I arranged to meet CEO Cha Yoonjung at a coffee shop with private meeting rooms.
I thought it would take a bit longer to reach a conclusion, but the 연락 came surprisingly fast. That was probably because IntelliOn was cornered. With the fire already at their feet, discussions must have moved quickly.
Although I'd talked about many things with CEO Cha before, there was still one unresolved issue.
The equity I would receive in IntelliOn.
At the time, I'd only said that I wanted to invest one billion won in exchange for a portion of shares. I hadn't specified an exact percentage.
It would've been more polite for me to propose a number first, but this kind of deal was new to me too. I wanted to hear their stance before saying anything concrete.
Initially, I'd been thinking of a minimum of 5%.
With 5%, I believed I could easily recover more than the one billion won I invested.
But after talking with Yoo Eunha and Hwang Juyeon, my thinking changed. Since I'd have to share profits with them as well, I clearly needed more. There was also my own pride to consider.
My bottom line should probably be around 10 to 15%.
Even that might cause resistance, since it would come out of CEO Cha's or the employees' shares.
Then… maybe 8% at minimum?
Was that still too low?
I needed to stay flexible. There was always the possibility that some eccentric engineer might rather shut the company down than give up equity.
"Director Kang."
"CEO Cha."
She had arrived first and was waiting for me inside the café.
I'd come thirty minutes early, so I had no idea how much earlier she'd arrived.
"You're even earlier today."
"Yes. I somehow ended up getting here early."
She smiled shyly as we shook hands. Not quite as radiant as when we met at the hotel, but clearly brighter than when we first met.
Today was a business meeting, but feeling the warmth of her hand inevitably brought back memories of our previous encounter.
I pretended to stay calm, released her hand, and sat across from her.
"Did everything go well with the employees?"
"Yes. Everyone welcomed it enthusiastically when I told them you'd be helping us, Director Kang."
"'Helping' isn't quite accurate. I'm not donating—I'm investing."
"Yes, yes. An investment."
Just then, a staff member came to take our order.
We both ordered hand-drip coffee.
After the staff member left, CEO Cha continued.
"Everyone felt grateful to you. For recognizing us in the first place, for pushing the contract with Hwangsan forward… And when you left Hwangsan and the contract fell apart, they were all very disappointed. So when they heard you were personally investing in us, everyone was really moved."
"I was just lucky to discover IntelliOn earlier than others. If that earned me some points with the staff, then I was fortunate."
Even now, I still believed this connection was pure luck.
If even one person who truly understood the field had been at that presentation, IntelliOn would've been snatched up immediately.
"So… by unanimous decision, everyone agreed to give up 5% of their shares each."
"5% each? Then that means—"
"Five employees plus me, six people total. So 30%."
Thirty percent?
I blinked in surprise at the number—far beyond what I'd expected.
"I-I never asked for that much—"
"No. This is our way of showing sincerity."
Seeing my hesitation, CEO Cha spoke firmly.
"Everyone knows that if things continue like this, IntelliOn will collapse. The technology we worked so hard to develop would be buried without a trace. You're not only preventing that, Director Kang—you even said you'd help us with sales afterward. From our perspective, there's no greater support than that."
How had IntelliOn been driven this far?
Having such powerful technology, yet zero recognition.
There were plenty of eccentric engineers who could only do what they specialized in—but here, that tendency felt even stronger.
"To be honest, I wanted to give you even more of my shares… but everyone insisted that I should keep at least 20%."
"That's the right call."
If my share went any higher, things would become dangerous.
Once someone holds more than 50%, they can replace the CEO at will.
"Thirty percent is more than enough. Honestly, it's already too much."
"With you at 30% and me at 20%, that makes exactly 50% together."
"I see."
She seemed oddly pleased that the numbers lined up so neatly.
"But Director Kang—have you spoken with the other employees you mentioned before?"
She was referring to Yoo Eunha and Hwang Juyeon.
"Yes. I received positive answers from both of them."
"Really? That's great."
"It might take some time before they can actually resign, though. Several people leaving the same department at once will take time, and the handover won't be quick."
"Ah… that's true."
Honestly, it would be a major crisis for Hwangsan.
Even if the Strategic Planning Team was largely symbolic, the fact that the company had run smoothly meant the employees themselves were highly capable.
Now, with three core members leaving at once, it was impossible to predict the impact on the group.
"There is a way to get out quickly. If it works, they'll be able to join us soon, and we can start the project right away."
"What way is that?"
"I'm sorry—that's company confidential."
"Ah. I see."
The 'way' wasn't anything special.
It was exposing Assistant Manager Park's sexual harassment incidents.
When I was fired, there hadn't been clear evidence. HR wanted to avoid a sexual scandal, so they cut the tail by firing me without digging deeper.
But now, I had concrete proof revealing Park's intentions.
Testimony from Assistant Manager Kim in the neighboring department, who'd spoken with Park at the time.
And one more thing.
When the IntelliOn project collapsed, Yoo Eunha had questioned Park in detail while preparing a report.
At that time, Park had bragged openly about what happened during his meeting with CEO Cha—what he'd said, and how she'd reacted.
He probably didn't even realize he'd done anything wrong. Otherwise, he wouldn't have boasted about it so proudly.
Even though he didn't know Yoo Eunha was recording everything.
"Then let's draft the official contract."
"Yes. Ah—would it be okay to use an electronic contract? We have… a few employees who don't really leave their homes…"
"…I see. Yes, of course."
Not one, but several?
Truly a peculiar company.
IntelliOn.
Meanwhile—
Park Sojeong, Kang Suhyeok's ex-girlfriend, was meeting the man she had believed to be a doctor.
He was clearly the same person—but after finding out he wasn't a doctor, he looked completely different to her.
The face she once thought was handsome now looked awkward, clearly altered by excessive plastic surgery.
He was short, narrow-shouldered, unimpressive—and even his behavior felt pathetic.
The same person doing the same things, yet the difference between "doctor" and "not a doctor" was night and day.
Now, just being with him felt like torture.
"…This really won't work."
She muttered to herself, making sure he couldn't hear.
No matter what, she couldn't keep dating a man like this.
Today would be the last time.
But she wasn't the only one thinking that.
"Sojeong… have you been avoiding my calls lately?"
"Me?"
The man, driving with her in the passenger seat, spoke in a dissatisfied tone.
"Don't play dumb. You didn't answer yesterday or today, and I sent all the messages first. Ever since I told you I'm not a doctor. Isn't that right?"
Given how drastically her attitude had changed, it was impossible not to notice.
But Park Sojeong stared straight ahead through the windshield, expressionless.
"So you were only dating me because you thought I was a doctor?"
"Hah…"
Pathetic.
She frowned, suppressing the nausea rising in her stomach.
Seeing her silence, the man's anger flared.
"I'm rich even if I'm not a doctor! Huh?! My dad's Director Gu Chil-o, and I'm the vice director! And just because I'm not a doctor, you treat me like trash?!"
Inferiority dripped from every word.
Born as a doctor's son, raised with expectations—yet he failed to become one himself.
At home, he'd become an afterthought.
The hospital he thought he'd inherit was about to go to a doctor son-in-law instead.
Of course he was insecure.
But Park Sojeong had no intention of being the outlet for that insecurity.
"I can't do this. I can't date a shallow woman like you—pretty on the outside but rotten inside."
"…What?"
"Fine. We'll see how amazing the man you meet after me really is."
After hurling those words at her, the man suddenly pulled over to the side of the road.
"Get out. And get out of my life. Don't ever contact me again."
It was the worst kind of breakup.
She'd planned to dump him herself—but he'd beaten her to it.
Park Sojeong felt her insides twist.
But maybe… this was for the best.
Yeah. Better this way.
What if she'd tried to break up first and gotten hit instead?
Him ending it cleanly was actually fortunate.
She decided to think of the situation as positively as she could.
—Bang!
She slammed the car door shut as hard as she could.
There were countless things she wanted to say—but not a single word came out.
There was simply too much to say, and none of it would've mattered anyway.
They'd never see each other again.
Why bother?
It was the same as when she'd broken up with Kang Suhyeok.
The car drove away, leaving her standing alone by the roadside.
At that moment, Park Sojeong thought of her ex—Kang Suhyeok.
If I call him now… would he come pick me up?
She thought maybe giving him one more chance wouldn't be so bad.
If he came right away.
If he soothed her terrible mood today.
She might even consider getting back together.
"…Hoo."
With trembling hands, she searched for Kang Suhyeok's number.
It was easy to find—always at the top of her call history.
The last call was two days ago.
Right. She'd called him once before.
That was the day she found out this man wasn't a doctor.
Back then, out of habit, she'd called Kang Suhyeok to calm herself down.
Only after dialing did she remember they'd broken up and hung up—but the call log remained.
Surely, he'd seen the missed call too.
Then why…
Why hadn't he called back?
Even if it was late and he'd missed it, it wouldn't be strange for him to call the next day.
Normally, he would've been startled and called immediately.
So why… nothing?
Suppressing the unease rising in her chest, Park Sojeong pressed the call button.
The ringing tone played.
The dull, default tone—so like Kang Suhyeok.
She knew it well after dating him for years.
Normally, he'd pick up before it rang three times.
But this time—
He didn't answer.
The man who would always come running when she called… was rejecting her call.
"Ha…!"
She almost threw her phone in frustration, but stopped herself.
It's nothing.
He might just be busy.
Or maybe he blocked her in anger the day they broke up.
Not knowing she'd call again.
If that was the case, he'd definitely regret it.
Blocking her and missing this chance to reconcile.
This might be his last chance.
He'd regret it forever—beating the ground in remorse.
Suddenly, her annoying sister's voice echoed in her mind.
'Oppa will never go back to you. Never.'
Park Sojeong shook her head violently to chase the voice away.
As far as she knew, Kang Suhyeok would always come back when she called.
To her, he was that kind of man.
In the short time since they'd broken up—
Kang Suhyeok had already become a completely different person.
And she was the only one who didn't know.