Usually, when accompanying a superior, a subordinate would handle all the arrangements. But Ju Won was different. He was a CEO who took care of his own preparations and didn’t treat his subordinates like underlings.
“I should have checked in advance, I’m sorry.”
“It’s not a big deal. Did you buy the boarding tickets?”
“Yes. I booked a departure at 2 o’clock and a return on the 6 o’clock ferry. There’s another ferry at 8 o’clock, so if the meeting runs late, we can change it.”
Buying a roundtrip ticket when boarding was purely Ruby’s suggestion. In case there were many tourists and the ferry became fully booked, it was better to book in advance.
That was not enough for Ruby; she had a complete list of the best restaurants in Sinwol Island. When asked how she knew so well about an island that wasn’t even close to Seoul, she evaded the question with a vague response.
“It seems my boyfriend likes traveling. Maybe he has been to Sinwol Island several times,” Hyeju speculated.
“Okay, let’s go,” Juwon said.
He put the tickets in his pocket, and Hyeju followed him closely, doublechecking the boarding time.
“The ferry will depart soon. Due to strong winds, we kindly ask all passengers to go inside the cabin if possible,” the announcement was made onboard.
Not long after the announcement, the ferry departed. Hyeju, who had been enjoying the view from the upper deck, came down to the cabin, combing her messy hair with her fingers.
“Wow, the wind was crazy. I almost flew away while standing on the deck,” she said.
“Don’t worry too much.”
“What do you mean?”
“People with a sturdy lower body have a lower center of gravity, so they don’t easily get knocked over. Don’t you usually have good balance?”
Sigh, why did I start talking?
“Just go and sleep, sir. I’ll be huddled up in that corner over there.”
Hyeju glared at Juwon with a determined look, but he just glanced down and casually handed over some documents.
“Phew, if only he weren’t my boss.”
Hyeju turned her head abruptly. She remembered the lesson that she could receive a punch from Juwon if she let her guard down.
The road was wellpaved, so it wouldn’t be difficult to drive there, but it was clear that it would be inconvenient without a car, considering the distance from the tourist attractions.
After getting in the car driven by Juwon, they arrived at the headquarters, where three men in their late thirties to midforties greeted them.
“You’ve traveled a long way. I’m Lee Geumseok, the director of Taeyang Food.”
“I’m Lee Eunseok.”
“I’m Lee Dongseok. I’m the manager of the production management department.”
Wow, you could feel the strong sense of family just from their names.
As expected, they were the sons of CEO Lee Boseok. The sight of the three brothers standing side by side in their work clothes reminded me of a decalcomania.
With a scruffy face, thick hair, small eyes that turned into slits when he smiled, and thick lips. Even if I hadn’t heard their names, I could easily guess that they were brothers.
“Hello. I’m Kang Juwon from DataS Korea.”
Geumseok, who was examining the business card handed to him along with a neat greeting, looked surprised.
“The CEO came all the way here in person. I contacted you by email before, but I didn’t expect you to come all the way to the countryside. It must have been tiring because it’s so far from Seoul.”
“Not at all. The scenery was so beautiful that I didn’t even realize the time passing.”
“Thank you for saying that. By the way, who’s this?”
Hyeju quickly handed over her business card.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Oh Hyeju, an assistant in the business team at DataS Korea.”
Eunseok pretended to know her.
“Oh! You’re the person who contacted us first!”
“Yes, that’s correct. It’s an honor to meet you.”
Contrary to the tension, the atmosphere was warm and friendly. Although I was worried that the other party, who had commissioned the business, might be strict, these three brothers seemed sincere and approachable.
“Please come this way. Since you’ve come all the way here, you should take a tour of the factory.”
“Thank you for the hospitality.”
“The wind is strong, so it might be difficult to look around everything. Shall we just tour the production line?”
With a smile, Geumseok started walking ahead.
As the largest seaweed manufacturing company in the country, Taeyang Food was enormous in scale. Before coming here, Hyeju had imagined a rundown facility on the verge of collapse, but the reality was different. Crossing the yard for about ten minutes, Hyeju was amazed by the grandeur of the factory they arrived at.
“The factory is huge and clean. I imagined it would be an old building with a long history.”
“Our Taeyang Food has been around for over 40 years. The factory was so outdated, with many machine breakdowns and exhausted employees, that we remodeled it completely last year. My father was so stubborn about not spending money on unnecessary things, so it took a few years to convince him.”
“I see.”
“What about DataS Korea?”
“Our company?”
Hyeju was slightly puzzled by Eunseok’s unexpected question.
“Is the company building clean? Are there bathrooms on every floor?”
The question was so abrupt that Hyeju briefly pondered how to respond before smiling and answering.
“Yes, that’s right. It’s a newly built building located in the heart of Gangnam.”
“Since it’s a newly built building, the facilities must be good.”
“It seems that way.”
“The security must be strict as well. Nonemployees probably can’t enter freely, right?”
“There are two security guards in the lobby, so the security is excellent.”
At that moment, Dongseok abruptly interjected.
“Is there a separate employee cafeteria? Is the food good?”
Wait, why is he curious about this? People might think he’s so eager to work at DataS Korea.
“There is a separate employee cafeteria, and the food is excellent. Everyone is satisfied because the chef is skilled.”
“Are there many overtime hours?”
“What?”
Hyeju felt increasingly strange and hesitated, but Geumseok stopped his younger brothers.
“Both of you, stop it.”
At the eldest brother’s remark, Eunseok and Dongseok’s mouths closed like clams. Geumseok slightly bowed his head towards Juwon, who was looking at him with sharp eyes.
“I apologize. I didn’t mean anything else. It’s just that we haven’t seen a guest from Seoul in a while, so we had many questions. We recently remodeled the factory and reorganized the structure to some extent. We wanted to refer to Seoul companies and see how they are doing.”
“I understand completely.”
“We, who have never left Shinwon Village since birth, unintentionally committed a breach of etiquette. I think we’ve toured the factory enough, so let’s move to the office now.”
Juwon nodded briefly.
“That’s right.”
Hyeju watched the three brothers walking ahead and tilted her head.
“What’s with this atmosphere?”
There was a suspicious vibe in the reaction of the three brothers, although it couldn’t be pinpointed. It felt like they were only concerned about their own interests, rather than the bigger picture.
The strange thing was that there was no mention of this “selfinterest” at DataS Korea.
Juwon gestured with his eyes towards Hyeju, who had fallen behind lost in her thoughts.
“Aren’t you coming?”
“I’m coming now!”
Feeling uneasy, Hyeju quickly picked up her pace.
lu lu lo la ▪️ net (lululola.net)
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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