Chapter 58
The Man Behind the Name
The conference room on the thirty-second floor of Jun Chao Group was everything Jinyoung had expected from a company of its reputation.
Glass walls.
A long black table.
A breathtaking view of Hong Kong stretching beyond the windows.
Everything looked expensive without trying too hard.
Jinyoung adjusted his suit as he entered.
He had spent the entire morning preparing for this meeting.
He had gone through the proposal repeatedly.
He knew the numbers.
He knew the weaknesses.
He knew exactly what he wanted from Jun Chao Group.
More importantly, he knew he couldn't afford another rejection.
His company needed this investment.
Wolim Group needed it.
He walked toward the conference table and sat down.
A few minutes later, the door opened.
Jinyoung looked up.
And froze.
For several seconds, neither man spoke.
Seojun walked into the room holding a thin folder.
His expression was professional.
Composed.
Almost unreadable.
Jinyoung's face changed.
It was as if someone had pulled the floor from beneath him.
"No."
The word escaped before he could stop it.
Seojun closed the door behind him.
"Good morning, Mr. Jinyoung."
Jinyoung stared at him.
"You?"
Seojun walked to the opposite side of the table and placed the folder down.
"Yes."
Jinyoung's eyes narrowed.
"You are the person I'm meeting?"
"That's correct."
He slowly sat down.
Jinyoung leaned back.
Then he gave a short, disbelieving laugh.
"Are you really the CEO of this company?"
Seojun raised one eyebrow.
Jinyoung's voice became sharper.
"You think I'm dumb enough not to look up this company before coming here? I know who owns Jun Chao Group. I saw Chairman Park's name."
Seojun's lips lifted into the smallest smirk.
"Park Soejun."
Jinyoung stared at him.
"Chairman Park is my father."
The room seemed to change instantly.
Jinyoung's fingers tightened around the cup of coffee in front of him.
His face went pale.
Not only was he shocked.
He was ashamed.
He had walked into this room believing he was meeting some distant executive.
He had expected to negotiate from a position of desperation, yes, but at least he had imagined he could maintain some dignity.
Instead, the man sitting across from him was Seojun.
The man he had confronted outside Kyrah's apartment.
The man he had accused of taking his place.
The man he had told to stay away from Kyrah.
And now that same man was sitting across from him with the future of Wolim Group sitting inside a folder.
Jinyoung looked away.
Seojun noticed.
But he said nothing.
Instead, he opened the proposal.
"Let's begin."
Jinyoung swallowed.
Seojun turned the first page.
"I've reviewed the proposal."
Jinyoung straightened.
"And?"
"There are problems."
Jinyoung's expression hardened.
"What kind of problems?"
"Several."
Seojun turned another page.
"Your current debt-to-equity ratio is concerning."
He continued without hesitation.
"Your recent stock decline makes the company a higher-risk investment than your proposal suggests."
Jinyoung said nothing.
"Your projected growth relies heavily on market recovery without providing sufficient evidence that your current management structure can support that recovery."
Jinyoung leaned forward.
"Those projections are based on—"
"I've seen the projections."
Seojun looked up.
"I've also seen the numbers beneath them."
Jinyoung stopped.
Seojun continued.
"Your company has strong assets. It has an established name. It has market recognition. But none of those things change the fact that the company is currently unstable."
Jinyoung's jaw tightened.
"That's why I'm seeking investment."
"I understand."
"Then you understand the opportunity."
"I understand the need."
Seojun closed the folder.
"But I'm not convinced about the opportunity."
The room fell into a tense silence.
Jinyoung leaned back.
"So you called me here just to tell me my company isn't worth investing in?"
"No."
Seojun looked directly at him.
"I called you here because I'm willing to listen."
"Why?"
Seojun's expression didn't change.
"Because this is business."
Jinyoung almost laughed.
"Business."
"Yes."
"Not because you want to prove something to me?"
"No."
"Not because you're enjoying watching me come to you for help?"
Seojun paused.
"I don't need to enjoy your situation."
His voice remained calm.
"Your company's problems existed before you walked into this room."
Jinyoung's eyes narrowed.
"You really think you're above all this."
"No."
Seojun leaned back slightly.
"I simply don't need to turn a business meeting into a personal argument."
Jinyoung stared at him.
There it was again.
That composure.
That infuriating maturity.
Seojun wasn't insulting him.
He wasn't gloating.
He wasn't reminding him that Kyrah had chosen him.
And somehow that made Jinyoung feel even smaller.
Seojun tapped the proposal with his finger.
"Let's make this simple."
He leaned forward.
"Give me two solid reasons why Jun Chao Group should invest in Wolim Group."
Jinyoung immediately opened his mouth.
Seojun raised one hand.
"Two."
Jinyoung stopped.
"And leave Kyrah out of it."
His eyes sharpened.
"I am asking you as a businessman."
A beat passed.
"Why should I put Jun Chao Group's money into your company?"
Jinyoung stared at him.
"Because Wolim Group has potential."
"That's one."
"We have an established customer base."
"That's an asset. Not a reason."
Jinyoung's jaw tightened.
Seojun waited.
Jinyoung glanced at the documents.
"We have international expansion opportunities."
"Where?"
"Asia."
"That's vague."
"We're currently exploring Hong Kong."
Seojun's mouth twitched slightly.
"You came to Hong Kong looking for money."
Jinyoung's face tightened.
"I came here looking for strategic partnership."
"Then show me the strategy."
Jinyoung leaned forward.
For the first time since entering the room, the businessman in him began to fight back against the wounded man.
He began explaining.
Market penetration.
Existing contracts.
Expansion opportunities.
Operational restructuring.
Potential partnerships.
He spoke with confidence.
Seojun listened.
He asked questions.
Difficult ones.
Questions about debt.
Questions about management.
Questions about why the board had become concerned.
Questions about how Wolim Group would recover.
Jinyoung answered each one.
Some confidently.
Some reluctantly.
A few times, Seojun caught inconsistencies.
"Your proposal says your operational costs can be reduced by eighteen percent."
"Yes."
"How?"
Jinyoung explained.
Seojun shook his head.
"That doesn't account for severance and restructuring costs."
"We can absorb those."
"With what money?"
Jinyoung stopped.
Seojun looked at him.
"Exactly."
Jinyoung's pride began burning.
He hated this.
Hated sitting there.
Hated needing this man.
Hated knowing that Seojun was seeing every weakness in his company.
But most of all, he hated knowing that Seojun knew exactly who he was.
And yet Seojun was behaving as though Kyrah had never been mentioned.
As though there wasn't a personal war between them.
That restraint felt like dominance.
Jinyoung finally leaned back.
"You're enjoying this."
Seojun looked at him.
"No."
"Then why do you look so calm?"
"Because I'm at work."
Jinyoung gave a bitter laugh.
"You really are something."
Seojun closed the folder.
"I'll be direct."
Jinyoung waited.
"I don't see enough reason for Jun Chao Group to invest at this stage."
Jinyoung's face hardened.
"You're rejecting me."
"I'm saying the proposal hasn't convinced me."
"What's the difference?"
"The difference is that I'm giving you an opportunity to convince me."
Jinyoung stared at him.
Seojun stood.
"The proposal needs restructuring. Your financial projections need more evidence. Your recovery strategy needs to be realistic."
Jinyoung pushed his chair back.
"And if I do that?"
"Then we'll review it."
"You'll invest?"
"I didn't say that."
Jinyoung laughed bitterly.
"Of course."
He grabbed his folder.
"I'm wasting my time."
Seojun didn't stop him.
Jinyoung walked toward the door.
His hand reached for the handle.
Then he turned around.
"You're taking everything from me."
Seojun looked at him.
"I haven't taken anything from you."
"First Kyrah."
Seojun's face remained calm.
"She isn't something that can be taken."
Jinyoung's eyes burned.
"Don't."
"You left her."
Jinyoung's breathing became heavier.
"You don't get to stand there and lecture me."
"I'm not lecturing you."
"Then what are you doing?"
Seojun looked at him for a long moment.
"Trying to decide whether your company is worth saving."
Jinyoung's pride shattered.
He opened the door.
"I don't need your pity."
Seojun answered calmly.
"Good."
Jinyoung left.
The door closed behind him.
Seojun remained standing.
He looked at the proposal on the table.
For a moment, his expression changed.
Not because he felt victorious.
He didn't.
He knew exactly what Jinyoung was going through.
But he also knew that emotions couldn't determine a business decision.
If Wolim Group wanted Jun Chao Group's investment, Jinyoung would have to prove that the company deserved it.
Seojun picked up his phone.
He called his father.
"Father."
Chairman Park answered.
"How did the meeting go?"
Seojun looked toward the closed door.
"Complicated."
His father chuckled.
"Business usually is."
Seojun glanced at the proposal.
"I'll review the revised documents if he sends them."
"And the investment?"
"I haven't decided."
"Good."
Seojun smiled faintly.
His father trusted him.
That trust was exactly why he had been given control over the company's internal affairs, including major investment decisions.
"Keep me informed," Chairman Park said.
"I will."
The call ended.
Seojun looked out through the glass wall.
Somewhere in the same city, Jinyoung was probably trying to decide what to do next.
Seojun already knew.
The question was whether Jinyoung did.
Because for the first time in his life, the man who had always believed he could control the outcome was standing on the other side of someone else's decision.
And this time, that decision belonged to Seojun.
---
:::writing{variant="document" id="90327" title="Chapter 59 — The Call"}
Chapter 59
The Call
Jinyoung didn't return to his hotel.
He couldn't.
The moment he stepped out of Jun Chao Group, the humiliation followed him.
He could still hear Seojun's voice.
Give me two solid reasons why Jun Chao Group should invest in Wolim Group.
His hands tightened around the steering wheel.
He had gone into that building expecting to negotiate.
Instead, he had sat across from the man he had spent the previous day accusing of stealing his future.
And now that same man held the key to saving his company.
"Unbelievable."
Jinyoung drove without a destination.
Eventually, he stopped outside a bar.
He walked inside.
"Whiskey."
The bartender placed the glass in front of him.
Jinyoung drank it quickly.
Then ordered another.
And another.
He didn't count.
He didn't care.
---
Across the city, Kyrah sat on her sofa with her feet slightly elevated.
Her phone was in her hand.
She had been scrolling through news articles when she found herself distracted by something entirely different.
Baby reels.
Tiny shoes.
Nursery ideas.
Little boys laughing.
She smiled at one video of a baby trying to crawl toward his mother.
"Peppa," she whispered.
Her hand instinctively rested on her stomach.
She was becoming obsessed with baby content.
Everything seemed to remind her of him.
She had just started another video when her phone rang.
Linda.
Kyrah answered.
"Hello?"
Linda's voice came immediately.
"Have you heard, Kyrah?"
Kyrah frowned.
"Heard what?"
"Jinyoung's company is failing."
Kyrah sat up slightly.
"I heard about his company having problems."
"No. Not that."
"Then what?"
"His stocks are falling."
Kyrah's expression changed.
Linda continued.
"He's apparently looking for investors everywhere. Korea, Hong Kong, everywhere."
Kyrah sighed.
"He's still in Hong Kong, right?"
"Yes."
Kyrah looked toward the window.
"Yes. He's still here."
"Have you spoken to him?"
Kyrah's expression immediately hardened.
"You know I haven't."
"I know."
"And I won't."
"I'm not asking you to."
"Then why are we talking about him?"
Linda sighed.
"I just thought you should know what's happening."
Kyrah leaned back.
"I don't need to know."
"I know."
"I don't want him in my life."
"I know that too."
Kyrah swallowed.
"He abandoned me, Linda."
Her voice became softer.
"He told me he wanted nothing to do with me."
"I know."
"How am I supposed to forget that overnight?"
"You aren't."
"It happened."
She looked down at her stomach.
"Those were my feelings. My real feelings. I loved him. I trusted him. And he made me feel like I was a mistake he wanted to get rid of."
Linda didn't interrupt.
Kyrah took a breath.
"I can't just pretend none of that happened because he's suddenly sorry."
"I know."
A pause.
"I don't want him in my life."
Linda's voice softened.
"I know. And I respect that."
Kyrah nodded even though Linda couldn't see her.
"Fine. I know now."
"Okay."
"It's not going to change anything."
"I didn't think it would."
Kyrah sighed.
There was a pause.
Then Linda's voice suddenly became playful.
"So..."
Kyrah frowned.
"So what?"
"How's my girl doing?"
"I'm fine."
"No, no. I mean my mommy."
Kyrah laughed.
"Linda."
"My pregnant best friend. How are you doing?"
"I'm coping."
"And how's everything with Seojun?"
Kyrah immediately became defensive.
"What with Seojun?"
Linda laughed.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about."
"There's nothing to talk about."
"Really?"
"He's just there."
"Just there?"
"Yes."
"Kyrah."
"He's there for me and Peppa. That's all."
Linda laughed again.
"You're hopeless."
"There's nothing going on."
"Okay."
"Linda."
"I'm not saying anything."
"Good."
"I'll talk to you later."
"Why?"
"I have to work overtime."
Kyrah smiled.
"Don't overwork yourself."
"I won't."
"And Linda?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
Linda's voice softened.
"Always."
The call ended.
Kyrah smiled at her phone.
Then her phone rang again.
She frowned.
Unknown number.
She hesitated before answering.
"Hello?"
"Hello. Is this Ms. Kyrah?"
"Yes. Who is this?"
"This is Platinum Bar."
Kyrah sat upright.
"Platinum Bar?"
"Yes. There's a gentleman here who is heavily intoxicated."
Her eyebrows pulled together.
"We asked him to provide the number of someone who could come and pick him up."
Kyrah's heart sank.
"Who?"
The bartender gave her the name.
Jinyoung.
Kyrah closed her eyes.
Of course.
Of course it was him.
"Is he conscious?"
"Not really. He's been drinking quite heavily."
Kyrah looked at the time.
She could simply tell them to call a taxi.
She could tell them she wasn't coming.
She could let him deal with the consequences of his own choices.
Part of her wanted to.
But another part of her couldn't leave someone unconscious in a bar.
She didn't love him anymore.
She didn't want him back.
She didn't even want him in her life.
But she didn't hate him either.
She had let go of that anger.
She wanted to be happy.
And being happy didn't require her to wish misery on him.
Kyrah sighed.
"Send me the address."
---
When Kyrah arrived at Platinum Bar, she immediately spotted him.
Jinyoung was slumped over the table.
There were bottles everywhere.
Too many to count.
His jacket was thrown over the back of the chair, his shirt was partially untucked, and the smell of alcohol reached her before she even got close.
Kyrah stopped.
She stared at him.
This wasn't the Jinyoung she remembered.
This was a man falling apart.
She walked closer.
"Jinyoung."
No response.
She touched his shoulder.
"Jinyoung."
He moved slightly.
"Jinyoung, wake up."
His eyes slowly opened.
He stared at her through blurred eyes.
Then his expression changed.
"Kyrah?"
"Yes."
A weak smile appeared.
"You're here."
"I'm here because the bar called me."
He tried to sit up.
Kyrah immediately stepped back.
"Don't."
A male staff member came over to help.
Kyrah looked at him.
"Can you help me get him outside?"
"Of course."
Between the two of them, they managed to get Jinyoung outside.
A taxi was waiting.
Kyrah opened the back door.
"The driver will take you to your hotel."
Jinyoung stared at her.
"Hotel?"
"Yes."
"Which one?"
Kyrah sighed.
"Jinyoung, just tell the driver where you're staying."
He mumbled something.
"What?"
He looked at her.
"Jun Chao Group."
Kyrah frowned.
"What?"
"Jun Chao Group."
She stared at him.
"That's not a hotel."
Jinyoung leaned against the taxi.
"My company..."
Kyrah's expression changed.
"What about your company?"
He laughed bitterly.
"That cocky, egotistical..."
Kyrah's heart skipped.
"Who?"
"Seojun."
She froze.
Jinyoung continued drunkenly.
"I won't let him take everything from me."
Kyrah stared at him.
Her mind began connecting the pieces.
Jun Chao Group.
Investment.
Seojun.
Jinyoung.
Her eyes widened.
"Jinyoung..."
He barely heard her.
"First Kyrah..."
He frowned.
"No."
He shook his head.
"I won't let him take her either."
Kyrah stood completely still.
The realization hit her.
Jinyoung had gone to Jun Chao Group.
He had gone to Seojun.
The man he was calling arrogant and egotistical.
The man he believed was taking everything from him.
The same man who had been quietly helping her prepare for Peppa.
Kyrah looked at Jinyoung.
For the first time, she saw just how far things had fallen.
This prideful man who had once walked away from her because he believed he had a future to protect was now drunk in the back of a taxi, his company collapsing, his marriage gone, and his pride hanging by a thread.
And somehow, even after everything, Kyrah didn't feel satisfied.
She only felt sad.
Not because she wanted him back.
But because she finally understood something.
Jinyoung wasn't just losing his company.
He was losing control of the life he had once believed he could command.
And Seojun was now standing directly between him and the one thing he desperately needed.
Kyrah looked at him for a long moment.
Then she closed the taxi door.
"Take him to his hotel," she told the driver.
She stepped away.
The taxi pulled into the street.
Kyrah remained standing there.
Her hand slowly moved to her stomach.
"Peppa..."
She knew one thing.
Whatever storm was coming next, she didn't want to be pulled back into the past.
She wanted to keep moving forward.