Chairman on His Own, Chapter 47
“That’s not true, Vice Chairman. Not once, not ever did I have such thoughts. You gave me a tremendous opportunity. You saved me. How could I possibly be so presumptuous…?”
“Ha. I’m joking.”
Vice Chairman Han Junyeong laughed brightly. The snake-cold tone and expression he had worn until then vanished as if they had never existed.
“Director Cheon Subeom. It’s been a while, so may I give you one piece of advice?”
“Yes.”
Han Junyeong’s expression changed. He was smiling, but his eyes had gone cold, settling into that unmistakable Han Junyeong look. The ferocious glare was hidden behind a pair of dull-looking glasses, but Director Cheon knew better than anyone what lay beneath it.
“Don’t use the word ‘presumptuous’ so casually.”
“Understood.”
“Do you know why I’m saying this?”
Gulp.
Unable to withstand the pressure, Cheon swallowed. For him, this was an emotional tremor he would never normally show, a physical reaction that slipped through despite himself.
“...I’m not sure.”
“That’s right. You’re still the same, Director Cheon.”
At Cheon Subeom’s heavy answer, Han Junyeong nodded in satisfaction.
“If you were dense and stupid, you’d have repeated the same habit as always when you were unconsciously flattering me by saying, ‘I was presumptuous toward Chairman Han and Vice Chairman Han.’ As expected, you’re different. But I’m not saying this to make you uncomfortable. It was genuine advice.”
“I’ll take it to heart.”
“The moment you feel like the other person is stronger than you, Director Cheon, you get far too deferential. Your habit of saying things like, ‘How could I be so presumptuous?’ skyrockets too. Well, maybe that’s how you always are. But in front of me or the chairman, even your attitude and tone change completely. Then, the moment you think you may have done something wrong or made a mistake, ‘presumptuous’ gets added in too.”
“...”
Cheon could feel cold sweat running down the back of his neck.
“I’ll be more careful.”
“Good. Let’s have a meal sometime.”
“Understood.”
“You don’t need to report the Han Suyeong matter to me. You know why, yes?”
Vice Chairman Han Junyeong stood first, and Cheon rose with him, bowing respectfully as he replied.
“It’s not something the Vice Chairman needs to concern himself with.”
* * *
At lunchtime, while countless employees of Johwa Group gathered in little clusters to eat, Director Kang Inmuk was in a somewhat unusual place with a rather unusual person.
Bang.
Clack, clack.
The billiards hall should have been quiet in the middle of a weekday afternoon, but instead it was crowded with unexpected guests.
“Nice shot.”
And then, the man playing against Director Kang Inmuk on the main table at the center of the hall finished off the final cushion shot and grinned.
“I lose, Vice Chairman.”
“How about one more game? Call?”
“Let’s go.”
Kang Inmuk casually slipped his fingerless gloves back on, which he had just been about to throw off, and set the balls on the table.
“Executive Kang.”
“Yes.”
“Do you see that guy over there?”
“Yes. He’s one of our employees.”
“I know that. But no matter how I look at him, it seems like he’s holding a cue stick for the first time. You didn’t drag him here and force him to play, did you?”
“That’s correct.”
“Good grief. This isn’t North Korea, and nobody’s here to kill me. Couldn’t you have come a little more comfortably? Why bring ten security staff?”
“The billiards hall is narrow, so we only filled ten spots.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Then how am I supposed to feel about this? Ten already seems like too many.”
Vice Chairman Han Jaeyeong smiled faintly and took out his phone from the back pocket of his slacks.
“The first game was for lunch. Jajangmyeon, sweet-and-sour pork, plus fried dumplings.”
“That’s right.”
“I won, didn’t I?”
“Yes.”
“You’re not planning to buy just mine and Executive Kang’s, are you?”
“...”
“Wow, Executive Kang. I didn’t think you were that kind of person...”
Han Jaeyeong kept talking to Kang Inmuk while pressing the number buttons on the phone with familiar ease.
“The security team got dragged all the way to a billiards hall, and now they’re going to have to eat jajangmyeon they don’t even want while breathing in cigarette smoke... You’re not going to treat them, are you?”
“Vice Chairman.”
“Executive Kang. Wait, wait a second. I was still on the call, and it finally connected. I thought lunch was over and it had gone into break time, so I almost called somewhere else. Let’s see... one, two, three, four, fi—”
Han Jaeyeong counted Kang Inmuk and the employees one by one on his fingers as he continued the call.
“Yes, that billiards hall. Yes, yes, the one on the third floor. Make it thirty servings, all large portions, and give us plenty of chili powder too. The sweet-and-sour pork, let’s say... eight large plates? Fried dumplings come with service, right? Give us generous portions. Oh, payment? I’ll pay cash when you get here. Come on, do I look like I’ve been born yesterday? Want me to hand you over to the billiards hall owner? Yes, fine. Yes, yes, please hurry~.”
Han Jaeyeong snapped the foldable phone shut and tucked it back into his pocket, then picked up the cue stick again.
“Sorry. Urgent call. Now, where were we?”
“Vice Chairman.”
“Yes?”
Kang Inmuk narrowed his eyes and lowered his back in a deep bow. By now, his gaze had returned to the billiards table, where the break shot had already been set.
“May I speak after just the break shot?”
“No, that won’t do. The whole point is to take the first set and then keep badgering the other person with momentum.”
“The second game is not lunch, but tonight’s drinking bill, correct?”
“Correct.”
“Then I’ll focus.”
Clack. Clack.
“Wow, I kept throwing in distractions like that, and it still goes in? It felt like he bobbled it at the start, didn’t it? The second ball didn’t look like it connected either.”
“He definitely wobbled.”
“Let’s see how far this goes. As you know, the first strike makes the biggest impression, but if the break shot goes too well, it doesn’t lead to long-term stability...”
“He’s already made three?”
“Four.”
“That’s way too much sandbagging. Is this some strategy where you deliberately lose at lunch, then take the drinking money at dinner? Have I been taken in by the very Executive Kang I trusted?”
“Of course not. I was lucky.”
Clack.
Han Jaeyeong’s interference finally paid off, and at last Kang Inmuk’s turn ended, giving Han Junyeong the chance to play.
And it was an easy one, too, with two balls gathered beautifully in the corner and a simple opportunity to score two points off the cushion.
“You don’t have to play such obvious hospitality billiards just because I said you were sandbagging.”
“...Then, are you not going to eat?”
“Director Kang Inmuk.”
“Yes.”
Clack, clack.
Han Jaeyeong’s shot hit three cushions and sank with a beautiful clean point.
“If you’re in business, can you really afford to miss an opportunity? Especially a chance like this, where you can take one shot and score two, or turn it into a long shot.”
“I think I gave you too big an opening.”
“Did you? It’s not over yet, and interrupting someone’s concentration while they’re playing billiards is bad manners.”
Han Jaeyeong
After driving in three points off the cushions alone, then adding two more, and another two after that, he set the cue stick down with an expression of regret.
“I keep saying the last cushion is the problem. I knocked out ten at once, but even after setting a historic record like this, if I miss the final cushion and end up paying tonight’s drinking bill, I’d be so furious I could die. Don’t you agree?”
“...As expected of the Vice Chairman. You’re truly unmatched when it comes to crushing a man’s spirit.”
In the end, although Kang managed to mount a decent challenge midway through, the game ended smoothly in Han Jaeyeong’s victory.
“How am I supposed to feel about this? Looks like Director Kang will have to pay for tonight’s drinking bill too. The jajangmyeon just arrived anyway, so shall we eat and then head back to the company?”
Kang Inmuk quietly set down the billiard cue, his eyes narrowed to slits. In that instant, the noise of the hall seemed to recede into the distance.
A silence as though the air itself had shifted.
“No. It’s been a while, so let’s go have some daytime drinks.”
“Already? Don’t you have work?”
“We should go work. And I’ll charge the drinking bill to the corporate card and book it as a business development expense.”
“Sounds like this is a pretty big matter. Mind if I take a look?”
Instead of answering, Kang Inmuk reached past the cue rack, pulled a small paper envelope from his pants pocket, and set it quietly on the table.
“This is...?”
“The recent movements of the person the Vice Chairman has been looking for.”
Han Jaeyeong was smiling, but his gaze remained fixed on the paper. What had entered those unsmiling eyes were two photographs.
“This is Chairman Jung of Taeyang Planning... and the other one is who? The man’s only seen from behind, but the woman’s pretty decent-looking.”
“Looks like it’s time to swipe the corporate card with some enthusiasm. Of course, we’ll call it a business development expense.”
On the paper, there was an address circled in red pen and a three-line note.
Entered at 11:35 p.m. last night - accompanied by a young man.
Presumed to be Han Suyeong Director’s mistress, Yoon Haneul.
Vehicle: silver BNW - Seoul 2Hu 5745
“Did you find our second son, Jaeyeong, too?”
“If I had found him, the information would likely be passed to Director Cheon Subeom’s side by tomorrow.”
“Really? Where exactly is our youngest sister-in-law?”
“At a three-star hotel in Uijeongbu.”
“Her husband’s gone missing, and she’s at a hotel with another man? Late at night yesterday, too?”
Han Jaeyeong, who knew very well just how much of a total wreck Han Suyeong was, acted outrageously worked up, pretending to care about his younger brother.
“I’ll prepare it right away.”
“Ah, wait a second.”
Han Jaeyeong stopped Kang Inmuk as he rose with the security team.
“It’s only just past two now. If we go to Uijeongbu now, won’t we get there by four at the latest?”
“I’ll make sure we arrive by four. But at minimum, I need to prepare the Vice Chairman’s escort detail...”
“What escort detail? I’m not the crown prince. Let’s just go with one car. And since I’ve already had you order it, let’s eat the jajangmyeon and play one more game before we leave.”
“Wouldn’t that be too late?”
At Kang Inmuk’s concern, Han Jaeyeong smiled faintly.
“Women are supposed to be met at night. Late.”
* * *
At the same time.
“Oh my, Jaehyun? It’s been so long.”
A female pharmacist in her fifties recognized Do Jaehyun as he stepped into the pharmacy wearing jeans and a neat shirt, and asked after him with genuine warmth.
“When did you quit? Business hasn’t been the same since you stopped stopping by every month to buy vitamins and Bacchus drinks to hand out. Business, business.”
“I just stopped in briefly on my way past.”
“Oh? Really? I thought you’d come to see me.”
“That too. Could I get one box of Bacchus, please?”
“Why? Going to say hello to your old workplace?”
At the pharmacist’s meaningful question, Do Jaehyun smiled.
“I can’t go empty-handed. I’ve got something heavy to carry out when I leave.”