Chapter 88: Office Romance? (4)

 

I went to work early in the morning for a final review of the work I did yesterday.

 

However, the subway ride without Han-gyeol felt particularly burdensome.

 

“I thought I was going to die...”

 

After emerging from the suffocating subway, I arrived at the office to find that several colleagues, including my mother, were already there.

 

The atmosphere was peculiar.

 

Everyone was gathered around a monitor, engaged in conversation.

 

“What’s this...? So, you’re saying this was made yesterday afternoon?”

 

“Yes... To be honest, it’s incredibly intuitive and efficient. It’s good enough to use right away.”

 

“Did you input the data? How did the results turn out?”

 

“The old format we were using started showing errors from the sixth decimal place, but this one starts from the eighth. I’ve verified it several times, and the results are more accurate with the new format.”

 

“What’s going on...?”

 

It seemed like a serious discussion, so I cautiously greeted them.

 

“Hello...”

 

My greeting caught the attention of my superiors and my mother.

 

“Oh, you’re here early? Where’s Han-gyeol? Hasn’t he arrived yet?”

 

“Ah-?! Yes, I came in early to review the work I did yesterday.”

 

“I see. Can you come here for a moment? Take a look at this.”

 

I approached as my mother called me over. She pointed to the monitor screen and asked,

 

“Did you work on this with Han-gyeol?”

 

“No? I haven’t worked on anything with Han-gyeol, I mean, Han-gyeol-ssi, at the company.”

 

Had Han-gyeol done something wrong?

 

“I’m just curious, but do kids these days learn Excel and VBA in high school?”

 

“Uh? I think we briefly went over it during information technology class, but I’ve never learned Excel or VBA.”

 

“Hmm- Is that so? Okay, go back to your work.”

 

My mother’s expression was profoundly inscrutable.

 

“Is there a reason for... this?”

 

Unable to contain my curiosity, I asked.

 

A colleague answered,

 

“Ah- it’s nothing much. We had asked Han-gyeol to do something yesterday, and it turned out to be incredibly efficient. Honestly, it makes more sense to discard our old methods and proceed with this new approach. But it’s hard to believe that someone who has just graduated from high school could have created it...”

 

The response from the deputy manager was complemented by my mother’s instructions.

 

“Yu, put a hold on your current task and input various data into this format. Then, compare it with the old format to see how different the results are, and report back by 10 o’clock.”

 

“Should we ignore it if the difference in results is negligible?”

 

“Yes. And when Han-gyeol arrives, ask him to briefly summarize the VBA code and Excel functions used in this format. Let’s have a meeting at 10:30.”

 

“Should we ask Han-gyeol to prepare the materials for the meeting as well?”

 

“If there’s time, start with that. But don’t overburden him. It’s hard to do in just an hour.”

 

“Understood.”

 

It seems the scale of the task has grown somewhat.

 

I returned to my desk, reviewed the work I did yesterday, and uploaded it to the cloud.

 

“Good morning~”

 

Afterwards, other colleagues, including Han-gyeol, also arrived.

 

I caught a glimpse of Deputy Manager Yu speaking to Han-gyeol.

 

Han-gyeol, startled as he set down his bag, quickly began typing away at his keyboard.

 

Just after 10 o’clock, a message arrived via messenger.

 

[CEO: Everyone to the conference room in thirty minutes.]

 

“Was there a meeting today?”

 

A senior colleague whispered to me.

 

We all quietly made our way to the conference room thirty minutes later.

 

My mother was the last to enter before the meeting started.

 

“I’m sorry for calling a sudden meeting despite everyone’s busy schedules. It won’t take long, so could we take a look at this?”

 

Unknown formulas and figures appeared on the screen.

 

“You all know this, right?”

 

“It’s an interest rate model.”

 

“Right. How have we been obtaining this until now?”

 

“Well, we input the data and run it through Excel, right?”

 

“Yes. But how long did it take to process each one?”

 

“Um... if it’s a lengthy period, it seemed to take about forty minutes.”

 

It was a conversation I couldn’t contribute to.

 

“Right. But does anyone know how this works?”

 

“Didn’t we outsource it three years ago? We gave the formulas and implementation method to the outsourcing company, so the exact operation...”

 

“Right. But take a look at this.”

 

My mother opened an Excel file on her laptop.

 

That must be... the Excel file Han-gyeol created.

 

“A new format?”

 

“Yes. But-”

 

As my mother pressed a button, figures on the screen began to change rapidly.

 

After about a minute, the results were displayed.

 

Honestly, I didn’t understand what it was all about, but the employees’ eyes widened.

 

“Why is it so fast?”

 

“This data would take at least 10 minutes to process, right?”

 

“Is this a new format? The results seem to be the same, too?”

 

My mother’s gaze shifted to Han-gyeol.

 

“Did Han-gyeol make this yesterday?”

 

All eyes turned toward Han-gyeol, who answered with a slight tension.

 

“Yes... I made it.”

 

Though no one screamed, everyone’s mouth fell open in shock.

 

“You did? By yourself?”

 

“How could that be...? You can’t make this without accounting knowledge?”

 

“Wait a minute. But hasn’t it only been a week since he joined?”

 

The atmosphere became momentarily chaotic until my mother calmed everyone down.

 

“Everyone, please. Han-gyeol? Can you explain how you managed to drastically reduce the processing time?”

 

Han-gyeol responded calmly to my mother’s question.

 

“Well... The existing format had many unnecessary formulas. There were a lot that could be resolved without using formulas at all, which increased the file size and significantly slowed down the process. I simply removed the formulas that seemed unnecessary, modified the ones that could be improved, and handled the simple repetitive calculations through loops in VBA.”

 

Other colleagues also bombarded Han-gyeol with questions.

 

“Wait a minute. But is it possible to make this without any accounting knowledge?”

 

“What I did was not to create formulas through accounting knowledge, but to improve upon the existing ones. It would have been impossible if I had to start from scratch.”

 

The questions continued to pour in for Han-gyeol.

 

“So, you made this without any accounting knowledge?”

 

“By looking at the existing formats, I could understand the flow. As I mentioned before, I simply made that flow more flexible.”

 

After Han-gyeol answered, my mother turned to ask Deputy Manager Yu.

 

“Yu. You said it’s impossible to use this right away. Can you explain why?”

 

“I ran a few sets of data through Han-gyeol’s format, and all but one returned accurate figures. However, one set came back completely incorrect. I would like to use it right away, but... it’s impossible to use if even one calculation is wrong.”

 

Following Deputy Manager Yu’s explanation, my mother pressed the presenter button. She pointed at the screen and asked Han-gyeol.

 

“Han-gyeol. There’s a problem when this data is inputted. Do you know why?”

 

“Well... Based on this screen alone, I can’t tell. But, could it be a case where the interest rates are given over a period?”

 

“Interest rates given over a period? What do you mean?”

 

“It means the interest rates are the same from day 1 to day 365.”

 

Upon Han-gyeol’s suggestion, Deputy Manager Yu rechecked the data.

 

“You’re right. The interest rates from day 1 to day 365 are the same.”

 

“Really? Why can’t it be used in this case then? All other conditions are the same, aren’t they?”

 

“My format cannot assign interest rates over intervals. So, it... it only works with discrete probability variables.”

 

Discrete probability variables?

 

“Can you explain that in simpler terms?”

 

“For example, if we’re calculating the interest rate for a year, the variables would be for day 1, day 2, day 3... up to day 365, making a total of 365 variables. But if you input it as from day 1 ‘to’ day 365, the variable is given as an interval, making the number of variables infinite. That’s where the error comes from.”

 

“What’s the solution?”

 

“It’s simple. Just enter the same interest rate for each day. That fixes the number of variables at 365.”

 

The room fell silent at Han-gyeol’s explanation.

 

It felt like there was nothing more to question.

 

Some people were gaping in amazement, while others looked at Han-gyeol as if they had seen something miraculous.

 

“Hmm... Okay. Let’s end the meeting here. I have an afternoon schedule, so I need to leave now. We’ll continue this discussion later. Everyone, except for Eun-ha, you may leave.”

 

Huh? Why me?

 

After everyone else had left the conference room, my mother sat down in front of me.

 

“Eun-ha...?”

 

“Yes...Yes?”

 

“Think of me as Mom right now.”

 

“Okay. Why?”

 

My mother looked at me and said,

 

“By any chance, are Han-gyeol’s parents accountants?”

 

“Uh...? No, I don’t think so. Why?”

 

“I see... Eun-ha.”

 

“Yes.”

 

My mother placed her hand over mine.

 

“Marry Han-gyeol. You mustn’t let him go.”

--- The End OF The Chapter ---

 

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