Real Man

Chapter 443:

“Thank you. I won’t be bored thanks to you.”

“Then you should let the company know.”

“It’s just a short stay. It would be a bother. I’m not even sick.”

Shin Kyung-wook, the executive director, shook his head as he saw Yoo-hyun take off his neck brace.

“You’re really something else.”

“I had a very important reason this time.”

Shin Kyung-wook smiled as he handed him a can of soda that he had opened.

“Yeah. Love is more important than anything.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He had felt it before during the exhibition, but Shin Kyung-wook had a good sense of relationships between men and women.

Even if Yoo-hyun looked at Jeong Da-hye with affection, it was not easy to catch that at a glance.

Yoo-hyun stepped back at Shin Kyung-wook’s confident gaze.

“Please pretend you don’t know.”

“Ha ha. Okay. That’s not a hard thing to do.”

Shin Kyung-wook grinned and offered him a can of soda.

Ting.

The two cans collided and they exchanged a friendly smile.

It was very quiet in the single room.

It was a perfect atmosphere for chatting, and Yoo-hyun told him the stories that had accumulated.

“When I was at the exhibition, the prime minister…”

“I heard that the vice chairman praised you too. You did well.”

“How have you been, director?”

“I was a bit busy with some useless things. First of all…”

Shin Kyung-wook also mentioned the things that had happened behind Yoo-hyun.

The power struggle with the group strategy room was not Yoo-hyun’s interest.

What caught his attention was the decision that Shin Kyung-wook had made recently.

“Delaying the launch of the smartphone must have been a tough choice, right?”

“Why do you think so?”

“Wouldn’t the sales impact be quite big? And the people around you wouldn’t be happy either.”

The mobile phone division had stopped developing feature phones following the opinion of the innovation strategy room.

On top of that, they had postponed the launch date of the newly developed smartphone.

As a result, the sales were expected to drop by more than half compared to last year.

It must have been a blow, but Shin Kyung-wook was calm.

“It’s better not to release a product that doesn’t earn the trust of customers. If you button up the first button wrong, you’ll get a much bigger impact on your future business. That’s my judgment.”

“Yes. You made a bold decision. I have a suggestion to add to that.”

“What is it?”

“A joint venture with Google, the smartphone OS provider, to…”

Yoo-hyun praised Shin Kyung-wook’s judgment and mentioned the improvement plan in detail.

It was a way to grow Hansung, which had no smartphone DNA in development, production, and quality, in one go.

“A Google reference phone. You want to get blood transfusions from outside for what you lack?”

“Yes. It will definitely help. The sooner, the better.”

“I see. I’ll review it right away.”

Shin Kyung-wook, who had an open ear, accepted it immediately.

It was the moment when the direction of the company’s business was decided in the hospital room.

The two also shared the information they knew.

The biggest interest was the upcoming Apple announcement.

Naturally, Shin Kyung-wook brought up Apple’s recent situation.

“The iPhone 4 was leaked. The whole newspaper is in a frenzy.”

“Yes. I saw the leaked video. It seemed like an employee’s mistake.”

“People say it’s not like Apple. That’s why I hear a lot of anxious stories lately.”

“Are you talking about the news that Steve Jobs won’t be at the Apple announcement?”

Shin Kyung-wook’s eyebrows twitched as Yoo-hyun guessed.

“That shouldn’t be public yet.”

“Just like you have a network of information, I have ears to listen.”

“Whoever it is, they’re brave.”

“Yes. He’s a pretty useful friend.”

Yoo-hyun, who answered, recalled the call with Danaka, the information dealer, yesterday.

-Danaka, it won’t go as you know. Steve Jobs will definitely be at the Apple announcement.

-If that’s true, my customers’ choices might change.

-Give Sony and Skyworks some room. You’ll get a result that will help you.

-I’ll do that. You’ve never been wrong so far.

Danaka was not just a person who delivered information.

He was in collusion with Yoon Joo-tak, the executive director of the group strategy room, and he had enough power to influence the decisions of each connected company.

It was hard to move him even with a lot of power, but Yoo-hyun could.

He knew his pattern and predicted what would happen next.

In the end, Yoo-hyun was above Danaka in the information war.

Shin Kyung-wook looked at him with curiosity.

“How can you be so calm when you already know? Is that information wrong?”

“Yes. Steve Jobs will show up. Even if he doesn’t, I’ll make him.”

“Can I ask how?”

“I can’t tell you easily. It’s pretty high-level information.”

As Yoo-hyun tried to dodge, Shin Kyung-wook nodded as if he understood.

“Come to think of it, you’re right. I can’t get that for free.”

He pretended to be calm, but he was curious.

Yoo-hyun, who chuckled, told him something he hadn’t told anyone else.

He needed his power to connect the success of this event to the next one.

“If you want to know how, then…”

“Is that really true?”

“Yes. You’ll see the result soon.”

Yoo-hyun smiled and drank his soda.

Shin Kyung-wook, who was burning his tongue, spat out a playful word.

“Wow. You’re amazing. How can you be so great and still struggle with love?”

“Pfft. Why are you bringing that up all of a sudden?”

As Yoo-hyun spat out the soda he was drinking, Shin Kyung-wook shrugged his shoulders.

“Ha ha. I can see how flustered you are.”

Beep.

Then Yoo-hyun’s phone rang.

-Can I come to your room for a moment? I have something to talk to you.

Shin Kyung-wook noticed Yoo-hyun’s awkward expression and guessed again.

“It seems like you have a precious guest coming soon?”

“You’re too much, director.”

“You must be happy.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Shin Kyung-wook, the executive director, stood up from his seat and looked down at Yoo-hyun.

His face was full of a pleasant smile.

“You shouldn’t neglect your lady. Express yourself clearly when you have the chance.”

“That’s the most valuable advice you’ve given me so far.”

“I think I’m one step ahead of you when it comes to love.”

“Ha ha. You’re amazing.”

Yoo-hyun gave him a thumbs up with admiration.

Shin Kyung-wook chuckled and patted Yoo-hyun’s shoulder.

“Good luck. I want to see you happier.”

“Yes. I’ll make sure that happens.”

As Yoo-hyun showed his determination, Shin Kyung-wook smiled contentedly and left.

Jeong Da-hye’s arrival here meant that she had already grasped the situation to some extent.

She might have heard it from Shin Kwang-se, the manager, or at the coffee shop.

How much did she know?

What was she thinking right now?

Squeak.

Yoo-hyun’s worries faded away as soon as he saw her enter the room.

He wanted to make her smile, so he took the initiative.

“Oh my, did you buy this for me? How did you know I like vitamin drinks?”

“I’m glad you do.”

She answered softly and put the box of vitamin drinks on the table next to her.

Yoo-hyun smiled and gestured her to sit down.

“You must have been tired from coming all this way. Please sit down.”

“No, I’m fine.”

She lowered her head and looked at Yoo-hyun.

Her eyes were blurry with a lot of worries.

He had to hear her out first, so Yoo-hyun started the conversation.

“You seem to have something to ask me. You can say anything.”

“Did you go to the police station?”

“I got tangled up with some weird people for a while.”

“Why?”

“I was at the coffee shop, and they suddenly started making trouble.”

Yoo-hyun tried to gloss over it, but Jeong Da-hye seemed to be sure of something.

“Why did you go to the coffee shop with him?”

“That’s…”

“Tell me quickly.”

There was no way out of this situation.

He felt helpless and grabbed his neck.

“Ugh.”

“Are you okay?”

She was startled and came closer to support him.

Thanks to that, their distance became closer in an instant.

“I’m fine. I’ll just lie down for a bit.”

“Okay. You do that.”

She put her left arm behind his head and gently laid him down.

A faint and deep lavender scent came from her embrace.

At the same time, old memories of being with her came to his mind.

-I’ve always dreamed of a life that is always perfect like the meaning of lavender. Even though it didn’t work out that way.

That’s when you started liking lavender scent.

He was glad to see her again, and leaned his back on the bed that was slightly tilted up.

There were many things he wanted to hear and say, but not now.

Yoo-hyun already knew the answer and suggested to her.

“How about we answer your question after we secure the G20?”

“…”

“I think I’ll be in better shape by then, and you’ll be more relaxed too.”

She wouldn’t have any better options even if she heard the answer now.

It was a reasonable proposal to talk with less burden on their minds.

“Okay. I’ll come back later.”

“Next time, bring something sweet. Like your favorite cake.”

“I will.”

She left her last words and went out to the hallway.

Clang.

The door closed and Jeong Da-hye’s footsteps stopped.

Thud.

She leaned her head against the wall and looked at the ceiling.

The fluorescent light flickered mercilessly like her heart right now.

She clenched her chest in pain and muttered.

“Thank you.”

She looked very troubled.

Yoo-hyun, who was leaning on the bed in the room, also looked at the ceiling.

“Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.”

He said with his feelings for Jeong Da-hye in his words.

They scattered in the air.

There was one more guest who came.

It was Kwon Sung-eun, the sergeant who came with him to the hospital.

“How are you feeling, Mr. Han Yoo-hyun?”

“Not so good.”

“Backstabbing, right?”

“What?”

He was surprised and opened his eyes wide. Kwon Sung-eun smirked meaningfully.

“I have something that suits your skills.”

“…”

“There must be a story behind it.”

“Ugh.”

He felt uncomfortable and grabbed his chest.

Seeing him like that, Kwon Sung-eun laughed softly.

“I’ll leave you alone since you’re in pain.”

He said that as his last words and left the room.

He sat up again and took a deep breath before Kwon Sung-eun came back in.

“Sorry, I came back to say that he’s a bad scammer. Ha ha.”

“…”

He was silent and Kwon Sung-eun quickly left again.

He finally calmed down and stayed quietly in the hospital for a while.

He had a lot to prepare for the upcoming Apple announcement.

He had to synthesize the information he already knew and present a completely new direction.

He had to be careful because his opponent was Steve Jobs.

He also checked on Jo Hee-deok’s situation from time to time.

One afternoon, a few days later.

As always, he got a call from Kwon Sung-eun at the scheduled time.

-Jo Hee-deok had previous fraud convictions, and there were quite a few recent victims. We also secured testimonies.

“I see.”

-As you said, he was vicious. And we have solid evidence of the assault, so he won’t be able to get out for a while.

“Thank you. I feel relieved.”

It wasn’t just a word, he really felt relieved.

If Jo Hee-deok was arrested, he wouldn’t have anything to do with Jeong Da-hye anymore.

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