“Really, unnie. Sunhwa is not with Lee Hyun-woo. You must have misunderstood.”
Kim Sung-hee emphasized once again.
Then Kim Mi-hyun, trying to appear nonchalant, asked,
“Is there any talk of marriage proposals? Any girlfriends? Is it someone I know?”
“I can’t tell you right now.”
“So, you do know something.”
“Yes, I do. That’s why I’m telling you. Honestly, I’m a bit disappointed too.”
Kim Sung-hee also had a daughter.
If it weren’t for her niece, Kim Ah-young, she would have wanted to match her up with Lee Hyun-woo somehow.
Recently, it had become more intense.
Son Jung-yi was paying attention and Wall Street was eyeing him. Any Korean chaebol family with a daughter wanted Lee Hyun-woo as a son-in-law.
A professional matchmaker who has been going around chaebol families already gave an exceptional rating.
Lee Hyun-woo had the power to choose, not the chaebol daughters.
“Wow, it does seem true. Just when I thought it was good.”
“So, give my son a chance.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll go and ask Sunhwa again today.”
Finally, the conversation that mixed Lee Hyun-woo into family matters ended here, and from this point, business-related talk began.
Gossip among women, regardless of age or status, is endless.
Today was no different.
It ended well past quitting time, and when Kim Mi-hyun stood up,
‘Still, I should make a call.’
Kim Sung-hee took out her mobile phone and contacted her niece, Kim Ah-young.
It didn’t ring many times before she answered.
(Hello?)
“It’s me, Ah-young.”
(Aunt? What brings you here?)
“What do you mean? It’s been hard to see your face lately. I called to check on you.”
(I’m doing well. Are you healthy, Aunt?)
“Healthy, but our mature daughter is the problem. Don’t you know any good people?”
(Ah, I don’t see anyone like that around me.)
“Really? Someone half as good as Lee Hyun-woo would be perfect.”
She casually mentioned the name Lee Hyun-woo.
Then she read her niece’s reaction.
(Oh? He’s right in front of me.)
Fortunately, it seemed there were no problems in the love department.
Such conversations are quite subtle.
Pretending not to know while knowing, but not openly acknowledging.
It was more so because she and her niece were close enough to share casual chit-chat.
However, Kim Sung-hee was very perceptive and had heard from her sister-in-law that it was still necessary to be a bit cautious, so she avoided making direct mentions.
Instead, she started with casual talk,
“That guy, he’s elusive. I heard he’s been meeting the daughter of the Aejeong Group for work these days?”
(Yes, he just mentioned that earlier. He met Sunhwa for business.)
“Oh, I see. Anyway, I shouldn’t be interfering too much. Tell me some fun stories later, Ah-young.”
She wrapped it up casually.
(Okay, Aunt.)
After hanging up, Kim Sung-hee smiled.
‘Of course. There’s no way our Ah-young would make a mistake.’
She thought of her daughter once again.
She said she met Lee Hyun-woo at the last gathering.
And she accidentally used German, only to be surprised by Lee Hyun-woo’s fluent German.
Upon hearing that, Kim Sung-hee, who had figured everything out from start to finish, clicked her tongue.
The thought that she might have been disliked for testing him unnecessarily.
‘This is why you need to raise your children well. Look at Ah-young, she stayed quiet and managed to catch a big fish.’
Regretting was of no use.
All that came to mind was the resolve to teach humility to her children from now on.
On the other hand, Kim Ah-young, who had just hung up the phone, tilted her head.
“That’s strange.”
“Why?”
“Um? It was my aunt… It felt like she was intentionally talking about you.”
“What did she say?”
“Just asking to introduce a guy half as good as you to my cousin… stuff like that.”
“Haha… I guess I am quite something.”
He tried to cover his awkward smile with some self-praise, but Kim Ah-young just laughed.
So, Lee Hyun-woo had to continue the conversation he was having earlier.
“So, back to the main topic. What do you think? How about you guys entering the online fashion market?”
The topic was online fashion malls.
Since Aejeong Apparel had already made up their mind, Lee Hyun-woo was persuading her that it wouldn’t be a bad result if First Textile also joined in.
“You’re really strange.”
“Hmm?”
“Honestly, if fashion malls start everywhere, Jungle can’t monopolize it. But you’re still talking to Sunhwa and me about sharing the blue ocean. What’s your reason?”
“There are several reasons.”
Lee Hyun-woo enumerated as if it were obvious.
“First, a blue ocean shouldn’t be monopolized by one company. At least two or three companies should compete to create an ecosystem and generate synergy. And secondly…”
“……”
“The current clothing inventory rate must be extremely high. In the past, the distribution structure of clothing often included a significant portion of custom tailoring, but nowadays, it’s mostly ready-made clothes, mass-produced in factories. Sales have increased, but so has the stockpile. If we eliminate that through online consumption, it will contribute to the growth of businesses, small merchants, and the national economy.”
“Wow, you have big and small intentions all included. Anything else?”
“Yes. Anyway, online clothing shopping is set to grow exponentially in the future. So, I thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to spread it first among people I know and trust.”
Most of what Lee Hyun-woo said was close to the truth.
Of course, they were ‘facts’ based on his previous life.
Looking at the data from his past life, the two largest categories in e-commerce sales were electronics and fashion.
Electronics because of their high unit price, and fashion because the high sales volume meant a huge number of buyers and sellers.
If Jungle, Aejeong Apparel, and finally First Textile poured fuel on the fire, it would blaze online.
“You’re amazing. I can’t figure out what you don’t know. I thought you only knew about information and communications, but now you know cosmetics and fashion too.”
“I’ve heard so many compliments today, I’m full.”
“It’s because I’m grateful. Your strategy will probably help my brother a lot.”
Lee Hyun-woo had shared the concept of an online fashion mall with Choi Sun-hwa at lunch and was now discussing it with Kim Ah-young in the afternoon.
As mentioned earlier, there were multiple purposes.
‘If major corporate groups start jumping into fashion malls like this, the inventory will be cleared out quickly.’
He thought suddenly.
From the democratization movement in 1987 to 1997.
If there was a light called corporate investment, one couldn’t help but think of the shadow of overproduction.
All inventory is the result of overproduction.
Among them, clothing was massive.
Even at Duksung Trading, where he used to work, they were busy disposing of overflowing inventory at bargain prices.
If positive consumption through online shopping and a boom in fashion malls could occur before that?
‘In this life, maybe we can avoid the foreign exchange crisis.’
Recently, he had been feeling that the economic environment was changing a lot.
In fact, news of foreign companies investing in domestic information and communication companies was making headlines daily.
Among them was the Natural Standard Fund that Joe Murphy had brought over, but there were also many investment firms from the U.S., Japan, or Europe.
This proved that the achievements of Korean information and communication companies over the past year were significant.
Of course, there weren’t only good things happening, so recently, a major company had collapsed.
But at this pace, he thought it wasn’t bad.
‘The domestic economy is at a level where it can absorb this.’
There was no room for complacency yet, but he felt proud.
He thought that covering a bubble with another bubble had succeeded.
Today, before going to bed, he looked at the notes he had written around this time last year and smiled.
He had jotted down plans for restructuring the national economy and improving the domestic corporate environment, thinking ‘If it doesn’t work out, so be it.’ Somehow, it seemed to be moving towards success.
‘This is enough. I’ll do my part and not get too hung up on whether the economic crisis happens or not.’
Then he would end up immersing himself in work again.
‘Let’s live my life now. Build more relationships with people.’
Humans are social animals living among people.
He decided to build relationships with many people in the future.
Then, he might find more fun in building relationships than in work.
He closed his eyes with a new determination today.
Building relationships with people is important, but being faithful to the basics is more important.
The most basic human relationship is the parent-child relationship, so the next day, like a recent habit, Lee Hyun-woo repeated his life’s goal upon waking up.
“A filial son, a good husband, a respected father.”
Maybe that’s why?
Suddenly, an opportunity to show filial piety arose at the breakfast table.
“Kids, I’ve been thinking, and I’m not too old to give up on my dreams.”
This declaration came from his father’s mouth.
“Seeing the salt factory succeed, I think it’s a sign from heaven to expand the business. After discussing with your mother, I’ve decided to venture into the clothing business.”
“Ah… Father…”
The younger brother stuttered, showing his surprise.
Lee Hyun-woo was also a bit taken aback.
However, as his father said, he was still in his 50s, quite a young age to give up on his dreams.
If Lee Hyun-woo had secure business connections at that age and gained confidence?
‘I would have pursued a long-held dream too.’
Fortunately, Lee Hyun-woo was an excellent resource for his father.
“That’s a good idea. I’ll help whenever I can.”
“You?”
“Yes, actually, I’ve been working with other companies in the fashion sector recently.”
“Really? Your company has something to do with fashion?”
“Of course. Our company can sell anything in the world. Clothes are no exception, and I think this will open up new fashion business opportunities.”
“Really?”
His father’s eyes suddenly sparkled, and his voice grew stronger.
“Then let’s make a deal, you and I. Considering your company can sell everything, you can handle the clothes we make too.”
“That’s exactly what I was hoping for. But remember, there will be no special treatment with fees, so be prepared.”
“Of course, even between father and son, calculations should be precise.”
At first, he was surprised, but as he watched the conversation between his father and brother, Lee Jung-woo’s face slowly blossomed into a smile.
‘This is great, really great.’
He had nudged his father, knowing his brother would react this way.
No matter how he thought about it, it was impossible to achieve great success with just dyeing.
Recently, observing the situation, he noticed signs that Lee Hyun-woo would collaborate with various fashion sectors to create new ‘collaborations’.
If his father stepped into fashion?
‘This is the chance to succeed greatly and perhaps rival a chaebol family.’
Thinking this far, he heard his brother’s voice.
“First, rather than making clothes, it would be better to approach it from a distribution angle. There must be a lot of inventory everywhere, especially imported clothes, which will have considerable demand.”
Now, it felt natural that Lee Hyun-woo knew well about any field.
A deep smile spread across Lee Jung-woo’s face.
