Again

Chapter 4 - Better Together

(Song lyrics - Jack Johnson)
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Se-Ri took the list from Manager Hong and prepared what they needed. They had very basic requirements so she wanted to make sure to they had better paperwork by the time they were scheduled to present.

It was Manager Hong's name that was put on the appointment which was fine with Se-Ri as it gave her time to get her wits together. Presenting a proposal to an investor for running a business that she had never done before was already a challenge in itself. Giving that presentation to your ex was a whole other difficulty she had to conquer.

So, Se-Ri studied. She did have some business course background to lean into and she wasn't completely clueless. Thankfully, there was a lot of material online that helped clue her in what to do. She even watched those shows where people stood up and introduced their ideas to famous venture capitalists.

"Oh, that's brutal," she muttered on one episode where the lady was harshly put down. "Is Jeong Hyeok like them when he asks about projects presented to him?"

After she studies those shows, she watched movies, documentaries, and television shows portraying powerful women to try to study traits that she can adopt.

The night before the meeting, she browsed her closet for the most appropriate outfit. "Balmain. One could never go wrong with Balmain," she said to no one. It was a white, long sleeved, high neck, suit dress with gold buttons in the middle. The hem ended on her mid-thigh and the fit hugged her in all the right places.

Then, she went to her shoe cabinet and selected a beautiful high heeled, nude beige Jimmy Choo pair, made of lace fabric and made her legs look even longer. The color also complimented the white and gold of the dress she had chosen.

Even her purse was something she thought about because she was hyper aware that in these things, sometimes, first impressions mattered.

Finally, the moment came.

Jeong Hyeok's office was located at the penthouse in a building he now owned at the Gangnam Business District. He renamed the building with his initials and a few numbers "LJH1131". Based on the directory Se-Ri read at the lobby, there were a number of big business already renting from him and she could only imagine how much the property was earning.

Se-Ri herself had properties but it was nothing this big. Sure, she would live comfortably and had enough to put into this new business she was planning but this building was in a different league.

Se-Ri and Manager Hong arrived at the offices 15 minutes before their scheduled time. They were escorted to a waiting room with Se-Ri going over her notes again and Manager Hong pacing around in worry.

At exactly the time they were told, she was walking into Jeong Hyeok's office.

Calling the office large was an understatement. The first thing you noticed was the floor to ceiling windows that occupied the entire side of the office. Jeong Hyeok also had a massive wooden desk, an 8-seater conference table, and a couple of comfortable couches. It was a pleasant mixture of dark wood and metal but turned out to be surprisingly cozy and filled with light.

"Yoon Se-Ri?" Jeong Hyeok asked, surprised at her presence.

"Good morning, Mr. Lee," she said, formally.

"I thought I was meeting with a Mr. Hong?" Jeong Hyeok asked his secretary and looking at the other people in the office.

"That's me, Sir. I made the appointment," Manager Hong said. "This is my boss, Ms. Yoon." Jeong Hyeok frowned but gave the go signal to proceed. Manager Hong scrambled with the secretary to set up the laptop they brought to show the powerpoint that would accompany Se-Ri's spiel.