CHAPTER 02………………………………….
Kallos Hotel — Director’s Office.
The door opened, and Seoyoung walked in with a stiff expression.
Chief Secretary Oh Jinho sent out the staff member who had brought documents for approval and followed her into the office.
Watching her face, Jinho’s brows knitted.
“Did things not go well?”
At the concerned gaze of Jinho—her senior from university and the one who had personally scouted her—Seoyoung’s lips, which had been pressed into a thin line, lifted faintly.
“Well… I can’t say anything for sure yet, but the success rate isn’t zero. As long as we meet the conditions.”
“Conditions?”
Jinho’s eyes widened a little. He already knew her plan.
He had expected that using Cha Hyukjin wouldn’t be easy.
It wasn’t a plan he liked from the beginning, but with no other viable option, he had agreed.
He wanted to feel hopeful at her mention of a possibility, but the words stuck in his throat and couldn’t come out.
“Would you like some tea?”
Having known Seoyoung since their university days, Jinho set aside the question he wanted to ask and chose something else instead.
Seoyoung might be cold and rational in front of others, but she always confided her worries to him.
The fact that she wasn’t saying anything to him now meant the condition must be rather troublesome.
“No need. Don’t worry about me—just get back to work. And keep an eye on Vice President Jung Minhyung’s movements.”
“Yes, understood.”
Jinho turned away, determination flaring in his eyes.
Jung Minhyung.
The eldest daughter of Shin Hwa Group’s chairman—Kang Jinkyung, president of Shin Hwa Foods—was his mother.
He had parachuted into the company and claimed the vice president position from the start, yet had produced not a single noteworthy achievement.
Minhyung, who had more ambition than skill, was now aiming for the president’s seat as well.
Compared to the results Seoyoung had achieved—entering the company and rising all the way to Director in record time—Minhyung had done almost nothing. Yet, thanks to his powerful backing, many executives were wary of him.
Even though both were third-generation members of the Shin Hwa conglomerate, their influence differed greatly depending on who held the real power.
Still, no matter how much people tried to pretend otherwise, the hotel employees weren’t blind. They knew who had the makings of a president.
Those who had resented Seoyoung’s lightning-fast promotions—claiming she too was parachuted in since she had skipped rank and entered as an assistant manager—now clicked their tongues in awe at her passion and achievements. Even President Hong Giwon, who had abruptly announced his retirement, favored her deeply.
And hadn’t she just succeeded in the bid for land in Jeju for hotel expansion?
The fact that Hanho Construction—a top-tier construction company—had participated in the bid made the win even sweeter.
Her resort construction plan, which included expansion for family facilities as well as leisure, was very similar to the vision Hanho Construction promoted. Industry insiders had been watching closely.
Executive expectations had grown just as much.
But the problem was that winning the land bid was only the beginning.
Seoyoung had only recently been acknowledged as Chairwoman Park Bokja’s granddaughter, a few years ago. It meant she didn’t have enough time—or backing—to rise to hotel president purely on skill.
Why did President Hong have to announce his retirement now of all times…
Hong Giwon was known in the hotel industry as a self-made bulldozer-type figure—strong-willed, decisive, and rational.
In a world where aging was happening later, he was still in his prime. He had more than four years left before retirement age.
The issue was his wife.
After breast cancer surgery years ago, her condition had improved—but recently, it had suddenly worsened.
In the end, President Hong made a bold choice for the sake of his family.
If he stayed just a little longer, the Director would have had a solid opportunity…
Jinho relaxed his clenched fist and let out a soft sigh as he closed the door.
Soon, an emergency shareholders’ meeting would be held to discuss appointing a new president.
As things stood, Vice President Jung Minhyung had the highest chance of winning.
If Minhyung became president, Seoyoung’s influence would naturally diminish, and the company would soon fill with his people.
Her position would inevitably become unstable.
He already nitpicked every little thing she did—how much worse would it get once he became president?
The thought alone made Jinho sigh again.
“Chief, is the Director in a bad mood today?”
The youngest secretary, Joohee, asked cautiously when she saw Jinho’s frowning expression.
“No. More importantly, keep close tabs on everything coming out of the vice president’s office and report it.”
“Yes, sir.”
Composing his expression, Jinho sat down and clicked his mouse.
The report on Cha Hyukjin—the one he had delivered to Seoyoung that morning—appeared on the screen.
As he reread the information on Hyukjin, he silently hoped that whatever conditions he had set, her plan would succeed.
“Assistant Lee, come in for a minute.”
Having wrapped up the annoying blind date much quicker than expected, Hyukjin returned to the office and immediately summoned his friend who had come with him from the U.S.—Minwoo.
Closing the door behind him, Minwoo arched an eyebrow, surprised to see Hyukjin looking rather pleased.
“Looks like today’s blind date wasn’t so bad?”
“In the end, I guess you could say that.”
Hyukjin lifted one corner of his mouth mysteriously.
“What’s that supposed to mean? Speak clearly. Did you like the woman you met today, or did you reject her properly?”
Minwoo stared, urging him on—Hyukjin’s expression was dramatically different from earlier when he had complained about the blind date.
“I met a woman who can put an end to these pointless blind dates.”
“A woman who can end the blind dates?”
“And the best part is—she’s on the list of candidates our chairman prepared.”
Hyukjin kept circling around the truth just to tease Minwoo, whose brows eventually tightened.
He was already on edge after having to scramble to revise their plans when they lost the Jeju land bid.
“So who is it?”
Minwoo’s hot-blooded personality finally flared.
His respectful tone—reserved for work—disappeared instantly.
“Hyun Seoyoung.”
“Hyun Seoyoung? Wait—the Hyun Seoyoung? Director of Kallos Hotel?”
“That’s right. That woman.”
She was the one whose team had forced the planning department into hours of meetings that morning.
Minwoo blinked in disbelief at the unexpected name.
She was frequently featured in magazines as one of Korea’s leading female executives. She had also been gathering investors with plans similar to theirs.
And she had just stolen the most crucial land bid from them, becoming the hottest dark horse in the business world.
Minwoo’s dazed expression slowly shifted as intrigue lit his eyes.
“Explain everything. Don’t tell me you’re actually planning to marry her?”
Hyukjin told him the whole story—how Seoyoung approached him first, proposed a two-year contract marriage, and even offered to sell the Jeju land to him at market price as part of the deal.
“And you accepted?”
“Of course not. The more urgent one is them—so they’ll come back to me soon enough.”
If she truly weren’t desperate, she wouldn’t have proposed a contract marriage first, nor would she offer up the Jeju land so easily.
“There’ve been rumors about an emergency shareholders’ meeting soon… Looks like something big really happened.”
Minwoo recalled recent rumors circulating in the stock market and nodded.
“Well, at least now you won’t have to waste time on useless blind dates anymore. Though it means your bachelor days will soon be over.”
“But a marriage with a built-in expiration date isn’t necessarily a bad thing. And since we don’t have to change our plans, it’s killing two birds with one stone.”
Shrugging, Hyukjin pushed the approval documents on his desk toward Minwoo without bothering to look at them.
“Tell Finance and Planning to proceed as originally planned. And until things are confirmed, remind everyone to be discreet.”
“Yes, Executive Director.”
Minwoo took the now-irrelevant documents and headed out with a satisfied smile.
Leaning back comfortably in his chair, Hyukjin’s lips curved as well.
Two problems, solved so easily.
It felt as if Lady Luck herself were smiling at him.
