I Prefer This Side
Director Lee Gyeong-deuk sat on the sofa and looked at Kim Seong-ho, who had just returned from the pre-bid briefing, before asking,
"So. Homyeong Construction said they have no plans to bid any higher than 190 billion won?"
"Yes. They said so quite clearly."
Section Chief Jeong Byeong-ju, sitting beside Kim Seong-ho, blinked at him as if to say, What on earth are you talking about?
Kim Seong-ho met Jeong Byeong-ju's gaze without the slightest change in expression and continued.
"It looked as though the Homyeong Group had left this entire bid entirely in Homyeong Construction's hands."
"Trying to give Director Choi Byeong-mu the credit, you think?"
"That seems to be the case. If the acquisition succeeds, they want the glory to go to Director Choi Byeong-mu, so even President Choi Cheol-jin appeared to have taken a step back."
"That makes sense. From Homyeong Group's perspective, preparing for succession, they'd want to pile the credit onto Choi Byeong-mu, and this deal is the perfect vehicle for it…"
"Even so, there's a hard limit on how much capital they can commit."
"And that limit is 190 billion?"
"Yes."
Watching Kim Seong-ho speak with such confidence, Jeong Byeong-ju cast his mind back to the pre-bid briefing. The only place Choi Byeong-mu and Kim Seong-ho had spoken at all was the parking garage.
When exactly did they have that conversation?
At the briefing itself the two men had sat far apart. They never once glanced at each other, simply listening in silence to what the Industrial Bank of Korea had to say.
Jeong Byeong-ju could only stare at Kim Seong-ho, unable to imagine when the two of them could have held such a detailed discussion. Yet he could not ask the question here. Kim Seong-ho spoke with such absolute assurance that Jeong found himself thinking the conversation might have taken place sometime when he himself was not present.
"Homyeong Construction said the absolute maximum funds they can currently mobilize is 190 billion won. If the group itself pooled capital they could raise more, but then the credit for a successful bid would no longer belong solely to Director Choi. So they clearly wanted to handle everything inside Homyeong Construction."
"That… does make sense."
Lee Gyeong-deuk nodded.
"If even President Choi Cheol-jin has stepped back, then whether it succeeds or fails, Homyeong Construction has to do this alone. That's certain."
Finding the high degree of plausibility in Kim Seong-ho's words, Lee Gyeong-deuk nodded again.
"So we just need to bid higher than 190 billion?"
"Yes. Since things have come this far, I think we should bid 200 billion and one thousand won."
"What? How much did you just say?"
Lee Gyeong-deuk stared at Kim Seong-ho as if he must have misheard, and asked again.
"Not even 200 billion, but 200 billion and one thousand won…?"
"Yes."
Kim Seong-ho looked at the flustered director and explained.
"They claimed 190 billion was their ceiling, but I suspect they've actually left room up to 200 billion."
"Ah! Of course. They casually drop the figure of 190 billion to Assistant Manager Kim, hoping we'll bid just a little over that, then they bid 200 billion and snatch the win."
Kim Seong-ho glanced from Jeong Byeong-ju to Lee Gyeong-deuk.
"Homyeong Group will almost certainly have leaked a similar story to the Dugyeong Group. Dugyeong will probably bid around 195 billion—fifty billion above 190—so Homyeong will have to go higher still. Even so, they won't cross 200 billion. Homyeong Construction simply doesn't have that kind of money."
Lee Gyeong-deuk nodded at the reasoning.
"Right. If the Homyeong Group itself were moving, they might write a higher number. But having delegated everything to Homyeong Construction… anything above 200 billion is clearly beyond them."
"So I suggest we bid one step above their Maginot Line: 200 billion and one thousand won."
"That has merit."
Lee Gyeong-deuk's expression showed he was completely persuaded.
"We have a clear strategic reason to acquire Daeguk Fertilizer. Homyeong and Dugyeong don't. So they have to consider the storm that will hit them if they overpay. Anything over 200 billion is impossible for them. If we can win it for 200 billion and one thousand won the way Assistant Manager Kim says… that would be thoroughly satisfying, wouldn't it?"
If the acquisition succeeded exactly as projected, promotion to head of the Strategic Planning Office was as good as guaranteed. Lee Gyeong-deuk could not keep the corners of his mouth from rising.
Kim Seong-ho likewise smiled, picturing Choi Byeong-mu's face contorting in defeat after failing to take Daeguk Fertilizer.
When the two men shared the same quiet smile, Jeong Byeong-ju managed an awkward one of his own.
Still burning with curiosity about when that conversation had actually taken place, Jeong Byeong-ju turned to Kim Seong-ho the moment they stepped out of Director Lee's office.
"Assistant Manager Kim. When exactly did you talk with Director Choi?"
"In the restroom."
"The restroom?"
"Yes."
Kim Seong-ho answered with perfect calm.
"There was a short break before the briefing started, wasn't there? I went to the restroom then."
"Ah… y-yeah, there was."
Jeong Byeong-ju reconstructed the scene and nodded. There had indeed been a brief recess before the briefing began, and Kim Seong-ho had gone to the restroom then. That much was true.
While Jeong was still replaying the memory, they arrived at their desks. Before sitting down, Kim Seong-ho glanced at the section chief, who still seemed lost in that earlier moment.
"When I got to the restroom, Director Choi had somehow followed me in. So we had a short talk there."
"Director Choi followed you?"
Jeong tilted his head. He remembered Kim Seong-ho leaving for the restroom, but he had no recollection of Choi Byeong-mu trailing after him.
Kim Seong-ho lowered his voice.
"You saw it yourself, didn't you, Chief? How much Director Choi hates me."
Jeong thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Of course I remember. How could I forget? He looked ready to tear you apart."
"Exactly."
Kim Seong-ho laid a hand on Jeong Byeong-ju's shoulder and spoke even more softly.
"So of course he'd want to make both me and Ilhyeon Group suffer as much as possible. He didn't follow me into the restroom just for fun—he deliberately mentioned 190 billion."
"Ah! That makes sense. Director Choi would have created any opportunity he could just to plant that number in your ear. Then we'd bid a little over 190 billion, they'd win Daeguk Fertilizer, and he'd leave you in a nasty spot."
As Jeong listened, the restroom scene he had never actually witnessed began to form vividly in his mind. Having personally seen how Choi Byeong-mu regarded Kim Seong-ho, he found it all too easy to imagine a conversation that had never happened.
Kim Seong-ho removed his hand from the section chief's shoulder and smiled quietly to himself.
From now on, if anyone asks me about Homyeong Construction, Section Chief Jeong will step in and tell the story for me.
Satisfied that he now possessed a powerful witness, Kim Seong-ho took his seat.
Chairman Lee Tak-hyeon of the Ilhyeon Group tilted his head after receiving Hwang Do-beom's report.
"And Kim Seong-ho is the one who found this out?"
"Yes. He learned it through Choi Byeong-mu."
"Who is Choi Byeong-mu?"
Lee Tak-hyeon turned to look at Lee Mun-jong.
Lee Mun-jong, who had been wearing an openly displeased expression at the mention of Kim Seong-ho, quickly schooled his features and explained.
"The Homyeong Group heir's name is Choi Byeong-mu. The one who used to chase after Gyeong-eun."
"Ah~ that Choi Byeong-mu."
Lee Tak-hyeon nodded in recognition.
"The fellow your mother once tried to match with Gyeong-eun."
"Gyeong-eun couldn't stand him. I didn't like him either."
"Is that so? You didn't like him either? That's unexpected. If Gyeong-eun had been tied to the Homyeong Group it would have been advantageous for you in many ways."
"I'm not so shortsighted that I'd use my youngest sister like that. And even if Homyeong Group offered help, how much would they really give? We'd be lucky if they didn't come begging for favors through Gyeong-eun instead."
Lee Mun-jong looked down at the report Hwang Do-beom had handed him and continued.
"Take this very deal. If we had gone head-to-head with Homyeong Group over Daeguk Fertilizer, Director Choi would certainly have asked Father through Gyeong-eun to step aside—claiming that whether the company went to Homyeong or Ilhyeon it was still staying in the family, so what difference did it make."
"Hahaha. You're right."
"A fool is better than a shameless one."
Lee Tak-hyeon looked amused by his son's words, then flicked the report with a finger.
"But tell me. How did Kim Seong-ho learn all this?"
At the chairman's question, Hwang Do-beom reported every related detail without omission: the meeting with Choi Byeong-mu at North Seoul CC, the encounter in the Industrial Bank of Korea's underground parking garage, and Kim Seong-ho's account of the conversation in the restroom.
When the full story had been told, Lee Tak-hyeon laughed with genuine interest and asked Hwang Do-beom,
"So? What is the Strategic Planning Office's plan?"
"Since Homyeong Group leaked the figure of 190 billion and is almost certain to bid 200 billion, they intend to submit a bid of 200 billion and one thousand won."
Lee Mun-jong, who had been listening quietly, leaned slightly toward Lee Tak-hyeon and voiced his opposition.
"Chairman. This cannot be allowed."
Somewhere along the way his form of address had shifted from "Father" to "Chairman."
"Cannot be allowed? Why not?"
In answer to Lee Tak-hyeon's question, Lee Mun-jong laid out the findings of the Vice Chairman's office.
"According to the Vice Chairman's office, the expected purchase price for Daeguk Fertilizer is around 230 billion won. With both Homyeong Group and Dugyeong Group entering the fray, the price will only go higher, never lower."
Lee Tak-hyeon regarded his son steadily.
"Then what figure does the Vice Chairman's office judge we should write?"
Lee Mun-jong swallowed dryly and stated the number he had spent days assembling data to produce.
"Daeguk Fertilizer is an extremely important company for the Ilhyeon Group. Right now it is heavily skewed toward fertilizer production, but in the future it can be transformed into a chemical enterprise. It is a company we must secure without fail. We cannot let ourselves be swayed by the careless words of that fool Choi Byeong-mu. I believe the correct decision is to bid 250 billion and win it safely."
"250 billion is the safe figure?"
"Yes."
Lee Tak-hyeon twitched his lips and looked down at the report Hwang Do-beom had given him.
"But this side says 200 billion and one thousand won is enough. I prefer this side. It's 50 billion cheaper than yours, isn't it?"
"Chairman. That is only the price. There is no guarantee of winning at that figure."
"Yet these people claim they will win, do they not?"
When Lee Tak-hyeon tapped the report with a finger, Lee Mun-jong spoke with urgent intensity.
"If we fail to win the bid, people will look down on us. Even if the price is somewhat inflated, we should write a figure that guarantees we take it."
Chairman Lee Tak-hyeon nodded at the words of his eldest son, the Vice Chairman of the Ilhyeon Group.
"True. Better to take a loss than let Daeguk Fertilizer fall to another group."
"Exactly! We cannot allow Daeguk Fertilizer to be taken by another group."
"Still… 50 billion feels wasteful."
"Chairman!"
Lee Mun-jong looked at him in alarm.
The corners of Lee Tak-hyeon's mouth lifted as he turned to Hwang Do-beom and issued the order.
"Tell the Strategic Planning Office I have approved it."
"Yes, sir. Understood."
Having given the instruction, Lee Tak-hyeon looked back at Lee Mun-jong.
"I simply like the idea of winning it 50 billion cheaper than the price you named. Don't feel too disappointed."
"Chairman. What will you do if we fail to win the bid?"
"Then I'll simply fire every last employee in the Strategic Planning Office. Including Kim Seong-ho."
Lee Tak-hyeon spoke of dismissing the entire office as if it were nothing at all. Then, with an expression of pure curiosity about how the outcome would unfold, he gazed at the report with evident amusement.