I Won't Fall for Sweet Talk This Time
“This group-wide restructuring will be far more severe than the one we carried out at Ilhyeon Hotel. Depending on the circumstances, we may have to liquidate affiliates or decide on large-scale withdrawals from certain businesses. To make the employees understand such a forceful restructuring, I believe we must first demonstrate our own unwavering resolve.”
Kim Seong-ho paused for a moment and looked around at the team leaders.
Then he dropped the bombshell on them.
“The restructuring of the Ilhyeon Group will begin with every member of the Restructuring Headquarters—myself included—submitting their letters of resignation.”
“What?”
At Kim Seong-ho’s words, everyone present froze in place and stared at him.
Deputy Head Lee Gyeong-deuk glanced around briefly before being the first to voice his agreement with Kim Seong-ho.
“If we fail to show a firm resolve, the employees’ backlash is inevitable. I think it’s best that we set an example ourselves and tell our colleagues to follow our lead. In that spirit…….”
Deputy Head Lee Gyeong-deuk pulled an envelope from his breast pocket.
Holding the envelope boldly labeled “Letter of Resignation” in large Chinese characters, Lee Gyeong-deuk placed it before Kim Seong-ho and said,
“I will take the lead. This is my letter of resignation. Please take charge of it, Head.”
“Thank you for understanding my intent.”
Kim Seong-ho expressed his gratitude to Lee Gyeong-deuk for stepping forward first, then turned to the team leaders.
“Since today is Wednesday, please collect the resignation letters from every headquarters staff member by next Tuesday. If all the letters are gathered by Tuesday, we will hand them over to the Chairman’s Office the following day and make the will of our Restructuring Headquarters known.”
When he issued the order complete with a deadline, the team leaders present could only stare at Kim Seong-ho’s face, unable even to find the words to ask what they should do.
“With that, I will conclude this meeting.”
Kim Seong-ho rose from his seat, signaling that the meeting was over, yet silence alone hung over the conference room.
Only Lee Gyeong-deuk reacted by rising to follow Kim Seong-ho.
“Thank you, Managing Director.”
Having arrived at the office together with Lee Gyeong-deuk, Kim Seong-ho offered his thanks.
At the words of gratitude, Lee Gyeong-deuk gave an awkward smile and waved a hand.
“Not at all. No need for thanks. Didn’t I already promise you? That I would stand on the Head’s side.”
Lee Gyeong-deuk shrugged his shoulders with a look of quiet pride and sat down on the sofa opposite Kim Seong-ho.
Then he put to Kim Seong-ho the question no one else had dared to ask during the meeting just now.
“But we’re collecting the resignation letters—we’re not actually going to process them, right?”
Lee Gyeong-deuk offered Kim Seong-ho an awkward smile as he spoke.
“I mean, I don’t think you would, but…… still…… I just wanted to ask, just in case…….”
“That will be for those above us to decide.”
“Above us?”
“Yes. The Chairman will make the judgment.”
“Judgment? About what?”
The answer was so far from anything he had expected that Lee Gyeong-deuk broke out in a cold sweat as he asked.
Kim Seong-ho, however, replied with an utterly unconcerned expression.
“If the Chairman looks at our restructuring and finds it unsatisfactory, he will process every single resignation. Conversely, if he is pleased with our work, he will reject them.”
“If he isn’t pleased…… he’ll process them all……?”
Lee Gyeong-deuk realized, from Kim Seong-ho’s words, that he had been taking this restructuring far too lightly.
Those above them were desperate about the restructuring; that was why Kim Seong-ho intended to announce the will of the Restructuring Headquarters by submitting the resignation letters.
Lee Gyeong-deuk gave a firm nod and said,
“Understood. I’ll make sure the staff fully understand exactly what kind of situation we’re in.”
“What exactly do you mean by ‘fully understand’?”
Just then the door opened and someone walked in.
Lee Gyeong-deuk turned his head toward the voice.
“I haven’t interrupted an important conversation, have I?”
Even if they had been discussing something important, the man’s words carried the clear implication that his own arrival took precedence. The moment Lee Gyeong-deuk saw who it was, he sprang up from his seat like a coiled spring.
“Welcome, Vice Chairman.”
“Ah, yes. Managing Director Lee. It’s been a while.”
Lee Mun-jong offered Lee Gyeong-deuk a light smile, approached, and clapped him on the shoulder.
“You’ve been well?”
“Thanks to the Vice Chairman’s concern, I’ve been getting by just fine.”
“Good. I’ve long heard that Managing Director Lee is highly capable. So look after our Director Kim for me, would you?”
“Oh, not at all. It’s the Head who has to look after me. I’m merely the one who carries out whatever the Head orders.”
“Hahaha. I’ve also heard for a long time that Managing Director Lee is an amusing fellow, and seeing you like this, the rumors were true.”
At Lee Mun-jong’s words, Managing Director Lee Gyeong-deuk dipped his head slightly and took a step back.
“Then I’ll take my leave. The Head has given me work to do.”
Lee Gyeong-deuk had already sensed that Lee Mun-jong had come to see Kim Seong-ho, and he made to withdraw.
Lee Mun-jong nodded at the sight and offered a parting greeting.
“All right. Let’s see each other again sometime.”
“Yes, Vice Chairman. I’ll be going, then.”
Lee Gyeong-deuk bowed to Lee Mun-jong, offered a greeting to Kim Seong-ho as well, and left the office.
Lee Mun-jong watched the door close for a moment, then pointed in the direction Lee Gyeong-deuk had gone and said to Kim Seong-ho,
“That fellow’s quite something. Sharp instincts.”
“That’s how he rose as far as head of the Strategic Planning Office, isn’t it?”
“He doesn’t resent the fact that you were placed above him?”
“He found it burdensome at first, but he seems fine now. He understands the situation.”
“Is that so?”
Lee Mun-jong draped an arm over the back of the sofa and turned his head to look at the door Lee Gyeong-deuk had left through.
While he was still gazing at the door, Kim Seong-ho asked the reason for his visit.
“But Vice Chairman, what brings you here…….”
At the sound of his name, Lee Mun-jong turned his head and waved a hand at Kim Seong-ho.
“Vice Chairman? What’s with the ‘Vice Chairman’? When it’s just the two of us, call me hyung-nim.”
“Even so, this is the company…….”
When Kim Seong-ho made a somewhat troubled face, Lee Mun-jong spoke with breezy assurance.
“You’re fine. Just call me hyung-nim.”
“Understood. Then when it’s just the two of us, I’ll call you hyung-nim. Hyung-nim.”
“Hahaha. That’s right. Doesn’t it feel so much better calling me hyung-nim?”
Lee Mun-jong wore a satisfied expression, then spoke with a touch of regret.
“But why didn’t the Chairman put you in a president’s seat? If he was going to elevate the Strategic Planning Office to headquarters level, the head of the headquarters ought to be a president.”
“It’s still temporary. He said he would gradually align the structure so that the Head becomes a president and the Deputy Head a vice president.”
“Temporary, my foot. Honestly. That suspicious streak of his never gets cured no matter how old he gets.”
Lee Mun-jong openly grumbled about Lee Tak-hyeon’s decision right in front of Kim Seong-ho.
Watching that display, Kim Seong-ho thought to himself,
He’s starting to trust me.
That Lee Mun-jong harbored dissatisfaction with Lee Tak-hyeon was something everyone already knew.
But that knowledge had always been a matter of feeling alone; Lee Mun-jong had never actually shown such an attitude in front of anyone else.
Yet now he was airing his grievances in front of Kim Seong-ho without the slightest hesitation.
That alone was enough to show how much trust Lee Mun-jong now placed in him.
“Don’t worry. I’ll speak to the Chairman and get you formally appointed as Head of the Headquarters as quickly as possible.”
“I’m grateful for the words alone.”
“It’s not just words.”
Lee Mun-jong leaned slightly toward Kim Seong-ho and spoke in a low voice.
“I’ll show you that following me brings a fitting reward. Watch carefully.”
He wore a more earnest expression than ever, as if determined to make Kim Seong-ho feel the sincerity of his heart.
Yet at that very display, Kim Seong-ho cursed inwardly.
You son of a bitch.
In the previous life, no one had followed Lee Mun-jong longer or more closely than Kim Seong-ho.
And all that had come of it was death. The memory made a stream of curses well up from deep in his heart.
You think I’m going to fall for that sweet talk again?
Kim Seong-ho sneered inwardly, then offered outward thanks with a look of deep emotion.
“To think hyung-nim regards me so highly—I’m genuinely moved.”
“Moved? I only did what was only natural. No need for all that.”
Lee Mun-jong waved off Kim Seong-ho’s gratitude and settled into a more comfortable posture.
Then he spoke to Kim Seong-ho in an insinuating tone.
“I hear you told the Chairman that I would be the right man for the next chairmanship?”
At Lee Mun-jong’s words, Kim Seong-ho put on a startled expression.
“How did you……?”
Those words had been spoken in a place where only Lee Tak-hyeon, Kim Seong-ho, and Hwang Do-beom had been present.
It had been a closed room; there should have been no way for the conversation to leak outside.
The fact that such a conversation had reached Lee Mun-jong’s ears set a great many thoughts turning in Kim Seong-ho’s mind.
If the story had been passed on, it could only have come from either Lee Tak-hyeon or Hwang Do-beom, and whichever of the two it was, Lee Tak-hyeon’s will had to be behind it.
After all, Hwang Do-beom was practically Lee Tak-hyeon’s other self.
Does the Chairman want to watch how things unfold?
Kim Seong-ho could not hide his surprise at the unexpected development. Seeing that look, Lee Mun-jong burst into loud laughter.
“Hahaha. What does it matter how I know? What matters is that you said it.”
Having spoken, Lee Mun-jong looked at Kim Seong-ho with warm eyes.
“When I heard that story, I was deeply moved. You’re the first person who has ever said something like that in front of the Chairman. That’s why I thought I could trust you and entrust my work to you.”
“I didn’t say it to curry favor with you, hyung-nim.”
“I know. That’s exactly why I was even more moved, isn’t it?”
Lee Mun-jong slapped his knee and pointed a finger at Kim Seong-ho.
“It may sound stale because I’ve said the same thing before, but just keep following me. I’ll light the path ahead for you. Remember that the weight of those words is different now than it was then. The weight of what I’ve just said to you is heavier than a thousand pieces of gold.”
Having finished speaking, Lee Mun-jong left his outstretched finger where it was and rested his hand on Kim Seong-ho’s shoulder.
Kim Seong-ho wore a bright smile beneath that touch.
Yet while the smile on his face was bright, his heart was filled with nothing but scorn.
He knew better than anyone that those words, which claimed to be heavier than a thousand pieces of gold, were in truth lighter than a feather.
Lee Tak-hyeon introduced Kim Seong-ho, who was seated at the far end of the room where the presidents’ meeting was being held.
“Head Kim. Stand up and introduce yourself.”
At Chairman Lee Tak-hyeon’s command, Kim Seong-ho rose from his seat and greeted the assembled presidents.
“I am Kim Seong-ho, newly appointed to head the Restructuring Headquarters. I look forward to working with you all.”
“It isn’t Head Kim who should be asking for favors—it’s everyone here who ought to be asking favors of you.”
Lee Tak-hyeon gestured for him to sit, then turned to the presidents of the affiliates and spoke.
“From now on, our group will enter a restructuring phase. The work of cutting away the rotten parts, scraping off the calluses, and trimming the useless layers of fat will be carried out by Head Kim’s Restructuring Headquarters over there. Keep that in mind.”
At Lee Tak-hyeon’s words, the faces of the affiliate presidents present turned ashen.
They had already known the content through the official notice.
The presidents had seen the notice and expected the restructuring to amount to little more than a bit of traffic control.
They had believed a truly forceful restructuring would be physically impossible.
Yet Lee Tak-hyeon had officially mentioned the restructuring in front of the full assembly and, by speaking of cutting away flesh, had made it clear that the coming restructuring would be extremely severe.
Realizing that the hilt of that powerful restructuring blade now rested in Kim Seong-ho’s hand, every president present went pale and began carefully watching his reaction.
From the way he had cleaned up Ilhyeon Hotel in the past, they already knew Kim Seong-ho was no easy opponent.
The presidents in the room busily flicked their eyes about, gauging Kim Seong-ho’s mood.
Lee Tak-hyeon sat at the highest seat in the conference room and watched the spectacle with an amused expression.
And there was one other person besides Lee Tak-hyeon who was enjoying the sight of the presidents carefully reading Kim Seong-ho’s face.
“Chairman.”
Lee Mun-jong, seated in the foremost seat to Lee Tak-hyeon’s right, opened his mouth toward the Chairman with a smile playing on his face.