Consolidating My Forces (3)
The brief silence that had settled once more was broken by Chae Hee-geon. The PR Team Leader raised the hand he had kept hidden beneath his thigh and asked with a sly smile, “If you take on both brothers at once, do you think your odds are good?”
“From the start, the odds aren’t high. That’s something we’ll raise together—me and all of you. We can discuss the details slowly. What I can say for certain right now is this: if we win this all-out war even once, I’ll push both of my brothers aside in the succession race and take the top spot in a single move.”
Shin Ho-jung nodded at those words. “You’re right. The First and Second Young Masters hold plenty of president titles, but they’re only obsessed with snatching one more position from each other. If we can strip away all those titles and leave them with just one each, then this all-out war is worth fighting.”
While everyone nodded in agreement, Ho-gyun added one more line. “Thank you for the summary. As President Shin just said, the reward for winning is sweet. I won’t avoid this fight. And I certainly won’t lose. Still, if anyone here is afraid of an all-out war, you’re free to stand up and leave right now.”
At Ho-gyun’s offer to let them go, only Chae Hee-geon twitched as if ready to rise, while the others straightened their backs and looked at Ho-gyun with renewed loyalty. Most of them knew that if Ho-gyun didn’t become the next chairman, they would have to leave the company anyway. Even Chae Hee-geon, who had looked ready to bolt like someone who had wandered into the wrong club, quietly slipped his hands back under his thighs and bowed his head toward Ho-gyun.
Ho-gyun pressed further, as if demanding a clear answer. “Team Leader Chae?”
“Yes?”
“You really can leave. If you’re scared of the all-out war but worried about how it looks to walk out, we can continue this conversation in the inner room. Would you like that?”
Sensing that one more step would bring an outright expulsion order, Chae Hee-geon thrust both hands forward and waved them frantically. “No, no, that’s not it. My shirt just got caught for a second. I was worried you might misunderstand—haha. I only asked because I thought facing the First and Second Young Masters separately might give us slightly better odds.”
“We don’t have that kind of time. I’m going straight to the top in one shot. Together with all of you.”
In the brief moment his hips had lifted from the sofa, Chae Hee-geon had probably finished calculating which of the three brothers held the advantage. Reminded that he himself had little time left to choose, he lowered his head deeply in agreement. “You’re right, Young Master.”
“In any case, let’s all move to the inner room. That includes you, Team Leader Chae.”
Following Ho-gyun, the group entered the inner room, which turned out to be far larger than the living room. Chefs lined the edges around the central fireplace, ready to prepare the next dishes. Ho-gyun glanced at the finished plates and empty bottles on the central table and spoke again.
“I prepared this gathering for all of you who’ve given me your valuable time. Please eat and drink as much as you like, and let’s talk slowly about how our company executives can focus on company work without holding multiple positions.”
“Oh, thank you, Young Master.”
“You even knew we’d just finished with the paperwork. I’ll drink properly tonight.”
Ho-gyun shook a bottle of champagne, popped the cork, and began pouring for everyone. Only one person refused. While Chae Hee-geon emptied his overflowing glass in big gulps, Han Seung-woo alone covered the rim of his glass with his palm and shook his head. Ho-gyun poured the champagne he had intended for Han Seung-woo into Chae Hee-geon’s glass instead, then stood where he could see everyone at once.
“Finish what’s in your glasses. Tonight, let’s enjoy ourselves to the fullest.”
Clink, clink, clink. The sound of champagne glasses meeting rang out. Once all five glasses were empty, President Sung Yoon-hwan, who seemed to have sensed the mood shift beside Chae Hee-geon, turned his own glass. “I never thought a president of such a small affiliate like QS Express would be invited to a gathering like this. Please accept a drink from me.”
As Sung Yoon-hwan went around pouring, he reached Ho-gyun. Ho-gyun covered the bottle’s mouth with his hand just like Han Seung-woo had and looked Sung Yoon-hwan straight in the eye. “President Sung?”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“You’re acting on behalf of the second-largest shareholder of QS Express—me. More importantly, in this room it doesn’t matter who leads a large affiliate or who belongs to Central Management. Please refrain from excessive humility.”
Sung Yoon-hwan immediately understood that Ho-gyun’s words had struck at his inferiority complex, dismantled it, and placed him on equal footing with the other high-ranking executives gathered here. “Yes, Young Master.”
After Sung Yoon-hwan finished bowing to Ho-gyun and returned to his seat, Ho-gyun raised his glass for a toast. “Many more people will join us here in the future. Among them will be those with outstanding practical abilities who haven’t yet reached high positions, and others whose experience and rank surpass everyone here. I don’t care about any of that. If someone is willing to share our bright future, I’ll gladly welcome them to this table.”
While the glasses clinked, urgent glances passed among the members excluding Ho-gyun. There could always be people with excellent practical skills. No one would object to Ho-gyun recruiting them. But his next words were strange. Who could possibly have more experience or a higher position than the people already gathered here? Since Ho-gyun didn’t seem likely to bring the president himself, their thoughts narrowed to within QS Group. In terms of experience, only a handful outranked Oh Il-mu. In terms of position, few outranked Shin Ho-jung or Chae Hee-geon. Yet someone who satisfied both conditions? Honestly, the current members alone could already devour QS Group if things went well, so the idea of adding another person was both reassuring and intriguing.
As the members plated their food, they exchanged puzzled looks, each thinking of someone different. Their eyes met—Chae Hee-geon and Sung Yoon-hwan. ‘Surely not Chairman Kwon Byung-do?’ They confirmed each other’s thought, chuckled lightly as if to dismiss it, and continued filling their plates.
* * *
Once everyone had their food, light conversation began. Surprisingly, Chae Hee-geon and Sung Yoon-hwan, the president of the small affiliate, got along well and chatted in a corner about baseball and stock picks. Meanwhile, Shin Ho-jung, slightly tipsy from the low-alcohol champagne, caused an incident with Cha Ye-na, who was attending to the members. Calling her too pretty, he approached with his phone—not to take a photo, but to proudly show her a picture of his son.
“You work with Team Leader Kwon, so I assume you’re a lawyer. What do you think of my son? He’s in his doctoral program and will graduate soon. I’m helping him with his thesis, so he’ll definitely pass.”
“Ah, I’m sorry, but I’m not a lawyer…”
Fortunately, Oh Il-mu came to the rescue of the flustered Cha Ye-na. “Hey now, President Shin, a man of your stature shouldn’t be bothering an employee of our law firm. How about another drink instead?”
“Ah, if it’s Attorney Oh’s glass, I’ll gladly accept.”
The teamwork among the villa members was forming even better than Ho-gyun had hoped when he gathered them. Watching contentedly from the corner, Ho-gyun lifted his empty champagne glass and addressed everyone. “I was worried about keeping you through dinner, but it looks like you’ve all eaten well. Let’s finish this glass and move to the living room for the next round.”
At that signal, Ho-gyun and the villa members returned to the sofas in the living room. Chae Hee-geon, unable to contain his curiosity, asked again, “Young Master, earlier you said we’d discuss how to improve our odds separately. Could you give us a hint?”
Ho-gyun smiled this time as he answered. “I’m about to discuss that in earnest right now.”
“Yes! I’m listening carefully.”
Ho-gyun then assigned each member their tasks for enacting the executive dual-position ban. To Chae Hee-geon, who had been the most vocal with his questions, he gave the order to publish articles about the harm caused when chaebol heirs from other groups held concurrent president positions. To Shin Ho-jung, Sung Yoon-hwan, and Choi Sang-seok—who had the authority to attend the presidents’ meeting—he assigned the task of swaying opinions inside the meeting room. Oh Il-mu, familiar with legal procedures and having attended multiple QS Group bylaw revisions in the past, was tasked with reviewing the process and finding the best route.
“And as for Secretary General Han Seung-woo—”
Just as Ho-gyun was about to give an assignment to the last remaining member, Han Seung-woo—
* * *
Bzzzzz—. A phone vibration cut through the quiet living room where everyone had been listening to Ho-gyun. Han Seung-woo quickly checked his pants pocket, then shot up from the sofa and asked Ho-gyun for permission. “I can’t turn my phone off, I’m sorry. It’s a call from the secretariat. I’ll just take it and come right back.”
“Go ahead.”
With Ho-gyun’s approval, Han Seung-woo left before even hearing his assignment. A short while later he returned with a distinctly serious expression and addressed the entire group. “I’m sorry to dampen the good mood. I think I need to head back to Seoul now. Before that, Young Master, may I borrow your ear for a moment?”
When Ho-gyun nodded, Han Seung-woo covered his mouth and whispered something into Ho-gyun’s ear in a voice too low for the others to hear. The very next moment, Ho-gyun’s face hardened exactly like Han Seung-woo’s.
“I’ll head up to Seoul right away as well.”