Chapter 64. I Need You (5)

Translator: Aura

“Good morning.”

Lee-Seob smiled and greeted me with a neat face. Behind Lee-Seob, his mother was standing like a picture.

Minkyung, who was waiting at the entrance of the main house, bowed,

“Hello.”

“Did you have a good time? In Gongju?”

N/T: In Korean, Gongju means princess, but it is also the name of a city.

The tips of his mother’s eyebrows slightly rose at Lee-Seob’s friendly question. Minkyung hurriedly answered in a slightly nervous voice,

“Yes, it felt good to be at home in Gongju.”

“Ahh, I guess Senior Manager Kang went home for the weekend.”

“Yes. Ma’am.”

“Please take care of him today too. Let me know before you run out of the medicinal herb, because he must take it without fail for it to take effect.”

Lee-Seob looked back at his mother. She grinned and squinted one of her eyes.

“Mom you are so… I won’t give up.”

“So you don’t want to eat?”

Lee-Seob’s eyes slowly drifted down and passed by Minkyung’s hand, who picked up candy and cookies and handed them to him every time he took herbal medicine. He shrugged.

“Well, it’s worth it. I’ll take the medicine without fail. Just for her.”

His mother smiled brightly,

“Senior Manager Kang, thank you. Really.”

Minkyung also raised the corners of her stiff lips and smiled,

“I’m just doing my job, ma’am.”

Lee-Seob came to the side and patted Minkyung on the back.

“Please tell me what we will report to my grandfather as we walk.”

As they had no choice but to walk side by side, Minkyung briefly reiterated the key points. His mother’s gaze was focused on their backs.

“As they walked through the front door, he asked in a whisper.”

“Have you decided?”

“What decision?”

There was a pleasant tension in Lee-Seob’s eyes.

“You went home to think, didn’t you? What are you going to do with me?”

“Ah…”

Minkyung smiled vaguely and continued with the key points.

“There are two main ways to change. The first is to hire new managers. The second is mergers and acquisitions…”

“Why are you acting like this? You emailed that to me yesterday.”

Lee-Seob tapped his head with his index finger.

“I don’t want to know anything about the job, just answer my question.”

Lee-Seob’s shoe tips, which were in her vision, were sharp and sensitive, just like his personality. Minkyung raised her head, looked at Lee-Seob and said calmly,

“Please allow me to support you, Sir Representative. I’ll do my best.”

Lee-Seob stood still and did not move. Minkyung didn’t move either. Neither of them made eye contact and didn’t even breathe. When Minkyung let out her first breath, Lee-Seob spoke,

“Okay, whatever you want.”

Lee-Seob began to walk inside first, while she stood still for a moment to catch her breath as she looked at his cold back.

Somewhere in his body throbbed as if he had been stabbed deeply.

***

After Minkyung said no on Monday morning, Lee-Seob seemed completely immersed in work. The first thing he promoted was organizational flexibility.

“It’s been half a year since designer Derrick Chae joined, why is there no change? He is someone with a lot of personality.”

He did not hesitate to give strength to designers who had been recruited but had not been able to utilize them properly because they deviated from TK’s traditional designs. It was an announcement that could scuttle next season’s collection, which had been in development for some time.

“If you have to ask why, it’s my favorite designer. Before that, I paid attention to it when I was working in Europe. All of the designs are sophisticated, have excellent cultural sensitivity, are eco-friendly, and are luxurious. Let’s call it curiosity. I would like to see our clothes properly directed by him.”

Tae Lee-Seob’s words, which seemed like a joke, were widely spread inside and outside the organization.

“Let’s not just say things are going down, let’s change. That’s how you survive. If you feel unfair because I only talked about designers I like, let’s be fair. Let’s all recommend our favorite designer. You can also self-nominate for other positions. Design director, creative director, we will be open and review all possibilities. It includes those with talent who would initially be promoted but then were not.”

Tae Lee-Seob’s instructions had such a large impact that they immediately shook the organization. It was a 180-degree turn from the expectations of those who had believed that Tae Lee-Seob would only be another fashion representative. This completely reversed the general expectation that Tae Lee-Seob, who showed no passion for the company’s work, would adopt a simple strategy of acknowledging losses.

“We have already received sufficient data and reports on brands and areas that need to be downsized or sold. The progress of the acquisition of ‘Spring Breeze’ is being reported. In addition, if necessary, please let us know about the brand candidates for acquisition.”

The reorganization of each division proceeded quickly, and when the brand acquisition, which had already been in progress for half a year and had been put on hold, was brought up again, the fashion division executives left the office with confused faces, lost in their own thoughts.

The concern was due to distrust or fear of the new representative’s aggressive management. However, it was puzzling that it was Tae Lee-Seob, the eldest grandson of the TK President and the only crown prince.

The frequency of taking herbal medicine was also increased to twice a day. There were many different types of candy and cookies, but Lee-Seob only ate what Minkyung chose. Occasionally, her fingertips lightly brushed his lips.

One day, Minkyung wiped some powdered sugar off a cookie from his lips. She wanted to act as calm as possible, but when her hand touched his lips, her eyelashes fluttered. Lee-Seob’s eyes sparkled as he caught such a slight reaction.

Minkyung pretended to be calm, shook off her hand, turned around, and wanted to stamp her foot in embarrassment.

“I should have handed him a napkin, why did I use my hand…?”

She felt like she had completely lost her mind.

***