Prepare for the Future (1)
"Understood."
"Do you not ask for the reason?"
"Because you were not asking for my opinion, but giving me an order."
Hearing the exact response he had anticipated, Yoon-gi judged that he had correctly assessed Ryu Geun-tae. Furthermore, he realized once again that the man was almost perfectly optimized for the role of a secretary. 'The more I see him, the more I want him.' Even so, Yoon-gi did not fully trust Ryu Geun-tae just yet.
"How about you tell your mom and dad that you want to live with your grandfather? If you're going to visit this often, that is."
At Choi Ki-hyun's words, Choi Yoon-gi gave an awkward smile and scratched his left arm. "I'd love to live with you, Grandfather, but my parents find other people a bit uncomfortable. You know how they are."
Choi Ki-hyun felt the exact same emotion as the ten-year-old grandson's sad yet accurate answer. 'Perhaps I've piled up too much success... Or maybe I've had too many children...' Back when he was just running a large merchant house, the children seemed to simply enjoy the happiness of their home. But thinking about it now, he realized that was only because they were young then, and now that they were grown, they seemed to be driven by greed for money.
'There's no way I can deliberately tear down the success I've built. I have no choice but to keep building more success so that, at the very least, none of my children end up left behind.'
Choi Ki-hyun quickly composed his emotions and looked at Yoon-gi, who immediately continued.
"Grandfather."
"You came here because you have a favor to ask, didn't you?"
The grandfather's playful expression. Yoon-gi could feel the loneliness behind that smile.
"That's part of it, but before that, I thought of something I wanted to say."
"What is it?"
"Why don't you just come live at our house, Grandfather?"
"Hmm?"
"I want to live with you, and you want to live with us, right? So, why don't you just make our house your primary residence?"
"Ho-ho..." Choi Ki-hyun stroked his stubbly chin as if the idea was tempting.
"Can't you?"
"I have no reason to say no. But your mother and father wouldn't like it..."
"My parents? Dislike you? That's ridiculous."
At the strong denial, a smile spread across Choi Ki-hyun's lips.
"Even if my parents object, I'll throw a tantrum. I'll tell them I'd rather starve for a month than not live with you, so please come to our house."
Hearing exactly what he wanted to hear from his grandson, Choi Ki-hyun hoisted the boy up into his arms. "In a year or two, I won't be able to lift you anymore."
"Later, I'll be the one lifting you, Grandfather."
"Hahahaha! That sounds good. Anyway, what is the favor you wanted to ask?"
Choi Ki-hyun, who had set his grandson down, caught his breath, feeling a bit winded, and asked.
"I asked the secretary you sent to buy up as much land near Cheonggyecheon as possible with my money, but I want you to check if he's getting distracted."
"Why are you trying to buy land in Cheonggyecheon?"
Choi Ki-hyun asked out of genuine curiosity. It wasn't difficult to grant his grandson's request, but he was puzzled as to why the boy was specifically targeting the area around Cheonggyecheon.
"I learned in my studies that the population of Seoul is gradually increasing."
"That's true."
"And people always need supermarkets in their daily lives."
"That's also true."
"If the population grows, we'll need more supermarkets or larger ones."
"Indeed. If you think about department stores and the like."
"That's why I'm trying to buy the land in advance. Learning from the secretary, I realized I still lack a lot to start a business right now. But when I do start later, the population of Seoul will have grown even more, and land prices will have risen, so I thought it would be more profitable to buy it now."
Choi Ki-hyun nodded, convinced by his grandson's reasoning. "Ho-ho... In that case, would you suggest the Samwoo Group buy land in Seoul as well?"
Unexpectedly, Yoon-gi shook his head.
"No."
"Why is that?"
"The Samwoo Group has plenty of other sectors to invest in. I don't have anything else to invest in right now, but the Samwoo Group is different. Because of that, I don't think the Samwoo Group needs to follow my lead."
Yoon-gi's words were by no means wrong. Buying land in Jamsil or Gangnam at this point would certainly be worth a massive fortune decades later, but for the Samwoo Group to grow even larger, they shouldn't be focused on real estate speculation right now. Furthermore...
'Land is something I need to buy, not the company.'
Moreover, since the era of the new military regime was approaching, if it were revealed that a single group owned a massive amount of land, there was a high possibility that the new regime would dismantle the group entirely. If they dismantled a group, a huge amount of real estate would become available; there was no way the new military regime wouldn't take advantage of that. It was better for him to buy up a small, prime piece of land himself. If it were just a small amount of land, the Samwoo Group could use bribes to change the regime's plans, and the regime wouldn't bother trying to forcibly seize a "small plot" from a friendly group.
'Unlike a large plot of land, anyway.'
Yoon-gi, who had been backstabbed many times over his long life, firmly believed his instincts could never be wrong and waited for his grandfather's answer.
"If you say so, I will do as you ask. But if I send someone else to monitor that secretary, won't the fact that you're buying up land in Cheonggyecheon be discovered by the secretaries? They might try to get a piece of the pie. Or would you like me to block them from getting involved?"
Yoon-gi shook his head.
"I don't care if they get a piece."
"Why?"
"There's already a gap between the funds the secretaries and I can mobilize, and if the secretaries succeed by getting a piece, they'll have no choice but to be loyal to me later, won't they? Just by being by my side, they'll become richer than they are now."
"And what if those secretaries leak your plans elsewhere?"
"People never share a real opportunity to make money once they are certain of it. Especially with those who are inferior to them. I read that in a book, and it left a deep impression on me."
For a moment, Choi Ki-hyun almost exclaimed, "Oh...", but he swallowed the words and nodded.
"Understood. You may go now."
"Thank you, Grandfather!"
Yoon-gi hugged his grandfather tightly once before heading out. And at 7:00 PM, Ryu Geun-tae entered Choi Ki-hyun's study.
"Chairman, did you call for me?"
At Ryu Geun-tae's polite greeting, Choi Ki-hyun nodded with a very stern expression. He was the embodiment of frost, exuding a coldness 180 degrees different from the one he showed in front of his grandson.
"Report on what you've been doing lately."
"Yes. Until recently, I was tutoring for two hours in the evenings, and since a while ago, I have been purchasing land in Cheonggyecheon according to the young master's orders."
"Land in Cheonggyecheon?" Although he already knew, Choi Ki-hyun pretended not to know and asked back.
"That is correct."
Ryu Geun-tae, too, did not add any commentary and spoke only of facts, so the conversation seemed to pause for a moment. However, Choi Ki-hyun soon raised his tone and asked seriously.
"In your view, how is Yoon-gi?"
For the first time, Ryu Geun-tae's tone contained a hint of something that could be called "excitement."
"He is extremely capable."
"Extremely capable?"
"Yes. He far exceeds the amount of knowledge a third-grader in elementary school can acquire. Looking at his concentration when studying, one could only use the expression that he is 'full of pent-up resentment'."
"Is he to that extent?"
"Yes. The young master is that thirsty for learning. That is why I also prepare materials for about eight hours before going to tutor him."
"Eight hours?"
Ryu Geun-tae nodded. "Otherwise, it would be impossible to teach the young master for two hours. Because he thoroughly reviews and previews on his own, it is common for him to exceed the study scope I planned, and his speed of understanding is so fast that I cannot proceed at the speed of an average student."
Hearing the report, Choi Ki-hyun wanted to smile inside, but he endured it with superhuman patience and asked one more thing.
"Then, what do you think about assigning a more professional instructor to Yoon-gi? You can teach him a bit more about management, but what about other things?"
Ryu Geun-tae cautiously shook his head.
"I think it would be better to leave it to the young master."
"Let's trust Yoon-gi?"
"Yes. The young master speaks up directly when there is something he wants to learn. If we were to force a direction for his studies from this side, it might actually be dangerous."
"So he is adjusting the pace himself..."
"Yes. Furthermore, since the field the young master is interested in is management, I think it would be best to leave both the direction and the pace to him. I judge that providing the best support when a request comes in will yield better results."
"If it's coming from you, who has seen him from up close, that might be correct."
As Choi Ki-hyun narrowed his eyes, Ryu Geun-tae could be felt swallowing hard. Even Ryu Geun-tae, who maintained his composure perfectly in front of Yoon-gi, could not fully stand up to Choi Ki-hyun's atmosphere.
"However, there is one thing I want to ask."
"What is it?"
"The Chief Secretary recommended you, didn't he? But you seem very capable. Why did you apply to the Samwoo Group instead of somewhere else? And spare me the cliché explanation that you thought the Samwoo Group's prospects were better."
Ryu Geun-tae hesitated for a moment, just a moment, before speaking with difficulty.
"...That is because I am from the Honam region."
"Ah, Jeolla-do?"
At Choi Ki-hyun's tone, a glimmer of hope appeared on Ryu Geun-tae's face. Because there was no prejudice against the Honam region in that tone at all.
"That is correct."
"If that's the case, I can understand a little. Is our company not your first?"
Ryu Geun-tae nodded. "To be honest... I was repeatedly rejected in interviews because of my region of origin, and when I lied about my region and was accepted, that was eventually found out, so I had to leave two companies."
"Did our company's HR manager not discriminate based on region?"
"That is..."
"You have some relationship with the Chief Secretary, don't you?"
At the piercing remark, Ryu Geun-tae felt as if his heart was about to jump into his throat.
"Th-that... is correct."
"What kind of relationship?"
"I... was a senior in the military to the Chief Secretary's son. It started when I saved his life when drunk seniors were causing a ruckus with guns in the barracks."
Up until the 70s, it was a reality that drunk seniors would fight each other with guns. Especially when divided by regional units. Of course, most shot at the walls, knowing it would be a big deal if there were casualties even while drunk.
"Anyway, 'that guy' must have recommended you because you have ability. Isn't that right?"
Seeing Choi Ki-hyun looking down at him with cold eyes and calling the Chief Secretary 'that guy', Ryu Geun-tae knelt and prostrated himself.
"Please forgive me."
"No, from what I've seen so far, that guy's choice isn't bad. So I will continue to watch you. If you serve my grandson well, both you and that guy will benefit, but if you have any strange thoughts using my grandson..."
"That will absolutely never happen."
Choi Ki-hyun's inner thoughts, as he watched Ryu Geun-tae hit his forehead against the floor, were filled entirely with concern for his beloved grandson.
