Zero Base (2)
Team Leader Lee Jungwan's voice thundered through the phone like a whale's cry.
Han Se-ah's face hardened into stone the instant she recognized it.
She might not remember the name Daeheung Planning, but by now the wheels would be turning furiously in her head.
I smiled faintly and answered casually, “Well… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’m going crazy because Cha Eun-yu’s model fee is due. Hah~ X bastard. Call my little sister and check the situation for me.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Click.
The line went dead. Han Se-ah’s eyes trembled.
Her voice, too, was far from steady. “Is… that person on the other end of the line… Lee Jungwan?”
Instead of answering, I tapped the call button and held the screen up so she could see the caller ID.
[Love You, CEO Jungwan]
010-2345-8X0X
Han Se-ah blinked rapidly like a broken robot when she read the name.
Then her eyes widened. “You… you stole the 150 billion won in advertising budget?”
“Not 150. 40. 70 went to Cha Eun-yu for the campaign, and 40 was for production and promotion.”
“What? Haha! You’re insane?”
“And the money I made isn’t mine. It’s my little sister Kang Minkyung’s. Tell her I said thank you—thanks to her we’re filthy rich.”
“What? You bastard!”
“You should’ve been more careful with your words.”
I manipulated the phone to show the recording light.
Han Se-ah’s forehead crumpled in despair.
In just one minute, the woman who had been happily laughing moments ago now looked ready to tear me apart.
She screamed with a grotesque mix of laughter and tears. “You dared to team up with Lee Jungwan and trick me?!”
“Thanks to me you’re now an executive, aren’t you? You should be thanking me. I was the one who convinced Cha Eun-yu.”
“That… was it real?”
Only then did the memory of the restaurant scene flash through her mind. She bared her teeth in disgust.
“Exactly how far are you mixed up in this?”
“Who knows.”
“If I’d told you in advance it would’ve been boring.”
“That’s too bad. I was planning to watch you fall from the closest possible distance. But you’re forced to resign now.”
She could say no more. Her body shook uncontrollably.
She and Lee Jungwan had deliberately left me behind to sow doubt between them.
The moment I left, Jungwan would call me, accuse me of betrayal, and find some way to escape. But first I needed to plant seeds of suspicion between Han Se-ah and Lee Jungwan so the coming days would go smoothly.
I rose from my chair and walked to the window.
It wasn’t as grand as Xeros Building, but the city skyline beneath was breathtaking.
“The view is beautiful. I could get used to working here.”
A vast forest of skyscrapers.
Among the dozens of buildings, the brand-new Kings Office directly across the street caught my eye.
My watch vibrated.
Already 6:20.
Exactly ten minutes until our appointment with Han Ha-jin.
“I have a prior engagement. It’s a shame, but I have to head out. I came along just to say thank you. If you want a favor in return, go ahead and try—I’m always open to helping.”
I left the office with a leisurely stride.
Click.
Han Se-ah started screaming the moment I closed the door.
I paused briefly to check the soundproofing, then changed Lee Jungwan’s name on my phone to “Jungwan Bastard.”
I headed straight to our meeting place.
Han Ha-jin and the real-estate agent were already waiting in the elevator lobby.
“The office?”
“Perfect timing. We have an available unit in exactly the direction you wanted.”
“Really? Excellent.”
As we rode up, the agent chattered on the way to the 23rd floor. “You seem so young for a client. I thought you were older because you’re called President. You’re really lucky—only a year since this building was completed, and it’s move-in ready with full custom interiors and brand-new furniture.”
The office was immaculate; you could step in today and no one would notice.
“The previous tenant didn’t go bankrupt, right? It feels weird to be leaving after only a year.”
“Oh, nothing like that. They were making AI search engines or something. They met great investors and moved to a much larger space. Even if it’s 80 pyeong, the actual usable area is barely over 50—maximum 30 employees.”
Thirty employees…
A little small, but not disastrous.
“Will you be able to expand later?”
“Of course. There are plenty of empty offices in this building. It’s new, so it’s expensive. But as a president you know the market isn’t great right now.”
“It’d be ideal if we were on the same floor. I like the view here.”
“Oh? Well, the adjacent office’s lease is up in about six months. Things seem to be turning over lately. If anyone leaves, I’ll let you know first.”
“Haha. Sure.”
Even if the space was a bit smaller, there was no reason not to choose this one.
Because the conference room I was standing in now faced exactly opposite Han Se-ah’s office on the 24th floor.
I had gone to the window earlier precisely to judge the distance.
I wanted to see how clearly the lettering would be visible from there.
“We can just swap the conference room and the president’s office. I’ll sign the contract.”
“Excellent thinking.”
As soon as the lease was signed, Han Ha-jin and I headed to Kings Office.
The other staff members were on a short vacation and would join us starting February 1st.
There were tasks to finish before they arrived.
We sat at the empty conference table drinking coffee in the quiet office and I asked for his first impressions as a new hire.
“As a secretary, how do you like it? That’s what you wanted—working right beside me.”
“Please call me team leader, not secretary.”
“No team members yet and you’re already a team leader. You’re a secretary.”
Han Ha-jin had insisted on working closely with me, so I had put the title “Secretary” on his business card.
The moment he saw it he almost shouted.
“Why secretary?”
I explained. “Is there any position that lets you learn from the president’s side as closely as secretary?”
If you don’t like it, we can cancel the contract right now—no penalty.
His reluctant expression said he had no intention of leaving today.
He muttered, “Huu… if my father finds out he’s going to call me a lunatic.”
“Why? Because I invested all the Iljin Group shares I own and still got hired as secretary? Or because I opened a rival company right across from Iljin?”
“Both.”
“Whatever. Three years and I’ll graduate.”
Three years.
My goal was to turn the 100 billion won Han Ha-jin had invested into 200 billion.
He narrowed his eyes. “But who exactly are they?”
“Who?”
“The crazy person who invested 90 billion in a company with zero employees.”
“So what? It’s interesting to know there are people even more reckless than me.”
Our team still didn’t know I was a billionaire. Even with close friends, others’ good fortune is a bitter thing to witness.
That’s why there’s a proverb about cousins getting angry when someone else buys land.
Of course I knew our team would understand, but I planned to keep it hidden until the company was stable.
Only when you have debts to repay does the need to work desperately become clear.
I was no exception.
Beep—beep—beep.
The vibration came again.
[Love You, CEO Jungwan]
010-2345-8X0X
Lee Jungwan again.
Ever since last night he hadn’t stopped calling.
Probably because he couldn’t reach my little sister.
I had told her to enjoy Europe until I contacted her.
“As if you didn’t give me any reason to resign. We hadn’t even finished the job—why trust you and walk away? Idiot.”
I had changed his address, his family contacts, everything.
As long as I didn’t contact him first, Jungwan could do nothing.
I ignored the insistent vibration, flipped the phone, and set it to silent.
“Han Secretary.”
“Yes?”
“You have your first assignment.”
“What is it?”
“Find out who’s been collecting debts. Preferably people with imposing physiques and scary faces.”
“What? How am I supposed to know?”
“If you don’t know, ask your secretary. There’s a errand service that connects to the Iljin Group secretary office.”
“……Yes.”
The only remaining staff at Daeheung Planning was the administrative director.
I wanted to psychologically pressure him until he completely washed his hands of the matter.
Daeheung Planning owed 20 billion won to the bank.
And I now held the debt.
While Lee Jungwan and Kang Minkyung were busy planning their trap, I had simply waited—quietly.
I had checked the enormous bank loan and seen that they hadn’t paid a single day’s interest in almost a year. I visited the bank and struck the deal.
“Are you selling the Daeheung Planning debt?”
The bank already knew that Hwang Dae-heung’s assets were a 7-billion-won apartment in Gyeonggi, bought with 50% financing.
They offered 5 billion won for the 20-billion-won debt.
I countered with 2 billion, citing the difficulty of recovering anything through auction.
We finally settled on 3 billion won.
The moment the information reached Daeheung Planning that a huge sum was incoming, the trap was set.
The total advertising budget from Iljin Group was 150 billion won.
Only 100 billion had been paid as contract deposit.
At first I had worried Jungwan might steal the 100 billion and run.
That’s why I set the safety net of opening a new corporate account.
Naturally the daily transfer limit dropped, and if the representative didn’t handle it personally, things would get complicated.
I made sure Minkyung was excluded from the payment process.
Probably because we had more to gain after the Healthy success, Jungwan hadn’t shown his true colors yet.
Stock clearance in China was probably important too, so I assumed he was waiting for Healthy to launch before acting.
From the contract deposit, 20 billion went to Cha Eun-yu and 30 billion to advertising production and media.
Perhaps to ease Minkyung’s mind, the administrative director handled the payments clearly, showing he was stabilizing the company, and paid salaries, severance, and some subcontractor bills.
Only 50 billion remained in the account.
And even then, not a single won in interest had been paid.
Those bastards finally showed their true colors a few days ago.
A 30-billion-won payment request arrived under the original company name.
They claimed it was for Cha Eun-yu’s side and the account had been changed.
I checked—false.
They simply didn’t know I was Cha Eun-yu’s closest ally.
Once I confirmed, I sent my little sister to Europe immediately.
Without a representative, holding the bank account was useless.
At the exact moment the final payment was due, I placed a stop-payment order on the Daeheung Planning account.
On the grounds of default.
100 billion slept untouched in Daeheung Planning’s account.
With 100 billion right in front of him and nothing he could do, Jungwan must have been tearing his hair out by now.
Beep—beep—beep.
The vibration came again.
[Love You, CEO Jungwan]
010-2345-8X0X
The alarm rang more than ten times and still didn’t disconnect.
I answered with perfect calm. “What?”