However, all these secret meetings between the two people were being reported to Kim Ah-young’s father, Kim Sung-moo.
“It seems certain that the young lady is dating Lee Hyun-woo.”
Kim Sung-moo’s expression slightly changed upon hearing the report from his bodyguard, Jung Jin-sung.
Of course, from Jung Jin-sung’s perspective, nothing noticeably different from the chairman’s expression.
Such was the reputation of Kim Sung-moo, the head of Guseong Group, for never revealing his true feelings.
“Got it, you may leave.”
After dismissing Jung Jin-sung, who had reported, Kim lightly tapped on his desk.
‘Secretary Park didn’t say anything?’
That could be possible.
In fact, it was a relief.
‘Secretary Park has been by Ah-young’s side for a long time.’
Somehow, it was a relief to know that Park Min-sook was on his eldest daughter’s side.
‘But to think Ah-young’s match is Lee Hyun-woo…’
He had thought about this scenario before, but now that it was becoming a reality, it made him uneasy.
From a business perspective, it was difficult to find a better match than Lee Hyun-woo.
While his family background was unimpressive, his recent success in handling business in Japan had convinced him.
At that age, there was no better matrimonial prospect than Lee Hyun-woo!
Yesterday, he received information about a place called Alpha Cast and One Computer.
Some funds in New York had solidified their investment targets.
What’s surprising is that he had established a cooperative relationship with One Computer from the beginning, when they both had nothing.
With the ability to foresee the success of undervalued companies, there was no need for further hesitation.
Yet, there was one concern.
‘Can my Ah-young be happy?’
Having observed Lee Hyun-woo, it was clear he was a workaholic.
No matter how much he pretended otherwise, he couldn’t hide his true nature.
A kindred soul can see their own reflection, so he had to question whether his daughter would indeed find a good spouse. Kim Sung-moo has known best the struggle his daughter has been through with such a father. What will happen if her husband is similar?
That concern intensified when Kim Ah-young mentioned a business trip to the U.S. the next morning.
“Why the U.S.?”
“Didn’t I mention it before?”
“You said you wanted to find ways to support Jungle through the U.S. branch. But Hyun-woo didn’t give a proper answer, did he?”
It was true.
Last time, they tried to establish a connection with Jungle through the U.S. branch, but without a clear response, they couldn’t provide any special support.
Nevertheless, Kim Ah-young confidently had something to say.
“Yes, but we can still connect various companies with our U.S. branch.”
“Various companies?”
“We can increase our presence in the U.S. using Jungle’s cloud service. Moreover, Lee Hyun-woo mentioned that he could sell Jungle’s search engine to U.S. companies. So he can start with our partners.”
One could vividly imagine how much work Lee Hyun-woo would accomplish in the U.S.
However, curiosity arose once more.
“You’re saying you’re selling the search engine, just like in Korea?”
“Yes, recently Jungle created a profit model with its search engine. Nowadays, information technology companies emerging like mushrooms after rain are starting to add search box to their websites, and other large companies are lining up to adopt Jungle’s search engine, which is faster and more accurate.”
“Hmm…”
While he knew about the search engine, his age was a hindrance in understanding the level and depth of the technology. He could keep up with the world’s changes, but couldn’t grasp every detail of every field.
Fortunately, as the head of a huge group, he had a rich imagination.
Kim Sung-moo also started drawing various scenarios.
‘What if I wanted to search all the TV lines of Guseong Electronics even from a few years ago? No, it might be more necessary for Guseong Securities. What if I wanted to know the disclosures of a specific company?’
In fact, Kim Ah-young mentioned the biggest case next.
“Yesterday, they got a call from the stock exchange.”
“……”
Kim Sung-moo, who usually managed his expressions well, had his pupils shake when he heard about this.
‘This will be worth a fortune.’
Another curiosity raised about the quality of Jungle’s search engine. This needed a comparison.
“Doesn’t Yaho also have a search engine? Why would they inquire about Jungle’s without even asking about Yaho’s?”
“I’m not exactly sure about the technical details, but Jungle analyzes the relationships between websites instead of relying on keywords.”
Kim Sung-moo also didn’t know much about the technical aspects.
What he wanted to know was the result difference between the two.
“According to Lee Hyun-woo’s simple explanation, if you rely only on keywords, you find 10 results, but if you analyze the relationships between websites, there’s a multiplier effect on the result.”
“Multiplier effect? To what magnitude?”
“The potential is infinite. The more websites there are, the more pages will be returned. But it is not just the quantity, the accuracy of their search will also improve because Jungle will be able to compare more relationships. With more partners, Jungle’s search engine will inevitably be superior.”
This required maximum imagination, but he can be certain that it is higher level of technology than Yaho’s.
Kim Sung-moo, who knew well that technological superiority determines corporate differences, once again thought of Lee Hyun-woo.
‘Regardless of whether he’s a workaholic or not, he’s someone we must secure in order to bring Guseong group to new heights.’
But is it worth more than his daughter’s happiness?
After a pause, he spoke to his daughter.
“Alright, take this opportunity to learn a lot in the U.S. Such experiences will be valuable in the future.”
While saying that, Kim Ah-young can sense displeasure from her father’s usual composed expression.
‘He’s smiling with his mouth, but his eyes are dissatisfied.’
Why?
Unable to understand the reason, Kim Ah-young tilted her head.
As Kim Ah-young mentioned, Jungle was overwhelmed with inquiries about its search engine as time went by.
Thanks to this, Lee Jung-woo and Oh Min-woo were also buried in work.
“Team Leader Lee, what’s with the search speed? This isn’t the speed we wanted.”
“That’s true. It’s been lagging a bit lately. I guess the data has become extremely vast recently.”
“That’s no excuse. Could it be because we’re lazy?”
“If you said that in front of our CEO, you’d be labeled a workaholic. What do you think he’d say?”
“That our health is more important than business expansion. He might even suggest taking some annual leave?”
These two hadn’t used any of the annual leave introduced this year.
Lee Jung-woo thought he couldn’t use it because he was in school, and Oh Min-woo thought he was too busy.
“But isn’t your brother really strange? He works like a workaholic himself, but preaches about work-life balance.”
“It’s not just talk. He’s implemented various things in the company. The 5-day work week, 35-hour work week, annual leave, and so on.”
“Yeah, but the amount of work is too much. Even with the portal site, there’s a lot to fix. But before you know it, new types of businesses are emerging, and there’s more overseas expansion.”
“That’s true.”
“Then telling us to rest doesn’t make sense.”
“It doesn’t.”
“Shouldn’t we protest?”
“Okay, I have a lot to say too. He won’t let me take a leave of absence or drop out, yet he keeps saying he wants the world’s best search engine. No matter how much I love my brother, it’s annoying.”
In the end, the two went straight up to the CEO’s office.
“Please increase the working hours.”
“Yes, I want that too.”
Lee Hyun-woo was taken aback.
Was this request even reasonable?
“You want to increase the working hours, not decrease them?”
“We can’t possibly finish the given tasks within the current hours.”
“Yes, me too.”
“Is that why you stay late secretly? Sometimes you even take work home.”
Lee Jung-woo, who often got caught working late at night, nodded along with Oh Min-woo.
“Exactly. Instead of working secretly, please just increase our working hours.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“Employees of other companies are begging to get some rest, why are you two like this?”
“We told you, we can’t finish the work on time.”
“Yes, me too.”
“Then delegate to your subordinates.”
“It’s the same for them. It’s not enough. They’re also begging to work more.”
“Same here. Lately, it’s been hard telling people to stop working and go home. Seeing the piled-up work the next day makes people sigh.”
Lee Hyun-woo, after thinking for a moment, spoke again.
“Then the conclusion is clear. We’re short on people.”
The two couldn’t readily answer.
If they said yes, it would be like asking for more hires.
But are they really short on people?
‘Just increasing working hours would solve it?’
‘Why is he so obsessed with work-life balance?’
How could they convey this?
Thus, Lee Jung-woo answered first.
“It’s not like we’re not hiring.”
“Yeah, we even had a large recruitment drive recently.”
It was true.
They had hired quite a few graduates earlier this year.
Fortunately, they had moved the servers to a five-story building; otherwise, there wouldn’t have been enough space.
But if they hired more? They will have to move again within a year.
‘It’s too chaotic. No matter what, we should endure at least a year before moving.’
‘And if we’re moving, we should build our own office.’
‘An office building. I’ll suggest to my brother not to move until we build one.’
Lee Hyun-woo, who couldn’t hear their thoughts, nodded and said.
“Alright, let’s think about it a bit more.”
“There’s nothing to think about.”
“Yes, just increase the working hours a bit more.”
“Show some flexibility with work-life balance.”
“Yeah, we all know you love working.”
“Me?”
Now, Lee Hyun-woo’s eyes widened.
“Do I really seem like I enjoy working?”
“Did you think otherwise?”
“Look at yourself in the mirror when you work. You smile so happily.”
“R-really?”
Lee Hyun-woo, stuttering, couldn’t accept the reality.
‘No matter how much I try, my true nature doesn’t change.’
What should he do?
The next day, changes began at the company.
“What’s this?”
“Are we under construction again?”
“This time for what?”
“Not sure…”
Signs of internal construction were visible to the team leaders.
It seemed like Lee Hyun-woo was preparing something on the second floor, where most servers were, just as he appeared after talking to the construction team.
Unable to contain his curiosity, Oh Min-woo asked.
“Can we ask what you’re building?”
“Of course. It’s for our health.”
“Our health?”
“Yes, yesterday, you two asked to increase working hours. After thinking it over, I realized I’d have to compromise. Of course, I decided we need to hire more people, but for now, as you suggested, I’ll slightly increase the hours and…”
After pausing and taking a deep breath, Lee Hyun-woo continued.
“I’m setting up two spaces for health management. One is a medical room.”
“Ah…”
“That’s great.”
“I was hoping for a medical room.”
The response was positive.
So, Lee Hyun-woo excitedly revealed the next plan.
“The other is a fitness room.”
Upon hearing this, a slightly chubby Woo Sang-won couldn’t help but react.
“Why a fitness room?”
“Modern people often suffer from lack of exercise. So, I’m setting up a fitness room and hiring a trainer for regular exercise.”
The team leaders’ faces darkened, knowing Lee Hyun-woo well.
He wouldn’t set this up without using it fully.
As expected?
“Once a month, we’ll check everyone’s fitness. Only those who pass the criteria will be allowed to work overtime.”
“……”
“……”
“……”
“……”
“And there will be overtime pay.”
The core of Lee Hyun-woo’s message was that fitness equaled money.
People looked at each other with puzzled expressions, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
