Chapter 21: Ten Hours of Suffocation

The executives exchanged glances and cleared their throats, ahem.

To think he had already completely mastered so many reports.

Some of them, their throats parched, gulped down the bottled water in front of them.

As the reports continued one after another, a fine crack appeared on Leehyun’s indifferent face.

His expressionless eyes were so cold they sent a shiver down their spines.

Meanwhile, the executives’ faces withered like pickled cabbage.

Everyone lost their minds at the meeting, which had dragged on for ten hours.

With bloodshot eyes, dilated pupils, and hair drenched in cold sweat.

The only ones maintaining the same posture as when they entered the room were Leehyun and Seungho, who stood beside him.

Whenever his long fingers turned a page, Seungho moved like a ghost, adjusting the tablet pages accordingly.

That series of actions was so seamless it left the executives in awe.

The eyes that met in midair silently asked the same questions without exception.

Would this meeting ever end today?

Would they be able to walk out of here on their own two feet?

He hadn’t stood up, nor had he made any grand gestures, yet everyone shook their heads and swallowed their sighs.

Those who had been rubbing their stiff necks and blinking their dry eyes quickly corrected their postures.

The moment Leehyun lifted the glass of water to his right, the executives drank their water in unison, as if on cue.

Thud.

A loud sound dominated the meeting room.

His touch as he set down the water glass was elegant, yet the force was strong.

Staring at the glass of water, which had decreased by exactly one sip, Leehyun spoke.

“It won’t show if it decreased by just a single sip, right?”

“Since one can simply assume that was all that was poured in the first place.”

Gulp.

The executives swallowed hard, like a line of dominoes falling.

Leehyun was pointing out the complacency of the executive board right in front of them.

He was asking if they didn’t think their throats would dry up, just because the water was still sloshing around near the rim, even as they kept sipping away.

Not stopping at that, Leehyun tapped his own head with his index finger, tap, tap.

“You must think before you report.”

He delivered the command to use their brains and stay sharp in an incredibly elegant manner.

“What I want to know is not the present, but…”

His clasped hands and his slightly leaned-forward upper body.

Those two things alone made the atmosphere in the conference room feel completely stifling.

The executives held their breath under the invisible pressure.

“The future of Gayun.”

“Well, ahem. The plan for the next quarter is—”

“Quarter, quarter, quarter.”

He was sick and tired of hearing about quarters.

Leehyun stroked his throat.

‘Did she manage to eat anything? She didn’t throw it all up, did she?’

He felt suffocated by the worries piling up in his head, yet the meeting dragged on with no progress.

“Does Gayun always handle matters in such an inefficient manner?”

“Well…”

Inefficient?

Hearing such a critique for the first time, the executives all wanted to protest, yet no one could easily open their mouth.

“It’s not as if we only have illiterate people here.”

At the low voice that drifted out as if to himself, the executives’ faces lost all color.

Leehyun practically lashed out, criticizing them for repeatedly reciting contents that were already plain to see on paper, calling it pathetically substandard for a company of their size.

Annoyance flickered in his eyes as he looked at the Chief of Staff standing beside Seungho, who had assisted Chairman Yoon Junghwan and Song Yoosun until now.

“Do you have no certainty?”

He meant for them to stop running their mouths, to stop trying to paint pretty pictures, and to prove their points with exact numbers and data.

Though he hadn’t grimaced or glared fiercely, Seungho realized that Leehyun was highly irritated.

If a YH executive had participated in a meeting like this, they would have likely been demoted on the spot.

Seungho, who had spent plenty of time working under Leehyun, was certain of this.

As an investment firm that placed high value on human capital, they were merciless to those who proved worthless.

7:30 PM.

Glancing down at his watch, Seungho checked Leehyun’s reaction.

While the executives kept their heads lowered over their desks, racking their brains over pads and papers to construct a valuable report, the executive sitting in the first seat on the right spoke up.

“I will report on non-memory semiconductors.”

In the solemn room, Division Head Pyo Heojin opened his mouth.

As Seungho handed him the pad, Leehyun scanned the relevant section.

“As you can see from the report below, PL Corporation has been selected as the most suitable candidate.”

Division Head Pyo Heojin added the explanation that the technologies possessed by PL Corporation would satisfy Gayun’s needs.

“What kind of market size are you anticipating?”

“We are projecting more than twofold growth within the next five years.”

Leehyun cast his eyes down.

His gaze was rapid as he read the numbers that had already been digitized and reported.

“And so?”

When Leehyun’s gaze drifted from the report to the division head, the eyes of the other executives moved accordingly.

“Gayun has secured sufficient financial power. I believe now is the time to accelerate our investments more aggressively.”

Therefore, there was no need to hesitate over the M&A.

At Pyo Heojin’s subsequent words, Leehyun stroked his chin.

“Accelerate investments.”

Are you certain?

Despite Leehyun’s chilly remark, Pyo Heojin, far from being intimidated, pressed him to quickly finalize the investment destination.

The air in the conference room grew stuffy, as if filled entirely with carbon dioxide.

The reporting continued, and Leehyun dominated the room with his piercing eyes.

“……For these reasons, in terms of demand for IT products……”

Leehyun cut him off lightly, asking in a cool tone.

“But that doesn’t explain the failure to respond to the slowdown in demand for IT products, does it?”

This was clearly Gayun’s blunder.

As Leehyun’s remarks continued, the executives’ faces turned pale.

The meeting went around in circles and eventually transitioned to the M&A matter.

“Let’s assume we proceed with the M&A, as Division Head Pyo Heojin suggested.”

Blinking eyes so dark they seemed to shut out the moon, Leehyun leaned back.

“But isn’t there a practical problem? No matter how suitable PL Corporation is.”

At Leehyun’s question, Division Head Pyo Heojin took a deep breath and answered.

“Economic nationalism remains an obstacle.”

“Indeed.”

Leehyun placed his clasped hands on the desk.

“Then, assuming we finalize the M&A, is there a solution?”

At that question, Pyo Heojin hesitated briefly.

“Unfortunately, the local response is that Europe is highly unlikely to permit a sale to a foreign country.”

He added that it was impossible to know when this economic nationalism would ease.

The room went silent at the highly uncertain statement.

“Government sanctions remain solid.”

This was the case everywhere, including Europe and the United States.

The issue wasn’t the valuation of the semiconductor company, but rather foreign regulations that still held them back.

“Is there an alternative?”

Even though the question wasn’t directed at them, the executives silently gulped.

Some even lowered their heads so close to their desks they almost touched.

“Considering an M&A with J International is currently the most rational option.”

It was a statement suggesting there was no better alternative, whether in terms of focusing on the domestic market, the investment amount, or even flexibly adapting to the changing political climate.

Leehyun rubbed his temples.

A suffocating silence filled the room.

An M&A with J International was the best option.

He knew.

He knew better than anyone.

But why did he find it so entirely displeasing?

Leehyun closed his eyes and pressed firmly against his eyelids.

He had said he would give her everything.

He had said he would return it in its entirety.

Like someone wavering between reality and trust, he was unable to speak for a while.

‘If we do this, won’t it look like I married her in a rush just to swallow J International?’

Leehyun cracked his neck at the absurd situation.

While the executives exchanged glances and read the room, the Chief of Staff of Gayun Group handed over a tablet with a troubled expression.

Seungho, who was beside Leehyun, looked at the Chief of Staff as if asking what was going on, then froze upon checking the tablet.

“Representative.”

Approaching Leehyun, Seungho cautiously held out the pad.

“I believe you need to check this.”

Meanwhile, the Chief of Staff moved busily with his phone.

His voice calling the public relations team was urgent.

[Yoon Leehyun, President of Gayun Electronics—Was He a Domestic Abuser?]

The exclusive report on the JBS 7 O’Clock News was completely groundless, an issue that could easily warrant a defamation lawsuit.

[Today we have news regarding Yoon Leehyun, CEO of YH Investment Group and current President of Gayun Electronics. Various allegations have been raised surrounding Yoon Leehyun, who was recently appointed as President of Gayun Electronics. Reporter Lee Junwoo reports.]

Even while watching the news that painted him as a domestic abuser, Leehyun showed no emotional disturbance whatsoever.

Slowly opening and closing his eyes, he spoke in a low voice.

“We will resume the presidents’ meeting next Wednesday.”

While they breathed a sigh of relief at his words to wrap up for the day, the executives pressed their foreheads, dreading the meeting next week.

As the executives left one by one, only Leehyun and Seungho remained in the conference room.

[This is in front of the hospital where Jin Seohee, the only daughter of J International and wife of President Yoon Leehyun, is hospitalized. Surprisingly, the allegation that President Yoon Leehyun assaulted his wife broke from the inside. While the exact diagnosis has not been disclosed due to privacy laws, it has been confirmed that they are occupying the entire VIP ward. This is an exclusive report from JBS.]

The absurd and provocative words were delivered through the reporter’s mouth as if they were true.

Allegations that the assault had been ongoing for five years, rumors that he beat women whenever he drank, and claims that he had shoved his wife into a VIP room to hide bruises on her face—unspeakable comments quickly filled the feed.

‘Seo-hee, I don’t like noise.’

His smooth brow furrowed slightly.

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