The reason I chose this hotel restaurant as the place to meet CEO Cha Yoonjung had nothing to do with any hidden agenda.
It was simply because this hotel had become a symbol of good fortune for me. I felt like if we met here, things with IntelliOn would go well too. That was all—there really was no other reason.
You can't just ignore superstitions. The idea that when your luck with women opens up, your financial luck follows had become a kind of superstition for me as well. And since I was so heavily influenced by such things, there was no way I could disregard an important one like this.
Of course, not everything that happened at this hotel had been good.
I had seen my ex-girlfriend, Park Sojeong, leaving this very place with another man.
But looking at it another way, that only meant this hotel was good enough even for someone like Park Sojeong to use. Catering to her picky tastes was never easy.
Negotiations with IntelliOn were, without exaggeration, the most important matter in my life right now.
That was why I decided to meet CEO Cha Yoonjung here, at the hotel restaurant that had become my personal symbol of luck. Nothing more than that.
"Welcome, CEO. It's been a while since we last met in person."
"Hello, Manager Kang. Thank you for inviting me."
"But you arrived quite early, didn't you?"
"You arrived even earlier than I did, Manager Kang."
It was a good thing I'd come early.
I'd arrived thirty minutes before our scheduled time, and CEO Cha had arrived twenty minutes early herself.
Only a ten-minute difference.
If I'd arrived exactly on time, I would've ended up making her wait twenty minutes.
"But today… you seem different from usual."
The image I had of CEO Cha Yoonjung in my mind was quite distinctive.
A hands-on leader who was half brilliant engineer, half capable executive. A genius with flashes of inspiration I could never match. Someone like an uncut gemstone, shining with potential—that was CEO Cha Yoonjung to me.
I'd seen people like her back in my university days.
Geniuses who shot ahead like rockets, flying far above the rest of us. Those people were now soaring on the global stage, leaving ordinary folks like me grounded on this small patch of land called Korea.
CEO Cha Yoonjung was one of those geniuses.
She wasn't someone who belonged in a place like this, feeling discouraged.
"Yes… it doesn't really suit me, does it?"
She asked shyly.
Her atmosphere was completely different from usual. She wore a dress that emphasized her femininity, light makeup on her face, and cute earrings.
Her hair, usually tied up tightly, now fell in soft waves.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she looked like a different person today.
"Not at all. You look wonderful. I was just worried that choosing a place like this might have made you uncomfortable."
"No, not at all. I wanted to dress up a little today too."
Her shy smile seemed especially radiant today, to the point that it was hard to look at her directly.
"Then I'm the lucky one—to be able to have dinner with you on a day like this, CEO Cha."
"Hehe. Am I really?"
She truly felt like a different person.
Her appearance was one thing, but even her demeanor had changed. She'd always been strictly professional and pragmatic, yet today she felt more like a young woman her age.
"Shall we order first?"
We ordered tenderloin steak and a red wine recommended by the server.
Before getting into the main topic, I brought up something I hadn't been able to say over the phone.
"Have you heard anything from Hwangsan since that incident?"
"No. Nothing at all."
"Nothing?"
"Yes. I haven't received any contact whatsoever."
That was strange.
No matter what, shouldn't the company at least apologize to the victim?
"In a way, it's better like this. I don't even want to think about it, and honestly, I don't have the energy to respond either."
"Still, CEO—you should demand what needs to be demanded and receive an apology where it's due."
"No. I doubt they'd apologize sincerely even if I did. It's more comfortable for me to just let it go."
"I see. In that case, I won't press the matter further."
Once again, was Hwangsan planning to quietly bury the issue?
The more I learned, the more disappointed I became in the company.
"It's embarrassing to think that this is the company I once worked for."
I'd known it was an outdated, rigid organization—but I never imagined it was this bad.
Seeing me shake my head, CEO Cha smiled softly.
"You said it yourself, didn't you? That Hwangsan would fall because of a single mistake made against me."
I'd said it in anger during our call the day before, but I still believed it.
"Yes. Hwangsan was already an old-fashioned company. If they had properly partnered with IntelliOn, they might have avoided decline. But they kicked away a blessing that rolled right up to them—so the future of such a company is obvious."
There's a reason corporations obsess over innovation and reform.
No matter how big a company is, clinging to outdated practices inevitably leads to decline.
This incident was proof of that.
If CEO Cha had chosen to fight back aggressively, the entire corporation could have been shaken.
"Hm. Is that so? I don't quite see it that way."
"Pardon?"
She didn't seem to agree with me.
That was understandable—Hwangsan was a massive corporation. If it were truly on the brink of collapse, even the government wouldn't just let it fail.
But that wasn't her real reason.
"If Hwangsan does fall in the future, it won't be because they lost us. It'll be because they let you go, Manager Kang."
"Haha."
That was an interesting take.
I couldn't help but laugh.
"You're giving me too much credit. I'm just an ordinary employee—there are limits to what I can do. My position would be filled immediately."
"That's not true."
She gently shook her head, her wavy hair swaying softly.
"Isn't the reason this contract fell apart in the first place because you were forced out? Hwangsan only started negotiations with IntelliOn because of your efforts."
"…I suppose."
She wasn't wrong.
If I hadn't brought it up, Hwangsan would never have negotiated with IntelliOn at all.
"So if Hwangsan declines in the future, it won't be because our contract fell through. It'll be because they pushed you out. If you had stayed, even if our deal failed, you would've continued proposing plans to save the company. And then Hwangsan wouldn't collapse."
"…That's…"
My chest grew unexpectedly warm.
To someone like me—a salaried worker—those words were the highest form of praise.
I'd poured myself into Hwangsan for years.
Even though the rigid corporate culture prevented me from using my full potential, I believed I'd done more than my pay was worth.
I believed I contributed more to the company than people like Assistant Manager Park—by a wide margin.
That was why I'd hoped the company would investigate the incident properly and place the blame where it belonged.
Some part of me had even expected they'd fire Park instead of me.
But Hwangsan chose to end the matter by getting rid of me.
I'd given everything to the company, yet the company hadn't acknowledged it.
To them, I was just another replaceable part.
"If someone like you were on our side, Manager Kang, I would never let you go. …No matter what it took."
There was sincerity in CEO Cha's words.
Even if it was mere politeness, knowing that someone recognized my worth moved me deeply.
"…Thank you for saying that, CEO."
Just then, the food arrived.
The sound of plates being set down swallowed my trembling voice.
We continued our conversation in bits and pieces as we cut into our steaks.
"The reason I said I had something to tell you was that I'd like to invest in IntelliOn personally."
"…Pardon? You want to invest—personally?"
"Yes. Not an enormous amount, but I was hoping to invest a little and acquire some equity."
"Then… how much are you thinking of investing?"
"About one billion won."
"One billion?!"
Coincidentally, that was the exact amount Hwangsan had proposed for a two-year exclusive contract.
If IntelliOn hadn't signed any other agreements yet, this amount might still give me a foothold.
"Manager Kang… are you saying you want to buy our company?"
"Of course not. There's no way a company like IntelliOn could be bought for just one billion won."
"I simply want a small equity stake."
"I don't mind giving you equity, but… that would feel shameless on our part…"
She lowered her head deeply.
"I've said this many times, but IntelliOn's value is far greater than this. I'm certain it will become a company worth tens or even hundreds of billions."
"But right now, we're a failing company that can't even pay employee salaries."
"…True."
That was also true.
Until more people recognized its value, that was unavoidable.
"Even if we tried to sell for one billion won right now, no one would buy us."
"That's only because no one knows IntelliOn yet—or understands its technology."
"But that's the same thing. What value does an unknown company really have?"
"…You're right."
It was just like the stock market.
Right now, IntelliOn was at rock bottom. People didn't even know it existed, so trading volume was zero.
But what if the technology made the news?
What if experts verified it and publicly confirmed its legitimacy?
At that point, the stock would skyrocket day after day—and then no one would be able to buy in.
That was why I wanted to invest now, at the bottom.
"So that's why I'm suggesting this. If I receive equity, I'd like to help with sales as well."
"Sales?"
"Yes. Promoting IntelliOn—letting people know what kind of company it is and what technology it has."
"Did you do that kind of sales work while you were at Hwangsan?"
"No. But I have to. My one billion could turn into ten—or a hundred billion."
"Haha. A hundred billion."
She laughed as if I were joking.
I wasn't.
A hundred billion was actually a conservative estimate.
Was there really no company out there that would invest a trillion won into IntelliOn once it was known? I believed there would be.
"I can't decide this on my own. I need to discuss it with the others."
"You can take your time. As long as it's before IntelliOn's stock hits the upper limit."
The meal was nearly finished.
My business was done too. It was probably time to get up.
But CEO Cha seemed uneasy, fidgeting as if she still had something to say.
Maybe I should wait a bit longer.
"Um… Manager Kang."
"Yes?"
"There's actually something I wanted to ask you as well."
"Go ahead."
She'd mentioned earlier that she had something to say in person.
But she hesitated, opening and closing her mouth.
After a moment, she finally spoke.
What she said was something I really didn't want to hear.
"Um… at Hwangsan… was there a culture of, well… entertaining clients?"
"Cough!"
My throat suddenly went dry.
I gulped down my red wine in large swallows.
Assistant Manager Park, you bastard!!