“Yea, you’re right. He is Hyunwoo Jang!”

Yu Zuung also heard the reporters calling his name.

She got more perplexed than them because there was no reason for him to appear at this time.

As if she wanted to confirm it, she stuck her head out to look at the man in front of her.

Her eyes popped up with surprise.

Obviously, he was Hyunwoo.

What was more surprising was what he held in his hands.

It was a bundle of flowers full of roses, at least a hundred roses.

The reporters now quickly gathered around him and began to ask.

“Hi, Mr. Jang, why did you bring the flowers?”

“Can you tell us about your relationship with Yu Zuung?”

Hyunwoo didn’t reply at all. Instead, his bodyguard spoke on behalf of him.

“Mr. Jang is going to propose to Yu Zuung now. Please be quiet.”

Then, the boisterous noise suddenly disappeared, and the throng of reporters stepped aside for him to approach her.

Standing in her place, Yu Zuung stared at him.

Finally, Hyunwoo made the first step toward her.

At that moment, the cameras flashed around them. There was nothing heard except for the camera flashes here and there like firecrackers.

Yu Zuung was at a loss, not knowing what to do. She got even more confused. She felt as if her life as an entertainer was at an end, but at the same time, she felt she was a heroine in a movie.

Hyunwoo slowly walked toward her in a calm manner as if he wanted to give the cameramen plenty of time to take pictures.

And then he went down one knee and presented the bouquet to her.

“I’ve dreamt one dream for a long time. It’s for me to say this to you in the presence of lots of reporters. I love you truly. Please accept my love.”

The reporters watched him closely, holding their breath as if they didn’t want to miss any word he said. They even put the mikes right close to her mouth to record her breathing.

But neither Hyunwoo nor Yu Zuung cared about them. They looked at each other’s eyes as if there were only two in the world now.

Suddenly, tears came down her cheek.

She was so choked up that she couldn’t say anything. Instead, she gently approached him and took the bouquet.

Some of the women reporters shouted for joy before they knew.

“Wow, awesome. So wonderful!”

“She must be walking on air.”

But most of the reporters now broke the silence and began to ask again.

“How long has your relationship been going on?”

“Do you admit that you are the man in the audio file?”

Standing up slowly, Hyunwoo raised his hand toward them.

Obviously, he wanted to say something.

The reporters became silent again. When they held breath, Hyunwoo began to speak clearly,

“If you ask me who I loved most, let me say proudly that she is the very woman that I love.”

Hyunwoo pointed at her.

The cameramen popped the flash simultaneously.

“And if I have to live one person only in the future, I will choose this woman only. She is so precious to me. So, don’t be hard on her anymore.”

Some women reporters again yelled out a cheer.

Hyunwoo continued, “Please refrain from asking questions about her. If you need any further information about her, please submit your questions to Ani & Funny. We’re going to answer them frankly.”

Hyunwoo ended the press meeting shortly and escorted her out of the place.

Some reporters asked again, “Can you elaborate about the audio file? Can you confirm it is the dialogue between you and Yu Zuung?”

Hyunwoo looked at the reporter who threw that question.

“Some of the dialogue is ours, but some is not.”

Hyunwoo and Yu Zuung walked out of the place, leaving them alone.

And they got in the back seat of a car waiting for them.

The car started in no time.

Yu Zuung now stopped shedding tears and looked at him. Instead of avoiding her, he also looked at her. Though both seemed happy, her manager and bodyguards inside the car seemed uncomfortable.

Both looked at each other for a while.

It was Yu Zuung who broke the silence that lasted for some time.

“Why did you do that?”

“Sorry, I had no other choice.”

Hyunwoo apologized to her belatedly. But she shook her head.

“I’m alright. But it would be hard for you to meet another woman…” she said with a smile.

Hyunwoo smiled, too, saying, “Even though I can meet another woman, I won’t. I don’t need to. You’re the only woman to me.”

She now made a brighter smile and hugged him suddenly. She didn’t care about her manager and bodyguards.

He, too, hugged her tightly, saying, “By the way, I want to say something.”

She raised her head a bit and looked at him.

“Do I need to propose again? Isn’t my proposal this time enough?”

She cutely looked askance at him and said, “I wish we don’t have to hurry to get married. Even if we get married a bit late, we will be the same, won’t we?”

“Yea, that’s right…”

“I hear that Korean women get married even when they are 30 years old. I don’t want to delay our marriage until that age, but I would like to enjoy a couple of more years before getting married.”

Hyunwoo felt a bit disappointed to hear that. He wanted to get married to her as early as this year, or next year at the latest.

‘Let me wait until then if that’s what she wants.’

***

In early autumn of the year, Haenim School was finally built in Tapgokri, Sosan City.

Though Hyunwoo hired a moving company, the students also helped move the school equipment and furniture. Of course, Hyunwoo chipped in.

“Okay, put this over here…”

“What about this one? It’s very heavy, whew!”

“Move that one over there.”

Everybody was busy moving their stuff, drenched with sweat, under the blazing autumn sun. When they looked at the new building of Haenim School, however, they were full of energy.

Duyoung and Kuroda felt as much satisfied as the students as the research center in Tapgokri was as magnificent as Haenim School. The size of the new Haenim School put the old one in Hwasung in the shade.

The name of the new research center was impressive: STM Research Center.

Given the size of the center, it was large enough to house 100 researchers at the same time.

They didn’t use the center as the classrooms of Haenim School as they did at the old Haenim School. All the annex buildings of Haenim School were built separately near the research center.

But some of the students would be expected to study and assist Duyoung and Kuroda with their research just like they did in Hwasung.

Kuroda expressed concern at the extraordinary large space of the new research center.

“We’re in big trouble, haha! How can we use all this space here? It looks like we have to leave some research rooms vacant for the time being.”

Duyoung and Hyunwoo smiled brightly at Kuroda’s remarks. There would be no vacant rooms as Kuroda expressed concern.

Several days later, Kuroda opened his eyes wide with surprise because several strangers visited STM Research Center.

There were nine people, all told.

“Who are these men?” asked Kuroda.

“They are researchers who will be working with us in the future. This researcher has been specializing in researching secondary batteries…”

Duyoung introduced them one by one. Each of them was veterans with years of experience in the field, all doctors in their fields. Though they were competent and passionate about their research, they could not fully display their skills because of insufficient research funds.

They were not all who could join Duyoung and Kuroda, of course.

“Many more researchers will join us later. When they join us, the researchers here will be 12 total.”

Kuroda’s jaw dropped at Duyoung’s explanation.

“My, when did you start to hire them?”

“It took some time, hahaha.”

Duyoung briefed him about the hiring of the researchers in detail.

Hyunwoo thought of expanding the size of the research center when he planned to relocate it to Tapgokri.

So, he turned to the connections of Duyoung and Taeho to search for competent researchers in the field. He also received recommendations for local autonomous bodies.

The hiring process took one year, and only those whose capabilities were verified had been invited to join the new research center.

Of course, they were not officially hired as full-time researchers.

They were hired on a one-year contract. Hyunwoo would decide whether to renew or not based on their performances.

At the same time, he would continue to replace incompetent researchers with competent and able ones.

Hyunwoo gave the newly hired researchers the code of conduct, which included their teaching of the students of Haenim School.

Namely, they were supposed to work as researchers and teachers.

Hyunwoo also hired subject-specific teachers, who were ten, all told, including Suyoung Oh. Some college students in the area were hired as part-timers.

In other words, the new Haenim School was different from the old school quantitatively as well as qualitatively.

But Hyunwoo repeated the same thing to the students and researchers.

“This is just the beginning. I will make Haenim School and STM Research Center the best educational institution and research center in Korea. Just wait and see when I can make it or not.”