Surviving Restructuring

Eun-Ho called over the five people who had been catching his eye for a while and lined them up side by side.

Each of them held a different sign:

Abolish the Corrupt Union.

Lee Eun-Ho Should Die

Company Heaven, Union Hell.

Disband the Nuisance Union!

Disbandment Is the Only Way to Live.

They really went all out decorating these, Eun-Ho thought.

Three men and two women stood in front of him. Their genders and ages varied, but they shared two clear similarities. Every one of them wore plain, nondescript clothing, and each had their face deliberately obscured with caps pulled low or thick glasses.

“Hey, what’s this about?”

“Wait, weren’t those the people telling everyone to gather and charge earlier?” someone in the crowd muttered.

“What’s going on here?”

Because Eun-Ho had stopped them in their tracks, countless gazes began to converge on the group. The attention seemed to make the protesters uneasy, and they quickly raised their voices first.

“We have nothing to say!” one man protested.

“That’s right!” a woman said sharply. “You’re not going to harass innocent employees just because we came to protest, are you?”

Eun-Ho smiled gently. “Would I really do something like that?”

His calm tone eased their expressions for a moment.

“Well, we’re simply acting for the public good—”

Eun-Ho interrupted smoothly. “I don’t harass innocent employees.”

Their faces stiffened again almost instantly.

“W-what do you mean by that?” one of them asked.

“Are you saying we’re not innocent?” another demanded.

Eun-Ho tilted his head slightly. “You might want to work on controlling your expressions.”

“What are you even—”

“Didn’t they teach you that in the chairman’s office?” Eun-Ho asked casually.

Come on, it’s painfully obvious, Eun-Ho thought.

“I’m not sure what you’re talk—”

“You’re Mr. Suyu from the Chairman’s Secretariat, aren’t you?” Eun-Ho said calmly.

“Huh?!”

“And this morning,” Eun-Ho continued, “you purchased a hundred wooden boards, two bolts of white cloth, three bolts of red cloth, and ten cans of red paint from the company shop.”

“Hic!” The man froze. He stammered, his eyes darting around frantically as he searched for an answer, “T-that’s...”

Around them, the surrounding employees leaned closer, ears practically perked up as they tried to understand what was happening. The only sound cutting through the silence was the man’s panicked hiccups.

“It seems like you prepared this protest quite carefully,” Eun-Ho said mildly. “Care to admit it?”

Thud.

The placard slipped from the man’s hands and fell to the ground. That single moment set off an explosion of voices among the surrounding employees.

“Wait a second! Isn’t that the guy who was leading the charge earlier?!”

“Yeah! The one who said his daughter was dying because he couldn’t afford medicine thanks to the union!”

“So that whole story was a lie?!”

Eun-Ho almost laughed. They even fabricated a sob story that quickly.

A dying daughter because he couldn’t buy medicine? If that lie got exposed, the backlash would be brutal, Eun-Ho thought.

[Those who shed tears over the fabricated story now vent their anger.]

[Those who feel betrayed by the company’s scheme begin to favor the union.]

[Leadership(Lv.4) effect has been maximized!]

I knew it.

“You piece of shit!” someone shouted.

“You call yourself a parent after that? No wait, you’re not even a parent, are you?!”

The employees who had followed the man earlier began snapping their placards in half and ripping off their protest headbands. The other four protesters quickly turned their heads away as if they had nothing to do with him.

Wow. They’re cutting ties cleanly, Eun-Ho noted.

If they had defended him, Eun-Ho had been ready to drag them all down together. The information itself had come from Soeju. According to the businessman, someone suspicious had purchased a large quantity of odd materials and sent along a picture of Eun-Ho’s face. Following that, Eun-Ho had immediately asked Sarah to verify it, and she confirmed the man belonged to the secretariat.

However, only that one man’s face had been confirmed beforehand. The other four were still unknown. If they had gone to such lengths to hide themselves, that meant there were plenty of people here who would recognize them.

“It’s a little hard to see your faces.” Of course, Eun-Ho had a way to deal with that. “Would you mind taking off your hats?”

“Excuse me?” one of them snapped. A sharp glare shot out from beneath the brim of the cap pulled low over their face. “And why would I—”

“Blade Wind.”

Their glare wasn’t nearly as sharp as a blade of wind.

“Aaah!”

Swoosh—!

A crescent-shaped gust sliced through the air and neatly cut through the brim of the cap.

“What the hell are you doing?!” one of them screamed.

“We almost got hurt!”

A few strands of hair fluttered down, revealing their faces in a rather ridiculous fashion.

“Hey! That one’s from the secretariat too!”

“That woman too!”

“And the guy next to her as well!”

Eun-Ho folded his arms. At this point, he thought, maybe he should be the one asking what the hell they were doing.

Someone in the crowd scoffed. “So this is the kind of trick the company uses to manipulate public opinion from behind the scenes?”

“That’s disgusting.”

“Damn it, we almost fell for it!”

Well, it seems the crowd has already figured everything out without me needing to say more, Eun-Ho thought.

[The union members’ sense of betrayal reaches the heavens.]

[The balance between good and evil reverses.]

[Average loyalty: 60%]

Just like that, their loyalty climbed to sixty percent.

[Current average loyalty of union members is 57%.]

However, Eun-Ho hadn’t delayed ending the trial just to gain a measly three percent.

How can I win over everyone at once?

Eun-Ho searched through his memories. It wasn’t that long ago, yet the memory felt like something from a previous life.

“Hey, Mr. Eun-Ho!”

“Oh, you’re here early,” Eun-Ho had said back then. “Did you enjoy the meeting?”

“Enjoy it? Like hell,” the man had grumbled. “They’re asking why the resignation rate is so high these days, and telling us to come up with ideas to improve employee loyalty.”

It had been Eun-Ho’s first company, a modest IT firm where he’d started as a contract employee. The company itself was not particularly big, but because the major corporations in Pangyo kept snatching up talented workers, assistant managers and managers were leaving one after another.

“Isn’t it obvious?” someone had said.

Back then, everyone had answered in unison.

“Money.”

“Yeah. Money.”

After all, company loyalty came from a well-padded bank account, a salary increase.

Then, Eun-Ho opened his eyes again after briefly closing them.

“So, if you have nothing else to say, may we leave now?” one of the exposed infiltrators asked stiffly.

“Leave? Where do you think you’re going, you frauds?!” someone in the crowd shouted.

Another tried to slip away. “Ahem... Well then, I have work to attend to, so—”

Receiving fair compensation for the work they did was something everyone here wanted.

“Hey. Stop right there,” Eun-Ho said. “I have a message for the company.”

Let your master, the one who sent you rats here, hear this clearly.

“In the name of the labor union,” he declared. “I formally request disclosure of the company’s salary calculation standards, profit margins by business division, and a full financial statement detailing costs, including labor expenses.”

“W-what did you just request?!” someone shouted in disbelief.

In other words, Eun-Ho was determined to reveal the secrets the company had kept tightly hidden until now.

“And based on that information, we will renegotiate the salaries of all employees.”

“W-what?!”

“Renegotiate salaries?!”

“There will be no more one-sided exploitation.”

[Union members are shocked by the union leader’s demands!]

[Average loyalty: 72%]

“We will implement a five-day workweek,” Eun-Ho continued, his tone steady, “and overtime pay will be provided for any work beyond standard hours.”

“A five-day workweek?! Overtime pay?!”

“That’s ridiculous!”

[Union members doubt their own ears at the union leader’s continued demands.]

[Average loyalty: 83%]

“Night shift allowances, hazard pay, and weekend work allowances will also be provided.”

“What the hell?!”

[Union members stare in amazement at the ideal future the union leader is presenting!]

[Average loyalty: 89%]

Salary negotiations and improved employee welfare were the true highlight of union activity.

The bright red headband of the man who had bought the wooden boards slowly loosened and slipped down without him even noticing. His face flushed red as he shouted desperately, “That’s impossible! If you do that, the company’s overall productivity will collapse!”

Immediately, the chairman’s associates jumped in to support him.

“Salary negotiations? If people want more money, they should work harder and earn incentives!”

“We already struggle every day just to meet our targets! And now you’re talking about a five-day workweek?!”

They were practically speaking on the company’s behalf now, no longer bothering to hide their allegiance anymore.

“Allowances?” Another scoffed. “That’s just pretty talk! How do you expect the company to afford all that labor cost?”

Eun-Ho let out a quiet sigh.

If you work well, anyone can earn more. The company’s situation is already tight enough to meet its targets. Instead of reducing work hours, we should be doing overtime every day... Companies always say the same thing, Eun-Ho thought.

Well, that was understandable, but if their claim was truly correct, he would be able to see that through actual numbers.

“Then you should have no problem revealing everything transparently,” Eun-Ho said. “Let’s include the size of incentive payouts, the calculation standards, and the ratio of labor costs to profits.”

Let’s see exactly how difficult the company’s situation truly is from start to finish. No more of these vague words.

“I’ll make my judgment after reviewing the supporting data,” Eun-Ho said.

“But, those kinds of documents couldn’t possibly—”

“They exist,” Eun-Ho replied calmly. “This system seems to have everything.”

One of them fell silent.

“Why are you being so radical?” another muttered.

Eun-Ho raised an eyebrow. “That’s a strange thing to say from someone who brought a mob here to stage a protest.”

A second person fell silent.

“Now listen to me!” a third insisted desperately, turning to the crowd. “The company has to survive for the employees to survive! Without the company, where would employees even exist?!”

“Go tell them this,” Eun-Ho replied. “We’re not accepting shared suffering or noble sacrifices for the company’s growth.”

A third person shut his mouth.

“Does anyone else have something to add?” Eun-Ho asked.

Silence settled across the entire forest.

“Then I guess that’s all. I’ll organize what I’ve said and send it over as an official document.”

Eun-Ho had said everything he had to say. There was nothing more to add and nothing worth hearing. He turned away without hesitation and raised his hand.

[Death Hand - Recall]

The suffocating darkness that had sealed off the sky began to tremble. It moved, gathered, and rushed toward him.

Sssss—

The condensed mass of death energy flowed into his outstretched palm.

“The sun!”

“It’s bright again!”

Light returned in an instant. At the same time, thunderous applause shattered the silence.

Clap.

Clap. Clap.

Clap. Clap. Clap—

“Hell yeah! If this is the union, I’m all for it!”

“We support you! I’m sorry for doubting your sincerity!”

“Keep fighting!”

The Down with Lee Eun-Ho! sign split in half before breaking apart again into pieces. The Disband the Nuisance Union! placards were also torn apart, reduced to scattered boards and sticks.

“Lee Eun-Ho!”

“Lee Eun-Ho!”

“Lee Eun-Ho!”

...

The cheers and applause grew so loud that it became difficult to hear anything else.

The applause was from gratitude for saving them from the crisis, astonishment for standing against the company on behalf of themselves, and perhaps even embarrassment and guilt for having raised weapons against him earlier.

It doesn’t matter. We simply use each other for our own benefit, Eun-Ho thought.

Whether the feelings they offered this false hero were trust or guilt, it didn’t matter. Whether their loyalty was a fleeting spark or devotion strong enough to hand over their hearts, it didn’t matter. He could make that benefit more valuable than anything else in the world.

[Many union members are moved by your charisma.]

[A small number of union members begin to worship the union leader.]

[Average loyalty: 95%]

One hundred and fifty thousand allies had been gained. The war was only just beginning.

***

The situation settled down almost instantly. Of course, that was only by Eun-Ho’s standards.

“Mister!”

“Huh? Yeo-J—”

“Mister! Mister! Mister! This is huge! It worked perfectly!” Yeo-Jin shouted excitedly.

If one were to borrow Yeo-Jin’s own words, the entire company had boiled over.

Yeo-Jin was practically breathing steam from her nose as she shoved a screen toward him. “Look! Look at this!”

It was a post from the company’s anonymous message board. The title even had a tacky little icon beside it.

[HOT!] The Union Protest Happened - Here’s the Summary

We were about to push through the gate when the union leader showed up.

He exposed that the protest leaders were sent by the company, dropped a massive bombshell, and then flew away. (Seriously flew away.)

Union demands are...

Disclosure of financial statements

Renegotiation of salaries for all employees

Implementation of a five-day workweek

Overtime pay for extra hours

Night shift allowance, hazard pay, and weekend work allowance

(Added #5 because I forgot it earlier)

Not sure how things will go from here, but the union leader was cool as hell. If he were a woman I’d have fallen in love. The End.

Beneath the post, there were hundreds of comments.

└You forgot #5: night shift, hazard, and weekend allowances

└Added it

└Nothing else matters, the union leader is cool as hell

└His last speech was awesome too, rewatching it now

└I don’t like him. Talks too well and feels like a con artist

└So he talks well and you hate him, and he talks badly and you hate him?

└Then you prefer someone who doesn’t even know what they’re saying?

└Isn’t this the guy who got beaten up by Lee Eun-Ho?

└Imagine losing to someone at employee level lol

└So what about prices?

└They’re back to normal, are you lazy or what

└Lazy much

...

...

...

“Wow,” Eun-Ho muttered.

“There are dozens of new comments every time I refresh!” Yeo-Jin exclaimed. “This is insane right now!”

The comments were coming in so quickly that it was impossible to read them all.

Eun-Ho observed. “People are really paying attention.”

According to Sarah, this was the hottest topic she had seen since she joined the company.

“Right? Mister, you’re hotter than most idols right now! It’s like one of those January 1st Dispatch scandal levels of attention—”

“Yeo-Jin.” Eun-Ho cut her off before she could continue rambling. “Let’s use this.”

“Huh? Use it? How?”

Interest was money. That truth remained unchanged no matter how much the world changed. Of course, what they required right now wasn’t exactly money.

“Launch a union membership event,” Eun-Ho said.

“What?!”

“The benefit is simple. Waive the union membership fee. But only for twenty-four hours.”

“Whaaat?!”

When the fire is burning, we have to fan the flames.

“Alright! Everyone heard that, right?” Yeo-Jin clapped loudly. “Write up the promotional text! No fancy designs. Just text is fine! Let’s post it within ten minutes!”

“Huh? O-okay!”

“Yeo-Jin, I’ll draft something and share it.”

“Thanks, Unnie! I’ll go ask Leira for backup support!”

It was a complete victory. Not only had they reversed public opinion, they now had a chance to expand the union itself.

Maybe I should thank them for escalating things for us, Eun-Ho thought.

Respecting working hours, overtime pay and salary negotiations were ordinary, familiar ideas. However, that was not the case here. Introducing concepts that had never existed before was difficult. Sudden changes could easily feel excessive, even to the people benefiting from them.

The first step was awareness, including a sense that something was wrong and a belief that things had to change. In other words, Eun-Ho required firewood to keep the spark he had lit from burning out.

Well, they handed it to me themselves.

The union’s membership had once fallen to ten thousand. However, after public opinion flipped in their favor, the numbers had begun recovering quickly. Now that they had added an event on top of that momentum, the growth would skyrocket.

[Union members’ morale reaches the heavens!]

[Average loyalty: 99%]

There was only one potential issue. As membership increased, the average loyalty could drop.

After all, averages include all kinds of people, Eun-Ho thought.

[Would you like to end the special order and check your reward?]

[Y/N]

If that was the case, then this had to be the peak which was also the perfect moment to end it.

Click.

Having made his decision instantly, Eun-Ho pressed Y without hesitation.

[Special order Unity has been completed!]

[Congratulations!]

[You have achieved an unprecedented accomplishment!]

[Calculating exclusive rewards.]

Fwaaaash—!

The system window trembled as if it were alive. Light poured down like a torrential rainstorm. Within that brilliant glow, the message Eun-Ho had been waiting for finally appeared.

[Please check your trial reward!]