The War for a Good Night's Sleep, Part 1

One week after word spread that the U.S. Department of Defense had signed a contract with Haesol Textile, the broadcasting world’s attention naturally shifted to Lesser Factory.

A handsome anchor asked the reporter who had earlier covered Haesol Textile’s military supply contract with the U.S. Army.

“I hear the story behind how Haesol Textile ended up making combat uniforms is a rather unusual one?”

“That’s right. Haesol Textile was originally a company that had no intention whatsoever of making combat uniforms. It had been running an SPA brand called Lesser Factory. Then an astonishing coincidence happened. The daughter of a certain lieutenant colonel working at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration gave her father a piece of Lesser Factory clothing as a gift, and when he wore it, he noticed something distinctive about it.”

“Ah, what an incredible coincidence.”

“Indeed. The lieutenant colonel reported it up the chain, then went on to lead the combat-uniform improvement project himself and contacted Haesol Textile to ask them to make the uniforms.”

“That sounds like a story that could be turned into a movie.”

“It really does. When you think about it, it all came down to one fabric technology Haesol Textile possessed...”

It was only natural that people’s attention would turn to Lesser Factory.

Even if the fabric had only been given an added flame-retardant treatment, the fact that it had cleared U.S. military procurement was enough to amount to MIL-SPEC certification in practice, so no one could dispute the quality.

It was cheap, the quality was good, and the designs centered on basic essentials that were far from ugly. Sales surging was only to be expected.

The live comments on the news video were all praise.

For Haesol Textile, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠watching the news should have been nothing but a delight, but unfortunately no one besides Seung-hyun got to see it.

Orders had exploded so much that even office staff were helping with the work.

In fact, Chief Hwang Seok-jae had gone to check the state of the second factory for a moment, only to get caught there and spend nearly an hour hauling products around before fleeing back.

Meanwhile, Seung-hyun did not exactly throw himself into special projects so much as retreat to the executive office and work on a hobby he had once enjoyed: designing clothes with a military feel.

The more he worked at it, the more the atmosphere seemed to come together, and little by little his ambition grew. He even started making a few patterns from scratch.

Clothes that weren’t uniforms, but still carried the coolness of a uniform.

As a reservist, Seung-hyun thought while making them that it didn’t really make sense, and yet his hands never stopped moving.

Then he even began tinkering with the padded winter jacket every man ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who had served in the military absolutely had to keep on hand, and before he knew it, he was grinning to himself.

*

Three days later, Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam.

At the upscale French restaurant La Mer, Seung-hyun sat across from Cha Hee-ju and Han Saet-byeol.

This was the lunch Hee-ju had promised they would share when she was promoted, saying she wanted to treat the two of them sometime.

A bottle of champagne sat on the table, and with the alcohol already rising halfway to his head, Seung-hyun kept a red face and did his best to hold his buzz in check while he spoke.

“That’s really incredible, President Jung. A contract with the U.S. Department of Defense? That sounds like something straight out of a movie!”

Han Saet-byeol, as pretty as a painting, smiled brightly as she said it.

She had been a woman, so the sight made Seung-hyun’s chest stir, but he still tried to restrain himself as much as possible.

His father had always warned him repeatedly to be wary of women who suddenly acted affectionate after a man had succeeded.

If it had been before, he might have looked up to her simply because she was a famous actress and a huge star, but Seung-hyun knew the situation had changed completely now.

If Haesol Textile went public with an IPO right now, how much would it be valued at?

At the very least, probably several hundred billion won.

Seung-hyun was the majority shareholder of such a company now, and with nothing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠more than a 10 percent annual dividend, he had become a wealthy man earning money others could not even imagine. That realization had changed the way he saw the world.

Cha Hee-ju smiled too as she lifted her champagne glass.

“Congratulations, really. I still can’t believe something like that was even possible.”

Seung-hyun smiled awkwardly.

“I just think I got lucky. The technology my father left behind was good, and the U.S. military just happened to need that kind of technology at the right time.”

“Aren’t you being a little too modest? Just luck, you say... but Lesser Factory hit it big, the Okura Hotel bedding line succeeded, and now even U.S. military uniforms? Have you tried buying a lottery ticket?”

The three of them laughed together.

Han Saet-byeol took a sip of wine and asked, “So do you work like that every single day? I heard that when a company suddenly gets big, people bring in professional managers. Don’t you want some personal life too?”

“Haha, I’m not really thinking about professional management yet. It just feels... weird and a little unsettling to hand the company over to someone else.”

As Hee-ju listened to Seung-hyun, she watched him carefully.

She was becoming more and more interested in him.

At first, she had thought of him as nothing more than a business partner, but as time passed, she found herself drawn to his sincerity and passion.

Perhaps that was why she suddenly asked, “What’s your ideal type, Seung-hyun?”

Seung-hyun fell into thought for a moment.

In his mind, a college girlfriend surfaced.

Back then he had had nothing, and in the end she had left him for a man with better prospects.

“Hmm... someone who doesn’t place too much importance on material things. I’d like a partner who’s sincere, someone I can grow with.”

Hee-ju’s expression stiffened just a little at the answer she had not expected.

As the daughter of a chaebol family, it sounded to her as though Seung-hyun had just drawn a quiet line in the sand between them.

Han Saet-byeol caught the subtle current between the two and changed the subject.

“Anyway, your company’s doing so well. You’re not planning to keep changing ad models and all that, right?”

“Haha, of course not. As long as Saet-byeol doesn’t jack up her fee, we’re thinking of keeping this going steadily.”

“Wow, so that’s why your ideal type is someone who doesn’t like material things, huh? Was that a big strategy to lower ad costs? And you’re the one making all the money!”

“That’s not what this is. It’s a company-level issue...”

And just like that, Han Saet-byeol playfully drove Seung-hyun into a corner, and the awkward atmosphere vanished in an instant.

*

A month later, Tokyo, Japan, Okura Hotel.

Okada Sota smiled in satisfaction as he looked at the newly arrived boxes of Haesol Textile’s Solinen Prestige bedding.

All the bedding for 250 rooms had arrived.

With a pleased smile, he shouted to the staff, “Set it up in the rooms right away! And how’s the promotion for the Solinen Sweet Dream package coming along?”

Yuma Shimizu, the marketing manager, nodded.

“The promotional materials are already ready to go on the website and social media. We’ll begin the full campaign tomorrow.”

It had already been approved once, but Okada looked over the package poster again.

Under the line, “Experience ultimate comfort. Okura Hotel’s Solinen Sweet Dream package,” the details were listed.

Since the hotel’s room rates were originally set between 50,000 and 100,000 yen, 68,000 yen was not particularly expensive.

Considering the room condition and the package inclusions, it was actually quite affordable.

That was why Shimizu asked cautiously, “Isn’t that a little too cheap?”

“No! If the goal is to fill every room and keep full bookings, this is actually the better choice.”

Tokyo’s five-star hotel rates were undeniably burdensome when aimed only at tourists.

So in reality, it was common not to manage filling all 500-odd rooms.

Why else would Okada have bothered trying to fill even half the rooms with new bedding?

If business were already going well, there would have been no reason to change anything.

Okada gave his staff firm instructions.

“What we’re offering is not just a stay, but a perfect sleep experience. What modern people lack most is quality sleep. That’s where we strike!”

Of course, even Okada knew his words were somewhat exaggerated.

But marketing always required a little exaggeration, and since he had actually experienced truly restful sleep when he lay down on the bedding himself, he felt no guilt at all.

On the contrary, that experience made him even more confident when giving orders to his staff.

And about a week later, Okada’s prediction proved exactly right.

Reservations flooded in within just two days of the package promotion going live.

In particular, businesspeople suffering from insomnia and office workers in need of real rest took strong interest.

As time passed, customer reviews gradually began appearing on social media.

As those reviews spread through social media, package bookings increased even further.

After a month had passed, Okada received good news.

“Sir, the Solinen Sweet Dream package alone brought in 200 million yen in sales over the past month. That already exceeds the cost of the bedding purchase.”

Okada nearly shouted in triumph, but he maintained the composure of a businessman.

He considered himself a competitor who never lost his cool under any circumstances.

“Just as I expected. Replace all the remaining rooms with Solinen Prestige bedding as well. Put in an additional order to Haesol Textile right now!”

Shimizu asked with a startled expression, “You mean you want to replace every room?”

“Yes! This bedding will become our hotel’s new competitive edge. Besides, if we’ve already recouped the investment in just a month, what better investment could there be? Enough talk. Order it immediately!”

Okada looked out the window and smiled in satisfaction.

His instinct had been right.

Solinen Prestige bedding had breathed new life into the Okura Hotel, and it was only a matter of time before other luxury hotels in Japan took notice.

*

Seoul, Haesol Textile office.

Seung-hyun stared at the additional order form from the Okura Hotel with an expression of disbelief.

It had not even been two full months since they shipped 250 sets of bedding, and now they were already ordering bedding for the rest of the rooms.

This time, the quantity was even larger.

Before, they had ordered only one set per smaller room, but now even the twin rooms and larger rooms were included, bringing the total to well over 300 sets.

“President, if this keeps up, every five-star hotel in Japan will be eyeing our Solinen Prestige bedding!”

“That would be good news. Still, Okura Hotel is very aggressive, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so it was possible there. Japan as a whole tends to be a bit conservative, so even if things change, they probably won’t change that quickly. Anyway, just the volume we’ve already received will take us a while to work through, so let’s focus on that for now.”

“Understood.”

Seung-hyun, who was only making bedding from across the sea, was simply happy about the flood of orders and failed to notice that the mood in Japan was turning in a rather interesting direction.

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