I'll Just Listen and Come Back
"You're late?"
Kim Seong-ho greeted Oh Min-yeong, who had come out to meet him as he took off his shoes.
"Why did you come out? I would have come in on my own. Everyone's here, right?"
"Of course. They're all waiting for you. Come on in."
Once she confirmed that Kim Seong-ho had changed into slippers, Oh Min-yeong turned and went inside first.
Kim Seong-ho followed her in and took his place at the weekly family dinner held at the Pyeongchang-dong residence.
"Sorry for being late."
"It's fine."
As Kim Seong-ho bowed toward those seated at the table, Lee Tak-hyeon waved it off and lifted his spoon.
"Well, everyone's here. Let's eat."
Lee Tak-hyeon was the first to scoop up soup and taste it. The others followed, and the weekend meal at Pyeongchang-dong began in earnest.
A stretch of silence followed while they ate. One by one people finished and set their spoons back down on the table.
The moment the meal ended, conversation began.
"How's Gyeong-eun?"
Having just finished, Lee Mun-jong wiped his mouth and directed the question at Kim Seong-ho, who sat at the far end.
Kim Seong-ho, mid-sip of water, swallowed and answered.
"She's recovered a great deal. The doctor says her recovery is faster than expected—he thinks we could even move her discharge date up."
"Is that so? That's a relief."
Once Lee Mun-jong finished, Lee Sang-jong glanced sideways at Lee Jeong-eun and then spoke to Kim Seong-ho.
"Director Kim. When you go into the Blue House this time, grab us a card company."
"A card company?"
"Yeah."
Lee Sang-jong twitched the corner of his mouth and jerked his chin toward Lee Jeong-eun.
"We've got to get Ilhyeon Card to ten million members, right? The easiest, fastest way is to acquire another card company, isn't it? So think of it as helping out—go into the Blue House, snag one, and bring it back."
After speaking he checked Lee Tak-hyeon's expression.
Kim Seong-ho looked from Lee Sang-jong's twitching mouth to Lee Tak-hyeon's complete lack of reaction to Lee Jeong-eun's flushed face, and inwardly scoffed.
He's being so obvious about it.
Kim Seong-ho knew exactly why Lee Sang-jong had raised the card-company matter at this table.
It was a preemptive strike to stop Kim Seong-ho from acquiring a card company and thereby helping Lee Jeong-eun.
And everyone present understood what Lee Sang-jong was thinking.
Clack!
With her face scarlet, Lee Jeong-eun slammed her chopsticks onto the table hard enough to make a noise and shouted.
"Oppa! Are you crazy? Do I look like someone who can't do her job without help?"
"Young lady, Father is right here. Why are you acting like that at the dinner table?"
When Oh Min-yeong stepped in, Lee Jeong-eun's anger swung from Lee Sang-jong to her.
"Do you think I don't know what you and Oppa are scheming? Sticking right next to Mom hoping some scraps will fall your way—you think I don't see that?"
"Young lady!"
Oh Min-yeong looked startled by the words and glanced at Chu Suk-ja, terrified that the older woman would realize she was keeping close with ulterior motives.
But Chu Suk-ja reacted in an unexpected way.
"So you're saying you refuse to sit by my side because you don't even want those scraps?"
"Mom!"
"Whether she's sitting next to me hoping to pick up fallen scraps or not, what business is it of yours? Are you planning to eat them yourself if the second daughter-in-law doesn't?"
"Mom. I'm your daughter."
"So what if you are?"
Chu Suk-ja slammed her chopsticks down even harder than Lee Jeong-eun had a moment earlier and raised her voice.
"Don't even think about eyeing the scraps that fall when you're not even sitting next to me!"
Having spoken, she looked back and forth between Lee Jeong-eun and Bang Hyeon-ju, who sat quietly without a word.
"This conversation's gone off in a strange direction..."
When the arrow swung toward his own wife, Lee Sang-jong tried to redirect it back at Lee Jeong-eun.
"Anyway, even if Director Kim brings a card company and dumps it on Ilhyeon Card, just know that wouldn't count as you achieving the ten million members Father ordered through your own abilities."
"I'm not an idiot—I know that!"
With her face thoroughly flushed, Lee Jeong-eun shouted and then raised her voice even higher.
"I don't covet any other card companies and I have no intention of doing that. Since everyone's gathered, let me say this clearly: don't even think about bringing another card company. I'm going to hit ten million members with Ilhyeon Card alone, no matter what."
"Aren't you overdoing it? Just take it gratefully if he brings one. Why get all prideful?"
Lee Sang-jong spoke with open sarcasm.
Lee Jeong-eun frowned deeply, her face still red.
"I have a way to hit ten million without that, so Oppa, worry about yourself. I heard you hit someone again the other day?"
"Hey!"
Startled by the sudden attack, Lee Sang-jong jabbed a finger at her and hurriedly checked Lee Tak-hyeon's expression.
Lee Jeong-eun snorted.
"Hmph! Beating people every time you drink—how many times does that make it? Your reputation's all over Gangnam. I hear some bars close their doors the moment they hear the president of Ilhyeon Construction is coming."
"What the hell are you talking about! Don't spout nonsense."
"Is it not true? Didn't you beat someone up a few days ago? Did I hear some weird rumor and get it wrong?"
At her words Lee Sang-jong could say nothing.
Because he actually had caused a scene at a bar a few days earlier.
Seeing him unable to answer, Lee Jeong-eun snorted again and turned to Lee Tak-hyeon.
"Father. Don't worry. I have a method I've thought of. I can secure ten million members on our own without acquiring another card company. Not only that—I'll more than double our sales within three years."
"Double?"
Lee Tak-hyeon, who had been silent until now, reacted to the word.
Encouraged, Lee Jeong-eun spoke with even more excitement.
"Yes. Double. Within three years at most—two if things go quickly. I'll show you."
"You mean you've come up with a way to grow the company?"
"Yes. I thought of it myself, without anyone's help."
She placed her palm over her chest and emphasized once more that she alone had devised the plan.
Cha Yeong-su, sitting beside her, furtively cast an apologetic glance at Kim Seong-ho and signaled his regret with his eyes.
Kim Seong-ho gave a slight nod to show it was fine.
Even though Lee Jeong-eun was claiming as her own idea something she had heard through Cha Yeong-su from Kim Seong-ho, and presenting it that way to Lee Tak-hyeon, it was exactly the scenario Kim Seong-ho had anticipated from the beginning.
"We're going to launch aggressive marketing starting this very month."
"And you're sure aggressive marketing will actually get you something?"
"Yes. I've already run the numbers. That's why I can confidently say we'll double sales within three years."
Lee Tak-hyeon nodded.
"I tell you to raise membership to ten million, and you come back with 'double the sales in three years' as your answer? Fine. Give it a try."
At his words Lee Jeong-eun's flushed face brightened.
"Please trust me. I'll make sure you don't regret entrusting Ilhyeon Card to me."
"All right."
Lee Tak-hyeon finished speaking and rose from his seat.
Seeing the housekeeper returning with tea, he turned to Chu Suk-ja.
"I'll have tea in the study. Bring it there."
"Got it."
"Bring two cups."
"Two cups?"
Just as Chu Suk-ja was about to ask why, Lee Tak-hyeon gestured toward Kim Seong-ho.
"You come to the study with me. We need to talk."
"Yes, sir."
Kim Seong-ho answered and stood.
Then he followed Lee Tak-hyeon, who was already leaving, toward the study.
Lee Gyeong-eun's siblings still seated at the table watched him go with jealous eyes.
Once inside the study, Lee Tak-hyeon asked Kim Seong-ho as the younger man sat down on the sofa after him,
"Was it you who told her?"
Settling onto the sofa, Kim Seong-ho knew exactly what he meant.
"Didn't Sister-in-law say she thought of it herself?"
Kim Seong-ho then accepted the tea from the housekeeper who had followed with the cups.
He set one cup in front of Lee Tak-hyeon first, then one in front of himself.
Lee Tak-hyeon watched him quietly for a moment before letting out a short laugh.
"Fine. Whatever it is, since she claims she thought of it herself, then it must be Jeong-eun's method. And since she'll be the one executing it, all the credit goes to her. The blame, likewise, will be hers to bear..."
He finished and looked at Kim Seong-ho.
Without changing expression at all, Kim Seong-ho said,
"Chairman. The tea fragrance is excellent. Mother said she'd gotten some fine tea this time—this must be it. Please have some."
Lee Tak-hyeon chuckled lowly and reached for the cup.
He lifted it, savored the aroma, then tasted the tea.
Kim Seong-ho waited until Lee Tak-hyeon had finished tasting before bringing his own cup to his lips. After tasting it he let out a sound of appreciation.
"The flavor is every bit as good as the aroma. I'll have to ask Mother for some leaves to take back so Gyeong-eun can try it too."
Lee Tak-hyeon set his cup down first and quietly watched Kim Seong-ho continue savoring the tea.
After Kim Seong-ho had been tasting it for a while and finally set down the half-empty cup, Lee Tak-hyeon got to the real reason he had summoned him.
"Now tell me. What's your plan for the Blue House meeting the day after tomorrow?"
Kim Seong-ho smacked his lips as if regretting not finishing every last drop, then answered.
"There's nothing that really qualifies as a plan."
"Nothing that qualifies as a plan?"
"No. At the meeting the day after tomorrow everyone will be so busy fighting that no proper discussion will even take place."
Lee Tak-hyeon narrowed his eyes.
Kim Seong-ho, still lingering on the regret, kept his gaze on the teacup as he continued.
"Among the companies sitting at that table, only ours and the KF Group were founded by the previous generation's chairmen. The other three were all built from the ground up by their current founders—places that still carry the heavy imprint of the founder-chairman himself. Do you think places like that would be willing to hand over any of their assets?"
At Kim Seong-ho's words the corner of Lee Tak-hyeon's mouth twisted upward.
The meaning had come through perfectly clear.
"It's the same for us and the KF Group. Even though the previous chairmen put up the company signs, it was under you and the KF Group chairman that the groups entered their full expansion phase. After growing the groups that much, would they be able to give up an affiliate?"
"They couldn't."
At Lee Tak-hyeon's agreement Kim Seong-ho lifted his gaze from the cup.
He looked up at Lee Tak-hyeon and said,
"That's why everyone I meet—and everyone in the headquarters—keeps asking me, 'What are you going to bring back?' The same thing is probably happening at the other groups that will be there. With everyone present fixated on what the others will bring, there's no way the meeting will proceed normally."
"Hahaha."
Lee Tak-hyeon burst into loud laughter.
"You're right. You're absolutely right. No one is going to hand over a company they built themselves."
After laughing heartily for a moment he gradually lowered his voice.
"They'll only care about what they can take from the other side, with zero interest in what they themselves might have to give up. Just as you say, the meeting the day after tomorrow won't run properly. But... if it goes that way, those government bastards will get offended, and that becomes a whole other problem. They've just seized power and are at the peak of their strength—there's no way they won't flex that muscle."
"Exactly. That's why I plan to just sit quietly at the meeting the day after tomorrow."
"Sit quietly?"
"Yes. Without deciding anything, I plan to simply listen to what everyone has to say and come back."
Lee Tak-hyeon wondered for a moment if Kim Seong-ho was joking.
After predicting the entire situation so precisely, the action he proposed was simply to sit and listen—something Lee Tak-hyeon had never expected.
But Kim Seong-ho's expression made it clear he was serious. He smacked his lips again and reached for the half-full teacup.
Lee Tak-hyeon watched in silence as Kim Seong-ho lifted the cup once more to taste the tea, then a smile formed at the corners of his mouth.
For the past several days the news had been filled with reports that representatives of the five major groups would gather at the Blue House.
If the business-world restructuring proceeded as the new administration had announced, people were intensely curious about how the landscape of the conglomerates would shift.
"Absolutely not."
On the television an agitated economist shook his head as he spoke.
"The automobile industry should consolidate around the Seonwoo Group—that's the best option."
A director of a well-known economic research institute, every bit as famous as the economist, raised his voice in opposition.
"What are you talking about? Who acquired Doa Motors? Ilhyeon did. The auto industry should be restructured around Ilhyeon."
"Just because Ilhyeon acquired Doa Motors, does that mean Seonwoo Motors should go to Ilhyeon as well? Absolutely not. Industry should always consolidate around the most competitive player—that's the proper way."
"Are you saying Seonwoo is more competitive than Ilhyeon?"
"And you're saying it isn't?"
If it had not been a broadcast, the two men looked ready to come to blows as they snarled at each other.
And this kind of scene was not limited to programs themed around chaebol restructuring.
Even inside the Blue House, where the group representatives had gathered, a fierce war of nerves was already underway.