The meeting room was completely quiet and nothing could be heard except for the occasional ticking of the clock and shuffling paper.
The atmosphere was suffocating for everyone else but the two young CEOs. With two overbearing powerful men in the same room, their auras were competing with each other for dominance. It would be a surprise if the people huddled in the corner wasn't wary.
With each passing second, Jeong Jaehyun felt his mood begin to soar higher and higher. Park Jimin was looking over his proposal earnestly and seeing as he didn't make a displeased expression, it meant the proposal might get approved.
Jeong Jaehyun was glad he fixed the proposal packet before handing it to Park Jimin. Whoever that consultant was, they did a very good job at correcting the flaws and pointing out all the wrong calculations.
Though it was off by just a few digits, Jeong Jaehyun was still very impressed by that person. While that person's identity was completely hidden by Yang Marco, he had been able to get a little information from the tight-lipped members of the board that was present during that meeting.
He heard the person didn't even need a calculator to figure out that the calculations were incorrect. As a matter of fact, they revised all the proposals up for deliberation on the spot. No stone was left unturned for the proposal now seemed very idealistic and perfect.
A few minutes had gone by as Jeong Jaehyun anxiously looked forward to Park Jimin's response. Tapping his fingers onto the table, slightly shaking one of his legs, and eagerly awaiting for Park Jimin's approval, Jeong Jaehyun looked like a child waiting to get his birthday present.
Flipping to the last page, Park Jimin finally placed down the unusually heavy metal pen that reminded him he could completely ruin an entire company or make his company wealthier just by simply signing his name onto a piece of paper.
Jeong Jaehyun smiled to himself at the perfected draft. "Well, Park Jimin, what do you think about the proposal?"
"This is a proposal for a resort in Incheon. Why are you approaching Park Enterprise instead of Yang Corporation?" Park Jimin lifted his head, a listless expression on his face.
Jeong Jaehyun's smile faltered a bit at the blunt question. Why else? Yang Corporation had already rejected him! "Jeong Corporation currently does not have a good relationship with Yang Corporation at the moment."
Park Jimin didn't need him to say it because he already knew the truth. But to him, it was satisfying to know that even Jeong Jaehyun knew he screwed up. Jeong Jaehyun should've just left his stubborn little kitten alone after breaking the engagement. Instead, he crossed the line and went as far as to humiliate and embarrass her further.
"But that is not the only reason why this proposal was rejected in the first place." Park Jimin secretly smirked when he saw Jeong Jaehyun's baffled expression.
'How did he know it was rejected once? Who told him?!' Jeong Jaehyun pondered as he was taken by surprise that Park Jimin had heard of the rejection. He thought he paid the people well enough to keep their mouth shut, but alas, nothing could ever get past Park Jimin's keen ears and eyes.
"You proposed to open a big tourist attraction in Incheon by opening a resort. There was an idea like this in the past but it was rejected because the company didn't do enough research on the land." Park Jimin stood up, not wanting to say more on this foolish idea.
Open a resort in Incheon? With what clean water? The government had issued a statement about the water in Incheon to be too severely polluted by chemicals to even fathom the idea of a resort.
"But the proposal is perfect-"
"The draft is perfect, not the idea itself." Park Jimin chillingly said, his eyes tearing the man in front of him down. He couldn't believe this weak-minded man was the CEO of such an outstanding company. It was no wonder the company was suffering. With such a stupid CEO, what did they expect?
Jeong Jaehyun's biggest mistake was following his manhood instead of his brain. When he broke off his engagement, he should have tried to remain in a platonic relationship with Rosè Yang whose capabilities was able to lift the company far beyond anyone's wildest expectations.
Ever since she had secretly helped him, the company's stock had doubled and the annual profit increased by at least 200%.
But instead of treating her well, he had let his ego take over by wanting to show his useless fiancee that he can break off his engagement for her.
Park Jimin stood up to leave by in a rush, Jeong Jaehyun stopped in his path. "I will do better. Please think about it again, Park Jimin. This is a really important project to my company-"
"And why should that concern me?" Park Jimin raised a perfect blow, his face disinterested.
"Park Jimin, please." Jeong Jaehyun whispered, his face paling in fear. He was growing very desperate. This was his first ever personally drafted proposal. If it was rejected by two major companies, the media would make a laughing stock out of him!
"Please consider the years that we've known each other—"
"The proposal has already been rejected. Don't beg and grovel, it's pathetic." Park Jimin loudly said, his words a slap to Jeong Jaehyun's face.
Jeong Jaehyun flinched, as if he had been visibly hit by Park Jimin. With all of his personal team present in the room, it was humiliating for Park Jimin to utter his actions so loudly. It was one thing to be insulted by someone like Park Jimin, but to be insulted in front of your employees was something else...This was simply too embarrassing for Jeonv Jaehyun.
On top of it, Park Jimin's employees were also present. They weren't scared of snickering and talking bad behind Jeong Jaehyun's back. Once, his incompetence and failure leaks into the media, his reputation would be tarnished. To beg like this, what a shameless man!
"Do more research the next time you try to contact me." Park Jimin didn't look back when he walked out of the door followed by his people. Kim Namjoon stayed behind, as usual, to remind them about CEO Park's regulations.
"Mr. Jeong, following Park Enterprise's protocol, once a proposal has been rejected by our CEO, there is no second chances for it. However, you are free to submit another idea." Kim Namjoon briskly said, his face aloof and stoic. He stood tall like an unwavering tree bracing an icy storm.
"There are no second chances for other companies, but our CEO is not just from a simple company!" Kimberly sniped at her half-brother, hating how indifferent he was acting despite the fact that she shared half of his blood. How could he not even greet or acknowledge her presence?
"This is Jeong Jaehyun you're talking about. Show some respect—"
"With all due respect, why is a secretary attempting to argue with company policy? It's not my problem you can't read the protocol." Kim Namjoon was not fazed at the idea of insulting the woman he had grown up with. His work has even taken precedence over his own wife and perhaps that was why people thought of him as an unbudging Ice King.
"How much?" Jeong Jaehyun seethed, his nails digging into his skin so tightly that his skin was beginning to turn pale at the harsh impact.
"Pardon?" Kim Namjoon could feel the temperature dim as the warmth dispersed.
Most people would've cowered back in fear upon facing a rage-filled Jeong Jaehyun. He had heard multiple accounts of employees that were bullied to tears when facing his fury. However, being Park Jimin's secretary for years had exposed him to rage that was far more terrifying than his.
"How much will it cost for you to place the proposal onto his desk again?" Jeong Jaehyun was unwilling to part with the proposal because it was something that he has spent his blood, sweat, and tears into drafting.
He couldn't believe that after all their research, he forgot the most crucial detail about Incheon. The waters were recently tested to be severely polluted, how could he forget such a simple detail?!
He comforted himself with the belief that changing the city would change Park Jimin's mind. He was too stubborn to realize that Park Jimin's words are unchangeable.
"No amount of money can buy my loyalty to my boss." Kim Namjoon disdainfully said, sizing Jeong Jaehyun up and down. He could not help but wonder why his boss would fall for a woman who had once fallen in love with this kind of man. What does it say about her taste? And his boss's preference?!
Kimberly handed over Jeong Jaehyun's checkbook and he wrote down a check for ten million. He waved it in front of kim Namjoon who seemed unfazed by the seven zeros.
"Ten million."
Kim Namjoon turned on his heels and was about to open the door when Kimberly stepped in front of it, blocking the exit.
"Twenty million." Jeong Jaehyun doubled the amount without hesitation. Ten million or twenty million meant nothing to him because if the proposal gets approved, Jeong Corps would be raking in at least a few billion annually!
"Tell your secretary to step aside or else brute force would have to be used." Kim Namjoon glanced down at the petite woman in front of him.
Kimberly felt her back stiffen and her body clenched in fear when she looked into her older half-brother's lifeless eyes. She was reminded of his capabilities. She remembered when they were children and he was practicing martial arts. Kim Namjoon at the age of five had tossed a man six times his age and ten times his build onto the ground without breaking a sweat.