Zhang Louis Breguet and Cha Hee-ju (3)
By the time the meal was over, Hanil Global President Jeong Man-sik had already left first, saying he would see Seung-hyun again next time.
It was a little strange, leaving Cha Hee-ju behind like that, but Seung-hyun did not pay it much mind.
What mattered to Seung-hyun was Zhang Louis.
"Did you enjoy today's gathering?"
The taxi Haesol Textile had prepared was already waiting in front of the hotel.
Seung-hyun bowed to Zhang Louis, opened the taxi door for him, and saw him off.
"It was an unexpected gathering, so it was a little surprising, but I think I got a feel for Korean corporate culture. Watching President Jeong get flustered was amusing, too."
"I was the one who was in a bind."
Zhang Louis glanced toward the far side of the lobby, where Cha Hee-ju had not yet left the area, and burst out laughing.
"Haha, people who lack something are often desperate, and people who have plenty are often the ones who end up in a bind. See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
After Zhang Louis left, all that remained in front of the hotel lobby was the bustle of everyone making their way home.
Seung-hyun let out a deep breath and headed for the elevator to go down to the parking lot.
He had had a glass of wine during dinner with Jeong Man-sik earlier, so he had already called for a designated driver.
He had told Zhang Louis over the phone that it would take about ten minutes, so the driver should arrive soon.
But the moment he stepped into the elevator, someone slipped in after him.
"Hello. I realized I forgot to give you my business card earlier."
Cha Hee-ju smiled brightly and handed one over.
A luxury handbag was tucked under her arm, and her long legs, one knee slightly bent, were stretched out in high heels that caught the eye.
It was absurd, but Seung-hyun took out his own card and handed it over as well.
She looked at it for a moment, then said, "Actually, I was rude earlier."
"..."
"I made that request without even knowing your company properly, President Jeong. I'm sure I put you in a very difficult position, and I imagine I must have hurt your feelings too."
Seung-hyun sensed that something about the atmosphere had changed.
Why did it feel like this conversation was going to go on for a while?
"Ah, yes. It's fine."
After they got off the elevator and headed toward the car, sure enough, she kept following behind him.
"I looked into it, and you're a fabric company. I heard you played an important role in making MotionX's new items for this summer season... is that right?"
The fact that she was asking while already knowing the answer meant she wanted to keep the conversation going.
"Yes."
"But I heard you also launched a bedding brand recently. How did you end up going in that direction?"
Seung-hyun decided he should at least respond until the designated driver arrived in front of his car.
"It just happened that way."
"I heard it's high-end quality. If Blanc des Vosges's vice president came all the way to Korea personally to pick it up, that says enough."
"That's true... Of course, we did work hard on it. I just didn't expect it to get this kind of reaction."
"Oh..."
"Ah, I should get going now."
A man was seen running anxiously from the parking lot elevator area in the distance.
"You must be Jeong Seung-hyun, right?"
"Yes, that's me."
Just as Seung-hyun was about to hand over the car key,
"You don't need to today! Head back."
"Huh? What? No, why...?"
Cha Hee-ju pulled two 50,000-won bills from her wallet and pressed them straight into the designated driver's hand.
Seung-hyun stared at her in shock.
"What are you doing?"
The driver was just as startled.
Stunned by the sudden cash, the driver looked back and forth between the two of them, somehow feeling like he had stumbled into a windfall.
His face seemed to ask whether he was really allowed to take this.
"No, sir. You can't go. You need to drive my car."
Seung-hyun said it, but Hee-ju pulled out another 50,000-won bill and handed it to the driver as she spoke.
"We're in the middle of an argument. If you just go home, all of that is yours, sir. But if you stay, you'll only get the usual fare. What'll it be?"
It wasn't the police or anything. If a man and a woman were fighting, there was no reason for a designated driver to sit there and wait until the man came out on top.
"Th-then..."
As the driver took off with the 150,000 won in hand, Seung-hyun's brow furrowed at the absurdity of the situation.
"Hee-ju, don't you think you've crossed a line here?"
"I guess I did. I was a little reckless. But I couldn't help it. President Jeong, you seemed to really hate talking to me..."
"I have to go home."
"I'll drive you. I didn't drink a single drop. I can just drive you myself and take you all the way to your house, President."
"You say that like driving someone else's car is nothing. What if there's an accident?"
"It's a company car, isn't it? If it isn't insured, then shall we go in my car instead? Just leave the keys and I'll have someone send it over by transport. How about that?"
Seung-hyun gave a helpless laugh.
"Ha, seriously..."
She immediately made a call.
"Sir, it's me. Could you bring the car over to the parking lot? Right away."
Not long after she hung up, a white sedan pulled up in front of them.
"The key, please."
If it had been anyone else, he would never have handed over the key out of suspicion, but since they were both rich, he figured there was no way she would steal the car, so Seung-hyun gave it to her.
Hee-ju passed the key to the driver and said, "Hold onto it. I'll let you know the address later, and then you can bring the car there."
"Understood."
"Get in."
Once Hee-ju got into the driver's seat, Seung-hyun climbed into her car as well.
He was annoyed, but he was also curious why she was going to such lengths.
Of course, part of it was that if he had to call another designated driver and wait all over again, he would just keep getting drained, so it seemed better to put up with the inconvenience and hear her out on the way home.
After punching in the address into the navigation system and leaving the hotel, Cha Hee-ju let out a small sigh, looking as if all the tension had finally left her body.
"First, let me apologize. I'm really sorry."
"...Yes. Let's at least get there safely first."
She drove slowly as she spoke.
"As you saw in the VIP room, I'm the granddaughter of the Mirae Department Store chairman. So I guess I'm what you'd call a third-generation chaebol, more or less."
"..."
For Seung-hyun, it was not especially interesting.
Seeing that he showed no interest at all, she bit her lip faintly before getting straight to the point.
"Unlike before, department store sales have been slipping little by little. We've overturned the old idea that one wealthy customer replaces a hundred ordinary customers, and we're boosting sales with non-luxury brands instead. The response hasn't been bad."
"Then what's the problem?"
"Sales are just sales. No matter how much the economy worsens and department store sales shift toward midrange brands, it's still luxury labels that determine a department store's ranking."
The city lights spread elegantly across the night sky and slid past the car windows.
"Every department store promotes the luxury furniture and clothing brands it has brought in from overseas, but some brands, especially those that emphasize craftsmanship like Promemoria, have no intention of entering Korea. Their recognition is low, and they see no reason to come all the way here."
"So you're asking me to help improve Mirae Department Store's quality? That's what this is really about, isn't it?"
She had talked at length, but in the end it was just a request to help their company out.
He had expected something like this and had not wanted to hear it, so, as expected, the obvious line of argument made Seung-hyun's expression harden.
Feeling the sour shift in mood, Hee-ju hurriedly said, "That bedding your Haesol Textile made."
"...?"
"Would you consider bringing it into a department store?"
"You mean a department store placement?"
Seeing Seung-hyun's expression relax at once, she smiled brightly and went on, "Right. If it's high-end bedding, then of course offline department stores are essential. You should do it with us."
"Hmm..."
As she watched him nod, her smile deepened.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think that'll work."
"What? Why not?"
"We don't have the capacity to go into department stores right now."
Hee-ju thought about that carefully, blinked, and asked, "Is export volume really that high?"
"Just the volume bound for France alone means two full months of work. We don't have enough bedding to supply a department store."
Hee-ju was dumbfounded.
To think that she was only learning now about the company that had been able to draw in Blanc des Vosges's vice president, and that export orders were so heavy they couldn't even spare attention for domestic department store placement?
"You're serious?"
"You didn't know."
"Know what?"
"That Michel Lacroix was rolling around on social media hugging our bedding."
As someone in the department store's merchandise division, she was well-versed in domestic and overseas luxury trends, and she immediately recalled Michel's Instagram video from a while back.
"That was your company's?"
"Yes."
"No... there was no information about the bedding in that..."
Normally, when something was an advertisement, product information was included on Instagram.
But that video had not included any information at all about the bedding.
"Of course not. It wasn't a video meant to advertise to consumers."
"Then who was it for?"
"Distribution channels. It was made for the people in distribution who saw our bedding at Maison & Objet in Paris."
Hearing that, Cha Hee-ju realized that the man sitting beside her was not just some middling small business owner supplying fabric to Hanil Global.
Simply having attended Maison & Objet already gave him more than enough qualification to enter Mirae Department Store.
Which meant using department store placement as some kind of bargaining chip had become awkward.
He could probably get into any department store he wanted without her offering it as a favor anyway.
Knowing that, Seung-hyun shrugged and added, "Still, thank you for the offer of department store placement. I understand that you were trying to make the offer in good faith, Hee-ju. But from our side, it doesn't really have much merit."
"Ah..."
She was taken aback.
It was rare for her to be rejected so firmly.
Especially by someone who wasn't family. She had never once received such a cold refusal from anyone else.
She had money, yes, but she was also beautiful, so everyone was willing to show her kindness.
At work, it was obvious that her position would only keep rising with time, so there had never been some madman trying to teach her by browbeating her into it.
In practical terms, this was her first real setback in society.
After that, the two of them fell silent.
Soon the car arrived in front of Seung-hyun's home.
In the late-night alley, it was quiet and deserted, and Cha Hee-ju, stopped beneath the streetlight glow, took a steadying breath.
"Anyway, President Jeong, I'm really sorry about today. Sending the designated driver away... and making such an unreasonable request..."
"I'm fine. I made it home safely, so it's all right. Thank you. Please ask them to park the car up ahead, and take care on your way in."
Seung-hyun was about to open the door and get out when,
"Wait!"
"...?"
With one foot already outside, Seung-hyun looked back at Hee-ju in the driver's seat, and she finally forced the words out.
"I'm in a bit of a hurry right now. Please help me."
"I'm sorry, but..."
"Do you want something?"
As Seung-hyun tilted his head, she asked again.
"You said you don't need department store placement, but I know a lot of people and I can help you in plenty of other ways. If you're having legal trouble, I can introduce you to the best lawyer around. If taxes become a problem..."
"I don't need it."
"...If there were problems with the Hanil Global contract, I could step in and help smooth things over."
"There are no such problems either."
"Please..."
Seung-hyun frowned, finding the whole thing difficult, and was about to just get out when,
"!!"
He stopped short, and Hee-ju's eyes lit up.
She was clearly thinking of something he wanted.
Slowly turning his head, Seung-hyun pressed his lips together before speaking.
"You said sales were being boosted through midrange brands, right?"
"That's right. But not every branch nationwide is like that."
Seung-hyun nodded and asked casually, "Then... do you take anything besides bedding?"