The Explorer's Legacy
"I apologize for keeping you waiting."
"Oh, nonsense. Why are you like that? It’s perfectly fine."
He turned on his laptop and pulled up the PowerPoint presentation. Then, he began his report with fluid grace. He had quickly shed the persona of the one being entertained from the day before, and now, in the presence of a senior elder, he spoke with even greater deference and formality.
"Therefore, we believe that if Seongjeong participates in the consortium, the synergy effect will be significant. Furthermore, we expect to share valuable experience regarding know-how that we currently lack."
"Well now, you’re interpreting my dreams better than I could myself, so I’m the one who should be grateful. We haven’t even broken ground yet, and to be praised like this..."
The Chairman of Seongjeong was a man who was boisterous, cheerful, loud, and always eager to try new things. Even now, when the company had grown significantly, people in the industry often pointed to Seongjeong as a company destined for continuous growth, even back in the days when its contracting rank—the ranking of construction companies based on performance and financial statements—was low.
It was said that even the Vice Chairman had strongly voiced his opinions to the higher-ups in his youth, urging them to scale up and take on bigger challenges. But that only becomes a heartwarming story if the person in charge listens humbly, accepts it, and puts it into action. In reality, how many bosses would react well if a subordinate said, "Your company is too small-minded and what you're doing is unsatisfactory, so either do it properly or let's just quit"?
"Don't be so nervous. Aren't you the one giving us work, General Manager?"
"Not at all. Everyone knows that you, Chairman, have deep roots in this industry. I, too, have a great deal of respect for you in the construction field."
"Aigoo... the company is so small, it’s embarrassing to be praised like this..."
As he drank the coffee an employee had brought, the Chairman scrutinized the documents more carefully. The time had come to move from the reporting phase to the negotiation phase.
"For now, based on yesterday's discussion, we have decided that Seongjeong will handle the new sections 11 through 15."
"That is correct. We have also agreed that we will be responsible for the collection, transport, and disposal of waste."
The Vice Chairman looked at him, and he nodded. The Chairman slowly nodded as he flipped through the pages. Everyone fell silent. Even the staff members who appeared to be at the assistant manager or manager level looked back and forth between the Chairman and him, their tension palpable.
"Here, this part... near the Jisudong rotary. Would it be alright to build an apartment complex here?"
"..."
He remained silent for a moment. The Chairman nodded while looking at him.
"Haha."
"...To be honest..."
The site, which had to be built on a hillside, was the lowest-value location among the planned residential complexes. However, they were required to use the same materials as the complexes on flat ground, which inevitably meant lower profitability.
"That is correct."
"I thought as much."
However, he didn't want to dump this on Seongjeong. This was an image problem. If the representative company of a consortium requested another construction firm to take on a low-profit area, the subordinate construction company basically had to comply. Otherwise, they could be kicked out of the consortium. But if that were misinterpreted, it would be seen as an abuse of power. In this day and age, where such things have become major social issues, doing something like that could have the media buzzing all day long.
"Seongjeong will handle the development of this area. Please allow us to carry it out ourselves, General Manager."
"Ah...? Oh, that’s quite alright. We are already grateful enough for the offer Seongjeong has provided..."
"This is a little different. As an old man, I just think it would be better for both of us if we did it this way."
"In what way...?"
He looked at the Chairman, and the Chairman of Seongjeong replied,
"In exchange, please allow us to use our apartment brand instead of Doowon's Rian brand."
"Aha..."
Only then did he understand the Chairman's meaning, and he nodded. The Chairman, sensing that their thoughts were aligned, continued,
"The brand value will likely rise significantly once we build it here. Since our brand is lower-tier than Cheongsol anyway, we wouldn't be able to set foot in other places. But just by planting one of our apartments somewhere in the Seonyu New Town, it seems like it would have a significant advertising effect."
"..."
"Furthermore, even assuming Doowon builds up to this point, it would just be adding one more to the Rian brand that’s already spread out. If we were to cut all this down and develop it just for that, it would be perceived as a 'chicken rib'—something of little value but hard to discard."
"...That is true. In fact."
"I thought so. We thought we needed to increase our track record, and taking on a difficult task in exchange for the small profit and advertising effect we’d gain from completing it doesn't seem like a bad deal."
He looked at the page containing the details for a moment before saying, "I will push to get approval for that matter from the President of the Construction Division as well. I will also do my best to ensure that the 'small profit' you mentioned is actually guaranteed. Thank you for being honest. I was a bit worried that it might cause some misunderstanding..."
"There is ab-so-lutely no problem! We’re doing it because we want to. As you know, those of us outside the top 15 in contracting are moving like our lives depend on it. Even if it means taking on a loss to slap the Cerium logo on it, we’d have to accept it gratefully."
He smiled faintly and messaged a staff member to immediately conduct a feasibility study on the matter. While they were chatting, a knock sounded at the door.
"Come in."
"Yes, General Manager. The RM review materials regarding the matter you mentioned have just arrived. Here they are."
"Thank you."
He flipped through the documents. It detailed that if the development plan for the area were entrusted to Seongjeong, the benefits to Seongjeong would be significant. Conversely, if Doowon proceeded with the original plan, the profitability of the hillside area would inevitably be negative even if they raised the apartment supply price by 3% to cover the high-difficulty land preparation. The gist was that they would need to raise the supply price by 7%, and if that wasn't possible, it would be better to entrust it to Seongjeong. The people sitting in front of him looked at him with quite worried expressions, as his expression was serious and he hadn't said a word for a long time. Then,
"The Risk Management Department just reviewed it, and it seems certain that entrusting it to Seongjeong will be beneficial for both parties."
"Ah! That’s wonderful."
The Vice Chairman nodded, pressing his lips together, and the Chairman let out a deep sigh and drank his coffee.
"Thank you, General Manager Han."
"Not at all. I was worried if it was really okay for you to take on such a difficult task yourself."
"I’m not the type of person to have people talking behind my back."
That was true.
"...So, is this really the only reason you came..."
The Chairman finally relaxed his expression slightly as he spoke.
"Actually, this wasn't the only reason I came..."
He intended to push forward with any additional requests, provided they weren't too difficult. If he were to add the projects Seongjeong said they would undertake right now and get them re-approved, his father would probably call him into his office and ask,
"Did you go there and grab them by the collar and threaten them?"
"No? They said they would do it themselves... No, but what do you take your son's character for, really!"
"Who in their right mind would do that themselves? I'm calling them."
"No, they really did."
Since that kind of reaction was expected, he intended to help them as much as he had been helped. When he told him to speak comfortably, the Chairman said,
"It’s nothing else, but..."
"Yes."
"...I was wondering if Chairman Han had mentioned anything about an M&A."
The Vice Chairman had a look that said he knew everything, and the same went for the Deputy General Manager. The Vice Chairman signaled for the other employees to wait in the car.
"What kind of..."
"It’s just difficult."
"...?"
The Chairman spoke slowly, as if venting.
"I have two daughters I’m raising, but I couldn't do much for them when they were young. Was it during college? About 7 years ago... I took the company public, the subsidiaries seemed to be running well, and our order performance was good, so I said I’d take a break at home for a while."
"Yes."
"But the kids felt uncomfortable around me."
He understood the feeling. When he was young, his father was always away in the provinces or on overseas business trips. Back then, it was common to just see his father, drenched in sweat, say "Dad!" and then immediately go into his room. Even if they seemed close now, there had been a certain distance in the past. Thinking of the old days, he nodded in empathy.
"Business is, well, truly..."
"Then, at some point, the kids started talking to me, asking me to go play somewhere. I was practicing golf at home, and suddenly they said that."
"Ah..."
"So I went, and I was so happy. I thought, 'This is why family is necessary; I’ve only found joy in work...' That’s what I thought."
"Haha. Well..."
"Yeah. So..."
The Chairman lowered his head for a moment and fell into thought.
"...I want to stop."
"..."
He slowly lifted his head. "Both of my daughters are far from construction. Even if they majored in architecture, I don't want to pass it on to them. General Manager Han seems to enjoy his work, but I wonder how much his heart must be rotting away. He could be spending his 20s comfortably like others, but he has to think about the company all day long. When he goes to work, his boss is his father. If he fails, he gets cursed at for failing, and if he does well, people point fingers, saying he was just lucky to be born into a chaebol family. He has to work like a dog while getting cursed at. He has to go abroad and act like he’s having fun with strangers. He has to produce results."
"..."
"I started a company from the bottom up because I wanted to try, but I just couldn't give this to my children. When we went to Busan, those kids who only ever studied sang so well. I’d never had a drink with my children, never gone to a karaoke room. Being daughters, I naturally thought they couldn't go to baseball or soccer games. But they went there and had such a good time, you know?"
"Ah... Yes..."
"Then at some point, a thought occurred to me. If I pushed my kids to do business, they would end up like me—lots of money, but no laughter... I felt like I would ruin my children."
The Chairman continued to speak like that until he finished his coffee. He brought another drink from the home bar in the conference room. The Chairman held it, grinned, and gestured his thanks.
"Still, you could use a professional management system to proceed..."
"I’ve thought about it. But I’m worried that if I just entrust it to anyone, a terrible thing might happen where I see my company, my life's work, fall apart."
The Chairman was simply doing his best in the present. Even if he left the company in the future, even if he sold it to someone, he would try as hard as he could. In a sense, he felt more like an adventurer than a businessman. So, after coordinating the business, he was now talking about an M&A.
"So that is why you wish to sell it to us."
"That’s right. Haha. As an old man gets older, he gets more talkative. I’m sorry."
"..."
He nodded and glanced at his watch. The meeting time was almost up. As he closed his laptop, the other Seongjeong guests also prepared their documents. After the Chairman and he rose from their seats together,
"...I will speak well of this to our Chairman."
"..."
"An explorer, having finished his work, is entrusting us with such a precious thing..."
The Chairman lifted his head and looked at him.
"...I will tell him that."
-
"I’m sorry to the General Manager for coming here and talking about such difficult things."
"Not at all, Chairman. Please take care on your way back."
"Yes. Don't worry too much about what I said... Well, I do think it might be okay to just sit an outside person there."
"..."
Then, just as the Chairman was about to get into the car, he approached and asked,
"...But why did you tell me?"
"..."
"I remember you have some acquaintance with the Chairman..."
The Chairman was about to get into the car, but he stopped, stepped out, and stared at him for a long time. Then, he grinned and patted him on the shoulder a couple of times.
"Among the second-generation executives I’ve met, General Manager Han seems the most capable."
"..."
"I’m not trying to entrust it to the current Chairman. I came here in person like this to entrust it to the next generation’s Chairman."
"You are too kind."
"This old man knows how to read people. I have good instincts."
The Chairman looked at him with a satisfied expression, asked if that was enough of an answer, turned around, and then looked at him again—
"Ah. I didn't give you my business card."
"No, Chairman. It was my mistake too..."
"Don't be like that, it’s fine. Take it. We didn't have a formal acquaintance before, after all."
With a hearty laugh, the Chairman handed over his business card. He received it gently with both hands.
"Call me comfortably. If you have any questions, call me directly. Okay?"
He nodded. Then, he opened the door a little wider so the Chairman could get in, closed it carefully, and bowed.
"It seems we will be seeing each other often. I have that feeling."
"I will be in touch often."
"Yes, General Manager Han Suhyun. It was nice meeting you today."
"Yes, take care..."
He hesitated for a moment, feeling a bit awkward, then said, "Please go ahead, Chairman Eun Seongmin."