When he arrived at the airport, Lee Hyun-woo sensed a strange atmosphere.
Should he say that the cameras were focused on him?
More precisely, he could guess from the efforts of the Korean reporters trying to capture him and Kim Ah-young in one shot.
‘So, it’s been revealed that Ah-young is my girlfriend.’
He did receive some camera attention in Taiwan as well.
But most of them seemed to be economic journalists.
However, that was not the case now.
Most were from the entertainment sector.
How did he know this?
First of all, they tried to capture celebrities like Clones and Kim Yoon-sun, and then they seemed to have another objective as they turned their cameras this way.
Above all, they were Korean reporters.
So, if he inferred the current situation,
‘Someone who knows that Ah-young and I are dating informed the Korean reporters, and those who heard it came out determined today.’
This was the conclusion he reached.
He could roughly guess the article titles they would write.
『Lee Hyun-woo, in a romantic relationship with Kim Ah-young, the eldest daughter of Guseong Group?』
Or, Guseong might do a preemptive review.
Anyway, he decided to leave it to their freedom to write whatever articles they wanted as he exited the airport.
And when he got into the car to head to the accommodation,
“CEO, Jamie Wang wants to meet.”
Han Se-jin’s words contained an unexpected message.
Although it was an unanticipated request, he could guess why Jamie Wang wanted to meet.
‘He wants to use our search engine.’
At the same time, a strange curiosity flowed through his mind.
‘If this gets reported, what will people be more curious about?’
If the relationship with Kim Ah-young and the news that Yaho would adopt Jungle’s search engine were reported simultaneously, he wondered which would attract more public attention.
So, he said,
“We need to release this as a press release.”
“You mean the news that Yaho will use our search engine?”
Was it because he had gained more than a year of experience?
Or was it because he was trained by Lee Hyun-woo?
Han Se-jin seemed to quickly understand Jamie Wang’s intention.
Lee Hyun-woo nodded.
“Yes, and the sooner, the better, so it doesn’t even have to be a press release.”
He meant to inform the reporters directly.
“Then, please go ahead. I will follow you.”
This meant he would inform the economic journalists who might still be at the airport.
Seeing Han Se-jin ready to take action even before meeting Jamie Wang made Lee Hyun-woo smile.
‘No matter how I see it, I seem to have a fortune in people.’
With each passing day, people’s abilities grew significantly.
As if it was saying he could retire early at any time without any issues.
Without delay.
Determining there was no need to waste time, Lee Hyun-woo went to meet Jamie Wang instead of heading to the accommodation.
Seeing Jamie Wang’s face again, he raised his eyebrows and thought,
‘He’s grown in just a few days.’
His gaze, voice, and expression showed more composure.
“Welcome.”
“It seems we’re destined to meet. I didn’t expect to see you again in Hong Kong after Taiwan.”
“In Taiwan, you requested the meeting. Naturally, it’s my turn this time.”
At first, such meaningless conversations floated in the air.
It was a prelude to the main topic.
Before that, a warm-up was necessary.
“Ah, I looked into Yaho Taiwan. As expected, being one of the best portal sites of this era, it gave me a peculiar feeling.”
Lee Hyun-woo set the stage first.
“Thank you for saying that, but human desire seems endless. Other people’s rice cakes always look bigger.”
“That’s true for everyone.”
“Still, I could feel once again that Jungle’s search engine is better than ours.”
No need to waste time.
Lee Hyun-woo began to make a second proposal to Jamie Wang, who had attempted a warm-up.
“That’s what we live on. How about… what I mentioned last time is still valid.”
“Ah… you’re saving my face. I was about to request it first.”
“What’s the need for face? The cooperative competitive relationship I mentioned last time will continue. Moreover, to rapidly and broadly foster the IT ecosystem in Taiwan and Hong Kong, I think it’s difficult without joining hands with Yaho.”
Jamie Wang nodded at Lee Hyun-woo’s words.
And as if to show he had grown, he didn’t hesitate to lower himself and elevate his opponent.
“Thank you for saying that. Actually, after our last meeting, I reflected a lot. I felt I still don’t know the world well.”
“No way.”
“I’m serious. You approached without self-interest and expressed your true intentions, but I couldn’t do that.”
It couldn’t be said that there was absolutely no self-interest.
It was originally to highlight Jungle’s technological superiority.
But if the other party felt that way, there was no need to deny it.
“This time, it’s different. I will join hands with Jungle without thinking about profit and loss.”
“Thank you for opening your heart. Now that we’ve reached an agreement, I’ll tell our staff to handle the rest.”
“Yes, let’s do that.”
The CEOs need to agree on the big picture.
The rest will be coordinated by the working-level staff.
Now, the two began to enter the realm of everyday conversation again.
“When are you returning to Korea?”
“In three days. And you?”
“I’m going back the day after tomorrow. But I plan to visit Korea within the year after going to the US.”
“Ah, is it because of Yaho Korea?”
“Yes, that’s right. I need to challenge in Jungle’s home ground, just as we were challenged in the US. Haha.”
Now, meaningless conversations were not floating around.
Everyday life and business were mixing as the two started to build a ‘social relationship.’
Meanwhile, at the accommodation, Park Min-sook asked Kim Ah-young,
“This time, the reporters seem to have definitely noticed.”
“Maybe… someone who was there informed them.”
The place meant where Lee Hyun-woo had said Kim Ah-young was his girlfriend.
There might have been friends who kept the secret, but there were also those who would inform to raise their value as informants.
Lee Hyun-woo would have anticipated that.
Therefore, Kim Ah-young didn’t need to avoid it either.
“You always keep in touch with your father, right?”
“Yes? Ah, yes…”
Park Min-sook asked, implying she knew everything, and Kim Ah-young answered with an awkward expression.
“You can inform him now.”
“Wha… would it be okay? The Chairman might not want to make this public yet.”
“It’s impossible. Just now, I saw Hong Kong reporters taking pictures of Hyun-woo.”
Reporters have an astonishing sense for scoops.
Seeing the Korean entertainment reporters taking pictures of Lee Hyun-woo and Kim Ah-young, the Hong Kong reporters quickly joined in with their cameras, as Kim Ah-young confirmed.
They would probably start figuring it out.
If they noticed that Kim Ah-young was the eldest daughter of Guseong Group, they could write articles about the two.
It’s uncertain whether Hong Kong people would be curious about them.
However, if it gets reported in Hong Kong, it would be very difficult for her father to stop it.
The world was becoming increasingly connected.
Naturally, the news from Hong Kong would reach Korea sooner or later.
More importantly, even if they somehow stopped it, Lee Hyun-woo’s determination was strong.
He intended to publicly date Kim Ah-young.
Kim Ah-young felt the same.
“I don’t want to meet in hiding anymore.”
As if understanding her feelings, Park Min-sook nodded.
Late at night, Kim Sung-moo’s phone rang.
It was Park Min-sook.
Hearing the news, Kim Sung-moo’s expression became complicated.
After hanging up, he asked his wife, Jang Hee-jin, who was beside him,
“They say the two are going to publicly date.”
“That’s going to be noisy.”
“How can it not be? It’s the daughter of Guseong and the CEO of Jungle.”
“True, but…”
Jang Hee-jin’s expression also became complicated.
Frankly, if you look at the person alone, there was no better groom than Lee Hyun-woo.
However, marriage was the union of two families.
“If they start appearing in the media, they have to see it through to the end.”
“That’s right.”
There’s no stopping in Guseong’s public relationships.
They would control the news from the beginning if that were the case.
“As long as our daughter is determined and Hyun-woo doesn’t change his mind, it won’t end halfway.”
“You never know with relationships.”
“Relationships are unpredictable, but Guseong isn’t.”
“Sigh, fine. Then we’ll have to meet their parents soon.”
“Hmm…”
“Why?”
“I heard something.”
“What did you hear?”
“Ah-young has been making moves.”
“What kind of moves?”
“She’s been supporting Hyun-woo’s father’s company. She already got dyeing work from First Textile and even mobilized her friend’s company, Aejeong Apparel. Recently, she even asked Seong-hee to get a department store outlet for his father’s company.”
Kim Sung-moo saw through Kim Ah-young’s strategy.
Of course, it wasn’t something he heard naturally; he had investigated it deliberately.
Parents cannot be deceived.
They might not know everything, but they often know and pretend not to.
Moreover, Kim Sung-moo wielded considerable power.
“A quiet cat climbs the stove first, but can she grow it to Guseong’s level?”
“Impossible. She probably just wanted to make it presentable. Actually, it’s growing day by day. The store opening at Seong-hee Department Store is GAPE Korea.”
“Well, it’s not high fashion, but it’s a decent brand.”
Kim Sung-moo nodded.
“Since Hyun-woo got involved from the US, it’s been accelerating. As you said, just looking at abilities, it’s impossible to find a better son-in-law than Hyun-woo.”
“Sigh, so what should we do? Should we not visit their parents now?”
“Yes, let’s give the kids some time.”
“Things always happen if it drags on.”
Jang Hee-jin wanted to speed things up and marry them off quickly now that it was public.
“Still, we should send Tae-hyun first.”
“True. Then let’s do Tae-hyun this year and Ah-young next year.”
“Okay, let’s do that.”
“Sigh, it’s really a shame about the family. If it weren’t for that, he’d be perfect.”
“Where can you find 100 points? Let’s be satisfied with this.”
Like everyone, they thought their child was more deserving.
Even Kim Sung-moo and his wife, who ran a large group, were just parents.
However, the next evening, Kim Sung-moo couldn’t help but be surprised by the news from an online newspaper.
『World’s Largest Portal Site Yaho to Adopt Jungle’s Search Engine!』
This meant that Yaho, with a market capitalization of over $15 billion, acknowledged Jungle’s technology.
Calculating Jungle’s value, which would go public next year, suddenly ran through Kim Sung-moo’s mind.
‘Could it surpass our company’s market capitalization?’
A complex smile spread across Kim Sung-moo’s face.
‘That can’t happen.’
Why did he feel competitive with his future son-in-law, Lee Hyun-woo?
