Chapter 118

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Alright!
said Yuzung gladly.
Obviously, she was glad that Hyunwoo asked to see her alone outside.
Hyunwoo, though he could not bring it up initially, felt he had to tell her the truth,
Yuzung. To be honest with you I’ve got a girlfriend in Korea.


Oh, really? I didn’t know that,
said she in a surprised voice.
Suddenly, there was silence between them, but Hyunwoo glanced at her.
She looked sad, with her head down a bit, which clearly showed her interest in him changed to disappointment.
At that moment, Hyunwoo felt something strange in his heart. The moment he told her the truth, he felt wistful at the same time, sensing that her interest in him was gone. He wanted to draw her attention at the moment. However, such a conflict lasted only momentarily.
Swallowing up a wistful sense, Hyunwoo said,
I’m sorry.

She raised her head at that, looking at him,
No, you don’t need to be sorry. Thanks for telling me.

She gave him a bright smile at him awkwardly, which made him feel an even greater sense of guilt.

I had no choice but to tell you the truth. Otherwise, I would have fallen in love with you and couldn’t have gotten out of it. And I was not confident I would be responsible for you to the end. So, please understand me.

As if to hide her sad feelings, she grabbed his forearm lightly,
Mr. Na told me you’re a really good man, but I was half in doubt. I thought he was exaggerating a bit when he introduced you to me.

She just wanted to find out what kind of person he was because Sungji spoke so highly of him. If he had tried to flirt with her just like any typical guy, she would never have seen him again.

Now, it looks like you’re a much better person than Sungji said.


Thanks a lot for your compliment.


I mean it when I say that. A typical man would not have said anything about his girlfriend for a one-night stand with me. He would have lied. To be honest to someone is not as easy as one thinks.

Actually, Hyunwoo had the desire to enjoy her. He wanted to have a fling with her and follow his heart, regardless of what happened next.

By the way, when are you getting married?


Hahaha. Oh, I’m not so intimate in relations with her to talk about marriage. We’re just interested in each other now.

With a surprised look, she asked back,
Then, she is not your girlfriend? Just a female friend?

Hyunwoo felt a bit embarrassed, but asked,
What do you think is the difference between a girlfriend and a female friend?

She replied confidently,
Physical contact, of course. If you frankly express physical affection for her with feelings of love, then she is a lover. If you just show your physical affection without such feeling or if you have only such feelings without any physical affection, then she is just a female friend, I think.

Her distinction between a lover and a female friend wasn’t that great but made sense overall.

Based on that, I think both of you’re still just friends, not lovers,
said she, brightening her face.
It looked like she was trying to renew her interest in him.
However, Hyunwoo said clearly, as if he was decided.

It’s true I want to make her my lover. I don’t think it would be right for me to meet another woman with such a mindset.


I agree. If I had a boyfriend, I would not pay attention to any other guy,
said she, agreeing with him, but she still seemed to have a lingering affection for him as she was holding his forearm.

Shall we go back? Looks like the wedding guests might be waiting for us.


Oh, yes.

They went into the restaurant where the wedding guests were being treated. She was holding his forearm until then, which made Sungji give him a satisfactory smile.
When Hyunwoo sat beside him, Sungjin even whispered into his ear,
So, did you have a good time outside?


Haha. Nothing like that, and I told you I have a girlfriend in Korea.


You never know until you actually step into the wedding hall. You don’t have to be so old-fashioned.

Hyunwoo didn’t respond. Instead, he spent time drinking beer. In the evening, he headed for Ho Chi Min city for a meeting with the presidents of Korean companies in Vietnam.
Yuzung and her friends also went to Ho Chi Min city together.
Sungji wanted to have her join the meeting, but Hyunwoo stopped him. Her presence in the meeting was unnatural, and he felt burdensome about Sungji’s stretched efforts to have her date him forcibly.
Eventually, Sungji gave in.
Okay, Hyunwoo. If that’s what you want, I have no other choice.

Then, he sent Yuzung and her friends back and headed to the appointed place.
Though they arrived there ten minutes earlier than the appointment time, other presidents had been waiting for them in advance. There were about twenty people present, and there were some who already knew Hyunwoo.
Sungji introduced each one of them to Hyunwoo, and the purpose of the meeting was quite simple.

Please promote our products for sale in Korea, too,
said one.

I agree with him. We’re not N&C’s rivals, so you don’t have to promote N&C products only, do you?
said another.
Actually, he heard their complaints before. He discussed with Sungwoo Paek, sales executive of N&C Korea, about the matter they raised, but Sungwoo was not so enthusiastic about it. By nature, Sungwoo liked to travel and have fun rather than working. He tried to do sales activities for them in the past but failed because of the price and quality. However, the situation has changed. With the success stories of the Dream Team of N&C in Vietnam given wide publicity in the press, castor technicians who lost jobs in Korea went to Vietnam in droves. And thanks to the full support of the Vietnamese government their technical skills improved a lot.
The presidents present at the meeting emphasized that fact.

If you think our technical skills are the same as they were last year, you’re wrong. Our products have improved a lot in technical perfection, well beyond Chinese products.

When Hyunwoo nodded his head, they became more enthusiastic.

Please, can you go out in person and promote our products? We’ll give you more margins than N&C. How can we forget your favor if you work for us?

Hyunwoo wanted to help them, of course, but he could not sell for them in person, nor could he entrust Sungwoo with that, either. He was supposed to leave for the United States for immigration next spring.
I think I have to entrust Sungrak Sohn with this, he thought to himself.
Actually, he was thinking of him as a replacement for Sungwoo. Sungrak was pretty ambitious and interested in taking over Sungwoo’s sales activities. He was supposed to accompany Sungwoo on the job training anyway.

Got it. Let me discuss with my sales manager in Korea.

Their faces brightened suddenly. They seemed to think they would make a hit unconditionally with Hyunwoo’s help.
Hyunwoo didn’t want to do a slapdash job once he made the decision. He felt he would need to produce a remarkable performance with effective sales methods.
And the best way would be to use the media for wide publicity just like he did for the Dream Team. When he thought as far as that, he thought of an easy way.
Namely, he wanted to make a sequel to the success of the Dream Team, with the narrative that the Dream Team came a long way to make what it is today with great success. Then, each of the castor technicians dreaming of the 2nd and 3rd Dream Team is introduced. Promoting those companies that improved their technical skills would further help boost their product sales.
If I entrust Kwangsu of Real Film with this job, he will produce great publicity material.
The following morning Hyunwoo left for Natrang finally. Sungji and a local guide accompanied him.
The further they drove north, they saw the effects of the typhoon here and there. Natrang was the worst-hit area. There were lots of destroyed roads and buildings where the recovery work was fully underway.
The house of Kwak’s Vietnamese wife was located on the outskirts of Natrang, a slum area. There were a total of four in that house, but as it had been completely destroyed by the typhoon, they were living in a makeshift center. Fortunately, nobody was wounded.
Actually, her mother tried to call Tamtit, Jinhun’s wife, after the typhoon ended, but she couldn’t remember Tamtit’s number.

Anway, how lucky you are. It could have been worse,
said Hyunwoo, comforting each of Kwak and his wife’s family members.
Tamtit introduced Hyunwoo to her family members, telling them that it was he who helped them fly to Vietnam.
Everyone bowed to him, expressing thanks, but they didn’t look bright. Though they were not wounded, they didn’t know how to make a living in the future. They didn’t have any property and couldn’t find jobs because of the severe damage. Hyunwoo felt regrettable about it, too.
In the meantime, there was one person missing among the Kwak family for some time.

Where is Jinhun? Why don’t I see him here?


Oh, that naughty boy. He ran away from home again.


Ran away?

Hyunwoo opened his eyes to hear that nonsensical remarks of Kwak’s, but he didn’t care much because Junggyun, his father, looked bright.