The next day, Lee Hyun-woo began interviewing Woo Sang-won’s former colleagues.
There were three in total, and he interviewed them all at once.
“I’m CEO Lee Hyun-woo. Can I get your names?”
“I’m Jeong Gwang-yeol.”
“I’m Lee Won-jong.”
“I’m Yoon Won-gi.”
The interviews were conducted at lightning speed, and Lee Hyun-woo had only received their resumes the previous night. Nonetheless, he had read them thoroughly. The purpose of starting with introductions was to make the interview process more comfortable.
Just like with Woo Sang-won, experienced developers were highly valued in this era. Although he didn’t believe in hiring solely based on experience, Woo Sang-won had proven to be reliable, and he trusted that his recommendations would be good as well. Thus, today’s interview felt more like a formality with a predetermined outcome.
“Can you tell me what your strong points are?”
“Search engines.”
“Me too. That led me to work on portal sites.”
“Yes, same here. I have expertise in portal sites.”
Was luck really on his side this time?
All of them had experience in creating portal sites. It seemed like Woo Sang-won had picked up on Lee Hyun-woo’s interest in actively developing portal sites and had recommended these people accordingly.
‘I’ve been wanting to focus more on portal sites lately.’
With an understanding of Woo Sang-won’s intentions, they quickly exchanged their visions and concluded the interview in record time. After sending the interviewees off, Lee Hyun-woo approached Woo Sang-won with a pleasant smile.
“As a token of gratitude for introducing such good people, I’d like to buy dinner tonight.”
“Shall we? I have a lot of questions to ask anyway.”
“Questions are always welcome. What do you like to eat?”
“Will you really treat me to anything I want?”
“Of course.”
“Then, can we go back to the Surabul Hotel restaurant we went to recently? I liked their Chinese food.”
When told to ask for whatever he wanted, Woo Sang-won indeed mentioned an expensive meal. However, Lee Hyun-woo nodded without hesitation and indeed took Woo Sang-won straight to the Surabul Hotel that evening. Upon entering the Chinese restaurant, Lee Hyun-woo felt the stares directed at him.
‘Why is everyone looking at me?’
It especially felt like the manager and staff were gossiping. Woo Sang-won seemed to have noticed too and commented as soon as they sat down.
“You’re quite popular these days, aren’t you, CEO?”
“Me?”
“You were recently voted the top eligible bachelor in the newspaper.”
“Oh, was I? I haven’t read that article.”
Lee Hyun-woo had missed the news because of a workshop. He was just now hearing about it and didn’t feel bad at all. In fact, it was quite pleasant, given that it was something he had never experienced in his past life. Naturally, he smiled at the waitress who brought the menu.
When they ordered a course meal, the waitress also left with a bright smile and a clear voice. At that moment, Woo Sang-won asked,
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
“Is that really your question?”
“Oh, no. I was just curious.”
“I thought you might have a sister to introduce to me. Hahaha.”
“If I did, I’d definitely introduce her. Unfortunately, I only have a bunch of rough brothers.”
“I also have only brothers, so I don’t know much about women. Anyway, what was your original question?”
Lee Hyun-woo, who had been curious about the question, urged him.
“I couldn’t help but overhear your recent interviews. Through them, I got a glimpse of your vision.”
“I conduct them openly on purpose. That way, others will conduct interviews similarly to me in the future.”
“Ah, so there was a reason behind it.”
“I need to hire more people going forward. But I can’t do it alone.”
“So, you have multiple intentions behind your actions. Then, may I ask if there’s another intention behind the portal site project you’re working on?”
“Another intention?”
“As I work, it feels like you’re absorbing all the functions of PC communications.”
Lee Hyun-woo smiled.
As expected, the question came from a developer’s perspective. Shaking his head, he made Woo Sang-won’s questioning look turn into amazement.
“It’s more than that.”
“…!”
He turned that question mark into an exclamation point.
“I plan to do everything that PC communications can’t. That’s why I keep hiring talented developers like you, Team Leader Woo.”
“……”
“To put it in a larger context, I want to use the borderless internet to operate globally.”
Woo Sang-won’s eyes trembled with excitement, and his heart began to race. Since joining Jungle, he had been observing the CEO’s capabilities and the company’s potential every day. Even though he wasn’t a complete founding member, he wanted to invest his youth and passion into the company, given its rapid growth. Naturally, he wanted to know the CEO’s ambitions, and today’s dinner provided the perfect opportunity. Learning about Lee Hyun-woo’s grand vision only accelerated his heart’s pumping.
So, he said,
“Then, is it alright if I keep bragging about our company?”
“Bragging?”
“Yes, the work environment, developer treatment, future prospects, etc. I find myself praising them when I meet people.”
“I’m all for it.”
“In fact, there was something I didn’t mention last time. The people we interviewed today decided to switch jobs after hearing my praise. I waited for the right moment and then told you because I thought you’d be hiring more people.”
“Oh, so they haven’t resigned yet?”
“They just did before coming here.”
“I see.”
“I understand that some people might be uneasy about poaching developers from other companies.”
“My brother and some developers are concerned about it.”
“People naturally move from hard and dirty places to comfortable and clean ones. Even if I don’t say anything, rumors will spread. I just hope you can see it as speeding up that process.”
What he said made perfect sense, and Lee Hyun-woo agreed 100%. Moreover, he wasn’t the one bothered by the idea of poaching developers. It seemed like a natural phenomenon during the transition from PC communications to internet portals. In the meantime, he should quickly snatch up good developers like picking up ears of corn.
‘It’s great that he’s opening the floodgates for me.’
While Lee Hyun-woo was having these pleasant thoughts, his phone rang.
After excusing himself to Woo Sang-won and answering the call, he heard Han Se-jin’s excited voice.
(Ceo, Guseong wants to run banner ads through Jungle!)
“…?”
Lee Hyun-woo’s eyes flickered.
“Guseong? Did you tell them we’re preparing banner ads?”
(No, I only informed Aejung Group. But somehow, they found out and contacted us.)
“That means it leaked from Aejung Group.”
(Oh, that might be the case.)
“This isn’t a big secret, so it’s fine if it keeps leaking. We should be grateful. I’ll contact them myself.”
(While you’re at it, please contact Surabul Hotel as well.)
“What?”
(Although I mentioned Guseong Group, it’s actually Surabul Hotel that wants to run the ads.)
“Ah….”
That was convenient since they were at Surabul Hotel. Before leaving, he thought of finding someone to express his gratitude. After ending the call, the ordered course meal began to arrive.
“This looks delicious.”
“Yes, but… do you know the people over there?”
“Over there?”
Lee Hyun-woo followed Woo Sang-won’s gaze and noticed someone at the entrance.
“Oh?”
It was Kim Ah-young. However, unlike what Woo Sang-won said, she wasn’t looking in their direction.
“Not now, but she kept looking this way earlier, so I mentioned it.”
“Did she?”
Lee Hyun-woo turned his attention back to Woo Sang-won, who spoke in a low voice.
“That woman is looking this way again.”
“I met her before. She’s a director at Surabul Hotel.”
“What? At that age?”
“She’s the daughter of Guseong Group.”
Lee Hyun-woo smiled at the surprised Woo Sang-won.
‘This is perfect. I’ll greet her after the meal.’
Since Surabul Hotel was now an advertiser, he thought he should adjust his previously stiff attitude and greet the client properly. Noticing that Woo Sang-won had overheard the phone call, he suggested,
“CEO, I’m fine, so why don’t you go greet her?”
“Should I?”
Lee Hyun-woo decided to greet Kim Ah-young, thinking it wouldn’t take long. He stood up and approached her.
“Hello.”
“Oh? We meet again.”
Although her words sounded like they were meeting for the first time, Lee Hyun-woo smiled and said,
“Yes, twice in one week. It must be fate that connects Surabul Hotel and our company.”
“What do you mean?”
She seemed genuinely unaware, so Lee Hyun-woo explained about the advertisement.
“My team leader just informed me that Surabul Hotel wants to run banner ads on our website.”
“Ah, is that so?”
Was she really unaware or just pretending? Lee Hyun-woo decided to be straightforward.
“I think the higher-ups decided on it. Please convey my thanks.”
“I will…”
“Well, I’ll get back to my meal then.”
“Alright…”
Kim Ah-young was taken aback, not expecting Lee Hyun-woo to end the conversation so quickly. She felt a tinge of regret for pretending not to know. For some reason, she wanted to talk more with him.
“Tsk…”
But now that the conversation was over, how could she hold onto him?
‘Why am I feeling this way?’
She was used to men being interested in her. The problem was, she wasn’t interested in them. Yet, Lee Hyun-woo, who showed no interest in her beyond business, kept catching her eye. Unlike the extraordinary background, his self-made success seemed different.
If Lee Hyun-woo knew her feelings, he might say,
“Even in the past life, you were attracted to ordinary men. And this time, you’re interested in someone like me, an ordinary man?”
However, Lee Hyun-woo had no idea about her subtle feelings. He returned to his seat, discussed the website revamp in detail with Woo Sang-won, and then left the restaurant.
