This Place Has Great Appetizers (1)
December 24th. Amy had finally arrived.
"Hi, Mr. Xeros."
Amy waved at me like an excited child the moment she saw me.
Wow.
The instant she stepped off the private jet, a gasp escaped me. I'd thought it every time I saw her, but Amy and blonde hair together were an absolute cheat code. Today she'd dressed herself up like a pop star walking into a year-end awards show, and even by my standards — which Yang Mi-jeong had raised considerably when it came to beauty — she was stunning.
Lucas Brown stood beside her, dressed to the nines.
"Good to see you, Amy. Mr. Brown, it's been a while. First time in Korea for both of you?"
"It's my first time. Not Lucas, though. He said he did his military service here."
"Oh? When was that?"
"A little over thirty years ago. I was stationed at Yongsan Garrison."
"Thirty years… so this would be your first time seeing Korea after the economic boom."
"That's right. I've heard it's changed enormously."
"We should grab a meal around there, then."
"Hahaha. Sounds good. If we're going, I'd like budae-jjigae — army stew. That's my favorite."
"Wow, really? Budae-jjigae is amazing."
Amy, who had no idea what budae-jjigae even was, looked puzzled. If I tried to explain it, she'd probably refuse before she even tasted it. Better to take her when she was starving.
They were planning to stay about three days, so today I intended to focus on business. We boarded the chartered helicopter and headed straight for the Noble Hotel.
"I haven't been able to set up an office yet since I'm still technically an employee. So I think we'll have to hold the meeting at the hotel today. It's the same place you'll be staying."
"That's fine with us."
Americans really were chill about this kind of thing. If I were dealing with a Korean chaebol, they'd immediately start questioning how a businessman didn't even have an office. Or maybe it was thanks to Lipton & Ellis LLP. Being a client of that firm was a guarantee of credibility in itself.
We arrived at the hotel and went straight up to the presidential suite. I'd had my sister waiting there in advance for today's meeting.
"Oh — that's the sister I met before?"
"Hello. I'm Miss Kang."
"Nice to meet you, Miss Kang. Your pronunciation is excellent."
"Hehe. Thank you."
Min-kyung had picked up Spanish, German, French, Japanese, and Chinese during her years as a flight attendant. I wasn't just saying this because she was my sister — when it came to languages, she was genuinely exceptional. A global talent perfectly suited for a global company. That was exactly why I'd brought her into the business first.
We had a lot to get through today. I needed to share the revised blueprints for the Xeros Building and walk them through the newly added smart-building systems. The LM Group companies moving in had demanded a minimum three-year lease guarantee, so I'd decided to hold off on filling the building entirely with my own people for about three years. Once we'd recouped the investment, relocating the company wouldn't be a problem at all.
"The building facilities are better than I expected. I think we should raise the rent."
"Fine by me."
If the rent went up, Amy's commission increased — but so did Xeros Group's rental income. The chairman's granddaughter wanted to raise the rent. Who was going to object? I told her to do as she pleased.
"Will the ground-floor retail leasing start after construction is finished?"
"No. We'll start promoting three months before completion. I'm thinking luxury boutiques, major franchises, Michelin-starred restaurants. Lucas has that side locked down."
Lucas flashed a grin, showing a row of well-kept teeth.
"So that's why you told me to come along."
"You just sold a baseball team. You've got time on your hands. What are you going to do, sit around? Might as well help out while you're at it."
"Sure. This'll be a lot easier than turning a chronically unprofitable baseball franchise around."
Wait — was the Texas Blue Rhino, the team that had languished in perpetual deficit before turning a profit with a championship three years ago and even building a new stadium, owned by LM Group? The Blue Rhino, with annual revenue exceeding seven hundred million dollars, player salaries totaling three hundred million, and an estimated sale price of three billion dollars — four trillion won?
Listening to the two of them talk, my own fortune suddenly felt embarrassingly modest. A hunger to freely join conversations like theirs started writhing in my gut.
Regardless, this old man Lucas was clearly someone extraordinary. When LM Group had bought the Blue Rhino ten years ago, the team had been drowning in chronic losses and sold for next to nothing — around two hundred billion won, if I remembered right. He'd turned that franchise into a three-time consecutive MLB champion and sold it for more than twenty times the purchase price in a decade. Not double. Twenty times. That was an astonishing level of operational skill.
If Lucas was helping with the retail leasing, there was nothing to worry about. I might even need to quietly observe and pick up his know-how.
"Are you planning to install digital outdoor advertising panels?"
"Would it be possible to find out the rental market rates?"
"It varies by size, but daily rental fees range from five thousand dollars to fifty thousand."
"Even at just ten thousand a day, that's 3.65 million a year — fifty billion won."
"The location is so good that even at a conservative estimate, thirty thousand a day should be doable. As long as you can cover the electricity, it's worth holding onto. Installing later would be a pain."
I'd already asked the architect to apply transparent solar-power film across the entire glass facade so the building could generate its own electricity — a hedge against skyrocketing energy costs and emergency situations. So electricity wasn't a concern.
Wait. This wasn't really about the advertising revenue. This meant I could put up whatever ads I wanted, whenever I wanted, in Times Square — the hottest, most watched street on the planet.
The rental income is secondary. I could use it for product promotion and brand-image advertising, couldn't I?
Once Daeheung Planning was fully in my hands, the synergy would be terrifying. This was a must.
"Let's go ahead with it for now. We can discuss the details once we have a plan for the electronic displays on the facade."
The marathon meeting that had started that morning finally wrapped up at five in the afternoon. An alarm went off on my phone.
"Look at the time. Amy, we should get moving."
"Okay. Let me change, and I'll be right back. Can you wait a minute?"
Cha Eun-yu was scheduled to meet Han Se-ah today, and I'd arranged for Amy to join us. When I'd asked her to come along to a meeting with my ex-wife, she'd agreed without hesitation. She said it sounded fun.
That said — she was already pretty enough to put celebrities to shame. And she was going to get even more dressed up? She seemed more excited about this than I was.
Amy left the presidential suite with my sister as her guide. Once it was just the two of us, Lucas forced a smile through the awkward silence and spoke.
"It's been a long time since I've seen the young lady this lively. I suspect we have a certain excellent business partner to thank for that."
"Is that so?"
"But I wouldn't get too comfortable. The Chairman has been waiting for this. He raised her like the most precious treasure in the world, you understand."
"Ah…"
I had no idea how to explain this situation. I wanted to say we weren't that… involved, but I had no idea how much the Chairman already knew, so I couldn't just blurt it out. Of course, Americans were more open-minded. He probably wouldn't meddle in his granddaughter's private life the way a patriarchal Korean grandfather would…
"……"
"……"
I was sweating under Lucas's piercing stare, trying to look anywhere else, when the door opened and Amy appeared like a savior.
She wore a dress of purest white, the hair she'd had twisted up now falling in a cascade to her waist — as noble and beautiful as if Aphrodite herself, goddess of beauty, had taken human form.
The moment I saw her, a gasp escaped me before I could stop it.
"Holy shit."
That face was absolutely phenomenal. This was a guaranteed win. In other words, it was more than enough to turn Fire Fox's insides out.
Amy flushed, looking embarrassed at the way I couldn't take my eyes off her.
"Why are you staring like that?"
"You're just… so beautiful."
I meant it. She really was beautiful. If Fire Fox had possessed the kind of looks that bewitched people, Amy was a true chameleon — a woman of a thousand faces. The kind of beauty whose entire image transformed depending on her fashion and makeup.
My sister stood beside her with a hand on her hip, looking thoroughly pleased with herself.
"Her makeup was way too heavy, so I touched it up Korean-style. Something that emphasizes her clear skin."
"I've never worn makeup this light, so I don't know if it looks okay. What do you think, Mr. Xeros? Do I look all right?"
It was so perfectly my type that my heart started pounding. I dispelled her worries in a voice that trembled without my meaning it to.
"It looks incredible on you. You look like a goddess."
"Hehe. I do hear that a lot."
Min-kyung, picking up on the peculiar current between Amy and me, shot me a look that said I knew it, then turned to Amy.
"My brother has extremely particular tastes when it comes to beauty. He almost never calls anyone pretty. Saying you look like a goddess is basically the highest praise he can give."
"Hehe. Is that so?"
She narrowed her eyes and smiled like an angel. Queen-bee Amy had a side like this?
"You said the restaurant reservation is at six. Shouldn't we be going?"
"Ah — right, we should."
I left Lucas in Min-kyung's care and headed for the underground parking garage. The restaurant I'd reserved was Mongyeon, a three-Michelin-star innovative dining restaurant in Hannam-dong. This had been a hard reservation to get. We couldn't be late.
I escorted Amy to the restaurant. The entire car ride, she chattered about how nervous and excited she was.
"I'm so nervous."
"Haha. You don't need to be."
"How am I supposed to not be nervous? I'm meeting Mr. Xeros's — no, Mini's — ex-wife! Wow! Meeting your boyfriend's ex-girlfriend. I've always wanted to try this."
So she wasn't worried. She was thrilled. I'd been concerned for nothing.
"She might act pretty unpleasant."
"That's fine. I'm no pushover either."
"Eh, I don't know about that. Compared to her, you're pretty soft, Amy. You've got a warm heart. You're generous."
"Hehe. Are you saying I'm too mushy?"
Mushy? Uh… well. Soft, not mushy. There was room for misunderstanding, so I just let it go.
"I mean you're kind."
Amy burst into hysterical laughter with that goddess-like face.
"Will you please tell my grandfather that when you meet him? I think his expression would be hilarious."
"Sure, that's easy enough."
Wait. Was I going to meet Amy's grandfather? Ah — once the building was finished and the companies moved in, he might stop by. Lucas's words from earlier came back to me. He'd been waiting for this. Well, how bad could it be? I should casually ask Lucas later what Amy's grandfather's tastes were. He'd lent me that expensive land for free and introduced me to a granddaughter as capable as Amy. I at least owed him a thank-you gift.
I parked the car and we arrived at the restaurant entrance. I pressed the button by the door, and a massive wooden door slid open with a smooth, silent glide.
Unlike the usually bright atmosphere, the hall was unusually dark today. An eight-person round table sat in the center of the hall, the lighting concentrated solely on that one spot. The two people we were supposed to meet here today had already arrived and taken their seats.
Thump-thump. My left chest was pounding like a drum. Was this excitement from anticipating what was about to happen? Or was it the exhilaration of finally being able to pour out, without a second thought, the honest feelings that the pathetic old Kang Minhyuk had been too afraid of being abandoned to ever say out loud?
Either way. Han Se-ah was going to find out today. That the one drowning in inferiority wasn't me — it was her.
I held out my palm toward Amy, and she shyly smiled as she placed her small hand in mine. A small but reassuring hand.
"Ready?"
Amy, her playful expression tucked away, answered with regal composure.
"Perfectly."
"Then let's go."
We started walking toward the center of the hall. As solemnly as the day Fire Fox had held my hand and walked down the aisle.