Make Him a Living Corpse

Knock knock.

Kim Seong-ho knocked and opened the door.

"Are you busy?"

"No. What brings you here?"

Hwang Do-beom, seated at his desk reviewing documents, looked up at Kim Seong-ho with a puzzled expression.

Seong-ho glanced around the Chief of Staff's office before speaking.

"I don't think I've ever been in here before."

"Whenever I meet with Director Kim, the Chairman is always present."

Hwang Do-beom folded the papers he had been examining, pushed them to one side of the desk, and asked Seong-ho the reason for his visit.

Seong-ho hesitated for a moment.

Finding Seong-ho's uncharacteristic manner even more curious, Hwang pressed him.

"Why? What is it that makes it so hard to bring up?"

"Well… Chief of Staff. Would it be all right if I called you hyung as well?"

"Hyung?"

Hwang Do-beom looked momentarily bewildered by the unexpected request. Then he burst into laughter.

"Hahaha. Sure. Mun-jong and the other kids all call me hyung. You can call me that too, Director Kim."

He laughed heartily, then fixed Seong-ho with a direct look.

"You didn't come all this way just because you wanted to call me hyung… Now tell me. What did you come for?"

"Have you heard as well, hyung?"

"Heard what?"

"The rumor going around that I'm the group's second-in-command."

"Hmm…"

Hwang Do-beom's expression hardened. He leaned back from the posture of leaning toward Seong-ho and nodded.

"Yes. I've heard it too."

After a moment with his eyes lowered in thought, Hwang relaxed his stern face and spoke to Seong-ho.

"Don't worry. I'll speak to the Chairman properly about it."

He assumed Seong-ho had come out of concern over the rumors circulating through the company of late, and that he wanted Hwang to put in a good word with the Chairman on his behalf.

"And you don't need to fret too much. Both the Chairman and I know how rumors work. The Chairman won't take it too seriously."

"Even if the Chairman doesn't take it seriously, other people might not feel the same."

"What do you mean by that?"

Hwang tilted his head and regarded Seong-ho.

"Didn't you come asking me to tell the Chairman that the rumor wasn't your intention?"

"I came to ask for your help, hyung, in telling the Chairman that since the rumor is spreading, we need to kill it."

"Kill the story? How?"

Seong-ho began to speak quietly to Hwang Do-beom. Hwang listened in silence for a long while.

When the explanation ended, Hwang tried several times to dissuade him. But Seong-ho would not yield despite every attempt to stop him. Only after hearing the word "Understood" from Hwang's lips did Seong-ho finally leave the Chief of Staff's office.

After Seong-ho departed, Hwang sat for a long time, deep in thought. When he finished thinking, he reached for the intercom.

Hwang hung up the intercom, let out a quiet sigh, and left the office.

After hearing Hwang Do-beom's report in the Chairman's office, Lee Tak-hyeon frowned.

"Is that true? Director Kim really said that?"

"Yes. He came to me in person just a short while ago and said it himself."

Like Hwang, Lee Tak-hyeon fell silent for a moment, turning the matter over in his mind.

"If that's what he wants, let him do it."

"You're really going to handle it exactly as Director Kim requested?"

"He says he wants it that way. Why? Is there some problem?"

"Not a problem, exactly…"

Under Lee Tak-hyeon's gaze, which seemed to invite him to voice any objection, Hwang lowered his head.

Lee Tak-hyeon watched him and gave a short, dry laugh.

"I know how you feel. It's a shame. But what can we do? If that's what he wants, we have to let him."

"Understood. I'll make the preparations."

Listening to Hwang's reply, Lee Tak-hyeon twitched the corner of his mouth as if he found the whole thing amusing.

"That fellow truly seems to have no ambition, doesn't he?"

"Judging by everything he's done so far, he does appear that way."

Hwang Do-beom answered in a firm tone.

"If he had even the slightest greed, he would never have made a decision like this. He would have wanted something larger instead. Director Kim seems to care a great deal about how others look at him and what they say."

"Exactly. He was the same last time, and he's the same now."

Lee Tak-hyeon wore a look of satisfaction.

Watching him, Hwang thought to himself, An absolute ruler hates a second-in-command more than anyone.

It had been true in the age of kings, and it remained true in the modern era after the dynasties had fallen. Between blood-related fathers and sons, and even between comrades who had made a revolution together, the absolute ruler and the second-in-command so often became enemies. That was why absolute rulers rarely wanted a second-in-command at all. When one appeared, they preferred to crush him and cut the shoot at the root rather than demand his loyalty.

Lee Tak-hyeon was no different.

It occurred to Hwang ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that Seong-ho's choice might actually have been brilliant. Proving absolute loyalty was one thing, but simply stepping out of the way was simpler and far more effective at capturing Lee Tak-hyeon's trust.

"Once this matter is finished, I'll be able to entrust Director Kim with even greater responsibilities."

"Even greater? You still haven't confirmed how he managed that hundred billion won."

"That's separate. His heart is so admirable that I should show him some trust of my own."

Lee Tak-hyeon ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠smiled with genuine satisfaction.

Seong-ho, however, had not made that choice in order to win Lee Tak-hyeon's heart. His goal had been to avoid danger—and, true to that calculation, danger was already on its way to find him.

"What are you going to do about it?"

"I have to act, of course."

Lee Mun-jong answered Chu Suk-ja's question in a dry voice. The reply pleased her.

"Good. That's exactly what the man who will succeed your father as Chairman of Ilhyeon ought to say."

Satisfied, she pressed further.

"Where do you intend to start?"

"First I have to drag him out of the Director's seat."

"And how do you plan to do that?"

Lee Tak-hyeon and Chu Suk-ja had always kept outside affairs and household affairs strictly separate. No matter what happened beyond the house, Chu Suk-ja never questioned her husband; and regarding anything that occurred inside the family, Lee Tak-hyeon had never once offered her an opinion. So her sudden interest in the method of removing Seong-ho struck Mun-jong as strange. He set the feeling aside and answered her curiosity.

"I intend to manufacture a problem connected to this Big Deal."

"A problem?"

"Something along the lines of… that we handed over Ilhyeon Power and took not Mirae Electronics itself but only its semiconductor division because of some secret pact with the Mirae Group. I'll fan that kind of story a little."

"And you think your father will believe it?"

"It doesn't matter whether he believes it or not. Whether Father believes it isn't the important part."

Mun-jong spoke calmly, absently examining the tip of a fingernail.

"What matters is that the people around him believe it. Then even if Father doesn't believe a word, he won't be able to keep Kim sitting in that seat."

"So you're going to make a racket around him."

Chu Suk-ja nodded.

"Yes. That seems like a good method as well."

Mun-jong lifted his gaze from his nails and looked at his mother.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"But Mother, why are you so interested in Kim's affairs? Is it simply because Father trusts him?"

He asked as if he found it odd. Chu Suk-ja stared into the distance for a moment, her face darkening.

"It's vague, but I have a strange feeling. I keep thinking that boy may cause something enormous later on."

"Isn't it just that you don't like Kim? You've never liked him from the beginning."

"Of course not. How could I possibly like him?"

She recalled the first time she had laid eyes on Seong-ho and her face twisted.

"His family is completely mismatched with ours."

"Who in the world could match our family's standing? You weren't exactly thrilled with my in-laws or with Second Brother's either."

"That's different."

Chu Suk-ja shook her head vigorously.

"Families that truly match ours can be counted on one hand, so I don't even hope for that much. I don't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even ask for something roughly similar. Just a family of some modest reputation would be enough. But that boy's father was a tenant farmer, wasn't he?"

"Didn't Grandfather say he never even managed to become a tenant farmer? Not a scrap of land the size of a palm…"

"That man built the company called Ilhyeon."

Chu Suk-ja looked at Mun-jong as if asking how anyone could place Ilhyeon's founder on the same level as a farmer, and her voice rose.

"But Kim's father was content to till someone else's fields. And his mother—don't even get me started."

She raised her voice further, wrinkling her nose.

"And the boy himself? Do you really think he matches Gyeong-eun?"

Mun-jong only smiled without answering. Once she had already decided she disliked him and then looked at Seong-ho through that lens, any further discussion was pointless. Still, there was one thing he needed to confirm.

"So what exactly do you want, Mother? Do you want him divorced from Gyeong-eun?"

At the question, Chu Suk-ja closed her eyes. Seeing that she could not answer at once, Mun-jong continued.

"There's never been a single divorce in our family. Are you saying it's all right for Gyeong-eun?"

"No. If I had intended that, I would have stopped the marriage even if it meant hanging myself. Divorce is… out of the question."

Even in better times, divorce was never a badge of honor. In an age when divorce itself was a liability, the burden fell differently on men and women. Chang-jong's divorce might have been an acceptable choice; Gyeong-eun's was not.

"Then what? What do you actually want?"

"Drive him out of the company and tear him away from Gyeong-eun."

"Excuse me? Driving him out of the company is one thing, but tear him away from Gyeong-eun? You just said divorce was impossible."

"Yes. Not divorce—separation."

Chu Suk-ja's face hardened.

"Keep the papers as they are, but pull them apart so he never has to appear before our eyes again. So that he never so much as sets foot near Ilhyeon."

"You want me to make him a living corpse?"

"A living corpse. I like that."

Chu Suk-ja reacted strongly to the phrase.

"Yes. Let's go with that. A living corpse. Leave him alive, Mun-jong, but make certain he can do nothing at all. You can do that, can't you?"

"If I set my mind to it, of course I can. It's just…"

Mun-jong smacked his lips. Seong-ho had already promised to help him and had actually assisted him in various matters. As long as he remained Head of the Restructuring Headquarters at Lee Tak-hyeon's side, he might prove even more useful in the future. The thought of having to turn such a man into a living corpse left a bitter taste in Mun-jong's mouth.

Sensing her son's reluctance, Chu Suk-ja offered persuasion.

"Don't feel too sorry. You can find more useful men than him anywhere. What matters more is pulling him away from your father. If he stays glued to your father's side and later starts entertaining other ideas, it could become a real headache."

"That's true…"

"And I've heard something."

"Heard something?"

"Yes. There's talk that Ilhyeon's second-in-command is Kim Seong-ho."

"Who said that…!"

At his mother's words Mun-jong clenched his fists. He could not explode in front of her, yet rage climbed all the way to the top of his head; his face flushed deep red.

Chu Suk-ja took his tightly clenched hand in hers.

"We know better than anyone that the talk is nonsense. So there's no need to get so angry."

"Huu…"

Mun-jong's fist slowly unclenched. Holding her son's hand, she continued.

"But people who don't know will take it for the truth."

"I understand what you mean."

Mun-jong clasped her hand in return.

"Father and Kim are going to Los Angeles next week. Once Father returns, I'll start preparing in earnest."

"Good. The sooner the better."

Hearing that Mun-jong would move after the trip next week, Chu Suk-ja finally felt relief. The knowledge that what she wanted would begin soon at last settled her mind.

But while "next week" might have felt soon to Chu Suk-ja, it was nowhere near soon enough for Kim Seong-ho. He was already perched above the heads of both Chu Suk-ja and Lee Mun-jong, moving faster still.