I Have Other Work to Do
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
Lee Tak-hyeon, still examining the anonymous tip letters, called out toward the door without looking up.
The door opened and Chief of Staff Hwang Do-beom stepped inside.
“All taken care of?”
“Yes, sir.”
The moment he entered the chairman’s office, Hwang Do-beom delivered his report.
“I conveyed the Chairman’s intentions clearly to the Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. I also made it unmistakable that we want the punishment to be as severe as the law will allow.”
Thud.
Lee Tak-hyeon tossed the letter he had been reading onto the desk. He turned his chair around and faced Hwang Do-beom, who stood beside the desk.
“Criminal charges for embezzlement and breach of trust are a given. At the same time, handle civil claims for every bit of damage the company has suffered.”
“Yes, sir. As it happens, I already have a meeting scheduled with the legal team shortly regarding this matter. I’ll instruct Managing Director Kim to give it absolute top priority and assign as many people as needed.”
Even after hearing that both criminal and civil preparations were already in place, Lee Tak-hyeon ground his teeth.
“Those bastards have completely lost their minds. We tell them we’re switching suppliers and they go straight over and demand money? How little respect did they have for this company to pull a stunt like that without a second thought!”
To Lee Tak-hyeon, disrespecting the company was the same as disrespecting him. That was why his rage burned hotter and why he wanted the harshest possible punishment.
“Criminal liability is for the prosecutors and the courts to decide, but civil liability is different. If they hurt this company, I want every last toothpick accounted for! Strip them down to their underwear and take everything!”
“Yes, sir. Understood. I’ll make certain they receive the full measure of what they deserve.”
Lee Tak-hyeon forced the boiling anger down at Hwang Do-beom’s answer. Then he turned his head and looked at the tip letters still sitting on the desk.
“I never expected this method.”
Sensing that the chairman’s fury had eased a little, Hwang Do-beom carefully brought up the letters.
“I never imagined we would obtain evidence of President Do and the executives’ corruption this way.”
Lee Tak-hyeon slowly nodded.
“Right. I thought it would end with us simply raising our voices internally and cutting them loose. Even I had trouble finding evidence—enough that I considered just torpedoing the whole company. And yet… they manufactured the evidence themselves and sent it to us.”
With his anger settled, wonder began to fill Lee Tak-hyeon’s mind.
“They even prepared recorders to lock down airtight proof. Almost as if…”
“As if they had known it would turn out this way and prepared in advance.”
“You think so too, Chief Hwang?”
At the chairman’s question, Hwang Do-beom nodded while still looking at the letters.
“Yes. Not just one—every single new supplier sent tip letters and recordings in perfect coordination. That would have been impossible unless someone had anticipated it.”
“Yes… they knew in advance. No doubt about it.”
Lee Tak-hyeon picked up one of the letters again and scanned the contents.
“Seong-ho was aiming for this all along.”
From the moment the tip letters began arriving all the way to the conclusion, Lee Tak-hyeon believed every step had been orchestrated by Kim Seong-ho.
“Seong-ho must have known the evidence was thin. So he dug the trap ahead of time and waited. Then the dung flies came swarming in. Yes. He foresaw it and waited.”
He tossed the letter back onto the desk and glanced at the clock. Evening was already drawing close to nine.
Lee Tak-hyeon looked back at Hwang Do-beom.
“It starts today, doesn’t it?”
Hwang Do-beom understood at once.
“Yes, sir. The time-signal commercial is scheduled to begin with the MBS nine-o’clock news tonight.”
Lee Tak-hyeon pointed a finger at the television.
“Turn it on. I want to see for myself how good it is.”
One of the methods Kim Seong-ho had proposed to promote Ilhyeon Watches was a time-signal commercial. By inserting a time announcement just before the nine-o’clock news, the idea was to make people think of Ilhyeon Watches whenever they thought of clocks. Lee Tak-hyeon had found the concept plausible and approved the commercial Seong-ho brought him. Because the actual effect was still unknown, however, he had countered Seong-ho’s proposal by suggesting a trial run on only MBS among the three major networks. Monopolizing every commercial slot around the nine-o’clock news had advantages, but the drawbacks were considerable as well. He had worried about the backlash if the hoped-for results failed to materialize, and Seong-ho had understood that concern. In exchange, Seong-ho had stressed that the moment the effect proved solid they would need to lock down the nine-o’clock news slots on all three networks at once. Only then, he argued, could the power of the time-signal commercials be maximized. Lee Tak-hyeon had accepted the point. Tonight, with the first commercial airing, he intended to judge the impact with his own eyes.
Hwang Do-beom switched on the television. Commercials for various companies were still running before the nine-o’clock news. Lee Tak-hyeon stuck a cigarette between his lips and waited quietly for them to finish. Because the nine-o’clock news drew an older audience, the pre-news spots were tailored for adults. At last the commercial break wound down. Fifteen seconds before nine, the screen changed to a solid blue field with a large clock face. Beneath it, the words “Ilhyeon Watches” stood out boldly. The hands on the screen moved as an announcer’s voice filled the room.
“The exact time is brought to you by Ilhyeon Watches. Ilhyeon Watches now announces nine o’clock. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep—”
“Good evening. This is MBS Nine O’Clock News.”
Lee Tak-hyeon, cigarette still between his lips, and Hwang Do-beom standing beside him both froze. The two men simply stared blankly at the news broadcast that followed, saying nothing. Only when the cigarette had burned short enough for the smoke to sting Lee Tak-hyeon’s eyes did his hand finally move. He tapped the ash into the tray and issued an order.
“Call the Public Relations Department right now and tell them to lock down the nine-o’clock news slots on the other two networks. Including MBS, we monopolize the time-signal commercials on all three networks for one year… no. Three years. Five years. Yes—five years. Tell them five years. Tomorrow the price will probably double, so do it immediately. Immediately.”
“Yes, sir. Understood.”
Hwang Do-beom understood exactly why the chairman was giving the order in such haste. He had felt the same thing. He started to leave the office to summon the PR staff who had already gone home, then paused and looked back.
“Chairman.”
With the door half open, Hwang Do-beom asked one last question.
“What should I set as the upper limit for the advertising fees?”
“Match whatever price they name. If we’re even a day late the cost will jump by double, so don’t quibble over the money.”
“Yes, sir. Understood.”
Hwang Do-beom bowed and left the office. Lee Tak-hyeon, realizing he had been too stunned to smoke properly, took out a fresh cigarette, lit it, and exhaled. In a voice full of disbelief he muttered to himself.
“I knew the kid was sharp, but this goes far beyond sharp, doesn’t it? What kind of creature is he? How does all of this come out of one man’s head?”
Lee Tak-hyeon had thought that simply being told where Ilhyeon Watches was rotting would already be a profitable deal. Instead Kim Seong-ho had cut out the rot, applied medicine, and made new flesh grow. Drawing on his cigarette, Lee Tak-hyeon wondered whether he needed to revise his entire evaluation of the man.
Section Chief Jeong Byeong-ju came into the office unable to hide his delighted expression.
“Assistant Manager Kim! The time-signal commercial is a huge hit!”
He hurried over to Kim Seong-ho’s side, sat down, and launched into everything he had been hearing around the office.
“People are saying they set their clocks by the time they hear on the news time-signal commercial! And when someone says ‘accurate watch,’ the first thing that comes up is Ilhyeon Watches. Our brand value just shot up overnight.”
“Do you know what these are?”
Instead of answering the excited chatter, Kim Seong-ho pointed at the stack of documents in front of him. Jeong Byeong-ju looked at the pile with a puzzled face.
“What are they?”
“Requests from every Ilhyeon Watches store across the country asking for more merchandise.”
“All of that?”
“Yes.”
Kim Seong-ho then pointed to the other stacks sitting beside the first one.
“Those are requests to open brand-new Ilhyeon Watches stores.”
“Why are there so many?”
“Not just department stores—airports and downtown locations all want to carry our watches. The dealership applications alone fill that pile.”
“Wow…”
Jeong Byeong-ju leafed through the dealership requests and whistled under his breath.
“The effect really is explosive. At this rate we could jump market share by at least five percent overnight.”
“Yes. My first target is five percent. Within three years I intend to take the number-one market share. To get there we have to press the attack even harder right now.”
At the words “press the attack,” Jeong Byeong-ju suddenly remembered a document he had completely forgotten.
“Ah! I was supposed to give you this.”
He pulled a file from his bag and held it out to Kim Seong-ho.
“Just like you said, we signed the advertising contract with the biggest box-office actress in the country. Fifty million won a year. The terms were so good her side didn’t even try to refuse.”
Kim Seong-ho checked the contract and set it aside.
“Make sure the commercial airs right before the time-signal spots start. If the two run back-to-back the synergy will be even stronger.”
“I was already going to tell Public Relations the same thing. More importantly…”
Jeong Byeong-ju trailed off, walked carefully to the door, cracked it open to make sure no one was outside, then closed it again. Click. After locking it for good measure, he returned to Kim Seong-ho and spoke in a low voice.
“I heard outside that President Do Eun-cheol and the executives are probably going to be arrested. Word is the Chairman is so furious he’s preparing civil claims for hundreds of millions…”
“It’s not a rumor. It’s fact.”
“It was true?”
“Yes.”
Realizing the circulating gossip was reality, Jeong Byeong-ju wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.
“Those people should have known when to stop being greedy.”
He shook his head at the boundlessness of human greed, then lowered his voice once more.
“That’s actually why I brought it up. The new suppliers are pretty worried. They’re afraid the fallout might splash onto them.”
Kim Seong-ho smiled lightly at Section Chief Jeong.
“Tell them not to worry. That will never happen.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Really. So please pass the word that they have nothing to fear.”
Hearing the assurance twice, Jeong Byeong-ju let out a long breath of relief, as though his own problem had been solved, and sat back down. He glanced around the office.
“We’ve accomplished a lot in this place. How about settling in here for good? The entire executive lineup just got cleaned out, and you personally scored the biggest contribution. Taking an executive post here wouldn’t be a bad move…”
Kim Seong-ho smiled at the corners of his mouth and shook his head.
“No. I have no intention of doing that. I have other work to do.”
“Other work? What other work?”
Section Chief Jeong looked at him with open curiosity. Kim Seong-ho only smiled in reply and answered inside his own mind.
Revenge.
Recalling the still-vivid days of his previous life, Kim Seong-ho silently repeated the word to himself once more.