United Front
The café sat a short distance from the office. I was sitting across from Section Chief Oh.
"Where did you even find this? No—how did you know I had any connection to PharmCare in the first place? Have you been digging into my background? Why?"
"Drink your coffee first. It's going to get cold."
"You think I can swallow coffee right now?"
I paid his urgency no mind and took a sip. I wasn't about to miss the moment when coffee tasted its best.
According to Attorney Jeong Ji-hyun's kind explanation, the ideal drinking temperature was between sixty-five and seventy degrees Celsius—the range where bitterness and astringency fell away and the coffee's true flavor came through most clearly.
Work was no different. Every situation had its proper temperature. Especially with a task as delicate as blindsiding an idea thief sitting just ahead of me. If the heart ran too hot, haste would ruin everything. Too cold, and you'd lose the human touch.
I took my time enjoying the cup, and only set it down when about a third remained. Even then, Section Chief Oh's coffee hadn't diminished by so much as a drop. A waste.
"The New Business Development Teams review dozens—sometimes hundreds—of business items every week. It would be hard not to know about a patented product that's taken home the Venture Innovation Award three years running."
"So everyone is just looking the other way, knowing this project infringes on another company's patent?"
"Developing the same type of product isn't patent infringement in itself."
"That's absurd!"
"If Apple patents a particular smartphone feature, does that mean Samsung can't manufacture phones? Of course not. Samsung develops its own specialized features and sells machines built its own way."
"But that's..."
"The purpose of a patent is simply a system to encourage the original inventor to be the first to establish their invention in industry. The market fundamentally rejects monopolies. In the end, you have to compete and survive."
He was a smart man. He would understand exactly what I meant. Oh Seung-won shook his head in disbelief, then his shoulders sagged.
Over the past three years, CEO Oh Seongjin had needed to throw every last bit of money and manpower into putting his business on the path to success—not pile on a heap of features that were a pain to use, all in the name of making a high-performance product.
"So you're saying there's nothing we can do?"
"Not at all."
I pointed to the sheet of paper in front of him.
"Aren't you curious how this product is being manufactured and distributed?"
"Of course I am."
I laid out everything I had uncovered and predicted—leaving out only the part about Team Leader Kim's ex-wife, An Seon-young. Oh Seung-won's expression gradually shifted toward shock. And when I told him that Lee Jungwan had started moving in earnest from the moment CEO Oh Seongjin signed the outsourcing contract with Sunnytronics, he even let out a groan of despair.
"How can a human being be that shameless?"
"Because the only thing that matters to him is his own profit."
Lee Jungwan hadn't been targeting CEO Oh Seongjin alone. From what I'd seen on Sunnytronics' website, they had been copying a remarkable variety of idea products over the years. There were probably plenty of business owners who didn't even know their products had been stolen. Afraid of getting caught if they sold domestically, they had dumped the entire stock exclusively onto Chinese shopping sites.
The funny part? They manufactured everything in China, then had the gall to stamp Maid in Korea right on the box and sell it.
"The problem is we don't have any information that can prove the connection between Lee Jungwan and Sunnytronics..."
"No. I have that information."
Oh Seung-won held out the documents he had brought with him. However he had collected them, they contained evidence that could prove the in-law relationship between Sunnytronics and Lee Jungwan.
"Sunnytronics originally belonged to Lee Jungwan's father-in-law. The name on the company changed to someone else recently, but..."
It was documentation that explained, with precision, why Sunnytronics' CEO had been swapped out.
He'll protect his own family no matter who else has to die. Despicable bastard.
If your own family is precious, you ought to understand that other people's families are precious too. But what on earth had a woman like An Seon-young been thinking, putting her own name on the line? Money? Or had she been chasing some delusion of love?
That matter could wait. Right now, persuading Section Chief Oh Seung-won came first.
"Did you know that General Manager Han Se-ah told Team Leader Lee Jungwan to proceed with Healthy's launch in January of next year?"
Oh Seung-won started at the question.
"No! Not at all."
So the two of them had been pushing the project in secret, without even her secretary knowing? They'd been planning to drop a bombshell, then. All the better. The more freely Han Se-ah abused her authority, the more catastrophic the damage she would inflict on the company.
"The initial production volume won't be large. They'll want to cultivate an image of selling out. And if it's a small batch, Iljin Electronics will be reluctant to take the order."
"Meaning?"
I pointed at the paper again.
"Lee Jungwan will bring in leftover Chinese inventory and repackage it. That's when we'll have a solid hold on the fact that they copied PharmCare."
"Ah..."
Section Chief Oh Seung-won started to break into a bright smile, then immediately deflated.
"But General Manager Han Se-ah is involved. You think the Group will just sit still? They're bound to try to quietly bury the whole thing."
"In this case the patent infringement is so clear-cut that even Iljin Group won't be able to do anything about it. Provided we detonate the issue properly, that is."
"But to win a lawsuit against a conglomerate, you'd need a good lawyer, and we don't have that kind of money..."
This seemed like a good moment to introduce myself.
"I take it CEO Oh Seongjin hasn't told you yet."
"Told me what...?"
"I've decided to buy PharmCare."
Oh Seung-won tilted his head, puzzled.
"Buy PharmCare?"
"Yes."
Judging by his expression, he wanted to ask how a mere Associate had that kind of money. I explained that I had hit a jackpot in Las Vegas and come away with a considerable sum.
"But why PharmCare of all things? It's a company that's circling the drain."
I laid out PharmCare's potential in detail, along with the reasons it had failed to grow in the market. Oh Seung-won listened quietly to my assessment, nodding along.
"Hearing you put it that way, I think I understand why PharmCare's products have been ignored by the market. They were so obsessed with packing in features that they forgot the most important value of all: that it has to be convenient for the user."
"I understand the desire to make your own invention more perfect. If you get too far ahead of the market, consumers can't keep up. I believe that with just a little improvement to the design and usability, it would become a far better product. That would require a broader investment than what's been possible until now, of course."
Oh Seung-won asked the question he had been holding in his heart.
"If you acquire the company, Mr. Kang... what happens to my brother?"
Hmm. This part I was still turning over in my mind. Two leaders in a single company was a recipe for trouble. But there was one thing I could say with certainty.
"It's my policy to guarantee that every employee's contract carries over."
After we had shared the information each of us possessed, Oh Seung-won decided to give his full support to my acquisition of PharmCare. He also agreed to follow my recommendation that we sit tight, gathering information in silence until Team Leader Lee Jungwan's corruption was laid bare for the world to see.
"There's one thing I'm curious about, though."
"What is it?"
"Why are you helping us? It's not as if you have a personal grudge against Team Leader Lee Jungwan the way I do. And frankly, from your perspective, Associate Kang, wouldn't it be much cheaper to acquire the company after PharmCare has completely collapsed?"
It was the question I had been waiting for, but I let a beat of silence pass. I didn't want to come across as someone who took things lightly.
"I have someone I need to get revenge on as well."
"Revenge?"
I looked Section Chief Oh Seung-won dead in the eye.
"Don't you think General Manager Han Se-ah's obsession with me is a bit excessive?"
Oh Seung-won nodded, as if he had found it strange himself.
"It was, yes. Actually..."
He scratched his head with an apologetic look.
"She told me to look into the woman you met at the hotel not long ago."
I smiled, as if I had expected as much.
"That woman is my attorney. We met privately because I had something to retain her for."
"Ah..."
But the dazed look on Oh Seung-won's face said the puzzle still hadn't clicked into place.
"What? But Associate Kang, your ex-wife was an actress, wasn't she?"
So Han Se-ah's orders had prompted a certain amount of investigation into me. Good. That meant I wouldn't have to spell out the whole tedious past. The reason I had told Oh Seung-won the truth was to confirm how much Han Se-ah had already pieced together about me. And I had a favor to ask of him as well.
I laced my fingers together, leaned forward, and put on a meaningful expression.
"That's the thing about actors. Their job is to copy other people's lives. The more perfectly they deceive the public, the more they're praised for it, aren't they?"
A spark. It was as if a light had switched on in Oh Seung-won's mind. His eyes went wide.
"Now I understand."
As expected of an ace from the Iljin Group secretariat—his comprehension was sharp.
"I thought it was strange from the start. From the moment she told me to dig into Associate Kang, a man she had no connection to whatsoever... and the fact that Section Chief Song Jiho, who came in as her executive secretary, used to be a celebrity manager. Looking back, the hints were scattered everywhere, and I—her own executive secretary—didn't even notice. Honestly..."
A complicated mix of emotions crossed his face.
"She had her entire face changed into a different person's. Being fooled was only natural. Even I, her husband, nearly fell for it at first."
"Still, to be able to change a face that seamlessly... that's more terrifying than AI deepfakes."
The truly terrifying part was yet to come. Their harassment was only going to grow more extreme.
"Section Chief Song Jiho may look dull, but when it comes to underhanded thinking, his mind is razor-sharp. The celebrity world is a small one, and that makes it viciously competitive."
Oh Seung-won caught on quickly.
"What do you need me to do?"
The real reason I had wanted Oh Seung-won on my side was to leverage his internal network and win Vice President Oh Sang-do's support. But the moment he heard my request, Oh Seung-won let out a hearty laugh.
"If that's what you're after, there's someone far more reliable than Vice President Oh Sang-do."
"Someone more reliable? Who?"
"Chairwoman Heo Ji-hye."
Chairwoman Heo Ji-hye? Wasn't that the wife of CEO Han Seung-woo, the Chairman's second son? She had more influence over Iljin Group affairs than Vice President Oh Sang-do? She might have been playing the role of the conglomerate family's eldest daughter-in-law, but she wasn't even in a frontline command position. How?
"Vice President Oh Sang-do is a figurehead Chairwoman Heo Ji-hye installed herself. The real players move from behind the scenes, out of sight."
"Then, Section Chief Oh, you also...?"
"Ahaha. You're quick. Yes, I was instructed to dig into General Manager Han Se-ah. Then the Lee Jungwan matter turned the whole thing on its head."
Section Chief Oh Seung-won narrowed his eyes and added,
"Even the Iljin Group secretariat can't get near General Manager Han Se-ah's past. Chairman Han's orders, most likely. If the intent is to keep General Manager Han Se-ah in check, Chairwoman Heo Ji-hye will support you wholeheartedly. Shall I make an introduction?"
The enemy of my enemy is my ally, aren't they? I had no reason whatsoever to refuse.
"I'd like that very much. Please do."
Chairwoman Heo Ji-hye's office.
She had been carefully wiping the leaves of an orchid by the window, listening to her secretary's report, when she turned at the mention that they had uncovered Han Se-ah's past.
"Who did you say?"
"Yang Mi-jeong. A supporting actress who appeared a few times in morning dramas."
"Ha! I knew it. She never did have the air of someone raised with refinement. So she was an actress?"
Heo Ji-hye handed the cloth she had been using on the orchid to her secretary and settled onto the sofa. Only then, it seemed, had she grown genuinely interested in hearing the rest.
"And? What else did you find?"
"There's a man she married about five months ago. He's with Iljin Group's Future Strategy Office."
"She even hid a marriage? This is getting more and more interesting."
The secretary inferred that Han Se-ah had chosen the Future Strategy Office because of her ex-husband, then went on to explain that Han Se-ah had recently been rejecting every single project from New Business Development Team 1, before making a suggestion.
"Han Se-ah's ex-husband—Associate Kang Minhyuk—appears to be her weakness. Perhaps this would be a good opportunity for you to meet him?"
Chairwoman Heo Ji-hye generally preferred not to step forward herself. But Chairman Han Chung-won's inexplicable recent behavior had left her increasingly impatient. If this man might prove to be an excellent key for restraining Han Se-ah—the sudden variable that had appeared—then she had to keep him close, no matter what.
"Very well. Arrange a time."