Chapter 26: Decisive Information

I carefully cracked open the door to our room, trying not to wake Woo Changhun. Sneaking inside like a thief, I tiptoed toward my bed when—

“Intern Cha, you just got back?”

Whether my footsteps had woken him or he'd been waiting for me all along, Woo Changhun sat up in bed.

“I... woke you up? Sorry.”

“How could I sleep peacefully when Intern Cha was spending a passionate night with Isabella?”

“...Ahem, my apologies.”

“Still, were you really with her until this hour?”

“Haha. Well, that's just how things turned out.”

“Come on... Seriously?”

After taking the herbal medicine, my stamina and vitality had increased tremendously. Thanks to that, I had managed to keep Isabella occupied until dawn. But even if I told him the truth, Senior Specialist Woo wouldn't believe me, so I decided to joke my way out.

“Come on, I'm kidding.”

“Then how do you explain those dark circles hanging all the way down to your chin?”

“I spent the entire night extracting information about our competitors, so I didn't get a wink of sleep.”

“All right, I'll pretend I believe you. But tell me, where did you get that unlimited credit card?”

I had known this question would come up.

“A ridiculously wealthy person gave it to me and told me to use it at the most crucial moment.”

“And if I ask who it was, you're not going to tell me?”

“Sorry.”

“Forget it. By the way, has Isabella already gone to work?”

“She said we overdid things yesterday, so she won't be going to the office today.”

“Ooh! Intern Cha, you're something else!”

Feeling awkward about the implication, I quickly changed the subject.

“No, no, not in that sense. She simply drank too much and isn't feeling well.”

“The two of us drank far more than she did.”

“Can we drop that subject? I'd rather tell you what I learned from Isabella.”

“For me?”

In truth, I wasn't obligated to share any of the information with Woo Changhun. To secure a permanent position, I needed to earn Vice Chairman Yoon Sanghun's favor. Still, I decided to tell him, and the reason was Yun Sola. If she learned that Isabella and I had spent a passionate night together, it would definitely create unnecessary trouble.

“We launched this operation together to obtain information. No matter how blinded I am by profit, I'd never stab a comrade in the back. That's disgraceful.”

“I get what you're saying. But should we tell Intern Yun too?”

“If we call her right now, it'll look like I monopolized all the credit.”

“That makes sense... I suppose you're right.”

Woo Changhun nodded in understanding.

“I think we should present it as though the two of us gathered the information together in the bar.”

“...All right. That really is the best way.”

“First, let me tell you what I learned from the sommelier. Isabella...”

***

Meanwhile, Vice Chairman Yoon Sanghun was on the phone with Chairman Yoon Jongu.

[I heard from Chairman Park that Intern Cha spent five hundred and thirty thousand dollars on dinner.]

“What?!”

Truly shocked, Yoon Sanghun barked like a thunderclap.

[You little rascal! Why are you shouting in the middle of our conversation?!]

“Sorry. I was just too shocked.”

[I was just as surprised when Chairman Park told me.]

“Do you know why Intern Cha spent such an enormous amount on a mere dinner?”

[According to Chairman Park, Sola's graduate school senior works in Chairman Hudson's office. In order to obtain information about Micron and TMSC, he treated her to a five-hundred-thousand-dollar bottle of wine.]

Yoon Sanghun couldn't believe his ears. Even as the heir to the largest conglomerate in South Korea, he'd never drunk half-a-million-dollar wine. Yet Cha Jiham had bought such a bottle for a secretary.

“Father, don't you think Intern Cha went too far?”

[If that information can change the entire game, then the price is justified.]

“I agree. But did he really obtain anything valuable?”

[I was curious too, so I asked Chairman Park. He simply burst into booming laughter.]

That meant Cha Jiham had obtained something truly incredible.

“I understand, Father.”

[Hear him out yourself, and if the information is truly decisive, reimburse Intern Cha for every cent he spent on dinner.]

“Of course.”

[I expect good news. That's all.]

Click.

As soon as he hung up, Cho Seongjin cautiously asked,

“Vice Chairman, what's going on?”

“It seems Intern Cha accomplished something extraordinary last night.”

“What sort of thing?”

“Let's hear it from him personally. Summon Director Jeong, Vice President Ha, and Director Hong of the American branch to my room immediately.”

***

Unaware of the commotion taking place in the Vice Chairman's suite, I continued sharing Isabella's information with Woo Changhun.

“...Apparently, TMSC offered to build a factory in the United States dedicated exclusively to Endivia.”

“TMSC proposed completely insane terms.”

“No kidding.”

“Isn't there some elegant way to neutralize Micron and TMSC?”

Actually, while talking with Isabella, I'd come up with an interesting idea. But when I mentioned it to her, she said the chances of it succeeding were extremely low. As a result, I'd thrown the idea straight into the trash.

“Perhaps our superiors, who have much more experience, can find a solution?”

“Perhaps...”

Bzzz.

While Woo Changhun searched for the right words, my phone vibrated.

I quickly checked it and saw a message from Yun Sola.

Yun Sola: I feel terribly embarrassed about last night. I'm sorry.

Cha Jiham: If you have low alcohol tolerance, these things happen. I completely understand.

Yun Sola: Were you able to learn anything from Isabella?

This was an important moment. The way I answered would determine what happened next.

Cha Jiham: Senior Specialist Woo and I managed to obtain some information together.

Bzzz. Bzzz.

At that moment, Woo Changhun's phone rang.

Looking at the screen, he whispered that it was Director Jeong Sunho and answered.

After exchanging a few puzzled words, he hung up and turned to me.

“We've been ordered to report to the Vice Chairman's room immediately.”

“Don't tell me...”

“Exactly. The Vice Chairman already knows you paid five hundred and thirty thousand dollars for dinner. But where the hell did he hear about it?”

Vice Chairman Yoon Sanghun had definitely heard about it either from Chairman Park or Chairman Yoon Jongu. There was no need to explain that to Woo Changhun.

“No idea. Should we bring Intern Yun?”

“Of course.”

***

Vice Chairman Yoon Sanghun found himself experiencing a strange feeling.

The expressions on Woo Changhun, Cha Jiham, and Yun Sola's faces were all completely different.

Woo Changhun looked anxious and worried.

Cha Jiham had deep dark circles under his eyes.

And Yun Sola looked at everything with pure, genuine curiosity, as though she understood nothing.

As he pondered this strange sight, the three of them bowed lightly and sat down on the sofa.

“You know why I called you here, don't you?”

“Of course.”

“Tell me what happened during dinner last night.”

Remembering Jiham's warnings, Woo Changhun hurriedly spoke.

“Before we begin, I have one request.”

“I'll decide whether to grant it after hearing it. Agreed?”

“Of course. We promised our source absolute secrecy.”

“Did you all hear what Senior Specialist Woo said?”

“Yes, Vice Chairman!”

The loud chorus of Cho Seongjin and the other executives filled the room.

Yoon Sanghun nodded in satisfaction.

“Go ahead.”

“Intern Cha coordinated the entire operation.”

Immediately, everyone's eyes converged on me.

Understanding what they expected, I began without hesitation.

“Among Intern Yun's university acquaintances is a woman named Isabella, who works in Chairman Hudson's office. Intern Yun arranged a dinner with her to try to obtain information.”

“And you served a mere secretary half-a-million-dollar wine?!”

“How can that make any sense?!”

Vice President Ha Cheolhun was the first to lose his composure.

Instantly, Yoon Sanghun shot him a cold glare.

Realizing his mistake, Ha Cheolhun lowered his head.

“From now on, anyone who speaks without my permission will be thrown out immediately. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

The overwhelming charisma radiating from the Vice Chairman made us shrink back.

“Intern Cha, answer my question.”

“We believed Isabella was testing us, so we decided to impress her.”

I briefly recounted everything that had happened in the steakhouse. Whenever my explanation was lacking, Woo Changhun and Yun Sola filled in the details.

“...The sommelier informed us that she is Chairman Hudson's niece and owns Endivia shares worth billions.”

“Treating the sommelier to that rare wine was a brilliant tactical move.”

“I completely agree with your assessment, Vice Chairman. Allow me to continue. However, we couldn't extract any information in the steakhouse. So we changed locations and moved to a bar, where we attempted to loosen her tongue with alcohol. During the process, Intern Yun became heavily intoxicated, and Senior Specialist Woo volunteered to escort her back.”

“So you were alone with Isabella in the bar?”

Yoon Sanghun had hit the mark, but Woo Changhun and I had already prepared our lie.

“Senior Specialist Woo returned to the table immediately after delivering Intern Yun to her room.”

“I see. Continue.”

“While Senior Specialist Woo was coming back, I continued getting Isabella drunk and eventually obtained the latest information about Micron and TMSC.”

“What a relief. Hurry and tell us what those two companies are planning.”

“We were able to confirm that the lobbyist hired by Micron is former Vice President Addams.”

Yoon Sanghun turned meaningfully toward Hong Hyeonsu.

Immediately understanding, the head of the American branch explained,

“Former Vice President Addams attended the same university as President Melvin Douglas and maintains very close ties with the current White House administration.”

“Whew... That's terrible news for our company.”

“I completely agree, Vice Chairman.”

“I see. Continue, Intern Cha,” Yoon Sanghun said in a noticeably subdued voice.

I understood his feelings perfectly, but there was no point hiding the truth.

“Former Vice President Addams regularly visits Chairman Hudson with high-ranking officials and puts tremendous pressure on him.”

“And how is Hudson handling it?”

“He is firmly opposed to awarding the high-bandwidth semiconductor contract to Micron. He argues that Micron's manufacturing capabilities in this field are weak, making their products completely uncompetitive in terms of price.”

“Well, at least that's somewhat encouraging.”

“It is. But for our conglomerate to secure the contract, we must present Chairman Hudson with terms that will truly catch his attention.”

“Terms that will catch his attention...”

Yoon Sanghun trailed off and fell into thought.

Realizing the moment had arrived, I lightly stepped on Woo Changhun's foot.

He responded in kind and spoke up.

“Vice Chairman, may I offer my opinion?”

“Of course. Go ahead.”

“The reason the U.S. government is pushing Micron so aggressively is because it wants to prevent high-bandwidth semiconductor technology from leaking to South Korea or Taiwan.”

“That's only natural.”

“However, Micron currently employs Chairman Hudson's sworn enemy as its technical advisor.”

“John Prime.”

“And what does that have to do with anything?”

“John Prime was once caught outright stealing Endivia's technology.”

“Ah...”

Vice Chairman Yoon Sanghun nodded in understanding, instantly grasping the essence of Woo Changhun's brilliant idea.