Chapter 10
“…Pardon?”
“Pick one car from here before you leave. You can sell it and buy whatever car you want. I’ll take that one.”
No matter which car she chose, it would almost certainly be far more expensive than the one I was taking, so Secretary Cha would not be losing out.
She could sell it and pocket the money. It would probably equal several years’ worth of salary.
I’ll take that one today. And when I go to work normally, I’ll use another car that’s similar to it. If I suddenly started driving something too cheap, people might start saying Yeon Se-rang had lost her mind…
Moderation was key.
“Yes, Director. I will follow your instructions… thank you.”
“No, thank you. Then shall we head out? We can’t be late for Grandfather’s appointment.”
At that, Secretary Cha smiled softly. “Of course, Director.”
Meanwhile.
In the alley outside Chairman Yeon’s residence, within the neighborhood lined with luxury detached houses, a line of high-end cars had gathered for the first time in a while.
Every one of them was headed for Chairman Yeon’s home.
In one of those vehicles sat Yeon Si-ho, Chairman Yeon’s second grandson.
Realizing that the car ahead belonged to Yeon Sae-byeok, he leaned forward. “Wait. Isn’t that Sae-byeok hyung’s car?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Perfect. Secretary Kim, park the car properly.”
“Yes, sir.”
Yeon Si-ho immediately got out of the car and knocked on the window of the car in front.
The window slid down with a soft whirr, revealing a cold expression. “What is it?”
“Open the door, hyung. This isn’t the time for the two of us to be at odds.”
At Yeon Si-ho’s words, Yeon Sae-byeok hesitated briefly, then sighed.
The car door opened.
Afraid it might close again, Yeon Si-ho quickly got in.
“You know this gathering was obviously arranged because of Se-rang, right?”
“…And?”
Yeon Si-ho glanced at the driver in the front seat, then raised the partition window, cutting off all sound.
“What are you doing?”
“There’s no need for others to hear this.”
“Do you think I’m like you? I know how to manage my people.” Yeon Sae-byeok lowered the partition window again. “You can trust my driver. Stop overthinking it and get to the point.”
“Wow. You’re really confident, hyung?”
Yeon Si-ho shrugged, as if it did not matter.
“Why do you think Chairman called us in today? It means our little scheme got exposed.”
“Do you really think anyone’s going there without realizing that? Only idiots like you need someone to spell it out.”
“…We haven’t even started the real game yet, and you’re already snapping? Calm down.”
Then Yeon Si-ho asked, sounding genuinely puzzled. “But you seem awfully relaxed, hyung.”
“And why wouldn’t I be?”
“What do you mean, why? You sent nothing but trash trainees too. Why are you the only one acting at peace?”
Yeon Sae-byeok let out a short laugh. “Yeon Si-ho. I’ll say this again. Don’t compare me to you.”
“……”
“In the first place, trash can’t even enter my company.”
“!”
“You guys have such a narrow trainee pool that you close your eyes to everything else as long as someone looks halfway decent. We don’t even accept people like that to begin with.”
Damn it.
Yeon Si-ho’s face stiffened.
He had been outplayed. Yeon Sae-byeok had used a safe double trick from the start.
He had not sent ace-level trainees, as Chairman Yeon had instructed, but neither had he sent true “trash,” as Yeon Si-ho had suggested.
He had gambled with solid second-tier trainees.
Even if things went wrong, he would still be able to save face.
“You really play dirty.”
“Dirty? Isn’t this your fault for letting just anyone become a trainee in the first place?” Yeon Sae-byeok grinned and opened the car door.
The conversation was over.
Get out.
“I kept my promise. I sent the trainees farthest from debut in my agency. But you should’ve known this from the start, Yeon Si-ho.”
No matter how Yeon Si-ho glared at him, Yeon Sae-byeok did not even blink.
“Even my lowest-ranked trainees become aces the moment they go to another agency.”
“……” Yeon Si-ho ground his teeth.
After all, Yeon Sae-byeok’s Yeon Entertainment was currently leading the idol industry.
“You’re the one who can’t manage your talent pool, and you dare blame others? You’re the idiot for raising trash you can’t even debut in the first place.”
“Hah!”
“You’re doing business with the entire nation watching. How dare you think of debuting people who’ve bullied others? You don’t even have the basics down. People like that shouldn’t even be considered for an agency. It lowers the standard.”
There was not a single wrong word in that.
Yeon Si-ho knew it too.
But those were words only an idealist, or someone in a position of strength, could afford to say.
Trainees lined up just to get into Yeon Entertainment.
Yeon Si-ho’s agency, Blue Royal, was always the second choice.
They mostly ended up taking trainees who had been rejected by Yeon Entertainment.
So they accepted everyone out of necessity.
But Yeon Si-ho knew it. Debuting those trainees was an enormous risk.
“You really screwed me over today, hyung. I won’t forget this.”
“Good. Remember it for the rest of your life, and don’t embarrass me by being my brother.”
Bang.
The car door slammed shut.
Yeon Sae-byeok closed his eyes, a satisfied smile on his lips.
Whether it was Yeon Si-ho or Yeon Se-rang, no matter how they struggled, victory would ultimately be his.
“Oh? Isn’t that Yeon Si-ho?”
Behind the two men’s cars was Yeon Se-rang’s vehicle.
“It is.”
“Oof, he looks pissed. His face is bright red.”
“…It seems he had a fight with CEO Yeon Sae-byeok.”
“Oh? How can you tell?” Se-rang leaned forward slightly.
“The car he just got out of belongs to CEO Yeon Sae-byeok.”
“My goodness. A secret meeting inside the car?”
“More likely, a necessary conversation between brothers. About tonight’s dinner.”
“And it didn’t go well?” Se-rang laughed brightly. “Well, that makes sense. The trainees from Sae-byeok oppa’s Yeon Entertainment were actually decent.”
“They weren’t what you’d call trash.”
“Yeah. That oppa really is impressive, right? He keeps the line just enough to save face while never giving up his real ace cards.”
“That is very much CEO Yeon Sae-byeok’s style. Safe, but cold.” Secretary Cha nodded.
Yeon Sae-byeok was not a man who made careless choices. Being the closest to the successor position, he had no reason to carve away his own flesh.
“But there’s something oppa’s mistaken about.”
“…Yes?”
“No matter how cleverly he schemes, his opponent isn’t me. It’s Chairman Yeon.”
“…!”
Not me. A cold smile spread across Se-rang’s lips. “He thinks he’s playing against me, so he pulls shallow tricks like that…”
She looked out through the windshield.
Yeon Si-ho was storming back to his own car, slamming the door shut.
“But the person he’s really up against isn’t me. It’s Grandfather. He’s the one who chooses the successor, after all.”
“……”
“This isn’t a succession competition. It’s a succession selection.”
No matter how thoroughly Yeon Sae-byeok eliminated the other candidates, if Chairman Yeon did not choose him, it was all meaningless.
No matter how many rivals he crushed, new ones would keep appearing, endlessly trying to seize Imperial.
Unless he wanted to fight a war forever, he had to make Chairman Yeon choose him.
“Oppa’s getting carried away, relying on blood ties. But from what I can see, Grandfather doesn’t seem like someone who has to pass everything on to his bloodline. Don’t you think?”
After all, wasn’t that precisely why Baek Do-gyeong had been able to seize his chance?
If blood alone mattered, Baek Do-gyeong would never have been allowed to step forward.
“You’re absolutely correct, Director.”
“Of course, the bloodline advantage is massive. If all else is equal, a grandson is better than a stranger. But if they keep going with this self-destructive strategy, the one who survives in the end will be Baek Do-gyeong.” Yeon Se-rang’s eyes gleamed coldly.
Among this entire trainee lineup, the only one who had sent real aces was Baek Do-gyeong’s Dynasty.
Baek Do-gyeong had stabbed the other representatives in the back and lined up properly.
On the right side of the line.
There was no way Chairman Yeon would not notice.
“I should probably let my brothers know.”
That if they kept this up, Baek Do-gyeong would be the one to swallow Imperial whole.
Because the person they truly needed to watch out for was not me.
It was Baek Do-gyeong.