The Chairman's Secret Safe (3)
Two more days had passed since I learned the deep history of the Shin and Kwon families, along with the QS Group, in the main house study. Now I was on my way to Myeongryun University Hospital after receiving an early-morning call from the hospital director. Fortunately, it wasn't bad news. Chairman Kwon Byung-do was being moved from the intensive care unit to a regular room today. That meant his condition had improved considerably.
When I arrived at the hospital, Kim Majin—who had received the same call—was already there. Kwon Seong-gyun and his wife arrived almost at the same time as me. The hospital director, who had come out to the neurosurgery ward lobby to greet us, smiled broadly.
"Welcome. It's truly fortunate that the chairman's health is recovering day by day."
I almost laughed. The one who had performed the surgery on Chairman Kwon Byung-do and stayed by his side in the ICU day and night until the move to a regular room today was the neurosurgery department head, as far as I knew. Come to think of it, this man had been trembling in fear that he might lose his position as hospital director when the chairman collapsed. Since things hadn't gone wrong and were actually going well, I supposed I should interpret the director's cheerful expression in a positive light—half the joy of a doctor whose patient was recovering, and half the relief that a major career-threatening problem had disappeared.
I was riding along with the upbeat atmosphere when I noticed that Kwon Seong-gyun's wife's expression looked rather unpleasant. Kwon Seong-gyun himself was trying to manage his expression with a smile, but his eyes were drooping and only his mouth was moving, which looked quite unnatural. It wasn't difficult to guess why their moods had soured.
Chairman Kwon Byung-do had entrusted me with the Central Management Division head position when he collapsed. So once he fully regained consciousness, unless I had completely botched things as division head, it was only natural that he would grant me even greater authority. However, the chairman's family didn't want him to die outright either, because it had already been announced that a separate will would be made public after his death. Since the emergency will to be executed in case of emergency stated that the Central Management Division should go to me, the will that would appear after his death would likely state that the chairmanship should pass to me. In other words, for Kwon Seong-gyun to at least maintain the status quo in the succession competition with me, the best outcome would be for Chairman Kwon Byung-do to remain in a coma. From Kwon Seong-gyun's perspective, this situation couldn't feel entirely welcome.
He must have discussed the same matter with his wife. So Kim Majin, who had no emotional bond with Chairman Kwon Byung-do and whose succession prospects had also been thrown into disarray, was probably pouting so openly. Still, with me and the hospital director watching, even a kindergartener should know how to hide their true feelings to some extent. Her protruding lips were so exaggerated that, if I were to stretch the point, patches of lipstick were visibly missing in places.
While displaying this ominous expression, Kwon Seong-gyun's wife soon committed a truly kindergarten-level blunder. Following the director's guidance, we arrived at the guardians' waiting room, where the neurosurgery department head was explaining Chairman Kwon Byung-do's health condition in detail. Stripping away all the test results and numbers, the key points were as follows.
The nerves above the neck had recovered significantly, allowing verbal communication. For someone who had undergone brain surgery, such rapid nerve recovery was a very positive sign that suggested even greater improvement ahead. However, strength had not yet returned to the arms and legs, so it would take more time before normal mobility was possible. The part the doctor explained with the most concern was the chairman's heart and lung function. The aftereffects of the cardiac arrest during surgery remained significant, and he still couldn't breathe completely on his own without a ventilator.
During this explanation, Kwon Seong-gyun's wife was caught yawning and received an elbow jab from her husband. Just as the neurosurgery department head finished his long explanation, she suddenly raised her hand to speak.
"Are you sure my father-in-law is really all right? If his condition worsens after moving to a regular room, I wonder who will take responsibility."
At this remark that crossed the line, not only Kwon Seong-gyun and I, but even the hospital director wiped the smile from his face for the first time that day. The neurosurgery department head's face flushed with embarrassment.
"Of course, if there was any medical negligence when the patient's condition deteriorated, the responsibility lies entirely with me as the attending physician. However, I will do my utmost to ensure that doesn't happen. If moving to a regular room does prove problematic, arrangements have been made so he can return to the ICU immediately."
Despite the department head's logical explanation, Kwon Seong-gyun's wife continued pouting and finally crossed the line with words that bordered on petulance.
"You're not making this decision because the VIP room my father-in-law will be staying in has higher fees than the ICU, are you?"
In the end, even the neurosurgery department head—who had seemed like someone who focused solely on saving patients without regard for money—let out a disbelieving laugh. He looked quite offended by her words.
"I made that decision, and I don't receive a higher salary regardless of which room the patient stays in."
The hospital director quickly intervened before the situation could escalate further.
"Ah, regarding Chairman Kwon Byung-do, he has already been paying hospital fees equivalent to both a VIP room and an ICU bed. That's why, as the attending physician mentioned earlier, he can return to the ICU at any time. No matter where the chairman stays, our hospital receives no additional payment."
Realizing he couldn't let this continue, Kwon Seong-gyun pinched his wife's side. Fortunately, she seemed to care somewhat about her husband's opinion, and the torrent of nonsense pouring from her mouth subsided at that point.
A short while later, the hospital director and department head left, and news arrived that Chairman Kwon Byung-do's room transfer had been completed. After everyone paid their respects together, each person entered separately for a private conversation. Since it was a family matter, the order naturally followed age hierarchy, pushing my private audience to the very end. Strictly speaking, I was actually older than both Chairman Kwon Byung-do and the previous chairman Kwon Seong-wook, being the reincarnation of the Pyongyang shaman, so being pushed back due to my young appearance felt somewhat unfair. Of course, the conversation I needed to have alone with Chairman Kwon Byung-do was so extensive and profound that having someone waiting outside would have been quite burdensome. That was why I naturally accepted the established order without objection and waited quite a while in the waiting room before entering the room.
When I saw Chairman Kwon Byung-do again after two days, he looked relatively neat. He had changed into hospital clothes when moving rooms, and his head bandages had been replaced. The machines and lines that had been messily attached to his body in the ICU had also been tidied up, with much of the tangled mess now resolved. What caught my eye most was the ventilator inserted only through his nose. It was the same equipment the neurosurgery department head had particularly emphasized when discussing the chairman's cardiopulmonary function. Medically speaking, it wasn't yet time to switch to such a small ventilator, but the explanation was that the patient's strong will to communicate verbally had made it a bit of a stretch. Therefore, I was told that if the chairman seemed to have difficulty breathing during the visit, I should immediately press the call button.
Consequently, my first words after sitting in the chair beside the bed were inevitably related to that.
"Are you breathing all right?"
At my question, Chairman Kwon Byung-do gave a slight nod with his chin, as if his neck didn't move well.
"It's bearable. Talking is manageable too."
"I'm glad we can talk like this again."
"Yes. Did you finish all the homework I gave you?"
If it was homework, it could have been the company work I had to do as Central Management Division head, but Kwon Seong-gyun had probably already covered that sufficiently. It seemed he was referring to more recent homework. I opened the bag I had brought and took out the items inside to show them to Chairman Kwon Byung-do. They were the things I had taken from the secret safe in the study.
"You mean these, right?"
"Yes. But why are only these here? Where is the book your grandfather wrote?"
As expected, my guess was correct.
"After reading the book, I thought it might tear if I carried it around carelessly, so I put it back safely in its original place."
"I see. Then you must know everything now."
"Yes. Park Je-sik."
The moment my words ended, Chairman Kwon Byung-do's face twisted and mist formed inside the tube connected to his nose. Startled, I reached for the call button, but he called me back to sit down.
"What are you doing, you fool!"
I stopped my outstretched hand and looked at his face more carefully, finally understanding what had happened. Chairman Kwon Byung-do had just burst into hearty laughter. Though it looked quite unnatural because his nerves hadn't fully recovered, laugh lines formed around his eyes and both corners of his mouth twitched upward. The tube connected to his nose had fogged up because he had exhaled too much carbon dioxide at once while laughing.
I let out a sigh of relief. I thought something terrible had happened.
"Do you want to call me Park Je-sik? Then I should call you Kang Min-chan and we can be like brothers."
"Does that name make you uncomfortable?"
"Of course. I've lived as Park Je-sik for twenty-five years and as Kwon Byung-do for nearly fifty years. Which one would feel more comfortable?"
Oh, that made sense. It was a perspective I hadn't considered, having only lived as Kwon Ho-gyun for just over three years now.
"Then I'll keep calling you Father."
"Do that."
I picked up the bundle of resident registration cards from the items I had taken out of the bag and asked.
"Why did you collect so many of these?"
"To figure out when you would possess a body. You've experienced it yourself, so you should know. After possession occurs, all data that can prove one's identity disappears."
"What?"
"Aigoo, I'm out of breath. I've given you all the hints, so think about it while I catch my breath."
Could he really have pinpointed the timing of the possession in that way? Park Je-sik wasn't someone with an ordinary mind either.