After hanging up the phone with Kim Ah-young, a look of realization crossed Lee Hyun-woo’s face.
‘I should have told her to come next week when we’re moving.’
A new era for 【Jungle】 is about to begin in a 7-story building.
When he first started the business, he did nothing significant, but this time he considered calling acquaintances for what could be seen as a second inauguration ceremony.
Thus, that night, Lee Hyun-woo discussed who to invite with Lee Jung-woo.
“Of course, our parents will come.”
“Right. And we should inform our relatives, too.”
“They’d feel left out if we didn’t. Remember how they were annoyed when we set up the company quietly last Chuseok?”
“We should also tell our friends. I contacted my college friends recently, and they felt left out too.”
“You hadn’t been in touch with them? That’s really harsh.”
“Yeah, I know.”
The truth was, this was a side effect of his regression.
As life goes on, it’s easy to lose touch with middle school, high school, and college friends.
So naturally, people from Lee Hyun-woo’s past life didn’t immediately come to his mind.
Moreover, he had switched from using a pager to a mobile phone without telling anyone, causing further disconnect.
“We should also invite the people we’ve met through business. President Kim Yun-soo and the guys in Yongsan, right?”
“Of course.”
“What about Kim Yoon-sun? Will you invite her?”
“Huh? Well, she’s a friend, so of course.”
“Then you’ll invite Kim Ah-young too, since she’s also a friend.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Unlike Lee Hyun-woo, Lee Jung-woo knew a bit about women.
Though he couldn’t be 100% sure, it seemed like emotional connections were forming between his brother and the two women.
‘Of all the people, it had to be a celebrity and a chaebol’s daughter….’
He didn’t want to interfere with his brother’s love life, but it seemed like both would be challenging.
However, he didn’t show his thoughts and said,
“It’s going to be packed. We should really consider expanding to a bigger place later.”
“Yeah, I was thinking of looking for land.”
“What?”
“You said it was too small, didn’t you? I agree, so let’s look for a bigger place.”
“I was just talking, but… are you serious? Are you thinking of moving out right after leasing it?”
Lee Hyun-woo easily nodded at his younger brother’s question.
“Shouldn’t we? We thought we were expanding to a bigger place, but think about the new hires we’re bringing in.”
“That’s true. We’ll be hiring more next year too…”
“Exactly. Both in the first and second halves of the year. And I’m not planning to stop recruiting occasionally. We’ll definitely run out of space.”
“I agree with you. You’re right. We need to look for land. It will take a year to build and renovate the interior.”
“We need time to look for land too. We need to scout the surroundings. Then we’ll need to work on the design. I’m planning for a comfortable two-year timeline.”
“Two years… So how many floors are we aiming for then?”
“Double. Both in square footage and floors.”
Lee Jung-woo’s heart suddenly pounded.
As always, whatever his brother set his mind to, it had never not come true.
Would it be the same this time?
The next day, Lee Hyun-woo called Han Se-jin and Kang Dong-ho, who mostly work outside, and asked them to invite people for next week’s expansion and relocation.
Their reactions were similar to Lee Jung-woo’s.
“A lot of people are going to come, aren’t they?”
“It might fill up from the first to the seventh floor.”
“No, there’s the basement too.”
“Oh, right.”
The building could use the basement level for work purposes as well.
Thus, Han Se-jin spoke again with a hint of anticipation.
“CEO, are we opening the basement level this time too?”
“Of course.”
“Wow, I’m really curious about how it’s going to turn out.”
“Me too.”
Watching their reactions, Lee Hyun-woo smiled.
The basement level was something he had purposely and specially decorated.
You could call it an incredible home bar.
He had paid attention to lighting and music for the enjoyment of himself and his employees.
Lee Hyun-woo felt a bit regretful.
‘If it were the future, I could have made it even better.’
A craft beer machine that could make stout, IPA, wit, ale, and pilsner.
An induction cooktop for cooking food all day.
Laptops and power outlets available anywhere in the bar for convenient work.
Since the times couldn’t accommodate such amenities, there were a few shortcomings.
‘But this is good enough.’
After informing the two, Lee Hyun-woo went down to the basement level of the new building, a look of satisfaction crossing his face.
At night, special lighting could make the place look like a nightclub.
Of course, Min-woo Oh, who loves women, wouldn’t use it, but it seemed like a place where several employees, excluding him, could enjoy themselves.
Moreover, although it was planned to be operational from the first day, it didn’t seem like it would be a noisy atmosphere.
You could think of it as a place to display food to entertain guests.
‘I wonder how many people will come.’
Though not exactly as Lee Jung-woo and the two team leaders predicted, he had to prepare ample food, so he needed to calculate the number of guests from now.
Also, he needed to make a separate list of people Lee Jung-woo would contact directly to invite them.
‘Relatives can be left to our parents, and I’ll take care of my friends.’
With this thought, he started calling his middle school, high school, and college friends that day.
Next were seniors and juniors, then…
“Ah-young.”
(Huh? I was just about to call you.)
“Really?”
(Yeah, I’m almost there.)
“Where? Here?”
(Yeah, are you at the new building?)
“Yeah, that’s right.”
(Alright. I’ll be there in 5 minutes.)
“Okay, then let’s talk when you get here.”
It was unexpected that Kim Ah-young was on her way when he called her.
She had mentioned during their call the previous day that she would visit often to learn, and it seemed she had made up her mind.
‘I wish the second and third generation of chaebols in our country were like Ah-young.’
He admired her attitude of wanting to learn from someone less privileged than herself.
Thinking about this, he continued to call Kim Yoon-sun next.
But she didn’t answer.
He called again, but still no response.
‘Third time’s the charm. If I don’t do it now, I’ll forget.’
If she didn’t answer this time, he would have to accept it, but just as he was about to give up, she picked up.
(Hello?)
“Hey, it’s me.”
(Hyun-woo? It’s been a while.)
“Yeah, we’ve both been busy, so we haven’t been able to talk often.”
(That’s true. I should visit sometime to learn more about computers.)
“You’ve got a chance to visit. We’re expanding and moving to a new building next Monday.”
(Really? That’s great.)
“Yeah, so come and brighten up the event.”
(Event? You make it sound like you’re hiring me for a gig.)
At that moment, Kim Ah-young appeared.
Lee Hyun-woo gestured to her to wait a moment as he finished his call with Kim Yoon-sun.
“It’s fine if you come and sing. We’ve even set up a karaoke machine in the basement. Anyway, come anytime on Monday.”
(Okay, I’ll make sure to be there.)
After hanging up, Lee Hyun-woo saw Kim Ah-young approaching and greeted her playfully.
“Welcome!”
“Are you moving next Monday?”
“Yeah, I was going to call you to invite you, but I’m glad I can do it in person.”
“Was the person you were talking to Kim Yoon-sun?”
“Wow, you’re sharp. Yeah, it was.”
“Looks like she’s coming to sing.”
“That was just me talking. Would a star really come here to sing?”
“Who knows. Anyway, looks like a lot of people will come that day.”
“Probably? But do you have something on your mind?”
“No, why?”
“You just seem a bit off today, unlike usual.”
“Nothing’s particularly wrong.”
She forced a smile, but it looked a bit awkward.
Since she said nothing was wrong, Lee Hyun-woo didn’t feel the need to pry and changed the topic to the basement level.
“What do you think of this place?”
“Honestly, I’m surprised. What’s this place for? Did you really make this for the employees?”
“It’s kind of like a lounge, but the purpose can change after the evening. See that?”
“Oh? Isn’t that…”
“Yeah, it’s what we saw at the club we went to. I’ll show you how it works.”
Lee Hyun-woo dimmed the lights and turned on the special lighting.
“I’ll also turn on the music.”
Though it wasn’t exactly a club atmosphere, it had a similar feel.
There was a reason for going this far.
‘She might have had a bad day, so maybe this will cheer her up.’
He promptly turned his thoughts into an invitation.
“If you want, you can dance.”
“I can’t do it sober.”
“Really? How about some daytime drinking then?”
“No way, that’s too much.”
“I was joking. How about coming here for a drink next time?”
“That sounds good. If others are dancing, I might join in too.”
“On Monday night, it’s going to feel like a club.”
“Really? I’ll have to prepare.”
“Yeah, get ready to have fun. I’ll turn the lights back on now.”
As the lights came back on, Kim Ah-young’s relaxed expression was visible.
‘People’s moods are really influenced by the atmosphere.’
Lee Hyun-woo smiled and said to Kim Ah-young,
“By the way, today’s tour doesn’t seem to offer much to learn.”
“No, I learned about a unique lounge for employees. I’m thinking of implementing it right away.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, maybe not in Seoul, but we have some spaces in Jeju that could be repurposed.”
“Jeju…”
“Why?”
“Oh, I just remembered a conversation I had with my brother yesterday.”
“What was it about?”
“We’re planning to build a new building as soon as we move here. But now that you mentioned Jeju, I’m suddenly drawn to it.”
Kim Ah-young’s eyes widened as she heard about Lee Hyun-woo’s plan.
“You’re already thinking about building a new one?”
“Yeah, we planned to start once we hit a monthly profit of 1 billion won, and it looks like we’ll achieve that early this month. Although spending money on this building will deplete our bank balance, we can always earn more later.”
“1 billion won per month? That means over 10 billion won a year.”
“Yeah. It’s still a long way to go. Compared to 【Seorabeol Hotel】, we’re not even close, right?”
“What are you talking about? Our operating profit last year was 21.6 billion won.”
“Oh, really?”
Kim Ah-young’s eyes widened even more.
It was understandable that she was surprised to hear about such profits and the plan to build a new building.
So, she left with mixed emotions after visiting today.
She started with delight, then felt a subtle emotion when she heard Lee Hyun-woo talking to Kim Yoon-sun, and finally left feeling astonished.
Outside, her bodyguard and secretary, Park Min-sook, looked puzzled.
Especially Park Min-sook, who couldn’t help but ask when Kim Ah-young got into the car with a tight-lipped expression.
“Did something happen?”
“No, I was just surprised.”
“Surprised? Come to think of it, I did hear some faint singing inside…”
“It’s not that. 【Jungle】’s monthly profit is 1 billion won. That means they make over 10 billion won a year.”
“…!”
This time, it was Park Min-sook’s eyes that widened in surprise.
‘【Jungle】 is that big?’
If so, perhaps Lee Hyun-woo wasn’t an unworthy match for Kim Ah-young.
