Silicon Valley.

Michael Morris, partner at Sequoia Capital, let out a hollow laugh of disbelief.

“You’re... the partner at Aqua Capital?”

He forced a professional smile and carefully asked again. He tried to hide it, but a trace of doubt still crept into his voice.

Most businesspeople have a habit of trying to size someone up before a meeting. Part of it is to prepare appropriately—“if they’re this type of person, I’ll respond this way”—but more often, it’s just curiosity.

You want to know who you’re about to meet. Whether your guess is right or wrong, it’s its own kind of fun.

But this time... it was truly unexpected.

“Yes, that’s right. Our managing director had another engagement, so I’ve come in their place. I figured you’d be curious about the person who invested in Yahoo—am I wrong?”

The smiling East Asian woman offered a handshake. Closer to a pretty girl than a mature beauty, but Morris didn’t dwell on that.

‘The name suggested East Asian origin, but...’

He had expected a seasoned middle-aged male investor. He’d wondered if she might be from some famous Japanese or Korean semiconductor firm—maybe even the currently trending Daehwa Electronics—but...

Apparently not.

“....”

Realizing that he’d been staring, Morris quickly reached out and took her hand.

“My apologies. Michael Morris, Sequoia Capital.”

Seo Ji-yeon, now acting as Aqua Capital’s partner, returned his handshake with a natural smile and introduced herself under a pseudonym.

“It’s an honor to meet such a renowned figure in Silicon Valley. You can call me Eugene Seo.”

It was as if she were reading from a perfectly rehearsed script—she flowed through the conversation with the Silicon Valley heavyweight without a single hiccup.

‘Good thing I got to hear Myrian talk about him beforehand...’

She thought that to herself.

While Sequoia Capital was extremely well-known in Silicon Valley, to Seo Ji-yeon it was just another VC firm she’d barely heard of. If Myrian hadn’t been planning a startup here, she might not have known the name at all.