How Did You Know? (1)
Knock knock.
Following the sound of the knock, Hong Sung-min offered a bright smile as he spotted the woman who entered.
The visitor was his younger sister, Hong Yu-na.
“What brings you here so far?”
“Since you haven’t been to the hotel, I came. But it looks like you’re really busy, huh? Your desk is a complete mess.”
Yu-na narrowed her brows while shooting a meaningful glance at the cluttered table.
She had always known that her brother lacked any natural talent for organization, yet today it was especially bad.
Research papers a full thesis thick formed towers that nearly reached the monitors, while the post-its plastered everywhere were covered in barely legible scribbles. On the floor lay scattered sheets that looked like they had been tossed aside after review.
Her eyes kept darting toward them, itching to clean everything up right now.
Min-hyuk gently nudged the back of the visibly irritated Yu-na and escorted her straight into the meeting room.
A convenient excuse for his sister’s lecture had appeared.
“It’s because of the new product launch. My head is spinning.”
“Then I suppose you won’t have time to look at my proposal either.”
“A proposal? Is it related to the food business?”
“Yes. We’re planning to create a double-harmony tea as a hotel brand product, and I’d like you to review whether it’s feasible to produce.”
“If my sister says so, I have no choice but to help. But double-harmony tea? Who came up with that? Very original.”
While Sung-min flipped through the documents his sister had handed him with interest, Yu-na crossed her legs and replied coolly.
“Obviously it was my idea.”
A secretary brought in drinks, and the conversation paused for a moment.
On Yu-na’s side rested a fragrant Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee.
The only coffee his sister was allowed to serve was this one—reserved for guests who did not drink coffee.
The faint floral aroma was the reason.
In front of him sat a plain herbal tea, of course.
Sung-min savored the tea and quickly scanned the proposal, then reached the final page.
The conversation, which had been interrupted, naturally resumed around the double-harmony tea topic.
“It’s not bad at all. The key is to highlight the medicinal herb scent. It should be quite interesting.”
“Right?”
“Yes. If it’s recognized as a health drink, people will probably seek it out even at a higher price. The catch is adapting it to global tastes, but that’s exactly why it suits our field, isn’t it?”
Yu-na’s face lit up with a bright smile at her brother’s positive answer.
“Don’t worry. The taste has already been approved since it’s one of our hotel’s flagship cafe products.”
“Really? That’s even better. I suppose it took some effort to persuade the executives.”
“Ugh~ I can’t even say it. How people are so traditional.”
“Hahaha. The person who wants to turn double-harmony tea into a hotel brand sounds more old-fashioned.”
“Hee hee. Really?”
Yu-na smiled freely at her brother’s playful tone.
He was the only person who ever saw her completely without makeup—from head to toe, Yu-na was always impeccably composed.
“I was about to give up and let it go when one person suddenly agreed.”
“Really? What a strange person. Who was it? A hotel employee?”
“Not a hotel employee.”
How should he explain Mr. Xeros? Hong Yu-na hesitated briefly before vaguely replying, “Well, there is such a person. Anyway.”
“Because he’s on my side, I gained courage. He said he would make it happen no matter what. And so we convinced the executives.”
“Even without knowing the name, he must be an amazing person. Moving an impulsive Yu-na, who is famous for being thorough in every matter.”
“It wasn’t impulsive. It was more like he helped organize the chaotic situation.”
After sipping her coffee and setting the cup down, Yu-na added,
“It’s almost as if he’s a master at pinpointing selling points… or perhaps reading the market perfectly. I tried to pitch the idea to a branding company to convince the executives, and their three-month research report concluded that the final draft could be ready in just three minutes of sipping the double-harmony tea. I got goosebumps at the time.”
Yu-na rubbed her arms with both hands, gesturing dramatically.
Sung-min’s eyes sparkled with interest as he let out a low sigh.
“I wish I had someone like that around me.”
“Why? Did some problem arise with the new project?”
“No, not exactly….”
—Hoo—
Sung-min exhaled a deep sigh, releasing the worries that had been churning in his head.
Sung-min had received a call from the president of the International Society for Atmospheric Environment, a close acquaintance he had met recently.
In March, an academic journal called Environmental Science would publish a paper on “The Real-World Harmful Cases of Microplastics Accumulated in Human Tissues.”
Up until now, papers on microplastics had only warned of potential dangers and risk levels.
This announcement, however, would mark a critical turning point by proving that long-term exposure to microplastics directly accelerates disease in tissues.
“If that paper becomes an issue, the food industry will be hit first. Especially organic products.”
Yu-na’s brows furrowed at the words.
“Because our customer base is already sensitive to environmental problems.”
“Exactly.”
Of course, even if the paper was released, it would not immediately crush the business.
Plastics were already woven into the fabric of daily life.
But the timing was terrible.
Especially because the product being launched in March was organic tofu pudding.
The fact that it was an instant-consume food had Sung-min constantly on edge.
Whether that was too sensitive of him, he did not know.
Yu-na’s expression grew far more serious when she heard the concern from her brother.
It was not merely worry that her brother’s business might fail.
There was another document she had brought.
Who on earth is Kang Min-hyuk? Did he really see the future?
That his proposal for double-harmony tea closely matched a professional suggestion was simply that he was a good intuitive person, something she could overlook.
But the eco-friendly plastic container project he possessed was entirely different.
The preparation period alone was an astonishing three months.
And he had explicitly pointed out that February was already too late.
He knew.
About the microplastics paper scheduled for March.
Exactly how?
The fact that Kang Min-hyuk’s intelligence surpassed that of his own sponsor, the International Society for Atmospheric Environment, sent a chill down her spine.
But the important part now was not whether he knew about microplastics.
After a moment of hesitation, Yu-na pulled out the document and handed it to her brother.
“Besides the double-harmony tea, I brought something else. It might actually be the solution to the problem you’ve been worrying about.”
Sung-min accepted the document with a puzzled expression, and Yu-na explained.
“It was a project from Iljin Group. When Iljin Food dismissed the business as unviable, the team that had been handling it actually created a new company.”
“Iljin?”
Min-hyuk’s face stiffened at the mention of Iljin Group.
Nature Food and Iljin Food.
The two companies competed fiercely for the top two spots in domestic sales rankings, yet their corporate philosophies could not have been more different.
Nature Food aspired to be an ideal where humans coexist with the Earth, while Iljin Food focused entirely on human abundance and happiness.
Even the Iljin Group’s name suggested something similar.
For a company like that to launch a so-called eco-friendly plastic container project sounded like nothing more than a cynical publicity stunt.
Still, since it was a document his sister had brought for him, he could not simply show open disgust.
“Thank you. I’ll review it later.”
Yu-na reminded him to review it by the end of January and left the meeting room.
When Sung-min returned to his office, he set the Zeroes Group proposal on top of the towering documents and resumed his review.
January had just ended.
As half the documents vanished from sight,
like fate itself, the eco-friendly plastic container proposal from Zeroes Group landed in his hand.
If he had remembered that the proposal originated from Iljin Group, he would have immediately tossed it aside.
Fortunately, the passage of time had blurred his memory.
Without a second thought, Sung-min flipped through the proposal, and his eyes suddenly widened.
He urgently called his secretary.
“Does this business come from any particular department?”
“No. This is the first time I’ve seen this document.”
“What? Then why is it on my desk?”
After thinking for a moment, he remembered the proposal his sister had brought and instructed the secretary.
“There should be a representative contact on the proposal. Contact them and arrange a meeting as quickly as possible.”
“Understood.”
It was one month before the launch of Nature Food’s ambitious product, the tofu pudding.
***
The guide’s steps halted in front of the wooden door, and the man who opened the large door spoke.
“Please wait inside for a moment.”
“Yes.”
The moment the door closed, Ha-jin asked with a delighted expression.
“We’re meeting the Nature Food representative, right? Then, doesn’t that mean the eco-friendly plastic business has a high chance of progressing?”
I did not answer. Instead, I placed my finger to my lips.
I needed time to think.
“Ah, I’m sorry. You said not to chatter.”
Ha-jin immediately stiffened his expression.
Thanks to that, the room fell deathly silent.
Even Attorney Jeong hadn’t known, had he? He would have told me if he had.
Regarding the business details, I was knowledgeable enough that even if the chairman had come, he could have been convinced.
But what worried me was this.
Should Ha-jin meet with Chairman Hong Sung-min? That was the question.
Chairman Hong Sung-min was famous for being cautious about everything.
If he noticed during the meeting that Ha-jin was the son of the rival company’s representative, he might misunderstand our intentions.
Perhaps it would be better to explain the situation accurately from the beginning and present the business proposal.
I quickly sketched several scenarios in my head, considered the opponent’s possible reactions, and decided to act accordingly.
First, I would act confidently.
They had already shown interest by coming to meet me directly, after all.
The opponent might be more flexible than expected.
Knock knock.
From the opposite direction we had entered, the sound of knocking came.
A man in a worn coat that seemed a little threadbare entered the meeting room.
Rounded glasses, messy hair, clothes thrown on haphazardly.
A complete contrast to the immaculate Hong Yu-na.
A man in his forties who exuded the full scent of a chaotic scientist.
He handed his coat to the secretary and sat down.
“I’m a little late because I came from the lab. Hong Sung-min.”
“Kang Min-hyuk, representative of Zeroes Group.”
His gaze briefly swept to the Ha-jin seated beside me, then returned.
In that fleeting moment, had he recognized him?
His throat burned with tension.
“You suddenly summoned me to the representative’s office. Did that surprise you?”
“Yes, a little. I assumed it was a regular staff meeting.”
Fortunately, Chairman Hong Sung-min took my tension to mean that I had been summoned directly by the representative.
“Originally that was the plan, but since the matter was urgent, I instructed him to bring you here directly.”
“Urgent?”
Could it be that the chairman already knew something?
After all, he was a man deeply interested in plants, so he must be sensitive to environmental issues.
He only knew that the issue would surface around March; he did not know the exact publication date.
If no contact came from Nature Food by the end of January, I had planned to reach out to another company by mid-February at the latest, no later than February 20th.
The fact that Nature Food had contacted us at exactly the right time, and the representative had personally summoned me, meant the chance of proceeding was extremely high.
Provided he knew about the paper announcing the dangers of microplastics.
Chairman Hong Sung-min pointed to the report in front of me and asked.
“May I look at the report?”
“Of course.”
He flipped through the report I had handed him as if he had already memorized every detail, then opened the page listing production plans and delivery schedules.
“After the contract, two weeks for initial bulk delivery is sufficient, correct?”
“Yes. As long as the container shape is not too complex, it is possible. The raw material, biodegradable plastic, is also immediately available.”
“I see…”
Chairman Hong Sung-min’s eyes deepened.
Like a master making the final move.
Since I had already met the representative, I needed to drive home the final nail.
Seeing my chance, I opened my mouth.
“The dessert Nature Food mentioned launching is tofu pudding, isn’t it?”
Chairman Hong Sung-min’s eyes bulged wide, as if he had been caught in the act of something he should not have been seen doing.