The conversation between Chun Min-jeong and Lisa continued for quite some time.
What had started at Taewoo IT didn't stop, and in the end, they even went into the hotel together.
A day passed just like that.
At the beginning of work hours, both of them showed up at the Vice Chairman's office.
They looked a little haggard, as if they had talked all night, but Lisa's face was beaming.
"Good morning."
"It really is a good morning. It feels especially refreshing since today is my first day working with Taewoo Group."
"What do you mean by that? Are you saying you'll accept the position as President of Taewoo Electronics?"
"I couldn't possibly turn down a company with such incredibly attractive talent. I'll wrap up my affairs in the U.S. within two weeks and move to Korea."
"We'll provide full support at the group level. From flights and transportation to the entire relocation process, we'll take care of everything. Ah, and if you'd like, we can also arrange a suitable position for your husband."
"No need to worry about him. He's perfectly capable of handling things on his own."
As always, Lisa radiated the aura of a true general.
Her energy was incomparable to that of President Woo Sungil, and it was clear that someone like her was perfectly suited to lead Taewoo Electronics.
"Then we'll look forward to welcoming you back to Korea."
"I plan to fly back to the U.S. today. The sooner I get things sorted, the sooner I can return."
"I'll make sure there's nothing inconvenient on your way back."
"Then I'll officially greet you next month."
Lisa shook hands with me and headed for the airport.
Curious to know what had caused her to change her mind so quickly, I pulled Chun Min-jeong aside and asked,
"What did you and Lisa talk about?"
"We just had a casual conversation like the ones I have with you, Vice Chairman. We talked about some ideas related to algorithms, and we also discussed semiconductors and artificial intelligence."
Chun Min-jeong looked up at me as she spoke.
Her eyes sparkled like those of a cat in boots.
She was so adorable that I nearly reached out and hugged her.
Thanks to her, we were able to bring Lisa on board—how could she not look utterly lovable?
"Keep having lots of conversations with Lisa. She's going to be the next President of Taewoo Electronics."
"Really? I thought she was coming to work as a manager at Taewoo IT. I should've realized when she was staying in the suite… I hope I wasn't too rude to her."
"Didn't you hear the conversation in the Vice Chairman's office? Lisa clearly said she was accepting the President position at Taewoo Electronics. You didn't catch that?"
"I'm still not that good at English. Unless it's a technical subject, I can't really follow."
Compared to her programming ability, Min-jeong's language skills were still lacking.
Which meant she hadn't understood even half of what Lisa and I had discussed.
"Then how did you manage to talk with Lisa all night if you couldn't communicate in English?"
"We used a lot of technical terms, and when that didn't work, we drew pictures. Lisa drew things for me too, so I could understand. Ah! I guess I should start calling her President Lisa now."
She'd won over Lisa without even being able to communicate?
Once again, I was amazed by Minjeong's talent. And I realized that we really needed to get her some English lessons.
"We'll hold idea meetings every other week. And on the off weeks, you'll have English lessons. If you want to keep having deep conversations with Lisa, English is essential. By the way, how are you communicating with Professor Hinton's project team? Don't tell me you've been drawing pictures for them too?"
"…They're all experts, so when I use hand gestures, they pretty much get what I mean. But… is it really necessary to study English? It hasn't been a huge problem for my work so far."
"You absolutely have to!"
"…Okay."
*
Lisa returned to Korea exactly one month later.
I personally visited Taewoo Electronics to officially announce her appointment as President.
"We've kept the president's seat at Taewoo Electronics vacant until now in order to bring Lisa over from IBM. I persuaded her with great effort, so I hope every executive and employee here will support her wholeheartedly."
Some of the executives on site couldn't quite hide their disappointment.
They had been eyeing the President position themselves and might try to keep Lisa in check going forward.
So I delivered a warning to those showing signs of dissatisfaction.
"Seems like some of you are really missing President Woo Sung-il. If that's the case, I could arrange for a transfer to the affiliate where he's working."
"N-no, that's not necessary!"
"Just so we're clear—if anything happens that causes President Lisa to resign, consider your resignation letters already written."
I wouldn't have been able to make this kind of threat in the past.
But now that my standing had risen and I was handling most of the group's affairs on behalf of my grandfather, I had the authority to say things like this.
Which meant the executives couldn't just ignore what I said.
"We will give President Lisa our utmost support!"
"They say new wine should be put into new wineskins. I'm open to reshuffling executives according to the direction President Lisa wants to take, so keep that in mind. And don't forget—President Lisa isn't going to stop at Taewoo Electronics. When she moves on to a higher position, she'll be the one to choose her successor."
"We understand!"
That should be enough to prevent any internal power plays.
And even if something did brew behind the scenes, it didn't matter. I'd just fire them all.
Leaving Taewoo Electronics in Lisa's hands, I returned to headquarters.
The chief of planning was waiting for me with a few updates.
"As you expected, Vice Chairman, it's becoming more likely that the impeachment trial will be dismissed. The number of people joining weekly candlelight protests against impeachment is rapidly increasing."
"The Constitutional Court has no choice but to be sensitive to public opinion. Still, it'll take at least another month before they reach a verdict."
"It's expected that the outcome may also be influenced by the results of the general election."
The unprecedented presidential impeachment.
The presidency couldn't be left vacant for long, so the Constitutional Court was fast-tracking the proceedings.
But since it was such a delicate issue, it wouldn't be resolved easily. The process was expected to take at least two more months.
There was no chance the impeachment trial would conclude before the general election.
And the more politicians poured their energy into the impeachment trial, the more public disgust toward politics would grow.
"The general election is just days away. What are the latest approval ratings for Representative Choi Jaeseok's National Economic Party?"
"There are about two weeks left until the general election, and Representative Choi Jaeseok's approval rating is more than 20% ahead of his closest rival. Among the 50 candidates running under the National Economic Party banner, about 30 are expected to have a good chance of winning."
"So there are quite a few close races, then."
"We focused on districts where the major parties' influence is weaker, but the National Economic Party's overall recognition is still low, so the situation remains unstable."
Structure, party, recognition.
These were the three key factors in an election, in my view.
I wasn't an expert, so I could be wrong, but most winning politicians had a good balance of all three.
The most important among these was the structure.
Because political disgust had spread due to the impeachment trial, the overall political landscape didn't work too heavily against us.
The problem was the party and recognition.
Many voters still voted strictly along party lines.
To overcome this, personal recognition or individual skills were necessary.
"Use social media aggressively to raise awareness of the National Economic Party and its candidates."
"We're doing that, but there are clear limits. Most social media users are between their teens and thirties, and that age group has the lowest voter turnout."
At that time, people over 40 didn't use social media much.
In a few years, even the elderly would be using it, but not yet.
"Then we'll need the power of the media to capture the middle-aged and older votes."
"We're trying to get as much media exposure as possible."
"Hmm, since the election is so close, we'll have to use a very extreme method. There is a way to instantly and dramatically increase both Representative Choi Jaeseok's and the National Economic Party's recognition."
"Is there such a method?"
It was a method I didn't want to use unless absolutely necessary.
But if the National Economic Party was going to truly establish itself now, the next 30 years would be much easier.
So I decided to use my last resort.
With less than a week remaining before the general election, it was a critical time.
Politicians from the major parties were all focusing intensely on their campaigns.
Some were kneeling and bowing repeatedly, while others walked through markets shaking hands until their palms blistered.
All to gain even a single extra vote.
The major parties were trapped in the black hole of impeachment and unable to fully support their candidates, so this election required candidates to rely heavily on their own efforts.
But the National Economic Party was different.
The party organized an event for all its candidates.
[Dialogue between the National Economic Party and IT Entrepreneurs]
At first glance, it seemed like a minor event.
But since it was secretly backed by Taewoo Group and SAVE Investment Company, many media outlets sent reporters to cover it.
"I don't know why the editor sent me here. This is National Economic Party coverage — they could've sent a rookie."
"Same here. Our editor said something about a big scoop possibly breaking."
"They say it's a talk with IT entrepreneurs — probably CEOs of gaming or venture companies — what kind of scoop could possibly come from that?"
The reporters grumbled as they set up their laptops.
It made sense, since election season usually produced big scoops everywhere.
But attending a low-profile National Economic Party event naturally caused complaints.
"Thanks to all the honored guests and members of the press for attending. First, we will begin with a greeting from our party leader, Representative Choi Jaeseok."
The reporters typed mechanically, showing no interest in Choi's greeting.
Choi expected their indifference but kept smiling throughout.
"That concludes the greetings. Before we begin the main event, I'd like to introduce the entrepreneurs attending today's event. Let me start with Jeffrey, CEO of Amazon."
At Choi's words, the reporters exchanged shocked looks.
Some looked as if they had misheard and were rubbing their ears.
"Did I hear that wrong? The CEO of Amazon is attending this event?"
"I heard the same. There was a reason the editor sent me to this event. Calling in the CEO of Amazon— the National Economic Party really had a trick up their sleeve."
The reporters' attitude changed.
If the CEO of a hot IT company from the U.S., not a domestic entrepreneur, was attending, it was definitely newsworthy.
"Next, we will welcome the CEO of Google."
The National Economic Party's surprise was not over yet.
After the CEO of Amazon, the CEO of Google appeared at the event.
At that moment, the reporters' typing speed skyrocketed, and camera shutters flashed incessantly.
But it wasn't over yet.
The star always appears last.
When Representative Choi Jaeseok introduced the final participant, the reporters burst into cheers.
"Finally, let me introduce Steve, the CEO of Apple."
"Wowww! Steve is really coming?"
"Didn't we hear he wasn't coming to Korea?"
The reporters couldn't believe the situation.
But when Steve actually appeared at the venue, disbelief turned into undeniable awe.