The meeting ended earlier than usual with most of the members being unsatisfied and frustrated by the meeting, Minjae remained seated in the gold chair, her posture perfect and her gaze steady as everyone walked out. The last to leave was Mr. Geum.
Before he exit, he turned to her, "i wish you success on the seat" he said and made to leave but stoped midway as she asked
"why does a Geum never sign on the panel?"
He smiles "maybe, because we never cross path with an actual capable Choi leader" he said
Minjae's eyes glinted with a quiet challenge as she smiled back. "before my tenor ends, your signature would be in the status panel, under my name" she smiled "what would you say to that?" she asked
"i would say___ i hope so then" he replied with a gentle smile, he glanced at his grand son one last time and then left.
After he left silence took over.
"No wonder where your courage comes from sang tae" she stands up and turned to him "and i want to believe you used such courage to assist and protect my sister from the bully she recieved from the organization" she said as he and kim Ann soo turned their gaze to her
"what do you mean?" he asked
"you had no idea?" she feighed suprise as he signed
"i know you consider all business men to be cruel but you should know, these are noble men, and noble people dont..."
"cut the crap sang tae, we both know they are far from noble, and we both know also, that my sister Min Sol was bullied during the Short time she took the seat, isnt it obvious?" she asked as she leaned back on the table
"A group of CEO's, coming together to listen and bow to another CEO like them, Who is much younger, newly installed and isnt even the rightful heir to the seat and they are all aware" she said with a slight smile on her lips, slowly a frown landed on her face
"now you both listen, i will Keep you by my side and you must do as i say" she turns to sang tae "even thou it means going against your own family." she folded her arms against her chest as she heaved a sigh, she continues
"Everyone here is my enemy, Until they prove themself not, and as long as they are my enemy, they are yours also, but if you feel like you cant handle it, then now is your chance to leave" she stands up to leave "i wont force you to stay" she walks to the door and then turns to sang tae
"and the reporter?" she asked
"fired" he simply replied, and then she went off.
---
Later that day, Minjae visited the Chains Tech Group __ the company that her grand father had built in other to support the Chains organization. The Choi family owned 60% share of the company while the remaining Shares was divided among the other members of the organization, with the Geum and Baek family holding the largest portion among the other share holders.
It was the leading nanotech industry in the country, producing top-tier, unrivaled products with the best engineers and innovations found nowhere else.
As Minjae entered the company, she was greeted by the numerous workers, there she met lee jung in, the head engineer Who oversees the whole production activities going on in the industry, he led her to different sectors of the industry, while sangtae and jung shin quietly followed behind.
They walked through the packaging sector, where new products were sealed and prepared for shipment, then the trashing sector, where failed or defective products were discarded. Next was the product-making sector, the loudest and busiest area, buzzing with the sound of machinery and engineers at work. Finally, they arrived at the computing sector, a stark contrast in its silence, filled with professionals working at their computers, inputting data and programming the products.
"Where's the latest product?" Minjae asked.
Lee Jung-in led her into another room, similar to the computing sector but with fewer staff and computers. As the automatic door shut behind them, he guided her to the nearest screen.
"This is our newest product," he said, pulling up the display.
Minjae stared at the screen as he continued.
"this is what we call a pollution eating nanobot, it cleans up various forms of pollution, oil spill, plastic waste, even a polluted air, it purifies the atmosphere"
he explained as she just listened quietly, her expression was unreadable as they couldnt tell if she was impressed or offended, as her face carried a slight frown, which they didnt know was her normal resting face.
"when will it be ready?" she asked
"it should be ready in two weeks time, by then we should have about a thousand units produced. " he replied
Minjae's gaze remained fixed on the screen.
"So what happens when we launch the one thousand product and it doesn't sell well, would it be discarded like the ones we saw at the trashing sector?" she asked again
"y_yes... Well not exactly" he hesistated "our product always sell no matter the amount and....." she cuts him off
"make it five hundred" she said "if it goes well then you make the rest base on request" she added
"b_but doing that can take quite some time and that would make buyers lose interest"
"No. It will do the opposite." Her tone was firm "Scarcity increases demand. If the product becomes rare, people will want it more. As you said, our products always sell, right? Unless…" she paused, tilting her head slightly," you want to be responsible for any unsold units? Can you handle that?"
Lee Jung-in looked down, shaking his head.
"Then it's settled." Minjae turned away.
"lead me to my office sang tae" she said as she walked away leaving the engineer speechless.
As they made their way through the building, Sang-tae finally spoke.
"you know producing the nanobot can take time, dont you think discarding the unsold product is better than keeping the buyers waiting" he said
Minjae stopped in her tracks and turned to him.
"Do you really believe they get rid of unsold products?"
He hesistated. She continues
"We both saw the trashing sector. The only things discarded were defective or incomplete products, not unsold ones. Yet, according to company records, they've been losing money due to unsold inventory." She gave him a pointed look. "If they're not in the trashing sector and they're not being sold, where do you think they are?"
Sang-tae's expression darkened.
"they are sharing it amongst themselves" he said as she smirked and continued walking
"some times i wonder if you are just blind, or maybe you feigh ignorance like everyone else" she said.
She continued walking, leaving him deep in thought.
Minjae spent the rest of the day in her office.
That night, she returned home.
As she stepped into the mansion, the maids greeted her, quickly taking her coat and handbag before scurrying away.
"Young Miss, what would you like for dinner?" Madam Kim asked.
"Nothing," she dismissed with a wave of her hand, heading toward her usual retreat.
She made her way to her favorite place—the rooftop.
The mansion's rooftop was her personal escape, complete with a mini bar stocked with rare and expensive wines. It was one of the only places she truly felt at peace, aside from the club.
This new lifestyle—being a CEO was still unfamiliar to her. She had spent years being reckless, getting into trouble, partying, indulging in drugs and smoking. Now, she was in the spotlight. One mistake, and everything could crumble.
She pulled out a cigarette from the counter, lighting it with practiced ease.
Then, she reached for a small white packet—cocaine.
She stared at it, her fingers trembling slightly. Excitement pulsed through her veins at the thought of taking it… but then, without warning, she threw it aside.
A second later, she dropped the cigarette as well.
Without another word, she turned and left the rooftop.