Stolen Idea (1)

Han Se-ah returned to her office wearing a look of triumphant satisfaction, having crushed Team ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠1 exactly as she'd intended.

Hmph. You think you can strut around in front of me? Just because I lived with you for a little while, you seem to think you're my equal. Just wait. Once I've properly secured my position, tossing someone like you out will be nothing at all.

Of course, even now she could swing the iron hammer of power whenever she pleased. She stayed silent simply because she had no desire to be swept up in needless gossip. An outsider who had suddenly inserted herself into a chaebol family could hardly expect warm looks from the relatives, so she was keeping her head down.

Everyone was staying quiet about it, but the close relatives knew her true identity. In other words, they had her weakness in their grip. So she intended to lie low, as good as dead, for at least a year—until she claimed the fortune that was her late father's share. Judging by how he'd planted her in a core position at Iljin Group, her grandfather, at least, seemed to be on her side.

I'll get my abilities recognized here no matter what, and inherit the company I want!

What she was after was Jinju Department Store, the second-largest retail company in the country, and Jinju Hotel, the hospitality chain. Both currently belonged to the chairman, and Jinju Hotel was a genuine cash cow—it owned a third of Iljin Tower along with large-scale real estate in major cities nationwide.

For that to happen, the project she was pouring herself into needed to be a massive hit. The nutritional supplement dispenser.

Han Se-ah instructed Section Chief Oh Seung-won to summon Team Leader Lee Jungwan. In this soul-crushingly rigid company system, Lee Jungwan was the only person with any real sense ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of tact. The way he moved on cues without her even having to say what she wanted—it was almost like Kang Minhyuk in the old days.

"Ugh! Kang. Min. Hyuk. Just thinking about him pisses me off again."

A knock sounded at the door. She straightened her slouch, composed her voice, and answered with haughty elegance.

"Come in."

The door opened, and Team Leader Lee Jungwan stepped into the office.

"You called for me?"

"Once the month-end report is finished, we'll be able to launch the nutritional supplement dispenser in January next year, right?"

"What? J-January? That's absolutely impossible."

It was already October. Telling them to manufacture a product in a mere two months was absurd enough on its own—but Lee Jungwan knew Han Se-ah meant a complete launch, advertising and a product-launch event included. That was why he nearly jumped out of his skin.

"What's impossible about it? How hard can it be to make some plastic machine?"

Han Se-ah asked with a snort of laughter.

"Out of three hundred sixty-five days in a year, when are people most interested in their health?"

"Well, obviously..."

"January. That's when women resolve to go on diets, and when men decide they're going to build a muscular body. The nutritional supplement dispenser—Healthy. Wouldn't it be the perfect New Year's gift that health-conscious young people give themselves to take care of their bodies?"

"Are you saying we should change the target customers for the product promotion to people in their twenties and thirties?"

Lee Jungwan asked cautiously. The nutritional supplement dispenser he'd originally been pushing had been designed to target seniors aged fifty and above. Han Se-ah apparently intended to change the target customers from the ground up.

"Haa~ This is why office workers are so dense. Please, go outside and look at the world! The age group that currently spends the most is people in their twenties and thirties. Of course we need to catch their eye. Besides, older folks would have a hard time operating the machine. Are you going to go change the filter every month, Team Leader?"

"No. Of course not."

"Then you'd have to hire people. Do you know how expensive labor is these days?"

Hearing it laid out, it made a certain amount of sense. Electronic appliances that older people had used for years and grown comfortable with—rice cookers, washing machines—they handled just fine. But relatively recent gadgets like coffee machines, ice-dispensing water purifiers, and robot vacuums had first caught on with younger customers in their twenties and thirties. On top of that, labor costs had been soaring lately, and even replacement parts like water-purifier filters and bidet components were shifting toward a model where consumers received the parts and swapped them in themselves. The nutritional supplement dispenser Iljin Group was developing used a cartridge-replacement system when the medicine ran out. Naturally, elderly people who found machines difficult to operate would be reluctant to buy it.

"But January is a bit... March, maybe, but January..."

"So you're saying you can't do it?"

When Han Se-ah asked with a piercing glare, Team Leader Lee Jungwan quickly changed his tune.

"No! Not at all. I'll proceed in a way that makes it possible."

Pleased by Lee Jungwan's immediate, positive answer, Han Se-ah lowered her voice and gave her instructions.

"Keep the launch timeline as secret as possible. Until the product ads come out, I don't want anyone in the Iljin Group owner family catching on. I want to surprise them."

"Of course. Would there be any question? As secretly as possible. I'll make absolutely sure of it."

Han Se-ah gave Lee Jungwan several important pieces of information regarding advertising and promotional strategy, then sent him on his way.

"Hehe. Now I just have to wait, is that it?"

While Lee Jungwan ran around with his feet on fire, she would dig into Kang Minhyuk. Lately he had started to give off a subtle air of refinement, and it was getting under her skin more than a little.

Don't tell me it's because of that woman? The one in the purple suit?

Where on earth had he even met a woman like that? She looked even younger than Han Se-ah herself, and the clothes she wore were on par with a chaebol. On top of that, those clothes Kang Minhyuk had been wearing—every last one of them was Ertes's current-season collection. Luxury goods that a Deputy's salary at Iljin Group could never, ever cover. There was no way Kang Minhyuk, who had nothing but debt, had bought them himself. Clearly some wealthy sponsor was footing the bill.

If that was true, she'd have to cut off the sponsor before kicking him out of the company. If he had money, throwing him out would lose all meaning. She absolutely could not stand to see Kang Minhyuk happy. He was already this stiff-necked even as a subordinate to his workplace superior. If the shackle of poverty disappeared too, it was obvious how he'd act.

"Section Chief Oh!"

At Han Se-ah's call, Oh Seung-won came running in a hurry.

"That woman we ran into on Saturday—find out what she does."

"You mean the woman who was with Kang Minhyuk at the hotel?"

Confirming that her eyebrows had twitched with irritation at the word "hotel," Oh Seung-won quickly bowed at the waist.

"Yes. Understood."

He answered and turned to leave.

"Ha! This is so annoying. What kind of secretary has so little tact? I should replace him immediately."

Considerably displeased by Oh Seung-won's dense attitude, Han Se-ah picked up the phone on the table and called someone.

When the other party started whining about how hard things were because his assigned celebrity had changed, Han Se-ah smiled brightly and made a proposal.

Monday afternoon. I put in for a half day so I could visit the PharmCare office that had built the pill-dispensing device. I finished my work without even eating lunch, then left the office around the time the lunch hour was ending.

My sister had been getting bored, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so I'd called her and suggested we hit a well-known restaurant in Ocheon—but it seemed the traffic was brutal. I was waiting at the entrance when I ran into the members of Team 3 coming back from lunch. The moment the Team 3 leader spotted me, his face lit up and he came over with a bright smile.

"Deputy Kang Minhyuk, where you headed?"

"I had some business, so I took a half day."

"Yeah, you've got to rest when you can."

He said it with a regretful look.

"The carbon capture device—that really was a shame. The idea was good, though."

"I guess it was a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bit too early, timing-wise."

"Yeah. To get the tax benefits you'd have to move the political sphere too, so it's not easy. Got a minute to talk?"

I confirmed I had time and said that was fine. Team Leader Park Unha pulled a drink from the vending machine in the rest area near the entrance and handed it to me.

"Thanks. Thanks to your idea, this project passed through easily."

"It wasn't thanks to me. Team 3 prepared well."

"The one who provided the idea was Deputy Kang Minhyuk. That credit doesn't just disappear. But..."

Team Leader Park Unha continued with an apologetic expression.

"Originally, when I reported, I was going to mention that it was an idea our Deputy Kang Minhyuk gave us. But Deputy Woo told me absolutely not to say anything."

That had been my request. I'd asked that my name never be mentioned during Team 3's project report. If it came up even once, Han Se-ah would certainly oppose the whole thing tooth and nail. Of course, I hadn't told them the reason.

"Since the project is proceeding under Team 3's name, there's nothing I can do for you, Deputy Kang. Even if we produce results, the performance evaluation only applies to Team 3. But I'll be sure to pass word along to Team Leader Kim."

"It's fine."

"It's not fine. Of course I know you gave us the idea out of goodwill, Deputy Kang. But you know about it too. What happened three years ago."

If he meant three years ago, he was probably referring to that incident where a team leader stole an employee's idea and claimed it as his own.

"And of all times, that's when our New Business Development Team was being established, so there was a lot of talk. I'm really not like that."

"I know. You're not that kind of person."

He seemed worried I might say something different behind his back. That was how terrifying reputation could be. Once a brand was stamped on you, it wasn't easy to reverse—and I fully understood why Team Leader Park was being so cautious.

"Right. I'm really grateful you'd say that. We should all three grab a drink together sometime."

"Yes, understood."

Team Leader Park left first, leaving only Deputy Woo behind.

"We did what you said and it passed, but thinking about handing it over to the production department, my worries are a mountain."

"The schedule is tight, yeah. But don't worry too much. It'll work out."

Woo Jeong-hwan snorted a laugh and shot back.

"Oho. You talk like you've already seen the future."

I have, actually. I'd watched the brand launch successfully and even expand overseas at breakneck speed. My mouth itched to tell the truth, but who would believe I'd seen the future on TV?

"Don't worry. You did what I told you and the project passed right through, didn't it? So just trust me and push forward!"

I clapped Woo Jeong-hwan on the shoulder in encouragement and stood up. Right on cue, my sister's car arrived. A blazing red Forte Titan—a sports car Forte had lent us temporarily until the fully loaded Karman 4S I'd recently purchased came in.

The black-tinted window rolled down, and my little sister, wearing sunglasses, called out to me.

"Minhyuk, have you been waiting long?"

Seeing me standing with a male coworker, her mischievous streak had apparently kicked in. Hooked without fail by my sister's teasing, Woo Jeong-hwan asked me.

"Who is that? That gorgeous woman?"

"Just a woman I know."

"That's not a 'just a woman I know~.' Whoa, dude! Holy crap!"

Woo Jeong-hwan's eyes went wide—because my sister had opened the driver's door and stepped out. It had been a while since she'd gone out, so she was all dressed up, and her outfit was quite a production. Red heels, a figure-hugging red dress, and crimson lips that matched the whole look perfectly.

Now I get why she was ten minutes late.

My sister's fully made-up appearance was so stunning a model would have had to step aside. Taking after our father, a navigator on a deep-sea fishing vessel, we siblings had been absurdly well-grown since we were small. I'm six-three; my sister is five-ten. Even that high-and-mighty Han Se-ah had held her tongue in front of my little sister. Looks and proportions that didn't yield an inch to her as an actress, plus a figure that simply overwhelmed—and one blast of fierce Busan dialect was enough to crush her in presence, too.

Min-kyung click-clacked over like a model, took off her sunglasses, and greeted Woo Jeong-hwan with a smiling squint of her eyes.

"Oh my~, might you be our Minhyuk's coworker?"

"Ah, yes. I'm Woo Jeong-hwan, Minhyuk's best friend. We joined the company together."

"Hehe. I see. Please take good care of our Minhyuk. Hehehe."

"Of course, of course."

"Well then, we'll be on our way."

My sister had once received countless modeling offers. Watching her stride toward the Titan on those long, stretching legs, Woo Jeong-hwan's mouth hung open as he poked me in the side.

"Dude, is this what they mean by the junker leaving and a sports car pulling up? If that's how it works, I'd get married just so I could get divorced."

"It's not like that. I'm leaving."

"Come on~ Your face is red, so it totally is! You've gotta introduce me later. You know I can't keep my mouth shut, right? If you don't introduce me, I'll spread it all over the company."

Hmm? Spread it around the company? That could actually be pretty entertaining in its own way.

"Go ahead."

I snorted and climbed into the sports car's passenger seat. My sister glanced at Woo Jeong-hwan, who was staring at us in a daze, and asked,

"He's cute."

"Obviously. He's a good three inches shorter than you."

"Wait, what. I thought he just looked short because of my heels."

"Let's go. We don't have time."

"Where to?"

"Palseong Super in Ocheon."

"Okay~"

After punching the location into the navigation, my sister recited the departure announcement in a flight attendant's cadence.

"Dear passenger, we will be departing shortly. For your safety, please fasten your seat belt and adjust your seatback to a comfortable position. Thank you for using Zeroes Group Transport. Departing~."

When my sister pressed the accelerator, the car began to glide smoothly forward. An hour to Ocheon. Thanks to my sister, a former flight attendant, it looked like it would be a comfortable trip. In the rearview mirror, Woo Jeong-hwan waved at us until we rounded the corner and disappeared from sight.

I wonder if that guy actually understood what I told him.