Putting a Blade in My Ally's Hand
This gathering was not only about changing Park Dae-su’s life.
It was a meeting Kim Seong-ho needed just as badly.
I have to put power in the hands of my own people.
In South Korea, a prosecutor was a position of real power. Even so, a powerful seat meant nothing if you never took hold of a blade. Only when you held the blade would the other side feel fear—and only then did true power begin to take shape.
In that sense, Park Dae-su currently occupied a seat where he could grasp a blade, yet he still had not closed his fingers around one. He was little more than raw potential. And in a few days even that potential would vanish.
So Kim Seong-ho decided to go beyond mere possibility and place a blade firmly in Park Dae-su’s hand.
He set down his soju glass and glanced behind him. The men assigned to watch him had long since abandoned their surveillance and were hurriedly stuffing themselves with meat and rice. They had decided that Kim Seong-ho meeting a friend for drinks was unlikely to produce anything remarkable. On top of that, he had invited them to join the table and even bought them meat, so they had completely let their guard down.
Once he confirmed that every watchful gaze had been withdrawn and that they were focused entirely on their meal, Kim Seong-ho spoke to Park Dae-su in a low voice.
“Dae-su, you know about the Jisan Group, right?”
“Jisan Group? Of course I do. Who doesn’t? They started with a university and ballooned into a full conglomerate. Kindergartens, elementary schools, middle and high schools, junior colleges, universities, graduate schools—they basically own every kind of private school you can run in this country. Hard to miss them.”
“Right. Exactly. But they look like they’re sitting on some serious problems.”
“Problems? What kind of problems?”
“Embezzlement, breach of trust, labor-law violations… the place looks rotten with corruption.”
Park Dae-su listened, then silently refilled his glass. He knocked the drink back and let out a hollow laugh.
“Who doesn’t know that place is overflowing with dirt? The problem isn’t knowing—it’s that you can’t touch them. You know how it works. Under political protection they slip past every issue like a loach.”
“Yeah, I know. The current chairman’s father used to be a National Assemblyman. But that only works up to now.”
“Up to now? What’s that supposed to mean?”
When Park Dae-su asked with a puzzled look, Kim Seong-ho smiled faintly and answered.
“Politicians only protect you as long as the money’s still there, right?”
“Sure. They only help if there’s something in it for them.”
“I found out the Jisan Group is deep in a liquidity crunch and looking at a very real chance of going bankrupt.”
Jo Byeong-jin’s eyes went wide as he turned to Kim Seong-ho.
“Bankrupt? The Jisan Group?”
“Keep your voice down.”
“Ah—sorry, sorry.”
Kim Seong-ho nodded and continued speaking to Park Dae-su.
“You know as well as I do—nobody has less loyalty than politicians. You really think those guys are going to babysit a Jisan Group that’s already limping around without cash?”
“…Not a chance.”
“Exactly.”
Kim Seong-ho refilled the glass of the now-understanding Park Dae-su and kept explaining.
“Anyway, right now the only people who know this are the Strategic Planning Office at Ilhyeon Group.”
In truth only Kim Seong-ho himself knew, even inside the Strategic Planning Office, but he kept that detail to himself and presented it as intelligence the office had uncovered.
Fiddling with the full glass of soju, he looked at Park Dae-su and said,
“If you go after them alone while everyone else is still too scared to touch them, the credit will land that much heavier on you. Your position will get a lot more solid too.”
At those words Park Dae-su lifted his glass and drained it in one go.
“Haaah—”
He picked up a chili pepper from the table, bit into it to chase away the lingering bitterness, and spoke.
“I never told you guys this, but… my footing at the office is pretty bad right now. Without a proper case to my name, hanging on to my seat hasn’t been easy. If things keep going like this, there’s a high chance I’ll get kicked out of the Special Division by the end of this month—next month at the latest.”
A look of resolve settled on his face as he turned to Kim Seong-ho.
“Hearing you talk, though… it actually feels doable. Thanks. This should be more than enough to shore up my position.”
“Glad to hear it’ll help.”
Jo Byeong-jin had been half-listening while casting occasional glances toward the secretarial staff. When it looked as though the two men’s conversation was winding down, he clapped his hands together.
“All right, all right—if you’re done talking, let’s have one last round and call it a night. Looks like the people who came with Seong-ho have finished eating too.”
Kim Seong-ho confirmed that the men behind him had finished their meat and were once again cocking their ears in his direction. He shot Jo Byeong-jin a look that said well done, then raised his glass.
“Anyway, good to see you today. I’ll make time again—let’s meet then.”
“Yeah. See you.”
Kim Seong-ho and the others clinked glasses and downed the final round.
One of the secretarial staff patted his full belly as he watched. The first real meal of the day had been delicious and filling, and he had spotted nothing unusual from Kim Seong-ho—leaving him thoroughly satisfied.
And so that meat restaurant became the turning point of Park Dae-su’s life, just as the diary had become the turning point of the returned Kim Seong-ho’s.
“Ten million won. Wow—I knew our director would keep his word.”
Team Leader Yoon Gi-seok beamed as he accepted the pay stub showing the ten-million-won bonus.
Director Lee Gyeong-deuk sat at his desk, glanced at the equally delighted members of Team 2, and shook his head.
“I didn’t do this. The Chairman himself ordered the special payment, so if you want to thank someone, thank him.”
“But we barely managed to chip the Jisan Cement price, and Ilhyeon Construction is taking the acquisition on its own. Are we really allowed to take a bonus for this?”
Section Chief Jeong Byeong-ju still looked uneasy as he asked the question.
Lee Gyeong-deuk understood exactly what the man was driving at and nodded.
“It’s fine. Take it.”
He reassured Jeong Byeong-ju, then turned to address the rest of Team 2.
“Even though the deal didn’t ultimately go through our hands, the Chairman decided that Team 2’s efforts still cut the price by twenty billion won. That’s why he ordered the bonuses.”
“Is Ilhyeon Construction really going through with the acquisition at a hundred and eighty billion?”
Yoon Gi-seok looked doubtful.
“If they waited a little longer they could probably pick it up for a hundred and sixty billion—or even less.”
“The rest is Ilhyeon Construction’s business. No need to worry about it anymore. Good work, everyone. Grab something nice on the way home.”
Lee Gyeong-deuk dismissed their concerns, then turned to Kim Seong-ho.
“Ah… Assistant Manager Kim, could I see you for a moment?”
He arranged his face into the warmest expression he could manage. Kim Seong-ho folded the pay stub, slipped it into his pocket, and followed the director into the deputy head’s office.
“Make yourself comfortable. What’ll you have? Tea? Coffee? Or maybe a glass of whiskey?”
“No, thank you. Water is fine.”
Lee Gyeong-deuk smiled in a friendly manner and poured the water himself before handing it over. Kim Seong-ho accepted the glass and asked,
“What did you need to see me about, sir?”
“Ah, well…”
Lee Gyeong-deuk sat beside him, still wearing that amicable smile, and took hold of his hand. Then, smiling, he said,
“I feel bad, that’s all.”
“Sir? Bad about what?”
“The Jisan Cement matter. I should have found a way to keep it and finish it on our end, but Ilhyeon Construction snatched it away. I feel terrible about that…”
“There’s no need, sir. Everything was already decided over the weekend in Pyeongchang-dong with the Chairman and the older brothers. Even if you had tried to hold on to it, it wouldn’t have stayed.”
“Is that so? You were actually present when the Chairman, the Vice Chairman, and the president of Ilhyeon Construction discussed it?”
Lee Gyeong-deuk’s eyes lit up at the news that Kim Seong-ho had sat in on such an important conversation. Word around the group had always been that Kim Seong-ho was a son-in-law who had fallen out of Chairman Lee Tak-hyeon’s favor. The title of “Ilhyeon Group son-in-law” looked impressive from the outside, but inside the conglomerate he was treated worse than cold leftovers—or so people had assumed while looking at him.
Yet here he was, claiming he had not only attended a meeting where major decisions were made but had actually taken part in the discussion. Lee Gyeong-deuk decided then and there to revise the way he looked at Kim Seong-ho.
Seeing the shift, Kim Seong-ho fed him something even more interesting.
“I told the Chairman it was the Strategic Planning Office’s assessment, and he said we’d done well. He also told us not to feel too disappointed.”
“Ah, so that was it. That’s why the secretarial office said what they did.”
Lee Gyeong-deuk slapped his knee as understanding dawned.
“Normally there’s no bonus for something like this, so when the order came down to pay everyone I was puzzled. But it was because you spoke to the Chairman, wasn’t it? Of course…”
He tightened his grip on Kim Seong-ho’s hand.
“Every now and then… even just once in a while is fine. Mention me to the Chairman… no—mention the Strategic Planning Office more often. You understand?”
“You don’t need to worry about that, sir. I live under the same roof as the Chairman, so we talk morning and evening.”
Kim Seong-ho deliberately reminded him once more that he shared a house with Chairman Lee Tak-hyeon. Lee Gyeong-deuk’s eyes widened and he nodded vigorously.
“That’s right. Of course. You live in the same house as the Chairman.”
He took both of Kim Seong-ho’s hands and pressed them to his own chest.
“As you know, the head of the Strategic Planning Office is currently vacant, isn’t it?”
Kim Seong-ho suppressed a smile, nodded, and answered.
“Yes, sir. I’m aware.”
Encouraged by the agreement, Lee Gyeong-deuk looked at him with naked earnestness.
“It’s not that I’m desperate to sit in that chair myself. But… wouldn’t it be better if the promotion came from inside? That way my own seat opens up, someone below moves into it, and the structure fills itself naturally…”
He kept glancing at Kim Seong-ho, carefully emphasizing that none of this was for personal greed.
“You know as well as I do—the Strategic Planning Office manages the group’s major and minor affairs. It’s one of the most important posts there is, so a lot of people have their eyes on it. But… it’s also one of the hardest places to work. One wrong judgment and the entire group can take a massive hit, right?”
“I agree completely, sir.”
“So having someone who already knows the terrain holding the center is… you understand what I’m saying, don’t you?”
Kim Seong-ho smiled lightly. He already knew that even if he did nothing, Deputy Head Lee Gyeong-deuk would rise to the head’s seat. Still, there was no need to deny or hide the mistaken impression that he had used his influence. It would only make the work ahead smoother.
“Understood, sir. Whenever I have a meal or tea with the Chairman, I’ll make a point of bringing it up.”
“You mean that?”
Lee Gyeong-deuk’s face broke into a broad grin. He decided he had done well to speak with Kim Seong-ho. He had already suspected that the unexpected bonuses—despite the Jisan Cement deal slipping to Ilhyeon Construction—had something to do with the younger man. In nearly ten years at the Strategic Planning Office he had never seen anything like it. The only new variable was Kim Seong-ho’s presence, and he had guessed that Seong-ho might have swayed Lee Tak-hyeon’s mind. Now it turned out he had been right.
So he had cautiously asked for help with the vacant head’s seat. If Kim Seong-ho claimed he had no such power, that would have been the end of it—he had only been testing the waters. Instead the man not only confidently promised to speak up, he even set Lee Gyeong-deuk’s mind at ease.
“I’ll make sure to put in a strong word for you, Director. So don’t worry—just start preparing to move into the head’s office.”
“If you can do that much, I won’t forget this favor.”
“What favor is there to remember? I’m only saying this because I agree with you. And the final choice is the Chairman’s, so my influence is probably negligible anyway.”
“No, it isn’t. If I become head of the office, you won’t have to worry about your future in Strategic Planning. I’ll take responsibility for it myself.”
Just as he had on Kim Seong-ho’s first day, Director Lee Gyeong-deuk loudly declared that he would take full responsibility. Kim Seong-ho simply smiled. Whether the man was bluffing or not, one thing was certain: his future inside the Strategic Planning Office was about to become far more comfortable.
Lee Gyeong-deuk kept hold of Kim Seong-ho’s hands and laughed heartily, continuing the pleasant conversation for some time.