All for the Sake of Ilhyeon
After hearing the report, Lee Tak-hyeon turned to Lee Sang-jong with a look of utter disbelief.
"Is that true?"
"Yes. Chairman Jang promised he would persuade my sister-in-law."
Lee Sang-jong assured him he had not misheard, yet Lee Tak-hyeon's expression remained one of incredulity.
"Jang Chan-pyeong is in that much trouble?"
Lee Tak-hyeon turned his head and looked up at Hwang Do-beom standing beside him. But Hwang Do-beom seemed equally in the dark; he bowed his head with an apologetic face.
Lee Tak-hyeon shifted his gaze to Kim Seong-ho. Meeting the Chairman's eyes, Seong-ho spoke slowly.
"We confirmed that Chairman Jang has also taken a heavy hit from the financial crunch that started last year. Several companies went bankrupt without repaying him, and the money he poured into development projects has been locked up. He has no liquid funds he can freely use."
"So once you knew his pockets were empty, your plan was to use that very Chairman Jang to do the persuading?"
"I made the plan, but Second Brother was the one who executed it."
Kim Seong-ho handed every bit of the credit to Lee Sang-jong. Sang-jong shrugged at the words, and Lee Tak-hyeon looked him up and down before speaking.
"You carried it out?"
Shoulders raised high, Lee Sang-jong answered, "Yes. Director Kim asked for help, so I went and persuaded Chairman Jang myself."
"You?"
Lee Tak-hyeon stared at him as if he still could not believe it. Then he glanced back at Kim Seong-ho and let out a short, dry laugh.
"Fine. If you two say so, then so be it. Who did the persuading isn't that important anyway, so we'll leave it at that."
Lee Sang-jong wanted to insist it was not merely "leaving it at that"—he had truly done it himself. But with Lee Tak-hyeon already moving on to other matters, he could not press the claim.
"Then how much does Chairman Jang need?"
"He says about twenty billion won is urgent right now."
"Twenty billion… that's no small sum."
Lee Tak-hyeon hesitated at the idea of extending twenty billion. There was no guarantee the money would ever come back. Kim Seong-ho addressed the Chairman's reluctance, stressing that this was not a sum to be thrifty about.
"Chairman, if Ilhyeon's image keeps taking damage like this, our losses won't stop at twenty billion. They could easily reach two hundred or even three hundred billion. If we can plug the hole with twenty billion, we will have sealed the situation for a comparatively small price."
"Hmm…"
Even after Seong-ho's words, Lee Tak-hyeon did not immediately agree. Twenty billion was simply too large an amount in the current climate. Yet hesitation could not become indecision. At last he stopped deliberating and spoke to Kim Seong-ho.
"Disburse it at once and tell Chairman Jang to push the persuasion as quickly as possible. At the same time, hold the press conference as soon as you can and wrap this matter up. We have too much work ahead of us. We cannot afford to get bogged down here."
"Agreed."
Lee Sang-jong nodded as if in full accord and continued in a distinctly elevated tone.
"Just the Ilhyeon Town construction alone has more work waiting than we can count. On top of that, the development projects that were stalled aren't few either. It's a good thing I returned to Ilhyeon Construction. If it weren't for me, none of this would get sorted. I'll step in and clear the backlog myself, so Chairman, you need not worry."
The instructions had been given to Kim Seong-ho, yet Lee Sang-jong was volunteering to take charge. Seong-ho merely smiled without a word, while Lee Tak-hyeon simply watched his second son in silence.
After Lee Sang-jong and Kim Seong-ho had bowed and left, Lee Tak-hyeon reached for the cigarette pack on the table and spoke slowly.
"About Director Kim."
"Yes, Chairman."
"Which line is he riding?"
"Which line, sir?"
"Exactly. I cannot tell whose candidacy for the next chairmanship he is backing."
Lee Tak-hyeon lifted the cigarette pack and cocked his head.
"Looking at everything Director Kim has done so far, I still cannot tell where he has planted his flag. Sometimes he seems to be supporting the eldest, and now he is supporting the second… What is he thinking?"
"It looks different to my eyes."
"Different?"
Hwang Do-beom set the ashtray in front of Lee Tak-hyeon and continued.
"Every decision Director Kim has made appears to be for the sake of Ilhyeon. When he supported Mun-jong, it was the best choice for the group at the time. Now supporting Sang-jong is likewise the choice that serves Ilhyeon. That is how I see it."
"All for the sake of Ilhyeon?"
It was a perspective he had never considered. Lee Tak-hyeon sank into thought without even drawing a cigarette from the pack. He repeated the chief of staff's words to himself, then looked up at Hwang Do-beom once more.
"Then how does it look to you? Do you think it would be all right to entrust him with the vault?"
At that question, Hwang Do-beom's face went as still as if his heart had stopped.
Once outside the Chairman's office, Lee Sang-jong clapped Kim Seong-ho on the shoulder.
"Well done."
Seeing Seong-ho elevate and support him in front of Lee Tak-hyeon left Sang-jong thoroughly satisfied.
"When I take over the group, I'll make sure to put you in a key position, so don't worry."
"I am always prepared to give my best for Ilhyeon."
"Good. Don't forget that attitude."
Kim Seong-ho had spoken of giving his best for Ilhyeon—not for Sang-jong—but Sang-jong failed to catch the distinction. Simply having been entrusted by Lee Tak-hyeon with handling this matter had him so elated that nothing else registered.
"If I wrap this up cleanly, that puts me a step ahead of the fellow over there, doesn't it?"
"You must not grow complacent."
Kim Seong-ho looked toward the Vice Chairman's office and offered a serious warning.
"Without knowing the Chairman's true intentions, thinking about getting ahead is premature. You should focus on finishing the task you were given properly. If you get carried away and produce a poor result, you will have to face the Chairman's wrath."
"Hahaha. True enough. As sharp as ever, Director Kim."
Lee Sang-jong clapped Seong-ho's shoulder again and left his hand there. A smile curved his lips as he spoke.
"When Chang-jong first showed up, I took your advice and kept quiet, which let me land a solid punch at the end. Hahaha. I owe that to you. I won't forget it."
"Brother, nothing is finished yet. You must not let your guard down."
"Yes, yes, I know. Don't worry."
Still saying he understood, Lee Sang-jong patted Seong-ho's shoulder and moved to board the elevator.
"Director."
A voice called Kim Seong-ho from behind. Both he and Lee Sang-jong, about to step into the elevator, turned at the same time.
"The Vice Chairman asks that you stop by his office for a moment."
"The Vice Chairman?"
Kim Seong-ho glanced at Lee Sang-jong. Smiling, Sang-jong nodded to him and addressed Mun-jong's secretary.
"He didn't say he wanted to see me?"
"Well…"
When the secretary looked flustered, Lee Sang-jong found it amusing and stepped into the elevator. He turned back toward Seong-ho with a grin.
"Hyung-nim might be quite angry, so do a good job of calming him down. And if anything comes up, feel free to use my name as an excuse. After all, I'm the one running this show now."
Lee Sang-jong spoke as if he were the star of the affair and even waved. Kim Seong-ho bowed toward him through the slowly closing elevator doors. The moment they shut completely, he turned around.
Mun-jong's secretary confirmed Seong-ho was ready and led him to the Vice Chairman's office. Seong-ho followed him to where Lee Mun-jong waited.
The instant Kim Seong-ho entered Lee Mun-jong's office, Mun-jong shouted at him.
"Why did you drag Sang-jong into this!"
Seong-ho gestured for the secretary to close the door and leave, then tried to soothe Mun-jong.
"Hyung-nim, please calm down first."
"Do I look like I can calm down right now!"
Mun-jong did not lower his voice.
"Why is Sang-jong the one handling this matter? Huh? Explain yourself."
"Would you have preferred to clean it up yourself, Hyung-nim?"
"That's…"
Mun-jong had no answer. Seong-ho poured a glass of water from the table, handed it to him, and sat to his right.
"Drink some water first and settle yourself. Once you hear me out, you will understand why I brought Second Brother in."
"Fine. Let's hear that brilliant reason of yours."
With that, Mun-jong gulped the water down noisily and set the empty glass on the table with a clack.
"All right, talk. Why did you make Sang-jong clean this up so Father would recognize him?"
"Hyung-nim, someone had to step forward and resolve this. But you and Third Brother are both entangled in it, so neither of you could. We could not entrust it to my sister-in-law or my brother-in-law either, and of course we could not ask my wife's sister or my own wife."
"Father ordered you to do it, didn't he? You said a press conference could finish this, so he assigned it to you—yet you shoved it onto the second son instead!"
Seong-ho checked the water glass for anything amiss, found it fine, and poured another. He set it in front of Mun-jong again. Mun-jong shoved the glass roughly aside, showing no intention of drinking.
"Hyung-nim, why do you think I put Second Brother out in front? Because I didn't want to do it myself either."
"What?"
Seong-ho lifted the glass and pressed it firmly into Mun-jong's hand.
"I came up with the solution, but I had no desire to carry it out. That is why I brought Second Brother in."
"Why?"
"Why do you think? Have you forgotten who our in-law is?"
"Chairman Jang Chan-pyeong…"
Mun-jong let out a low, almost groaning sound and stared down at the glass. After a moment he drained it in one go. This time he set the empty glass carefully on the table.
Seong-ho watched him, finally appearing calmer, then settled deep into the sofa. Facing Mun-jong's intent gaze, he explained why he had involved Lee Sang-jong.
"To put my sister-in-law on the press-conference stage, we need the in-law's influence. And to move the in-law, we needed to exploit the difficulty he is currently in."
"Yes, I understand. That was probably the only way."
"But what kind of man is that in-law? Do you think the great Chairman Jang Chan-pyeong will simply forget this?"
"Haha."
Mun-jong gave a hollow laugh and shook his head. Then, like Seong-ho, he pushed himself deep into the sofa and leaned back against the cushions.
"Jang Chan-pyeong is not the type to let it go."
"That is exactly why I brought Second Brother in."
Mun-jong nodded and looked at Seong-ho.
"All right. But… if he handles this well and earns Father's recognition, what do you plan to do about that?"
"Why worry about that?"
"What?"
Seong-ho leaned closer and spoke in a low but firm voice.
"Earning recognition does not decide the succession, nor does it close the gap between Second Brother and you."
"That is true."
"Then why get so heated over something minor? Right now you should focus on finishing this cleanly and burying the problem out of sight. After all, that child… will be the biggest stumbling block on your path."
Hearing those words, Lee Mun-jong's eyes widened. He raised a finger toward Seong-ho, who had pointed out what he himself had overlooked.
"You're right. Exactly right. I shouldn't be fretting over the second son—I should be concentrating on clearing away the stone that might catch my foot… Thank you."
Mun-jong gave Seong-ho a look that said well spoken. Seong-ho returned the smile.
Yet in his mind Seong-ho thought something very different: that particular stone would never be cleared away.
Because I'll make sure of that.
Keeping the thought strictly to himself, Kim Seong-ho beamed brightly at Lee Mun-jong.