Off-the-Books Income (3)
I’ll translate the chapter into polished HTML prose, preserving the title line and shaping dialogue into separate paragraphs. I’m also checking that any special in-universe text is handled with the required HTML styling while keeping the rest natural and unbroken.CHAPTER_TITLE: Side Income (3)
Hurried along by the taxi driver, Ju-ho arrived at the company and stood before his older brother, Jeong-ho, fidgeting with obvious unease.
“...I’m here, hyung.”
Even though Ju-ho had come in, Jeong-ho never once looked up from the papers in his hands. With a careless flick of his finger, he pointed to the sofa in front of him.
“Sit.”
“Okay.”
Only after he had spent quite a while poring over the documents did he finally close the approval folder, come over, and sit beside Ju-ho.
“I told you over and over that if you stay still, you’ll at least make it halfway. But you couldn’t wait a single day and ran straight to our youngest? You should have consulted me first!”
“...Agh. I didn’t know the affiliates were just shells, either.”
That was because the holding company’s shares had been scattered in small amounts across the affiliates. Strictly speaking, they weren’t direct shares in the holding company, but indirect stakes in related businesses; still, once you gathered those scattered holdings together, they could become a mountain all at once.
“Even if the key shares had still been around, so what? Was it really that painful to hand Su-ji over to our youngest?”
“......”
“Then should I be stingy about sharing with you, too? Say something!”
“...I didn’t think it through.”
In truth, Ju-ho already had a rough idea of how the succession struggle would end. He knew, more keenly than anyone, how much he lacked compared to his brother Jeong-ho. But Jeong-ho, for his part, had entered the contest while shouldering even Ju-ho’s position, trying his best to divide the shares with his younger brother no matter what. That way, the brothers would not split apart; they could survive together.
If we did split, I’d be finished, too.
The father did not want the family shattered by the succession fight. If they were going to inherit ST Group whole, they had to bring the brothers along with it. In that sense, this latest separation of the affiliates, which had effectively taken care of youngest daughter Su-ji on its own, was something Jeong-ho could welcome with both hands raised.
“You’d better pray today’s events don’t reach Father’s ears.”
“But I met Mom today and told her about it, too...”
“......”
If Mother knew, then hoping Father wouldn’t find out was little more than a dream.
“...You really do it all, don’t you.”
“......”
“What exactly are you thinking when you live your life? Did you even think at all? Is that brain just for decoration?”
“......”
Ju-ho couldn’t even lift his head in front of Jeong-ho.
“You just went there to congratulate her. Got it?”
“...Yeah.”
“I’ll call Mother, so make sure Su-ji knows the story, too. Don’t let anything else slip out.”
“...Got it.”
Jeong-ho tapped the shoulder of Ju-ho, who had gone limp with dejection, and said, “You free after this?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah.”
“We can’t just let a day like today pass by. We should have a drink to celebrate.”
“Huh?”
For a moment, Ju-ho didn’t understand why there even needed to be a celebration.
“Today is the day our one and only competitor was personally dealt with by Father. The day all uncertainty was wiped out for good.”
“Ah! Right!”
Jeong-ho shook his head, looking disgusted as Ju-ho finally laughed only after hearing the explanation.
“What am I going to do with you?”
“Hehe.”
A man suddenly stepped into the space where the brothers were talking.
“You two were together?”
“Huh? Executive Director Ma. Welcome.”
“You came.”
Ma Sang-ho, the man who could be called Chairman Kim Seong-oh’s right hand, was a difficult opponent for the two brothers. He dropped into the sofa opposite them and said, “I was trying to handle this quietly, but I never expected the rumor to spread this fast. Security is always the problem. I told them not to let it leak outside, and they still couldn’t keep their mouths shut.”
“You mean the affiliate separation?”
“Yes. I rushed over because I thought you two might be worried.”
As he said that, Executive Director Ma watched Jeong-ho’s face, but there wasn’t the slightest sign of displeasure. If anything, he looked light and relieved, as though some burden had been lifted from him.
“Oh? So you’ve learned a little social tact now?”
“Haha. What do you mean...”
“You already finished the math, so what else is there to ask? I should’ve just called instead of coming all this way for nothing.”
“Hahaha.”
Jeong-ho only laughed awkwardly.
“Ju-ho. You’re all right with this, too?”
“...Yes.”
“Even if you weren’t all right, there’s nothing you can do. If you’ve got a complaint, Chairman said you should come to headquarters and say it to his face.”
“I have no complaints.”
“...None.”
It was good that he no longer needed to worry about the brothers’ objections, but Executive Director Ma still had to keep his guard up.
“There was something else Chairman wanted me to tell you.”
“......”
“......”
“If you want your own affiliates, then you need to build achievements worthy of them.”
Ju-ho knew full well there was no proper way for him to build such achievements where he was now working.
“...How are we supposed to do that?”
“If I knew that, would I have already let this go through? Figure it out yourselves.”
“......”
“......”
During the exchange between Executive Director Ma and Ju-ho, Jeong-ho fell into thought. There was something a little strange about what Ma had said.
You two, too?
He had thought of the affiliate separation as something simple, but now he found himself wondering whether youngest sister Su-ji might also have accomplished some unknown feat. So, hiding his suspicion, he asked lightly, “What exactly was the achievement Su-ji built? It must have been something incredible.”
And then he received an answer he couldn’t easily digest.
“One and a half trillion won, plus a little extra.”
“What?”
“That was the estimated loss ST Group would have suffered this time.”
“T-that... Su-ji stopped that?”
“No. It wasn’t Su-ji.”
For the first time in a long while, Jeong-ho felt real confusion.
What? So it wasn’t something Su-ji did? Then why mention 1.5 trillion at all...
“If that loss had actually happened, the affiliates that would have had to be sold off to cover operating funds were the very same affiliates being separated this time.”
“Ah...”
“So whether you earn merit by preventing the group’s losses or by bringing in profits that can be recognized, do something useful.”
Executive Director Ma was stoking their ambition without ever revealing the whole truth, balancing on the edge of disclosure.
“Then Su-ji didn’t do anything?”
“What could Su-ji have done? She just graduated university, joined a fashion company, and is learning MD work. What could she possibly do?”
It wasn’t Su-ji who had done it, but rather James, whom the Chairman had started referring to as his prospective son-in-law.
“Su-ji just sat there and handled her affiliate properly. She was lucky.”
It was true enough that she’d been lucky to receive, for free, what should have gone to someone else.
Jeong-ho felt some relief and said firmly to Executive Director Ma, “I’ll become someone who can be of use to the group, Executive Director Ma.”
Because anything he said to Ma would eventually reach the Chairman’s ears.
“The Chairman’s standards are a little high. You’ll have to work harder than you do now.”
Ma’s own standards had already risen as well. He had heard what James had accomplished and what plans were already in motion. Compared to a man like that, Jeong-ho and Ju-ho were little more than puppies.
And yet they’re all around the same age...
He knew they were only a year or three apart, roughly the same generation, but comparing James to the Chairman’s children felt almost impolite.
Well, compared to the Chairman, maybe not.
Only after he set the Chairman as the yardstick did Executive Director Ma finally feel that the comparison made sense—and even he was startled by his own conclusion.
Have I really come to think of that man as being on the same level as the Chairman?
“Yes!”
“Please believe us!”
“......”
Thanks to that, their succession contest suddenly felt light.
If you underestimate Su-ji, you’ll be in for a nasty surprise.
And the one truly frightening person wasn’t Su-ji herself, but the man she had chosen as her husband.
“Well, I’m off. Good work.”
“Take care.”
Because Executive Director Ma had left without so much as a hint, Jeong-ho and Ju-ho finally relaxed.
“Just as expected.”
“Right? Hyung? Just as expected.”
“...Don’t act like you knew anything when you didn’t know a thing.”
“Tch.”
“Stop sitting there and call Su-ji already.”
“Ah!”
“What am I supposed to do with you if I don’t look after you...”
“I know, I know. I’m calling her now.”
Ju-ho immediately contacted Su-ji and begged her, over and over, never to mention today’s events once she got home. And then he had to listen to Su-ji’s blackmail.
“If I do that, what do I get?”
“Huh?”
“You think I should do it for free? Little brother, a guilty conscience can’t be trusted with words alone. You have to give me something I can actually see before I’ll believe your apology is sincere. If your apology isn’t sincere, then there’s no reason for me to do you a favor.”
At Su-ji’s words, Ju-ho turned a helpless face toward Jeong-ho, who was hearing the same words through the phone.
“Ugh. Give it here.”
Jeong-ho took Ju-ho’s phone and soothed Su-ji in a gentle voice.
“Hey, Su-ji. It’s your big brother.”
“It seems the little brother still hasn’t come to his senses.”
“Looks that way. I’ll give him a proper lesson today.”
“Good. And then?”
She was asking what he was going to pay.
“......”
To make up for Ju-ho’s mistake today, something small wouldn’t be nearly enough. Jeong-ho covered the phone’s microphone with his hand and asked Ju-ho, “Hey. You know that newly built officetel you got a unit in last time, right?”
“I do, but... why?”
“Give it to Su-ji.”
“Hyung!”
“How pleased do you think Chairman would be if Executive Director Ma reported that we had no complaints about the affiliate separation today?”
“Well...”
The fact that Ma had been worried meant their father had also been concerned about the matter. But the two brothers had calmed those worries by showing they would obediently follow their father’s wishes without objection.
“But then, if it got back to him that, in reality, you went over there and demanded that Su-ji cough it up? And on top of that, the information reached Father’s ears while he was relaxing in the belief that we understood him and were satisfied?”
“!”
If word spread that Ju-ho had planned to do something completely different from the way he had appeared today, it could have a serious impact on his position in the succession.
“This isn’t a small matter. Think carefully.”
“Urgh.”
“Give it to Su-ji? You’ll give it?”
“I said okay! Take it! Damn it.”
One mistake, and the officetel was gone.
“Okay.”
Only after promising to hand Ju-ho’s officetel over to Su-ji did she finally give a proper answer.
“Big brother. Then today never happened. Got it?”
“Okay. Let’s keep it a secret between the three of us.”
“Thanks. Tell little brother I’ll use the officetel well. You two work hard~.”
“All right. You work hard, too, Su-ji.”
With everything apparently settled, Jeong-ho let out a long, satisfied breath and handed the phone back to Ju-ho.
“Whew. Su-ji seems to have gotten cunning lately. In the past, talking alone was enough...”
“Damn it. My poor officetel.”
Jeong-ho knew better than anyone that the officetel was not something one could part with lightly. But Ju-ho had gained something far more valuable today. He simply didn’t realize it yet.
“Don’t forget today’s bitter lesson.”
“Lesson?”
“That a single officetel is the price of your carelessness. This is what happens when your actions come back around. Today it’s an officetel, but next time it could be all of ST Group.”
Jeong-ho’s words landed heavily in Ju-ho’s chest.
Hyung means that because of my mistake, ST Group could go flying off into the sky.
“...Yeah. I get it.”
“And officetels can always come again.”
“You think so?”
“Where do we work?”
The company where the two brothers worked was a construction firm that occupied a fairly important position among ST Group’s affiliates.
“...ST Construction.”
“And you’re worried about officetels? How many officetels and apartments do you think our construction company is building right now across the country?”
“Hehe. Make sure you take care of me later.”
“Take care of yourself. Do you really think I’ll be worrying about something like that for you later?”
“Okay. I’ll handle it myself later.”
Jeong-ho placed a hand on Ju-ho’s shoulder and pulled him close.
“Let’s go. Today, we drink until we’re properly wrecked and wash it all away.”
“Go, go!”
It was a festival for puppies who still knew nothing at all.
---