This morning, Lee Hyun-woo received a call from Kim Ah-young while heading to work.
It was timely because he had to visit Kim Sung-moo’s house after work, so he happily took the call and found out that she was coming to Jungle.
‘Is she worried about me?’
Lee Hyun-woo, who has lived for half a century and returned to the past had met all kinds of people and experienced incredible events. Even in those situations, he had navigated well and risen to the top, so no matter how tricky dealing with the head of Guseong Group was, he could navigate around the conversation.
But would Kim Ah-young understand these circumstances?
A moment later, she approached him with a flushed face in front of the company.
Lee Hyun-woo, his relaxed expression now showed sign of worry.
“Did you wait outside in the cold? Let’s go up.”
“Oh? Yes.”
The same continued in the CEO’s office. After brewing coffee himself and pouring it into a mug, he handed it to Kim Ah-young.
“You need to warm up with this coffee.”
“Thank you.”
Kim Ah-young took the cup he handed her and warmed her hands. But without taking a sip, she urgently asked Lee Hyun-woo.
“You’re coming to our house today, are you not?”
“Yes, that’s right. I heard the chairman wants to see me.”
“Yes. I was rather surprised to learn of this from my father this morning. I’m curious why he suddenly wants to see you, but I’m concerned.”
“Don’t worry too much. There’s only one reason.”
Kim Ah-young’s eyes widened like a rabbit’s.
“Huh? What is it?”
“He wants to know Nostradamus’s identity. That’s what he’s curious about.”
“Really? How do you know that?”
“It’s my intuition. The reason I got this feeling is that first time your oppa wanted to see me, it was for the same reason, right? Even before that, you were curious about it.”
Kim Ah-young retraced her memory and realized it was true.
“You’re right.”
“This time, I’ll ask. Why is your family so curious about Nostradamus?”
“Well….”
Kim Ah-young couldn’t give a hasty answer.
Seeing this, Lee Hyun-woo shared his opinion.
“I think it’s because there’s a strong desire to hold and control information. There’s a saying in the business world: Guseong’s information is on par with the National Intelligence Service.”
“Is there truly such a saying?”
“Of course. It’s well-known among the public and even journalists.”
Although slightly exaggerated, it was close to the truth.
Kim Sung-moo, as well as the previous founder, valued information highly.
In the past, organizations holding such information belonged to the state.
But gradually, conglomerate groups started to grasp information, and eventually, they even merged with media companies skilled in information.
For example, just mentioning the relationship between Guseong Group and Sejong Ilbo would make people nod in understanding.
“That’s why they’re curious about Nostradamus’s existence. Moreover, it would be one thing if it were just a mere blogger, but the information he provides is beyond imagination. It’s incredibly accurate, not only about domestic affairs but also international ones.”
“I see…”
Nodding as if she finally understood, Kim Ah-young gazed intently into Lee Hyun-woo’s eyes.
“Then what will you say if my father asks about Nostradamus’s identity?”
“Well, I haven’t decided yet.”
“So that means you know who Nostradamus is.”
“Of course, I know.”
Taking a step closer, Lee Hyun-woo smiled and lowered his voice.
“He’s me.”
“What?”
“I’m Nostradamus.”
“……!”
For a moment, Kim Ah-young’s eyes danced.
She was so shocked.
She was so surprised that she asked Lee Hyun-woo again.
“You’re Nostradamus?”
“Yes, it’s me. And besides me, now…”
“……”
“…you’re the only one who knows.”
From astonishment, a sweet emotion began to seep in.
Feeling pleased but holding back a smile, she said,
“So you might tell my father that you’re Nostradamus.”
“I might, or I might not. But if I do tell him, it’ll be really bothersome.”
“Indeed. And he might not like it very much. So, Hyun-woo….”
At this point, she seemed to have made up her mind and took a deep breath before continuing.
“I just thought of this, but tell my father that I’m Nostradamus.”
“Huh?”
Now it was Lee Hyun-woo’s turn for his eyes to widen.
Kim Ah-young explained her reason for saying she was Nostradamus.
“If you say that, you won’t be bothered.”
“That might be true, but what about you? Some of the things Nostradamus mentioned are related to Guseong. There’s also the Bohang Group incident….”
“I know. But the worst I will get is scolding. I can handle that.”
“But he’ll also ask for the motive, why you did it?”
“That…”
Since it was a spontaneous decision, she couldn’t answer Lee Hyun-woo’s question.
Perhaps because of this, Lee Hyun-woo quickly helped her.
“Let’s say you wanted to understand the economic trends both domestically and internationally.”
“Huh?”
“It’s quite a feat to have predicted the strong dollar and Japan’s financial policies. The chairman might be impressed by your intuition.”
“That makes sense. But knowing my father, he probably won’t ask for a reason.”
“Really?”
“He’ll just say either do it or don’t. Without further explanation.”
Lee Hyun-woo nodded.
Thinking about it, he recalled a passage from Kim Sung-moo’s autobiography.
― My father always took me along in business matters and ordered me to handle many things directly. However, he never explained them in detail.
Perhaps Kim Sung-moo was educating his children in the same way his father, the founder, had taught him?
‘Whether it’s similar or not, one thing is certain.’
Nostradamus would have to be sealed from now on.
Anyway, after talking with Kim Ah-young, Lee Hyun-woo visited Kim Sung-moo’s house in the evening and revealed the identity of Nostradamus.
Kim Sung-moo, who rarely showed surprise, widened his eyes and seemed at a loss for words for a moment.
But soon, as expected of the giant, he showed a different side.
Kim Sung-moo naturally shifted the topic and discussed the domestic and international situation with Lee Hyun-woo.
Eventually, the private meeting in the office ended, and as Kim Sung-moo expressed hope to meet again later, Lee Hyun-woo smiled and said,
“Lunar New Year is coming soon. I don’t know if it might be too early or too late for you, Happy New Year. Come by next time for the New Year’s bow.”
“Yes, I will.”
Lee Hyun-woo smiled at the ambiguous term “next time.”
He couldn’t tell if it referred to the upcoming Lunar New Year or the following gregorian year.
‘So this family celebrates the Gregorian New Year.’
In any case, frequent visits would be necessary to change the mindset of the head of the conglomerate.
Thinking that he should approach it with an “if it doesn’t work out, never mind” attitude, he stepped out of the office.
When Lee Hyun-woo came out of the office, the family members of the house gathered again.
Among them, Kim Tae-hyun asked,
“Is it over?”
“Yes, haha.”
“Then can we talk for a moment?”
“Sure.”
This time, it was Kim Tae-hyun’s turn to talk.
But at that moment,
“Ah-young, come here for a moment.”
Kim Sung-moo called Kim Ah-young, which caught the attention of everyone, including Lee Hyun-woo.
Naturally, curiosity began to arise among the people.
Why did Kim Sung-moo, who had met privately with Lee Hyun-woo, suddenly call Kim Ah-young?
What did they talk about?
Especially, the second daughter Kim Ah-jin and the youngest Kim Na-yoon imagined wildly.
‘Could it be that our father likes this guy and is encouraging unnie to date him?’
On the other hand, Kim Tae-hyun, who was interested in different matters, dragged Lee Hyun-woo to his study and asked related questions.
“What did you say? Why did he suddenly call Ah-young? There’s no problem with our joint venture in Japan, is there?”
“No way. I got a call from Japan today, and they said progress is faster than expected, so we might be able to start the portal site and online shopping next month.”
“That’s good to hear. So why did father call Ah-young?”
Lee Hyun-woo shrugged quickly.
“I’m not sure either?”
“Really?”
“Yes, we just talked about the domestic and international economic trends.”
It was true, but he didn’t mention revealing Nostradamus’s identity.
Even if Kim Tae-hyun found out later, he wouldn’t feel bad.
His sister had kept more from him than Lee Hyun-woo had, so any sense of betrayal would flow in that direction.
‘But this way, Ah-young will have to bear too much?’
It wasn’t the direction he wanted, and there was no need for Kim Ah-young to do this for him.
Lee Hyun-woo thought he’d have to make it up to Kim Ah-young somehow later.
Also, he could sense Kim Ah-young’s motivation again this time.
‘She definitely seems to have feelings for me.’
As he finished talking with Kim Tae-hyun and headed home, he briefly let his imagination run wild.
What if he had his “fiery romance” with Kim Ah-young?
First, he’d always have a bodyguard with him.
Second, Chairman Kim Sung-moo might encourage him to study abroad.
Third, Guseong might begin the process of absorbing Jungle.
Fourth, the eldest son, Kim Tae-hyun, might become very wary of him.
Though these were all hypothetical, they weren’t entirely impossible.
At least in his past life, Kim Ah-young’s husband had gone abroad to study due to Kim Sung-moo’s pressure and had undergone tremendous stress to qualify as a son-in-law.
‘Oh, I need to think this through a bit more.’
Feeling that bothersome situation might arise, Lee Hyun-woo took a deep breath.
In his reborn life, he had dreamed of a passionate romance but didn’t want to realize it while feeling very bothered.
As he arrived home with these thoughts, his phone rang.
‘It must be Ah-young.’
His intuition pointed to her, and indeed, when he answered, it was Kim Ah-young.
(Hyun-woo, it’s me.)
“Oh, Ah-young.”
Lee Hyun-woo was curious.
What did she talk about with Kim Sung-moo?
‘Did he really not ask why she did it?’
He didn’t have to wait long to get his answer.
Kim Ah-young immediately shared what she talked about with Kim Sung-moo.
(I called because I thought you might worry, but my father asked if I was Nostradamus and didn’t say anything else.)
“Really?”
(Yes, he didn’t tell me not to do it either. Instead, he said he trusts me.)
“Ah….”
Once again, Lee Hyun-woo recalled something from Kim Sung-moo’s autobiography.
Although no parent has no finger that doesn’t hurt (a saying in Korea that reflects how every parent has their own unique concerns for each child), Kim Sung-moo particularly cherished his eldest daughter.
When Kim Ah-young first joined the hotel to inherit it, he stayed at Seorabeol Hotel for a month, openly showing his concern.
Such support for his children was very rare.
It hadn’t happened with his eldest son Kim Tae-hyun or his second daughter Kim Ah-jin.
‘It wasn’t favoritism but rather guilt for not being able to be with her as much compared to his other children.’
Unlike her siblings, during Kim Ah-young’s childhood, Kim Sung-moo couldn’t pay much attention to her due to his own intense succession battles.
She had undoubtedly been his aching finger since then, and her marriage to a bodyguard and subsequent divorce must have made her an even more painful memory.
‘Thinking about it makes me feel sorry for Ah-young.’
When the thought ended, he resolved to treat her well.
Like this, Lee Hyun-woo also wavered.
Why? Because relationships between men and women never go as planned.
