Never Once Relinquished the Hilt
Darkness had settled over the Ministry of Finance and Economy building as Kim Seong-ho and Jo Byeong-jin stepped inside.
Following a ministry secretary who guided them deeper into the building, Jo Byeong-jin kept pace with Seong-ho and spoke in a low voice.
"Any idea why the Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy summoned us?"
"Obvious, isn't it? Doa Motors."
"Yeah, I figured as much."
Jo Byeong-jin nodded in agreement, then leaned in again.
"So? Got a plan?"
"Wouldn't be here if I didn't."
Unlike the tense Jo Byeong-jin, Seong-ho looked completely at ease. He clapped his friend on the shoulder with a smile.
"No need to worry. We're the ones holding the hilt."
"You sure we've got the hilt?"
"Positive."
A faint smile began to play across Seong-ho's unhurried face.
"Since I arrived here, I have never once handed the hilt over to anyone."
Jo Byeong-jin blinked, unsure what "since I arrived here" was supposed to mean. Seong-ho simply smiled at his friend's blank look, clapped him on the shoulder once more, and stepped into the elevator.
When the elevator doors opened on the twelfth floor, where the Deputy Prime Minister's office was located, a section chief from the office was already waiting for them.
"Welcome. The Deputy Prime Minister is expecting you."
Seong-ho offered a brief word of thanks to the secretary who had guided them this far, then followed the section chief toward the office where Hwang Jang-chul waited.
Knock, knock.
"Director Kim Seong-ho of the Ilhyeon Group has arrived."
"Show him in."
The section chief stepped inside first to announce him, and Hwang Jang-chul's voice came from within, telling them to enter. The section chief gestured for Seong-ho to come through. Only then did Seong-ho walk in and greet the Deputy Prime Minister.
"Deputy Prime Minister. I came as quickly as I could—I hope you haven't been waiting long?"
"Not at all."
Hwang Jang-chul rose from his seat with a dark expression and personally welcomed Seong-ho inside.
"The fault is mine for suddenly asking to meet today without any prior notice. Please, come in."
Seeing how completely Hwang Jang-chul's demeanor had changed from their first meeting, Seong-ho allowed himself a faint smile as he stepped into the office.
"Director Kim. Good to see you."
Inside, looking like a dog desperate for relief, Park Don-su—president of Modu Bank—hurriedly greeted Seong-ho the moment he entered.
Only then noticing Park Don-su, Seong-ho took his hand in mild surprise.
"President Park, you're here as well?"
"Yes. We've been waiting for you, Director."
Still holding Park Don-su's hand, Seong-ho glanced back at Deputy Prime Minister Hwang as if to ask whether this was supposed to be a private meeting. Hwang looked slightly awkward under that gaze and gestured toward the sofas.
"Why don't we sit and talk first."
Seong-ho nodded and took the seat Hwang indicated. Park Don-su sat next, and finally Hwang, as the host of the room, settled into his own place.
Once all three were seated, Park Don-su could no longer hold himself back.
"Director. The Doa Motors auction failed. Will you participate in the second round of bidding……?"
"I already heard. The auction fell through today, correct?"
Instead of answering whether he would join the second round, Seong-ho deflected with a question of his own. Park Don-su felt a surge of frustration but forced himself to smile awkwardly.
"Yes. Most of the companies bidding only cared about acquiring Doa Motors and had nothing coherent to say about what came after, so the government decided to void the first round for now. Price was never the issue."
Emphasizing that the failure had nothing to do with price, Park Don-su looked to Hwang for confirmation. The Deputy Prime Minister nodded and picked up the thread.
"Our government is equally concerned with what happens after the acquisition. We do not want a buyer who simply strips the technology and leaves an empty shell. We want Doa Motors to go to a company whose purpose is to truly revive it and create jobs."
"I see."
Even after Hwang's explanation, Seong-ho looked as if he were listening to someone else's problem, his expression thoroughly unimpressed. Then, glancing at Park Don-su—who appeared ready to burst from anxiety—he finally spoke.
"President Park, to answer your question: even if we wanted to join the second round of bidding, we cannot."
"Excuse me? What do you mean you cannot? Not that you won't, but that you can't?"
"As of today, we have officially decided to abandon the acquisition of Doa Motors."
"Abandon it?"
Park Don-su cried out in shock. Hwang briefly calmed him, then asked in his place.
"Abandon? What are you saying? Why would the Ilhyeon Group give up on Doa Motors?"
Seong-ho let out a short sigh and answered.
"The reasons are the same as before. We lack the funds for the acquisition, and we also lack the confidence that we could properly manage the company afterward."
"No money? Who in the world would believe that Ilhyeon has no money?"
Park Don-su raised his voice, insisting it made no sense. Seong-ho only lowered his own further.
"Last year, countless companies came to Ilhyeon because the banks had cut off their loans and left them on the brink of collapse for lack of cash."
Park Don-su found himself with nothing to say. It was true that Modu Bank had not been the only one restricting credit—but they had restricted it all the same, and he knew full well that Ilhyeon had stepped in to lend those companies the money the banks would not.
Seong-ho continued with a heavy expression.
"Our Chairman could not ignore old ties and lent them the funds…… yet we have determined that most of those borrowers are in no position to repay."
"Hrm……."
Hwang exhaled a low sigh. Even after receiving the IMF bailout funds, the chain of corporate bankruptcies had not stopped—something the Deputy Prime Minister knew all too well. Seong-ho looked at him and went on.
"Even if we seize the collateral to recover the debts, converting that collateral into cash takes time. And with the value of the assets themselves having fallen so sharply, the losses are hardly trivial."
"I understand."
Neither Hwang nor Park Don-su had any rebuttal. Hwang regarded Seong-ho with a troubled look.
"And the second reason is still the labor union, I take it?"
Seong-ho gave a bitter nod, then turned to Park Don-su.
"I already conveyed our position to President Park. Nothing has changed between then and now. Rather than waste manpower on something that cannot be done, Ilhyeon intends to focus on finishing what we have already begun. I would be grateful if you could understand. Whether it is a second, third, or fourth round of bidding, Ilhyeon will not participate."
The shadows that fell across Hwang and Park Don-su's faces looked deeper than the darkness outside the windows. Watching them, Seong-ho sensed that the impatience of the government and the creditor banks had reached its peak.
Time to start calculating exactly what I can extract for myself once we take over Doa Motors.
The moment Doa Motors went bankrupt, its acquisition by the Ilhyeon Group would be as good as decided. German automakers this, Seonwoo Group that—none of it would matter. Doa Motors would end up in Ilhyeon's arms one way or another. Seong-ho meant to swallow that certainty as cheaply as possible, and the endgame was drawing near. And when that end arrived, he had no intention of letting Ilhyeon simply feed on Doa Motors for free. Through the acquisition, Seong-ho himself intended to gain something—and he already knew precisely what that something would be. He felt the moment had come to move for it.
Kim Seong-ho stood before the pond, looking down at the colorful koi.
"What are you doing out here?"
Seong-ho turned toward the voice. Lee Tak-hyeon, the master of Ilhyeon, was approaching at a leisurely pace with his hands clasped behind his back. Seong-ho quickly bowed in greeting and stepped aside.
"I was watching the carp play. The sight was so pleasant I lost track of time."
"Pleasant, is it?"
Lee Tak-hyeon took the spot where Seong-ho had just been standing and looked down at the koi. The fish swarmed upward, leaping for the feed Seong-ho had scattered. Gazing quietly at them, Lee Tak-hyeon spoke.
"I hear the Blue House called again today."
He had left everything in Seong-ho's hands, yet the Blue House kept calling with relentless persistence, and Seong-ho's own intentions remained impossible to read. He could not help but ask. Anticipating exactly this, Seong-ho had come to the Pyeongchang-dong residence on a Sunday and stood alone in the garden rather than inside the house, deliberately creating the conditions for this conversation.
"What did they say?"
Still watching the pond, Lee Tak-hyeon answered.
"What else? Asking us to bid on Doa Motors, of course."
He lifted his gaze from the koi and fixed his eyes on Seong-ho.
"You haven't forgotten, have you? Doa Motors must end up in my hands."
"Of course not. I haven't forgotten."
Lee Tak-hyeon resumed walking slowly with his hands behind his back. Seong-ho fell into step behind him as a matter of course.
"I have not asked what you are thinking until now. I believed I needed to put my weight behind what you were doing. But……."
Lee Tak-hyeon turned his head and spoke in a hard voice to Seong-ho, who trailed half a step behind.
"If it looks as though we might fail to acquire Doa Motors, understand that I will step in myself."
"That will not happen."
"Good. See that it doesn't."
The tone was the same as always, the words ordinary—yet the meaning they carried was murderous. If Lee Tak-hyeon intervened personally, everything Seong-ho had built up to this point could collapse. Even so, Seong-ho did not so much as twitch a fingertip. Instead, he moved to strike a bargain with the man before him.
"As it happens, I was about to begin the formal work of acquiring Doa Motors in earnest. But before I do, there is something I would like to ask you, Chairman."
"Something you want to ask me? Speak."
They had reached the far end of the garden, the point farthest from the house. Lee Tak-hyeon stopped walking and turned to face Seong-ho. Here, no one could overhear. If Seong-ho had something to say, this was the place.
Even knowing that Lee Tak-hyeon had anticipated this request, Seong-ho did not so much as raise an eyebrow as he opened his mouth.
"Do you recall the projected acquisition price for Doa Motors that I mentioned last time?"
"I do. You said it wasn't free—that we would have to pay extra just to take it."
"Yes. And just as I said then, I will bring Doa Motors in without spending a single won."
"You sound confident."
"I am."
Lee Tak-hyeon's rigid expression eased, a hint of amusement touching his features as he jerked his chin at Seong-ho.
"All right. With that confidence of yours, tell me—what is it you want in return?"
Lee Tak-hyeon had already known Seong-ho intended to extract something through the Doa Motors deal. The moment Seong-ho said he had a question, Lee Tak-hyeon cut straight to what he wanted—no circling around.
Seong-ho answered without the slightest hesitation.
"Allow Gyeong-eun to manage Ilhyeon Department Store."
"Who did you say should manage what?"
The request was so far outside Lee Tak-hyeon's expectations that he faltered for a moment. He had assumed Seong-ho would demand one of the group's subsidiaries for himself. Acquiring Doa Motors was an achievement large enough to justify such a claim, and he had been calculating how much he would be willing to concede. Ilhyeon Construction and Ilhyeon Motors were out of the question; Ilhyeon Electronics was even more so. Ilhyeon Machinery and Ilhyeon Electric were not the absolute core of the group, yet they still ranked as major affiliates he could not simply hand over. He had been thinking in terms of distribution, retail, or financial arms like insurance and life—sectors somewhat removed from the heart of the conglomerate. Instead, Seong-ho had named Ilhyeon Department Store first. And he was not even asking to own it—only that Gyeong-eun be allowed to manage it. The modesty of the request left Lee Tak-hyeon staring at him in silence.
Seong-ho met that silent stare and spoke.
"Combine Ilhyeon Hotel and Ilhyeon Department Store under Gyeong-eun's management. That is what I want."
"Isn't managing Ilhyeon Hotel alone already more than enough for her?"
Modest as the request was, Lee Tak-hyeon did not grant it at once. Seong-ho had anticipated this reaction as well and showed no surprise as he listened.
"Wouldn't it be better for her to handle just one of the two?"
"Let her try both. If she shows signs of being overwhelmed, it will not be too late to take one back then."
"So you want me to let her try and see how it goes?"
"Yes."
Seong-ho nodded and held Lee Tak-hyeon's gaze. What felt modest to the Chairman was, to Seong-ho, never a matter of claiming some minor affiliate. What he wanted was not a handful of subsidiaries.
What he wanted was the Ilhyeon Group itself.