Chapter 22
“Hello, sister.”
“What the—when did you two get so close?”
“It’s been a while.”
Pretending to set down the luggage she had brought, Kang Dasom naturally slipped her hand away from the arm she had been holding. Following behind, Yoon Ji-hwan also looked surprised to see Yoon Jin-woo at the house without any particular reason.
“Do you want anything?”
“No. …If I don’t have filming or other schedules, I’ll join family dinners from now on. I can’t live like this forever.”
“Well, suit yourself. Mother may say otherwise, but she won’t dislike having you here.”
Yoon Ji-hwan knew Yoon Jin-woo had little interest in company management. That was precisely why he treated him kindly.
The usual family dinner continued. From time to time, discussions about company matters slipped into the conversation.
“I think it’s best to internally wind down Cheonmyeong Electronics.”
“Hmm… yes, perhaps that would be best…”
“Father, may I say something?”
Yoon Sung-hoon, who had been quietly listening, spoke up. When Yoon Joon-seok nodded for him to continue, Sung-hoon cleared his throat and began.
“According to Cheonmyeong Electronics’ public filings, sales are down 8% compared to last year. However, they defended themselves by freezing R&D spending. Profitability is dead, but the upside from the semi-autonomous communication module patent acquired last year still remains.”
“What’s your point?”
“The market assumes we’re winding Cheonmyeong down. But Greenfield Partners in North America has hinted they prefer a JV over a sole acquisition. They’re known for reviving transitional companies—they respect existing operations while carving out a JV around patents. It’s a structure they’re familiar with.”
“If it’s a joint venture, wouldn’t we have to share the risks too?”
Ji-hwan immediately interjected, but Sung-hoon defended his point as best he could.
“We can limit the precedent conditions to LDD and keep the sale rumors confidential. We’ve already detected preliminary due diligence internally. If we submit the proposal first, we can seize negotiation control. The terms would be: only patents and related personnel folded into the JV, with Greenfield recapping up to 120% first. After that, profits split 50:50. Governance divided into three tracks—technology, ESG, finance—with us chairing technology. That’s the structure.”
Before dinner, Sung-hoon had practiced with Kang Dasom, looking over the materials together. Though he occasionally glanced at the documents on the table, his words carried weight.
“Who connected with Greenfield?”
“I drew up the candidate list and initiated tone-setting myself. If word leaks that we’re liquidating, stock prices will sink. So we’ve kept it under wraps. The internal team already signed preliminary NDAs.”
“What? Already?”
Ji-hwan’s jaw dropped. He hadn’t heard a single report hinting Sung-hoon was moving like this within the company.
Under the table, Ji-hwan clenched his fist and ground his teeth. When the hell had that idiot managed this?
And worse—it wasn’t nonsense. It actually sounded plausible.
Vice Chairman Yoon Joon-seok, setting down his spoon, finally spoke.
“Tell me the timeline.”
“Letter of intent this week. LDD completed within two weeks, then straight into a conditional contract. Publicly, we’ll only release the ‘technology cooperation’ angle. The core point is: reviving costs less than liquidation.”
“Reviving costs less than liquidation?”
“If we liquidate, the numbers look clean, but patents and talent flow to competitors. If we hold them in a JV, we share the risk yet retain the technology. That way, we’re not seen as a company discarding unprofitable units, but one that sticks it out until the end.”
At Sung-hoon’s logical explanation, Joon-seok’s lips curled into a faint smile. Ji-hwan, knowing his father’s temperament all too well, realized he was convinced.
“Sung-hoon.”
“Yes, Father.”
“It seems you haven’t been idle lately, despite the lack of rumors.”
“Haha, Father. I can’t be a child forever, playing with fire all the time.”
“Is that so. Then I’m thinking of entrusting this matter to you. Ji-hwan, what do you think?”
At his father’s question, Ji-hwan chuckled lightly, drained his water, and replied.
“Well, since Sung-hoon brought it up, he should handle it.”
“You sound a bit displeased.”
“Not at all. Just… a little surprised my younger brother has grown up so much.”
“Hyung, what do you mean? I can pull my own weight now.”
“Yeah, yeah. I get it.”
Feigning reluctance, Ji-hwan shoved the responsibility onto Sung-hoon. For once, instead of spouting nonsense and getting scolded, Sung-hoon had spoken properly, and the atmosphere turned unexpectedly pleasant.
Dinner ended, and after a brief tea time, everyone drifted off to their own affairs.
Kang Dasom stopped by the study at Jang Ju-bin’s request to admire some flower arrangements, then stepped back into the corridor. Waiting there was Ji-hwan.
She clasped her hands politely and bowed her head, intending to walk past.
“They say people don’t really change.”
“……”
“But Sung-hoon has changed a lot lately.”
He used to cause scandal after scandal with women, or screw things up in ways no one expected.
But lately, there had been no rumors about women, and he’d even stopped frequenting the clubs where he used to be a fixture. Had Sung-hoon finally come to his senses? Doubtful.
Even if a fool gained some sense, it was like putting pearls on a pig. It wouldn’t make him a man overnight.
“It’s you, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know what you mean. I’m clueless about management—I barely understood half the dinner talk.”
“You’ve won Mother over, won Hana over. You’ve got a talent for maneuvering.”
Ji-hwan’s eyes scanned her from head to toe. His burning gaze weighed heavily on Dasom.
He wasn’t quite like this before the regression.
As they said, people don’t change much—Ji-hwan was no different. If Sung-hoon was messy in his play, Ji-hwan was the type to play cleanly, managing himself so nothing blew back on him.
Slightly smarter than Sung-hoon perhaps, but in essence, no different.
“What exactly are you trying to say?”
“Don’t bully Soo-ha too much. These days, she keeps nagging me that you and Hana are always glued together.”
“If Mother’s displeased with her, that’s her own fault. I don’t see how that concerns me.”
“Exactly. She went to college abroad, her father worked at a bank—I thought she was smart. Turns out she’s just a fool.”
As expected, Ji-hwan didn’t think much of Lee Soo-ha, who never really blended into the family.
When Dasom tried to walk past him, Ji-hwan blocked her path and pulled out his phone.
“Put your number in.”
“I’d rather avoid doing something that could cause misunderstandings.”
“I already have Hana’s number. Having yours too won’t raise eyebrows. Should I just ask Sung-hoon instead?”
Dasom snatched the phone from him and keyed in her number. Ji-hwan immediately called it, confirming her phone rang.
He was far more calculating than she had expected.
Before the regression, we barely crossed paths.
Now they were speaking openly, but later, their relationship would sour to the point of silence.
After Ji-hwan became vice chairman, Sung-hoon was practically driven out of the house. Ji-hwan had looked at both Sung-hoon and Dasom like vermin. She still remembered that gaze.
“Go on.”
After saving her number, Ji-hwan pocketed his phone.
Dasom, keeping a calm expression, left the corridor and settled onto the living room sofa where tea time was still underway.
