Chapter 37: Don’t Forget

After Yuha left the office.

I leaned back in my chair and let out a long sigh.

“Thought things were changing.”

But humans don’t change that easily.

There wasn’t a single word Yuha had said that I could honestly deny.

“…Since I took over Spectrum.”

I hadn’t thought that far ahead.

All I’d been focused on was devouring Spectrum.

That was all I’d been chasing.

But thinking about it now—Yuha was right.

“I would’ve sold it.”

If I’d been short on acquisition funds, I would have sold Ribbon Corporation.

That business had been built for that very purpose from the start.

What would’ve happened to Ribbon Corporation after I sold it—I hadn’t thought much about it.

I’d just assumed that since it was running well, it would keep going fine without me.

“That’s just an excuse to not think about it.”

Yeah, let’s admit it.

I was just using everything and everyone.

Even the moment I appealed sincerely to Factory Manager Lee Jeyun, or when I spoke with honesty to the Strategic Planning Team…

They were just stepping stones toward a single goal.

Still.

I hadn’t yet escaped the me from Spectrum.

“This is tough.”

Taking care of my people while dreaming of revenge—

Doing both wasn’t as easy as I’d thought.

Still, giving up wasn’t an option.

“I’ll do it.”

I picked up the nameplate on my desk.

Then I carved into the metal beneath it with a knife.

Never use people as tools. Walk a different path than the man I used to be.

“Don’t forget.”

For my revenge to be perfect.

I put the nameplate back down and stood up.

There was more to think about now, but I was tired. I wanted to go home and collapse into bed.

Even so.

“…Who am I kidding? I should go rethink the business.”

How to run the current operations alongside the new ones.

And where exactly Ribbon Corporation needed to head.

Those were things I needed to ponder.

With those tangled thoughts, I left the office.

I was heading straight for the elevator when I noticed the lights still on in the Vice President’s office.

I stared at the faint reflection in the frosted glass for a moment before walking toward it.

Knock knock.

“…Vice President, are you in?”

Yuha might’ve just forgotten to turn off the lights.

But the faint sound of movement from inside told me that wasn’t the case.

“I’m coming in for a moment.”

“Don’t come in!”

“…It’s late.”

“Then close your eyes and leave. Don’t look at anything.”

“…Too late. I already saw.”

Her mascara was smudged and her eyes were swollen.

At my words, Yuha gritted her teeth and shrieked.

“I hate you, President!”

“Are you a kid?”

“You jerk.”

Seeing her fuming made me feel oddly guilty.

I cleared my throat and awkwardly glanced at her desk.

“Why are you still here?”

“Why do you care? You’re going to sell me off anyway.”

“…That’s not happening.”

No, it never will.

Selling an employee like her would only lead to regret.

She pouted, seemingly not fully satisfied but not disagreeing either.

“Sit. My neck hurts looking up at you.”

“Fine.”

“Sit and look at this.”

Yuha handed me her notebook.

It was filled with hastily written business ideas.

“Add apple recipes, expand jam distribution routes…”

“The fruits you brought were delicious. Not selling them would be stupid.”

“So you were brainstorming ways to expand the business?”

“Yes. There must be a way to use those fruits even without large supermarkets.”

Huh.

Her eyes were puffy from crying, yet she’d been working on this.

“Impressive.”

“Are you mocking me?”

“No, that was a compliment.”

“Then fine.”

All of it was rough brainstorming, but a few ideas were good enough to develop further.

As I examined each note, Yuha spoke again.

“I’m sorry about earlier.”

“For what?”

“For talking too harshly.”

“It’s fine.”

It stabbed my heart, sure.

But it was something I needed to hear.

“Your words woke me up. Thanks.”

“You know you’ll never find another employee like me, right?”

“I know, I know.”

Having Yuha as Vice President might’ve been just as valuable as monopolizing a dimension.

“Thanks to you, my thoughts are clearer now.”

“How so?”

“I was in too much of a rush.”

Spectrum is still growing rapidly.

Their online market dominance was steadily expanding into the offline sector.

That growth rate… was much faster than Ribbon Corporation’s.

“At this rate, I was afraid they’d devour us before we could devour them.”

So I tried to grow faster.

“I might’ve pushed the expansion too hard.”

“At least you realize it.”

“Because someone gave me an earful.”

“Then you better treat that person really well.”

“I will, I will.”

I should, especially since I make her work overtime like this.

Yuha grinned, then cleared her throat.

“I know what’s worrying you.”

“You do?”

“But you don’t have to worry so much.”

She pulled a thick stack of papers from her drawer and handed it to me.

“What’s this?”

“A comprehensive analysis of Spectrum. The Strategic Planning Team worked overtime to compile it secretly.”

The data included Spectrum’s brand value, growth rate, and market expansion trends.

“When did you even prepare this?”

“It’s your goal. So it’s mine too. Isn’t that obvious?”

“Ha!”

“Know your enemy and you’ll win every battle.”

I didn’t expect her to pull off something like this.

Yuha continued.

“It’s true Spectrum is growing fast. Their portal service market share is almost equal to Gogol’s, and their translation program has gone global. Their SNS, Rainbow, is gaining more users by the day.”

“They’re building momentum online.”

“Exactly. Soon, it’ll be Spectrum’s world.”

That was… not great news.

The anxiety I’d suppressed started to boil up again.

But Yuha quickly quelled it.

“But Spectrum’s strength lies only online.”

“Really?”

“Look at their attempts to expand offline. Sure, they succeeded in acquiring E-Mart, but that’s an exception. Every other attempt failed.”

I checked the news clippings she’d collected—it was true.

Their acquisition offers were rejected, and partnerships with service providers had fallen through.

“How did that happen? Spectrum’s a solid company.”

“Because of you, President.”

“…What?”

Me?

As I blinked, Yuha showed me another article.

“Spectrum fired its long-time CEO for being incompatible with the company’s new direction.”

“You’re really digging up old wounds now.”

“Because that’s when Spectrum got its ‘use and discard’ image.”

“What?”

“Firing your founding CEO isn’t a small thing. It made people question their integrity.”

Reading through the analysis reports, I saw she was right.

That image had made Spectrum struggle to form new partnerships.

“No one wants to team up with someone who might throw them away next.”

“So Spectrum’s reputation took a hit?”

“Yes. It’ll take time for them to recover from that. E-Mart was just lucky—they sold before losing more market share.”

Yuha gathered the papers again.

“So don’t worry. Before Spectrum moves offline, we’ll move first.”

“You mean—”

“We’ll dominate the offline market.”

“…You think we can?”

It’s a race against time.

Before the enemy secures the key territories, we must.

“We’ll make it possible. You will, won’t you?”

“That’s a tall order.”

But after hearing that—how could I say no?

“I can do it.”

“That’s my boss.”

“Now, back to business.”

She redirected the conversation smoothly.

“To fully secure the offline market, reckless expansion isn’t ideal. There are already plenty of enemies.”

“True.”

Spectrum was the ultimate target, but there were others in the way.

One major threat was Kangseong Foods.

“The supermarket sector is controlled by Kang Mart, under Kangseong Foods. If we enter that space now, they’ll crush us.”

“Because of scale?”

“Yes.”

I thought we could take them on.

But Yuha clearly saw it differently.

“It’s better to grow steadily. We already have strong foundations—let’s fortify them first.”

“That’ll slow us down. The market’s constantly shifting.”

“But we’re not exactly slow either. We’re growing at an unprecedented rate.”

“Kangseong Foods will—”

Our discussion stretched from night until morning.

We gathered data, analyzed it, identified strengths and weaknesses, and calculated opportunity costs.

No clashes this time.

Just pure, productive collaboration—

The kind that builds a company’s future.

***

“Good mor—gah!”

“Ah, Section Chief Hagichul.”

“P-President! Vice President! You two haven’t gone home yet?”

“Is it morning already?”

The blinds had been closed, so we didn’t even notice the time.

We rubbed our tired eyes and grabbed energy drinks.

I think we switched from coffee to these around 2 a.m.

Yuha downed the last of hers and laughed dryly.

“I don’t think I’ll live long working here.”

“I’ll let you rest later.”

“In a coffin?”

“That’s one way.”

“Ha-ha-ha.”

As we chuckled together, Hagichul shook his head.

“You two should at least nap at a sauna.”

“No need.”

Thanks to the doping—the energy drinks—our minds were still sharp even if our bodies weren’t.

Yuha stretched, wringing out the last drops of her energy.

“Section Chief.”

“Yes?”

“Gather the entire Strategic Planning Team in the meeting room as soon as they arrive.”

“Everyone?”

“Yes.”

Right now, the team was juggling tasks from various departments—basically handling side jobs.

But that won’t last forever.

Elite employees should be used like elites.

“We’re starting the new business meeting.”

The results of our all-nighter—

It was time to share them with the team.

And once again—

It was time to start running.