Patience may be a virtue, but it was never a trait that belonged to Amanda Murdoch.
Ordinary people could afford to wait; she was not ordinary.
Which was why, after two exhausting weeks of fruitless back-and-forth between Jihoon's team and the Murdoch family lawyers, Amanda herself decided to step in.
The slow pace irritated her, gnawed at her pride. This was the first time her will—or rather, her family's will—was being bent in ways she had not planned.
So she marched into Jihoon's office, determined to cut through the endless legal jargon and negotiate face-to-face. Little did she realize, this was exactly the trap Jihoon had laid for her.
JH Pictures Meeting Room.
The air carried the faint hum of the city beyond the glass walls, but inside, the silence was thick.
After the briefest exchange of pleasantries, Amanda who prided herself on never wasting words, is already on the straight to the point.
A woman of her stature didn't bother with excessive niceties.
A nod, a handshake, a polished smile were more than enough to demonstrate civility before getting down to business.
Her request was simple, at least on the surface: a direct trade.
Her daughter Mara's Netflix shares in exchange for Jihoon's original JH Pictures shares.
But Jihoon didn't even let her finish before dismissing it outright.
Amanda's composure cracked. Her eyes narrowed.
"What? You're not planning on selling your JH shares?"
Her voice sharpened with disbelief. "Then why agree to this meeting?"
For the first time in years, fury flickered openly across her face.
Few had ever dared to play her so brazenly.
Mara, seated beside her, wore the same wide-eyed innocence she always carried—whether it was genuine confusion or just another mask remained impossible to tell.
Jihoon leaned back in his chair, his tone calm, deliberate, even patronizing in its clarity.
"Technology service companies like Netflix take years before turning a real profit. With the shares I already hold, I'm in no rush."
"JH, on the other hand, is a goose that lays golden eggs."
"Selling off my original stake for a growth company still finding its footing?"
"That doesn't sound like a wise trade, does it, Amanda? You're a businesswoman yourself. You can do the math. Why should I give up guaranteed profit for speculation?"
His words hung in the air like smoke.
Amanda studied him, her gaze sharp enough to cut glass.
She had seen this tactic before: the rejection, the casual reasoning, the subtle condescension.
It wasn't about the trade. It was about leverage.
This young man wanted her unsettled, off-balance, desperate enough to sweeten her offer.
Recognizing the play, she steadied herself. Slowly, her expression softened back into poise, her voice regaining its cool elegance.
"You're right. JH is profitable now. But that's only for the moment. You and I both know Netflix's future is brighter."
"You wouldn't be here wasting your time if you didn't see the same potential. That's why you bought in, isn't it? You know as well as I do what Netflix could become."
Jihoon gave a small nod, unsurprised by her counter. Negotiation was just like a chessboard play; any experienced player could spot the moves.
"True," he admitted, "Netflix has potential."
"But with the shares I already hold, that potential is more than enough. I don't need to own it all. And honestly, Amanda…"—he shrugged lightly, as though the matter barely concerned him.
"I'm not the greedy kind of person. You can hold on to your shares and enjoy the rewards when they come. There's room at the table for everyone."
He said it with the same indifference one might use when refusing dessert, and that was what made it sting.
Because Amanda could see now: he wasn't bluffing. He truly didn't care about monopolizing Netflix. That was the difference.
From the very beginning, Jihoon had never intended to eat the feast alone.
He had invited Wall Street firms to join the procurement precisely because he knew the rules of the industry.
In Hollywood and Silicon Valley alike, a single man hoarding the table would always be punished.
But a buffet-style spread—everyone eating together—that was the path to longevity.
And Amanda, for the first time in years, realized she wasn't negotiating with a reckless upstart.
She was sitting across from someone who knew how to bend the rules without ever breaking them.
The longer she studied Jihoon, the more her irritation gave way to a begrudging respect. This young man wasn't reckless—he was calculated. And that made him dangerous.
Finally, Amanda leaned forward, abandoning the pretense of circling the issue.
"Alright, Lee," she said with a measured tone, her eyes narrowing.
"I know what you're up to. So let's skip the dance. Tell me what you want to make this happen."
Jihoon wasn't surprised by her directness, though he wasn't about to give her the satisfaction of an easy answer.
Instead, he put on a little show, furrowing his brow as if deep in thought. To anyone watching closely, it looked like he was genuinely struggling to decide.
If there had been a jury from the Academy in the room, they might have handed him an Oscar on the spot—long before DiCaprio ever got his.
After drawing out the silence just long enough, Jihoon sighed dramatically and finally spoke.
"Sigh… alright, Amanda. If you really want to make this happen…" He paused again, letting the words hang in the air, almost teasing her patience.
Amanda rolled her eyes, clearly disgusted by his drawn-out performance.
But before she could interrupt, Jihoon continued, calm and deliberate.
"I'm willing to trade 8% of JH Pictures' shares for your 5% stake in Netflix. But—" He raised a finger, cutting the air.
"—there's a condition. You'll need to add cash to balance the deal. At this point in time, Netflix's valuation sits around $15 per share, which places your stake at about $50 million."
"Meanwhile, 8% of JH Pictures is already worth roughly $400 million at market value. So to make this fair, you'll have to make up the difference."
Amanda's jaw tightened, and her voice rose in outrage. "WHAT!? Are you taking me for a fool?"
She snatched up the calculator on the desk, her fingers flying over the keys.
Numbers lit up on the display, and within seconds, she slammed it down.
"You're valuing JH at nearly five billion dollars!" she snapped. "Do you even know how to calculate?"
Jihoon remained unshaken, watching her temper burn itself out.
When she finally sat back down, still fuming, he spoke again in a calm, almost patient tone.
"Amanda, I'm not joking. This is the valuation we have. You don't need to take my word for it—ask your lawyer. We've already provided your team with our Q1 financial reports."
Amanda turned to her lawyer, who had been sitting quietly by her side. The man gave a reluctant nod.
Her eyes flicked back to Jihoon, disbelief etched across her face.
Without missing a beat, Jihoon gestured to the stack of documents prepared in advance. "Here. You can read it yourself."
Amanda took the file, her manicured nails tapping against the folder as she opened it.
Jihoon's voice carried on, steady and confident.
"This is JH's Q1 report."
"Our first film, Get Out, has already completed its theatrical run. Our second film is still in cycle, and the numbers are tracking well above target. Combined, our Q1 profit stands at roughly $155 million."
He paused, letting the figure sink in, then continued.
"With just these two films, our conservative projection for the year is around $310 million in net profit."
"And that's just our conservative projection. Realistically, we expect far more."
Amanda raised a brow, but Jihoon didn't falter.
"Because, as you know, we still have two major projects in hand."
"First, Buried."
"Our Cannes-nominated film set within the HCU."
"Given the previous success of the HCU series, we're confident it will deliver strong results. And if the film wins an award at Cannes, the additional rights sales alone will bring in substantial profit."
He leaned forward, his voice gaining weight.
"And second—our most ambitious project yet."
"Inception."
"A $160 million production, featuring some of the biggest names in Hollywood."
"It's entering its final stages and slated for release this summer. Based on projections, the global box office gross is expected to land somewhere between $700 and $900 million."
Jihoon spread his hands slightly, his tone calm but his words carrying the force of inevitability.
"So, Amanda, with the data in front of you, with the trajectory we're on—it's not an exaggeration to say JH Pictures will be valued at around five billion by the end of the year."
His last words hung heavy in the air. The meeting room fell silent. Both Amanda and her daugther Mara was disbelief by the projection.