A Meeting with Director Park
Chairman Jang was starting to lose his temper at Director Park's words.
He had lived past seventy with a single conviction: that credit and trust were everything.
And now Director Park was standing there, saying things that trampled all over that conviction.
No matter how close they were, he could not forgive talk that suggested he couldn't be trusted.
"Chairman, it's not that... it's just that this wine looks like cheap stuff you could pick up at any supermarket."
"Come now, my friend, why do you judge only by appearances? If it doesn't work, then don't pay for it. Is it really so hard to take my word for it?"
"Of course I trust you, Chairman. It's just... hearing that a single bottle of this wine costs twenty billion won, well, it gives me pause."
Chairman Jang was genuinely wounded that Director Park didn't appreciate the value of the elixir.
Put another way, it amounted to doubting his own role as the broker in the middle.
"Ahem. It seems I misjudged you after all.
I even knocked the price of the elixir down to twenty billion out of consideration for your father, and yet your refusal to believe in this elixir strikes me as a refusal to believe in me.
I have no intention of selling it to you, so kindly return it."
Director Park was taken aback by Chairman Jang's steely resolve.
In everyday life, Chairman Jang was playful and benevolent, but at decisive moments he turned firm and fearsome.
That was one side of the reason so many people feared the man.
And besides, Chairman Jang's grudges were famously long-lasting.
The so-called Five-Hundred-Year Grudge.
If he didn't turn the situation around 180 degrees right now, he would be enduring the full blaze of that grudge for a long, tedious while.
"Chairman, when did I ever say I didn't trust you?
All I said was that this wine looked like a label you could find at any supermarket...
And you've knocked a full eighty billion won off the price—of course I'm grateful and glad to buy it.
Chairman, please, calm your anger."
But Chairman Jang's fury showed no sign of abating.
So, partly to lecture Director Park and partly to earn back his trust, he made a proposal.
"You clearly have no idea of this elixir's worth, so let's do this.
Before you give it to your mother, you taste it first.
Then you can verify the effects for yourself. Have your secretary bring in an empty glass."
A short while later, when the secretary returned with a water glass, Young-hoon opened the wine bottle and poured out roughly two soju glasses' worth.
Director Park's face was still full of skepticism, but Chairman Jang's attitude was so unshakable that he dutifully raised the glass.
And then... the moment the wine touched his lips, he nearly jumped out of his skin.
This was absolutely not the taste of cheap wine.
A devoted wine lover, Director Park had tasted countless varieties over the years.
But the wine he had just drunk was, without question, the finest in the world.
He had never tasted anything this delicious in his entire life.
"What do you think? To die for, no? But as marvelous as this elixir tastes, there are two even more important effects."
Director Park's eyes went wide as saucers as he turned to Chairman Jang.
"Chairman, what are they?"
"Ahem. What matters most to a man?"
"Why, his virility, of course."
"Exactly. Because of that one glass, you're going to turn into a seal for about four days.
Your wife is a dead woman tonight.
I've been living like an emperor since I started drinking this myself.
Six hours minimum, without so much as a wobble. Hehehehe."
"And the other one?"
"You showered me with compliments not long ago, didn't you?
Said I looked decades younger.
The test results say the same.
How much one needs to drink for that level of effect hasn't been tested yet.
But I have undeniably grown younger, haven't I?
If your mother drinks this elixir, she'll shed at least ten years. I guarantee it."
"Ah! If that's the case, then twenty billion is a bargain."
"You just committed a grave offense against me and against young Young-hoon here.
You doubted me, and you doubted him too.
So the price is now going up to thirty billion. Do you agree?"
"Yes. I agree with you entirely, Chairman.
You've knocked it down from a hundred billion to thirty billion—this much goes without saying."
"Well then, are we going to sit here all day? Aren't you taking me to dinner?"
"Of course. I've reserved a Japanese restaurant near the hospital. Allow me to escort you there."
Young-hoon had little need to step in—Chairman Jang was drumming and fife-ing the whole performance on his own.
He had recognized what these men were capable of back when Chairman Jang and Chairman Choi had volunteered as his salesmen.
And now Chairman Jang had just jacked the wine's price up by a cool ten billion won in an instant.
He was, at this very table, beholding a true grandmaster of the art of the deal.
The party relocated to the Japanese restaurant and carried on over a merry meal.
It mostly took the form of Director Park asking questions and Young-hoon answering, but Chairman Jang seasoned the conversation from the sidelines with impeccable timing, so the talk never flagged.
Then, at some point, Director Park's expression began to change.
He fidgeted like a puppy desperate to do its business, clearly itching to leave the table.
There was no way Chairman Jang, grandmaster of scheming that he was, could fail to read Director Park's condition.
"What's this? Did the signal come?"
"Ah... yes, Chairman."
"No need to rush. I told you the effects last about four days. And your equipment has grown, hasn't it?"
"Yes..."
"Now you believe me for certain?"
"Of course I believe you. That's the most delicious wine I've ever tasted in my life.
The flavor alone is mind-blowing, and it comes with that effect on top... hehehehe."
"You understand? This is a secret. No need to go spreading word about something this good.
Supply is limited as it is—we have to secure our own shares first."
"Naturally. I will never breathe a word of it."
A physician, after all, cannot divulge a patient's secrets.
One careless slip of the tongue could cost a man his medical license.
Director Park was already famously tight-lipped, and with Chairman Jang's warning stacked on top, his discretion was now beyond reproach.
Besides, a secret lasts exactly as long as the number of people who know it stays small.
Director Park swore to himself that he would guard it to his dying breath.
"Chairman, how should I address our benefactor here?"
"Just call him Young-hoon. He's about your son's age, I'd say."
"Ah, yes. Well then—Young-hoon, could I procure one more bottle?"
"What I have on hand is only four bottles, and
Chairman Jang and Chairman Choi have already laid claim to them.
I'll be heading down to my hometown before long to meet the Taebaek Mountain Taoist Master and obtain more elixir powder.
I'll divide it up among you then."
"Good. You must share with me then. Understood?"
"Director Park, why would you need the elixir? Is it for your wife?"
"No, sir. I want to grow young again, just like you did."
"Oh, come off it, man. If you're going to lie, fool the gods first. You're carrying on an affair, aren't you?"
Director Park suddenly went tongue-tied and squirmed in his seat.
Then, at last, as though resigned to his fate, he came clean.
"Chairman, the day this reaches my wife's ears, this day next year will be my memorial feast.
Please, I beg you, keep this secret."
"Good grief, you man... I sowed my own wild oats plenty in my younger days, and let me tell you—when all is said and done, there is no one like the wife of your youth. Remember that.
Cut it off quickly, and be good to your wife."
"Yes, yes. It hardly bears saying. I'll tidy things up properly so as to spare you any further worry."
Caught red-handed with his secret exposed, Director Park decided he could not let himself be swept along in Chairman Jang's rhythm any longer.
And there was, in truth, one other reason.
He needed to test the elixir's effects as soon as possible.
So he steeled himself to bring the gathering to an end at the earliest opportunity.
"Young-hoon, give me your bank account number. I'll wire the thirty billion tomorrow morning."
"Of course. I'll write it down for you separately."
"Here's my card. Oh—and hand me one of yours as well."
Young-hoon respectfully pocketed Director Park's card and handed over his own.
"Oh? You work at LK Electronics?
Marketing Team 3, Capital Region?
Then you must know Assistant Manager Park Sung-ho?"
"Yes, he's my cohort from the same hiring class. But how do you know Mr. Park...?"
"Ah, that boy is my son.
He never studied a day in his school years, just played around, and in the end he gave up medical school.
Went and majored in business instead and took a job at LK Electronics.
Keeps saying he'll come back to the hospital later on."
"Um... Director, then there's a favor I'd like to ask."
"Yes, yes, I know exactly what you're going to say. You want me to keep it secret, don't you?
In fact, if anything, it's I who should be asking.
Once this gathering breaks up, I'm headed straight to a mistress I've been keeping hidden.
Naturally, it would be rather inconvenient if our boy found out about that.
I'd been troubled lately about my waning vigor—but tonight, I really must run myself ragged, mustn't I?"
Chairman Jang, who had been quietly listening to the two of them, decided that Director Park's thoughts had wandered too deep into the bean field, and offered a word of caution.
"Director Park, your blood is finally running hot, I know—
but you must still give this elixir to your mother.
I'll yield you the one bottle that remains as my share, so use it to fulfill your filial wish.
Young-hoon, you heard me? Take only twenty billion for that one."
"Understood. I'll set aside a day next week to pay her a visit."
"Don't put it off—go as soon as you possibly can."
"Yes, sir. I'll make the time however I can."
The three of them finished their meal in a warm, convivial atmosphere.
The moment it ended, Director Park—evidently in a tremendous hurry—dashed off in his car like a shot, and Chairman Jang muttered to himself at the sight.
"Heh heh. There are times a man simply must be that way. Perhaps I should go pester Ji-hye myself."
Once Chairman Jang too drove away, Young-hoon called a designated driver service and headed back to his studio apartment in Ilsan.
Director Park's mind was in a rush.
The man Chairman Jang had brought along looked hardly older than his own son.
If it weren't for Chairman Jang, he would have tossed the young man out without a second thought.
But what kind of man was Chairman Jang?
At the very least, when it came to reading people, he was so sharp that Director Park himself couldn't hope to argue.
For someone like that to make an introduction—the man could not possibly be a fraud.
That much was certain, and yet... that wine bottle the young fellow had produced was the problem.
It was a budget wine you could buy anywhere at the supermarket—the cheapest of the cheap, the bottom of the barrel.
The stench of con artist rolled off it in waves, and then Chairman Jang flew into a rage and demanded he at least drink a glass.
Pressed by the old man's insistence, he finally took a sip—and it was, quite simply, the taste of heaven.
Every wine he had ever drunk before was reduced, in that instant, to nothing but sour vinegar.
And what was more astonishing: not only was it delicious, but they claimed it worked wonders for a man's virility.
A younger body, too—that was just a bonus.
In any case, he had drunk the elixir, moved with the party to the restaurant, and carried on the conversation.
That was when the signal began to arrive.
The member between his legs suddenly stiffened and swelled, growing until it was as if a child's forearm had sprouted from his body.
He'd already been stung lately by his young new lover teasing him for having a rabbit down there—but now, the situation had turned a full one-hundred-eighty degrees.
Wait for me, my darling.
A seal is swimming to you at full speed.
He wanted nothing more than to end the gathering at once, but with Chairman Jang present, he hesitated to broach the subject.
He was burning with impatience, unable to say a word—when Chairman Jang, sharp as a ghost, sensed it and steered the gathering toward breaking up.
Before parting, Director Park received Young-hoon's business card, and by a curious coincidence, the young man turned out to be a colleague of his own son, working in the very same department of the very same company.
Come to think of it, the name Young-hoon was one that always cropped up whenever his son occasionally talked about work.
At that, a fresh worry took root.
He had let slip about his hidden mistress in front of his son's friend—no small embarrassment, to put it mildly.
He was still agonizing over what to do when the other party, of all people, asked him to keep it secret.
Well then—thank you very much indeed, sir.
When Director Park stepped inside his home, his lover had already prepared everything for the match to perfection.
Unable to hold back a moment longer, he shed his clothes—and his lover's eyes went round as saucers.
Apparently, she had noticed something different about his equipment.
You mocked me for being a rabbit, didn't you? Tonight, you're going to die.
And so the match began.
Two hours into the game, the young lover raised a white flag, singing surrender in a triumphant chorus.
Naturally, this was a demand Director Park could not possibly accept.
Sorry, no whistle blown! The first half has only just ended.
Fifteen-minute break, and then the second half begins.
I intend to make sure you never utter the word "rabbit" again.
The next morning, Director Park gazed fondly at his inflamed and indignant equipment and broke into a contented smile.
The young lover lay sprawled across the bed, reduced entirely to rice cake.
Just as Chairman Jang had promised, they hadn't quite made it to the penalty shootout.
The opposing player simply could not rise again—what could he do?
The shootout is hereby postponed until tonight, my dear.
The laughter escaped him before he knew it.
Hehehehehe.
It was a little past ten at night when Young-hoon got home.
He needed to pack for a move scheduled two days out, but there was precious little to take with him.
A few books, his laptop, the remaining wine, his bedding, odds and ends... two or three boxes ought to be plenty.
Since it was already late, he simply sorted everything into what he would take and what he would leave behind.
He worked at the packing for quite a while, and by the time he checked the clock, midnight was nearly upon him.
He washed up, lay down, and let his thoughts drift from one thing to another until sleep stole over him softly.
And so another day of Young-hoon's life slipped quietly by.