IWSF – Ch 244

The aftereffects of the hearing were significant.

The National Assembly was in a frenzy trying to clean up the mess. The hearing continued, but the public’s reaction was markedly different from before.

Congressmen who had questioned Kang Jin-hoo had to repeatedly apologize or deny their past allegations.

In a phone call, Chairman Im Jin-yong burst into laughter.

[There were so many times I wanted to retort every time congressmen talked nonsense, but I never thought I’d actually witness such a situation directly. So this is what vicarious satisfaction feels like.]

[No, you did very well. They need to experience it to realize that there are people they can’t control. The National Assembly won’t bother you anymore in the future.]

“That’s a relief.”

I hope the political circles won’t look for me anymore.

[But seriously, do you really have no intention of building a factory in Korea?]

“It’s not that there’s none.”

If only labor costs mattered, global automakers would have moved all their factories to Southeast Asia or Africa.

However, there are also automobile factories in the United States, Germany, and Sweden, which are notorious for high labor costs.

This is because labor costs are not the only important factor in establishing a factory. Various factors such as corporate tax, tariffs, logistics, labor quality, administrative convenience, government transparency, and corporate strategy are complexly intertwined.

Korea has well-established infrastructure and high-quality labor, as its economy has grown through export-led policies. (There are few countries with workers as highly educated and diligent as Korea.)

Moreover, Seosung Electronics is CarOS’s top-priority partner, and has important factories in Korea. As such, there are plenty of reasons to build a factory near them.

However, there is the problem of high wages for automobile factory workers and strong labor unions. Unless this problem is resolved, the burden of building a factory is significant.

[Eunsung Motors union released a statement.]

“I saw the article.”

The Eunsung Motors union strongly criticized my remarks, saying that they could drive down workers’ wage levels and cause job insecurity.

They also threatened to consider defamation charges due to the spread of false information, claiming that they were absolutely not receiving high wages.

It’s too annoying to deal with them, so I just ignored it.

Seeing this, it occurred to me that Chairman Han Min-goo must have had a really hard time all this while.

Well, from my perspective, I just hope the CarOS union isn’t like that.

[You don’t need to pay them any mind. Anyway, thank you for your hard work attending the hearing. Get some rest, and let’s have a meal together soon.]

“Okay, see you next time.”

***

Waking up from sleep, I drew back the curtains. Sunlight was pouring into the spacious garden.

I was alone in the wide bed, and the sound of the shower was coming from the bathroom. A moment later, Ellie, having finished her shower, came out wearing a gown.

Her long brown hair was damp and glossy, and her skin was slightly flushed. Even without makeup, her face was flawless and clear.

“You already showered?”

“I got up early and did some exercise.”

This house even has a gym inside. But Taek-gyu and I hardly ever use it.

Exercising early even on a day off. I guess this kind of body isn’t made automatically.

As I kept staring, Ellie widened her eyes and asked.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

I smiled and said.

“Because you’re so pretty.”

Then she slightly pouted her lips.

“Cheh, a lie.”

“It’s true.”

Ellie dried her hair with a towel and approached the bed. And she lightly kissed me and said.

“Get up and eat, please.”

“I don’t want to.”

I pulled Ellie’s body towards me.

“I just showered.”

“You can shower again.”

As I tried to kiss her, Ellie brought her finger to my lips.

“Let’s eat first. Aren’t you hungry, Jin-hoo? I’ve been waiting for you to eat together.”

“I am a little hungry.”

“Then get up quickly. I told the cook to make brunch.”

“British style?”

“No. Hong Kong style.”

Putting on clothes and going down to the living room, I saw Taek-gyu sitting blankly in the middle of the sofa in his training wear.

There’s no way he’s meditating, is he? Is he just spacing out?

“What are you doing? Let’s eat.”

After a while, Taek-gyu turned his head and said.

“I think my sister’s been a bit strange lately.”

“Huh? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

Unlike me, who didn’t understand, Ellie nodded.

“That’s right. I thought so too.”

Taek-gyu is her younger brother, and Ellie is Chief Manager Hyun-joo’s closest aide. If the two of them are saying this, something must really be wrong.

I sat down on the sofa for now.

“What’s strange?”

To my question, Taek-gyu said.

“My sister quit smoking.”

At those words, I was startled.

“What?”

I first met Hyun-joo noona when I went to Taek-gyu’s house in middle school and she was in graduate school. Noona had been smoking even before she met me, and it’s been the same until now.

Countless people around her had recommended that she quit smoking, but she hadn’t wavered even slightly. According to Taek-gyu, even their parents had given up trying to persuade her.

But she quit smoking? Does that make sense?

Ellie also said.

“She has also reduced her workload a lot recently. Now she rests for about a day on holidays, and usually leaves work before 8 PM.”

For ordinary office workers, this might sound like nothing, but the working hours of IB and PEF are beyond imagination.

Even before, but especially after becoming the head of the Korean branch, Hyun-joo noona worked non-stop. Usually, working 7 days a week and working overtime until 10 PM was the norm.

“But isn’t that natural?”

It’s not always good for a CEO to be busy.

As work is concentrated on the top decision-maker, if the CEO gets sick or has personal issues, the entire company could come to a halt if things go wrong.

For the first few years, it was unavoidable as they were establishing the system, but now that things are gradually settling down, it is more efficient to assign responsibilities and divide work by appointing responsible persons.

“That’s true, but it feels a bit rushed. If I ask her to have dinner together after work, she says she has an appointment and sometimes returns late to the hotel.”

Startled, Taek-gyu quickly asked.

“Where does she go?”

“I don’t know. She doesn’t tell me even if I ask.”

Quit smoking, reduced workload, and goes to other appointments after work.

At this point, something is definitely a bit strange….

Taek-gyu and I said almost simultaneously.

“Could it be dating?”

“Is she dating?”

No other reason comes to mind, no matter how much I think about it.

If our guess is correct, another question arises.

“Who’s the partner?”

Of course, you can’t date alone.

Taek-gyu said.

“Henry?”

Ellie shook her head.

“I thought about that too, but I don’t think so. Their schedules and movements are too mismatched for that.”

Come to think of it, if she were dating Henry, I would have noticed it long ago. Recently, Henry has been away on business trips a lot. He’s in China right now too.

“Then she’s dating someone else? But who?”

The head of the Golden Gate Korean branch is a higher position than the CEO of a major domestic securities firm. Moreover, Hyun-joo noona is the third-largest shareholder, holding 3 percent of OTK Company’s shares.

Because of that, matchmaking proposals from political and business circles had lined up from before. Of course, noona didn’t show even a speck of interest.

We put our heads together and pondered, but couldn’t think of anyone specific.

Could she be secretly dating a company employee?

At that moment, Ellie seemed to remember something and said.

“Ah! Come to think of it, a man came to the company once before.”

“Who is it?”

“I don’t know either. He was an ordinary-looking Korean man. He looked about the same age as Jessica.”

“If he came to the company, isn’t it for work?”

“I saw them together in front of the hotel once after that too. I was going to say hello, but they got in a car and went somewhere.”

“If there’s urgent business, they might meet at the hotel or something.”

“That’s true, but……”

Ellie trailed off.

A woman’s intuition cannot be ignored. Could it be that their relationship is not just for work?

Taek-gyu blinked and said.

“Then Henry got dumped?”

“Well…”

Suddenly, Henry’s earnest request came to mind. With that much passion, I thought things would definitely go well.

It’s still too early to conclude.

Perhaps they are hiding it well, considering the public’s attention.

***

Henry, who had been on a business trip to China, returned.

I watched Henry’s face from time to time while listening to the report in the conference room. He didn’t seem particularly different from usual. Still tall and handsome.

Getting jealous is losing, right?

Come to think of it, he had always confided in us about his dating troubles and asked for help, but he hasn’t said much since the opening party.

Did something happen in between?

After the meeting ended, I called Henry to the CEO’s office. And while talking about work, I casually asked.

“Just wondering, but you’re not dating Hyun-joo noona, are you?”

Henry seemed slightly surprised, but soon made a bitter expression and shook his head.

“No. Of course not.”

His expression suddenly darkened.

“Did something happen?”

“No. Nothing happened.”

I stared intently at Henry’s face. He put on an expression as if nothing was wrong, but the corners of his lips trembled slightly.

Something definitely happened.

If he doesn’t want to talk about it, there’s no point in forcing him to tell me.

“I’ll be going now.”

He left the CEO’s office with weak steps.

As soon as the door closed, Taek-gyu immediately said.

“Something happened.”

I nodded.

“Looks like he confessed and got rejected.”

“Or, maybe our sister drew a line before he could create an atmosphere for confession.”

In any case, it’s certain that they are not dating.

Then who is Hyun-joo noona meeting?

I don’t know why I’m even worrying about someone else’s dating life, but they are both precious people to me.

I hope things work out for them, but romantic relationships are not always as people around them wish. Even if it doesn’t work out, they should remain on good terms with each other.

“I need to meet Hyun-joo noona.”

***

We headed to the Golden Gate building.

The meeting was longer than expected, so we waited in the branch manager’s office for a while. The cigarettes and ashtray that were always on the table were nowhere to be seen.

When exactly did she quit smoking?

Taek-gyu muttered with an unnecessarily sharp gaze.

“Who the hell is dating my sister? Daring to do so without my permission.”

“……”

I don’t know who that hell is, but why does he need your permission?

Before long, Hyun-joo noona and Ellie came in together.

“I bought coffee.”

“Thanks, I’ll enjoy it.”

We eyed each other warily.

Hyun-joo noona leaned back on the sofa and said.

“What is it? Do you have something to say?”

“Um, well, that is….”

How should I bring it up?

While I was thinking, Taek-gyu asked directly.

“Noona, are you dating these days?”

Then Hyun-joo noona made a bewildered expression.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“No, I heard you quit smoking and reduced your workload? And you secretly go somewhere after work. If it’s not dating, then what is it?”

Ellie chimed in to Taek-gyu’s words from the side.

“That’s right. It’s not like dating is a bad thing.”

Hyun-joo noona let out a burst of laughter.

“I wondered what you wanted to see me about…”

“Tell me, Noona. Who the hell… No, who are you dating?”

Noona reached out somewhere and then paused. She seemed to be looking for cigarettes out of habit.

Hyun-joo noona sighed as if she couldn’t help it.

“Well, I was going to tell you soon anyway, so I’ll tell you now. Don’t be surprised when you hear it.”

Taek-gyu said, drinking his juice.

“Yeah. I won’t be surprised no matter who you’re dating, so tell me quickly.”

“Actually…”

We were in great shock after hearing her story.

Taek-gyu, who said he wouldn’t be surprised, sputtered out the juice he was drinking into his cup.

I almost spat out my coffee too, and Ellie coughed with a choked sound, bowing her head.

After a while, Taek-gyu, who was the first to come to his senses, shouted loud enough for the company to hear.

“What? Noona, you’re pregnant!?”