Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: How to Scout Talent (3)
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The early winter wind was biting. Even inside the car, it made his body shiver uncontrollably.
Seated in the back of the vehicle was Seo Guk-cheol, Chairman of Cheolhwa Group. The cane gripped tightly in his wrinkled hand trembled faintly.
"Cough! Cough!"
The coughing fits, now as routine as breathing. The white handkerchief handed to him by his aide was already speckled with red bloodstains.
"Chairman, are you all right? On days like this, when it's so cold, you really shouldn't push yourself..."
"Enough! Cut the nagging and just drive!"
His aide frantically gestured for the driver to crank up the heater. Only after the heavy mechanical hum filled the air did he finally glance sideways.
"Ahem..."
His hunched back refused to straighten. The old man with shadowed eyes clutched a gold pendant in his hand as if it were his most precious treasure, eyes closed.
Even if born to a mistress, he was the one and only bloodline capable of carrying on the Seo family legacy.
Inside the pendant, a photo showed a young boy beaming brightly alongside Chairman Seo Guk-cheol.
"Hey, Im-ja."
"Yes, Chairman. What is it?"
It was as if pain stabbed deep inside him. Chairman Seo Guk-cheol squinted both eyes.
"Hoo... What did the chief physician say? About the results from the last checkup."
"You cleared the major hurdle with that previous surgery, but... improvement seems impossible. For now, they're saying to at least slow the deterioration..."
"Hah. Damn it."
The old man let out a long, frustrated sigh.
He had built his kingdom with his bare fists, but eternal youth could not be bought at any price.
However...
"Forget all that. Just make me hold out for five more years. Healthy enough to run around like those young bucks."
"Chairman?"
"Doesn't matter if it's brutal meds or carving me up and stitching me back together in surgery. Just..."
His life force was fading bit by bit. Yet Chairman Seo Guk-cheol had to burn his final embers.
For his son, to whom he would leave everything.
"Just until Yoon-seok turns eighteen. That's all I need. So that my Cheolhwa Group passes solely to the Seo bloodline, and no one else."
The car jolted slightly over a speed bump in the parking lot, and only then did Chairman Seo Guk-cheol look out the window.
Atop a verdant hill stood a red-brick house with a sloped roof topped by an iron cross.
In front of it, a boy just entering puberty stood hand-in-hand with a nameless nun.
Beaming with a bright smile, as if waiting for someone.
"You see it too?"
"You mean Young Master Yoon-seok...?"
"Yeah, burn that image into your eyes. That little peanut is the future. The future of the Seo family of Cheolhwa Group."
Pride and stubbornness.
The old man's gravelly voice, laced with both, echoed alongside the tolling church bells.
"That Han Seo-jun punk from Ammunition Group had to do it all on his own, but my Yoon-seok... I'll hand him everything built and ready."
* * * *
38th floor of SA Group's headquarters near Gangnam Station.
Inside the expansive office overlooking Teheran-ro in a single glance.
A man seated in his chair checked his watch and scowled.
"When's the old man—no, the father-in-law—supposed to get here?"
"He left around 3 p.m., so he should arrive in about ten minutes."
Im Jae-ho, Vice President, wore a dissatisfied expression.
With his razor-sharp schedule executed flawlessly and his position as heir to the nation's top conglomerate, him waiting for anyone was a rare sight.
Except in a few special cases like this.
"Hah, did sending off that illegitimate daughter get him feeling all triumphant or something?"
"He's coming from the prayer house, Vice President. Where that late-born illegitimate son of his is hiding..."
"Oh, right. That's it."
Im Jae-ho let out a mocking snort.
He shook his head side to side, as if there was no helping it.
Though an outsider to Cheolhwa Group, Vice President Im Jae-ho clearly already knew the details about that prayer house.
"Then it's worth the wait. We're on the verge of getting Cheolhwa Semiconductors thanks to that kid."
"Chairman Seo Guk-cheol is something else, in more ways than one. While his daughters tear into each other, he's quietly preparing to hand it all to his late-born son."
SA Group held a substantial stake in Cheolhwa Group's holding company.
Its immense scale was more than enough for Chairman Seo Guk-cheol to secretly lay the groundwork for his secret son.
Enough that the greedy old man was willing to hand over Cheolhwa Semiconductors to SA Group.
"In the end, those idiot daughters won't even notice, too busy fighting among themselves, eyes fixed on that SA-Cheolhwa Tech One bait..."
The aide rattled on enthusiastically, riding the wave of conversation.
But it didn't last long. Not once Vice President Im Jae-ho's displeased look settled on his face.
"Ah...! I-I mean..."
His eye twitched irritably.
Sensing his boss's mood instantly, he bowed deeply, as if about to plant his head on the floor.
"S-Sorry! I overstepped! Even so, toward Madam..."
"Enough. It doesn't matter anyway. Once she's served her purpose, she'll be gone."
With a disinterested reply, Vice President Im Jae-ho's gaze shifted to the display case.
Behind the glass sat an ancient Near Eastern terracotta figurine.
The deeply sunken eyes and clumsily attached limbs exuded an unnaturalness that evoked someone specific.
The posture of Seo Yun-ji, poised to lunge forward yet frozen rigidly in place, unable to budge.
"Right now, she's prancing around playing businesswoman like she's somebody, but once Cheolhwa Semiconductors is in hand, I won't have to deal with that bitch ever again."
His eyes narrowed as if recalling something filthy.
Sinking deep into his chair, a crude curse spilled from his lips.
"Trashy slut whoring around with her body."
He pulled several photos from a drawer. Shots of his wife Seo Yun-ji entering a K Hotel with her lover Kim Beom-ho, and even kissing outdoors.
With each photo, the vein bulging on Vice President Im Jae-ho's temple grew more prominent.
"Get more. Without tipping her off. Enough to rip that filthy bitch's throat out in one go—no need for a drawn-out divorce."
"Yes! I'll ensure the underlings make no mistakes."
In the tense atmosphere, like walking on thin ice.
A female employee knocked cautiously and entered to announce Chairman Seo Guk-cheol's arrival, then quickly left.
Vice President Im Jae-ho rose from his chair at once.
"The walking corpse has arrived. The old fart who can't croak just yet."
The door opened, and his expression flipped in an instant.
Arms spread wide, Vice President Im Jae-ho played the genial son-in-law, welcoming his unwanted father-in-law.
"You've arrived, Father-in-law. Please, come in."
"At least keeping up minimal decorum. I'm just humbled."
Leaning on his cane, Chairman Seo Guk-cheol responded to the false warmth with a gruff voice.
Each word carried a sharp shard of bone.
"I hope the day comes soon when we can sever this fake family tie. Or am I wrong?"
"Of course. I share your discomfort with this childish farce."
A family relationship forged and sustained solely for mutual gain.
Hand on the withered old man's back, Vice President Im Jae-ho opened his mouth with a smile as insincere as the bond.
"So... let's get along well for the next five years. For now, you're Chairman Seo Guk-cheol."
* * * *
VIP room at a general hospital near Ammunition Electronics' Future Business Division lab in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.
Before me lay a rotund, blond French man unconscious in bed. The patient ID tag by his head read 'Michel Pouco.'
Medical staff entered the room.
"How's Chief Researcher Michel? Is he okay?"
"Well, he has some bruises all over from tumbling down the stairs, but the MRI shows no major brain issues."
With assurances he'd wake soon, the rounds concluded.
A small mercy.
But that didn't change the outrageous, infuriating reality.
In a voice lower than usual, I spoke to Uncle Kim Won-cheol.
"Secretary Kim."
"Yes, Chairman. What is it?"
Around others, Uncle Kim Won-cheol spoke formally.
He looked prepared, as if he already knew what I intended.
"Where's President Lee Tae-gyu right now?"
"He went down to Yongin for an external schedule. Golfing."
Golf. Golf, huh.
What a charmed life. Or he's utterly insane.
"Sigh... So, he's aware of this incident?"
"The report line to Ammunition Electronics went through, but they said not to bother him over something trivial."
"So... an employee falls into a coma during so-called 'training' abuse, and that's trivial?"
Rage boiled up.
My hands gripped the metal bed rail so hard it seemed it might bend, trembling.
My expression must have looked particularly grim, patience at its limit.
The aides glanced nervously and slipped out of the room.
Time to decide.
"President Lee Tae-gyu. Fire him immediately. This is beyond salvageable."
"Oh, Chairman, calm down first... Even if we axe him now, there's no replacement lined up."
Now that only the two of us—three, counting the comatose chief researcher—remained, Uncle Kim Won-cheol spoke casually again.
Grabbing my hand firmly, he tried to dissuade me.
"He's stuffed his line from executives down with his own people. Promote from inside, and you'll just get Lee Tae-gyu 2.0 or 3.0."
"Sigh... No alternatives? Like scouting from outside."
"Hiring external talent from the same industry... impossible in this climate. Better to find someone from consulting to step in as president..."
The IT sector demanded top-tier expertise.
A consultant background rubbed me the wrong way a bit, but with things like this, no choice.
As I grimaced, about to concede to Uncle Kim Won-cheol's suggestion, a strange Korean laced with a foreign accent rose from below.
"Th-that role... I can do it."
"Chief Researcher Michel?"
Unnoticed when he'd woken, Michel slowly sat up in bed.
Eyes sparkling brighter than expected for someone just out of a coma, he spoke.
"Urgh... I've had this in mind for a while. Ammunition Electronics. Entrust it to me. I'll deliver not just change, but revolution."