You Are My Future

Chapter Thirteen

Yoon Seon-hak considered it for a moment.

"I am delighted to never have to speak to that man again, Vice President Han."

She took off her glasses and folded them carefully.

"This statement is perfect. I will plan on leading off and then hand it over to you. CNBC is awaiting your signal, correct?"

Ji-pyeong nodded his head.

Yoon Seon-hak stood up and appraised him for a moment.

"Ji-pyeong, you have done very well. I hope that it won't make you too embarrassed if I say that I am very proud of you today."

His throat tightened. She had been a steady presence in his professional life for over a decade. But Ji-pyeong and Yoon Seon-hak had spent so much time discussing the development of others at Sandbox that he had given little thought to how she had recruited him and always supported his promotions along the way.

Now Yoon Seon-hak was looking at him with pride in her eyes. His hand flew to his brow as he tried to manage the unexpected emotion swirling within his chest.

"Thank you."

"I spoke with the board this morning. They are quite pleased as well. You have transformed this debacle into a moment for SK to demonstrate to the world that we are a fund to be trusted while so many others failed to discern what was going on. You can expect a substantial bonus regardless of the deal falling through."

"Thank you, President Yoon."

Yoon Seon-hak folded her arms.

"However I think that you should consider resigning in the future anyway."

What?

Ji-pyeong's mouth fell open.

She lowered her head.

"Do you plan to remain here in New York?"

His mouth snapped shut. There was an envelope inside of his suit jacket promising that he would.

Yoon Seon-hak's mouth quirked. Then she walked around the conference room table and leaned against it across from him.

"I have watched you for many years. Always focused, always relentless. And I admire you for it. I promoted you again and again just so that SK could hold onto you as long as we could."

She smiled warmly at him.

"But you no longer need the sand beneath you, Vice President Han."

Ji-pyeong blinked hard.

"You have the vision to accomplish something that could change a lot of people's lives. And you finally seem like yourself again after President Seo's grandmother died. Better even, I'd say, despite everything. I believe that this place suits you."

Yoon Seon-hak looked at him knowingly. He ducked his head and sniffed.

"We are still buying Minerva. And we still want to partner with a company that can eventually do what GenOne promised. It just apparently doesn't exist yet. So who can SK trust to develop the kind of start up that we are looking for better than anyone else?"

She raised an eyebrow.

I can.

Ji-pyeong felt a bubbling sensation within his chest. He struggled to find words as his mind raced with possibilities.

"But ..."

He trailed off in silence. Yoon Seon-hak held up her hand.

"Just think about it. We are not going to lose Attorney Kim. We still hope to retain her as soon as possible if she is willing despite the likelihood that everyone else under the sun will want her now too."