You Are My Private Property (2)
"Y, Yoon-gi?" Park Seon-ja was startled. She hadn't even mentioned that she would be visiting his home today.
"That's right. I don't know how Yoon-gi found out about it either, but he must have seen the President of Jeil Textile at the faculty office. Teachers say he has quick judgment and makes decisions fast, and my grandson certainly has a keen eye for people."
Park Seon-ja recalled how Yoon-gi usually behaved at school and thought that children from wealthy families were indeed different. 'But when I think about Won-hee, it feels like a different story...'
As she was lost in thought, Choi Ki-hyun called out to Yoon-gi. "Yoon-gi, come out here."
As Yoon-gi stepped from his room into the living room, the tension in the air began to rise again. 'He’s a total little Chairman.' Park Seon-ja gulped, and when Choi Ki-hyun’s voice rang out, she hurriedly turned her head.
"My grandson says he wants to receive some private tutoring from you. What do you think?"
"Pardon? Private tutoring?"
During this period, it was quite common for teachers to tutor students from wealthy families, but it was also an incredibly difficult opportunity to come by. Park Seon-ja was so overwhelmed by the sudden stroke of luck that she could barely keep her composure.
"I heard that school classes are too easy and boring for him. But since I can't conduct classes tailored to Yoon-gi's level, I'm asking if you can tutor him. If you don't want to, I'll find another tutor. What do you say?"
Park Seon-ja didn't even hesitate; she nodded immediately. "I, I will do it!"
"Just like Yoon-gi said, your judgment is quick, and your answer is refreshing. How should we handle the fees and the schedule?"
Park Seon-ja looked back and forth between Choi Ki-hyun and Choi Yoon-gi for a moment, realizing what kind of decision she needed to make.
"The schedule can be whatever Yoon-gi desires, and for the amount, I will accept whatever you, Chairman... no, Grandfather, see fit to give."
"Then, let's do that. It’s getting a bit late today, so start from tomorrow. You and Yoon-gi can decide on the location yourselves, right?"
"Yes, I will do so. Then, I shall take my leave... Yoon-gi, see you at school tomorrow."
Watching Park Seon-ja disappear with a bright smile, Choi Ki-hyun immediately had Yoon-gi sit on the sofa.
"Is this satisfactory?" Choi Ki-hyun’s tone felt less like that of a doting grandfather and more like a strict one.
"Yes, Grandfather."
"But why are you so insistent on learning from that particular teacher? I could find you any number of excellent tutors."
"Because it will bring me many advantages."
Choi Ki-hyun had been worried his grandson might say something like, 'Because I like the teacher,' so he was intrigued by this unexpected answer.
"Advantages?"
"Yes."
"What kind of advantages would those be?"
"That teacher will struggle to prove that he is a useful tutor. When he teaches me, he will naturally focus on things that are likely to appear on exams."
Choi Ki-hyun looked surprised at such a realistic calculation of interests. He had never imagined that his eight-year-old grandson would be thinking this far ahead. Since he was getting tired of acting like a child, he had consulted Choi Deok-bae, who recommended that he reveal his true self to some extent, at least in front of Choi Ki-hyun. It felt like a gamble, but from Choi Yoon-gi's perspective, he could feel that the gamble had paid off better than expected.
"Then, how did you know that teacher had quick judgment?"
"I can't say exactly, but..."
Just as Choi Ki-hyun was about to feel disappointed, Choi Yoon-gi quickly added an explanation.
"I felt it while watching you handle your employees in the study."
"Eh? You saw that?"
"Yes. There were times when the study door was open or when I was reading books under the desk and you and your employees came in. Watching how you handled them, I think I learned what kind of people they are and how to deal with them."
At his grandson's words, Choi Ki-hyun, looking overjoyed, lifted him up and sat him on his lap.
"Hahahaha! You really are my grandson. You truly are!"
The ability to build a business. This was absolutely impossible without a natural talent for leadership. It was entirely due to Choi Ki-hyun's talent that he had founded and expanded his company from his youth to the present. 'I was worried because Cheol-ho didn't have that ability, but for Yoon-gi to show such excellence... what a relief. What a relief.'
However, a small concern lingered in Choi Ki-hyun's mind. 'No matter how brilliant one is as a child, it's common for them to become ordinary as they grow up...'
Even though his eldest son, Cheol-ho, had contributed greatly to the formation of the Samwoo Group, and young Yoon-gi was brilliant now, Choi Ki-hyun had no intention of choosing a successor just yet. The Samwoo Group was a history that proved he had lived, and it must never collapse. 'Still, I can't help but feel good.'
Thinking this to himself, Choi Ki-hyun looked at Yoon-gi with a serious expression and said, "Yoon-gi, what kind of person do you want to be when you grow up?"
"I want to be a person like you, Grandfather. No, I want to be an even greater person than you."
"Yes, you should be a greater person, not just like me. If I were a little younger, I would have played a much bigger game myself."
If there was one regret Choi Ki-hyun had, it was that he wouldn't live to see the Samwoo Group become the number one company in South Korea. No matter how he calculated the growth potential, it was impossible. But seeing his grandson's ambition, he felt as if his own dream was being carried on.
"However, it won't be easy."
"I know."
"Are you prepared?"
"I will show you through the process and the results."
The ambition of an eight-year-old. But rather than thinking this confident grandson was strange, Choi Ki-hyun decided to view it as a joyous occasion for the family.
"Good. Then keep working hard. So that you can get your hands on what you desire."
"Yes. And, Grandfather. There is something I want to tell you."
"What is it?"
Choi Yoon-gi threw his next winning move.
"Buy Jeil Textile?"
"Yes. Grandfather, you have a lot of money, so can't you buy Jeil Textile?"
"Well... I suppose I could."
Strictly speaking, it wasn't just 'buying' it; there were various methods, such as forcibly absorbing Jeil Textile, but Choi Ki-hyun had no intention of explaining such adult affairs to his grandson.
"Then, please buy it."
"Even if it's your request, I cannot grant that. Is the reason you're asking for this to make that child, Lee Won-hee, your lackey, or is there another reason?"
As a thorough businessman, Choi Ki-hyun thought that if his grandson's intention was the former, he would just chuckle and let it slide, and he didn't think it could be the latter. No matter how smart he seemed, his grandson was only eight years old.
"The teacher said that since our country still needs to develop its economy, workers should reduce their wages themselves and be patriotic. He said that if the country does well, we'll get it all back later."
"That is true."
1975 was an era when the military was in the midst of a dictatorship. Although the death of martyr Jeon Tae-il in 1970 had sounded an alarm regarding labor rights, it was still an era where the treatment of workers was disheartening.
"But textile is a light industry where people do the work."
"Where did you learn all that?"
"I read books in the school library and at nearby bookstores, and I heard it from the teacher, too."
"I see. Is that all?"
Yoon-gi shook his head.
"No. If the country steps in and sets the workers' wages, wouldn't we be able to make a lot of money cheaply? The wages won't keep rising, will they?"
Choi Yoon-gi stopped his explanation there. He thought this was the limit of what a 'smart eight-year-old' could explain. But this was enough. With his natural sense for business, this explanation was sufficient for Choi Ki-hyun to understand.
'It is true that textile is a business too good to let go of yet. If the military freezes workers' wages, it is a fact that one can extract that much profit.'
As Samwoo Mulsan expanded into the Samwoo Group, the group had invested heavily in electronics and chemicals. While the results were successful so far, it wouldn't hurt to have a stake in the textile business.
'It wouldn't be bad to make a lackey for my grandson while I'm at it. Though making it his own will be entirely up to him.'
Thinking this, Choi Ki-hyun didn't give an immediate answer.
"I will think about it in a positive light."
"Thank you, Grandfather."
"I haven't given my permission yet, have I?"
Choi Ki-hyun looked puzzled at his grandson's bold expression of gratitude.
"Because if it's something you can't do, Grandfather, you tell me right away."
Choi Ki-hyun gave a bitter smile and lifted his grandson up.
"Yes, I will buy Jeil Textile. But you must know that if Jeil Textile fails, your evaluation will also drop. You've seen in the study what happened to others who suggested business strategies to me that failed, haven't you?"
"Of course."
It was a conversation difficult to see as one between an ordinary grandfather and grandson, but they were feeling a sense of happiness that transcended that.
"Sign it."
At Choi Ki-hyun’s words, Lee Gi-cheol took the contract with trembling hands. A merger contract. It was a contract that started with Jeil Textile being absorbed into the Samwoo Group, and the terms were set quite unfairly for Jeil Textile.
"Ch, Chairman. Even so..."
"If you don't want to do it, don't."
Choi Ki-hyun turned his office chair around, showing Lee Gi-cheol the back of the chair.
Gulp. Lee Gi-cheol swallowed hard and stared at the contract with trembling eyes. It was called a merger, but it was essentially handing over his company. Of course, it said they would maintain the positions of the president and executives, but there was a huge difference between 'my company' and 'working at someone else's company.'
'What if I refuse this?'
It was too obvious. Jeil Textile would suffer in the way Jeil Textile had caused others to suffer. Samwoo Textile would be created, and an infinite competition with Jeil Textile would begin. However, there was virtually no chance for Jeil Textile to win there.
"Could you give me a little time to think?"
"Come back this evening. After that, you won't be able to meet me."
It was an incredibly short amount of time. But Lee Gi-cheol had no choice but to be grateful for even that as he left.
"Oh, and one more thing."
At Choi Ki-hyun’s words, Lee Gi-cheol stopped and turned back.
"You know that your grandson is in the same class as my grandson, right?"
The moment he heard that, Lee Gi-cheol understood the reason behind this entire situation. 'Should I kneel?' But Lee Gi-cheol instinctively knew. This wasn't happening simply because of his grandson. His grandson was just the reason he had been caught on the radar; this was already an irreversible event.
"I... will sign."
"It's good that you're quick. If you had come to talk in the evening, I was going to cut the numbers in half."
At Choi Ki-hyun’s indifferent words, Lee Gi-cheol felt as if his heart had stopped. 'So this is how my Jeil Textile goes...'
The turbulent 70s. If 100 companies were born, only fewer than 10 would survive 30 years later.
"Wow! We're in the same class again!"
When Jin-su jumped for joy after hearing the announcement of the 3rd-grade class assignments, Won-hee, who was next to him, clicked his tongue.
"Hey, don't you know the obvious? Yoon-gi is the one who made us be in the same class."
"Huh? Is that so?"
"Yeah."
Jin-su looked at Yoon-gi. "Yoon-gi, is it true?"
But Yoon-gi just shrugged his shoulders and didn't answer.
"He says it's not him!"
"He's just not saying anything, you idiot."
Jin-su and Won-hee bickered as they carried Yoon-gi’s bag and other belongings to their assigned classroom. Jin-su, the right arm. And Won-hee, the left arm. Won-hee, who had lost a lot of weight, had become Yoon-gi’s thorough lackey after Jeil Textile was absorbed into the Samwoo Group. Although it had been triggered late, his excellent survival instinct was more than enough to make him Yoon-gi’s left arm.
"Yes! It's lunchtime!"
If there was one thing that changed in the 3rd grade, it was the addition of a lunch hour, and everyone had to pack a lunchbox. Starting with Jin-su’s cheer, everyone began taking out the lunchboxes they had packed, and the wealth gap was starkly revealed.
Children quietly heading to the water fountain, children who brought kimchi and soybean paste, children who brought fish sausages, children who brought rolled omelets. Among them, the most splendid was, by far, the desk where Yoon-gi was sitting.
"Hurry, hurry!"
At Jin-su’s urging, Won-hee puffed out his cheeks with an annoyed expression. "It's my lunchbox."
"Ah, you're so stingy!"
Jin-su tried to open Won-hee’s lunchbox, and Won-hee tried to protect his own. But to eat, they eventually had to open the lunchboxes, and when Jin-su checked the contents, he let out a cheer.
"Yes, braised beef!"
The moment Jin-su was about to stab his fork into it.
Thwack!
A fork, neither Jin-su’s, nor Won-hee’s, nor even Yoon-gi’s, was stabbed right into the middle of the lunchbox. And it was a fork stained with kimchi broth.
"What the!"
Won-hee stood up and shouted at the unexpected situation, and Yoon-gi also looked at the owner of the fork.
'I feel like I've seen him somewhere before...?'