology that only Japan is pushing right now.”
“I see. How do you know so much?”
“I'm planning to focus my upcoming PPT presentation on explaining the OLED product line.”
“Really? You’re already preparing?”
“Yeah. The presentation is in the third week. It’s not that far off. So I’m getting a head start.”
“Yeah. Thanks. I almost wasted my time digging into that.”
“No problem. But don't blame me if it shows up on the test, okay?”
“Got it.”
Of course, Taeseok knew that question wouldn't appear. He said that merely as an expression of friendliness.
Naturally, Taeseok wasn't good at everything.
“Help me out here. I don't know how to do this.”
“What? You've never made a PPT before?”
“Uh. I don’t really know how.”
“Liar! Who hasn't used PowerPoint? They use it a lot in the US, too.”
“It's possible not to, you know. What's with you? And I told you, I'm not from the US!”
“Then where? Australia? Oxford in the UK? Or Japan? China?”
“Hey, let's not talk about schools.”
“He won't say till the end. Even though he's from a prestigious university!”
Yoonji nodded at his behavior.
She understood why he was respected. And why he hid his identity.
‘He must have had to. What the chairman wants is for his children to start from the bottom like everyone else. He did the same himself.’
Starting from the weekend of the second week, going out and staying overnight were permitted.
Once they were allowed out, the others excitedly went downtown with their colleagues or boarded buses to Seoul to visit home, but Taeseok was different.
He was glued to his computer all day, working on his PPT.
That evening, Yoonji approached Taeseok.
“Everyone else went out. Want to go get some barbecue or something?”
“Huh? No, it’s okay. I’m not done yet.”
“You can do it tomorrow.”
“No. I want to finish it today. Sorry, but could you give me some space? I think I need to focus.”
“Oh. Okay.”
Yoonji looked at Taeseok and shook her head.
Taeseok, typing on the computer keyboard. But his typing speed was incredibly slow.
‘He must have received a cram-style education. That's why he's struggling. Then again, when I was young, I didn't have to lift a finger either. My tutors did everything for me.’
The height of misunderstanding. Yoonji was projecting her own life onto Taeseok.
But that wasn't it for Taeseok.
He wanted to make it perfect.
To include advanced functions and be the best in front of everyone.
‘What kind of commentary should I add here? Should I summarize the situation and add an animation? Short and concise would be better. But the visuals can't be too simple; I need a lot of visual expression.’
But he was running out of time. He’d been stuck on it for three days, and it wasn't getting any easier.
Just then, the system guy made a rare appearance.
[System Message: You don't use the shop, do you?]
‘Why the informal speech again?’
[System Message: A new item has arrived in the shop. Congratulations on reaching Honor Level 2.]
‘What?’
At the system's words, Taeseok opened the secret shop.
Just as it had said, the item list had been updated with a <New!> tag.
‘For real?’
[System Message: What, you think it’s fake?]
‘It actually works, right?’
[System Message: Just try it and see.]
《New Employee Exclusive Shop / Current Honor Level 2》
※Increase your Honor Level to purchase rarer items.
○ PPT Master 2018 (Point 20 / New)
Allows you to commit all functions of PowerPoint presentations to memory.
A new item on the list.
‘Awesome!’
The Points he had gathered over the week from minor quests totaled 46.
And he could master PPT by investing 20 of them?
Without a doubt, Taeseok purchased the item as the system suggested.
Suddenly, all the functions of PowerPoint began to flood his mind.
“Ughhh!”
He felt dizzy. The sudden influx of knowledge threw his mind into chaos.
Then, the system spoke.
[System Message: Just go to sleep!]
“You should have told me this would happen!”
[System Message: I told you before. You have to ask.]
* * *
Time passed.
Taeseok began his presentation.
He was holding nothing but a presenter's remote in his hand.
“Good morning. I am Kim Taeseok from Team B. Today, I will be presenting on the future of our new OLED products and their future direction. I look forward to your attention.”
But as soon as Taeseok finished speaking, the PPT slide changed, and the employees on the screen began to applaud.
“Surprised, everyone? I found this video of you all applauding at the entrance ceremony on the company homepage.”
The PPT slides advanced automatically each time Taeseok finished a point.
A curious phenomenon where the screen moved on its own without him needing to click anything while speaking.
Taeseok grinned.
Everything was by design.
“Everyone! What are your thoughts on OLED? It is one of El Sung Electronics' core technologies and a future growth engine. From this point on, we will analyze and review data on the current industry status and future prospects in China, Japan, and Korea.”
At his words, data from China appeared, then data from Japan, and then data from Korea.
“In the past, Japan was the foremost leader in TVs. However, thanks to the chairman's unwavering commitment to investment, and the blood, sweat, and tears of our researchers, our El Sung Group pioneered the LCD market in the mid-2000s and managed to catch up to the world's leader, Japan's Sony Group. And as of 2018, we hold and lead 40% of the global TV market. However, China and Taiwan are catching up fiercely, using price as a weapon, and Japan, by either selling stakes to foreign countries or receiving full government support, has joined the price war, trying to pull El Sung down from its number one spot once again. So, what should we do?”
At Taeseok's question, the audience began to murmur.
Just then, the screen went black.
Taeseok had pressed the B key to black out the screen, and the murmuring crowd suddenly fell dead silent.
The senior mentors knew.
This guy, Kim Taeseok, was skilled at presenting, too.
No, he was excelling in every aspect.
The man was special.
Taeseok used the heightened atmosphere to focus all eyes on himself.
“We must develop new products and further widen the technological gap with other nations. To do that, we must increase the yield of the OLED panels our nation was the first to develop, and based on that technology, we must continue to maintain our number one position in the world. Our El Sung Group has made the following efforts to achieve such technological advancement.”
When he pressed the B button again, the screen lit up.
The audience thought to themselves.
That this was something incredible.
It was like watching a scene from a TED talk, where world-famous people come to lecture.
From his speaking style and his movements to the sequence of the videos, Taeseok’s briefing was meticulously calculated.
Taeseok continued.
“The history of El Sung Electronics’ core business, OLED. We will now watch a video.”
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