101: Chapter 101 Return to work

The morning after returning from Sanya, Chairman Wang Shunyi arrived at the office forty minutes later than usual.

Kim Young-jun waited in the hallway for a while but didn't see him; he thought about calling several times but decided against it.

The boss had been in China for a week; calling him on his first day back would be inconsiderate.

A cup of hot Americano was already set on the desk, at the perfect temperature to drink.

At 9:30, the meeting room doors closed. Kim Sang-woo, Lee Jung-hoon, Park Jeong-ho, and Kim Young-jun sat on either side, thick stacks of documents spread out before them.

Chairman Wang Shunyi opened the China market sales briefing handed over by Kim Sang-woo.

Cumulative sales reached 58 million RMB, with the spicy and hot-and-sour flavors accounting for nearly half. He read through line by line; the numbers were fine, and the logic held up.

Contracts for offline channels like FamilyMart, Lawson, and 7-Eleven had all been signed, with products hitting the shelves in November.

"What about logistics costs?"

He turned a page, his gaze never leaving the paper.

Kim Sang-woo answered quickly.

"Currently at 18%, which is seven percentage points higher than in Korea. Cross-border shipping and local warehouses are still in the adjustment period; we can bring it down to below 15% next month."

"Bringing it down to 15% is for next month. How are we handling this month?"

Kim Sang-woo opened his mouth to speak, but Lee Jung-hoon beside him took over.

"We'll squeeze the cross-border segment first. We've increased the frequency of shipments from Korea to Shanghai from twice a week to three times. The order fulfillment rate for the Shanghai warehouse has already reached 90%."

Chairman Wang Shunyi didn't press further, shifting his gaze to the financial report handed over by Park Jeong-ho.

Net profit was 1.49 billion KRW, with a net profit margin of 16%, basically the same as before he went to China.

He closed the report and pushed it back to the center of the table.

"Regarding JYP, is the meeting for next Tuesday at 2 PM confirmed?"

Kim Young-jun nodded.

"Confirmed. Park Jin-young has already locked in the schedule at JYP headquarters. The car and translator are all arranged. Chairman, would you like to prepare a letter of intent for investment in advance?"

"No need. It's the first meeting; we won't talk terms. We'll only proceed if we hit it off."

The remaining projects were reviewed throughout the afternoon. Kim Tae-ho from the R&D department brought the development schedule for Hot Pot Noodles and Chongqing Noodles; samples would be ready by the end of November.

Kim Sang-woo brought another logistics cost optimization plan, focusing on three directions:

Signing an annual framework agreement with Cainiao, adding two more warehouses in Chengdu and Wuhan, and raising the order fulfillment rate of the Guangzhou warehouse to 95%.

After listening, Chairman Wang Shunyi circled the Chengdu warehouse item. Sign with Cainiao first; the Chengdu warehouse will wait until after the Wuhan one is operational to look at the data before deciding.

By the time the last meeting ended, the twilight outside was already seeping through the gaps between the buildings.

Kim Young-jun hesitated over whether to ask about ordering dinner, but Chairman Wang Shunyi had already grabbed his coat and said he was leaving.

He drove to her building without sending a message in advance.

When he went upstairs, her door was open. The smell of cooking fumes wafted out from the crack, so spicy it made him frown.

She was wearing loungewear, her apron strings tied in a bow behind her back, as she brought soup to the table. The apron was stained with red marks from chili sauce—new ones over old ones, impossible to wash out.

"Minji, don't you have a housekeeper? Why are you cooking yourself?"

Park Min-ji smiled and didn't say anything, only replying, "You're here? I just turned off the heat for the soup."

The table was set with Korean BBQ, kimchi soup, fried fish, and several side dishes—all his favorites. She had only rested for half a day after returning from Sanya before going to the supermarket for groceries.

She served him a bowl of soup, sat down, took a sip from her own bowl, and said:

"The distributor from the Philippines called today to ask when we can supply them. If it's too late, they won't wait."

"Kim Sang-woo is already working on the Manila warehouse; the project will be initiated next month."

She put down her bowl and picked up her chopsticks to take a piece of fish.

"Sunyi, have you thought about letting me step down from the CFO position lately? With me in this role, what will people outside say about you? They'll say you're practicing nepotism by putting your girlfriend in charge of finance."

She said it with a smile, but there was something else suppressed beneath it.

"Shareholders don't care about that. They only look at the numbers. If your numbers look good, no one will talk. If they don't, you'll leave on your own."

He didn't smile.

"Moreover, you aren't just my girlfriend. You are my advisor—the financial advisor for Shunyi Foods. The CFO's name is on the organizational chart, but I plan to give that position to Park Jeong-ho. Your name isn't on it."

She was stunned.

"Minji, your value isn't in that position. It's elsewhere."

He picked up his soup bowl. "Let's eat."

She lowered her head to drink the soup, the steam blurring her eyes.

He couldn't see her expression clearly, but he saw the corner of her mouth curl up.

After the meal, he helped clear the dishes. While she was washing them, he stood at the kitchen door, watching her stack the plates one by one into the rack, her apron strings still untied and trailing behind her.

She turned around and wiped her hands on her apron. They looked at each other, neither saying a word.

She looked away first and went to the living room to turn on the TV. In the K-drama, a chaebol heir was confessing to the female lead in the rain. The lines were cheesy, but her eyes were a bit red.

He sat down beside her and draped his coat over her shoulders. The coat was large, covering her shoulders and back.

He left after ten o'clock. She stood at the door watching him enter the elevator. The doors closed, and the floor number jumped from ten to one.

He got into his car and lit a cigarette. He opened the window a crack, and the smoke was drawn out by the wind, dissipating quickly. Several things were spinning in his mind:

What to discuss with Park Jin-young next Tuesday; the data for the Chengdu warehouse would have to wait until the Wuhan one was operational before deciding whether to sign; he still hadn't finished reading the briefing Kim Young-jun sent regarding VIVID's new album performance. These things were all piling up, giving him a bit of a headache...

He stubbed out the cigarette, closed the window, and shifted into gear to drive out of the parking lot.

In the rearview mirror, the lights of Namsan Tower flickered. The radio was on at a low volume, playing an old song. After a few lines, it sounded familiar—the same one that had played in the lobby of the hotel in Sanya.

He didn't turn it off.