I Never Take a Loss
Around that time, Kim Seong-ho sat face to face with President Park Hak-ju of Ilhyeon Securities.
Park Hak-ju kept dabbing at the sweat running down his forehead and neck with a handkerchief as he spoke.
"Director. As you well know, what power do I even have…?"
"President. I myself move only within the established standards. There are no exceptions, and certainly no special favors. Just understand that I act strictly according to predetermined criteria."
"Director."
Park Hak-ju turned a pleading expression toward Kim Seong-ho.
But Seong-ho did not so much as twitch an eyebrow.
Faced with that, Park Hak-ju pulled his chair even closer and spoke to Seong-ho in a low voice.
"Why are you really doing this? Telling me not to follow President Lee Sang-jong's instructions?"
"This isn't a matter of whether to follow orders or not."
Kim Seong-ho tapped the table with his finger.
"If Ilhyeon Securities had simply moved in line with the standards, there would have been no problem. But if, on the contrary, it failed to follow those standards, then there is a problem. There's nothing to weigh or measure here. Just think of it simply."
"The situation isn't that simple, which is exactly the problem…"
Park Hak-ju's face twisted into a deep scowl.
"You know better than anyone, Director, what kind of man President Lee Sang-jong is. He tells me to take the Ilhyeon Construction shares he holds as collateral and extend him a loan—how am I supposed to refuse him? Hmm?"
"You're terrified of Second Brother, yet the Chairman doesn't seem to register in your eyes at all."
At Seong-ho's words, Park Hak-ju's face went deathly pale.
Seong-ho looked at the Ilhyeon Securities president's face, now white as steamed rice cake, and smiled as he spoke.
"President Park, you must not forget which line the Restructuring Headquarters belongs to."
"Which line the Restructuring Headquarters belongs to…"
Only then did Park Hak-ju realize that the Restructuring Headquarters sat under the Secretariat.
"That's…"
The mouth that had been full of excuses about having had no choice suddenly refused to open.
Seong-ho watched him and spoke in a low voice.
"No matter how frightening Second Brother may be, you must never forget who it is that actually pays your salary and gives you a place to work."
"Does the Chairman… know about this as well?"
"Not yet. That's why I've come here to talk and open a clean path for you. If the Chairman already knew… we wouldn't be having this conversation. You understand that, don't you, President?"
Park Hak-ju nodded vigorously.
"I do… How could I not…"
"Since you understand, I won't say any more."
Kim Seong-ho leaned back against his chair.
"Within this week, recover every account belonging to former Ilhyeon Construction President Lee Sang-jong."
At those words Park Hak-ju hesitated a moment before speaking.
"If we suddenly call in the loans, there could be losses. What do we do about that? Are we supposed to liquidate the collateral according to standard procedure and cover the shortfall?"
"Hmm… That won't do. Tell me exactly how much the loss comes to. I will cover the amount myself."
"You will personally cover it, Director?"
"Yes."
One of Park Hak-ju's major worries had just been lifted from his shoulders; a look of mild relief crossed his face.
Seong-ho spoke to him with absolute clarity.
"I don't mean simply making up the loss. I mean I will pay the amount of the shortfall myself and take possession of the collateral—the Ilhyeon Construction shares. What the Chairman is worried about is those Ilhyeon shares falling into someone else's hands."
"I understand exactly what you mean."
Park Hak-ju nodded with a look of comprehension, then rose, said he would return at once to handle the matter, bowed to Seong-ho, and left.
Once Park Hak-ju was gone, Jo Byeong-jin and Jeong Byeong-ju entered Seong-ho's office.
Jo Byeong-jin pulled out a chair, sat, and looked toward the door Park had just exited through.
"What did President Park say? Did he agree?"
"Yeah. I talked him through it. He'll take care of it."
Jo Byeong-jin shook his head and turned his gaze back to Seong-ho.
"With us he used to strut around like he owned the place—wouldn't even give us the time of day. Right, Section Chief Jeong?"
Jeong Byeong-ju nodded in agreement and addressed Seong-ho.
"I went over to Ilhyeon Securities and checked, just like you ordered, Director. The loan amount was bigger than I expected."
"Bigger is an understatement. Three hundred billion won. Three hundred billion. The collateral is worth less than a hundred billion, and they lent him three hundred billion! What kind of nonsense is that? Sure, stock-collateral loans can go up to a hundred forty, a hundred fifty percent of the collateral value, but three hundred billion is still insane. That's more than a hundred billion over the absolute maximum."
Jo Byeong-jin looked at Seong-ho as if he still couldn't wrap his head around it.
Jeong Byeong-ju, clearly of the same mind, quietly shook his head and asked Seong-ho,
"But if we try to recover three hundred billion all at once, we're going to take a loss, just like President Park said… Are you really going to cover that yourself, Director?"
"I made the promise, so of course I'll cover it."
"Even if the loss is on the low side, it'll still be ten or twenty billion…"
Jeong Byeong-ju looked at Seong-ho with a worried expression and trailed off.
Jo Byeong-jin, hearing that Seong-ho intended to cover the shortfall, seemed to recall something and asked,
"Are you doing this so you can secure the Ilhyeon Construction shares?"
"What would I even do with Ilhyeon Construction shares? No."
"No?"
Jo Byeong-jin stared at Seong-ho as if wondering why else anyone would willingly cover a loss like that.
Jeong Byeong-ju had been thinking the same thing; he looked puzzled and asked carefully,
"Then you're really going to use your own money to cover President Lee Sang-jong's loss just because you can't stand the thought of Ilhyeon Construction shares falling into someone else's hands? You could end up taking a hit yourself, Director."
Jo Byeong-jin seemed to share the same concern. He nodded and watched Seong-ho's mouth, curious what answer would come.
Seong-ho looked back and forth between Jo Byeong-jin and Jeong Byeong-ju, then smiled.
"I'm not enough of a fool to take a loss just to cover Second Brother's damages."
"Then what?"
Jo Byeong-jin couldn't contain his curiosity any longer. The corner of Seong-ho's mouth lifted.
"If the Ilhyeon Construction shares fall into someone else's hands, who would be the most upset?"
At Seong-ho's question, both Jo Byeong-jin and Jeong Byeong-ju arrived at the same answer.
Seong-ho smiled at the two men who had figured it out but couldn't quite say it aloud.
"I'm only holding them temporarily. And by holding them for a while, I'll earn goodwill from both sides. So for me, this whole affair is actually a gain."
"Well, yeah. There's no way you'd ever take a loss."
At Jo Byeong-jin's remark the three of them burst out laughing—because the offhand comment that Kim Seong-ho was not a man who took losses had cut straight through all three of them.
Still chuckling, they set their worries aside and began chatting lightly about the next steps.
But at that same moment, elsewhere, someone else was seething with mountain-sized rage.
Bang!
"Where's Kim Seong-ho?"
The man who had nearly torn the door off its hinges stormed into the Restructuring Headquarters and shouted the moment he stepped inside.
The employee seated by the door rose and blocked Lee Sang-jong's path.
"Excuse me, who might you be?"
Lee Sang-jong, who had been mid-yell, stopped dead and looked the employee up and down.
"Have you people lost your minds? You don't know who I am?"
"Who exactly are you to barge in here demanding to see the Director? First you need to make an appointment downstairs and—"
"You little shit…"
Not only had the man failed to recognize him, he had the gall to tell him to make an appointment. Lee Sang-jong's face flushed crimson as if it might explode. He raised his hand as if ready to strike on the spot.
Just then Jo Byeong-jin, who had been watching the commotion, approached as if he had only just recognized Lee Sang-jong.
"Isn't this President Lee Sang-jong?"
He stepped between Sang-jong and the employee and bowed his head in apology on the man's behalf.
"I'm terribly sorry, President. This fellow only recently transferred to headquarters. Please forgive him."
"Can't you train your staff properly?"
"I'll take him aside right now and make sure he learns."
Faced with Jo Byeong-jin's full bow of apology, Lee Sang-jong lowered the hand he had raised. He turned toward the inner offices and asked the employee who had just apologized,
"Is Seong-ho inside?"
"Yes, President. The Director is in."
Hearing Jo Byeong-jin's prompt reply, Lee Sang-jong's expression softened a fraction. He quickly looked Jo up and down, then cast a sidelong glance at the still-flustered employee behind him before turning away.
"Count yourself lucky. If I weren't so busy I'd have trained you myself."
"I'll educate him thoroughly so this never happens again."
"Fine."
With that, Lee Sang-jong strode off toward the office where Kim Seong-ho was waiting.
Once Sang-jong was gone, Jo Byeong-jin straightened his back and watched him leave.
The employee who had been watching for cues edged closer and spoke in a low voice.
"If that was President Lee Sang-jong… then he's the Director's elder…"
"Yeah. The Chairman's second son."
At Jo Byeong-jin's answer the employee's face turned ashen. The thought of having stood in the way of the infamous Lee Sang-jong, a man he had only ever heard about in rumors, made his blood run cold.
Jo Byeong-jin watched Sang-jong's retreating back for a moment longer, then turned to the still-tense employee and smiled.
Even so, the employee couldn't relax.
"Um… what happens now? Am I getting fired…?"
"Fired? Why would you get fired? It's fine. Don't worry about it—just get back to what you were doing."
Even the reassurance did nothing to ease the man's anxiety.
Jo Byeong-jin laid a hand on the employee's shoulder and gently steered him back toward his desk.
"By the time he comes out of that room, you won't even exist in his head anymore. So stop fretting."
"Really?"
"Why would I lie to you? It's fine. The Director will handle the rest. You just go back to work."
"I… I won't get chewed out, right…?"
Jo Byeong-jin pressed the employee's shoulders down until he sat, then looked down at him.
"I'm a lot more curious about what's happening in that room than about scolding you. Just scold yourself in your head and learn your lesson, all right?"
He gave the man's shoulders a couple of firm pats, then hurried toward Kim Seong-ho's office.
"Aigoo. Looks like it's already started."
Jo Byeong-jin's face lit with anticipation as he moved toward the office from which raised voices were already pouring out.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Lee Sang-jong hadn't even sat down. He stood in the middle of the room, bellowing at Kim Seong-ho the moment he entered.
Seong-ho looked up at him and asked as if he had no idea what was going on.
"Hyung-nim. What brings you here? And what do you mean, 'what am I doing'? Has something happened?"
"You told the president of Ilhyeon Securities to call in my shares, didn't you? Well?"
"Ah~ so that's why you're here."
As if only now understanding, Seong-ho rose from his seat. He walked over to the reception sofa and gestured for Sang-jong to sit.
"Why don't we sit down and talk."
"You little shit… You think this is the time to sit and talk?"
Lee Sang-jong swung a fist at Seong-ho.
But Seong-ho, who had fully expected the move, simply slipped aside.
"Oh-ho? Dodging, are we?"
Sang-jong's face turned an even deeper shade of red. He rolled up his sleeves, clearly ready to get serious about the violence.
Seong-ho watched him for a moment, then smiled lightly.
"Hyung-nim. Sit down and let's discuss this calmly. Do you really think I made that decision to ruin you?"
"You bastard. If it wasn't to ruin me, then—"
Thwip.
A bound sheaf of papers sailed through the air and landed in front of the still-speaking Lee Sang-jong.
Without thinking he caught it. Seeing that Sang-jong now held the documents, Seong-ho sat down on the reception sofa.
"What's this?"
Lee Sang-jong demanded, still holding the bound papers.
Seong-ho gestured for him to open them.
"Open it. It's the contract I signed with a firm called Future Asset."
"Why are you handing me your contract?"
Sang-jong stared at Seong-ho as if the man had lost his mind. The idea of interrupting an argument just to shove a contract at him struck him as absurd.
Seong-ho looked up at the incredulous Sang-jong and said,
"If, because of me, you end up failing to make a profit, I will compensate you for the full difference."
"What did you say?"
"So stop worrying and come sit down. The reason I pressured President Park of Ilhyeon Securities into clearing out your accounts was entirely for your benefit."
"For… my benefit?"
Still seething, Lee Sang-jong clutched the contract Seong-ho had given him and continued to eye him with deep suspicion.
Seong-ho simply smiled at him and gestured once more for him to take the seat opposite.