I Know Exactly How Much You Bid
With the bidding finished, Lee Gyeong-deuk and the Strategic Planning Office staff waited for the results in a state of barely contained tension.
That was when Director Choi Byeong-mu of Homyeong Construction and President Choi Cheol-jin approached the spot where Lee Gyeong-deuk and the others stood.
"Director Lee. It's been a while."
Lee Gyeong-deuk nodded at Choi Byeong-mu's greeting.
"Yes. Same to you, Director Choi."
Choi Byeong-mu looked over Lee Gyeong-deuk and the Ilhyeon Group Strategic Planning Office staff standing behind him, then lifted the corner of his mouth.
"What brings the whole pack of you out here? Daeguk Fertilizer's going to Homyeong Group anyway."
"Ahem. We'll see who's long and who's short once we measure."
Lee Gyeong-deuk regarded Choi Byeong-mu with open discomfort, then greeted the man standing behind him—President Choi Cheol-jin.
"It's been a long time, President Choi."
"Same to you, Director Lee."
After the brief exchange of courtesies, the two men made formal small talk about the bid.
Choi Byeong-mu glanced at them, then scanned the Ilhyeon Group employees arrayed behind Lee Gyeong-deuk. He looked for someone in particular, and when his eyes landed on Kim Seong-ho, his face lit up with a bright smile.
"So Assistant Manager Kim made it after all."
Choi Byeong-mu walked over to the Strategic Planning Office staff and called to Kim Seong-ho the way a man summons a subordinate from his own company. A mocking expression settled over his features as he spoke.
"We'll win Daeguk Fertilizer and put it to good use, so tell the Chairman not to worry too much, all right?"
"Is that really how it's going to go?"
Flushed with confidence, Choi Byeong-mu snorted at Kim Seong-ho's question.
"Ilhyeon can never beat us."
He raised his voice so that everyone gathered in the bidding hall would hear.
"I don't know what number you wrote down, but there's no way it's higher than ours. No one put in a higher bid than we did—just watch."
The certainty of victory in Director Choi Byeong-mu's voice drew every gaze in the room.
"Pretty bold for someone who doesn't even know what the other side bid."
Kim Seong-ho murmured the words just loud enough for Choi Byeong-mu alone to catch. Choi Byeong-mu frowned, wondering if he had misheard, and asked again.
"What did you say?"
"It's embarrassing to be standing in the same room as an amateur who doesn't know the other side's number in a competitive bid yet still swears victory."
Kim Seong-ho spoke so that everyone could hear. Choi Cheol-jin and Lee Gyeong-deuk, who had been talking among themselves, broke off and turned toward him.
Choi Byeong-mu's face went red. He raised his voice even louder.
"So you're saying you know what we wrote? You don't know either—"
"Of course I know."
"You know…?"
The sheer confidence in Kim Seong-ho's tone left Choi Byeong-mu momentarily speechless.
"In a competitive bid, your own price matters, but so does predicting the other side's. Company money doesn't grow on trees, does it? If winning were the only goal, you'd just write an absurdly high number."
Choi Byeong-mu shook his head hurriedly and pressed Kim Seong-ho.
"S-so you're saying you know our number?"
Kim Seong-ho lifted the corner of his mouth toward Choi Byeong-mu and answered.
"We bid exactly one thousand won higher than Homyeong Construction. Check the results in a moment."
"What? One thousand won higher? One thousand won?"
Kim Seong-ho smiled at the disbelief written across Choi Byeong-mu's face.
"The best outcome in a bid is to take it at a price just a hair above the other side. In that sense, we wrote a number exactly one hair higher than Homyeong Construction's bid."
"Bullshit! You don't know what we wrote and you're claiming you put in a number one hair higher? How the hell would you know our price—"
Even as he spoke, Choi Byeong-mu glanced back at the Homyeong Construction staff behind him.
This bid mattered to Homyeong Construction as well. To prevent any leak of the bid amount, only the bare minimum of people had been told the figure. Choi Byeong-mu had never imagined the number could have gotten out.
Yet the absolute assurance in Kim Seong-ho's manner planted a doubt that had not been there before.
And Kim Seong-ho poured oil on that doubt.
"You'll find out shortly whether we know Homyeong Construction's bid price or not."
He said it in a low voice meant only for Choi Byeong-mu, then stepped back—having planted a small seed of suspicion in the man's chest and withdrawn.
The moment Choi Byeong-mu heard those words, his eyes sharpened as they swept over the Homyeong Group employees. The seed of suspicion took root and sprouted at once.
"Would all parties involved in the bid please take your seats. We will announce the results shortly."
At the Korea Development Bank official's announcement, the people gathered began returning slowly to their places. President Choi Cheol-jin led Choi Byeong-mu—who was still scrutinizing every Homyeong employee one by one—toward the Homyeong Construction seats.
Kim Seong-ho sat down in the Ilhyeon Group section with Jeong Byeong-ju. Once seated, Jeong Byeong-ju leaned in and asked in a low voice,
"Is it really okay to provoke them like that? We don't actually know Homyeong's bid price."
"Excuse me? What do you mean we don't know Homyeong's bid?"
Kim Seong-ho's counter-question—why wouldn't they know the figure Homyeong Construction had written—made Jeong Byeong-ju's eyes go wide.
"You know it?"
"Of course. That's why we put in a thousand won more, isn't it?"
"That…"
Jeong Byeong-ju started to speak, then checked the surroundings. Confirming no one else was listening, he continued in a whisper.
"You're talking about two hundred billion?"
"Yes. That's Homyeong Construction's bid."
"Wasn't that just an estimate?"
"No. I'm certain Homyeong Construction wrote two hundred billion. That's why I said we should add a thousand won."
Jeong Byeong-ju had no reply. Kim Seong-ho smiled at him.
"The results will be announced any moment. Let's just watch."
At those words, Jeong Byeong-ju turned his head toward the Korea Development Bank officials entering the hall. They were coming in to verify the bids each company had submitted and to announce the outcome.
The lead official stepped onto the podium, brought the microphone to his lips, and began.
"We will now announce the results of the bid for the seven million shares of Daeguk Fertilizer held by the Korea Development Bank. Three companies participated. All three submitted very similar prices, and, remarkably, the difference between first and second place was no thicker than a sheet of paper."
At the phrase "a sheet of paper," every person in the room turned naturally toward Kim Seong-ho. The thought that what he had said a moment earlier might be true flashed through their minds.
"We will now announce the winner."
The official's words pulled every gaze back to the podium. They listened intently to the result coming through the microphone.
"The successful bidder for the seven million shares of Daeguk Fertilizer is… the Ilhyeon Group."
Lee Gyeong-deuk clenched his fist in triumph. Team Leader Yun Gi-seok thrust a hand into the air. The Strategic Planning Office staff of the Ilhyeon Group erupted in cheers of joy, and the announcement continued over the noise.
"The Ilhyeon Group bid a total of two hundred billion one thousand won, narrowly defeating Homyeong Construction, which had proposed a total of two hundred billion, to win Daeguk Fertilizer. Dugyeong Group, in third place, also submitted a very close figure of one hundred ninety-five billion, underscoring just how fiercely contested this bid was."
The one-thousand-won margin left the bidders wearing expressions of disbelief. That a multi-hundred-billion-won company like Daeguk Fertilizer could be decided by a single thousand won simply refused to sink in.
"That's a lie!"
Director Choi Byeong-mu of Homyeong Construction shot to his feet, shouting as if he could not accept it.
"Two hundred billion one thousand won? We lost by a thousand won? Don't lie!"
The Korea Development Bank official looked at the standing Choi Byeong-mu and spoke into the microphone.
"Every bid was conducted fairly, and the entire process has been recorded. If you believe the bid was improper, you are free to file a formal objection with the courts. Does Homyeong Group consider this bid improper?"
"N-no."
President Choi Cheol-jin shouted the denial in haste. He pushed the still-standing, resentful Choi Byeong-mu back into his seat and shook his head toward the podium.
"Homyeong Group has no complaint regarding this bid. We accept the result."
"Uncle!"
Choi Byeong-mu tried to protest that he could not accept it. President Choi Cheol-jin of Homyeong Construction snapped at him.
"Get a hold of yourself. If we refuse to accept it here, the damage to us will only grow. This bid has the attention of not only the Korea Development Bank but the government itself. Claiming it was improper is the same as saying Homyeong Group intends to pick a fight with the government."
"But Uncle—it's a thousand won. Not a hundred billion. A thousand won. How does a result like this even happen? No matter how you look at it, a thousand won… it doesn't make sense."
"It doesn't make sense. The only conclusion is that they knew our bid price."
Choi Cheol-jin looked over the Homyeong Construction staff. The seed Kim Seong-ho had planted in Choi Byeong-mu's chest had sprouted and now spread all the way to Choi Cheol-jin.
Seeing no further protest rising from the Homyeong side, the Korea Development Bank official turned to Dugyeong Group.
"Does Dugyeong also accept this result?"
The Dugyeong Group representative nodded.
"If second place accepts, there's no reason for third place not to. Dugyeong Group will take this result cleanly."
"Very well. That concludes the Daeguk Fertilizer bid. Sale procedures will begin next week, so the Ilhyeon Group should prepare for the acquisition accordingly."
The official wrapped up the proceedings, advised the parties from Ilhyeon and the others to leave carefully, offered a few words about meeting again under better circumstances, and departed the hall.
"We did it!"
Another cheer burst from the Ilhyeon Group side.
"Call the secretariat right away and get this good news to them."
Lee Gyeong-deuk, who had been shouting with joy alongside the Strategic Planning Office team, pulled himself together and ordered someone to contact the secretariat so Chairman Lee Tak-hyeon would hear the news at once. He himself was no less elated.
"We did it. We did it. Assistant Manager Kim—we did it."
No matter what anyone said, Kim Seong-ho was the first-class contributor to this bid. Because he had known Homyeong's exact figure, they had taken the bid by an impossible margin.
While the Ilhyeon Group savored the thrill of a thousand-won victory, the atmosphere on the Homyeong Group side was that of a funeral. Their internal analysis had concluded that two hundred billion would be more than enough to win. Losing was bad enough; losing by the absurd margin of a thousand won had immediately bred suspicion that someone inside had leaked the bid price, souring the mood completely.
"Congratulations. We'll see you again."
Dugyeong Group, having accepted the result cleanly, offered Lee Gyeong-deuk their congratulations and left. President Choi Cheol-jin, wearing a face like death, also managed a word of congratulation to Lee Gyeong-deuk before departing the hall.
Before leaving, Choi Byeong-mu fixed Kim Seong-ho with a glare. Kim Seong-ho merely waved a hand at him.
Choi Byeong-mu clenched his teeth at the gesture, glared a moment longer, then strode out of the hall.
Kim Seong-ho only smiled faintly at the departing man's back. He could feel, without needing to see it, just how bitterly Choi Byeong-mu was seething.
Even as he savored the victory, Kim Seong-ho—unlike the other staff—did not let the tension ease.
Now I need to prepare for Father-in-law's reaction, and the brothers'.
He knew this outcome would not be pure joy for everyone. Keeping the smile on his face, Kim Seong-ho held onto the calm he would need to ready himself for what came next.