My mother said, “I told Soo-mi to contact me whenever she has a chance to come to Dongtan. I was really grateful for her help when I stayed at the hotel last time.”
President Im Soo-mi smiled and replied, “I was just planning to drop off a cake, but she insisted I have a cup of coffee with her.”
“Since you’re here, how could you just leave? Please, sit down.”
On the table were a cake that seemed freshly bought and some instant coffee.
Guest hospitality is definitely Maxim.
We took our seats, and my mother pointed to me, saying, “You know my son, right?”
President Im Soo-mi nodded. “Of course.”
My mother began peeling fruit and said to me, “Oh! By the way, you mentioned you were close to Chairman Im Jin-yong, right?”
“Well, we know each other well enough.”
“That’s great. You should tell Chairman Im about Soo-mi. I heard his sister is the president of Shillon Hotel, right? Ask him to look out for Soo-mi.”
“……What?”
What does that mean?
Telling President Im Soo-mi to look out for Soo-mi?
President Im Soo-mi also looked flustered.
“What do you mean? This is President Im Soo-mi herself!”
Hearing this, my mother chuckled softly. “He doesn’t get the joke…”
“They have the same name!”
“Huh?”
My mother alternated her gaze between me and President Im Soo-mi. Suddenly, her mouth dropped open, and she dropped the apple she was peeling.
“Oh my goodness!”
“Could it be you didn’t know?”
“I, I just thought she was a hotel staff member.”
Ah! So that’s why she kept saying “Ms. Soo-mi” instead of “President Im Soo-mi.”
“You must have seen her on TV.”
“I have seen her, but… oh dear, I can’t believe this.”
If someone doesn’t have strong features or isn’t a famous person frequently seen on TV, it’s possible to not recognize them in person.
Still, considering that she hadn’t realized until now, my mother seems quite oblivious.
She quickly stood up and bowed her head.
“I apologize. I should have recognized you sooner.”
President Im Soo-mi also looked flustered and stood up, bowing her head.
“Oh, no, it’s my fault for not introducing myself properly.”
“I didn’t even know you were the president all this time.”
“You can continue to treat me comfortably like you have. I prefer it that way.”
“Really? Is that alright?”
After clearing up this misunderstanding, my mother awkwardly muttered something about needing to bring more fruit and headed to the kitchen.
I took a piece of the peeled apple with a fork and said, “I guess you didn’t think the hotel president would look after you personally. Hope there weren’t any mistakes?”
President Im Soo-mi shook her head with a smile.
“Mistakes? Thanks to you, I enjoyed coming to work every day! Oh! I’ve heard a lot about CEO Kang Jin-hoo. They say he’s been smart and a good student since he was young?”
Why is all the embarrassment landing on me?
“What… Mothers really do love to brag about their sons, right? It must have been hard for you to listen.”
“No, I was bragging about my son too. Did I mention our son placed in the math Olympiad this time?”
“……”
Come to think of it, he does have one son?
I can’t believe my mother would be in a bragging battle with someone from the Seosung Group.
“By the way, it’s a good coincidence. I was just about to contact you.”
President Im Soo-mi took a bag and handed me an envelope.
“I was hoping you could attend the hotel opening party.”
The Ceylon Hotel owns a vast area near Namsan, including a hotel and duty-free shop.
Building a hanok hotel on that land has been President Im Soo-mi’s long-time dream. Due to various regulations, development has not been easy for a while. However, after years of effort, the project was finally approved and construction is now underway, with the opening just around the corner.
Is this a celebration party before the opening?
“Can you come?”
I spoke honestly.
“Well, to be honest, I’ve never been to an event like this before.”
“Then it might be good for you to come. Only businesspeople are attending on the first day. You don’t have to worry about the media or politicians showing up.”
I felt like I should repay my mother’s kindness. I shouldn’t refuse, right?
I nodded.
“I’ll attend.”
“That’s great to hear. CEO Kang Jin-hoo was hoping you would come.”
President Im Soo-mi gave me two more invitations.
“Please give these to Vice President Oh Taek-gyu and CEO Park Sang-yeop. You can decide freely if you have partners or someone else you’d like to bring.”
“Understood.”
While we were talking, my mother came out carrying a lot of fruit. We exchanged conversations in the slightly awkward atmosphere.
After a while, CEO Im Soo-mi finished her coffee and stood up.
“Oh my, are you leaving already?”
“I wish I could stay longer, but I have an appointment.”
“Well, you must be busy as the CEO. I hope I didn’t take up too much of your time.”
“What are you talking about? Thanks to you, I had a good rest.”
We went outside to see her off in front of the house.
CEO Im Soo-mi spoke first to my mother, who was still feeling a bit awkward.
“Can I come visit again later?”
Hearing that, my mother’s expression brightened.
“Of course. You’re always welcome.”
***
Once I returned to the office, I called Henry.
For some reason, he had a very displeased expression. Could it be because he’s been traveling frequently lately?
I tried to greet him first, but Henry questioned me.
“What’s going on?”
“What do you mean?”
“Aren’t all the important tasks finished by now? But you haven’t said anything about the Maldives vacation that was canceled last time. You said you’d help, yet you haven’t done anything.”
Was that the reason?
I held up the invitation.
“I was actually going to talk to you about that. They’re having a grand opening party for the Ceylon Hotel.”
He abruptly asked, sounding uninterested, “So what?”
“I’m thinking of asking Hyun-joo to go with me, and I wanted to see if you could escort her.”
Henry quickly changed his expression and bowed deeply.
“Thank you, CEO. I’ll do my best from now on.”
“…….”
That’s the right attitude.
I headed toward the Golden Gate Building.
“Hello, sister. I brought coffee.”
Hyun-joo was busy working while smoking a cigarette.
“Wait a moment, I’ll call Ellie.”
As I drank my coffee and waited, Ellie came upstairs, carrying a stack of documents. She placed them on the desk.
“These are the approval documents. Please read them and sign.”
I asked her.
“What are all those documents for?”
“It’s December.”
At the end of the year, financial companies get busy with their closing reports. But I guess it’s the same for other companies too?
Hyun-joo finished her work and sat on the sofa.
I talked about my meeting with President Im Soo-mi.
“She asked me to attend the opening party.”
“I received an invitation too.”
“Oh! You did?”
I wondered why Hyun-joo hadn’t mentioned her invite.
As the branch manager of Golden Gate, her position is higher than most corporate presidents of large companies. There might be a difference between being a member of a chaebol family or a professional manager.
Aside from that, Hyun-joo is also a major shareholder with a 3% stake in OTK Company.
“What kind of party is this?”
“It’s a social gathering, you could call it a modern aristocratic party.”
The more influential the host of the party, the more everyone wants to be invited. If it’s a party hosted by the top conglomerate Seoseong Group, just being able to attend is an honor.
“Such parties are also active in Hong Kong.”
Originally, the culture of social gatherings came from the West. Since Hong Kong was a British colony, it would have been heavily influenced. The concentration of wealthy individuals on such a small piece of land is probably also a factor.
Hyun-joo said while smoking her cigarette, “When I was in Hong Kong, I used to go with Ellie sometimes.”
“Really?”
Ellie nodded, as if recalling those times.
“Jessica was the most popular. There were plenty of wealthy men vying for her attention.”
Hyun-joo is indeed charming. Though I doubt Taek-gyu would admit it.
“A social gathering is quite an important occasion.”
“Oh, is that so?”
People tend to group with similar individuals.
When doing business, there are many opportunities to help and be helped. In the past, conglomerates had deep relationships with politics and media, but that’s history.
Now that these conglomerates have grown larger, they have begun to emphasize relationships within their own circles more.
Marriages among conglomerate families have become common, forming a kind of strong cartel. If you look at the family trees of Korean conglomerates, they might resemble those of medieval European nobles.
“Well, you don’t really need to,” Jin-hoo said.
We grew outside the cartel, in new industries rather than existing ones. As such, there’s little need for help. Most significant businesses are primarily located abroad anyway.
Ellie asked me,
“Are you going?”
“Yes. I mentioned I’d go, due to a favor from last time.”
“There must be many pretty women there.”
I smiled.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be going with Ellie. Is the timing okay?”
At my words, Ellie’s face brightened.
“Of course.”
Hyun-joo noona chuckled lightly.
“Looks like a debut in social circles.”
“Well, it’s just an experience for me.”
“What about Taek-gyu?”
“He went to Busan with senior Gi-hong to check out a game show.”
Since OTK Games participated with the Lost Fantasy series, it’s ostensibly work-related. Yet, it seems like a hobby.
They invited me as well, but I couldn’t go due to work.
Hyun-joo noona didn’t seem surprised at all.
“For him, a game show would be more fun than this party.”
“You’re going too, right? Since it’s my first time at an event like this, I really want you to come with me.”
I was worried she might refuse, but thankfully, Hyun-joo nodded.
“I’ve been working non-stop lately, so I wanted to get out a bit. Let’s go for a change of pace.”
I quickly added before she could change her mind.
“That’s great. I’ll ask Henry to escort you.”
***
I called a hair designer to my house, got my hair done and styled, then picked out my clothes. I also put on the Rolex watch that Ellie had gifted me.
After that, I got into the car and headed to the Grand Dayton Hotel. While I waited by the front entrance, Ellie approached.
“Did you wait long?”
The moment I saw Ellie, I was speechless.
Unlike her usual light makeup, she had gone all out today.
She wore a green silk evening dress, complemented by a gray faux fur coat. The stunning lines of her figure were clearly visible beneath the coat.
Her wavy hair cascaded naturally down to her shoulders, and she adorned her exposed neck and ears with simple jewelry.
Having only seen her in suits for work, this was a refreshing change.
I had always thought she was pretty, but this was on another level. It was astonishing how much a woman could transform with makeup and an outfit.
All eyes around us quickly turned to Ellie. Even the valet staff stood in a daze, unaware that a guest had arrived.
Ellie blinked and asked me, “What’s wrong? Am I being weird?”
I shook my head.
“No, you just look amazing.”
It’s hard to believe anyone could look better than that.
Ellie smiled brightly. “Thank you. Jin-hoo, you look great today too.”
I opened the car door for her, and she cImbed into the passenger seat.
“It’s been a while since I’ve gone to a party, so I’m a bit nervous. You can’t glance at other girls.”
“Of course not.”
There couldn’t possibly be anyone more beautiful than Ellie there.
“What about Hyun-joo unnie?”
“The designer is coming over, so she’ll be getting ready right now. You’ll be surprised when you see her later.”
Hyun-joo unnie decided that Henry would drive her.
I started the car and headed towards Namsan.
***
As always, rumors spread faster than footsteps.
The rumor that Kang Jin-hoo would attend the Ceylon Hotel opening party circulated throughout the business community.
Family-run conglomerates, proud of their inherited wealth, initially dismissed Kang Jin-hoo as an unqualified speculator.
But that was a thing of the past.
Now, it was a situation where building connections was essential. Everyone had arrived early at the party to meet the CEO of OTK Company.
Though most of the business crowd was present, no one from Eunsung Group attended.
This could be partly due to their poor relationship with the Seosung Group and the chaos from a sudden executive resignation.
People chatted while occasionally glancing toward the entrance.
The host of the party, President Im Soo-mi, made her appearance alongside Chairman Im Jin-yong. People rushed to offer their congratulations.
Then, Kang Jin-hoo finally made his entrance.
In his mid-twenties, he seemed incredibly young when compared to the typical 40-something CEO.
According to rumors, just a few years ago, he was practically broke. Yet, within a short time, he had built a massive company that shook the world.
Young women’s eyes sparkled. They all dressed to impress for this occasion.
It wouldn’t hurt to gain favorable impressions, even if nothing romantic developed. Throughout history and across cultures, no man despised a beautiful woman.
However, Kang Jin-hoo was not alone.
Next to him stood a stunningly beautiful foreign woman.
