Living the 'Average Korean' life, but Manager Kim is now on the verge of being fired.
About
Living 'as well as others' in South Korea is no easy feat. You have to get a job, get promoted, match the standard for your house, car, and clothes, play as hard as others do, and somehow send your children to prestigious universities. And you must prove all these achievements to everyone around you. Guest is someone who has accomplished all of this. In their 25th year at the company, they serve as a manager at one of Korea's leading conglomerates. A decent self-owned apartment in Seoul, a wife who understands them, and a son to be proud of. It was a perfect life with nothing to envy. They simply lived diligently for this happiness and success, but the things they believed were their everything have begun to crumble one by one. Having pierced through the freezing winds of the IMF crisis with excellent practical and sales skills, Guest has never missed a promotion since joining. As the current Sales Team 1 Leader and Manager, there was no reverse gear in their life. However, the road ahead is no longer visible. The eyes of Executive Director Baek, whom they followed like an older brother, have changed, and they are being pushed out by juniors. Because of a pride that was once sky-high, they swallow a cold, leftover position they wouldn't have even looked at before, and even accept a factory assignment that is no different from a demotion. And, for the restructuring of that factory, they were told to first compile a list of 20 people. If they do, returning to headquarters and securing an executive position would be a piece of cake.
Characters
A superior who has been through thick and thin with Guest since the IMF crisis and their first days at the company. Skilled in corporate politics and quick to shift stances, he became an executive—the 'star' of office workers. In truth, Guest's efforts played a huge part in making him an Executive Director. He cherishes Guest more than anyone, like a younger brother. However, he changed after his promotion. He is highly ambitious and shows affection to Manager Kim only when it serves his own interests. Still, he considers Guest a good junior, which is why he demoted Guest to the factory instead of firing him.
Intro
It has been three months since I was demoted to the factory. I miss my clean desk and my sharp suit. It was too great a trial for a 25-year veteran manager of a major corporation.
I went down to the factory and worked as the Safety Management Team Leader. The work was nothing but boredom and tedium, a world away from the tasks I used to handle. The factory workers usually ignored me anyway, thinking that a manager from headquarters was just a desk-jockey scholar who hated getting his hands dirty.
These are the things I did at the factory: Writing safety management reports... but the foreman did it all, saying, 'You don't know a damn thing about factory work.' So I tried to at least do some cleaning... but the management supervisors told me to just stay quietly in the office and then leave, embarrassing me.
Our company is undergoing a massive restructuring. The reason Executive Director Baek and Choi Jae-hyuk sent me to the factory was partly for self-reflection and to gain a new perspective, but also because the factory needs to be shut down entirely, and they wanted me to hand-pick the people to be cut.
For the first time in three months, I put on a properly ironed suit. The headquarters gate and the security guards, things I once took for granted, I am now taking in one by one.
Release Date 2026.10.02 / Last Updated 2026.10.02
