If the Score Is Higher Than Expected, Verification Is Needed
Not long after, Lee Mun-jong arrived with Lee Sang-jong and Kim Seong-ho to see Lee Tak-hyeon.
Lee Tak-hyeon looked down at the report that had come up from the Strategy Planning Office and asked Lee Sang-jong,
"So Ilhyeon Construction wants to acquire Jisan Cement?"
"Yes. If Father would only give his permission…"
Lee Tak-hyeon lifted his head from the report. When he sent a sharp look Sang-jong's way, Sang-jong flinched and tried again.
"If the Chairman grants permission, Ilhyeon Construction would like to try acquiring Jisan Cement."
Lee Tak-hyeon nodded at that and turned his question on Lee Mun-jong.
"And the Vice Chairman? You agreed to this?"
"With Ilhyeon Construction coming forward this aggressively, I decided to take the bigger view."
"Take the bigger view, is it?"
Lee Tak-hyeon, Chairman of the Ilhyeon Group, let out a short, dry laugh and tossed the report onto the table.
Thwack!
Then he turned his gaze on Kim Seong-ho.
"What's the Strategy Planning Office's assessment?"
"The Strategy Planning Office believes that if we drag things out a little longer, we can push the price down further."
"Right. That's what the report said as well."
Even though he had already read the report, Lee Tak-hyeon had confirmed it directly with Seong-ho. He withdrew his eyes from the man who had simply restated what was already written and spoke to Sang-jong again.
"Where do you plan to get the money?"
"It won't be difficult."
Sang-jong answered as if he had been waiting for the funding question.
"I've already finished talking with the chairman of Jisan Group. We'll pay one hundred billion won as a deposit and settle the remainder in installments. The deposit will be borrowed from Gyeongsan Bank, Hobuk Bank, and the like; the rest of the balance will also be raised through the banks."
"If you're taking out loans, you'll need collateral. What do you intend to put up?"
"There's the apartment site we're going to build on in Songpa, isn't there? That…"
Lee Tak-hyeon's face twisted.
"So you're saying you'll borrow money using the land set aside for the apartment complex as collateral?"
"Chairman, please don't worry. Once we acquire Jisan Cement, paying back the loans will be nothing. And if it really gets tight, we can just announce that we're building the apartments and pull the pre-sale deposits forward."
"Using pre-sales to free the collateral on the land you're going to build apartments on is just pulling out the bottom stone to prop up the top one. You…"
When Lee Tak-hyeon looked ready to explode, Sang-jong hurriedly dropped his head and began to plead.
"Chairman. Please trust me. I can really do this well. Just once—please believe in me and leave it to me."
Lee Tak-hyeon looked down at Sang-jong, whose head was bowed so low it nearly touched the table, and let out a sigh.
"Huu."
After that deep breath he shot a sidelong glance at Mun-jong. The man was standing there with the corners of his mouth lifted, as if he were thoroughly enjoying the sight of his younger brother begging.
Lee Tak-hyeon closed his eyes for a moment, opened them again, and nodded.
"Fine. Do it."
"Thank you. Truly, thank you. Once I've acquired Jisan Cement I'll make Ilhyeon Construction grow even bigger for everyone to see. So please just trust me and wait a little."
"I said I understand. Now get out."
Lee Tak-hyeon waved them off as if he were already tired of the conversation and ordered them to leave. Sang-jong bowed several times and went out. Mun-jong followed with a smile, and last of all Seong-ho bowed, closed the door, and left the study.
Lee Tak-hyeon stared blankly at the closed study door and then spoke to Chief of Staff Hwang Do-beom.
"Did Mun-jong dig this pit?"
"From the conversation after dinner on Sunday, I couldn't detect any such sign."
"Then after that day he calmly decided it would be better to toss Jisan Cement to that Sang-jong bastard?"
"Chairman."
Hwang Do-beom spoke carefully to Lee Tak-hyeon, who was tilting his head as if he couldn't make sense of it.
"Before Mun-jong left the house on Sunday…"
Lee Tak-hyeon turned toward Hwang, who had trailed off. Hwang tilted his head for a moment, then continued.
"He spoke briefly with Assistant Manager Kim."
"Assistant Manager Kim? You mean Kim Seong-ho?"
"Yes."
Hwang recalled the distant image of the two men talking and went on.
"Assistant Manager Kim stopped Mun-jong, and the two of them had a short conversation in the courtyard. Then Mun-jong left Pyeongchang-dong looking as if he were in quite a good mood."
"After talking with Seong-ho, Mun-jong looked pleased?"
If he fitted today's scene into the puzzle, the content of that conversation between Seong-ho and Mun-jong rose naturally in Lee Tak-hyeon's mind. But the fact that the picture formed so easily did not make the situation itself feel natural.
He frowned and asked Hwang,
"So what you're saying is that Seong-ho advised Mun-jong to toss Jisan Cement to Sang-jong? That's it?"
"I know the situation feels awkward myself. I'm only reporting exactly what I saw to the Chairman."
Even to Hwang it was strange. But he could not simply ignore what he had witnessed just because it was strange. If you erased only the "strange" part, every piece of the puzzle fell into place.
Lee Tak-hyeon shook his head again and again and asked,
"If we go through with acquiring Jisan Cement, how much damage will we take?"
"We'll lose most of the amount paid as the deposit."
"One hundred billion…"
The fact that he was about to lose one hundred billion clearly did not sit well with Lee Tak-hyeon. He leaned his head back against the sofa, closed his eyes for a moment, and slowly turned the fingers of his clasped hands. After a stretch of thought he opened his mouth at last.
"Set up provisions in advance and prepare for the loss."
"You know Jisan has problems, and you're still really going to allow the acquisition?"
"Didn't I just tell him to go ahead? So leave him be. A man has to weather a crisis if he wants his ability to handle them to grow."
Lee Tak-hyeon had already known about Jisan Group's problems. Even so, he had not stopped Sang-jong. Hwang squeezed his eyes shut, as if worried about what lay ahead for the younger son. Into those closed ears came Lee Tak-hyeon's next order.
"Tell the Planning Office people they did well and pay the bonuses exactly as planned. And… keep a closer eye on Seong-ho."
Hwang opened his eyes and looked down at Lee Tak-hyeon, who still had his own eyes shut. The Chairman continued giving instructions without changing posture.
"As you said, I need to know whether Seong-ho advised Mun-jong and created this situation, or whether Mun-jong figured it out on his own and tossed Jisan Cement to Sang-jong."
"If Assistant Manager Kim is the one who created the situation with his advice… does that mean he passed the test?"
Lee Tak-hyeon's closed eyes opened. Staring at the ceiling, he answered,
"If a student took a test, you graded it, and he scored higher than expected, the proper thing is to check whether he cheated or not."
"Cheated…"
Lee Tak-hyeon turned his head and looked at Hwang.
"I hate situations I cannot understand more than anything else. So watch carefully enough that I can understand."
"Yes, sir. Understood."
Hwang knew that "watch carefully" meant surveillance. And he could vaguely sense what would follow once the surveillance ended.
In the end, Assistant Manager Kim is going to get sucked into the Ilhyeon Group whirlpool as well.
Whether Seong-ho had intended it or not, Hwang felt strongly that the man would be swept up in the events about to unfold.
Kim Seong-ho sat with Jo Byeong-jin and Park Dae-su, tilting his glass.
Byeong-jin looked past Seong-ho—who was pouring drinks—at the men in black suits. Two of them sat with nothing but a single serving of meat and no alcohol. They pretended otherwise, but they kept glancing toward Seong-ho's table so often that it was obvious they had not come to eat; they had come to watch him.
Byeong-jin studied them carefully, then asked Seong-ho,
"Ilhyeon people?"
"Yeah. They follow me wherever I go."
At that, his friend Byeong-jin shot a hand into the air.
"You gentlemen over there. Don't be like that—come on over. Come eat with us."
The secretariat staff who had been keeping a watchful and protective distance were so startled by Byeong-jin's sudden shout that they turned their bodies away. Park Dae-su smacked the back of Byeong-jin's head with his palm.
"Hey, you crazy bastard. What are you doing?"
Byeong-jin rubbed the back of his head and looked wronged.
"They're stuck way over there not even eating properly, so I just said they should come join us. Isn't that better?"
Seong-ho laughed at Byeong-jin's words and raised a hand to call a server. When the man approached, Seong-ho pointed at the table where his watchers sat and said,
"Three servings of galbi over there, two bowls of rice, and one stew. We'll settle the bill at this table, so if they need anything else, tell them not to worry and just order."
"Would they like any alcohol?"
"They're working, so they won't drink. Just put down a couple of soft drinks."
"Yes, sir. Understood."
Dae-su watched Seong-ho place the order, then asked,
"And why are you doing that? Why buy meat for people who followed you to keep an eye on you?"
"Those people are just doing their jobs to make a living, so they might as well eat while they're at it. How pitiful is it that they followed me all the way to a barbecue place, ordered a single serving of meat, and sat there watching only me?"
"You…"
Dae-su shook his head as if he could not understand. The secretariat staff looked just as startled as Dae-su. They could not hide their surprise at the server arriving with meat and at Seong-ho's message; they simply kept staring toward his table.
"Eat plenty. And if you need anything else, just say so freely."
Byeong-jin waved at the astonished staff and told them to eat well. Dae-su stared at him as if it were absurd.
"It's not even your money—why are you telling them to eat a lot?"
"What does it matter who says it? Seong-ho's thoughts are basically the same as mine, aren't they?"
Seong-ho burst out laughing at Byeong-jin and nodded.
"Yeah, yeah. My thoughts are your thoughts."
With a cheerful face he lifted his glass and urged them to drink, and the three of them clinked soju glasses. After the cups had gone around a few times, Dae-su put a piece of meat in his mouth and said,
"So what did you call us out for?"
Hearing Dae-su's question, Seong-ho recalled what was written in the diary.
Dae-su was demoted from the Special Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and sent down to the provinces. With no real backing to speak of, Dae-su…
Seong-ho tossed back the contents of his glass.
I thought he would climb back up, but once he went down he never rose again for more than twenty years. This time I can't let that happen.
Seong-ho meant to help change the life of the friend who had once cried for him.