Chapter 233: Chapter 227

In fact, Hyunwoo thought even 300 people would not be enough because there were so many animation works that Ani & Funny staff were planning at the moment.

Basically, there were 42 teams composed of students. And when the Korea office of Ani & Funny was expanded sooner or later, not only the students but also full-time employees would be drastically increased.

When the open contest for animated stories is closed, they would have to follow up on that. Their new production would be different from the standard 10-minute piece up to now. On the occasion of the contest Hyunwoo planned to produce animated movies, too.

What was most important was hiring more talented people.

The original five students including Ngun would graduate at the end of the year.

Hyunwoo thought of ending the contract with VPictures, timed with their graduation so that the Vietnamese branch would take its place.

“It’s just useless to fill the office with people to accomplish our goal. Each of the people here should be highly competent. That’s why I have my staff in Korea continue to make animation works and send them here. There is no other way to enhance your skills without making actual trials,” said Hyunwoo.

It was in this vein that he ordered Ngun to hire more people. He felt that the chances of finding talented people were high when he could select 50 out of 500 instead of out of 100 applicants.

The elite applicants selected through that process would form the core of the Vietnamese branch.

“By then, the staff here will be divided into full-time and contractors. You guys will assume various roles including CEO and directors to lead the branch here.”

He thought he would set the number of full-time employees at 50, which could go up or down, depending on how many talented people there were available.

“If you become full-time employees, you will get a higher monthly salary with special treatment. And your salary will be based on your performance, not a fixed amount.”

Performance-based salary would mean that those who produced more animation works at a high quality would get more compensation.

“So, just hire as many as people and find the best-talented ones. And make sure they enhance their skills as quickly as possible. Next year, they will be the pipeline of new income for you.”

As Hyunwoo continued to talk, the students’ eyes sparkled with hope. It seemed they saw a rosy future before their eyes.

They all clenched their firsts and renewed their determination.

“Don’t worry. We will make our teams more competent and professional than VPictures.”

Hyunwoo nodded at them with a satisfied smile as if he trusted them.

When he arrived back in Korea, Hyunwoo quickly began to find technicians. In order to revive the troubled Vietnamese companies, he had to find competent technicians as soon as possible.

He called Unhye, the general manager of N&C Japan and Seungwoo Paek, its head in America, to recommend good technicians. He didn’t need to insist on searching for them only in Korea.

The reason he hastened to search for technicians was because of DF Technology.

In fact, he was on the lookout for the appropriate targets of investment. He was making more than 25 billion won per month in net profit through Ani & Funny and KOVE DREAM.

Of course, he didn’t want to increase money by investing in stocks or real estate. He wanted a more valuable investment.

The most invaluable investment was in human beings. That’s why he gave the students of Ani & Funny and Haenim School generous cash gifts for their hard work.

Still, he had a surplus of money.

Then he found a surefire company for new investment in Vietnam. He would not worry if he could discover many companies like DF Technology and made an investment.

It looks like I can save my money and still make an investment.

In the meantime, he received a call from Yonggu. It was a very happy call.

“I’m getting married, man.”

“Oh, really? Married to Minhye?”

“Sure. Who would it be other than her? I set the marriage date in October. I called you because you deserve the most credit.”

“Hey, you have made it, at last, dude. Congrats!” said Hyunwoo, raising his voice.

But he felt a bit bitter. He was in doubt if Minhye decided to marry him because she loved him, though Yonggu did so.

“So, where are you going to buy a house as newlyweds?”

“I already purchased one in Seoul.”

“I wonder if you already moved in.”

“No, not yet. I’m going to live with her as soon as the remodeling of the house is done. Haha”

Yonggu’s voice was pretty much spirited.

Hyunwoo felt good, too. On the other hand, he hoped Minhye would end her affair with Hyongsun completely after she got married.

Hyunwoo congratulated Yonggu. He would have gone to Seoul right away if he could and have a drink with Yonggu, but he couldn’t.

“I’m so tied up today. Let me have a drink with you next time.”

“Sure. Take care”

After the call, he moved around here and there.

He was much busier since he came back from his business trip to Vietnam.

In particular, KOVE DREAM occupied his time most because of KOVE DREAM Blue. The incoming orders increased by 50%, but his workload increased drastically.

So, he hastily hired more than 100 people.

But they were clumsy in handling their work as they were just hired. In particular, one third of the new hires were part-timers on a three-month contract, and there were only ten experienced workers.

Due to lack of experience and practical skills, they kept making mistakes, and there were never-ending complaints from consumers.

It was unreasonable to seek understanding from the consumers who purchased KOVE products. KOVE workers should have made sure they completed their work without mistake because if something went wrong KOVE should be totally responsible for that.

That’s how Hyunwoo addressed the problem.

He didn’t make any excuse for his mistake. He thought he should frankly let the people know about the situation

He posted a letter of apology on the homepage of KOVE DREAM. He explained in detail how he suddenly formed KOVE DREAM Blue and what could inevitably happen as a result.

Of course, that was his excuse. The consumers’ complaints didn’t stop.

He tried to soothe them by sending them free gifts, along with apologetic replies to their messages. Because of that, he had to stay at KOVE DREAM from early morning till night every day. He couldn’t find any time to take care of Ani & Funny, Haenim School or N&C Korea.

That was no exception in his love affair with Suji.

In the past, he went out with her sometimes at night, but he couldn’t take time out for it. He rarely called her these days.

Actually, KOVE DREAM was at the critical juncture of whether it could overcome the difficulties and thrive further or go downhill.

But Suji was not aware of that. Of course, she roughly knew what was going on there, but she was completely kept in the dark about the gravity of the situation.

She wasn’t nagging like before. She was convinced of Hyunwoo’s love of her, to say the least.

He is not seeing me often because he doesn’t love me any longer, but because he is too busy.

Nonetheless, she could not help but feel hurt. In particular, she really felt empty in her heart when she got off work early and had no appointment. She even felt she was discarded and alone in the world.

On the other hand, she was scared. She was worried if Hyunwoo would be a workaholic like her father.

Whenever she thought as far as that, there was one person that she missed: Jungsu.

Come to think of it, she met him frequently. Since he was appointed as a prosecutor in Ansan, she met him at least two or three times per week.

She had no particular reason to see him. As he was just assigned to a new post in Ansan, she just took care of him with the best of intentions. She just had a light dinner with him and then parted.

As time passed by, however, it became kind of habitual for her to meet him. Even though she didn’t date him, she found herself waiting for his call when the closing hours of the office approached.

When she thought of Hyunwoo, she compared him to Jungsu. Hyunwoo had more merits, but she wished he could take his cue from Jungsu sometimes.

I wish Hyunwoo was at least half as homely and domestic as Jungsu.

But it would be hard for her to expect that of Hyunwoo. Basically he opened too many businesses. And he liked to meddle in others’ affairs. Of course, that might be one of his merits.

Soothing her troubled mind, she was about to leave the office when she received a call from Jungsu.

Was it because she thought about him only a minute ago? Or was it because she was waiting for his call? As soon as she noticed his name on her phone, her heart sank without any reason. She felt as if she was caught stealing something.

But she has nothing to be ashamed of because she wasn’t having an affair with him.

She picked up the phone easily.

“Oh, it’s you, Jungsu”

“How about dinner together?”

“Well, I was thinking of eating at home today,” said Suji, chickening out this time. She didn’t want to be seen as an easy woman to him.

Jungsu then said in a begging voice, “You know, I have to eat alone. Don’t you think I’m miserable? Let me treat you to a nice dinner if you come.”

“If that’s what you are, let me save you. Hoho” she said.

They had dinner comfortably. Almost two hours passed while they ate and chatted in an amicable mood.

Just like before she was about to head for home as soon as she was done.

But today Jungsu held her.

“How about beer? I’ll feel so lonely if I go home now.”

Though she agnozied, she could understand his situation. Even she felt lonely when she was with her family. He would feel more lonely as he lived solo.

“Sure. Just one glass of beer, then.”

They went to a beerhouse, but one glass of beer was repeated until they kept drinking late into the night. It seemed she drank as much as 2000cc of beer.

Actually, she felt a bit drunk.

Trying to read her mind, he cautiously asked, “Is your love affair with Hyunwoo going well? It looks like you have been dating him for a long time, but you have never mentioned ‘marriage’ to me. You don’t seem to see him these days. Did you split with him?”

“No, I’m still dating him. He has been so kind to me, but he is too busy during weekdays,” said she with a surprised look, denying his suspicion of her separation.

On the other hand, she felt she denied it too strongly. It occurred to her that strong denial was the same as strong affirmation.

Jungsu pretended not to notice it, though.

Instead, he changed the topic. It was about a girl he used to date in college.

“Actually, I regret that I had not split with her long time ago. Do you know why?”

Suji was stunned to hear that because of his mention of ‘split’. Obviously, he wanted to split with her, but could not for some reason.

Jungsu continued in a calm voice, “Yea, I really wanted to split with her. There were better girls around me, and I didn’t have good chemistry with her.”

“Why didn’t you break up then?”

“Out of obligation, in short. I had a sense of obligation that I had to take responsibility for her once I slept with her. Looking back now, I see it’s ridiculous, but I thought like that back then.”

“Ah…”

“How stupid of me! A man and a woman should never meet out of obligation. It’s like wearing ill-fitting clothes. After all, I experienced the limits of my patience and split with her.”

Suji didn’t reply because her relationship with Hyunwoo might be similar to that.

Obviously, they loved each other. But they had a different chemistry. Their values were different.

“Suji, don’t repeat my mistake. Of course, it’s a different story once you get married. But you should never meet your lover out of obligation before you get married. I’m saying this for your sake. Keep it in mind.”

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