The One Blessed by the God of Wealth
In his study, Lee Tak-hyeon looked down at the calligraphy he had just brushed and frowned, clearly dissatisfied with the result.
After staring at the characters for some time, he spoke without lifting his gaze from the paper.
"So? He reassigned every last one of them? All because he didn't care for the staff placement?"
Hwang Do-beom, Chief of Staff, who had been grinding the ink beside him while the chairman wrote, carefully set the inkstone down and answered.
"It doesn't appear that was the reason, sir."
"Then what? You're saying there was another motive?"
"Yes."
At that reply, Lee Tak-hyeon's eyes slowly left the calligraphy and settled on Hwang Do-beom.
The chief of staff told him what the secretariat had uncovered about Kim Seong-ho.
"Director Kim seemed intent on clearing out the entire workforce."
"He wants to get rid of every single employee?"
Lee Tak-hyeon looked genuinely taken aback; that was not an answer he had expected.
Hwang Do-beom nodded under the chairman's stare and continued.
"Yes. That appears to be why he reassigned every last one of them."
"So he was trying to make them quit on their own rather than hang on?"
"Correct. Simply firing the whole staff would create problems, so he seems to have decided to force them out of their own accord."
"Hahaha."
Lee Tak-hyeon burst out laughing, clearly amused, and laid down his brush. He rose from the desk and walked toward the window as he spoke.
"At Ilhyeon Watch he paid them off until they left on their own. At Ilhyeon Hotel he makes the place so unbearable they walk out themselves. Is this really the same fellow who used to spend all day on outside sales at Ilhyeon Distribution? How did he get so good at this?"
"I found it strange myself and double-checked, but... from the day he joined Ilhyeon Distribution until now, all he ever did was stock supermarket shelves and neighborhood corner shops. That's confirmed."
"Of course it is. You looked into him half a dozen times when Gyeong-eun first said she was marrying him. Digging again now won't turn up anything new."
Still wearing that entertained expression, Lee Tak-hyeon settled onto the sofa.
"But the union is going to fight this tooth and nail. How should we handle it?"
Hwang Do-beom asked because he thought that if the chairman approved of Kim Seong-ho's decision, he might step in and suppress the union backlash. A word from Lee Tak-hyeon would be more than enough to quiet any labor trouble.
Lee Tak-hyeon, however, had no such intention.
"Leave it."
"Leave it, sir?"
"Yes. He wouldn't have moved without anticipating that much. Just sit back and watch how he handles it. I'm curious to see how he untangles the mess."
At the chairman's order, Hwang Do-beom simply bowed his head.
"Understood."
Lee Tak-hyeon crossed one leg over the other, pictured Kim Seong-ho already at work inside Ilhyeon Hotel, and laughed again.
"Haha. What an entertaining bastard. I thought Gyeong-eun had dragged home some useless husk of a man, but her eye was sharper than I gave her credit for. Spot on."
"Ah, and Chairman—there is one more matter I should report."
Still chuckling, Lee Tak-hyeon turned to look at Hwang Do-beom, who now seemed hesitant.
The chief of staff carefully raised another matter concerning Kim Seong-ho.
"It's about the Soyeong Packaging shares Director Kim purchased."
"Right—the stock he bought with the money I gave him?"
"Yes. Well..."
When Hwang Do-beom hesitated, Lee Tak-hyeon stopped smiling and fixed him with a puzzled stare.
"What? Did something go wrong? Did it get delisted?"
That was the first possibility that leaped to the chairman's mind; the company had looked ready to shut its doors any day.
But Hwang Do-beom's hesitation had an entirely different cause.
"No, sir. It wasn't delisted..."
"If it wasn't delisted, then what? What's worse than that?"
"It's... not that something bad happened."
The answer only irritated Lee Tak-hyeon further.
"If it's not bad, then what is it? Did it jump tenfold or something?"
"Not quite tenfold, but... the stock that was trading at 3,500 won has broken past 10,000 won."
"What are you talking about? How does a 3,500-won stock clear 10,000?"
"Soyeong Packaging announced it had developed an eco-friendly packaging box, and the stock has hit the daily limit-up for a full week straight."
At the news that it had closed limit-up for seven consecutive days, Lee Tak-hyeon threw his head back and roared with laughter.
"Puhahaha! So he turned a hundred million into three hundred million in one stroke? Hahaha! Does that bastard have the god of wealth watching over him or what? Triple his money the second he puts it into stocks?"
Still laughing, Lee Tak-hyeon suddenly thought of something and asked urgently,
"He didn't cook the books, did he?"
The suspicion that Kim Seong-ho might have teamed up with market manipulators to rig the price had just crossed his mind.
Hwang Do-beom, fully aware of what the chairman feared, shook his head and answered.
"I found it so suspicious myself that I checked through every channel I could. No evidence of any wrongdoing turned up."
"So he really made that kind of profit with pure skill?"
"Whether it was skill or luck I can't say... but it does appear to have been completely clean."
"Hahaha."
When Lee Tak-hyeon first heard that Kim Seong-ho had poured the money into stocks—and into Soyeong Packaging of all things—he had felt nothing but disappointment. Now that the same money had tripled in a matter of days, he found himself looking at his son-in-law in an entirely new light. Watching the share price rocket on something as absurd as "eco-friendly packaging boxes" almost made him believe the god of wealth truly had taken Kim Seong-ho under his wing.
Turning one hundred million into three hundred million struck Lee Tak-hyeon as a perfectly fine investment.
What he did not yet know was that Kim Seong-ho was aiming far higher than that, and that the Soyeong Packaging affair was nothing more than a single small step on the road to that greater destination.
Jo Chung-sep, Assistant Manager at Ilhyeon Securities, waited for Kim Seong-ho while looking around the office. After a while spent surveying the room, the door opened and Kim Seong-ho walked in.
The moment Jo Chung-sep saw him, he shot to his feet. Kim Seong-ho raised a hand in a calming gesture as he approached.
"No need to stand."
He crossed the room with quick strides, pulled out the chair opposite Jo Chung-sep, sat down, and looked at him.
"You said you wanted to see me?"
"I'm sorry for coming when you're so busy."
Jo Chung-sep apologized first. Kim Seong-ho looked even busier than he had expected, and Jo suddenly wondered whether he should have come at all.
Kim Seong-ho gave a light smile at the apology.
"It's fine. Whatever comes up, Assistant Manager Jo will always be my top priority. Next time something urgent arises, don't hesitate—just come straight to me."
Jo Chung-sep was convinced Kim Seong-ho understood the market. No one who failed to grasp the ever-shifting nature of the stock market would ever say something like that. He therefore went straight to the reason for his visit.
"Director, it's about Soyeong Packaging."
"I was wondering about that myself. Where did it close today?"
"It closed at 12,500 won."
"Quite a jump."
"Yes. That's why I came."
Jo Chung-sep paused to wet his dry throat with a sip of water before continuing.
"The profit has already passed 250 million. The total amount you entrusted to me is now 350 million. Director, that is an enormous return in such a short time. In my view it would be wise to take profits here, which is why I asked to see you today."
Kim Seong-ho looked at the earnest Jo Chung-sep and smiled faintly.
"Was the price written on the paper I gave you 12,500 won?"
"...No."
"Do you remember what it said?"
"How could I forget? I laminated the paper you gave me... and I carry it with me at all times."
Jo Chung-sep drew a laminated sheet from his inner pocket. Kim Seong-ho pointed at it.
"What price is written there?"
"Well..."
Jo glanced down at the paper and answered.
"It says to liquidate around 85,000 won."
"And what is the price right now?"
"Director, even so... you wrote that before the news broke."
Jo Chung-sep pressed on, determined to persuade him.
"If the stock keeps hitting the limit-up on the eco-friendly packaging story, our strategy has to change. When a short-term catalyst fades, the price can snap right back to its previous level—or even drop below it. So..."
At those words the smile slowly left Kim Seong-ho's face.
"I fully understand your reasoning. But I made one request before we began, didn't I? Follow exactly what is written on that paper. That was my only condition. Are you saying you can't even do that for me?"
The words sent a prickle of unease up Jo Chung-sep's spine. He had ears; he had heard the stories circulating about Kim Seong-ho. Ever since the man became the youngest son-in-law of the Ilhyeon Group, everything that had happened—and everything now unfolding at Ilhyeon Hotel—had made him the group's hottest topic. When a man like that hardened his expression and spoke in a low voice, tension was inevitable.
Still, Jo Chung-sep told himself he could not stay silent simply because the atmosphere had turned cold.
"Even so, I have to say this. Director, an unforeseen event occurred, and once you've already made a large profit, cashing out at least a portion is a basic principle of the market. If you won't liquidate everything, at least convert some of it to cash. That's the only way to protect the principal."
Kim Seong-ho quietly studied Jo Chung-sep, who stubbornly refused to drop his argument even after hearing the warning. Jo swallowed hard under that gaze. A new anxiety crept in: what if his insistence made Kim Seong-ho cancel their arrangement altogether and order him out of Ilhyeon Securities?
After a long silence Kim Seong-ho's face softened into a smile. He rose from his chair.
"This is exactly why I trusted you with my money, Assistant Manager Jo."
Though the conversation was clearly unfinished, Kim Seong-ho was already standing. Jo Chung-sep rose halfway in an awkward half-crouch. Kim Seong-ho stepped closer, laid a hand on his shoulder, and said,
"I have another meeting right now, so I can't stay long."
"Then what about Soyeong Packaging...?"
"So let's do this."
Kim Seong-ho glanced up for a moment, recalling the notes written in his leather diary, then looked back at Jo.
"Give it half a year. Just half a year."
"Half a year?"
"Yes. After six months I'll do whatever you recommend. Until then, follow my instructions."
"I can't even guarantee what'll happen a month from now, let alone half a year..."
Kim Seong-ho smiled at the still-reluctant Jo Chung-sep.
"Remember who I am, Assistant Manager Jo. A hundred million is a large sum, yes—but even if every last won of it vanished, my life wouldn't change. So stop worrying and do as I say."
Jo Chung-sep had no choice but to nod. The smile never left Kim Seong-ho's face, yet the words carried a weight that was almost impossible to describe.
"I have something urgent, so I'll take my leave first. We'll meet again soon."
Kim Seong-ho removed his hand from Jo's shoulder, shook it once, and left the room ahead of him.
Jo Chung-sep could only stare at the closed door, wondering whether Kim Seong-ho truly believed Soyeong Packaging would clear 80,000 won within half a year.