Chapter 82 - Bae Yunhee: Negotiation

The Olympus Federal Company.

In the personnel department, I observed several reports from one of the employees, checking the sales results of the product and some inventory lists in the warehouse.

As soon as I was about to walk out, Cho Sunyeon, who currently looked sluggish from his appearance, made me stop. I stared at him for a moment before voicing, "Hey, Sunyeon."

He turned to me without a word. His eyes filled with emptiness, even the expression on his face looked the same as the previous days, grim. 

"Come with me."

Sunyeon didn't interrupt. He immediately stood up after hearing the direction, then followed me from behind.

As soon as we arrived at my office, I asked him to sit on the sofa. Lighting a cigarette, I asked him, "Kid, what's wrong with you?"

He just shook his head weakly without a word.

"Lee transferred you to this company so that you no longer approach him, and you are here not to be upset all day, but to work for me. I need your brain and your energy for my company," I explained. "Remember, I'm not Lee who will spoil you, who doesn't care if you slack off like that. He's transferring you here doesn't mean I'll treat you like him. I could even fire you for this. I've also gotten several reports from the department head and some of your co-workers. I will not remain silent. This is your first rebuke."

Sunyeon, who had a sad expression on his face, turned fierce. He lifted his gaze, gave me a sharp look, then said boldly and sounded stubborn, "Then, do it. I haven't wanted to work for this company since long ago."

Hearing how stubborn this kid was, I sighed silently, trying to suppress my emotions. "Kid, be responsible with your work. It's also for your good. You entered this company with a better position than others. You should be more grateful and use this opportunity to learn many things."

"I know that Lee put you in as his personal assistant because he doesn't want you to interfere with the work at the agency. But, it's also because he doesn't mind if one of his employees is out of work pay. Now, he dumps you here and this company is unlike the agency you had worked at. Everyone here is working hard, and I won't treat you like a special employee or a throw-out, so do your best for the bonus. Besides, if you think that I'm scolding you right now, then you need to be grateful. If you are in the TU company, the president of that company won't hesitate to berate you before finally firing you. You know it, right?"

Hearing my words, his face turned soft. He lowered his head, then said sadly, "But, I can't stop thinking about Brother Lee. I know he doesn't love me and only uses me. But, I also can't accept it if he just throws me away."

I chuckled. "Sunyeon, from the start you flirt him, right? So, this is the risk that you should accept. After all, I warned you long ago that never be jealous of Donghwa if it was about Chunghee or you would be beaten by him. But, you even came boldly to his house, asked Donghwa to come back to you, and the worst, you were caught by his wife. You're lucky because Donghwa didn't kill you that day."

"Look, I have known Lee Donghwa for many years. I know that that kid has a tough and selfish personality. Only Chunghee can make him like a spoiled kitten, and you will never take his place. So, stop persuading Donghwa to reconcile with you. You know that he doesn't think of you as more than a slut he keeps in a different city. You know what I mean, right?"

Cho Sunyeon's eyes instantly filled with tears, he stuttered, "Brother Bae, you don't provide a solution at all. Your words only hurt me even more."

I was momentarily stunned. Somehow, I felt that I nurtured two people who had the same heartache. Even though my own relationship with my wife wasn't good lately, but I had to be wise for two people who were both failures in romance.

Trying to relax, I said, "Heh, I already advised you. Do better and forget about him. He will never return to you, no matter what."

Before Sunyeon could respond, someone knocked on the door and walked in.

"Mr. Bae, we must go to the meeting."

I immediately stood up, then walked beside Sunyeon, squeezed his shoulder as if giving him support, before leaving the room.

Downstairs, several cars were parked in front of the building. A big, burly man, clad in a black coat, opened a limousine door, and I immediately got in.

The car drove slowly and soon, stopped at a skyscraper in District C. The same man opened the door for me, so I immediately got out and walked into the building.

In a large hall, many of the head of the huge company was present at this place, one of them was Kim Daehyun as this skyscraper was his. Our eyes met, but he arrogantly rolled his eyes, as if looking at me like he was seeing at a piece of dirt.

I wasn't pleased with the welcome. However, since this was his territory, I could only refrain from cursing him head-on.

The leaders gathered at a round table. Kim Daehyun began to speak, as coolly as ever, explaining the product he had just launched. His shrewdness of speech amazed people in this hall, but not for me.

As soon as he finished talking, a woman, who I knew was named A Yeong, his new assistant, handed out a copy of the contract to each of us. The other leaders looked satisfied, signing contracts gladly at the promising results. Meanwhile, I read it carefully, observed the contents of the contract before signing it.

After that, the next LCD screen was turned on, showing the data visualization and the product we just signed. I studied the contents, paying attention to all the explanations of an independent woman upfront.

Twenty minutes later, the meeting was over. I didn't leave right away but chatted with a few people I knew in the hall.

However, from the corner of my eye, I saw that Kim Daehyun had rushed out of this room with his assistant. I immediately ended my conversation with these people, then came out to catch up with him.

Looking for where he was, I accidentally saw him enter a non-smoking room, and immediately caught up with him.

When I was inside, Kim Daehyun sat on the table with one foot on the other. He lit a cigarette on his finger with a lighter, then said as if he already knew what was for I came to this place.

"You're so persistent. I didn't expect you to sign that contract just to have a one-on-one talk with me," he said, smoking lazily, and then the smell of tobacco suddenly filling the room.

Grinning, I walked over to him, and asked, "Can I have your cigarette?"

Without a word, he threw away the pack of cigarettes and the lighter on me. I caught them, then sat next to him.

"I signed the contract because I was interested in it," I said, responding to his words just now.

He fell silent, smoking a cigarette on his finger.

"You look cheerful today. Looks like, you've been doing something fun lately, huh?" I said, teasing him a little.

"No need to mince words. Tell me why you are here?"

"Heh, okay." I said, "It's about Lee. You must know what I'm going to say."

"..."

I explained, "Lee looked so depressed since he lost what should have been his. I know he's a jerk, but he's already repented of what he did. I've never even seen Lee, who I know as a tough person, become so fragile like that."

As soon as I finished my words, I glanced at Kim Daehyun, who was sitting beside me, to see how his expression was.

However, what I saw was really heartless. He grinned coldly as if he had done nothing wrong and was innocent. He asked indifferently, "Then, what?"

"Tell me, where you hid Park."

"So, you two accused me of hiding him? Actually, you came here to negotiate or accuse me of being absurd?" He chuckled a little as if mocking my words. "I never hid anyone from the start. But, I found him first, and he said that he had been dumped by his owner. So, now he is mine — he is my responsibility. How can you accuse me like that? You two aren't much different though."

Hearing his words, I was amused, but holding back to laugh. I replied, "If you find a thing, it doesn't mean that it's yours. You just found it by accident and now, the owner of that thing is looking for his and you have to return it."

"Yeah, if it's a thing, then I'll return it, but sadly, he's a human, who knows when it's time to go."

"Kim, look, Chunghee is the most precious person to Donghwa. I know who Donghwa is and I know how crazy he is to Chunghee." Taking a silent breath, I said, "They still love each other. I'm sure that Chunghee still loves him either. I'll bet you, if you bring the two of them together, Chunghee will come back to him. What do you think? Will you dare to do it."