Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Confronting the Ice Princess
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Han Ji-young felt as if she had arrived in a slightly foreign country.
Seo Ji-hyeok had clearly introduced himself as Kang Ji-hyeok.
And President Lee Seo-hoon had clearly heard it.
Yet everything after that seemed erased from the memories of the other three, leaving only hers intact.
The people seated at the small conference table in one corner of the president's office dove straight into business talk.
"I know this product. It's from Jinsung Tech, by Park Seon-woong, the former president of a chemical company, right?"
"Yes. That's correct."
"We've already run tests on this product ourselves. Impressive stuff."
It was Taesung Electronics, through and through.
She had expected them to know the product, but completing full tests already? That was the might of the industry leader.
"But not every good technology gets adopted. Scalability matters, and thankfully, our internal evaluations say this one excels there too. So you know what that leaves, don't you, Manager Oh?"
"Yes."
Manager Oh nodded and turned to Ji-hyeok.
And at last, Ji-hyeok spoke up.
"I'll handle that issue. Assuming I do, what level of investment are you considering?"
"Here I was hoping to hear that first, but you jump ahead. Fine. Solve it, and there's no reason not to acquire a company with tech like this. We'll commit a minimum of 300 billion won over the next two years. Exclusive supply to Taesung, of course."
"Understood. Thank you, President."
"You know your moves are faster than anyone expected, Ji-hyeok?"
"Good to hear. I can't stand being predictable."
Han Ji-young now knew Ji-hyeok's true identity.
But even with that knowledge, the expression on his face right now startled her.
This was Taesung Electronics' president, no less.
From what she knew, even the three sisters—Jin-young, Seon-young, and Mi-young—treated President Lee Seo-hoon with utmost respect.
It was the deference owed to the one steering the group's core affiliate.
Yet Ji-hyeok treated him casually from the very first meeting.
Flashing smiles, grimacing at the thought of being predictable.
She doubted there were even ten people in the country who could wear such natural expressions before President Lee Seo-hoon on their own initiative.
And yet, the president accepted it all in stride.
While Han Ji-young sat lost in her thoughts, President Lee Seo-hoon's gaze shifted to Manager Oh.
"Manager Oh."
"Yes, President."
"Your expression right now puts my mind at ease. Truth be told, I agonized over sending you."
"I knew."
"But do you know why I did?"
"Please tell me. I'll take it to heart."
"Even in the worst-case scenario, I was confident I could save at least you. But looking at you now... looks like I won't need to."
Manager Oh Tae-hyung broke into a genuine smile at the president's words.
He slowly bowed his head.
"Thank you for your care. But I'm walking a path I've never trod before. Short as it may be, I'll stand at the front, taking the arrows and bullets."
Ah...
Han Ji-young felt a warmth bloom in her chest as she watched President Lee Seo-hoon gaze at Manager Oh with a soft smile.
What history lay between those two?
The workplace she'd known for the past four years had been a warzone.
A warzone without allies.
There was that saying: The thing to worry about most isn't new projects or bold strategies—it's the colleague sitting next to you...
The proof? The day she was promoted to deputy manager, two colleagues quit.
And she, along with those who remained, accepted it as normal.
With the pedigree of Taesung's Strategy Office, they'd land anywhere. No real worry for their futures.
But to Taesung, they were just losers cast out.
That was Taesung's view of outsiders too.
To Han Ji-young, the vibe between President Lee Seo-hoon and Manager Oh Tae-hyung felt warm, enveloping.
And it left her a little unsettled.
Then Ji-hyeok's voice cut in.
"President, I'd best get moving. Isn't your schedule up too?"
"Right you are. Let's move. Still waters breed dead fish, after all."
"Thank you for your time."
"Manager Oh, until next time. Ji-hyeok—next stop?"
"Take a guess. If even you can't, President, no one will."
"Kang Jin-young at Trading, right?"
But President Lee Seo-hoon read the truth in Ji-hyeok's face—he'd guessed wrong.
With that, Ji-hyeok delivered yet another surprise to the president and strode out of the office.
The president's office at Taesung Hotel in Seoul's Myeongdong sat on the 21st floor of Namil Building in Sogong-dong, home to the duty-free operations.
And Namil Building had one unbreakable rule: No loud voices on the 21st floor.
Two years back, cleaners caught chattering at dawn were raided by President Kang Mi-young and fired en masse. The tale still circulated like company legend.
Everyone knew why.
Hotels were hospitality at heart.
Kang Mi-young's stance: Staff voices must stay low.
Those cleaners didn't just handle the Sogong-dong executive suite—they rotated through hotel rooms too.
Taesung Hotel room staff were forbidden from idle chatter in guest spaces.
To avoid any gripes about room conditions slipping out mid-clean.
Kang Mi-young was meticulous to a fault.
This being the executive office, not a room—and at 6 a.m., pre-arrival hours—cut no ice with her.
So the 21st-floor secretarial pool's tension was easy to imagine.
And the rule bound visitors without mercy.
Ji-hyeok arrived.
Alone.
He'd gotten the okay from Manager Oh and Deputy Han.
"I don't want to drag you two in as decoys. Sorry, but solo seems best."
"Makes sense with Kang Mi-young."
Manager Oh agreed readily.
Thus, solo it was.
"Pardon the intrusion."
Ji-hyeok knocked boldly and entered, voice raised.
The deathly quiet secretary's office erupted—heads snapped up like meerkats from their desks.
But then...
"Seo Ji-hyeok from HQ Special Sales. Here to see the president."
Four staff bolted over, hands clamping their mouths, swarming him.
"Hey! Shh! Quiet!"
"Shh! Shh!"
"Pardon? What's... going on?"
"Please! Voice down!"
Hotel culture, no doubt—all sported blue name tags on their left chests.
Ji-hyeok eyed the tag of the man most fiercely shushing him.
"Manager... Yang Sang-taek? Ah, the voice from the call."
Ji-hyeok played it friendly.
His intent was crystal clear by now...
Then—
-Ring...
The intercom at the top seat buzzed.
Every head in the secretary's office whipped toward it.
Moments later, the approaching staffer's tag read: Team Leader Bae Hyun-soo.
"Mr. Seo Ji-hyeok, you're cleared to enter."
"Thank you."
Ji-hyeok flashed a bright smile and trailed Team Leader Bae to the president's door.
Bae rapped the massive wooden door twice, knock knock, then tugged the right handle, beckoning him in.
"Good day, President."
Ji-hyeok crossed the threshold into the office, bowing deeply.
And boomed his greeting, loud and clear.
But the reply was cool, clipped.
"Cut the arrogance. Enter and sit."
Ji-hyeok grinned and sauntered in.
He halted at the floor's edge where sunlight sliced through vertical blinds, spilling past Kang Mi-young's desk.
The line between half-shadow and half-light.
Kang Mi-young, eyes fixed on her papers, slowly looked up.
"Kang or Seo—who cares. But no cheek in my presence."
"Doubting the chairman by calling me Kang?"
"Can't rule it out."
"Not much faith in your father, then."
"I said: no arrogance."
"If I were a Kang, wouldn't that spark problems?"
"It would. If you were. You're not. Know why?"
"Vaguely. Taesung's stamp makes you a Kang."
"Exactly. Bark like a dog from the rooftops—you're nothing till I, Taesung, say otherwise."
Ice Princess indeed.
Kang Mi-young was 53.
But passed for early forties on sight.
Sure, maintaining that youth cost a fortune...
She curated her media image ruthlessly: cold, sharp, brilliant.
Hence, "Ice Princess."
A princess at 53? Absurd. But Ji-hyeok figured his youngest aunt rather enjoyed it.
"Enough fluff. Business time?"
"Business? You think Jinsung Tech trash qualifies?"
"Then why grant the audience?"
"To school you on your place. Face-to-face drives it home for types like you. Nothing for you in Taesung. Clear?"
"Applies to you too, President."
"What?"
"Our esteemed Chairman Kang Wook started the three daughters equal: 5% holding company shares each. How's that now?"
"Shut it."
"No—listen. Since then, every crisis, more shares divvied out. You've got 6%. Trading's Kang Jin-young? 16%. Textiles' Kang Seon-young? 13%. Face it—you're one misstep from exile."
-BAM!
"Shut your mouth! No arrogance, I said!"
At last, Kang Mi-young roared.
The iron fortress cracked in mere minutes with Ji-hyeok.
Her shout stunned the outer secretary's office.
This was seismic.
Yet Ji-hyeok's face? Unchanged. Smiling, at ease.
He met her glare lightly.
"I'll fit you with wings. Free you from the in-laws—from Engisys, precisely."
"What?"
Kang Mi-young, poised to hurl her fountain pen, froze solid.
The Ice Princess, now literal ice.
Ji-hyeok beamed at his youngest aunt's face.