Lee Hyun-woo, who was growing increasingly curious about his younger brother’s affairs, asked Kim Ah-young another question.
“A bookworm? Is she a student?”
“Yes, she’s just like Jung-woo. She’s becoming a senior this year. She goes to KIST.”
“If it’s KIST, she must have studied a lot.”
KIST in Daejeon is a place that only the top geniuses in the country can enter.
“She studied a lot. Hoseon has actually been receiving a company scholarship since middle school. Our company usually gives out a lot of scholarships, but hers was the highest ever.”
“Were they recruiting talent from back then?”
“They probably had that intention. Anyway, both my oppa, me, and even our younger siblings were often compared to Hoseon. Her father, who is now an executive in our company, would sometimes join us for meals. She’s pretty and has a nice personality. But she has no interest in men at all.”
“So, she’s never dated?”
“Never dated? Oh, right. As far as I know, she’s never had a boyfriend.”
“What is this? My brother and she are birds of a feather, but can it work out? They both don’t seem interested in dating.”
“That might be true, but it’s much better than only one side having feelings. People are naturally drawn to those similar to themselves.”
“Really? I thought people were attracted to opposites.”
“That’s true too. But I have a feeling about this one.”
Lee Hyun-woo tilted his head, puzzled by Kim Ah-young’s confident tone.
Honestly, he was skeptical about a KIST student like Hoseon coming to a blind date.
A bookworm disinterested in the opposite sex coming to meet a guy?
It didn’t make sense.
‘No matter how fresh the idea is, isn’t a blind date like this supposed to be a last resort?’
From Lee Hyun-woo’s perspective, this was a unique card that should only be used after trying other people and failing.
‘Well, since this was an accidental meeting, and they’re both young, thinking about the future might be too far-fetched.’
He thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to meet without any burden and gauge his brother’s workaholic tendencies.
No, this was much better.
If the woman was someone thinking about the future or came out wanting to date somehow, it would be embarrassing to send his workaholic brother out.
Kim Ah-young’s strategy stood out anew.
‘Ah-young planned this well.’
But in fact, Kim Ah-young had a hard time being the intermediary.
It was more difficult to persuade Yoo Hoseon, the student at KIST.
She only succeeded today after informing Lee Jung-woo that the blind date had been accepted.
- I already told my boyfriend’s younger brother, so what should I do?
Yoo Hoseon, who was approached similarly to how Lee Jung-woo was, replied:
Well, it can’t be helped. I’ll go out once then.
Yes, go without any burden.
This is how the meeting between the two was arranged.
On the first weekend of February, Lee Jung-woo headed to the coffee shop.
He arrived almost exactly at the meeting place, and just as he was about to enter the coffee shop, he made eye contact with a woman.
Automatic scan.
‘She could be pretty if she dressed up a bit…’
Lee Jung-woo, acknowledged by Oh Min-woo and Jang Yoo-chul, wasn’t exactly a Casanova, but his past record was impressive.
Especially, he accurately predicted how much the incoming female students would upgrade nearly 100% of the time during his sophomore year.
Oh Min-woo and Jang Yoo-chul didn’t believe him at first and missed out on quite a few freshmen female students, later regretting it deeply.
That ability didn’t change even after he became a reservist, as he accurately assessed the upgrade potential of female students he spotted immediately upon returning to school.
Now was no different.
Wearing a baseball cap, horn-rimmed glasses, and a white T-shirt with jeans, she looked pretty even without any makeup. If she started dressing up, she would be very pretty, he thought as he met her at the entrance.
‘What am I doing?’
Lee Jung-woo inwardly smiled wryly and shook his head.
He was here for a blind date, yet he was evaluating another woman.
Even though he came out without any burden, he felt a bit guilty toward the unknown woman he was about to meet.
But then,
“Are you Lee Jung-woo?”
The plain-looking woman he met at the door knew his identity.
Then?
“Are you Yoo Hoseon?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Oh… okay…”
“I saw you in the newspaper. The interview. That’s how I recognized you.”
“I see. Shall we sit down?”
“Yes, let’s.”
“Coffee?”
Nod, nod.
Nodding her head up and down, she said,
“I’ll go order.”
“No, no, I’ll buy.”
Worried that he might end up buying dinner later, Lee Jung-woo quickly stepped in.
He was a little curious about Yoo Hoseon, but he intended to just have coffee and then leave.
After ordering, they sat down, and Yoo Hoseon spoke again.
“I heard you developed a search engine too.”
“Yes, somehow… But how did you… Oh, you read the interview.”
“Yes, that and I was originally interested.”
“In me?”
“No, in search engines.”
For a moment, Lee Jung-woo felt awkward.
At the same time, he tilted his head, looking at Yoo Hoseon, who was interested in search engines.
“I only knew your name and that you were a senior, but by any chance…”
“I’m from the computer science department at KIST.”
“Oh!”
This time he was surprised. The computer science department at KIST is known to house the country’s top computer experts.
Recently, even at 【Jungle】, new recruits from there were making waves.
‘She might have heard about me from her seniors.’
This thought was fleeting. After the coffee was placed on the table, their conversation was more like a scholarly discussion than a blind date.
“I’ve had a lot of questions. Initially, 【Jungle】 was mostly text, so there wouldn’t have been server issues, but now it’s different. You’ve expanded to MP3 files, cafes, blogs, and recently even community-type social media. Haven’t there been server overload issues?”
“Of course there were. It was almost 60% full.”
“Then it must be lagging. Is it a 1-tier structure?”
“It’s a 2-tier hybrid.”
“I knew it…”
“By March, the data center will be completed, so we should be able to fully transition to a 2-tier structure.”
“Oh…”
At this point, Lee Jung-woo finally asked her age.
“If you’re a senior, are you twenty-three?”
“I’m an early twenty-two.”
“Oh…”
He unconsciously confirmed the four-year age difference.
And then,
“Can I speak more comfortably?”
“Go ahead.”
If he only intended to meet her this once, was it necessary to speak informally?
Even he didn’t know. He just found the conversation flowed well and decided to speak more comfortably, thinking the blind date wouldn’t be boring.
“If you’re a senior, it’s about time to decide your career path.”
“I’m going to study.”
“Oh… that’s a waste.”
“Why?”
“Well, I was thinking of scouting you for our company.”
“No way, even if I graduate, I can’t join 【Jungle】.”
“Why?”
“Well, I’ve been tied to 【Guseong】 since I was young. Anyway, we’ve only exchanged a few words, but the reason you want to scout me is…”
“Sometimes, you just know after a few words.”
Once they started speaking informally, they quickly became closer.
This was possible because they were young.
Also, this was part of 【Jungle】’s charm.
In Korean conglomerates, the rigid corporate culture often stifles new employees.
Honestly, there were many people who would berate you for even a small mistake.
Therefore, experienced employees found it easier to adapt to 【Jungle】.
The female ratio was low, but even the female employees who joined were surprised.
Though the company had many men, it didn’t operate in a male-dominated way.
CTO Lee Jung-woo knew this well.
“At least in our company, there’s more freedom in development compared to others. No discrimination either.”
“Really?”
“Didn’t you hear that from your senior?”
“No, I’m not the type to talk much with others at school.”
“Are you the type who only studies?”
“That’s right.”
“Somehow, it was written all over your face.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I can tell at a glance. Honestly, your style would really fit our company.”
“Hearing that makes me waver a bit. Though I haven’t heard it from a senior, I’ve heard from professors that this field is quite rigid.”
“That field? Do you mean you want to be a professor?”
“Yes, but specifically a research-focused professor. I’m not very confident in teaching people.”
“You won’t know until you try.”
Lee Jung-woo smiled.
Initially, the conversation had an academic atmosphere, but now they were getting to know each other.
To be precise, Lee Jung-woo was asking more questions, inputting information about Yoo Hoseon and her future into his mind.
Interestingly, he didn’t realize he was asking more questions himself.
Thus, even though they had been sitting at the coffee shop for quite some time, time passed quickly.
Soon, they were hungry, and almost inadvertently, he asked,
“Do you want to have dinner?”
“Yes, I’d like that.”
The meeting between men and women doesn’t go as planned.
Although it’s unclear how far these two will go, one thing is certain: their common interests will likely lead to future meetings.
That evening, Lee Hyun-woo heard the story from his brother.
“What, you’re going to meet again?”
“Oh, don’t misunderstand. It’s not like what you’re thinking, hyung. Hoseon had a lot of questions. About our company and development, etc. So I told her to contact me anytime if she has questions, and even if she doesn’t, we agreed to chat occasionally.”
“Really?”
“And after talking, she seemed quite impressive. Much smarter than I expected. Of course, theory and practice are different, so she’ll need more experience, but I’d love to bring her to our company.”
Listening to his brother, Lee Hyun-woo thought cautiously.
‘When people have similar interests, they tend to meet more frequently.’
Certainly, Kim Ah-young planned this well.
Whether she knew it would turn out like this is unknown.
“Then why not offer her a scouting proposal?”
“She said it’s not possible. She’s decided on a career in studying. Besides, she received a scholarship from 【Guseong】, so she feels obligated to stay there.”
“Oh… loyal.”
“But it’s a shame. She’s more interested in software. 【Guseong】 specializes in infrastructure and hardware.”
“A big company like that must have places to work.”
“Of course. Even what I just mentioned, to implement it, they’ll definitely need software experts. What I mean is, if she joined our company, she could really shine.”
Lee Hyun-woo sensed a deep regret in his brother’s voice.
Oddly, it seemed appealing.
‘If this kid starts dating and reduces his work hours, that would be ideal too…’
He thought he should talk to Kim Tae-hyun to see if they could bring Yoo Hoseon to 【Jungle】.
