Chapter 44 (1) - The Mysterious Art Museum
At a caf near home.
The tax officer sent by Min-Young was a man with gold-rimmed glasses, neat hair, and a slightly sharp look. As his appearance suggested, he spoke in a blunt manner, laying out several documents before saying,
"Did you bring your seal?"
"Yes, here."
As I quickly handed over the seal, the officer took it and stared at me intently.
"What... Is there a problem?"
After sighing, the officer said,
"Sir."
'Sir'? I mean, I am the boss, but why does it feel so cringy?
"Yes."
"Do you remember my name?"
Huh? He had definitely introduced himself over the phone when we scheduled the appointment. I can't remember. It was Park something.
"I'm sorry, I heard it earlier but..."
Putting down the seal, the officer said,
"I'm Jungwon Park, team leader. In charge of finance at W Tree Group."
"Ah, yes. I'm sorry. I'll definitely remember this time."
Team Leader Park Jungwon sighed as he looked at me bowing.
"Sir, did you go through the process of verifying my identity?"
"What?"
What is he talking about? Min-Young sent him, so he must be the finance team leader of W Tree Group, right?
"What do you mean?"
Team Leader Park Jungwon gestured to the phone on the table, showing the seal I handed over.
"I mean, did you at least call to verify my identity?"
"..."
Team Leader Park Jungwon, holding the seal, said,
"Sir. Right now, your ID card is on the table, and I have your seal in my hand. Do you understand what this means?"
"That means..."
"It means I could do anything with your identity. Handing over your seal without verifying my identity is really dangerous."
Wow, was that the case?
"Is that so?"
As Team Leader Park gestured to the phone, he continued,
"I'm not saying you should suspect me. But you should make verification a habit. If you're going to do business, you need to be careful about this. Scammers are like crocodiles; they'll snap at you the moment they see a weakness. Tell them my name, my affiliation, what I look like, and verify."
"Ha, really?"
Someone who talks this much couldn't be a scammer, right? I was about to laugh it off, but Team Leader Park looked at me intently. Then he gestured to the phone.
Wow, he really means it.
Reluctantly, I called Min-Young.
Min-Young laughed at my explanation, reassuring me that he is indeed the manager from her company. Ah, embarrassing.
While I finished my call, Team Leader Park waited and then handed me some documents.
"Please fill out the business registration application, and the lease agreement can be provided after renting the business premises. The documents for corporate establishment permit application, representative appointment verification, and group seal will be prepared by us and verified later."
"Ah, yes."
Honestly, I felt intimidated.
I might be friends with President Min-Young, but I had no need to be so formal with a subordinate. He's someone who's going to take care of areas I'm not familiar with, and since he's well-versed in legal matters, I can't help but feel a bit overwhelmed.
After spending about an hour with Team Leader Park to complete and explain the paperwork, he got up to leave.
"I'll return to the office to process these and will see you again tomorrow. We'll complete the document submission by this week."
"Ah, yes. Thank you."
"Then, I'll take my leave."
After scolding me earlier, Team Leader Park bowed politely as he left. Drained after just an hour, I slumped onto the sofa as soon as he disappeared.
"Ah, I really hate dealing with legal stuff."
Just then, the person sitting behind me, wearing sunglasses and reading a book, turned around.
"Wow, that's the real deal."
It's Youngju.
When I mentioned I was meeting someone for corporate registration today, she insisted on secretly listening in, thinking I couldn't handle it alone. So here we are, playing this spy game.
I glared at Youngju and asked,
"Having fun?"
"Yeah, totally."
"How did it seem?"
Youngju gestured to the caf door through which Team Leader Park had left, giving a thumbs up.
"This is the first time I've seen someone finish corporate registration paperwork in just an hour."
"There were a lot of documents."
"Yeah, I once saw someone I know doing it, and it took them two days just for the paperwork. Of course, they did all the documents that were supposed to be prepared by the other party too. Anyway, he looked super experienced and capable."
Ah, that's settled then.
Have you decided on the company name?
Not yet, I just have to decide before submitting the documents this week.
Two days ago, at the tripe restaurant, we racked our brains for hours trying to come up with a company name but couldn't settle on one. We wanted something impressive, but didn't want the company name to be unnecessarily long.
I checked the time, gathered my seal and ID card, and stood up.
You have a schedule in the afternoon, right? Better go now.
What time is it? Yikes! I need to catch a taxi, damn.
Young-ju leaves in a hurry. She's really scatterbrained, honestly.
By the way, Young-ju is still working at her company.
She has submitted her resignation, but she needs to stay a bit longer for the handover.
Originally, she was supposed to stay for a month, but luckily, the position of a docent at the Seoul City Art Museum is in high demand, so they found a replacement quickly, and she could cut it down to two weeks.
I remember Young-ju's face looking rather bitter when she told me this.
I thought I was indispensable at the company. Turns out, after just two weeks of training, anyone can replace me.
I've heard similar complaints from my school seniors who visit the school, but honestly, I'm not too familiar with that world. However, in the company I'm creating, Young-ju will be an irreplaceable part. I'll make sure of it.
Just then, my phone rings.
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