The core of the plan was no different from what I had told CEO Cha Yoonjung the night before.
I would invest in IntelliOn and receive equity in return, take charge of external promotion and contract-related work, and then receive profit distributions proportional to my shares if the business succeeded.
On top of that, I added what I wanted the two of them to handle.
"I'd like you two to take care of creating distribution materials and external communications. I can't handle everything on my own."
IntelliOn's technology itself was undoubtedly impressive. But even the finest gems are worthless unless they're properly set. If you can't clearly convey that brilliance to others, it holds no value at all.
In that sense, Yoo Eunha was absolutely indispensable.
Her ability to instantly grasp the core of any issue and turn it into a persuasive report was unmatched. As far as I knew, there was no one in this field who could rival her.
That sharp insight sometimes made her the target of resentment from other employees. Reports that passed through Yoo Eunha almost never got approved on the first try.
But because of that process, the final result was always flawless. She was an irreplaceable asset to any company.
Hwang Juyeon, on the other hand, was her complete opposite.
Her gentle, warm presence softened everyone around her in an instant. You could say she was like a living hypnosis app. Especially when dealing with male clients, her success rate was overwhelming.
Even customers who came in ready to complain often found themselves calming down and canceling their complaints after talking with Hwang Juyeon for a short while. That ultimate communication skill would definitely be an asset to us.
"Your scope of work will be broader than it was at Hwangsan. If representatives from foreign companies come, you might have to meet and deal with them directly. Your role might end up being closer to sales."
"That actually sounds fun."
Hwang Juyeon responded with genuine interest.
Yoo Eunha, ears perked up, spoke next.
"Meta, Amazon, Google… I remember Senior Manager Joo Yo-hwan moved to Amazon's NLP team. And Team Leader Baek Min-gyu from the Overseas Business Division went to Google. What about Meta?"
"Yoon Yeo-jin. She was in the UX Design Lab. I heard she's now with Meta's AR wearable interface planning team."
Yoo Eunha nodded, as if she'd expected that answer.
"As expected of you, Manager Kang. You really keep track of where all the female employees go."
"That's not true! They told me themselves when they left."
I quickly defended myself.
We'd worked together for a long time, so we'd crossed paths plenty of times. We'd helped each other professionally, and sometimes clashed too—but that was all part of doing our jobs well. Just as I understood them, they would understand me too.
Come to think of it, all the truly capable people seemed to leave the company early—moving on to better places.
Then why had I stayed at a company like that for so long? Was I actually the incompetent one?
"So how much equity are you planning to receive from IntelliOn?" Yoo Eunha asked.
"That hasn't been decided yet. Their CEO will discuss it with the employees and decide afterward."
At the moment, CEO Cha Yoonjung held 25% of IntelliOn, while the remaining 75% was split evenly among the five founding employees, each holding 15%. How much of that they'd give up would be decided after internal discussions.
"What about our salaries?" Juyeon asked.
"Basically, I'm planning to pay you the same amount you were getting at Hwangsan."
"And that's coming from IntelliOn?"
"No. It'll come out of my pocket. I'm hiring you two personally."
"From your own money?"
Both of them widened their eyes and looked at each other.
It looked like they were already worrying about my bank account going under before we'd even started.
I laughed and added,
"You don't need to worry that much. This will be a short-term battle. A few months at most—maybe even just a few weeks."
If everything went according to plan, that would be the case.
Modern AI technology is like a flower that withers day by day. No matter how beautiful a flower is at full bloom, within days an even prettier one appears, and the value of the first quickly fades. In a market like that, the best move is to sell your hot potato fast.
"So what happens after this is over?" Yoo Eunha asked. "Do we just get tossed aside?"
"Of course not. We'll move straight on to the next thing. I plan to reinvest whatever profit comes out of IntelliOn. I can't do that alone, so I want you two to stay by my side and help me."
Of course, that was only if this venture succeeded.
If it failed and I went broke, I'd be worrying about my own livelihood before anything else.
"And if IntelliOn succeeds and I make a profit, I plan to pay you both incentives too. Ten percent each, out of my share."
"Ohhh…!"
Their reaction was much stronger than when we talked about salaries.
Incentives really were a magical word for office workers.
"Then how much do you think IntelliOn's technology will sell for?" Juyeon asked.
"Honestly, it's hard to predict. At the very least, it should be worth the one billion won Hwangsan offered. If my equity ends up being 5%, that's fifty million won—and your incentives would be five million each."
"Aw, come on…"
As soon as a realistic number like five million won came out, both of them booed me. Their expectations must've been pretty high.
"But that's just the minimum. I think there's a real chance it could sell for ten billion—or even a hundred billion won."
"Isn't 5% equity too small, then?" Yoo Eunha asked.
"Yeah. You should squeeze them harder. For our incentives, at least!"
Hwang Juyeon raised her voice—a rare sight. Incentives really did fuel motivation.
"Alright. I'll bring it up when I talk with IntelliOn."
At that, both of their expressions brightened.
"If it's 10% equity at ten billion won, that's a billion in incentives…?"
"If it's 20% at a hundred billion, that's twenty billion!"
Maybe they were getting a little carried away.
Still, having that kind of motivation wasn't a bad thing.
"But aren't these terms a little too good for us?" Yoo Eunha asked suspiciously. "You're not hiding something, are you?"
"Yeah. I smell something shady."
Suddenly, the two of them were grilling me.
I raised both hands to show I was harmless.
"I won't say I have no ulterior motives at all. But I genuinely want to treat you better than you were treated at Hwangsan. You're trusting me enough to follow me, and both of you are more than capable enough to deserve that kind of treatment."
"…Hoo."
"…Haah."
They nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answer.
"Well, we don't really have a choice if you're asking us this sincerely. I'll help you."
"I'm in too, Suhyeok oppa. Oh—should I call you CEO now?"
To mark the deal, I shook hands with each of them.
"No. My title will be Director of Strategic Planning at IntelliOn. So I'd appreciate it if you call me Director."
"Director, huh? You've really made it."
"Thanks. You'll make it soon too, Assistant Manager Yoo."
"Director, can I still call you oppa in private?"
"Call me whatever you're comfortable with."
Come to think of it, it'd be good to give them formal titles too. Since they'd be handling external work, they needed to look like they had proper authority and responsibility.
"I want to give you both titles too—at least formally. Yoo Eunha as Deputy Director of Strategic Planning, and Hwang Juyeon as Manager. How does that sound?"
They'd be core members for now, placed directly under me as team leader.
"That's like getting promoted two levels. Not bad."
"So I'm Manager Hwang now? I like the sound of that."
Even if their pay didn't change, a higher title was still something that felt good.
"Oh, right. Do you want an office? Or should we go fully remote?"
Either way would work for them, but working together in the same space usually improved efficiency.
"An office would be nice."
"Yeah. We need to communicate face-to-face too."
The two exchanged a quiet glance. It seemed they both preferred having an office.
"Alright. I'll look for an office then."
I thought we needed one too. I'd been ready to drop the idea if they preferred remote work, but since they agreed, there was no need to hesitate.
"You're even renting an office?"
"For now, I'll rent monthly. If things go well, we'll open a proper office later."
"Director—do you have that much money? You're paying our salaries too, and rent around here won't be cheap."
Gangnam, Seoul's prime district—rent there was no joke. It was a luxury I'd never imagined back when I was just an ordinary salaried worker.
I answered casually, pretending it was no big deal.
"I've got enough. Enough that you don't need to worry, Deputy Director Yoo."
"Wow. Did you win the lottery or something?"
"Haha. Something like that."
Not "something like that"—exactly that. My funds came from lottery winnings.
Even after investing one billion won into IntelliOn, I'd still have over five hundred million left. Add my stocks and the wedding funds I'd saved up, and I could scrape together another two hundred million or so. Even paying their salaries, I could probably last a few years.
"I'd prefer a quiet office, even if it's small."
"Yeah. Soundproofing is really important."
"Soundproofing? Well, quiet is good."
"Lighting matters too, but blinds that completely block the outside are more important."
"Right. You never know who might look in."
"Huh? Okay, I'll keep that in mind."
"Security is the most important thing. Multiple locks, at least two or three layers."
"Well… that's true. Confidentiality is important."
"And good facilities too. Especially things like a shower room or a nap room."
"That's… pretty serious."
I mentally noted all their requirements.
Wait—were offices usually chosen with criteria like this? Isn't location normally the top priority?
"Hehe."
When I tilted my head in confusion, Yoo Eunha and Hwang Juyeon exchanged smiles.
It felt like they were plotting something I didn't know about… but it's usually better not to meddle in agreements made between female employees. If I needed to know, they'd tell me eventually.
"I think I can use my personal laptop for now."
"Oh, right—what about Hwangsan? They might not let us go immediately."
"I have a good idea for that. I was already preparing to change jobs anyway."
And so, we continued discussing our future plans.
It felt… fun. Like we were all heading toward the same goal together.
It reminded me of when we worked on projects together at Hwangsan. Back then, there were awful senior managers and incompetent team leaders, but the actual work was mostly done by us. The senior manager only got in the way, and the team leader barely existed.
Now, with no obstacles, this was finally the stage where we could show our true abilities.
After wrapping up our discussion, we had dinner together and parted ways.
Both Yoo Eunha and Hwang Juyeon agreed to join without issue. Having the two most capable people I'd worked with at Hwangsan now on my side—it felt like gaining an army of ten thousand.
And the next day—
I went to the Nonghyup headquarters to collect my lottery winnings.