Who Is the Winner? (4)
"I'll do it!" Mitsuko agreed without a moment's hesitation, not even bothering to consider what a 'fake insider testimony' might entail. It was a testament to the sheer scale of her fury, and at the same time, the karmic retribution Yasuda deserved for treating his own daughter with cold disdain for decades.
"What kind of testimony do you need me to give? Just tell me. If I can only get revenge on my father...!"
Watching Mitsuko tremble with clenched fists, Yoon-gi spoke calmly, as if it were a trivial matter.
"It's nothing difficult. Just tell the investigators when they question you later that you heard your father talking about stealing military weapons. And later, on a date I'll provide, you just have to say you saw him leaving with his subordinates in a car."
"Is that... enough?"
"Yes. If you do that, the Yamaguchi-gumi will likely be suspected of stealing U.S. military weapons. Your father will receive a penalty commensurate with the anger you feel right now. Perhaps even more."
"The bigger... the better."
Watching her grit her teeth again, Yoon-gi stood up.
"Then, I shall get to work. Honestly, this is a situation I never expected... but let's just say I empathize with your decades of suffering."
At Yoon-gi's thoughtful words, Mitsuko teared up slightly, then asked as if something had just occurred to her.
"Um... my acquaintance is currently Hiroko's husband. Is there any chance he'll get dragged into this mess too?"
Yoon-gi shook his head.
"That won't happen. My acquaintance was never involved in this, and he hasn't been to the Yamaguchi-gumi much, so the investigative agencies will only press him a little at the beginning and then lose interest."
"Phew... that's a relief."
Watching Mitsuko let out a sigh of relief, Yoon-gi stood up and made a gesture that he would be leaving.
"Take care on your way home. And, please... I'm counting on you."
Listening to the desperate tone in Mitsuko's voice, Yoon-gi thought of the one person who could finish this job perfectly.
"Dammit...!"
The President's office at Seth Holdings. Although he had married into the Yamaguchi-gumi, his title hadn't changed, so Park Ki-soo was venting his rage in the office while looking at yesterday's evening paper and today's morning paper.
[...admitted to most of the charges regarding the murder solicitation of his second son, Park Ki-ho, and police officials announced that the Chairman himself was not involved in the solicitation. Furthermore, Seth Chairman Park Do-chul added that he would be selling off Seth Holdings. Accordingly...]
The sale of Seth Holdings. It was a move by his father that he truly hadn't imagined, and Park Ki-soo's anger was sky-high.
"How could you only tell me such an important fact now!"
Park Ki-soo crumpled the newspaper and threw it at Jung Dong-yoon. Jung, who took the hit squarely in the face, immediately bowed his head.
"I apologize. It was my daughter's birthday yesterday..."
"Are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea how critical this moment is? Even if it's your daughter's birthday, you should always keep your eyes and ears open! You missed such important news just to celebrate a grown woman's birthday? And now I can't even get a connection to my father!"
Park Ki-soo had slammed the receiver down several times, but even using every line he knew, he couldn't get through.
"Hey! Connect me to my father! Connect me!"
Because he was shouting at the receiver, Park Ki-soo failed to notice the expression on Jung Dong-yoon's face. It was a complex look, a mix of slight anger and hurt. It was understandable; recently, Park Ki-soo had neglected Jung Dong-yoon. He had left Jung behind even when hanging out with Ryu Geun-tae, and after marrying into the Yamaguchi-gumi, he had ignored him even more. It was true that there was really nothing for Jung Dong-yoon to do in the Yamaguchi-gumi. Most administrative support was handled by Yasuda's secretary, future business strategies were discussed with Masao, and the conquest of Seth was talked over with Ryu Geun-tae. Consequently, Jung Dong-yoon's existence had suddenly become redundant. Of course, Park Ki-soo hadn't intended to discard him, but he knew subconsciously that Jung would naturally be cast aside as time went on.
Jung Dong-yoon, the person involved, wasn't just subconsciously aware of it—he was openly anxious. He had rushed over the moment he learned the important news, only to be treated like this, which filled him with regret.
"This is absurd. Was my father the kind of man to make such a blunder?"
Park Ki-soo muttered to himself, unable to comprehend it. 'Selling off Seth Holdings in this climate?'
Currently, Seth's stock was in a vertical freefall due to the murder solicitation charges. It was obvious that the public wouldn't buy Seth's products. Therefore, the relative value of Seth Holdings had become quite significant, yet his father had simply thrown it away. But this was only Park Ki-soo's perspective. While not entirely wrong, Park Do-chul was sacrificing the body to save the head of Seth. In fact, when Park Do-chul admitted to everything and gave a public apology last night, the stock that had been plummeting rose slightly as soon as the morning market opened. Of course, it would never return to its former numbers, but it meant he had at least stopped the vertical drop.
"No, Ki-ho is going to rot in prison for the rest of his life, so if he discards me, who on earth does he plan to make the successor of Seth?"
Normally, he would never have opened his mouth, but Jung Dong-yoon, feeling a bit slighted, offered an answer based on an accurate analysis of the situation. He had kept his mouth shut until now to avoid upsetting Park Ki-soo, not because he was incompetent.
"The grandchildren... the son of your younger brother would be difficult because of the controversy surrounding your father's flaws, so the successor will likely be your son, sir."
"Are you even listening to yourself? I'm alive and well, so why are you saying my son will inherit the succession!!"
Park Ki-soo picked up the phone and threw it directly at Jung Dong-yoon.
CRASH!
Thanks to Jung Dong-yoon dodging quickly, the phone hit the liquor cabinet, shattering the glass. Alcohol spilled onto the floor, filling the room with a thick, pungent smell.
"Sir, I was only making a realistic judgment..."
"Shut up! Get out! How dare you spout such nonsense?!"
Since he had been told to leave, Jung Dong-yoon didn't ask twice and walked out of the office. Not stopping there, Jung Dong-yoon left the Seth Holdings building entirely and looked up at the sky.
'Phew, I guess my career here is over. That idiot Park Ki-soo took on more than he could handle...'
As he reached into his pocket for a cigarette, one of the Holdings employees recognized him and approached with a smile.
"Executive Director, have one of my cigarettes."
"Well, I wouldn't mind."
The helpful employee even lit the cigarette for him. Watching him head back into the building, apologizing for being busy, Jung Dong-yoon smiled bitterly.
"What's the point of sucking up to me now?"
Shaking his head, Jung Dong-yoon finished his cigarette and began walking in the opposite direction of the Holdings' main gate.
'It's going to fail anyway, so I might as well step away now.'
He could have endured for a few more months to collect his salary, but after being treated so poorly by Park Ki-soo today, Jung Dong-yoon felt what self-respect was for the first time in a while.
'If a master recognizes me, I'd jump into a sewer for him, but if the master doesn't recognize me, I don't even want to step into pristine water...'
Sighing and shaking his head, Jung Dong-yoon thought of his car in the Holdings parking lot, but deciding that aimless walking might be better, he began walking north without a destination. About 30 minutes later, a car suddenly pulled up beside him, and a familiar voice reached his ears.
"Well, if it isn't Executive Director Jung?"
A flashy limousine. Seeing Ryu Geun-tae's face through the window, Jung Dong-yoon felt a pang of jealousy and replied in a somewhat cynical tone.
"Ah, yes. What brings you here?"
"It seems our Executive Director Jung is having a bad day?"
Even with Ryu Geun-tae's good-natured smile, Jung Dong-yoon remained prickly.
"Yes, well. Isn't it possible for a person to have a bad day? You must be busy, so please go on ahead."
At this point, one might have gotten offended and left, but Ryu Geun-tae didn't lose his smile and held up a bottle of whiskey and a glass through the window.
"This is the best thing for when you're in a bad mood. Shall we have a drink? I'll treat you to one."
Jung Dong-yoon, who had been craving a drink anyway, hesitated for a moment before pretending to be unable to resist and approaching the car.
"Then, just one drink."
"It'll be impossible to leave after just one drink of this fine liquor, you know."
As Ryu Geun-tae moved over, the driver got out and opened the door for Jung Dong-yoon, who climbed into the limousine.
"Huh...?"
Seeing a teenager in the opposite seat looking at him with a smile, Jung Dong-yoon looked at Ryu Geun-tae with a confused expression.
"And this is...?"
"This is the actual owner of YK Department Store."
"Pardon? I was under the impression that President Ryu was the owner of YK Department Store..."
Jung Dong-yoon trailed off because he knew well that being a president didn't necessarily mean being the owner. However, he couldn't help but be flustered by the fact that the owner wasn't an elderly person or even a middle-aged adult, but a teenager.
"Would it soften the shock if I said he's the eldest grandson of the Samwoo Group?"
"Ah... Samwoo Group..."
Although they were both large conglomerates, Samwoo was a group far lower in standing compared to Seth. 'Wait, considering Seth's stock price these days, Samwoo might actually be higher than Seth? Not that Samwoo rose, but Seth fell.'
Jung Dong-yoon, who was smiling bitterly, looked at Ryu Geun-tae.
"So, you're saying YK Department Store was built with Samwoo's capital? I really had no idea YK Department Store was a subsidiary of Samwoo. I would have known if I had worked in the headquarters' strategy team."
"No, you wouldn't have known even if you had worked in the strategy office."
"What? Aren't you underestimating Seth's strategy office too much?"
Regardless, Jung Dong-yoon had the proud honor of being a director at Seth, so he was momentarily offended by the remark that seemed to look down on him.
"No, I mean you wouldn't have known because they are too competent."
"What does that mean...?"
"Not a single cent of Samwoo's capital went into the construction of YK Department Store. So even if you had found the name of the real owner, it would have been difficult to expand your thinking to assume it was the name of Samwoo's eldest grandson."
"What kind of nonsense is that... a department store isn't something you can build for the price of a neighborhood grocery store, is it?"
"Instead of Samwoo's capital, the capital of Samwoo's affiliates was invested."
"Don't tell me..."
Ryu Geun-tae nodded.
"Yes. Taking on enormous risks, almost all of the assets of the three generations of Samwoo were invested."
"That's insane... don't they know why they're receiving investments?"
"They took on the risk precisely because they knew well. Thanks to that, this young master here owns 90 percent of YK Department Store's stock. I assume you know a fair bit about YK Department Store's current revenue, don't you?"
Because he hadn't liked Ryu Geun-tae much since he appeared, Jung Dong-yoon had looked into YK Department Store with a bit of jealousy. The result was a department store with unprecedented success. Therefore, Jung Dong-yoon could clearly understand the intent behind Ryu Geun-tae's question.
'So they are reaping extreme profits thanks to taking on extreme risks.'
Watching Jung Dong-yoon nod unconsciously, Ryu Geun-tae spoke again.
"YK Department Store is the work of Choi Yoon-gi, the young master—no, Chairman Choi Yoon-gi—sitting right in front of you. I merely carried out his instructions; the business concept, planning, and everything else were all his work."
"What kind of nonsense are you spouting? A kid who looks like a middle or high schooler? The construction of the department store started years ago, and the plans were made even before that, so are you saying an elementary schooler planned the department store business?"
"Surprisingly, it is the truth."
"To bring someone here and spout such lies... to begin with, is he even the eldest grandson of Samwoo? I'm leaving! There's a limit to how much you can mock someone... Hey! Won't this open? Who is blocking the door!"
Cha Pil-gyu was pressing firmly against the door from the outside, so no matter how hard Jung Dong-yoon tried, the limousine door wouldn't budge. And at that moment, Yoon-gi, who had been watching quietly until now, opened his mouth.
"Don't you want to become the president of Seth Holdings?"