Chairman's Wife, I Mean, Bank CEO
“Donggeon.”
“Yes, Manager.”
“Count everything carefully. Don’t miss a single coin.”
“What?”
Manager Lee Jinhee’s face twisted like a crushed soda can.
“And if you don’t count it? Should I call the janitor, have him sweep it all up, and throw it away? Whether you borrow a coin-counting machine from the first-floor bank by begging for it, or count every piece by hand yourself, just count them. What kind of idiot sends a customer off without even checking the full payment?”
“……”
“Attention.”
Her voice wasn’t especially loud.
But with that one sentence, every employee stopped working and turned their full attention to Lee Jinhee.
“Only the team leaders stay. Everyone else, go home. You’ve worked hard today. And the team leaders, gather round.”
The team leaders, who had shot to their feet, hurried over to Lee Jinhee’s side.
“Shared responsibility. You’re all team leaders, aren’t you?”
“……”
“……”
“What, you don’t like that? Should I count it myself?”
At Lee Jinhee’s question, the senior-most team leader blurted out the correct answer on reflex.
“No, ma’am. We’ll handle it. We’ll work late tonight if we have to, and if that’s not enough, we’ll stay up until it’s done before you come in tomorrow.”
“Hoo... Tomorrow. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”
With that, Lee Jinhee left the office as well.
And then...
“...I’m sorry, seniors.”
Kim Donggeon bowed his head toward the team leaders, who were miserably hunching over and using a dustpan to shove the coins into one pile.
“……”
“……”
“……”
But not a single team leader answered him.
“...Fuck.”
That day would go down in Kim Donggeon’s memory as the longest, cruelest night of his life.
“...This is fucking hell.”
* * *
“You’re home?”
“Yes, Mom. I’m back.”
My mother, who had been watching TV, turned it off the moment she saw me come in and went straight to the kitchen.
“Sit down. I just need to warm the soup. Could you serve the rice?”
“Yes. The rice turned out well.”
The table was already set with all the side dishes I liked, and soon my mother and I were sitting across from each other, chatting warmly over dinner.
“Right, Mom. About that orphanage donation you mentioned this morning.”
“Oh dear, look at me. I said we’d talk about it tonight, didn’t I? Yes, well, the parish seems a little short on funds, so I wanted to help. Those children have nowhere else to go. Isn’t it heartbreaking?”
“It is.”
A lonely shadow lingered in Do Jaehyun’s eyes. He had been lucky enough to be adopted by the mother he had now and live without wanting for anything, but most children would never be so fortunate.
“I’d like to help too.”
“You would?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“Well... probably not a small amount.”
“Son.”
My mother set down her spoon.
“Did you win first place in both the home lottery and the Lucky Lottery?”
“Ha.”
At her very serious question, a laugh slipped out before I could stop it.
“No, nothing like that. Before I went into the military, I did some tutoring on the side and invested a little in stocks. I kept investing the money I earned during my service too, and by the time I was discharged, it had grown into quite a bit.”
“Son. Your mother knows how hard you worked for your money. Even if you didn’t tell me everything, how could I not know it was money you earned with honor and sweat and blood? So...”
My mother spoke gently, but with real seriousness.
“You don’t need to force yourself to donate money you worked that hard for. I’d rather you live a little selfishly than try to be some saint. You spent the most beautiful years of your twenties, quite literally, serving the country and your homeland.”
“Come on, I’m not Jesus. I’m not going to do anything that noble. Like you said, I’ll make sure you and I eat well and live well first. Mom, you know Gilwoo, right?”
“Gilwoo?”
“Yes. I teamed up with Gilwoo and threw in my severance pay too. We started a business together, and the idea turned out pretty good, so we even drew investment from a few places and made quite a bit of money. Since I’ll probably end up paying a lot in taxes anyway, I figured I might as well donate some of it and handle things that way. It’s better to give money where it’s actually needed than hand it over to the state as taxes and never know who ends up using it.”
“My...”
My mother looked at me with unmistakable pride.
“Whose son are you, anyway? Handsome, capable, smart, and kind-hearted too.”
“I’m Professor Gu Hayun’s son.”
“Hoho, that woman really was blessed with a child.”
My mother laughed, covering her mouth gracefully with one hand.
“House of Peace is an orphanage run by the church, so because it’s under a Catholic foundation, it’s probably more transparent than most private orphanages. But why are they suddenly short on money? It doesn’t seem like a simple case of the parish expansion leaving them unable to cover the upkeep.”
“Well...”
“This is the first major donation I’ve ever tried to make since entering society, so I’d like to know the details.”
“It’s just that... I don’t know all the details myself, but I can tell you what Father told me.”
The truth was, I already knew. That was precisely why I wanted to donate, and why I wanted to get involved.
I knew why House of Peace had suddenly fallen short of funds despite running perfectly well until then.
Because Johwa Group, tangled up with me in a grudge that would last a lifetime, had its hands in even a petty matter like this.
I hadn’t known the exact truth in my previous life, but now I understood the hidden side of the incident very clearly. Still, what mattered here wasn’t the money I’d donate or Johwa Group itself.
What mattered was simply that I didn’t want my mother caught up with Johwa Group in even the smallest way.
“There used to be a big church called True Faith Church across from the cathedral. It didn’t have many congregants, but the building was large, and they ran an orphanage too. Then suddenly, the pastor shut the church down. Naturally, the children at that orphanage had nowhere else to go.”
“Suddenly? But there must have been someone supporting the orphanage. A foundation, maybe?”
“There was. I don’t know the details, but I heard it was a huge company that anyone in Korea would recognize if you just said the name. Then, all at once, that company said they were starting a new business and were short on funds, and they apologized. A few days later, that pastor also left the church.”
“Then why did the cathedral take in that orphanage...”
“What else could they do? The children there went days without eating, then came to the cathedral asking if there was any food. You know what Father Choi Paul is like. He paid for their meals out of his own pocket, investigated what was going on, and in the end said he’d rather cancel the parish building expansion than let the orphanage stay small.”
“They can do that?”
“...I heard the diocese objected. That’s why the priest is scrambling to raise money.”
“So that’s what happened.”
Listening to my mother, I realized things hadn’t changed much from the future I knew. Around this time, Han Suyeong of Johwa Group had started moving into entertainment and savings-bank business, and to save every last won, he cut off all support.
All Han Suyeong and his mother had received from Chairman Han Gangho was two money-losing Johwa Group training centers and a few shell companies, including the donation and scholarship foundations.
Then, when Han Gangho made up his mind to throw his last lifeline into the entertainment and savings-bank businesses, Han Suyeong and his mother must have poured in everything they had and gone all in.
The only difference between then and now was this.
Han Suyeong was already gone from this world.
“Understood. I’ll talk it over with Gilwoo and the company executives tomorrow, then go pay Father a visit.”
* * *
At the same time Do Jaehyun was having dinner with his mother.
At the same time...
“Whew... This is something else.”
Manager Lee Jinhee stepped into the elevator bound for the forty-second floor penthouse at Gangnam Parkvill.
But...
Her heart was pounding strangely. The glittering nightscape of Gangnam spread out beyond the transparent elevator glass, but in her eyes it only seemed dizzying.
“What am I even afraid of...”
Manager Lee Jinhee’s mutter slipped out.
“Or what am I expecting...”
Ding.
With the soft chime announcing arrival at the forty-second floor, the elevator doors opened.
“You must be Manager Lee Jinhee?”
“That’s right.”
A woman dressed like an office lady was waiting for Lee Jinhee in front of the elevator.
“This way, please.”
She guided Lee Jinhee to the front door of a penthouse that was luxurious and somehow intimidating, then disappeared back toward the elevator.
“Am I just supposed to open it and go in?”
Lee Jinhee was still deciding whether to open the door or ring the bell when the penthouse entrance opened from the inside.
“He’s waiting inside.”
This time it was a young man in a clean black suit who greeted Manager Lee Jinhee. As expected of a man who used an entire floor of such an expensive building, the interior was truly lavish and spacious.
At last.
“Welcome, Manager Lee Jinhee.”
The owner of the low, deep voice slowly came into view. It was Kim Museong, waiting for her at Do Jaehyun’s introduction.
“A pleasure to meet you, Representative Kim.”
A smile that revealed nothing of his feelings rested on Kim Museong’s face. Warm, yet cold at the same time. Manager Lee Jinhee swallowed dryly before she realized it.
“I’ve heard a lot about you. Please, sit.”
The man who had escorted Manager Lee Jinhee led her to the table of the home bar where Kim Museong was seated.
As Manager Lee Jinhee sat at the island-style home bar table, the glittering night view of Gangnam naturally filled her eyes.
“Please make yourself comfortable.”
Then she heard the soft click of the door closing behind her. It sounded almost as if, now that she had come this far, she wouldn’t be leaving unless she gave some kind of answer.
“As my friend just said, please sit and relax.”
Kim Museong skillfully took a bottle from the liquor cabinet and set an ice bucket on the table.
“I’ve heard a lot from Chairman Do Jaehyun. He said you’re an exceptionally capable person, Manager.”
“...You flatter me. I’m just an ordinary salaried worker. But Chairman? Jaehyun?”
“That was my mistake. I’ll explain that in due course.”
Kim Museong laughed lightly and went on.
“You modestly call yourself an ordinary salaried worker, but you seem like the kind of person who can think on a much bigger scale. Your role at AK Capital would let you do even more if you moved to Johwa Savings Bank.”
Lee Jinhee’s eyes narrowed. Kim Museong had gotten straight to the point before even pouring a drink. And although Do Jaehyun was clearly not connected to Johwa Savings Bank or Johwa Group, why did he, and this thug-or-loan shark-whatever-he-was sitting across from her, both talk as if they already had the bank in their hands?
That was the question that interested Lee Jinhee most, and the one she couldn’t yet untangle.
“Could you explain what you mean by that in a little more detail?”