"Man, it's been ages since I've been back in Korea."
I returned after three months, once the secondhand electronics components business was stable. After enduring Shenzhen's 40-degree Celsius summer days, Korea felt like heaven.
"Korea is definitely better."
My status had changed drastically. I now commanded thousands of employees worldwide, generated trillions of won in annual revenue, and had amassed 5 billion yuan in just two months thanks to the restored IC chip boom. Chunha Trading had become a global mid-sized enterprise.
"How much is 5 billion yuan in Korean won?"
It would have been 500 billion won at the usual 100:1 exchange rate, but with the worsening Korean economy, the rate had fallen to 110:1.
"About 550 billion won. I made an extra 50 billion won just from the exchange rate fluctuation."
Since the Korean economy showed no signs of recovery, I planned to hold onto the yuan, dollars, and yen for the time being.
"5 billion yuan, 100 million dollars in overseas branches, 200 million yen in the Japanese account, plus the real estate, including the department store and factories… wow, roughly 700 billion won. I'm incredibly rich."
I felt like I was on cloud nine.
"And Chen Fei is completely finished."
After cutting off his lifeline with the help of his secretary, Chen Fei's downfall was swift.
The shareholders of Renyi Investment, furious that their chairman had risked losing over 20% of the company's funds, froze his assets and ousted him.
He tried to sell his factory to pay off his debts, but no one was interested.
His supporters abandoned him, and his once-vaunted connections disappeared.
"I've been working too hard. I need a break."
I walked out of the airport gate with a light heart.
"I'm buying my dream house with a yard and another foreign car. Hehehe."
I hummed as I walked out and saw a familiar figure, head and shoulders above the crowd, waving his hands.
"Sir! Over here!"
I waved back.
"Maru! It's been a while!"
Park Jong-bum and Maru greeted me enthusiastically at the airport. As we walked to the parking lot, a man standing next to my Mercedes S-Class bowed deeply.
"Greetings, sir!"
I looked at Maru, who smiled and said,
"He's my secretary and driver. I told you I hired one for myself and Director Park."
I remembered our conversation.
"Right, you said you hired secretaries because you were too busy."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Park Sol."
The driver shook my hand nervously.
"It's an honor to meet you, sir. I'm Yoon Seok-ho, Managing Director Kim's secretary."
I got in the car and said to Maru with a grin,
"Wow, our Managing Director Kim even has a personal secretary now. You've made it."
Maru shrugged.
"I'm an important person at Chunha Trading. I deserve this kind of treatment."
"Yes, yes, you're so important. By the way, Maru, did you hire many employees?"
"Of course. We're constantly hiring for overseas branches, office staff, and production workers. There's always work to be done."
"Good. You're doing well. Speaking of which, shouldn't we start downsizing?"
Maru tilted his head.
"Downsizing?"
"Yes, let's get rid of Chunha Resources. I've been holding onto it for sentimental reasons, but we can't manage it anymore. Have you even visited Chunha Resources in the past few months?"
Maru scratched the back of his head.
"Well, I've been receiving reports, but I haven't visited in a while."
"Our other businesses are interconnected, so it's fine to keep them. But we don't need Chunha Resources anymore. And another thing…"
I narrowed my eyes.
"The research lab. Let's downsize it or shut it down completely."
Maru looked slightly flustered.
"The research lab? Why?"
"Why? Because the results have been underwhelming compared to the investment. All they do is sample the gold content of electronic scrap and perform gold stripping."
Maru swallowed nervously.
"But they did develop the gold stripping technology."
"Yes, the gold stripping technology that everyone and their dog can do now."
We had praised them for developing the aqua regia gold stripping technology, but other companies had also caught up, and it had become common knowledge.
"Have they achieved anything else since then? We hired them with higher salaries because they have master's and doctoral degrees, but they haven't produced any results. They're the highest paid employees besides the three of us."
Maru hesitated and then said,
"Research takes time. We might see good results if we give them more time."
"That was before we started the secondhand electronic components business. Our main business now is distribution. What do we need a research lab for? It would be better to invest in marketing."
"But… shouldn't we maintain the status quo instead of downsizing? You never know."
His persistent defense of the research lab made me suspicious.
"What's wrong? Why are you so protective of them? Did they start a new research project or something?"
"It's not that… It's just that in this economic climate, where would they go if we fired them? They're our employees, I feel bad for them."
I said, dumbfounded,
"What are you talking about? Do you know how much we've paid them in salaries while they haven't produced any results? I'm the one who should be complaining."
"That's true, but they recently started researching gold refining technology, and they're working hard, so it wouldn't hurt to give them more time. Their salaries are just a small amount for us anyway."
"Whether it's a small amount or not, we shouldn't waste money on unproductive projects. That's how businesses go bankrupt. I would understand if you said we should use the money to boost employee morale, but saying we should keep them because it's a small amount is a dangerous mindset."
Maru avoided my gaze.
He was more softhearted than me, but he wasn't someone who wasted money.
He was even more meticulous than me when it came to money, so his defense of the research lab didn't make sense.
I looked at him suspiciously.
"Something's fishy."
Maru avoided my gaze, sweating.
"Th-there's nothing going on."
"No, this is strange. You would have been the first one to suggest shutting down the unproductive research lab. But now you're worried about their jobs? This is strange. Very strange. Director Park, Secretary Yoon, do you have any idea what's going on?"
Park Jong-bum thought for a moment.
"I'm not sure."
But Yoon Seok-ho was sweating profusely and kept glancing at me through the rearview mirror.
I narrowed my eyes and said to him,
"It seems like you know something, Secretary Yoon."
Maru suddenly glared at Secretary Yoon and shook his head slightly.
"Maru, relax. You're scaring him."
Maru turned to me and forced a smile.
"Hyung, can we just let this slide? There's a reason…"
"I'm the CEO, I need to know everything about the company. What's going on? Don't be so secretive."
Maru stammered,
"It's not exactly company business… or maybe it is, but it's also personal… I mean…"
"This is definitely suspicious."
Maru whispered to me,
"I'll tell you, I'll tell you, just let me explain later, in private. Director Park is here, and it's embarrassing… please, hyung, I beg you."
"Embarrassing?"
"Please, hyung, I'm begging you. It's a lifelong favor."
I suddenly remembered asking Maru if he had a girlfriend when he came to help me during the Hong Kong handover. He had been flustered and changed the subject.
I finally understood his strange behavior and exclaimed, clapping my hands,
"Aha! It's a woman! You have a girlfriend, and she works at the research lab! Right?"
Maru exploded.
"Damn it! I told you I would explain later! Can't you wait?!"
When we arrived at the company, I walked towards the research lab excitedly, while Maru followed me with slumped shoulders.
"Hey, if you have a girlfriend, just tell me. It's not like I wouldn't understand. I'll even keep the research lab open for your sake. You rascal, how long have you been seeing her?"
Maru said weakly,
"She's not my girlfriend. I'm just interested in her."
"It's the same thing. You're tall, handsome, an executive at the company, and your annual salary is over 100 million won. And you'll be getting a large sum of money from the dividends soon. You're the perfect husband material. I'm dying of curiosity. Is she pretty?"
Maru sighed.
"She's pretty. And cute."
I shuddered.
"Pretty and cute? Ugh, that's so cheesy! Are you always this cheesy?"
Maru frowned.
"Just drop it. You'll see her soon, so don't act weird. I'm the only one interested in her for now."
"Don't worry, I'm a good actor. But why did you try so hard to hide it? It's normal for a man to be interested in a woman."
"You'll understand when you see her. I wouldn't have told you if you hadn't mentioned downsizing the lab. Damn it."
"Hehehe, let's go."
Several researchers were busy working in the lab.
"We've hired a lot of researchers. How many are there now?"
"Ten."
"But they're all men? One, two, three… nine. Where's the other one?"
The lab director, noticing me, rushed over and greeted me.
"Sir! Welcome back!"
"Yes, it's been a while."
I would have normally exchanged pleasantries with him, but I was too preoccupied with Maru's girlfriend.
I looked around and asked the director,
"Isn't there a female researcher?"
"Ah, yes, there is. She's probably busy with something. Should I call her?"
"No, just tell me where she is, and I'll go find her."
"Yes, sir… Oh, there she is."
I turned my head in the direction he pointed and saw a petite woman in a white lab coat.
And then my jaw dropped.
"Sir, hello. It's been a while."
I stared at her, speechless, my mouth agape. After a long silence, Maru cleared his throat and said,
"Hyung, you're drooling."
I shook my head, still stunned, and looked at her.
"Hanyang University? Lee Ju-hee? What… what are you doing here?"