See You Often
Whether or not Dan Il-gyeong could sense what was running through Kim Seong-ho’s mind, he turned his head and gazed out at the office landscape just visible beyond the conference-room windows.
“From what I know, this place—Future Asset or whatever it’s called—is supposed to be a stockbroker’s shop. So why is a stockbroker also running a real-estate agency?”
Kim Seong-ho followed Dan Il-gyeong’s gaze toward the office, where people were filtering back in and settling down to work again, then answered.
“It started with stocks, yes. But we’re gradually expanding the business.”
“Expanding? What is there to expand with stocks?”
“Not only equities. We plan to steadily widen the scope into bonds, real estate, and even deposits. And the geographic footprint as well—from Korea across Asia and eventually into Europe and the Americas.”
“You ‘plan’ to? Are you this firm’s spokesman?”
Dan Il-gyeong gave him an odd look, as if Seong-ho were speaking as though he himself intended to do all of it. It was not the sort of language a mere client should use.
Seong-ho offered him a faintly sheepish smile and explained.
“I’m an investor here.”
“An investor? You mean the owner?”
“Not the owner. I simply hold a twenty-percent stake.”
“You own twenty percent of this place? Haha.”
The unexpected revelation made Dan Il-gyeong burst out laughing.
“You’re a busy man, aren’t you? Holding the most critical post in the Ilhyeon Group, investing in Future Asset, and meanwhile scooping up buildings left and right. How many jobs does one body have to juggle when even one of them is hard enough?”
“I just use scraps of leftover time. With Future Asset I only invested; I don’t take part in management. And the buildings—I’m simply buying them when the opportunity presents itself. I’m not pouring myself into real-estate investment.”
“Interesting fellow. Very interesting.”
Dan Il-gyeong rested the cane he had been gripping against the table.
Had he been displeased, he would have kept hold of that cane the entire time, ready to rise and leave at a moment’s notice. Seeing him set it down, Seong-ho understood that the old man was prepared for a real conversation.
Just as Seong-ho expected, Dan Il-gyeong studied him carefully for a moment, as though he had something specific he wanted to say. Then, the amusement gone from his voice, he spoke.
“I won’t ask you any further about how you stole my livelihood by lending money to corporations, or how you snatched the real estate I’d already marked for myself. So tell me this. Seonwoo Group. What should I do about those bastards?”
The sudden mention of Seonwoo Group caught Seong-ho completely off guard. He had no idea what angle Dan Il-gyeong was taking and could not find a reply.
Dan Il-gyeong nodded as if he understood that blank look, then opened his mouth first.
“Throwing it at you out of nowhere must be startling. Simply put, the Kim fellow from Seonwoo Group contacted me a little while ago. Said he needed money to acquire something called Dooryong Motors. Asked me to urgently arrange two hundred billion won. Said he needed it fast for the deposit and the initial outlay, and that the moment the bank loan came through after the acquisition he’d pay me right back… What do you think? Should I lend him the money? Or should I not?”
“What did he offer as collateral?”
“Collateral? Hahaha.”
Before even weighing yes or no, Seong-ho had asked about the security. The question clearly pleased Dan Il-gyeong; he let out a great laugh.
“The Incheon plant site of Seonwoo Motors. That’s what he offered.”
“That won’t be enough.”
“Oh?”
Dan Il-gyeong regarded him with a puzzled expression.
“I say this in case you don’t know the real-estate market well, but the price lines up. Property values have crashed and everything is worth far less than before, yet an Incheon plant site of that size is roughly comparable as collateral.”
“No. It isn’t.”
“It isn’t?”
Even though Dan Il-gyeong necessarily knew real estate better than he did, Seong-ho answered with quiet finality.
“As pure real estate the value may be correct. But if you look a little deeper at the surrounding circumstances, its worth as collateral has no choice but to drop.”
“So you’re saying the surrounding situation is dragging the property value down? Seonwoo Motors… Seonwoo Group…”
Dan Il-gyeong had been about to ask what, exactly, in the surroundings could lower the value, but his mouth closed. He thought hard for a moment, then slammed his hand down on the table.
Bang!
At the sound, the burly men waiting outside rushed in.
“Elder!”
“Chairman!”
They hurried to check on him, faces tight with worry that something might have happened in the conference room. But Dan Il-gyeong, contrary to their concern, turned a bright smile on Seong-ho.
“You’re a worse bastard than I thought.”
“Thank you.”
Taking the remark as praise, Seong-ho bowed his head. That only seemed to please Dan Il-gyeong more; still beaming, he picked up the cane resting beside him.
“Up we go.”
As he braced himself on the cane and rose, the burly men stepped in to support him. Leaning on their arms, Dan Il-gyeong got to his feet and turned toward the door.
Jo Chung-sep stood just outside, peering anxiously into the room.
“If I leave money with you here, you’ll handle the investing for me?”
The abrupt question made Jo Chung-sep step inside to answer.
“Yes, sir. We manage clients’ funds for a fixed fee.”
“I hear you don’t care whether it’s stocks or real estate.”
Sensing genuine interest, Jo Chung-sep grew more serious.
“That’s not all. We’ve taken a high view of the Chinese market and are even opening a branch in—”
“Enough. I’ll send someone over. Talk the details through with him.”
“Sending someone means… you’ll become our client…?”
Thock.
Dan Il-gyeong planted his cane and walked slowly forward as he spoke.
“We’ll start with ten billion.”
“Sir? Ten billion?”
“I need to watch how you move, so let’s begin small. Once I’ve got a feel for your investment approach, I’ll raise the amount little by little. Keep that in mind and manage it well.”
“Th-thank you very much.”
Jo Chung-sep’s face lit up at the news that Dan Il-gyeong would become a client.
“We’ll do our utmost so that the returns satisfy you as much as those from your main business.”
“Hahaha. Well said. Returns that can match my main business—I like the sound of that.”
Dan Il-gyeong roared with laughter at Jo Chung-sep’s words and halted mid-step. Then he looked back at Seong-ho.
“As for you… let’s see each other often.”
With nothing more than that casual invitation to meet again, he turned and left the conference room.
Jo Chung-sep escorted him out, then returned to where Seong-ho waited.
“What just happened?”
“Exactly what you saw. Chairman Dan has become a client of Future Asset, and now I simply need to buy the Iljae Building and the rest. Are the documents ready?”
“The final legal review is still under way. But more importantly…”
Buying buildings was not the issue, Jo Chung-sep thought. He glanced toward the door outside.
“Why did Chairman Dan decide to become our client…?”
“Perhaps because he took a liking to you and to Future Asset, President Jo?”
Jo Chung-sep turned from the doorway and looked at Seong-ho.
“Not because he took a liking to you, Director?”
“That too, no doubt.”
Seong-ho’s mouth curved upward. He brushed off the seat of his trousers where he had been perched against the table.
“Shall we go write up the contracts, then? Everyone must be waiting.”
Seong-ho led the way out of the conference room; Jo Chung-sep followed. Recalling the storm that had just blown through, Jo Chung-sep glanced back once more at the empty room. After a brief look he shook his head, closed the door, and set off to handle the building contracts.
“You met Chairman Dan?”
At the dinner table Lee Tak-hyeon directed the question about Dan Il-gyeong at Kim Seong-ho.
“Yes. Four days ago, when I was in Gangnam, he came to see me.”
Lee Jeong-eun looked back and forth between her father, who had tossed out the abrupt question, and Seong-ho, who answered as casually as if he had run into the neighbor, then asked Seong-ho,
“Which Chairman Dan are we talking about? The one at Siso Foods? Who else even has the surname Dan?”
She tried to call up any other chairman whose family name began with Dan. But the rare surname refused to yield another name in her mind. She fixed Seong-ho with an expectant stare; instead of answering her, Seong-ho merely looked toward Lee Tak-hyeon.
“Don’t tell me you met the Chairman Dan of Myeong-dong?”
Lee Mun-jong, who had been listening from his seat, stared at Seong-ho in astonishment.
“You met that man? Is that true?”
At Mun-jong’s shock, Jeong-eun snapped in frustration,
“Who is the Chairman Dan of Myeong-dong supposed to be?”
“You don’t know the Chairman Dan of Myeong-dong?”
“Second Brother knows him too? Why can’t I—”
She had been about to complain that she could not remember when a name flashed through her mind. Her eyes flew wide.
“Don’t tell me… you mean Chairman Dan Il-gyeong? The financial pawnshop of the business world?”
“Exactly. Who else named Dan would Father bother caring about?”
At Mun-jong’s remark Jeong-eun quickly conceded the point and turned back to Seong-ho.
“You really met Chairman Dan Il-gyeong? Why?”
“I simply ran into him by chance while I was out.”
“Chairman Dan Il-gyeong is not someone you ‘run into by chance.’”
Mun-jong did not believe the claim. He set down his spoon and began interrogating Seong-ho.
“Speak up. How did the meeting happen? Did he ask to see you, or did you ask to see him?”
At Mun-jong’s words every sibling’s gaze locked onto Seong-ho. Seong-ho looked at Lee Tak-hyeon, who with a single short question about meeting Chairman Dan had completely altered the atmosphere of the meal. Unlike his children, the chairman’s spoon and chopsticks never stopped moving. Yet the slight lift at the corner of his mouth suggested he was thoroughly enjoying the new mood he had created.
Seong-ho stopped watching him and answered Mun-jong.
“The building I intended to purchase was one Chairman Dan had already been looking at. So he came to the place where we were signing the contract.”
“Building? Contract? Kim Seong-ho bought a building?”
Jeong-eun’s eyes rounded at the word “building.” She turned to Lee Gyeong-eun, seated beside Seong-ho.
Gyeong-eun gave an awkward little smile.
“Just… a small building.”
“Even a ‘small’ building would cost several hundred million at least… Where is it?”
“In front of Gangnam Station… just a little place around there.”
“What? Gangnam?”
Jeong-eun’s face went blank with shock. Mun-jong, Sang-jong, and Chang-jong were equally stunned. They had pictured some modest commercial building on a neighborhood side street; the fact that it was in Gangnam delivered a genuine jolt.
“Where did the money come from? Wasn’t your husband’s family just farmers? Did they get a fat compensation package because a new town went up on their farmland?”
“Even a generous compensation package wouldn’t buy a building in Gangnam.”
“Then did they win the lottery?”
“Do you even know how much a lottery jackpot is when you say things like that?”
“Ugh, then you explain it, big brother. Tell us where the money for a building came from.”
Mun-jong’s constant needling had begun to irritate Jeong-eun. She shoved the question at him, and the others also turned curious eyes on Mun-jong, waiting to hear what he would say—rather than the person who had actually bought the building.
“That’s…”
Just as Mun-jong was about to speak, his secretary appeared at the dining table. Mun-jong’s eyebrows shot up at the abrupt intrusion and he barked,
“I told you never to come during a family meal!”
The secretary first bowed deeply toward Lee Tak-hyeon.
“Chairman, I apologize. I have an urgent report for the Vice Chairman, so I came in even knowing this was a family meal.”
“Must be urgent. It’s fine—go ahead and report.”
Lee Tak-hyeon accepted the interruption without concern, but Mun-jong himself looked thoroughly unsettled.
“I’m sorry.”
“I said it’s fine. Just take the report. The man is standing there like a dog that needs to take a dump—looks important.”
At his father’s words Mun-jong inclined his head slightly, then turned a ferocious glare on the secretary.
“If this isn’t important, you’d better be prepared. Speak.”
Ordered to talk at once, the secretary hesitated. He seemed reluctant to speak in front of everyone. When he finally approached Mun-jong, the vice chairman’s face twisted further in displeasure.
“What on earth is so—”
Still wearing an expression that said he could not understand the need for such secrecy, Mun-jong listened. The secretary cupped a hand around his mouth and spoke in a voice so low that even those sitting beside them could not hear.
Mun-jong shot to his feet before the report was even finished.
“What?”
His eyebrows twitched with the force of the shock. Everyone at the table was startled by the sudden reaction—everyone except Kim Seong-ho, who alone already knew what Mun-jong had just been told.
And so the typhoon that would slam into the Ilhyeon Group was about to make landfall at its very heart.