"I'll have a latte. The espresso should be a single origin Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, pulled at precisely 25 seconds, and the oat milk should be fresh and steamed to exactly 60 degrees Celsius with the foam not…" Son Ji-woo wasn't done reading from the crumpled paper when the waiter, unfazed, interrupted politely.
"… exceeding the rim of the cup. We'll have your order ready and packaged up for you."
Son Ji-woo paused. It wasn't surprising that Han Yoo-jin asked her to come to this exact coffee place whenever Kim Seo-yeon asked for coffee or latte. Han Yoo-jin had worked for Kim Seo-yeon long enough, she must already have go-to places like this one.
She relaxed in her chair, subtly inhaling the rich coffee scent that enveloped the room as she waited. The latte appeared instantly, perfectly crafted in its insulated cup. She paid and left. The latte felt like gold in her hands as she walked to Jeongwon Capital. The coffee shop was not very far away. Perhaps because it was a business area, and conglomerate employees were heavy coffee drinkers.
…
Kim Seo-yeon sat calmly at her desk looking at Director Ryu. He was one of the company's senior executives and held a lot of power. He was chiding her on the deal that they had to take.
Kim Seo-yeon was not very approving of this deal. She distrusted Director Ryu and the deal did not seem very promising. In fact the deal carried significant potential losses for the company if the outcome shifted by even one percent. She could not consent to that.
Director Ryu was her father, Chairman Kim's closest friend. Though her father had given her some time now to make choices for the company, he was still very much active. The man was travelling around the world, tasting varying cuisines and living the American dream.
Ever since he'd taken that time off, Director Ryu had begun acting like he'd owned the company. Kim Seo-yeon was the CEO, yes, but Director Ryu had a lot more influence than her because he'd been with the company long enough and he was elderly. He therefore garnered more respect from the board and the employees than she did.
Which was why he felt he could make any deal happen as long as he wanted to. If this were five years back, she may have caved in. She would have. But now, she was older and smarter. She knew how to respectfully deny Director Ryu's demands.
"The media is very important to this company. We need to make sure we are directing our investment efforts into places where there will be massive returns. Everyone believes what the news has to say." Director Ryu said dryly.
"That is in fact, untrue. No one trusts the media anymore and the new generation of people are frankly uninterested in the news." Kim Seo-yeon said, her expression diplomatic.
"There are some predictions and I have faith that the news will become more reliable in the future. Jeongwon Capital needs the media to compensate for any future failures." Director Ryu rebutted. His assistant produced a file of papers from his bag. "We expect thirteen percent returns on this investment." He said in a neutral tone as he carefully pushed the file towards her.
Kim Seo-yeon barely glanced at it. "The company does not run on mere predictions or faith. It runs on facts, data analysis, awareness of market trends and intelligent leadership abilities. I'm uninterested in a deal that will cut down our current workforce. We want to provide as many jobs as possible for the citizens of our country. And as long as I remain CEO of Jeongwon Capital, we will not experience any failures." She concluded.
"It's an investment company. We do run on predictions and take risks." Director Ryu said attempting to sound unfazed.
"Thirteen percent returns is not enough for this deal to be considered." Kim Seo-yeon said firmly.
The assistant trying to ease the strained atmosphere, said: "Ms. Kim, the returns are not the only things to consider here. If we build a stronger connection with the news media, we can navigate the market more easily. We would not have anything to worry about."
"We already have a strong connection with the media. There's no strengthening needed, unless Director Ryu intends something that would not be good for the company's image." Kim Seo-yeon said as the corner of her mouth lifted in a smirk of mockery. There was no other reason for Director Ryu insisting on throwing company money into silencing journalists, she mused. He must be in a deep mess and needed the company's finances to avoid taking the rap for it.
Director Ryu's teeth ground as he grew agitated. "Seo-yeon, I am your uncle. I know what's best for the company. I was in the business when you were still in diapers! I call the shots here, you're just the CEO because Daddy put you there. Do you really think you have capabilities?"
"This attempt to slander me is pathetic."
Son Ji-woo walked in that moment, breaking the tension in the air. She placed the coffee on Kim Seo-yeon's coaster.
Kim Seo-yeon grabbed the latte and nodded Son Ji-woo off. She brought the cup to her lips and sipped slowly. The usual taste of the coffee bringing her some comfort in her very uncomfortable situation.
Kim Seo-yeon's phone, resting on the mahogany conference table, vibrated, its shrill ringtone cutting through Director Ryu's voice. Her manicured finger swept across the screen. 'Mother', her screen read. She took the call.
"Seo-yeon, Noh Haram told me you cancelled last night's reservation. Why?"
"Ah, Umma. I've been very busy lately. My assistant went on leave last night, so I couldn't make it."
"You're a 23-year-old woman, Seo-yeon. You're not getting any younger. You need to meet someone. The ladies at the club were gossiping about your age last night. And there's a rumor you're seeing a 20-year-old boy…"
"Mother, I'll meet him tonight," Kim Seo-yeon cut in sharply. The mention of the 'younger man' rumor was a familiar goad, and she knew her mother wouldn't have called just for that. This was about the blind date being moved.
"Good. Good to know. You're a pretty girl, Seo-yeon. You deserve a good husband," Kim Ye-sol said, her voice softening slightly before ending the call.
Kim Seo-yeon sighed deeply, the phone still warm in her hand. Her mother was relentless. Did the woman truly believe she hadn't considered marriage? At 23, she felt incredibly young, still driven by her work—the growth of the company, the future of sustainability in healthcare. This was where her passion lay, far more than in finding a husband. She'd studied Medicine and Surgery, but her fascination with economics was why she was CEO today. Now, it was her company she was building, her vision for the future.
And then, uncalled for, her mother's voice echoed in her mind, not in the crisp tone of their recent call, but softened by time. "When your father and I first returned to Korea," Kim Ye-sol had once confided, her eyes distant, "it wasn't the fairytale they wrote in the papers."
The Kim family, established and old money, had built their fortune on generations of investments. After the Second World War, Kim Mu , a descendant of a once-prominent land rich family from the Joseon era, had immediately entered the investment business, though small and insignificant at that time. He'd managed to make a lot of money and start making a family. The result of that was the Kim family who joined other families and citizens to build the country of Korea that had been wrecked and dismantled by the Second World War. They were pillars of society, their lineage untainted by scandal or hardship, at least in the public eye. But Kim Ye-sol carried a past that, to the elite, was a blight.
Her mother, Kim Ye-sol, formerly Koo Ye-sol, was born in Japan. She was a descendant of a Korean comfort woman. When she grew into a budding young woman, she travelled to America, where she met her father Kim Jae-jun and converted to Christianity. They fell in love and she went back to Korea with him where they got married. Her past was the scandal that the large Kim family was unwilling to entertain.
"They called me the 'outsider bride,' the 'foreign flower', the 'o-jeom'." her mother had recounted, a faint, bitter edge in her usually smooth voice. "It was all just gossip at first – baseless rumors, then direct confrontation. My background wasn't clean enough for the pure Korean bloodline of the Kims. They scrutinised everything – my accent, my dressing, my educational background. Every public appearance was a performance, every social gathering a statement. Your father, God bless him, tried to shield me, but even his influence couldn't silence the ajummas."
Her desire for an epic love story, fueled by her faith, was why she'd wanted Kim Seo-yeon to get married ever since she turned 23. She usually said that she met the love of her life at 23 and got married to him that same year. She wanted the same for Kim Seo-yeon.
"The company, Jeongwon Capital, became our shield, Seo-yeon," Kim Ye-sol had explained. "Your father poured his life into it, and I… I polished our image, piece by piece. Every new acquisition, every successful venture, every public act of philanthropy was another brick in the wall we built against their judgment. We had to be more successful, more exemplary, more Korean than them all. It wasn't enough to be good; we had to be beyond reproach. Your father's position, your achievements, our family's perfection – that is our legacy. That is the only way to bury the whispers, to ensure your children, and their children, never feel the shame or the scrutiny I did."
The weight of that claim settled heavily on Kim Seo-yeon. It wasn't just about financial prosperity; it was about reputation, about cleansing a perceived stain on the family name through public success. And now, at 23, Kim Seo-yeon was the next link, expected to find a partner who amplified that image, not one who sparked rumors of impropriety or—God forbid—weakened the carefully constructed 'propaganda' of the Kim family.
Of course, her mother was no wishy-washy woman who thought the only purpose of a woman was to get married. She'd pushed for Kim Seo-yeon to study Medicine and had constantly insisted that her daughter had to have a top position in Jeongwon Capital if she was to work there. She refused to be the parent that'd tell her child to begin as an intern and work her way to the top. She agreed it was a good virtue, but the company belonged to her husband. When Kim Seo-yeon first started working at the company, she'd started as the head of the marketing and sales department. Her father insisted.
All her mother wanted was to continue a chain that had begun from her. She therefore routinely insisted that Kim Seo-yeon get married or at least start seeing someone.
Kim Seo-yeon was not very interested in meticulously maintaining a public image, nor was she very experienced at self-publicity. But she would never put herself or her family to shame. So, to her, her mother's idea of what a 'good image' entailed felt overwhelming. She would never date someone younger than her, that was a fact. But she didn't exactly see herself as a woman whose sole focus was dating someone.
The issue here was had she thought about having a boyfriend? Indeed, she had. She'd met plenty of people while she was in university. But her passion for what she did easily made her not take romantic relationships seriously.
The man her mother set her up with was Kang Eun-ho. He in his late 20s and was a second generation heir. 'Not exactly my type.' she thought. Not that she had a type. He had impressive accomplishments, on paper though. Kim Seo-yeon agreed there was nothing wrong in meeting him. She was just unwilling because of the perverse rumors she'd heard about him.
She tapped her fingers on her desk as she regained focus.
"Director Ryu, I don't have time for this. We're nearly at the end of the fiscal year. This investment cannot and will not be made." She said with finality and opened her laptop.
Son Ji-woo who was at a corner in the room trying to merge with the wall from the tension quickly walked to Director Ryu and signalled for him.
"This way, Director." She said politely.
She knew Director Ryu. She knew all the executives at Jeongwon Capital. Her research was not a drop in the ocean.
Director Ryu barely looked at her before gruffly leaving the office with his assistant.