Now That the Checks Have Begun, I Need to Adjust My Pace
On the drive back from Donggyo-dong, Kim Seong-ho regarded Lee Tak-hyeon with a fresh sense of awe.
He's using it like this?
Lee Tak-hyeon had not simply let the information that the IMF Managing Director had made a top-secret visit to Korea slip by. He had sought the most advantageous way to put it to use, and that was why he had gone to Donggyo-dong, where the opposition candidate's residence stood.
With the presidential election right around the corner, a public opinion poll had just been released showing the opposition candidate trailing the ruling-party candidate by a narrow margin. If the race continued on its present course, the ruling-party candidate's victory looked all but certain. At a moment like that, for Lee Tak-hyeon to bring such intelligence to the opposition candidate could only leave the man deeply grateful.
The mere fact that Lee Tak-hyeon had shown his face in front of the press corps camped out at Donggyo-dong so close to the election was enough to make the opposition camp feel they had received enormous help. That was precisely why Lee Tak-hyeon had gone there—to plant that sense of indebtedness in them.
Kim Seong-ho, who had never imagined the secret of the IMF Managing Director's visit would be used in quite this fashion, looked at Lee Tak-hyeon with open admiration.
"How about it? Will this help with what you're doing?"
Lee Tak-hyeon directed the question at him. Seong-ho set aside his thoughts and answered.
"It will certainly be of help."
Drawing on the experience of his previous life, Seong-ho spoke in a calm, measured voice about what was still to come.
"After the IMF bailout, industry will be reshaped. There will be natural alliances and mergers, of course, but also planned realignments under government leadership. If we can stand with the government's backing at that time… we will be able to seize the initiative with certainty. So yes, it will be of clear help."
"Good."
Having heard the answer, Lee Tak-hyeon leaned back against the seat and regarded Seong-ho with a leisurely gaze.
"I've laid the board. Now play it properly."
"I will not disappoint your expectations."
Seong-ho inclined his head slightly, and a faint smile touched Chairman Lee Tak-hyeon's face. He then called to the man sitting in the front passenger seat.
"Chief Hwang."
"Yes, Chairman."
Hwang Do-beom, seated in the front, turned toward Lee Tak-hyeon.
"You mentioned recently that your work has grown a great deal, did you not?"
"I did say something of the sort not long ago… Why do you ask?"
"How would you feel about taking this fellow under you?"
"Pardon?"
Hwang Do-beom turned to look at Kim Seong-ho. Seong-ho himself wore a bewildered expression, equally unable to grasp what the chairman meant.
Facing Lee Tak-hyeon again, Hwang asked, "Chairman, the Restructuring Headquarters is already under the Secretariat, is it not? What do you mean by 'taking him under me'…?"
"I mean making him deputy chief. How does that sound?"
"Deputy Chief of the Secretariat?"
Only then did Hwang understand, and his eyes went wide. Seong-ho was just as startled. The unexpected proposal left him momentarily unable to decide how to react.
Finding their reactions amusing, Lee Tak-hyeon smiled as he spoke to them both.
"You keep him under you for a while, then later hand him the Chief of Staff post. That would be rather nice, I think. The boy's sharp. He has a good head for work."
"Director Kim is exceptionally bright, yes. Working with him would certainly make things easier. And if Director Kim were to succeed me as Chief of Staff…"
Hwang glanced at Seong-ho, who was still lost in thought, then continued.
"I can think of nothing better. However…"
"However?"
"Rather than that, I believe it would be better to remove the Restructuring Headquarters from under the Secretariat entirely and place it as a department reporting directly to you, Chairman."
"Pull the Restructuring Headquarters out of the Secretariat? Driver Kim, pull over somewhere."
Wanting a proper discussion, Lee Tak-hyeon ordered the car stopped. The driver checked the surroundings and parked in a quiet alley.
Once the car was still, Hwang turned fully toward Lee Tak-hyeon and laid out his thoughts.
"Director Kim possesses outstanding insight into restructuring. And this is a moment when restructuring must be pushed more forcefully than ever. Rather than moving him into the Secretariat, I believe it would be better to transfer the headquarters to your direct authority and grant him even greater power so that he can exercise his abilities to the fullest."
"Instead of letting his talent go to waste in the Secretariat, concentrate even stronger force on the restructuring?"
"Yes. I believe that would be the better course."
Lee Tak-hyeon nodded once at Hwang's unhesitating words, then turned to Seong-ho.
"What do you think?"
Seong-ho, who had remained silent until now, answered in an unwavering voice.
"I think it is good."
"Which part? The headquarters coming under me directly, or you entering the Secretariat?"
"Both are good, but I believe entering the Secretariat would be better."
"Entering the Secretariat is better?"
Lee Tak-hyeon looked at him with open surprise. Hwang was the same. Even though he himself had first proposed moving the headquarters under the chairman, he could not understand why Seong-ho would deliberately choose to come under him in the Secretariat.
Yet Seong-ho himself spoke with an expectant expression.
"If I enter the Secretariat and assist Chief Hwang, I will be able to learn a great deal. And if I use what I learn to help you, Chairman, and my brothers-in-law, I can think of no more meaningful work."
"True. If you help me and the other children, that would be a very good thing."
Having said that, Lee Tak-hyeon simply gazed at Seong-ho in silence. Seong-ho did not look away. For a moment their eyes locked in the air between them, then Lee Tak-hyeon broke the contact first and gestured toward the front seat.
"Driver Kim, let's move again."
Hwang was curious what conclusion the chairman had reached, but he could not ask. No one within the Ilhyeon Group was permitted to question Lee Tak-hyeon's decisions.
Hwang settled properly back into the passenger seat. As the car started forward, Lee Tak-hyeon's mouth opened once more.
"I hear you've made quite a sum in stocks."
He spoke while looking straight ahead, yet Seong-ho knew the words were aimed at him and answered with the same honesty as before.
"Yes. The last time I received word, the account had grown to two hundred billion won."
Lee Tak-hyeon leaned against the backrest and said shortly,
"You've made enough. Stop now."
"Yes. Understood."
It would have been natural to ask why, yet Seong-ho accepted the order without a flicker of doubt. Lee Tak-hyeon watched him a moment, then looked out the window.
"At next year's new executive appointments I will name you a president. Keep that in mind."
At the words that he would be appointed president, Seong-ho carefully offered his own view.
"Chairman, would it not be better to take the steps one by one? Whether I wear a president's title or not makes little difference, so I think it would be better to begin properly as an executive director first."
"With results like these, if I merely seat you as an executive director, what am I supposed to do with the people under you?"
Displeased with the answer, Lee Tak-hyeon fixed him with a reproving stare.
"Only when you rise to president can the deputy director become a vice president, and only then can everyone below him also be given a proper post. Start thinking about your subordinates as well."
"But if I become a president… will that not be awkward for the Chief? If our ranks are the same…"
"Did you not hear what was said a moment ago?"
When Seong-ho tried once more to decline by invoking Hwang Do-beom, Lee Tak-hyeon cut him off again.
"The Restructuring Headquarters will report directly to me. Once it is separated from the Secretariat, it will not matter that you and Chief Hwang hold the same rank. In fact, only when the two of you stand as equals can the headquarters stand side by side with the Secretariat. That is the correct way."
"Directly under you, Chairman?"
"Yes."
Finished speaking, Lee Tak-hyeon leaned back once more and stared straight ahead.
"So understand it that way. And spare me any other talk…"
As if there was nothing left to discuss, he closed his eyes. Seong-ho answered that he understood, then looked for a moment at the chairman sitting with his eyes shut.
The path is a little different from what I expected, but I've reached the goal I wanted all the same.
Seong-ho withdrew his gaze from Lee Tak-hyeon and replayed the conversation they had just finished.
The chairman has begun to check me, so I need to adjust the speed at which I run.
He did not believe the proposals Lee Tak-hyeon had just offered were entirely pure.
Looking at the results the Restructuring Headquarters has produced, it would be natural for him to feel threatened.
And in the face of that threat, he would certainly have wondered whether Lee Mun-jong and the others who were to succeed him could handle it. That was why he had felt the need to press Seong-ho down once, and why he had dangled the bait a moment ago.
From the suggestion of moving into the Secretariat to the order to liquidate every last share—any expression of doubt would have given him the pretext to shear Seong-ho clean. Yet each time, Seong-ho had accepted every instruction without a single question. One flicker of suspicion and his wings would have been half-clipped; by making no mistake at all, he had safely passed today's trial.
But such moments would certainly continue. And Seong-ho knew well that there were others besides Lee Tak-hyeon who did not want his power to grow any stronger.
I need to move first.
Thinking of those who would check him even more fiercely than the chairman, Seong-ho looked out the window.
"Oh my, youngest lady. Why so early today?"
On Sunday morning, Oh Min-yeong—Lee Sang-jong's wife—made a fuss when she saw Kim Seong-ho and his wife arriving a full hour earlier than usual.
Lee Gyeong-eun handed the bundle she was carrying to the housekeeper who had opened the door, then smiled at Oh Min-yeong.
"I tried cooking something at home. I thought we might share it at the meal later, so I packed a little."
"So you came early to give it to us before the meal was prepared? Well done. Mother~ Look at this. The youngest lady actually brought food she made herself."
Oh Min-yeong called for Chu Suk-ja in a deliberately dramatic voice, then lifted one of the food containers from the bundle and held it out toward her.
"Mother, come and see. It's food the youngest lady prepared."
At Oh Min-yeong's words, Chu Suk-ja frowned and grumbled,
"That child has never cooked a day in her life. What could she possibly have made? She only went to unnecessary trouble, I'm sure."
"Oh, not at all, Mother. Look. It looks quite presentable, doesn't it?"
When Oh Min-yeong opened the container and saw the glossy japchae gleaming with oil, she let out an admiring sound and called to the kitchen housekeeper.
"Hwacheon-daek, bring me a pair of chopsticks."
"Yes, Second Madam."
As Chu Suk-ja approached slowly, Oh Min-yeong held out the food Gyeong-eun had brought and smiled.
"See, Mother? Doesn't it look fine?"
"It does look fine enough."
"That savory smell makes me think it will taste good too."
While they were still exclaiming over the appearance, the housekeeper called Hwacheon-daek arrived with chopsticks. Oh Min-yeong and Chu Suk-ja each took a pair and lifted some of the japchae Gyeong-eun had packed.
"Let's see."
Oh Min-yeong gathered noodles, spinach, and glass noodles together on her chopsticks and put them in her mouth.
"Mmm~"
An involuntary hum of pleasure escaped her. She opened her eyes wide and turned to Chu Suk-ja.
"Mother, it's delicious!"
Chu Suk-ja, who had also put some in her mouth, looked at Gyeong-eun with unexpected approval.
"Yes. It is good. Not bad at all."
"Japchae is a difficult dish, yet how did you make it taste like this? I can hardly believe it even after tasting it. What's gotten into you?"
Finding that it was not only presentable but actually delicious, Oh Min-yeong patted Gyeong-eun's arm in repeated astonishment. Gyeong-eun made no effort to hide the pleased light on her face and looked past the kitchen doorway to where Kim Seong-ho stood watching the scene from a distance.
Seong-ho saw the unmistakable joy on Gyeong-eun's face and smiled back at her.
Lee Sang-jong approached Seong-ho's side.