Chapter 41: The Visit

“Make sure you eat the porridge before going to work.”

“…….”

Just from the handwriting, it was obvious that Seunghyuk wrote it.

Hyunwoo stared down at the note, then quietly placed it back on the table.

He must have been busy getting ready for school, yet he still made porridge.

That kind of effort wouldn’t be possible without genuine care.

He must have woken up at dawn to do this.

Instead of being touched, Hyunwoo felt uneasy first.

There were only a few people toward whom Seunghyuk would go out of his way to be kind.

His main partner Hyunjin, and maybe a few close friends at most.

Hyunwoo had never been one of them, so this only left him confused.

“Hmm….”

Or did he have some ulterior motive?

Seunghyuk was fundamentally a rational person, so maybe he expected something in return.

But what could Seunghyuk possibly want from him?

He couldn’t even imagine.

A request to help him get into Munseong?

But with Seunghyuk’s credentials, most major top-tier companies in the country would practically give him a free pass.

Even Hyunwoo himself, knowing Seunghyuk’s value, would want to cling to him if he could.

And Seunghyuk had to know that about himself too.

So a request for help didn’t make sense.

Maybe he was just overthinking things over a bowl of porridge.

Hyunwoo let out a short laugh and sat down.

“Well… I have some time anyway.”

And besides, the only one in this house who would eat porridge was him, still suffering from a hangover.

If he didn’t eat it, it would just be thrown away, and that would be wasteful.

With that neat bit of self-justification, Hyunwoo began eating the porridge Seunghyuk made.

The savory and mild flavor slowly filled his empty stomach.

The nausea from the hangover gradually eased.

“…I… ate well.”

Hyunwoo murmured awkwardly as he set down his spoon, having emptied the earthen bowl completely.

Talking to himself in an empty house felt strangely embarrassing.

But maybe because it was so delicious, he felt compelled to say thank you, even if no one was there.

Hyunwoo stared at the empty bowl, not a grain of rice left, and let out a quiet breath before getting up.

“Team Leader Kim from Haesong is here?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Hm….”

Haesong had already decided to partner with L&S.

Judging by how they hadn’t replied by the deadline, it was obvious.

Yet now the team leader who was in charge of the previous project had come saying he had something to say.

Hyunwoo couldn’t easily guess his intention.

“Let’s meet him first.”

“I’ve prepared a meeting room.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Hyunwoo and Junho headed to the meeting room where Haesong’s team leader was waiting.

It was still early, so there weren’t many employees in yet.

But to think he had come this early just to wait….

Hyunwoo tilted his head slightly and opened the door.

“It’s been a while, Team Leader Kim.”

“Ah, Director!”

The man sitting inside with a tense expression shot up the moment he saw Hyunwoo.

Team Leader Kim Jongtae of Haesong.

Talented enough to be appointed team leader of a major project at a young age.

He could have gotten into Munseong even as a Beta, since the company wasn’t obsessed with Alpha-only hiring.

But whether it was lack of confidence or something else, he never tried.

Even now, his posture shrank in front of Hyunwoo, as if intimidated.

Before returning to the past, Hyunwoo hadn’t seen him in a long time since they didn’t cross paths later at work.

He was tall but slender, with slightly hunched shoulders.

If he just trimmed his shaggy hair and ironed his suit, he’d look much better.

Hyunwoo quickly assessed him, then spoke with a polite business-like smile.

“What brings you here so early?”

At that, Team Leader Kim visibly panicked.

“Ah, I-I’m sorry! I must have come too early… I just really wanted to speak with you before work began… I heard you tend to come in early, so I thought….”

“…….”

He was rambling because he was nervous.

Hyunwoo felt the need to cut him off gently.

“It’s alright. Please just tell me what brings you here.”

“Ah… yes….”

Kim took a short, shaky breath.

Hyunwoo waited patiently.

For someone like him, pushing would only make things worse.

After a moment, Kim spoke again.

“…First, I wanted to apologize.”

“Apologize?”

“Yes… You requested cooperation for the next project, but we never gave you a reply….”

“Ah, that.”

They used the word ‘partner company’ now, but Haesong was essentially an outsourced contractor handling work Munseong didn’t want to do directly.

Even if they switched to L&S, ignoring communication was still unethical.

Hyunwoo hadn’t expected anyone from Haesong to care about that, though.

He looked at Kim with mild surprise.

“Well… it wasn’t pleasant, but it’s fine. I heard from Director Cha yesterday.”

“…Director Cha Kwon-oh?”

“……?”

Kim’s face darkened even more.

It was a bit too obvious.

Even Seunghyuk always made that face when Cha Kwon-oh was mentioned.

But that was a student who hadn’t even entered the workforce yet.

A corporate team leader making such a face was… concerning.

“Haesong is partnering with L&S now, isn’t it?”

“Yes… That was the executives’ decision….”

“I see….”

The tone alone made everything clear.

So the partnership was something the executives wanted, not the staff.

Hyunwoo realized something that he hadn’t known in his previous life.

Cha Kwon-oh must have bought off Haesong’s executives.

For the employees, it was a disaster.

Their performance bonuses would shrink, and their resume achievements would worsen.

Which explained why Haesong later faded into obscurity.

But there was nothing Hyunwoo could do.

He had no intention of bribing executives like Cha Kwon-oh.

Haesong was already a train that had left the station.

There were plenty of companies that could replace them.

“I know it’s too late. But I really wanted to apologize.”

“Well… alright. I understand.”

“…….”

Kim’s shoulders slumped at Hyunwoo’s lukewarm response.

Hyunwoo felt a faint sympathy.

But that was all.

However…

“When you said that… is that really all you came to say?”

“Ah—no, um—!”

“……?”

Hyunwoo asked on purpose.

And Kim’s face turned desperate.

Hyunwoo watched him silently.

“I… no, our team really wants to continue working with you. Truly!”

“Ah… I see.”

“If there’s another chance — we’d like to work with you again!”

“A chance…?”

“Yes!”

“……?”

Would that even be possible?

Overturning an executive decision wasn’t something staff could easily do.

Hyunwoo looked at him, puzzled—

Then suddenly froze.

Kim’s nervous eyes weren’t just anxious.

They were determined.

There was one way to overturn an executive decision.

A drastic one.

Replace the executives.

Expose their corruption, force accountability, restructure from the top.

It would harm the company in the short term… but it was possible.

Could Kim do it?

Hyunwoo’s gaze sharpened.

“The next project will begin preparations around fall. Can you really… resolve things by then?”

Projects ran quarterly.

So Kim had until autumn to remove Haesong’s corrupt executives.

Kim nodded — without hesitation.