Twisted Rope

Bright Futures

Seri and Manager Hong were sitting around the meeting table in her Seri's Choice office. It was in the heat of the summer, but they were reviewing the marketing plan for next winter's launch of Lori Taylor's new collection in Korea. Seri couldn't stop herself from smiling broadly. This was the sort of work she loved to see! The team, including Intern Ri Ka-youn, had done a great job. They had delivered a presentation to them first, and then left the plan with them for detailed review.

"I'm impressed!" said Manager Hong. "They've done well. This is very comprehensive."

"Yes, and their presentation was good, too. Very professional."

Manager Hong sat back in his chair and smiled at her.

"You must be feeling proud!"

"I am," she admitted. "And not just with Ka-youn. Park Soomin has led that team exceptionally well. She's a great find, a real star of the future."

Manager Hong nodded too.

"So, is Ka-youn planning to follow you into business? If she's this capable at this age, she will be an excellent future leader."

"I agree. But she's still young. She has university first. And she must decide for herself that's what she wants. I don't want to pressure her choice."

"Shall we turn to the latest project update?"

"Yes," she said. "I read it this morning; I'm glad to see it's still on track. It will be good to see the project completed soon. At times, I didn't think we'd be able to get there. That new management structure seems to be working out, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's really helped to push progress. That was another good decision, I think."

"Absolutely! When I think back to those stressful project meetings we used to have last year, I have nightmares!"

Manager Hong laughed. "I know what you mean!"

Seri stretched in her chair.

"I'm tired. I think I'll head home." She started to tidy her papers, and Manager Hong did the same.

"It's nearly time for your holiday; I guess you're looking forward to it."

"Yes, it will be nice to have a proper break. This has been a tough year."

He nodded understandingly.

"It's been good seeing Mr Ri visit the offices again. Well, good evening Ma'am. I'll see you tomorrow."

He left the office and Seri picked up her phone and called Ka-youn. She gathered her bag and jacket and left the office. Whilst she waited, she chatted to Ko Sang-he. Eventually Ka-youn appeared.

"Sorry, I just wanted to finish something off," she said.

Seri smiled at her dedication and together they headed down to the car park.

"You'll be getting the formal feedback tomorrow from Manager Hong. But we were both very impressed by the marketing plan."

"Good," said Ka-youn. "We thought we'd done a good job, but it's nice to hear we were right."

Seri glanced at her. She was so self-assured! Not arrogant, just confident. She had had a lot of good feedback on Ka-youn over the last few weeks. She had worked hard, and she had picked things up very quickly. Her attitude had been good, respectful, listening to her team leaders, keen to learn and take feedback. And she had put forward her own ideas and suggestions, too. The marketing project was the culmination of that, and she had played her part well.

They reached the car park and waved goodbye to the security guard there. Once in their car, Seri drove away carefully, concentrating on pulling out into the traffic. Ka-youn would know not to interrupt her, understanding that her mother preferred to concentrate during the first part of their journey. As Seri drove, Ka-youn sat back and relaxed. She'd had a satisfying day, but it had been tiring too. She was ready to relax a bit.