The Money That Started Rolling
"Director, it's such a shame."
"Director, wherever you go, you'll do brilliantly. I mean it."
"Director, you have to come visit us often."
On the day the restructuring of Ilhyeon Hotel was completed and the restructuring team was dissolved, the entire staff of Ilhyeon Hotel poured out to bid farewell to Kim Seong-ho as he left.
Kim Seong-ho exchanged final goodbyes with those employees.
"I'll come by often. When I do, I'll be a guest, so take good care of me."
"Director, you're a VVIP—no, a VVVIP. Please visit us anytime, as comfortably as you like."
The staff all knew that the group had been prepared to abandon Ilhyeon Hotel.
Kim Seong-ho had transformed that hotel.
He had turned a hollow five-star name into a true luxury establishment and built an image that ranked among Asia's finest.
The employees of Ilhyeon Hotel were genuinely moved by his achievements, and they sincerely regretted his departure.
"All right, that concludes the farewell gathering. Everyone, please return to your posts."
Jo Byeong-jin told the Ilhyeon Hotel staff to go back to work.
Jeong Byeong-ju instructed the general affairs staff to clear the farewell space, then approached Kim Seong-ho.
"Heading straight to headquarters?"
"I have to."
Kim Seong-ho handed the bouquet the hotel staff had given him to Jeong Byeong-ju and looked around the space where the farewell had been held.
"In a few days, the new president's inauguration will be held right here."
"Don't worry. We'll stay by the president's side and support her well until Director Kim comes back."
At Jeong Byeong-ju's words, Kim Seong-ho gave a light smile.
"Then I'll be on my way."
"Right. Come visit often."
When Jeong Byeong-ju said goodbye, Kim Seong-ho waved and left.
Jo Byeong-jin, who had been organizing the hotel staff, hurried over to Kim Seong-ho the moment he stepped away.
"Seong-ho."
Kim Seong-ho patted Jo Byeong-jin's shoulder, sensing his reluctance, and spoke first.
"Let's get together with Dae-su soon and have a round of soju."
"Yeah. Dae-su was just saying he wanted to see you."
"You stay by Manager Jeong's side and support Gyeong-eun well."
"Don't worry. You know how proper I am with my superiors. She's my sister-in-law in private, but I'll keep public and private completely separate and take excellent care of her. Trust me."
At Jo Byeong-jin's confident declaration, Kim Seong-ho conveyed his thanks and stepped out of the hotel lobby.
Jo Byeong-jin followed him all the way outside the hotel, waving as he saw him off.
Kim Seong-ho gave Jo Byeong-jin a bright smile, then climbed into the car.
"Driver. To headquarters, please."
At Kim Seong-ho's instruction, the chauffeur set off for the group headquarters.
Sitting in the back seat, gazing out the window at the hotel where he had spent the past year, Kim Seong-ho murmured to himself.
"This place will become the foundation for taking Ilhyeon into my hands."
Lee Mun-jong and the others believed that by accepting Ilhyeon Hotel, Lee Gyeong-eun had been excluded from the succession of the Ilhyeon Group.
But Kim Seong-ho saw it differently.
On the contrary, he judged that receiving it had given him the means to exert enormous influence over the succession of the Ilhyeon Group.
And he had sworn he would make it so.
Kim Seong-ho turned his body forward again and, inside the car bound for headquarters, began mapping out his next moves in his mind.
Lee Gyeong-deuk, Director of the Strategic Planning Office, stared down at Kim Seong-ho's resignation letter with a face full of regret.
He had already known about it from higher up, but actually facing Kim Seong-ho's resignation made a quiet sense of loss rise in his chest.
"I felt bad for always sending you out into the field, so once the Ilhyeon Hotel matter was wrapped up cleanly, I was going to bring Director Kim into an internal post… It's a real shame."
"I also had many things I wanted to do with you, Director. It's a pity."
Kim Seong-ho offered Lee Gyeong-deuk a regretful smile and rose from his seat.
"I'll come by to visit next time."
Lee Gyeong-deuk stood with him and nodded.
"Yes. You're busy today seeing the Chairman as well, aren't you? Drop by anytime. I owe Director Kim a great deal, so I definitely want to treat you. Come comfortably."
Remembering that it was thanks to Kim Seong-ho that he had risen to Director of the Strategic Planning Office, Lee Gyeong-deuk urged him to visit again.
Kim Seong-ho left with another promise to return, then stepped out of the office and exchanged farewells with the other Strategic Planning staff.
After that, he set his steps toward the Chairman's office.
When he reached the door, Chief of Staff Hwang Do-beom greeted him.
"The Chairman is waiting for you."
"Yes."
Kim Seong-ho briefly adjusted his clothes and signaled to Hwang Do-beom that he was ready.
Hwang Do-beom nodded, knocked, and announced Kim Seong-ho's arrival.
"Chairman. Director Kim Seong-ho is here."
"Send him in."
At Lee Tak-hyeon's voice from inside, Hwang Do-beom opened the door for Kim Seong-ho, who stepped through into the office.
"So. Have you finished all your farewells?"
Lee Tak-hyeon leaned back against his chair and asked the entering Kim Seong-ho.
Kim Seong-ho walked to the front of Lee Tak-hyeon's desk and answered.
"Yes. I said goodbye to the Ilhyeon Hotel staff and also exchanged greetings with the Strategic Planning Office staff."
"I see."
Lee Tak-hyeon nodded and looked up at Kim Seong-ho.
"Did you step aside for Gyeong-eun's sake?"
"Gyeong-eun is a capable person. I simply thought it was wrong for someone like her to spend her time at home without being able to use her abilities because of me."
"Aren't you a capable person as well?"
Lee Tak-hyeon looked up at Kim Seong-ho with a subtle gaze.
"I think it's a waste for you to leave like this and spend your time elsewhere. What do you say? Any thought of simply remaining with the company?"
At Lee Tak-hyeon's question, Kim Seong-ho showed a brief moment of hesitation, then shook his head and spoke.
"I was fortunate enough this time to make quite a bit of money in the stock market."
"Is that so? What money did you use to trade stocks?"
Lee Tak-hyeon asked as if he did not know.
Kim Seong-ho answered with a face full of bright joy.
"I used the hundred million won you gave me last time, Chairman, and had a great deal of fun with stocks. I plan to take some time and think about what I might be able to do with that money."
"Thinking of starting a business?"
"Whether it becomes a business or whether I continue living by managing stocks, I haven't decided yet. But I intend to keep every possibility open as I think it through."
"All right. Think carefully about what you'll do going forward. But before that, remember this one thing. Thinking for a long time does not guarantee you'll arrive at a good answer."
"Yes. I understand."
Lee Tak-hyeon looked at Kim Seong-ho and smacked his lips.
"Well, it's a shame about your talent, but what can I do. You say you're stepping aside for my daughter's sake; as a parent, I can hardly tell you not to. Very well. Think it over carefully, and if you find a good answer, let me know then. After all, I'm curious where someone who worked under me ends up going."
"Yes. I understand."
Kim Seong-ho bowed his head at Lee Tak-hyeon's words.
"Then, since you must be busy, I'll take my leave."
"Go on."
When Lee Tak-hyeon nodded, Kim Seong-ho bowed once more in farewell and left the office.
Lee Tak-hyeon quietly watched the door through which Kim Seong-ho had departed.
Then the door opened again, and Hwang Do-beom, who had gone out with him, returned.
"So. Did you see him off properly?"
"Yes. I watched him go down to the first floor."
Hwang Do-beom reported that he had escorted Kim Seong-ho, then approached Lee Tak-hyeon.
"Chairman. You're not going to keep him?"
Hwang Do-beom spoke with lingering regret on his face.
"Director Kim's results are astonishing. He delivered major achievements for the group, and if we keep him, he will clearly produce even more. Even setting aside the title of your son-in-law, he is talent the company must retain."
Hwang Do-beom spoke carefully toward Lee Tak-hyeon.
"He may have stepped down himself because of the children's intense checks, but I believe leaving him like this is a waste. Even without the title of the Chairman's son-in-law, he is someone we should hold onto for the company's sake."
Lee Tak-hyeon regarded Hwang Do-beom steadily, then asked,
"Hahaha. You seem to want him even more than I do. Do you want to take that boy into the secretariat?"
At the Chairman's question, Hwang Do-beom nodded firmly.
"As I said before, if it were possible, that is exactly what I would want."
Without denying it, Hwang Do-beom laid out his honest feelings.
"The quick judgment and execution he showed while carrying out the restructuring were first-rate. On top of that, the way he diagnosed what was wrong with the company and produced appropriate solutions was extremely impressive—there is no need to elaborate."
Hwang Do-beom shared the impressions he had formed.
And as if the aftertaste still lingered, he smacked his lips in regret and continued.
"I keep thinking that if Director Kim were here, we could take on bigger work and more of it."
Lee Tak-hyeon, who had been listening quietly, nodded in agreement with Hwang Do-beom's assessment of Kim Seong-ho.
"I agree with that. With you, he probably would have generated even greater synergy."
"Chairman. If you know that, then why…"
"Why didn't I keep him even though I knew?"
"Yes."
When Hwang Do-beom carefully nodded, Lee Tak-hyeon answered in a dry voice.
"If the man himself says he doesn't want to do it, why should I go out of my way to hold him?"
"Chairman. Even so, if one thinks of the company…"
"People who come of their own accord saying they want to try are everywhere. Why would I hold onto Director Kim and leave those people aside? Good results? That is not work only Director Kim can do. And didn't I try to keep him once already? That is enough."
At Lee Tak-hyeon's blunt words, Hwang Do-beom lowered his head.
He knew better than anyone that the proud Lee Tak-hyeon would never cling to someone who said they were leaving first.
Even without holding him, the ease with which Kim Seong-ho departed left Lee Tak-hyeon curious.
"I hear Director Kim had fun in the stock market with the money I gave him. How much fun did he have?"
Hwang Do-beom, who had been soothing his own bitter aftertaste, straightened his expression at the question and answered.
"He invested one hundred million won in a place called Soyeong Packaging and made over two billion won in profit."
"What? How much?"
Lee Tak-hyeon's smiling face hardened.
"How much profit did you just say he made?"
At the stiffened tone, Hwang Do-beom answered again.
"To be precise, it has been confirmed as a twenty-two-fold return."
"A twenty-two-fold return? Where on earth did he invest that one hundred million became two point two billion?"
"A company called Soyeong Packaging. Word spread that they had developed an eco-friendly packaging box, and the stock price soared."
"An eco-friendly packaging box? What is that supposed to be?"
Lee Tak-hyeon asked with an incredulous look at the unfamiliar story.
Hwang Do-beom relayed the information he had learned through the secretariat.
"Apparently harmful substances had been found in the packaging boxes we all use. A company called Soyeong Packaging claimed to have created a harmless packaging box, and…"
Sensing the explanation would drag on, Lee Tak-hyeon raised a hand and cut him off.
"The explanation is enough… Was it true?"
At the question of whether it was fact, Hwang Do-beom looked troubled.
"Whether it is true or not is not certain. Soyeong Packaging claimed they had developed it, and the only confirmed fact is that the stock price skyrocketed on the strength of that claim."
"So you're saying the stock rose more than twenty times because of an unconfirmed claim?"
"…Yes."
Lee Tak-hyeon furrowed his brow deeply.
"He invested by chance and made more than a twenty-fold profit."
"Chairman. It could also be the result of study… something he earned through preparation."
Hwang Do-beom took Kim Seong-ho's side, but even he found it absurd; after finishing, he lowered his head.
Lee Tak-hyeon gave a short laugh at Hwang Do-beom's words.
"I know how you feel, so you can stop defending him."
Still looking at the bowed Hwang Do-beom, Lee Tak-hyeon stroked his chin with the back of his hand.
Then, with an intrigued expression, he said,
"He made over two billion and quit the company so easily because of that? If so, I'm disappointed…"
"Are you disappointed in Director Kim's choice?"
At Hwang Do-beom's words, Lee Tak-hyeon continued stroking his chin.
"Yes. If a man is satisfied with making a mere two billion for the moment and cannot aim for something larger… it's a shame, but he is not someone who can sit at this table."
Believing that Kim Seong-ho had been content with turning the hundred million he had given him into two point two billion and had abandoned the succession fight, Lee Tak-hyeon revealed his disappointment.
But what Kim Seong-ho had gained was only the beginning of the two point two billion.
Soyeong Packaging was merely the first company written on the note Kim Seong-ho had handed to Jo Chung-sep.
Two more companies still remained on that note, so the money Kim Seong-ho had invested had only just begun to roll.