Chapter 32: Department Assignments

With Lee Kang-jin’s name being called last, the staff member announced:

“People from each department will arrive shortly. When your names are called, please follow them to your respective departments.”

As the staff left the room, Kang Jin turned towards Choi Donghae, who had been assigned with him.

Choi Donghae…was quite chubby. With his glasses and slightly rough skin, he definitely couldn’t be described as handsome.

“We’re in the same department. Looking forward to working together,” said Kang Jin, extending his hand for a handshake.

Choi Donghae hesitated momentarily before reciprocating, “Likewise, let’s work well together.”

After exchanging greetings with Choi Donghae, Kang Jin glanced at the door. One by one, individuals entered through it, calling out names and leading interns outside.

With that, Choi Donghae left the room. Kang Jin and his fellow intern were then transferred to Export Agency Team 2. Taekwang Trading Company occupied floors eight through fourteen of this building, with Export Agency Team 2 located on the tenth floor.

As they walked toward their new department, Lee Sangsub, their guide, briefly explained its purpose.

“The export agency sells goods from South Korean small- and medium-sized businesses overseas on behalf of those companies.”

Lee Sangsub looked at both interns.

“Any questions so far?”

“No,” replied Kang Jin.

Lee Sangsub turned to Choi Donghae, who shook his head.

“I don’t have any either.”

Lee Sangsub briefly studied them before resuming his walk while scanning their résumés. He then stopped and turned to Kang Jin.

“You majored…in psychology?”

“Yes, sir.”

“But…” Lee Sangsub paused, pursed his lips, and continued walking as he asked, “Why did you apply for an internship at our company with that major? How even…?”

While it wasn’t always true that one’s field of study determined their career path, construction companies typically hired civil engineering graduates, and architecture firms preferred architectural majors. Similarly, Taekwang Trading Company recruited employees from trade, business administration, or foreign language departments. Especially when it came to interns, they usually received applications only from students studying commerce, making it extremely rare for someone with a psychology degree to apply.

“I believe they hired one person from our department.”

“What university did you say she attended?”

“Sesin University.”

“Sesin University’s psychology program…”

Lee Sangsub pondered for a moment before it hit him, and he turned to Kang Jin with realization.

“Oh!” He stared at Kang Jin briefly and then sighed.

They mentioned hiring someone from Sesin University’s psychology program… Damn! At least knowing trade terminology would be helpful when organizing paperwork.

Companies rarely entrusted important tasks to interns due to potential complications if anything went wrong. Instead, they were given menial or noncritical work. Since Kang Jin wasn’t from the business school, she wouldn’t know any trade jargon…meaning Lee Sangsub would have to start from square one teaching her everything.

With a sigh, Lee Sangsub continued walking until he spotted Kang Jin.

“Can you explain what export agencies do?” asked Lee Sangsub.

Kang Jin promptly responded, “Unlike large corporations, small and medium-sized enterprises lack expertise and established channels for exporting their products. They outsource this work to trading companies like ours.”

Lee Sangsub looked at Kang Jin, surprised by his answer.

Has he done some studying?

“So how do we handle goods entrusted to us for export?”

“We connect SMEs with potential buyers from our existing network of clients. Once they agree to purchase, we facilitate the export process and receive a commission accordingly.”

Lee Sangsub nodded in agreement with Kang Jin’s explanation.

“That’s correct.”

As they continued their conversation, they arrived at Export Agency Team 2.

Team 2 consisted of seven members: a manager who led the team, two assistant managers, and five regular employees.

In overseas business affairs, the team leaders were directors, but here, it’s just a manager.

While Kang Jin pondered this, Manager Lim Hojin of Export Agency Team 2 spoke up.

“First, congratulations on joining our company as an intern.”

“I look forward to working with you,” replied Kang Jin, bowing first out of respect. Choi Donghae followed suit.

Lim Hojin observed them both before continuing. “During your internship, if you have any questions or need guidance, please ask Lee Sangsub here. Also, don’t try too hard.”

“Huh?” Kang Jin looked puzzled at Lim Hojin’s statement.

“Some interns show excessive enthusiasm and take on tasks without being asked. While it can be commendable when done correctly…most of the time, it leads to mistakes. If you do make any errors, don’t try to fix them alone or hide them. Immediately inform either me or Lee Sangsub. We’ll help address the situation.”

“Understood,” replied Kang Jin.

Lim Hojin then turned to Lee Sangsub after Kang Jin’s response.

“Please escort them to their desks and brief them about today’s work.”

“Yes, sir.”

Lee Sangsub led the two new hires to their assigned desks and placed some files down.

“These are all the projects our team is currently working on. Please familiarize yourselves with them today. Also, these files must never leave this office, so read and keep them here only.” With that stern warning, Lee Sangsub returned to his desk and resumed work.

Kang Jin and Choi Donghae began reading through their respective folders.

As Kang Jin scanned the documents, he nodded approvingly.

I did my homework well.

There were a few unfamiliar terms, but overall, he had no trouble understanding them. Of course, comprehending versus mastering was another matter altogether.

While they were reviewing the contents of Export Agency Team 2’s projects, Lee Sangsub approached them again.

“I’m heading to a meeting now. Both of you come along.”

“Yes, sir.”

As they all stood up, Lee Sangsub grabbed his file and left the office with them in tow. Once inside the elevator, he opened the folder to review its contents before speaking.

“I’m bringing you along so I can show you how meetings work here. Don’t do anything else unless instructed.”

Kang Jin and Choi Donghae nodded at Lee Sangsub’s words. Upon reaching the ground floor, Lee Sangsub turned to address them.

“Get your IDs back from reception and meet me at the café.”

He gestured toward the coffee shop within the building, prompting Kang Jin and Choi Donghae to retrieve their identification from the front desk.

“How old are you, Mr. Choi? I’m 28.”

“I’m 26.”

Choi Donghae was two years younger than Kang Jin.

“There’s an age gap, but since we’re colleagues, let’s get comfortable with each other like army buddies during our internship.”

“Yes.” Choi Donghae’s simple answer made Kang Jin inadvertently scrutinize him from head to toe. He noticed that Donghae’s feet were pointed away from him, which struck him as odd.

Does he dislike me?

Feet often reveal one’s feelings toward others. When facing someone they like, their feet point towards them; when disliking someone, their feet turn away instinctively.

Maybe he sees me as competition?

Upon reflection, it made sense. For interns, becoming full-time employees was the ultimate goal. Therefore, fellow interns were rivals and competitors. Moreover, since Kang Jin had studied psychology instead of trade…he might be perceived as an outsider.

‘Hmm… I guess interns dislike each other more than I thought.’

Regardless, Kang Jin and Choi Donghae entered the café. It was bustling with people inside. Being located within the office building, it attracted many employees, including those who seemed to be meeting with outsiders.

On one side of the café, they spotted Lee Sangsub seated with two men. As Kang Jin approached, Lee Sangsub gestured towards the empty seats next to him. Once both interns sat down, Lee Sangsub examined the knife he held in his hand.

Without saying a word, as Lee Sangsub scrutinized the blade, the man opposite him spoke up.

“Have you heard about the cucumber peeler?”

“Yes, even in video games, there’s a knife based on it.”

As the cucumber knife gained popularity, it even appeared as a weapon design in video games.

“If we put a cucumber pattern on our knives, they become ‘cucumber knives’.”

“Like this one?”

“Yes, due to its fame. Various companies sell ‘cucumber knives,’ but most are fakes. Even if you see one labeled from Germany, it’s likely counterfeit too.”

“I’ve heard that story. Some German company uses their name for marketing purposes while outsourcing production to South Korea, despite not being a kitchenware manufacturer.”

“While Germany is known for quality kitchen products, the original cucumber knife hails from South Korea.”

“So, is this the authentic version?”

“Nope, ours are also replicas.”

Lee Sangsub looked at him curiously.

“And why is that?”

“Even if ours is imitation, it’s no less effective than the original cucumber knife. That’s why other companies stamp our knives with cucumber patterns and sell them as ‘cucumber knives.’ I’d say half of the cucumber knives sold in the market were made by us.”

“So even though they’re not genuine, your knives perform well enough to be marketed as such?”

“Yes.”

Lee Sangsub examined the blade from different angles based on the man’s explanation before turning to Kang Jin.

“Please bring me several straws.”

Kang Jin went to the counter and returned with some plastic straws. Lee Sangsub took one and effortlessly sliced through it with the knife.

He nodded upon seeing how cleanly the straw was cut.

“It’s incredibly sharp.”

“What happens next?”

Lee Sangsub looked at his knife and nodded. “We need to verify a few things first…but we’ll proceed with our plan for now.”

“Verify what?”

“We’ll have to inspect your company’s production capacity and product quality.”

“Aren’t we just supposed to provide the goods?”

“If you had a buyer lined up, we could simply handle transportation, but you’re asking us to secure both exportation rights and buyers. Since this involves our established clients, we only work with reliable partners.”

“I see. We’ll wait for your call.” Lee Sangsub shook hands with them as they stood to leave.

Once their guests were gone, Lee Sangsub glanced at Kang Jin while inspecting his knives.

“Oh! You two go ahead and grab some coffee. Since we’re already here, let’s have a cup before heading back.”

When Lee Sangsub handed him a card, Kang Jin ordered coffee and returned to the table.

Lee Sangsub had laid out several knife sets on the table, testing each blade by slicing through something. Seeing this, Kang Jin cautiously picked up one of the knives.

Shhhk!

Lee Sangsub noticed and asked, “How’s the knife?”

“It feels quite sharp.”

“The set including both kitchen knives and paring knives costs around 55,000 won. Would you like to buy it?”

“That seems reasonable.”

“It’s only five thousand won, so you’re buying it?”

“That seems quite expensive for a kitchen knife.”

Having lived exclusively in dormitories his whole life, Kang Jin never needed to purchase utensils like this before. However, due to working part-time at a supermarket, he was familiar with the prices of various items.

Typically, kitchen knives ranged from ten thousand won on the low end to twenty or thirty thousand won at most. At fifty-five thousand won, this one seemed unusually pricey.

Lee Sangsub examined the blade closely after Kang Jin’s comment. “Considering German-made knives can cost two to three million won, this isn’t that expensive.”

He continued fiddling with the knife for a moment before stroking his chin thoughtfully.

“It’s good quality, but…”

Lee Sangsub pondered something as Kang Jin nodded in agreement.

“The product is definitely excellent.”

Lee Sangsub looked at him quizzically. “What do you mean by that?”

Kang Jin repeated himself firmly. “The product itself seems quite impressive.”

Lee Sangsub raised an eyebrow. “Just the product?”

Kang Jin glanced back at where they had been sitting earlier. “Yes, it’s great, but…I find those two hard to trust.”