CH 123

Muyeol walked into the hotel lobby, eyes lively despite the dark bags lining them. Today, all the effort he’d put in the project was saved from being wasted.

Business wasn’t all about sales and numbers. That wasn’t how companies forged important contracts. There were always several combinations of systematic factors that led to it. A friendly behavior, proper etiquette, respect toward the opposition, understanding and acceptance of others’ cultures, and the benefits of the company all needed to be portrayed together.

Jaeho caused a contract on the verge of completion to almost fall apart because of the lack of respect he had toward others. The woman involved in the incident was the daughter of a high-ranking executive, and a muslim on top of that, which didn’t help the situation. The police investigation had revealed that the woman involved in the incident was a drug addict as well, but it was not of much relevance. Still, none of these things mattered; the main reason was because Jaeho never showed any respect toward his opponents in a foreign country.

There was no one else in the world who would act like Jaeho had. Nonetheless, it was apparent that the employees of the Istanbulian company were concerned that Muyeol and his team would focus on the flaws of the woman involved and try, and take advantage of that.

But Muyeol had started handling the situation by lowering his pride. “I apologize for this situation. It is all my fault.”

Then, he’d briefly explained why he couldn’t deliver his apology earlier by letting them know about his wife and the incident she’d gone through.

The Turkish employees had given each other a brief look after hearing Muyeol’s explanation. It was the perfect chance for them to further negotiate and control the terms of the contract.

But Muyeol had told them in clear words, “If you want to change the terms of the contract because of this incident, I won’t be negotiating it. Although they may not be the best terms as we’d promised to provide, what we proposed still wasn’t a bad deal. And we’ve already provided you with the blueprints for the next 5 to 10 years.”

“In such a situation, this isn’t the time for you to be so shameless, is it?”

“It would be great if all businesses could succeed all the time. However, even if a business fails, if it learns a lesson from it, it can no longer be called a failure. And when it overcomes those losses and achieves even higher results, then that shows that the business is capable. And we can do that, so you don’t have to be concerned about this project.”

“Would you give us some time to discuss it?”

“Of course. Please do.”

The lack of any signs of anxiety combined with Muyeol’s confidence forced them to reconsider the contract. What the S group would provide them with was excellent, and they had already taken the S group’s know-hows and used it to work on the blueprint.

After returning from their private discussion, one of the employees had addressed Muyeol as if he was showing him mercy by saying, “Okay. Considering our past relationship, we’ll give you another chance. But this will be the last chance you’ll get.”

“Thank you.”

So Muyeol walked excitedly on his way back. Having passed the lobby, he was about to reach the elevators.

“You did it, didn’t you?” a voice called out to Muyeol.

Muyeol paused after seeing Jaeho, standing with both hands stuffed in his pockets. Muyeol glanced at him and then continued on his way without an ounce of alarm. Even though Jaeho had disappeared after the incident, Muyeol had known he would show up again. But he didn’t expect him to show up in front of him, who was like his enemy.

“It’s not hard to find out your schedule.” Jaeho followed Muyeol, “Neither is it tough to figure out where you’re staying, or who you’re staying with, for example.”